By Ben Dirs

Ruiz is symptomatic of the malaise

Muhammad Ali once implored America's young to "get an education, become an electrician, a mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer - anything but a fighter."

Unfortunately, for boxing fans across the globe, many seem to have taken his advice.

For Saturday's world heavyweight double-header at New York's Madison Square Garden was no more than a depressing exhibition of how far the division has fallen.

John Ruiz, as grim a champion ever to pull on a pair of gloves, put Fres Oquendo and millions watching out of their misery when he stopped his fellow Puerto Rican after almost 11 rounds of wrestling to retain his WBA crown.

Grapple fans will have been impressed, but top draw boxing it wasn't.

Next up, Chris Byrd retained his IBF belt with an entertaining but equally damning draw with the "Foul Pole", Andrew Golota.

This is the same Andrew Golota who bit Samson Po'uha in 1995, was disqualified twice against Riddick Bowe in 1996, knocked out in one round by Lennox Lewis in 1997 and who quit against Mike Tyson in 2000.

To make matters worse, demonic promoter Don King is in charge of all four, plus Lamon Brewster who iced Wladimir Klitschko last weekend to claim the WBO crown.

BBC Sport's unofficial rankings 1 Vitali Klitschko (Ukr) 2 James Toney (US) 3 Corrie Sanders (RSA) 4 Chris Byrd (US) 5 Mike Tyson (US) 6 David Tua (NZ) 7 Andrew Golota (Pol) 8 John Ruiz (PR) 9 Lamon Brewster (US) 10 Evander Holyfield (US)

Throughout the Ruiz-Oquendo debacle, the crowd chanted the name of one Mike Tyson, perhaps the only person in the Garden who liked what he saw.

I say perhaps, because 41-year-old Evander Holyfield was another at ringside and his comeback bandwagon must be gathering pace.

Like some maniacal ringleader, King called out Tyson after the circus had stopped and although his former cash cow refused to bite, Tyson may want in.

Theories abound as to where all the big men have gone.

Perhaps they are linemen in the NFL or centres in the NBA. But a more plausible explanation is that they are - as Ali once wished for - electricians, mechanics and doctors.

Boxing has always been a reliable social and economic barometer. Jewish and Irish fighters were plentiful in the early part of the twentieth century because the socio-economic situation dictated it.

When the condition of Jewish and Irish-American communities improved, Italian-Americans took over and great champions like Marciano, Graziano and La Motta were spawned.

Then came the African-Americans, wave upon wave of impoverished and hungry young men looking to boxing for salvation.

Toney will fancy his chances in the heavyweight division

Now that the great African-American heavyweights seem to have dried up, it should be cause for rejoicing in the wider black community - fewer Sonny Listons and Joe Fraziers with no other option but to fight for a buck.

But, from a purely selfish stand point, it leaves heavyweight boxing in a perilous state.

The International Boxing Organisation's independent heavyweight rankings for February included only two Americans under the age of 30 in its top 50.

Dominick Guinn, a fighter some mistook for the country's next big hope, was beaten in March by the mediocre Monte Barrett who in turn lost to Joe Mesi last year.

Mesi, touted by some as the next Marciano, is a humdrum fighter who was recently dropped four times by Vassiliy Jirov - a natural cruiserweight.

Indeed, it could be that the two best heavyweights in the world are in fact middleweights: James Toney, who flattened Holyfield last October, looks capable of beating anyone and Roy Jones Jr ran rings round Ruiz to win the WBA title last March.

That young South African firebrand Corrie Sanders, 38, fights the Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title in Los Angeles this Saturday.

And people wonder why Britain's Audley Harrison is so confident about his future success.