The heavyweight division is synonymous with knockout artists and young contenders rising through the ranks and making headlines.
It has happened many times before. World Boxing News has no hesitation in hoping that a Mike Tyson-style superpower will finally walk through boxing’s door.
Forty years later, this still hasn’t happened.
Not since “The Baddest Man on the Planet” has a top-flight puncher set the sport on fire and created a stir that could galvanize all of his fans.
In a world of social media, one can only imagine what kind of trend explosion someone of Tyson’s youth, power and devastating finishes could generate.
However, another of those potential stars recently disintegrated when six-foot-six-inch Arslanbek Makhmudov turned out to be a stretch job.
Heavy weight drop
“The Lion” showed little of his talented nickname. He ran out of gas and was detained on the “Doomsday” bill in Saudi Arabia. The little-known Agit Kabayel exposed his high WBC ranking in less than four rounds.
Looking robotic and hapless, Makhmudov was eliminated by the now former European Heavyweight Champion. At 34 years old, he has a long road back ahead of him.
Defeats like the one Makhmudov suffered in Saudi Arabia can devastate the years of building an unbeaten top division puncher behind him.
Promoters and managers like Eye of the Tiger and later Top Rank put a lot of power behind the brand. They were selling a failed potential future champion with great power in his fists.
What could have gone wrong that night has yet to be outlined. It was evident that Makhmudov looked like the shell of the promised boxer after years of cranking up the PR machine.
A fight with Jared Anderson seems to be out of the question until the Russian makes some attempt at redemption. But it’s scary to realize that Tyson Fury could have selected Makhmudov for a voluntary WBC title shot at any time in the last eighteen months.
I wasn’t prepared for that. His number four ranking exposed a clear lack of depth in the 200+ pound weight class.
lack of enthusiasm
Beyond Fury, Anthony Joshua and number one Oleksandr Usyk, there is little to write home about in what is supposed to be the glamor division.
Makhkudov joins a long list of “future world champions” who see their abilities called into question following the promise of someone who could terrorize the biggest names.
Daniel Dubois was given similar preparation compared to Tyson himself. The simple fact is that the Londoner needed much more time than he had been given.
Joe Joyce stopped him before Usyk ended his world title challenge. But he was a far cry from anything Tyson had ever accomplished.
Efe Ajagba, Cassius Chaney, Olympic champion Tony Yoka and Zhan Kossobutskiy are just a few others who have walked Makhmudov’s path.
Lenier Pero, Moses Itauma and ‘The Real Big Baby’ Anderson remain aboard the hype train.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
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