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05/15/2006 Archived Entry: "“To Russia, With Love?”"
“To Russia, With Love?”
May 2006
By Dave Iamele
Photos by Marian Iamele
Former WBO title holder Lamon Brewster isn't smiling anymore now that the White Wolf has his belt.
When I was just a wee shaver of a boxing fan, I would scan the Ring magazine rankings of boxers and stare in wonder at the strange looking names from exotic locales that dominated the listings of the smaller weight classes. It seemed like the majority of boxers below welterweight lived in just about every country but the good ol’ US of A. Making these boxers even more mysterious was the fact that the US boxing viewer never saw most of these guys fight.
As I got older, the smaller weight classes caught on with the US boxing fans, and foreign fighters like Ricardo Lopez and Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez became fan favorites here. In fact, these little warriors have become so accepted now by lovers of the sweet science that many boxing aficionados now consider Manny Pacquaio of the Philippines to be the “savior of boxing.” I won’t go into whether or not I think boxing needs a savior, but just the fact that this mighty mite, who fought much of his career at under 122 pounds, is now considered a safe bet to ensure big pay-per-view revenue shows how much boxing viewers’ tastes have changed. Undoubtedly, recent US entries into this realm, like Johnny Tapia, Marc Johnson, and 2006 Hall of Fame inductee Michael Carbajal, played some role in the acceptance of the diminutive warriors by the domestic fans.
But, my column this month deals with the other end of the scale—boxing’s big boys—the heavyweights. Why, then, the lengthy preamble about the little guys? Well, I’m glad you asked. Fight fans are going to have to adjust their attitudes and tastes once again or else forgo heavyweight action. I say this because it is entirely possible that by the time the dog days of summer are waning, not one of the four current heavyweight belt holders will hail from America! This change in the status-quo of the heavyweight championship will surely take a major attitude adjustment for US fight fans who traditionally have been, at best, lukewarm to non-US heavies.
Joe Louis or Max Schmeling, Floyd Patterson or Ingemar Johansson, Mike Tyson or Frank Bruno, Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis? Ask US fight fanatics which of these boxers they prefer, and the vast majority of the time the choice will be “our guy” over the foreigner. I guess that only makes sense.
The complete de-Americanization of the heavyweight titles began with the twilight of the careers of the US boxing Holy Trinity of Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, and Evander Holyfield. As the star quality of the Big Three dimmed, the big Brit Lennox Lewis grabbed boxing’s gold ring and held on (minus a few minor loans of the titles to McCall and Rahman) until his retirement two years ago. Lennox eventually became an acquired taste for US fight fans, but he failed to capture the public’s attention like the ferocious Tyson or the perennial underdog Holyfield.
Until recently, the four heavyweight champions were John Ruiz, WBA title; Lamon Brewster, WBO title; Chris Byrd, IBF title; and Hasim Rahman, WBC title. Admittedly, no Tysons or Holyfields in this group, but at least they were all Americans. Last December, Ruiz lost his title yet again, but this time to the seven-foot Russian nightmare Nicolay Valuev instead of blown-up middleweights like Roy Jones and James Toney. While the close decision in the fight was questionable, no doubt Don King would rather have 50% control of King Kong than 100% control over the universally despised Ruiz. This past month saw US boxers drop two more titles into the laps of foreigners when Lamon Brewster lost to Bela Russian Sergei Liakhovich—the White Wolf--on April Fool’s Day, and most recently, long-time IBF title holder Chris Byrd got smacked down by Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine.
These three losses leave only one US-based title holder left: the inconsistent Hasim Rahman. The Eastern European contingent will have a chance to monopolize the title belts this August when Rahman faces Oleg Maskaev of Kazakhstan. Just to let you know how precarious our hold is on this last belt, Maskaev faced The Rock in 1999 and not only knocked him out, but knocked him out of the ring right into the laps of the ringside HBO commentators. Although Rahman is considered the overwhelming favorite in the rematch, it’s best to remember that he was in the same position in ’99.
So, while the picture looks bleak for US supremacy in the heavyweight division for the foreseeable future, I wouldn’t dust off your passport just yet. It is within the realm of possibility that Rahman does get his revenge on Maskaev, and it’s even possible (though less likely) that he could go on to topple the tough foreigners and reunify the titles once again.
Even if Rahman remains consistent in his inconsistency and looses again to Maskaev, we still have “the boxing banker” Calvin Brock waiting in the wings, lurking near the top. If the new Russian revolution does cement their standing among boxing’s highest profile weight class, US fans should not despair but again adapt to boxing’s ever shifting landscape. Just as the smaller, foreign fighters have captured a place in our hearts, soon foreign heavyweights will begin to become more pleasing to our fistic palates.
Hall of Fame Update
By the time you kind readers are perusing my most recent ramblings, the annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend will be about a month away, and I must alert those who plan to attend to a major scheduling change.
A fellow boxing fan asked me this past weekend who the main event would be for the Friday night fight card at The Turning Stone, which is held in conjunction with Hall of Fame weekend. I’ll tell you what I told him: there isn’t going to be one. Although the Hall of Fame weekend has incurred some changes over the last 16 inductions, including the relocation of the opening-day cook-out and the new location for the banquet of champions dinner, no change has ever been as drastic and unwanted as the loss of live professional boxing from the celebration’s roster.
How did this sad state of affairs happen? I’ll let the press release from The Turning Stone’s media relations team speak for itself:
Boxing at Turning Stone is idle until further notice. This difficult decision is the direct result of the State of New York’s ongoing refusal to recognize the sovereignty of the Oneida Indian Nation and the jurisdiction of the Nation’s Athletic Commission. Turning Stone has informed the International Boxing Hall of Fame of its decision, and is confident that the Hall can find a suitable alternative for the planned June 9 boxing event at Turning Stone, which was to be held in conjunction with Hall of Fame Weekend. The Oneida Indian Nation has a long-standing relationship with the Hall of Fame, and will continue to support the Hall’s contributions to the economy and overall quality of life of Madison County and surrounding communities.
There it is in a nutshell. What does this mean for fans who will attend Hall of Fame weekend? Hall of Fame Director, Ed Brophy, has been racking his brain to come up with a suitable, exciting alternative to keep the fans in town and entertained, and I can safely say that after listening to a few of his ideas, I’m sure he will come up with something good. Quite honestly, the reaction of at least half of the regular attendees that I spoke with about this was, “who cares, they were lousy fights anyway.” While, in general, there may be a nugget of truth to that sentiment, last year’s card featuring Shannon Briggs and the Ali/Frazier bout of a couple years back stand out in my mind as good, entertaining fight cards.
The suspension of boxing is unfortunate not only due to the loss of the Hall of Fame card, but more so overall because many local fans won’t travel to Albany, Saratoga, Buffalo, or Rochester to see live shows. Also, with the recent addition of the boxing-friendly event center and the interest in local talents like Jamar Patterson, Derrick Brown, and Russell Jordan, who now find themselves “homeless,” the absence of the venue is devastating.
So, here’s to hoping the discontinuation of The Stone’s boxing program is indeed just temporary. As for Hall of Fame weekend, it began with no live professional boxing, and it will continue on it its absence. As to what Ed Brophy and his excellent staff have come up with to fill the void, stay tuned to my next column in early June for the straight dope on Hall of Fame weekend.
Fans at the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend won't be seeing action half this good in '07 unless a battle royal breaks out at Graziano's!
Originally published on May 12, 2006 in
the Utica Observer-Dispatch as “Hall Weekend
Will Be Without Live Bout.”
Reprinted with permission.
