 "Photo: AP")
Wladimir Klitschko is the heavyweight champion of the world.
Well, not exactly.
He only holds the IBF and IBO heavyweight title belts, while Sultan Ibragimov from Russia has the WBO title. Oleg Maskaev is the WBC's title holder, and Ruslan Chagaev from Uzbekistan holds it for the WBA.
Confused? Me too.
I'm willing to bet that the majority of you have never heard of any of those so-called champions, and if you have, you probably only know Klitschko. Don't feel bad, though; I had to look them up too.
I've tried to figure out what exactly each three-letter organization means to the sport and which, if any, of those fighters are even decent.
My conclusion: Klitschko is the only one worth knowing, and you might not even want to actually watch his fights; just Google the results.
Remember the days when the heavyweight division was deep and actually meant something? Holyfield wasn't the only big name reeling in dough for the weight class. Tyson and Foreman gave the champ some competition, and the Riddick Bowe saga made for good entertainment.
Even Larry Holmes was a pretty good fighter.
I tried to watch Klitschko's TKO over Lamon Brewster Saturday, but had to turn it off after the fifth round. Brewster's footwork was horrendous, leaving him to be eaten alive by Klitschko's jab. Saying the match was boring would be a gross understatement.
But, as of now, that's the heavyweight division. Big guys with no footwork or agility. A guy like Klitschko who knows how to use his jab effectively can easily dominate the weight class. It'll be a boring reign, but a commanding reign nonetheless. Klitschko is undoubtedly the best heavyweight and could easily unify the belts to become the undisputed champion of a lackluster division.
So what's preventing him? It's not the competition.
Klitschko seems to be willing to do it, but the other title holders are hesitant. Any heavyweight going up against Klitschko will be a heavy underdog, not necessarily because Klitschko is a great fighter, but because everyone in the division is so sub-par.
And they know that. They'd lose their belts and, most importantly, a ton of money.
A unification run by Klitschko would add a little excitement to the heavyweights - maybe even the sport in general - but that's not going to happen. There's too much money to lose.
The promoters figure they're better off waiting for the next Tyson to show up and revitalize the division than ending the alphabet soup confusion and promoting a unification bout.
What they need to realize is Tyson's successor isn't coming. This supposed savior will probably end up in jail long before he ever picks up a pair of gloves.
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