By Troy Ondrizek
I have often wondered exactly when boxing fans stopped appreciating the sport. I mean not just them appreciating the sport itself, which many fair-weather fans truly don’t, but even ardent fans lacking the ability to truly grasp the nuances of boxing as an art-form and not just a brutal dance between two combatants.
I wonder if it was during the 80’s when mediocre heavies ruled the landscape. I don’t think so, Larry Holmes was a very technical fighter who used his superior technique to dominate his foes, and Ray Leonard was a fighter that every generation of fans could get behind. Did boxing fans start to digress in the era of Tyson and the primitive carnage that was his early career? I still find that excuse wanting, even though many complained of Pernell Whitaker’s elusive style and his “slapping” punching power during his championship reign, yet many still enjoyed his “old-school” style of defensive fighting; and to a lesser extent the same was said of Meldrick Taylor at the time.
The boxing evolution continued to regress during the 90’s, with champions like Lennox Lewis who was a tough fighter similar to Larry Holmes, Lewis used basic fundamentals and intellect alongside his physical gifts to beat the best of his era. Even Oscar De La Hoya who was/is beloved by millions still found it very difficult to be accepted by fans until he abandoned a safety-first style and brawled with Ike Quartey.
It was during this time that the ignorance level of supposed boxing fans rose, but the comprehension capabilities were still very prevalent, unlike now. I don’t believe the decline in the amount of boxing fans and their collective knowledge has a lot to do with the sport itself or events that took place, but rather the fact that my generation (20’s to late 30’s) just never were properly coached in the sport itself, and that isn’t entirely our fault. It stems from the lack of primetime TV exposure like in the days of lore. Also many youngsters were introduced to boxing and certain fighters via video games and those games in no way accurately portray the sport.
If you add in the increased popularity of sports like basketball and football, which football has surpassed baseball as America’s pastime, boxing has been usurped as a means of prosperity. There is a multitude of reasons and I have only touched on an insignificant few, but that doesn’t excuse the uneducated state in which boxing currently finds its fans dwelling.
I am angry at the fact that so many fans truly seem to hate the sport and its participants, but I am also deeply saddened that I feel that this issue should be addressed. Many older and more seasoned writers have at times tried to point out the decline of the boxing fan, but those same fans have just blown them off. So I find that its time that a member of the “ignorant generation” speaks out.
Now in no way am I a fervent supporter of Floyd Mayweather Jr., but it is a travesty that his style of fighting has become so unpopular that fans belittle him for his defensive prowess. I can’t imagine how Willie Pep and Archie Moore would be perceived these days; I believe it wouldn’t be positively. Pugilism is an art, the art of hitting without being hit, we know this fact and we regurgitate this saying over and over again, but fans don’t believe in it. Boxing is the sweet science, not a street fight with Kimbo Slice.
Don’t get me wrong, there have always been fighters like Arturo Gatti and Jake LaMotta and fans will always get a great show from fighters of this mold, but there should always be a place for fighters like Pep and Whitaker as well. For even in the days of Pep and the height of his popularity, there was room for the power-punchers like Sandy Saddler to find fame and fortunate.
The old adage of styles makes fights is true, but apparently fight fans recently only want to see fighters like Gatti fight because that is all they can appreciate, there is no capacity for them to adore the likes of Floyd Mayweather or recognize the skills of a Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez is respected for his skills but is truly underrated in terms of marketability and skill-set because no-one wants to see a boxing lesson; they want to see a bloody massacre.
Marquez earned his big fight with renowned brawler Marco Antonio Barrera because he valiantly knocked out Jimrex Jaca in impressive fashion after Jaca bludgeoned Marquez with his head. I loved Marquez’ resolve in that fight and I enjoyed the fight immensely, but I have been a big fan of Marquez’ for some time because of his boxing ability and his warrior mentality is just a plus to me. Even Barrera was recently booed after his masterful boxing performance against Rocky Juarez. Barrera fought a brilliant tactical fight, but because it wasn’t a brawl, there was no appreciation for Barrera’s ability to participate in the finer side of the sport.
Many think that fighters who refuse to engage in contact are cowards; well let me tell you how any man who willingly climbs into the ring to face another man who will be trying desperately to separate them from their consciousness is no coward. I have found myself critical of Mayweather and his affinity for fighting conservatively from time to time, but I can truly enjoy his ability to pick apart opponent after opponent using the art of pugilism. I just wish that Mayweather would be willing to utilize his skills against everyone in the division, not just hand-picked opponents.
Winky Wright is another fighter of this mold and he has finally found fame in America after toiling in Europe for years. It was in Europe where boxing is still respected that Wright found acceptance for his skills, not everyone is a slugger and not everyone possess knockout power and the capability to improvise and use other skills to accomplish victory is admirable, not grounds for ridicule.
Until we as fans can truly appreciate the fighters and the sport, the sport itself will never climb back into the mainstream. There will always be politics to work out and inherent evils to battle, but that is the case with every sport; boxing is no different. However, Boxing is combat chess and not actually combat and fans need to recognize that. It takes greater skill to be an elusive fighter and to be able to deliver blows without taking any in return. Granted this isn’t the most exciting form of boxing, but a very credible one though.
There are no bums, cowards, b*tches, or whatever negative connotation that you prefer, in boxing. The fight fan also needs to recognize the difference in boxing and brawling and how a fighter who loses isn’t done. A fighter isn’t as good as their last fight and the ability to know when too much is too much isn’t a weakness. Fans need to know that promoters often are the cause of fights never going off because they don’t want to risk their investments because fans won’t want to watch a tarnished fighter. Fans need to know that many truths in life can be taught by boxing. Fans need to know that their negative attitude towards the fighters greatly affects the will and desire of fighters to actually fight.
Fans need to know that the glory days will never be back if the fans don’t take some responsibility for the decline of the sport. Fans need to know that the heavyweights don’t suck, that Mayweather is great, but not one of the greats, that Lennox Lewis is never coming back, that Mike Tyson is a plague on the sport he once controlled, that the Ring is biased but sheds greater integrity on the sport than any other entity, that not everything you read is law and that researching and following fighters objectively will only better the sport and themselves.
I am now climbing down off of my soapbox and looking at the sport I love with hope and compassion. There are many greats fights coming up that aren’t even made yet. There is so much to enjoy that I can’t fathom it all. There are few finer things in life than being live at a fight with some friends enjoying two fighters try to beat the living hell out of one another with their fist, but also enjoying the fighters who dance poetically in the ring and seem to float to victory as well.
There are few more humbling experiences then being bested by another man inside the ring. There are few times in life where you are more vulnerable than after you lost a fight when giving it your best, but there are few moments in life that can create more self respect. Boxing is something to be more than appreciated and the common fan per say, just doesn’t seem to know that.