These matchups would top dandy fight cards in 2003
Contra Costa Times - December 28, 2002
Many of these suggested bouts are in the hands of promoters Boxing notebox
IF THE PROMOTERS somehow could be taken out of the equation, here are some fights that boxing fans would love to see in 2003.
Lennox Lewis-Wladimir Klitschko: In some ways, this kind of reminds me of Gerry Cooney against Larry Holmes, a bout that Holmes won by TKO in 1982. At the time, Holmes was a dominating champion and Cooney was a guy who beat up a bunch of past-their-prime fighters. No one was sure if Cooney was a fraud, even though his power looked devastating at times.
Although Holmes wore down Cooney, the challenger proved he did have some solid skills. It's hard to tell how good Klitschko might be since he hasn't faced a Mike Tyson or an Evander Holyfield. He does have a victory over Chris Byrd, who just made Holyfield look old and slow.
Klitschko is a big fighter (6-foot-6) with long arms and a pretty good jab. He has solid hand quickness but shows little movement with his legs. That might not hurt him too much against Lewis, who is comfortable most of the time walking around with his opponent. Both fighters have power, so the bout probably wouldn't go the distance.
Although Lewis is preparing to fight Klitschko's brother, Vitaly, he has stated that he would like to face Wladimir, the better of the two brothers, before he retires. It could be as early as late 2003, which would make boxing fans giddy.
Tyson-David Tua: These two heavyweight bombers can't handle guys who stick and move anymore, so why not put them together? They could tap gloves in the center of the ring and then batter each other until only one is left standing. If fight fans loved the Micky Ward-Arturo Gatti fights, they would flip over this matchup. Tyson has a very difficult bout against Cliff Etienne scheduled for Feb. 22, and Tua is scheduled to get together with Hasim Rahman on March 8.
Both fighters easily could lose those bouts, but fight fans probably wouldn't care. Tyson-Tua could go pay-per-view and the bet here is that it would rake in the loot. Unfortunately, this bout is probably a long shot for this year. Tyson knows that his reputation can't stand more losing and facing Tua would be a big risk.
Tua probably would be in favor of the bout because he would be paid handsomely, but he also has to consider his ranking if he beats Rahman, a win that could propel him into a mandatory title shot position.
Dariusz Michalczewski-Roy Jones: You've got to feel sorry for Jones, who simply lacks an adequate foil to become cemented in our thoughts as one of the best fighters ever. Instead of facing Michalczewski, who appears to be the only boxer in his division who would test him, Jones has to move to heavyweight to participate in somewhat of a freak show.
Jones is going to face John Ruiz on March 1, probably with the thought that Ruiz isn't the kind of banger who could damage him. If he wins that bout, he will get (float-like-a-butterfly, peck-like a) Byrd later in the year. Unfortunately, Jones' calling should be to become the best light heavyweight or super middleweight we've seen.
He is taking the money instead, presumably to purchase an NBA franchise to enable him to play basketball alongside Jason Richardson. Fight fans should remember that Michael Moorer blew up to heavyweight to chase dollar bills and upset Holyfield to win the title for a brief time.
Unfortunately for Moorer, in the grand scheme of heavyweights, he rates right up there with guys like Tim Witherspoon. That's not to diminish his accomplishment, but the fact is that he could have been the best light heavyweight ever.
Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins: Calzaghe, the WBO champ from Wales, is somewhat of an unknown fighter in the United States, a guy who has been fed a string of opponents whose only job is to make him look good on cable TV. Still, most boxing publications rate him as the best super middleweight in the world, even above the very talented Eric Lucas, who holds the WBC belt.
Looking around at middleweight, there doesn't seem to be an adequate opponent for Hopkins, who easily should be able to handle a rise in class. The problem here is that Hopkins is a satisfied boxer who doesn't care what people think of him. He understands that boxing is all about money, and that he can make lots of it fighting guys he can handle easily. It would take a major offer to get Hopkins in the ring with Calzaghe.
Kostya Tszyu-Floyd Mayweather: What a wonderful gift this one would be to boxing fans, who would be watching two of the world's top pound-for-pound fighters at their peak. Mayweather is a strong, solidly built fighter who should be able to stand the rise to 140 pounds. Tszyu has proved he has the skills to handle opponents who have tremendous speed (Zab Judah). Lightweights such as Leonard Dorin and Paul Spadafora would claim they can handle Mayweather, but he is truly the class of that division. Let's hope promoter Bob Arum can find a way to pull this one off.
