By Jake Donovan
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
The Writers Guild of America is now one month into its strike, with television networks beginning to feel the full effects. Television series that were planning to segue from sweeps month to holiday hiatus have been forced to run season-finale type episodes. Non-reality based shows that were originally scheduled to air next year may never get off the ground, with too few episodes presently in the bank.
For all of the complaints about boxing (most of which never seem to go away), among the many positives of the sport is that it never goes on strike, and it runs year-round. Those screaming for a federal commission and a workers union should keep in mind:
- the NHL season that never was just a couple of years ago;
- the aborted 1994 MLB season ending without a World Series;
- the 1998-'99 NBA season featuring only 50 games due to the owner-imposed lockout.
Boxing cynics could argue that 2006 was the closest the sport came to a work stoppage, at least stateside. For the first time in a long time, the Fight of the Year was fought outside of the US, with most only able to catch it via (illegal?) upload on YouTube.com. More competitive fights were found at times on Telefutura than on premium cable channels or their PPV arms, which would be meant as more of an insult to the latter than a compliment to the former.
Fortunately, promoters took note in 2006 and did something about it in 2007. There were no particular themes that came with the year. It wasn't the Year of the Rematches or the Year of the Upsets.
It was just a great year for boxing, which at the prime-time level offers its season finale this weekend with the PPV extravaganza between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton (Saturday, 9PM ET/6PM PT, live on HBO PPV from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas).
Some scoff at the lack of originality of the event's title – "Undefeated." But if you stop and think about it, one word says it all, and can perhaps summarize the series of top shelf fights we've been able to enjoy throughout the fall.
It's the third time in a span of eleven Saturdays where both contestants of a linear championship are undefeated going in. Jermain Taylor lost both his middleweight championship and undefeated record in Atlantic City against fellow unbeaten Kelly Pavlik in a scintillating war that was perhaps the fish that save the pits-burg boxing was threatening to become. Five weeks later and a half a world away (Cardiff, Wales to be exact), Joe Calzaghe laid claim to the linear super middleweight championship, preserving his unblemished record while snatching Mikkel Kessler's "0" in the process.
Another five weeks later takes us to this weekend and Las Vegas, the sit for the year's final battle of unbeaten fighters. What separates this bout from the others is the historical significance. Hatton, who won the linear junior welterweight crown from Kostya Tszyu 2 ½ years ago, will add one-half stone to his milky-white frame in an attempt to snatch the world welterweight championship from the brother also known as Money.
Unless my research is faulty (in which greater minds than mine, namely B-Scene's resident historians, Uncle Mikey Katz and Cliff Rold, will surely and gladly clarify), this weekend will mark the first time in boxing history where two undefeated, current linear world champions face one another.
Yet another story line added to the script, and without the aid of a card (and picket-sign) carrying union member.
Their undefeated records and linear status are pretty much where the similarities end between Mayweather and Hatton. If the "Undefeated" title doesn't float your boat, then perhaps "Opposites Attack" is more befitting. Their vast differences – the way they look, act, speak, fight, you name it, they're different – have been showcased throughout the Mayweather-Hatton 24/7 series (the final episode running this Thursday on HBO, 10PM ET/PT).
Mayweather (38-0, 24 by way of), a Black American, is brimming with self-confidence, fully embraced by the hip-hop community and thoroughly enjoys the finer things in life. He's also at or near his fighting weight whether he's one week or one year away from his next fight.
Hatton (43-0, 31KO), a White Brit, is projected as the everyday man, who prefers to lead a more modest life and is the type of cat with whom you could literally enjoy a beer or ten during his downtime. The only time he makes 140 (or in this weekend's case 147) is the day before a fight at the official weigh-in, with his walk-around weight upwards of 3-stone beyond the division's limit.
The paths which led them to this weekend's fight are every bit as opposite as the lives they lead. A mere eleven months separate their pro debuts, but are light years apart when it comes to progression during the early years.
