
Chris Byrd, heavyweight contender for almost a decade, will compete in the Light Heavyweight Division. His most respected attributes, defense and speed, would mix with some other characteristics, very good chin and heart, to bring him wins over many contenders of this era like David Tua, Evander Holyfield, Fres Oquendo, Jameel McCline, DaVaryll Williamson, among others. Some of those fights were boring, others were tight decisions, but nobody can argue that Byrd's resume is one of the best of this heavyweight era.
After his most recent loss, Byrd, who is now 37 years old, announced that he would go down to 175 and fight there. He claims he will be even faster, his defense will be better. But can he still be competitive against top level fighters at his age? The division is not as great as it once was, but it is still highly competitive.
He was already at the mountain top. He was heavyweight champ of the world or at least part-holder for a while. My question is, at age 37, why melt down to 175? Is his need to compete so great?
I wish him the best, but I have to wonder one thing. If Byrd succeeds at the Light Heavyweight Division, will he make the jump back up to the Heavyweight Division?












