About a month ago, current WBA heavyweight champ David Haye beat former heavyweight champ John Ruiz in a fight that had boxing fans around the world on the edge of boredom and indifference. A couple of weeks before that, IBF and WBO heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko put the world to sleep for 11 rounds before dispatching the world's fourth rated heavyweight into the night in round 12.
This Saturday, WBC title holder Vitali Klitschko will fight Albert Sosnowski in a fight that will make headlines in Bavaria, Frankfort, and parts of Mongolia.
Afterwards, Klitschko says he and his brother both want to fight David Haye. Hopefully, he's talking about separate bouts.
This is the current state of the heavyweight division.
These three competitors realize that the heavyweight division is at its nadir. All three of these guys know they need to start working as hard on promotion as they do on their well toned bodies.
But considering that Vitali will perform in front of 50,000 adoring German fans like his brother did two months ago, and Haye regularly fills the 20,000 capacity M.E.N. Arena in Manchester and the Q2 in London, they might not understand why they need to care about the rest of the world.
It's hard to see the six billion person forest when 50,000 trees are blocking your view.
In the case of the Klitschko brothers, I actually think they're correct in continuing on their current paths.
It's probably too late for them to try and win over the rest of the world, and they don't really need to do so. They're in the twilight of their careers, they've made millions, and they're national heroes in both their native Ukraine and in Germany where they currently reside.
David Haye, on the other hand, is a young fighter with an exciting style.
Does he really want to be the heavyweight version of Joe Calzaghe? Calzaghe is a great fighter who didn't make the truly big money until late in his career and he still has a hard time getting a decent table outside of Wales.
If I was Haye, I would take a look at what Amir Khan has done. Find a way to switch to an American promoter (Golden Boy or Goossen-Tutor would be good fits) and start fighting in the states.
I would fight a couple of top 10 contenders in Vegas or at Staples Arena in LA and get people excited. Then he could fight Vitali Klitschko in a year or so when the aging Klitschko will probably be beatable.
That could set up the heavyweight division's first mega-fight in years: a showdown between a Wladimir and and the man who slayed his brother.
I know, I know. That's a lot of ifs. Either way, Haye would be better off showing off his exciting style in the US instead of in Europe.
The fact is, the US may have lost some of its luster after the banking crisis and our difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But make no mistake. The good old US of A is still the major league when it comes to boxing. The USA is the Alpha, the Omega, and everything in between.
Manny Pacquiao wouldn't have become an international sensation if he hadn't come to the US to fight and train. Ricky Hatton is a bigger draw as a twice beaten former champ after fighting in the US than he ever would have been as an undefeated fighter in Great Britain.
That's why David Haye would be smart to make the move now while he's still young.
It would be good for Haye and good for boxing. He could light a fire in the moribund heavyweight division and that translates to a wider audience for boxing as a whole.
If not, he can continue to fight in Europe and wonder why he doesn't get the respect he thinks he deserves.
Or he can fight the Klitschkos in Germany and get jabbed into oblivion in front of their hometown crowd and judges.
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