By Coach Tim Walker –
They come around about as often as Halley’s Comet and bolster as much attention and anticipation. That rare ultra-fight that pits two world class world renown supremely talented boxers against each other in the prime of their careers. On that night boxing takes a back seat to no sport or championship event. On that night it holds other sports by the jugular like a vice grip tightly squeezed around a lug nut. Dominating the headlines. Overshadowing, even, dwindling world events. On that night it has the ability to take over football’s Super Bowl, baseball’s Pennant Race, basketball’s World Championship and, dare I say, soccer’s World Cup. For that fight it lays claim to all forms of media. It is the talk-about subject for weeks leading up to it and nearly as many days following it..
Generations past witnessed these mega-fights on a regular basis. Ali/Foreman. Leonard/Hagler. Robinson/Turpin. Johnson/Jeffries. Chavez/Whitaker. Tunney/Dempsey. Frazier/Ali. Louis/Schmeling. I could name more but you get the point. Until very recently, thanks in part to disheartened fans and the emergence of an alternative combat sport, boxing endured on too many occasions A class fighters battling C and sometimes D class fighters in championship bouts. Fans loyal to the sport, and there are many, stuck with boxing and remained stables of support while it underwent an evolutionary change. A sort of out with the old and in with the new (promoters) so to speak. A relative changing of the guard. A new breed of boxing promoter who understands the business of it all but also highly considers the fans’ desires and wishes.
While super-fights have the potential to garner attention it is those good credible matches throughout the year that act as the support system and keep fans. We weren’t getting those types of fights and we need them. We need a steady diet of those fights and if we don’t get them it sets fans on a much too frequented path. A path leading away from boxing. A path devoid of the noblest of sports.
Forsaking boxing was a common practice in the 90s though it made some millionaires. The side effect of which was a simultaneous disheartening of the fan. That process is no longer acceptable but, and this is the reality, there is nothing that can be done about our checkered past. We are where we are so we must move forward looking into solutions. It is a simple fix though if we pay attention. Quality should be the goal. Pacquiao/Cotto was fabulous. Williams/Martinez was amazing. We need more of that on a continuous basis and the new crop of promoters understands this. For this reason we are getting matches such as Diaz/Malignaggi 2, Bradley/Peterson, Juanma/Luevano and Mosley/Berto. Think about it. A few years ago we were treated to one maybe two of these superb fighters per year. In comparison, all of those bouts previously mentioned will be within the next two months. You’ve got to appreciate that.
As great as those bouts are they are merely the ice cream and cake. The cherry on top can be likened to Halley's Comet. It comes, hopefully if all falls like it seems it will, in March when Floyd Mayweather Junior takes on Manny Pacquiao. In moments like these is where boxing shines brightest. This is where it wins back fans. But to keep fans it must offer a steady feasting of quality matchups. My definition of the quality is simple: good fighters with decent names taking on like fighters. It is the Williams’ of the world battling Martinez’s. It offers fans something to salivate and it is my belief that the newer promoters understand this. They grasp the concept that the world moves at a faster pace and the old techniques, not all but many, just don’t match the speed of the modern day fan. Our attention span is shorter so you much capture it quickly. We are microwave-like. We are high-speed internet-like. We drive 15-20 miles over the speed limit and risk the speeding ticket just to get to where we’re going a few minutes sooner because we left later than we wanted because we were busy doing something else. In this sense life moves faster and promoters must be where the fan is.
Fans are similar worldwide. They all want something to cheer. Though boxing might have been back alley in the past if it is done correctly with fans and athletes in mind it can more than hold its own. It can grow beyond a shady past, bad judgments and move, again, into something accepted and respected in the world sports arena. The big fights blaze through the upper echelon of sports. They come and they go. That’s the nature of sports. But it is the overall quality of boxing, if it continues on its current path, that will once again take it back to a place of high opinion.
Is it a lofty opinion? Absolutely. But if we’re going to reach, we might as well reach for it all.
