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By Jake Donovan - When first assembled, the February 14 HBO Boxing After Dark tripleheader began as the must-see card of 2009, with three solid matchups making for a valid alternative to more traditional Valentine’s Day plans.
By night’s end, the card billed “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” instead further accentuated everything that is wrong with the sport of boxing.
From revolving opponents, to fighters missing weight, to Florida officials struggling to prove that they’re up on the boxing rules, it was a night to forget at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
The show began without a home until less than a month before fight night, a responsibilty of the event's co-promter Don King. It ended with two disputed decisions coming out of the televised tripleheader, headlined by Nate Campbell taking a majority decision over South African challenger Ali Funeka in a bout that saw the former lose his lightweight alphabet titles on the scales for failure to make weight a day prior.
Fighting for the first time in nearly a year, Campbell wound up missing weight by 2 ½ lb. when all was said and done at Friday’s weigh-in. Both camps agreed to go through with the fight, with the belts on the line only for Funeka.
Despite the mishap on the scales, Campbell vowed to still fight as if he were defending his titles. The soon-to-be 37-year old lived up to his promise in the opening round, easily outworking his challenger despite giving away a considerable height and reach advantage. [details]
By night’s end, the card billed “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” instead further accentuated everything that is wrong with the sport of boxing.
From revolving opponents, to fighters missing weight, to Florida officials struggling to prove that they’re up on the boxing rules, it was a night to forget at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
The show began without a home until less than a month before fight night, a responsibilty of the event's co-promter Don King. It ended with two disputed decisions coming out of the televised tripleheader, headlined by Nate Campbell taking a majority decision over South African challenger Ali Funeka in a bout that saw the former lose his lightweight alphabet titles on the scales for failure to make weight a day prior.
Fighting for the first time in nearly a year, Campbell wound up missing weight by 2 ½ lb. when all was said and done at Friday’s weigh-in. Both camps agreed to go through with the fight, with the belts on the line only for Funeka.
Despite the mishap on the scales, Campbell vowed to still fight as if he were defending his titles. The soon-to-be 37-year old lived up to his promise in the opening round, easily outworking his challenger despite giving away a considerable height and reach advantage. [details]
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