Mayweather was the precocious one, going straight from prospect to champion after his one-sided bludgeoning of Genaro Hernandez a mere eighteen fights into his pro career. Two months later, his pro career just 26 months and 19 fights old, he was named 1998's Fighter of the year following his 2 nd round stoppage of then-top contender Angel Manfredy, and has since remained a universal fixture in the pound-for-pound rankings.
At the same point in his career, Hatton was contending for and collecting regional titles, but yet to be confused for even a fringe contender, never mind a threat to the throne. Fringe alphabet titles aside (his first coming in a vacancy against the same Tony Pep who two years prior served as the final victim in Floyd's non-championship years), it took Hatton nearly ten years to finally earn worldwide respect following his upset of Kostya Tszyu in June 2005, 38 fights into his pro career.
By that time, Mayweather was just three weeks away from collecting his third major alphabet title in as many weight classes. All told, he's picked up "the green belt" in five weight classes, with linear claims in three divisions (junior lightweight, lightweight and welterweight).
Mainstream notoriety, on the other hand, hadn't come until later in Floyd's career. In stark contrast, Hatton has been his nation's favorite son pretty much since the start of the 21 st century. It didn't matter that he was 35 fights deep into his career and still facing the Michael "Yes, Joke" Stewart's of the world. Ricky Hatton at the M.E.N. Arena in his hometown of Manchester, England was a guaranteed sold-out event well before advancing from the kiddy pool to the deep end of the water.
Floyd's consistency has been his stay at or near the top the pound-for-pound rankings. It was his then career-defining win over Diego "Chico" Corrales in 2001 (the only other time Mayweather has faced an undefeated fighter, excluding pro debuters, prior to this weekend) that confirmed his status as one of the game's best five or so fighters. Outlasting Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins (in that order), Floyd has laid claim as the world's best fighter for well over two years.
Hatton first cracked the mythical pound-for-pound ranks after the coming out party against Tszyu. However, his ranking since then has fluctuated as much as his weight in between fights. His 9th round knockout of Carlos Maussa five months later was explosive as his overall performance was uneven. A controversial decision win over Luis Collazo in his HBO debut had many wondering if the Hitman was little more than a one-hit wonder.
Wins over Juan Urango (his second career win over an undefeated fighter, the first coming much earlier in his career) and Jose Luis Castillo earlier this year reaffirmed his status as the world's best junior welterweight. The wins helped him regain his pound-for-pound ranking among those who previously felt compelled to drop him, but didn't advance him any further than where he already was two years ago.
That changes this weekend, at least with a Hatton win. A win earns Hatton his second Fighter of the Year award in the span of three calendar years. Ricky's name would now be included as one of the answers to "Who is the world's best fighter, pound-for-pound?" From a historical perspective, he becomes the second active UK fighter to be discussed among the greatest British boxers of all time, along with Joe Calzaghe, who will be ringside to cheer on his former promotional stablemate. And in making modern history, he becomes the first fighter since 2002 to win a linear world championship in one division while currently reigning in another.
The last fighter to do so - Money Mayweather, Money Money Mayweather , who left his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo as new lightweight king after coming in as the baddest junior lightweight on the planet.
While Hatton gets to scream from a rooftop "The World is Mine," it'll be the same as it ever was for Mayweather should he prove the oddsmakers correct and emerge victorious. He's still undefeated. He's still the welterweight champion. He's still the world's best, pound-for-pound. He's still the sport's biggest draw and highest paid among full-time fighters.
Regardless of who wins this weekend, 2007 will have been one of the best boxing years in recent memory, capped by what figures to be no worse than the 2 nd highest grossing fight of the year. It's a fitting end to a great season, not unlike many of today's television shows, with the networks themselves having enjoyed something of a golden era the past couple of years.
The biggest difference – boxing is not only guaranteed to come back in 2008, but an even better opening line up than its preceding year(s).
That's a storyline Hollywood can't claim or write, even if they wanted to.