They come around about as often as Halley’s Comet and bolster as much attention and anticipation. That rare ultra-fight that pits two world class world renown supremely talented boxers against each other in the prime of their careers. On that night boxing takes a back seat to no sport or championship event. On that night it holds other sports by the jugular like a vice grip tightly squeezed around a lug nut. Dominating the headlines. Overshadowing, even, dwindling world events. On that night it has the ability to take over football’s Super Bowl, baseball’s Pennant Race, basketball’s World Championship and, dare I say, soccer’s World Cup. For that fight it lays claim to all forms of media. It is the talk-about subject for weeks leading up to it and nearly as many days following it..
Generations past witnessed these mega-fights on a regular basis. Ali/Foreman. Leonard/Hagler. Robinson/Turpin. Johnson/Jeffries. Chavez/Whitaker. Tunney/Dempsey. Frazier/Ali. Louis/Schmeling. I could name more but you get the point. Until very recently, thanks in part to disheartened fans and the emergence of an alternative combat sport, boxing endured on too many occasions A class fighters battling C and sometimes D class fighters in championship bouts. Fans loyal to the sport, and there are many, stuck with boxing and remained stables of support while it underwent an evolutionary change. A sort of out with the old and in with the new (promoters) so to speak. A relative changing of the guard. A new breed of boxing promoter who understands the business of it all but also highly considers the fans’ desires and wishes.
While super-fights have the potential to garner attention it is those good credible matches throughout the year that act as the support system and keep fans. We weren’t getting those types of fights and we need them. We need a steady diet of those fights and if we don’t get them it sets fans on a much too frequented path. A path leading away from boxing. A path devoid of the noblest of sports.
Forsaking boxing was a common practice in the 90s though it made some millionaires. The side effect of which was a simultaneous disheartening of the fan. That process is no longer acceptable but, and this is the reality, there is nothing that can be done about our checkered past. We are where we are so we must move forward looking into solutions. It is a simple fix though if we pay attention. Quality should be the goal. Pacquiao/Cotto was fabulous. Williams/Martinez was amazing. We need more of that on a continuous basis and the new crop of promoters understands this. For this reason we are getting matches such as Diaz/Malignaggi 2, Bradley/Peterson, Juanma/Luevano and Mosley/Berto. Think about it. A few years ago we were treated to one maybe two of these superb fighters per year. In comparison, all of those bouts previously mentioned will be within the next two months. You’ve got to appreciate that.
As great as those bouts are they are merely the ice cream and cake. The cherry on top can be likened to Halley's Comet. It comes, hopefully if all falls like it seems it will, in March when Floyd Mayweather Junior takes on Manny Pacquiao. In moments like these is where boxing shines brightest. This is where it wins back fans. But to keep fans it must offer a steady feasting of quality matchups. My definition of the quality is simple: good fighters with decent names taking on like fighters. It is the Williams’ of the world battling Martinez’s. It offers fans something to salivate and it is my belief that the newer promoters understand this. They grasp the concept that the world moves at a faster pace and the old techniques, not all but many, just don’t match the speed of the modern day fan. Our attention span is shorter so you much capture it quickly. We are microwave-like. We are high-speed internet-like. We drive 15-20 miles over the speed limit and risk the speeding ticket just to get to where we’re going a few minutes sooner because we left later than we wanted because we were busy doing something else. In this sense life moves faster and promoters must be where the fan is.
Fans are similar worldwide. They all want something to cheer. Though boxing might have been back alley in the past if it is done correctly with fans and athletes in mind it can more than hold its own. It can grow beyond a shady past, bad judgments and move, again, into something accepted and respected in the world sports arena. The big fights blaze through the upper echelon of sports. They come and they go. That’s the nature of sports. But it is the overall quality of boxing, if it continues on its current path, that will once again take it back to a place of high opinion.
Is it a lofty opinion? Absolutely. But if we’re going to reach, we might as well reach for it all.
