great time to be a boxing fan

By Paul Upham: Boxing fans have suffered through some really bad times over the last two decades. During the many mismatches, lousy decisions and champions refusing to unify, the bite fight, IBF trial, fan man and undeserving mandatories, many boxing fans lamented that the best punch delivered in the sport was often an uppercut to its own chin.
Luckily for the fans and the future of the sport, times have changed and the many indicators are that it is OK to be a fan again. Call up those friends you used to watch the big fights with because you no longer have to cringe with embarrassment at the sports best attempts to relegate itself into obscurity.

Bernard Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden arena in New York is a perfect way to show the world that we are back. This Saturday night we will have our first undisputed middleweight champion for the first time since Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1997, precluding the always controversial draw.

Twelve months ago it was unimaginable that anyone could have put Bernard Hopkins, Keith Holmes, William Joppy and Felix Trinidad together in a tournament at the one venue. People blame him for many things, but promoter Don King is the only man who could make it happen and he deserves recognition for giving one man the opportunity to unify the belts. The fact is that King is the greatest promoter in the history of boxing and he manages to negotiate deals that others see as impossible.

No matter who emerges victorious, another super-fight involving the winner is certain to occur in early 2002 with Hopkins to face Oscar De La Hoya or Trinidad to face Roy Jones Jr, should they be the one holding the Sugar Ray Robinson memorial trophy aloft.

Speaking of Roy, his achievement of holding the three major world title belts together and maintaining his status as undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world during a period when the sanctioning bodies were vacating titles like blinking an eyelid is a remarkable achievement.

There have been many people who claim that Roy Jones Jr. has only fought undeserving mandatories over the last few years, but who has he really avoided? People will nominate WBO champion Dariusz Michelczewski, but who has he ever beaten? If he is such a great champion than he should have no problem going to the USA and taking all those title belts from Jones Jr. Until such a time, Roy is the man.

There were times when the thought of an undisputed champion was unthinkable, but now we are on the verge of having three. After Hopkins-Trinidad this weekend, we can then look forward to WBC/WBA champion Kostya Tszyu vs. IBF champion Zab Judah for the undisputed junior welterweight championship of the world on November 3.

With any luck, we’ll have three unified divisions at the end of the year and it has been a long, long time since that was the case.

In the USA, HBO and Showtime have played their part in this new resurgence by insisting that for paying boxers generously, they face the best available talent, while ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights has provided a staple diet of competitive action with many contenders for fight of the year.

With a little prompting from HBO we may yet see WBC champion Sugar Shane Mosley attempting to unify the welterweight titles with IBF champion Vernon Forrest and WBA champion Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis.

Let’s not forget the heavyweights with WBC/IBF champion Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis meeting for the second time in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay on November 17. After their wrestling match in the ESPN studios, this clash will have plenty of spice and there is so much on the line with the likelihood of a huge pay day against WBC No.1 contender Mike Tyson early in 2002.

Speaking of Mike, he returns to the ring on October 13 with Dane Brian Nielsen and it always seems more exiting when he is around. HBO and Showtime now realise that it is best to compromise and make a big fight for him as soon as possible and you can expect either Rahman or Lewis to be meeting “Iron” Mike in 2002.

There is a chance the long-awaited junior lightweight unification bout between WBA champion Joel Casamayor and WBO champion Acelino Freitas will happen on Showtime, while WBC champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. looks likely to make the jump to 135 pounds and face IBF champion Paul Spadafora or WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo.

With De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas and maybe Winky Wright holding titles at junior middleweight the signs are good for some unification bouts there, while even the cruiserweights could be entertaining if only someone could convince WBC champion Juan Carlos Gomez, WBA champion Virgil Hill, IBF champion Vassiliy Jirov and WBO champion Johnny Nelson to get into the ring together.

The message for boxing fans around the world is that it is OK to cheer again. Call your friends, strap yourself into your lounge chair or in the front row at the arena and get ready for some of the best action we have seen in many years, starting with Hopkins vs. Trinidad this Saturday night.


Paul Upham
Contributing Editor