The Comeback of Heavyweight Boxing

by Sudeep Ghosh

After the retirement of numerous Heavyweight Boxing legends in the early 2000’s, it appeared that the sport would never reach the heights that it did in 90’s. This was mainly due to major Pay-Per-View attractions, such as Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. In fact the two aforementioned Heavyweights faced each other twice, garnering a total of 4,270,000 PPV buys over the two fights.  

In the mid-2000’s, the interest in Heavyweight boxing began to decline. It was dominated by the Klitschko brothers (Vitali and Wladimir), who, together, held every major Heavyweight Championship Belt for the better part of 10 years. Although both were highly skilled professionals, they failed to make themselves known as Box Office attractions.

This changed in 2017, when Wladimir Klitschko faced the new and upcoming talent, Anthony Joshua, at Wembley Stadium. Their thrilling battle, described by many as one of the best Heavyweight contests in recent times, ended with the Englishman, Joshua, emerging victorious in his home country. The fight was seen as a ‘passing of the torch’ between a veteran, and legend of the sport and the new face of Heavyweight boxing.

Since their classic fight, interest in the sport has increased rapidly, with many exciting and bold personalities emerging. Anthony Joshua leads a powerful Heavyweight roster including fellow Brit, Tyson Fury and current American champion, Deontay Wilder. Both of these men are scheduled to fight each other in a highly anticipated clash on 1st December.

Although the division is not as prominent as it was in the late 90’s, the popularity is certainly growing, with many recent Heavyweight fights recording over 1 million PPV buys in the UK. British boxing in particular is growing rapidly, with Joshua reigning Heavyweight champion, and Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Lee Selby are World champions in other weight divisions.