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Unus Alladin

The heavyweight division will have to wait until the retirements of the Klitschko brothers before it can regain its glamour,  says American Tor Hamer.
Vitali Klitschko, 42, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion and younger brother Wladimir, 37, the World Boxing Association (WBA) champion have dominated the division for years and no American fighter has been able to match the pair. 
Expect another year before it gets interesting, according to New Yorker Hamer.
Hamer, who will fight fellow American heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jnr on the undercard of The Clash in Cotai  tomorrow, said it "wasn't the fault of the Klitschkos' that the heavyweight division is at such a low ebb".
There has been little interest in the division since the retirements of  big drawcards such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.  
"The key players in the [heavyweight] division aren't as important to the consumer as Manny Pacquiao is. There is no American heavyweight doing the kind of things the Klitschkos are doing," said Penn State-educated Hamer, 30.
"If you look at the division in respect to the Americans' viewpoint, they don't find them [Klitschkos] interesting. They are not very exciting fighters. They are not destroying people like Tyson was years ago. While the Klitschkos are dominating, they are not fun to watch.
"They don't knock guys down within two rounds. They are not big trash talkers. They are both educated fighters. One has a doctorate, the other one is involved in politics. You know they don't have the national appeal that you would have with [Floyd] Mayweather, who is in your face all the time.
"They are on the other side of the planet and they just don't have the interest level for the average consumer. Now that being said, if you take them out of the equation, if you just have everyone below them, you actually have a pretty flat level, which always makes it a pretty competitive environment."
Hamer said American heavyweight prospects Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury could help "fill in the void" once the Ukrainian brothers leave the sport.
But Hamer said the Klitschkos got to the top because they "deserved everything they got". "It's not their fault that they're fighting in a division and time where there isn't much competition.  
"Once they retire, you're going to have a very open field and a lot of great interesting matches. You're going to see the American boxers start coming back and having an interesting time. You're going to have a lot of Americans from other sports take the opportunity, such as football players or basketball players, who couldn't make the cut in their sport and pick boxing and say 'oh, I can do this too'."
"You are going to have a lot more six-foot-seven Americans participating because there will be a lot of Americans and not so much talent. When the vacuum becomes available you will have an influx of talent. Right now, it's closed off and you don't really hear much about the heavyweight division."
Hamer said Pacquiao was hugely successful because he had "mass appeal" to the market.
"The only way you can have that is if you have competitive fights. You see them fighting for a belt and for millions of dollars. It's interesting because he [Pacquiao] has competition. If you have the Klitschkos knock everybody else out, nobody cares because the average US consumer doesn't find it interesting."  
Hamer was looking forward to his  clash with Ruiz. "It's the biggest card I have been on, definitely. It doesn't get bigger than  [Pacquiao] aside from Floyd [Mayweather]."
Ruiz says he is confident of a knockout victory. "He's [Hamer] a pretty good fighter. He moves around and he's pretty fast just like Joe Hanks, the last boxer I fought [in Macau, which Ruiz won in four rounds]. I hope to do the same thing as my last fight ... throw the jabs and the combinations like I do and entertain the people," said the 24-year-old "Destroyer" who is 20-0-0.
"I just have to throw the combinations and everything will follow through. I must use my speed. I know we are both pretty fast. I'm pretty sure he'll be moving around and that he won't be standing still exchanging punches with me. But if he does that, I think that will be even better for me," he said.


Once Klitschkos go, the heavyweight division will regain its glory: Hamer

Vitali Klitschko (left) is the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion and brother Vladimir the World Boxing Association champion. Photo: Reuters

Heavyweight Tor Hamer will fight fellow heavyweight Andy Ruiz on the undercard of The Clash in Cotai. Photo: Unus Alladin

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American Tor Hamer says heavyweight division will bounce back as fighters waiting in the wings emerge after Ukrainian brothers retire


Once Klitschkos go, the heavyweight division will regain its glory: Hamer

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}American Tor Hamer says heavyweight division will bounce back as fighters waiting in the wings emerge after Ukrainian brothers retire

American Tor Hamer says heavyweight division will bounce back as fighters waiting in the wings emerge after Ukrainian brothers retire