I watched Monday's Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson press conference turned melee turned crotch-grabbing fest. I listened to pundits complain about it being another black eye for boxing -- by now at least a triennial event.
I heard the theories. Tyson was afraid to fight and intentionally sabotaged his ability to get a license in Nevada. Tyson has lost his grip on reality. The entire event was staged.
I don't care. The bottom line is, its time for both of these guys to go away and while they are at it, take Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz with them. These guys are clogging up boxing's marquee division and overshadowing what is a great era in the light and middleweight divisions.
What's worse, with the exception of Lewis, they can't fight anymore. And while Lewis might be a top rate pugilist, he twice lost fights by coming in out of shape, once to make a "don't blink or you'll miss it" appearance in "Ocean's 11". That loss, to Hasim Rahman, prompted an equally ugly pre-fight buildup including the nationally televised tussle on ESPN's Up Close.
And as far Tyson's fans go, let's be serious. The man hasn't thrown multiple combinations in five years. When seen hurling Christmas balls at reporters in Cuba last month, he was sporting a Homer Simpson belly remnants of which were still around as of Monday. Most importantly, he hasn't looked remotely impressive since his 1996 bout with Holyfield (Holyfield-Tyson II, before the ear biting). Six years of downtime is hardly promising for any fighter hoping to regain the crown, regardless how hard of a bomb he can throw.
That leads us to Holyfield, who probably has more ear left than brain by this point. This story is going to end sadly (at least as badly as Ali if not worse). It's already bad enough someone who was once a great champion is winding up his career offering to fight people who want to make a name for themselves.Ruiz is just plain bad. There's nothing else to say.
These old men are obscuring what could be an otherwise vibrant and exciting division.
Young upstarts have already been forced to wait too long for their shot at glory because the old boys club makes more money beating each other than they could losing titles.
Fighters like Wladimir Klitschko (think a post-communism, dark haired Ivan Drago), Chris Byrd, Kirk Johnson and Lloyd McCline have all been chomping at the bit for two years. Klitschko or Johnson will probably take Ruiz's belt before long, but Lewis will not be seriously challenged, by Tyson or anyone else, for at least another year.
More intriguing than the mess at the top is the number of people oblivious to fighters destined for ESPN Classic specials currently plying their trade in the lighter ranks.
Bernard Hopkins, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Marco Antonio Barrera are all in their prime and approaching "best of their generation" status. Even more enticing is the likely possibility that Mayweather, Mosely and Barrera could all soon be headed for new weight classes, creating dream match-ups like Mosley v. Oscar De La Hoya.
This even leaves out light heavyweight champ Roy Jones Jr., possibly the best of them all, though no one would know it, as Jones' toughest opponent recently was the water he's shadowboxing in his new Nike commercial. Nevertheless, Jones still has the ability to make opponents look downright foolish with his speed and power.
So, with all this quality talent fighting in the ring, why should boxing fans waste their time watching shoving out of it?
