In nature, nothing can change a landscape any quicker than a devastating display of power. Destruction manifests itself through waves and eruptions, quakes and tropical storms, often leaving behind a very different setting to the one that was present before that power was unleashed.
The same thing can be said about boxing and a case in point would be the light heavyweight scene right now. A relatively serene stomping ground two weeks ago, the weight class has exploded with the emergence of Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev.
First Stevenson blew away the division’s kingpin Chad Dawson with a thunderous right hand on June 8th, sending tremors through the light heavyweight ranks in taking just over a minute to strip Dawson of his WBC and Ring Magazine titles. A week later came the aftershock, when Kovalev’s heavy rain from the East submerged Cornelius White in three rounds, to become number one contender for Bernard Hopkins’ IBF crown.
175lbs hasn’t seen a storm like this for years, not since Roy Jones Jr’s reign ended with blackouts to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, with Hopkins and Dawson emerging as the dominant forces in the division in recent times. As epitomised by their two meetings however, the light heavyweight scene has been lacking much-needed excitement for a while. But for Hopkins’ record-breaking accomplishments, little of note has taken place at 175 and as a result the division has been suffering from a perceived lack of depth.
The career of the WBA champion Beibut Shumenov has stagnated through inactivity and WBO titleholder Nathan Cleverley has been constantly derided for facing poor opposition, neither of which have been helping the image of the division and neither have world title eliminators like Tony Bellew’s two insipid affairs with Isaac Chilemba. Other names in the division, like Jean Pascal for example, have made few headlines, other than news of his cancelled fights with Tavoris Cloud and Lucian Bute through injury.
Pascal’s fight with Bute has been rescheduled, though not until December and neither man has much of an aura at present; Pascal is one win removed from his schooling by Hopkins in 2011 and Bute could well be damaged goods following his thrashing by Carl Froch at super middleweight last year. He hardly set tongues wagging with his uninspiring light heavyweight debut last November either, outpointing former kickboxer Denis Grachev.
As for Cloud, the unbeaten IBF champion until his loss to Hopkins in March, well he’d hardly been the poster boy for a glamour division. Also inactive, he hadn’t been enforcing his reputation as a big puncher with one stoppage win in the last five years. All in all, it was what looked like a pretty barren landscape.
All of a sudden however there is a buzz about the light heavyweight division once more and it’s down to the early knockouts we saw over recent weekends. Stevenson was making his debut at the weight moving up from super-middle and Kovalev, though a highly regarded contender for some time, was something of an unknown quantity to anyone other than the sport’s most ardent followers.
Each man’s devastating performance has garnered interest, as just like in nature, nothing changes boxing as quickly as that raw, natural force that is power. Excitement over potential match-ups is now brewing. The new lineal champion Stevenson has his options, with the pick of them being a unification bout with Hopkins, Kovalev also wants Hopkins, fans would no doubt love to see Kovalev-Stevenson. There’s also the promise that in the not too distant future Andre Ward will move up to light heavyweight, something that could now happen sooner rather than later with an intriguing challenge presented by the heavy hitters that have burst onto the scene.
Kovalev’s next assignment has already been finalised however as Nathan Cleverley’s team have succeeded in getting the Russian to Cardiff on August 17th, a title defence that should rid the Welshman of his ardent naysayers and for Kovalev the opportunity of course to become a world champion. The match-up is hopefully the first of many blockbusters in what all of a sudden looks like a stacked division.
Pascal-Bute may have gathered a head of steam by the time they eventually meet and will be a huge attraction in Canada. Who knows what’s next for Dawson or Cloud, if not each other? The likes of Bellew and Karo Murat are knocking on the door for a world title shot, with Hopkins and Stevenson ready to release the lock on the other side.
While a force of power in nature only leaves behind damage and destruction, power in boxing is a vital organ. In the last two weeks, it’s breathed life into a landscape that now doesn’t seem so barren after all.
