There has been much talk in the boxing community about the need to add a super heavyweight division. Athletes in every sport are bigger and stronger, and that's especially evident when looking at boxing's big boys.

	Whether it's Evander Holyfield, Joe Mesi or Hasim Rahman, things look bad in the heavyweight division.

Rocky Marciano was 5-foot-11 and about 185 pounds when he was heavyweight champ. Muhammad Ali stood 6-3 but weighed only 220 pounds in his prime. Remember that monster Sonny Liston? He was 6-1 and 214 pounds when he won the title.

Proponents of the super heavyweight class point to 6-5, 245-pound champ Lennox Lewis, the towering Klitschko brothers and other titans who are becoming the norm. Advocates can argue it's patently unfair for these Goliaths to fight a David who, since the institution of the cruiserweight division in 1979, could weigh as few as 191 pounds.

I have a better idea.

Instead of adding a bigger heavyweight division, let's just abolish the one we already have.

The heavyweight landscape is in sad shape. It has been for 25 years, since Larry Holmes beat Ken Norton to usher in an era dreary enough to make Edgar Allan Poe blush. Only three great champions have emerged since Holmes became champ -- Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis -- and even they have significant flaws.

The division is about to get worse, maybe even uglier than it was in the 1980s, when we were forced to accept champions such as John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee, Pinklon Thomas, Greg Page and Tony Tubbs.

It was tough to call them Champ without puking, but get ready to wretch all over again.

The heavyweights who were any good are broken down shells of their former selves. Many of the top contenders are grossly overrated. The most notable prospects are mediocre at best.

Sam Langford must be spinning in his grave, which by definition of mere movement would get him a shot at the WBO's vacant belt.

	Pound for pound list
	Tim Graham's top 15: 1. Roy Jones Jr. 2. Marco Antonio Barrera 3. Bernard Hopkins 4. Kostya Tszyu 5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. 6. Shane Mosley 7. Oscar De La Hoya 8. Ricardo Mayorga 9. Erik Morales 10. Lennox Lewis 11. James Toney 12. Oscar Larios 13. Eric Morel 14. Rafael Marquez 15. Juan Marquez

Lewis is 38 years old and all but retired. The WBC champ looked suddenly old when he eked out a victory over Vitali Klitschko in June. Some would say Lewis' performance was the result of lazy training. What's closer to the truth is Lewis' legs are shot, and he couldn't properly train regardless of desire.

Holyfield, who will turn 41 soon, should bypass a rocking chair and go straight for one of those old-folks scooters. He might as well visit www.domorehealthcare.com and, for about $2,500, purchase models known as The Victory and The Rally because that's the only way he'll be associated with those words after getting humbled by James Toney earlier this month.

Tyson ... well, he's Tyson. The 37-year-old miscreant is about as predictable as a white tiger working in a magic show. Mike's next performance could be in a wrestling ring, a cage or the New York Yankees' bullpen.

After that trio, the star power dims considerably.

WBA champ Roy Jones Jr. decided not to defend his title and has dropped back down to light heavyweight. Heaven forbid he do something admirable to cement his legacy.

Nobody gives a damn about IBF champ Chris Byrd, who lost what little allure he had when Fres Oquendo beat him everywhere but on the scorecards.

Corrie Sanders recently gave up his WBO belt. The underrated South African could have capitalized in royal fashion after jolting Wladimir Klitschko in March. But Sanders' window of opportunity slammed shut faster than Rush Limbaugh could say "Great White Hope."

The top contenders are somewhat talented, but from a historical standpoint they're nothing special. Vitali Klitschko will fight Kirk Johnson on Dec. 6, and Hasim Rahman will face John Ruiz one week later for the WBA belt Jones vacated. John Ruiz? Didn't we get rid of him already?

David Tua's considered to be one fight from the title -- just like he has been for the past seven years. Tua needed only 19 seconds to beat Ruiz, by the way. And let's not forget that Shannon Briggs and Andrew Golota are still active. Whoop dee doo.

Oh, Butterbean ... where art thou?

Ike Ibeabuchi might be the best heavyweight in the world right now, and he hasn't fought since stopping Byrd in March of 1999. Ibeabuchi is in a Nevada prison, serving up to 20 years for attempt to commit sexual assault. The explosive Nigerian could get paroled June 30, 2005. He'll be only 32 then.

