Mirra, I know what you mean about the heavyweight division getting all the attention in the general press. I know basically fuck all about boxing, and have genuinely enjoyed reading scanning this thread, and now even taken to persuing the boxing section in bbc sport.
One reason for people (ie the general public) not being interested in the lower weights is that there are simply too many, and, they are different in amateur and pro boxing. I still haven't a clue how many there are, my guess is (without google or anything):
Fly, Feather, Bantam, Super Bantam, Welter, Super Welter, Middle, Heavy Middle, Cruiser and Heavy. I've probably missed a couple and made a couple up, let alone the order. Then there is also all this bollocks about four different belts in each division, which to a layman is plain farsical, and it seems to hold almost no bearing on who is the best boxer. I read some peolpe thniking Wilko (or something) was the best pound for pound boxer in the World, and him not even having a single belt. I mean, what the fuck is that about ? Then there is also the obvious twats of agents and promoters, not to mention rumours of fixing and people are just disillusioned with it all, and find it too complex.
If they could knock it down to something sensible like five weight divisions (Didn't people like De La Hoya hold belts in six weight classes anyway, not to mention that pretty boy kid already having risen through three classes to find someone who could give him a fight?), with one World Title belt in each division then the press, and the general public might get more interested. Sure, you can also have national champions and continental champions below the world champ, but otherwise, honestly, it is simply too hard to follow. I would no clue if I was paying 8 quid to sky on a pay per view bout for what was likely to be a three round massacre or a twelve round classic, and the advertising is anything but clear. Calzage is bigged up massively on TV, as was Hamed, but apparently nobody outside these shores takes them seriously because they duck anyone who could conceivably beat them like a bunch of pussies.
Anyway, that's my rant. If you want media coverage, you have to make the sport media friendly. I know it's not simple, but you can't have it both ways.
Also, the reason a heavyweight is so popular is because any of the smaller blokes who went into the ring against them would lose. It is hardly Klitschkos (sp?) fault that none in the whole world is as good at boxing as him (not in a pound for pound sense, in an actual fight sense), yet he gets derided as a crap champion. That strikes me as simply not fair. There is every chance with todays training techniques that someone like him would pummel Ali.
