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By Cliff Rold - Watching newly crowned World jr. flyweight champion Ivan Calderon celebrate after his earned, grueling victory Saturday night over Hugo Cazares, a question popped into my mind:
Where does Calderon rate pound-for-pound?
I’ve already pondered where he could land when I do my annual end of year offering. In my post-fight wrap, I even went so far as to declare that Calderon “forced his way into any credible debate about the best fighters in the game, pound for pound.” And it’s true; Calderon did do just that. However, I find myself in the hours and days after the fight wondering this:
Why does it matter? More to the point, why is there such an obsession with the pound-for-pound ratings?
Maybe it’s just me and others aren’t thinking in such terms but it seems that way. I know why most writers throw up their lists: they trigger discussion; they kill time in slow weeks (as does deconstructionist prattle); they assert that an observer is ‘serious’ about his coverage of the sport; and they can be fun, especially in the online ‘barbershop.’ Unfortunately, they’ve also become a big part of the business of boxing, making them increasingly less fun and perhaps even bad for business.
Ask anyone who has been in the thick of the pound-for-pound debate in recent years if it was bad for their personal business and to a man fighters like Roy Jones, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather will likely answer no. Why wouldn’t they? Each received an exclusive contract guaranteeing mandatory minimum purses with the biggest television network in U.S. boxing, HBO. Each was allowed to occasionally cash those multi-million dollar mandatory minimums with fights against the likes of Ricky Frazier, Adrian Stone and Henry Bruseles. [details]
Where does Calderon rate pound-for-pound?
I’ve already pondered where he could land when I do my annual end of year offering. In my post-fight wrap, I even went so far as to declare that Calderon “forced his way into any credible debate about the best fighters in the game, pound for pound.” And it’s true; Calderon did do just that. However, I find myself in the hours and days after the fight wondering this:
Why does it matter? More to the point, why is there such an obsession with the pound-for-pound ratings?
Maybe it’s just me and others aren’t thinking in such terms but it seems that way. I know why most writers throw up their lists: they trigger discussion; they kill time in slow weeks (as does deconstructionist prattle); they assert that an observer is ‘serious’ about his coverage of the sport; and they can be fun, especially in the online ‘barbershop.’ Unfortunately, they’ve also become a big part of the business of boxing, making them increasingly less fun and perhaps even bad for business.
Ask anyone who has been in the thick of the pound-for-pound debate in recent years if it was bad for their personal business and to a man fighters like Roy Jones, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather will likely answer no. Why wouldn’t they? Each received an exclusive contract guaranteeing mandatory minimum purses with the biggest television network in U.S. boxing, HBO. Each was allowed to occasionally cash those multi-million dollar mandatory minimums with fights against the likes of Ricky Frazier, Adrian Stone and Henry Bruseles. [details]
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