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On December 11, boxing may have been
lucky enough to witness a gift of sorts to
the cruiserweight Division, when Tomasz
Adamek met Steve Cunningham for the IBF
version of the division's title and fans
were treated to a bout between two of
boxing's top superstars.
Individually, Adamek, a multi-division
champion known for his durability, tough
chin and willingness to let out all the
stops to win and Cunningham, a consummate
professional in the ring who possesses a
superb jab, ring generalship and all the
fundamentals desired in any fighter, make
for a great showing in any bout they enter
into but in the ring together, they
elevated things to a whole new level.
It is no secret that the light
heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight
divisions have left a little more to be
desired over the last few years.
The light heavyweight division contains
the many high profile names such as Joe
Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson,
Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, but has
produced disappointing bouts between the
circles.
Heavyweight boxing has been on the
decline for the last four years and
outside of the Klitschko brothers, there
to this day remain no real superstars.
David Haye, the former cruiserweight
kingpin, has started to become more of a
sideshow with his taunts of the Brothers
Grimm, and his bout with Monte Barrett did
little to make fans celebrate his arrival
to the division.
Adamek and Cunningham are in a position
right now to help resurrect the sport
among the big men; it has been a long time
since a rivalry of worth has taken place
above the 160 lb weight class, and in the
cruiserweight division, the closest thing
to a top series of showdowns was the
exchange of wins between Jean Marc Mormeck
and O'Neil Bell in 2006 and 2007.
Not since Evander Holyfield faced
Dwight Muhammad Qawi in the late 1980's
has there been a rivalry in the
cruiserweight class that has had fans
excited over the division's existence.
Steve Cunningham and Tomasz Adamek have
the chance to bring that excitement back
to the upper weight classes. The two men
have the skills to make another bout
between them desirable, and in my opinion,
I believe one more fight between the two
may not even be enough to truly decide who
is the better of the duo, they are that
closely matched.
A rematch between these two men is not
only warranted and not only one the fans
deserve to see, but it is one that could
be the signature of cruiserweight boxing's
history.
I for one await the announcement.
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