WHAT ELSE TO EXPECT FOR YOUR $54.95
For those not attending "Undefeated" – and unless you're willing to pay a scalper a minimum of four-figures for nosebleed seats, you're not going – three fights accompany the main go. None are particularly significant, but all are competitive on paper and serve a purpose one way or another.
The chief support features a pair of Joe Calzaghe victims, with Jeff Lacy (22-1, 17KO) returning from surgery and a yearlong layoff to face former Contender contestant and current fringe super middleweight contender Peter Manfredo (28-4, 13KO).
Manfredo has been the far busier of the two, but certainly no further along than when the year began. He's won two straight since his not-quite-a-fight against Calzaghe this past April, both wins coming against pedestrian opposition.
For Lacy, it will be the first time in 373 days that he gets to punch for pay, having been out with a shoulder injury since his majority-decision win over Vitaly Tsypko in their rematch last December. It's his only win post-Calzaghe, after having won 21 straight to start his career.
The winner remains a contender in the super middleweight division, though Lacy's name has been included in rumors of a possible all-Florida showdown with Antonio Tarver next April. Politics alone suggest it's far more wishful thinking than reality, but that's for another column.
The show's remaining two bouts are polar opposites in terms of potential entertainment value.
Free-swinging junior featherweight Daniel Ponce de Leon (33-1, 30KO) squares off against once-promising prospect Eduardo Escobedo (20-2, 14KO) in a 12-round preliminary battle.
Already among the sport's hardest hitters and most exciting fighters, Ponce de Leon is proving with each subsequent performance that one loss does not equal a network death sentence. Ponce returns for the 10 th time, including his 4th fight of 2007, since his loss to Celestino Caballero nearly three years. A controversial decision win earlier in the year to former linear junior bantamweight king Gerry Penalosa was followed by two straight stoppages, including a 1 st round KO of previously unbeaten Rey Bautista.
Escobedo was once considered the best prospect you've-never-heard-of, before suffering a humiliating 5 th round stoppage loss against a sub .500 Mexican clubfighter in 2004. The Texas-based Mexican took off in 2005, before returning in 2006, having since won seven straight, including an impressive decision win over fellow prospect Benjamin Flores.
As is the case with most Ponce de Leon fights, it should be fun for however long it lasts.
Not quite sure the same can be said of the PPV curtain raiser, a 10-round lightweight rematch between former contender Edner Cherry and Floyd Mayweather protégé Wes Ferguson.
Why a rematch is warranted is anyone's guess. The first fight, save for a round or two, was fairly forgettable and no different than your average ESPN Wednesday Night Fight. Cherry (22-5-2, 10 KO) won the fight, but did little to make anyone forget about his non-effort against Paul Malignaggi earlier this year. Overall, Cherry Bomb is as inconsistent as they come – one night, he's in a Fight of the Year candidate, and the next fight a complete stinker. Sometimes he's knocking off undefeated prospects, other nights he's doing just enough to fall short against fighters who have no business beating him.
Ferguson (17-2, 5KO) has been consistent throughout his career – mediocre. If not for the distinction of being Floyd's fighter, there'd be little reason to keep track of his career, much less grant him a slot on a major PPV telecast.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ENTERTAINMENT
It's 32 days and counting before the return of the best show on television, HBO's "The Wire". The 5 th and final season begins Sunday, January 6, at 10PM ET. Unlike the status of most of today's shows, all ten episodes were scripted, shot and edited before the picket signs were hoisted, which means the show is guaranteed to run without interruption.
The bad news, of course, is that the season finale will also serve as the series finale, with creator David Simon vowing last year that this year is it, as he has no more stories to tell.
The show centers around the drug war that has and continues to run rampant through Baltimore, MD. All episodes are expertly detailed on both sides of the war, with various seasons also touching on the dock workers, politicians and the school system. This year's season will focus on the media and homelessness.
If 31 days is too long to fulfill your Wire fix, then head to the nearest store that sells DVD's, particularly boxed sets, as Season 4 comes out today (December 4) on DVD.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and presently serves on the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.
