Am I the only one who does not care if David Haye comes back? He is a talented and accomplished fighter, who on a good night can beat almost any heavyweight, but let us not fall for this again. He is a hype man and promoter, who loves the spotlight. It does not mean his body is any different. He will tease us again, but likely quit before any big fights are made. Fool me once, fool me three times, you know the rest.
130 lbs and 112 lbs were invisible divisions in the USA until last year. Roman Gonzalez has people talking about flyweight once again. A rematch with Estrada, or a fight with Japanese phenom Inoue, Chinese star Shiming, or his unbeaten conqueror Ruenroung, are all possibilities that keep the 112 lb-ers in our minds. At 130lbs, the activity is already fierce. With Salido-Martinez 1 and 2, Vargas-Miura, Nicolas Walters entry, and the Pedraza-Cherry controversy, the junior feathers are interesting again.
Speaking of the 130lbers, as much as I want to see more fights between Vargas-Miura, Salido-Martinez, as well as new fights involving Fortuna, Pedraza, and Walters, let's be honest: Uchiyama probably beats them all, and has already beaten Miura. With all the Japanese fighters making the trip stateside lately, why has this amazing fighter not been featured? Get on that, would you, Bob or Al? His style, power, and skill has better odds of anyone else except Inoue becoming our first crossover Japanese boxing star.
Speaking of Bob and Al, it's impressive that they still remain atop the promotional heap in the USA. Between Golden Boy, Goossen, Shaw, Tyson, Main Events, and so many others that peak and valley in our sport, the big two have remained as such for quite a while now. They do so by signing the best, paying the best, monopolizing TV time, and reinventing themselves over and over. It may not always be fair to the little guy, but business itself rarely is.
Speaking of business interests, catch-weights are indeed annoying, and a recent addition to the "how can my guy get the upper hand" battle that has always raged on in boxing negotiations, but there may be an upside. Weight divisions alone are an obnoxious part of the sanctioning bodies power, and confusion among fight fans. Maybe the catch-weights are devaluing them. If that continues, maybe it will be a situation of each fight having a different weight negotiation. And if that is the case, how do you assign belts to that?
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com