By Matthew Sanderson

Today’s fractured times seem at odds with a sport whose core idea is to provide matchups that determine the best – between the ropes and within a given weight class. While several men in any division lay claim to being a champion, it’s harder to determine who The Man is. That may alienate the elusive Mr. Average Fan, and exasperate the purists, a lot fun can be had assessing the evidence and finding our own conclusions.

If the sport can divide, convolute and confuse as it does, determined fans have the opportunity to keep current by flicking through the many websites, most of which are updated daily. By staying on top of this information overload, and debating with our mates or on message boards, we are able to objectify our responses. We become active spectators – savvy fans who are cultivated to form our own opinions.

 

Despite being recently ‘unified’, the cruiserweight division both deserves and demands our full attention, if we are to keep up with both the electrifying action and many spiralling twists in the plot.

 

Although Jamaican born O’Neil Bell unified the WBA, WBC and IBF belts by thrashing Jean Marc Mormeck last month, there is another titleholder who represents unfinished business. Can O’Neil, always troubled by pure boxers, call himself undisputed until he takes on the WBO champion – the UK based defensive master Johnny Nelson?

 

Even before the world’s most aggressive cruisers – Bell and Mormeck – showed us that the only big men who can put on real world class shows are the ones below 200-lbs, the WBA belt was in the process of being fractured.

 

Postponed a couple of times, Virgil Hill’s match with Valery Brudov would settle the question of who would take the ‘regular’ belt that became vacant when then-champion Mormeck was declared ‘super’ champion, a feat made possible when the Frenchman added a belt from a rival organization. When Hill boxed rings around the unbeaten Russian recently, many were right to question ‘Quicksilver’s’ status as WBA champion.

 

What made the match worthwhile was the 42-year-old Native American’s superb jabbing and constant movement over the twelve rounds against a man twelve years his junior. Certainly, this vintage display would never have happened were it not for the WBA’s oft criticised policy, allowing a great old fighter the chance for one more payday and his fans another chance to appreciate his skills.

If anyone doubts Hill’s calibre in the 200-lb division, remember that were it not for a controversial knockdown call against Mormeck two years ago, Hill might have been declared the winner of their gruelling rematch in South Africa.

Anyone who saw Mormeck grind down Dale Brown or overwhelm unbeaten puncher Wayne Braithwaite will know what kind of force he is below 200-lbs. Kind of raises Hill’s stock, no?

 

With Hill’s favored opponents busy over the coming months, Virgil may have to make do with whatever is available. Known even in his prime as light heavyweight champion (two reigns from 1987-1997) for his technical proficiency rather than his capacity to thrill, Hill’s sole bargaining position is his title - which he will have to defend soon.

 

In taking the ‘regular’ version of the WBA title, Hill becomes eligible for a man considered Bell’s toughest contender. Top of their list is Guillermo ‘Expanding Man’ Jones, who hammered favorites Wayne Braithwaite and Kelvin Davis with vicious displays of right hand punching last year. Neither of the former titleholders made it out of the fourth round.

 

One cannot think of a more deserving challenger than Guillermo, robbed in three previous attempts for world titles – two of which came at junior middleweight against Laurent Bouduani. Nelson also appeared lucky to get by Guillermo in a 2002 stinker 'waged' in Derby, England. That night, both seemed to cancel each other out, but Guillermo was the only one landing with anything of impact.

 

Back to the present, Jones was forced to wait for his challenge to then WBA king Mormeck, when the Frenchman opted to unify with Bell earlier this year. With Bell honouring his IBF mandatory Steve Cunningham next, logic dictates that Jones should be given a shot at Hill’s title.

Bell-Cunningham goes to purse bids on February 21. Bell’s schedule is swelling and there has also been talk of a fight with former light heavy champ Glen Johnson and an appearance at heavyweight. Just how long is Jones, the WBA’s leading contender, supposed to wait?

 

When I quizzed a member of team Hill last week about the pairing, the reaction to a Jones fight came in the negative. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the risk that Jones poses far outstrips the reward, especially since top ten cruisers are rarely televised unless in a title fight.

Indeed, Hill has nothing to prove at this stage, his place in history already secure. Not only did he defend his light heavyweight title a record 20 times, his 1996 win over unbeaten hot pick Henry Maske made him the lineal champion of the division. But if Virgil wants to keep his latest belt, the only choice could be to face the Panamanian.

 

O'Neil Bell would surely be grateful if Hill could lighten some of his tough load of title defenses, with the Dale Brown-Felix Cora Jr winner looming in the background. Bell beat Brown last year, to take the IBF title. Many people felt Brown won quite clearly. All could see that the aggressive Bell struggled mightily with Brown’s tidy, compact style.

 

All of this makes me wonder, if Hill could pull off another miracle, his world title could be valued far more highly.

 

Of course, it might take a miracle to put Hill and Jones together, such as a very generous offer for the defending champion. The cruiserweight division’s not as popular as it deserves to be, but the cultists among us can hope that these intriguing boxers will meet.

Beating Jones won’t make Virgil The Champ. That accolade belongs to the gritty Bell. But it will strengthen Hill’s standing as A Champion, which almost seems good enough.

Especially for Guillermo Jones.

