There was a time when you had no need to think about who the best heavyweight in the world was, the answer came instantaneously, like Tuesday follows Monday… Muhammad Ali! George Foreman! Mike Tyson!  But in the present state of play such a question presents us with a long pause, and a choice that  sends a zillion names dashing through our opinionated minds.  

Prospects become promising contenders, Contenders hopefully become one of two things: good quality trusty marquee names or eventual Championship Challengers who then make that final leap to becoming solid upstanding Champions, turning existing champions into deposed former champions that move down the food chain and become quality testing ground for other escalating contenders, and so on in the time honored tradition. Only this generation of champions from another era has been allowed to exist well past their prime to keep our fresher talent from thriving towards top honors. Like our gardens we have to cut the old dead weeds and foliage away to encourage the brighter newer flowers to bloom, but last time I looked  the heavyweight garden needed serious aid of a florist and some of Jack's beanstalk seeds to rejuvenate it.

We may not have one dominant Champion for a while now so we have to make the most of the matches that can be made from the talented array of heavyweight Promise around today to maintain a healthy public interest. Promise we have an abundance of, great champions we don't have; good entertaining potential match-ups we may have, and that may be what we are faced with for the time being. We survived the mid-eighties in similar circumstances so we can damn well survive today's state of play.

My next pick are just two of the fighters we may see upping the ante in future months to make our heavyweights richer in talent. Maybe our next hope will come in the form of 2000 Olympic champion Audley Harrison. Unbeaten so far but untested in higher class, Audley can hit extremely hard and set up very well thought out attack using combinations to move fluently for a man with his physical dimensions. Can he be a Champion by 2006? Yes, if he applies himself and continues down the road of which he is traveling. Good handlers and clever matchmaking can put him firmly in the forefront of contenders.    

Nigerian Samuel Peter has a chance of blazing onto the scene sometime soon. He sometimes seems to rely on raw power, but so did Mike Tyson 18 years ago, and he had a very well established reign of terror, didn't he? It appears to be seen, like Audley he is capable of great things, whether he will aspire to realize them is another matter. The problem with prospects is that they need time and I am Impatient for a quick fix to quench my thirst for a dominant force to become the Torch carrier of the heavyweight division.

Contenders, Current Champions and Belt Holders Examined. Promising Prospects Graded, Any Other Business...

One man that springs to mind as ready to enjoy an Indian summer now that Emperor Lewis has vacated the throne is Polish enigma Andrew Golota. who re-entered the headlines from the wilderness a few months ago to challenge hard to beat IBF Champion Chris Byrd. In my humble opinion -if my eyes did not deceive me- he out worked the belt holder over 12 and definitely should be valued on that performance as dangerous enough to see off many of our usual suspects. No one in his right mind would relish meeting the one time Foul Pole in the squared circle. Lewis and Tyson apart, who really has handed Andrew his head in a Championship bout? Given that he doesn't beat himself first,  Golotas' tools are top class.  He made Riddick Bowe walk like John Wayne twice; sadly it was through well aimed groin work. Andrew Golota still deserves a mention. I leave it there...

My final list is comprised of the many names that should and could feature in the coming months but didn't get the space in this particular series of articles.  They are all very serious fighters that I consider on the rise: Jamaican Owen Beck , Philadelphian Gerald Nobles, Malik Scott, Nigerian-Canadian David Defiagbon , Monte Barrett are multi-skilled pugilists that may get a major break in 2005, God willing.

Without a dominant Champion to steer it,  boxing's richest prize may be a land of opportunity for all concerned. I don't consider it a redundant division, there are too many willing, working, warriors active in the division to brand it redundant. Enriched with Championship material?  Uninspired I truly am..
 

***Editor's Note: This article is one in a series of three... Please don't forget to read the other two chapters:

• THE SEARCH FOR HEAVYWEIGHT SUPREMACY CONTINUES: THE BELT HOLDERS (PART I)
   

• THE SEARCH FOR HEAVYWEIGHT SUPREMACY CONTINUES: YOUNG GUNS AND O.P.'S  (PART II)

Questions? Comments? Write Stephen Jones

Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004