Former world light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Michael Moorer believes there is room at the top for another weight division in boxing.
Moorer will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June, and he called it a day from fighting in 2008 with a record of 52-4-1 (40 KOs). He became the first southpaw world heavyweight champion, and was a ferocious light heavyweight who ended up fighting several of the best big men of his generation.
But size matters, according to Moorer, and in an era that features several super heavyweights, he feels a new division is needed.
And having worked with the likes of Lou Duva, Emanuel Steward, Freddie Roach, Teddy Atlas and George Benton, Moorer’s door remains open to help the next generation, should they require it.
“I’m waiting for someone to call me so I can start training them in the heavyweight division, like Anthony Joshua, you know?” Moorer smiled.
“Some of these fighters these days seem they’re afraid to get hit. I’ve said in the past, the heavyweight division needs to be revamped – 200-249lbs, you’re a heavyweight. From 250lbs on up, you become a super heavyweight.
“I think that is going to be more marketable in the game today, and that is because society has changed. Back in the day, in the heavyweight division, you weighed 186lbs. It ain’t that no more. It’s 256… 286… They have to change it around.”
Moorer took his skills and power up in weight. He was a frightening 175-pounder, known for his devastating knockouts, and these days he is happy to admit he was a handful. He is also content with what he achieved and has found another line of work away from the ring.
“Everyone knows I’ve been a private investigator for some 22 years now,” Moorer added. “I’m an NRA certified firearms instructor, I’m a gun fanatic, and I do some training here and there with people that want to stay in shape.
“I’ve been a PI, bodyguard… mainly bodyguard, surveillance, stuff like that.”
Often fighters struggle in retirement, missing the structure and routine of a camp, the identity of being a fighter, or the thrill of a fight night. Moorer does, but he is also okay being off boxing’s crazy treadmill.
“I miss it, but I have a problem with being around a lot of people, like social anxiety disorder maybe,” he explained. “Because I haven’t been to a mall in probably three years. I like to know my surroundings, who’s around me, then I’m cool.”
There was a time where Moorer was seen as difficult to deal with, or prickly, but he says he has mellowed over the years, even if the tough exterior remains.
“I’m just a regular dude,” he continued. “I’m a no-nonsense type of dude, I’m an honest guy, I’m not a bullsh*****. Don’t bring that fake sh** to me, because it ain’t going to mean nothing. I don’t listen to that garbage. My friends know the type of person I am. They’re not going to bring no garbage to me. They’re always on the lookout for me, as well as I lookout to them.”
Moorer, of course, boxed the likes of Evander Holyfield, David Tua, Frans Botha, Axel Schultz, and George Foreman – on that historic night in 1994 – when Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion, dethroning Moorer in Las Vegas.
But there is a fight that brings a smile to Moorer’s face; his five-round war with Bert Cooper in Atlantic City. Moorer was down in the first and the third, Cooper was dropped in the first and the fifth, which was the decisive round before Cooper’s hand was raised.
“I went down twice, people still watch that fight to this day and say that’s a great fight,” said Moorer. “It was entertaining. It was punching, power, knockouts and I carried the power from light heavyweight to heavyweight. People were worried about that. I know how to fight.”
In June, Moorer will have his plaque hung in the Hall of Fame, and his achievements will be immortalized and that means a lot to him.
“I’m a part of history,” he concluded. “That’s what it all boils down to. My hard work paid off, and I worked diligently, effectively, hard… It was rough. But it’s all worth it now because I’m being rewarded, being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”