NELSON INJURED, HOBSON STEPS IN

 

Speaking of Johnny Nelson, the WBO cruiserweight champ won’t be facing Enzo Maccarinelli, on March 4. Nelson, 39, was forced to pull out from the chief support to Joe Calzaghe’s clash with Jeff Lacy. The Sheffield fighter’s withdrawal made some commentators suspicious that he never intended to go through with the fight, as he seemed unhappy at being forced to defend against the young Welsh puncher. But damaged knee ligaments sustained whilst training ensured he spent a few days in hospital the weekend before last. Fret not, however. Not only has Nelson promised to meet Macca at a later date, but we will be treated to a superb WBO interim fight, at the MEN Arena. British and Commonwealth champion Mark Hobson will stand in.

Whilst a win would strengthen Enzo’s suspect rise up the WBO’s rankings (he was made mandatory after stopping unknown Marco Heinichen, in 30 seconds), some headway could be made to settling the best young cruiserweight in Britain. One hopes that David Haye will figure in the equation somewhere. World ranked since his first round knockout of European champion Alexander Gurov, Haye intends to make his mark quickly on the very top of the cruiserweight division, but shouldn’t forget about the terrific rivalries that can be cultivated by the grassroots. Like Maccarinelli, Haye has a world-class repertoire of shots and has likewise learned from an early stoppage loss.

With both men’s arsenals and refined approach to technique, the matchup has potential classic status

HAYE TO FIGHT JOHANSEN

Haye’s move to Frank Maloney will take the puncher to a London crowd, unlike his former handlers, Fight Academy, who restricted him to small arenas and undercard appearances on bigger shows. Haye, who has charisma, power and ability, has all the attributes of a star. The exciting European champion now has the platform. But one hopes he isn’t ushered to quickly as the next Lennox Lewis, whom Maloney helped take to World heavyweight titles and the standing as the greatest heavyweight of his generation.

Tall and muscular, Haye would have a tremendous size advantage over many world class cruisers, especially Steve Cunningham, who is barely bigger than light heavyweights. But he’s yet to prove his stamina or punch resistance, having never been past five rounds, and needs to prove his skills, focus and stamina over the long haul. Furthermore, Haye is narrow framed, and his possible fragility that saw him dropped by super middleweight Lolenga Mock early in his career make his chances as a heavyweight seem dubious indeed.

One hopes that David won’t become the next Herbie Hide, the Brit who could easily have stayed at cruiser, whose mistake was to pack on excess weight to compete with the big boys. Herbie was a tremendous specimen and a wicked hitter, but he couldn’t compete with the big men, and seemed to get knocked insensible by punches that barely grazed him from Riddick Bowe (6’ 5, 241-lbs) and Vitali Klitschko (6’ 7, 245-lbs).

David’s next outing, a defense of his European title, suggests that cooler heads will prevail – for the moment. He faces number 12 ranked contender for his European cruiserweight title, Lasse Johansen, at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, on March 24.

IS TARVER REALLY THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT KING?

 

Antonio Tarver might carry The Ring’s version of the light heavyweight championship, but there are plenty of other claimants to the world title, the best of whom could well be the improving WBC champ Tomasz Adamek, coming off two mightily impressive wins over Paul ‘Hurricane’ Briggs and Thomas Ulrich.

Tarver might have beaten Roy Jones, but the man considered the true champion at 175-lbs has shockingly only made one successful defense of his crown. Although he beat plenty of good men on his gritty rise to the top, his resume certainly doesn’t hold up against Virgil Hill’s, Michael Spinks’ or Bob Foster’s.

While there is nothing in The Ring’s policy to stop Tarver’s appalling match with dethroned middleweight king Bernard Hopkins, two of the other top titleholders are at least making an effort to consolidate their position. A unification match between WBO and WBA kings Zsolt Erdei and Fabrice Tiozzo is in the works, and the winner will have as much a right to call himself The Man as anyone.

Britain’s Clinton Woods holds the IBF belt. Woods must face the still formidable Glen Johnson, in a rubber match (Johnson is thus far up 1-0-1) if he wants to keep the title – Johnson being his top contender.

Interestingly, Zsolt holds the lineal light heavyweight championship passed on from Hill to Michalczewski in 1997, and from Michalczewski to Julio Gonzalez in 2003, giving the matchup further prestige.

The fight is expected to take place in France, though the German based Erdei feels that Frenchman Tiozzo will gain no distinct advantage.

If the match between the jaded Tarver and the reluctant Hopkins threatens to drag PPV boxing’s name into the gutter with yet another negative counter punching match, Erdei-Tiozzo promises to be an exciting blend of styles that should be worth seeking out, whether online or on video afterward.  A precise and organized boxer, Zsolt’s last encounter with a come-forward brawler resulted in one of the best matchups of last year, when he rallied from the brink to stop Mehdi Sahnoune in thrilling twelve rounds.

Tiozzo brings pedigree with his aggression: the Frenchman’s first world title win came against Jamaican legend Mike McCallum, back in 1995. Fabrice effectively finished the Bodysnatcher as a world-class fighter. In what should be considered a remarkable piece of symmetry, he did the same with the phenomenally successful Dariusz Michalczewski, in February of 2005. Zsolt was on the undercard that night, barely outboxing Argentinean import Hugo Hernan Garay, in a rematch.

For Zsolt, it is also a big story. As when he challenged for his first ever belt, against Julio Gonzalez, the Hungarian is again trying to avenge the defeat of his idol, Michalczewski. Erdei, 31, did pretty well last time, winning nearly every round against Gonzalez, of California. But if Tiozzo, 36, is as good as he looked last time, it will be one story that doesn’t wear thin.