Jhantae Jones Jr.
Staff Writer
Boxing, the sweet science, has had its effect on the mainstream media for many decades, and for many of those decades, the heavyweight division has been the most prominent division of them all. The heavyweight division has given us the likes of Ali, Frazier, Tyson, Holyfield, and many more; the division has also spawned some of the most iconic movies ever that featured heavyweights.
Movies such as Rocky have paved the way for heavyweights and boxing’s mainstream success, however nowadays things have changed. Back in 2018 would be the last time the heavyweight division was jam-packed with excitement from its top competitors. We had a definitive big three that included: Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua, while also having many other notable competitors to shake things up as well. Despite having fresh fighters, we never ended up getting even half of those, and to this day we never got what could’ve been the biggest modern-day Thrilla in Manila match-up in Wilder Vs. Joshua; both of them were devastating KO artists and undefeated… now both of them have lost a drastic amount of their hype with some losses.
Though the heavyweight division is starting to pick up bits of traction here and there nowadays, it’s still not the same as it was in the late 2010s, and it isn’t what it was in the 70s to 90s. Fans have now been reliant on the lower weight classes for entertainment. In the 2000s to even the early 2020s it was the welterweight division that was star-studded and dominant across media, and then even the lightweights took over in popularity too. Recent events though, such as the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the world- Terence Crawford moving up from welterweight to super welterweight and collecting a belt against Israel Madrimov on August 24th of this year, has sparked up some new interest in the 154-pound division.
With Crawford now being a current champion at super welterweight, this draws many eyes to who may be his next potential opponent at the division, from having a unification rematch with the popular Errol Spence Jr. to maybe even potentially jumping up to Super middleweight to fight Canelo Alvarez in a super fight for what would’ve been for the undisputed title at that weight, had Canelo not had been stripped of one of his belts which takes away his undisputed status.
I don’t think Crawford should even look in Canelo’s direction since his last outing against Madrimov showed some of his vulnerability in these higher weight classes, then having to jump up 2 more weight classes against the king of that division after only having 1 fight in a much lower class that was a struggle enough is insane.
If he’s looking just to get the payday, which many people think is the case, then he should do it, but it’s likely not going to end well. Besides the Crawford debacle, we also have a big match-up with the returning Errol Spence Jr vs Sebastian Fundora early next year for a title, as well as former undisputed 154 champion- Jermell Charlo announcing his return after over a year of layoff.
The division is stacked and has much potential, and we are starting to get some excellent matchups and drama. Just about a week ago, one of the bogeymen of the division- Tim Tszyu got brutally knocked out by a relatively unknown Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF championship in a surprising twist. If you want excitement, then the 154 pound division is the one you want to keep your eyes on.
