The fact that former heavyweight champ Chris Byrd is moving down in weight is not shocking - he fought at 165 pounds as an amateur and has never packed true heavyweight power. However, the fact that he's skipping cruiserweight and dropping all the way down to light heavyweight is a surprise. Byrd has weighed as much as 222 and hasn't been below 208 since 1994.

The decision to move to heavyweight has obviously been a wise one from a financial perspective but - at 37 - Byrd's reflexes aren't what they used to be and he's been getting hit with a lot of punches he used to slip. TKO losses to Wladimir Klitschko (2006) and Alexander Povetkin (2007) indicated that Byrd was done as an elite heavyweight so - if he wanted to continue his career - it was time to move down to a more natural weight class where the fighters might be quicker but at least they don't hit as hard.

Byrd's initial plan was to move down to cruiserweight (200 pound limit) but apparently the weight came off so easily that he decided to keep going. At this point, there's no telling whether or not Byrd has enough left in the tank to be a factor at 175 ... or whether dropping all that weight will impact him negatively in other ways. Remember, Roy Jones Jr. looked great moving up to heavyweight but has never been the same since dropping the weight to get back to 175 ... and Roy only went up to heavyweight for one fight.

The light heavyweight division is populated with big names, such as Jones, Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson. Given Byrd's experience and defensive skills it's not unrealistic to think he would be competitive against any of these fighters.

Byrd's return to 175 is slated for May 16 when he faces Shaun George (16-2-2) in Las Vegas. The fight will be televised by ESPN2 so check it out ... if for no other reason than to see what Byrd looks like 35 pounds lighter than we're used to seeing him.