At least we always have the ever-promising horizon to gaze upon in our quest for the next great heavyweight champion until Ibeabuchi "rehabilitates" himself.

(Cue the rolling tumbleweeds.)

There is no pool of emerging heavyweight superstars.

There's no foundation of Hispanic fighters -- the lifeblood of the lower divisions and the biggest reason the sport hasn't died out altogether -- bolstering the heavyweight ranks.

And the Olympics, despite having a super heavyweight division, haven't foreshadowed a professional world champ since 1988, the year Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer and Golota all won medals.

Audley Harrison of Great Britain won the super heavyweight gold medal in 2002, and the hearts of his boxing-mad countrymen swelled with so much pride they started calling him Fraudley. As much as he's working against a negative perception at home, Harrison is working against the clock. He can't afford to carefully plot his pro career like many fresh-faced Olympians. He will turn 32 later this month.

The situation is that bad. Even the heavyweight up-and-comers are borderline fogies.

A card that featured eight heavyweight prospects took place Sept. 27 in Buffalo. HBO showed the top six bouts, but refused to call the event "The Night of the Young Heavyweights," as co-promoters Lou DiBella and Tony Holden were hailing it.

The average age of the heavyweights on the televised portion of the card was 29 years, six months -- or a few months younger than Ibeabuchi. DaVarryl Williamson, who fought Joe Mesi in the main event, turned 35 in July.

"I don't know if there's someone on this dais that has the potential to dominate the division for seven, eight, nine, 10 years," DiBella said at a news conference to promote the event. "There's no savior on the dais. These guys aren't 22 years old, so they won't have a 10-year career at the top. But that being said there are some amazing fights to come out of this card.

"I expect somebody from this care to emerge and become a star. A Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield star? Maybe not. But a star."

Who were these top prospects? Apparently some of the fighters didn't even know.

Two of the fighters haven't been able to decide what to call themselves. Sinan Samil Sam, a Turk now fighting out of Germany, was known as Sinan Samilsan as an amateur. Records can't confirm if he ever went by "Son of Sam." Sergei Liakhovich (a.k.a. Serguei Lyakhovich), a Belarusian now fighting out of suburban Phoenix, used to fight under the surname Petrovich.

In no way is Dominick Guinn a household name, but he clearly had the biggest night. He bludgeoned Duncan Dokiwari, a hulk who fought valiantly in bloody defeat.

Guinn (23-0, 17 KOs) would appear to have the brightest future of these -- ahem -- young heavyweights. At 28 he's relatively young. He is trained by Ronnie Shields and Mark Breland, managed by Shelly Finkel and promoted by Main Events. Not a bad support team.

Mesi, however, emerged as the flavor of the next few months. He beat the 209-pound Williamson in 97 seconds, which would be impressive if Williamson didn't move around the ring as through he were wearing high heels.

Mesi (27-0, 25 KOs), because of his huge local fan base and padded record, has drawn HBO's interest. He can go as far as HBO wants him to go, and with Lewis all but retired and the rest of the division in shambles the network needs someone to fill a gaping void. Mesi will appear on the network again Dec. 6 against perennial fringe contender Monte Barrett.

Also on Sept. 27: Former WBC cruiserweight champ Juan Carlos Gomez scored a slick unanimous decision over Son of Sam; Liakhovich had trouble with Mesi sparring partner James Walton; powerful Samuel Peter bombed overmatched tub of goo Jason Farley.

If this is the future of the heavyweight division we would all be better off trying to convince Don Zimmer and Pedro Martinez to make a rematch.

Gomez (37-0, 31 KOs) released an open letter to the Mesi camp in the days afterward, proposing a grudge match that could be interesting. Gomez is promoted by Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing, which used to handle Mesi before a nasty lawsuit ended the relationship.

Mesi ripped Gomez in an interview with HBO commentator Larry Merchant. Gomez responded by writing "Don't fool yourself, everyone knows exactly why you are being given opportunities on HBO and it sure isn't because of your boxing ability. On his worst day, Gerry Cooney would have used you as a sparring partner. ... I will fight you anytime, anywhere on a day's notice."

Ah, playground antics.

Unfortunately for fans of the heavyweight division, that's about all they have right now.

And it looks like that's about all they'll get for a long, long time.

Tim Graham covers boxing for The Buffalo News.