Asking Too Much of Mayweather-De La Hoya

http://thering-online.com/ringpages/ringupdate.html ASKING TOO MUCH OF MAYWEATHER-DE LA HOYA By William Dettloff Anyone with a vested interest in the health of the fight business will be holding his breath on Saturday night. So much of the talk going into the Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight has been about how desperate boxing is for a big night. This is the fight, ostensibly because it will be seen by more “casual” fans than any in recent years, that could give the game a badly needed boost—if it goes well. Conversely, the thinking goes, a bad night—a rotten decision, a boring chess match, an inconclusive ending—will send the last remnants of the fight-viewing public scrambling over to mixed martial arts, the latest participant in the apparently endless parade of pro boxing’s supposed undertakers. There is so much pressure on the event to be perfect that those who yearn for boxing to stave off death for another few years will hardly be able to enjoy the fight for what it is: a hell of a nice matchup. There’s too much at stake. I remember the last time I felt like that. A huge fight was coming up, a heavyweight championship rematch that was sure to shatter pay-per-view records and send casual fans by the millions into gyms and book stores everywhere. A whole generation would be turned on to the fight game if only everything went right. Though I had a mild personal rooting interest, I told anyone who asked that I didn’t care who won so long as it was a good fight and the sport represented itself well. That was the truth; it was that important, I thought. It was that big. Boxing needed the boost, and if it went right, the whole world would see what I saw in the fight game, and then everything would be all right. Then the fight came and the whole world watched Mike Tyson chew off a fleshy bit of Evander Holyfield’s ear and spit it on to the canvas. Put aside for the moment the tantalizing possibility that Tyson’s meltdown actually helped the sport because it galvanized the notion that anything can happen in a prizefight. Go with the more conventional (and probably inaccurate) assumption that it hurt because the brutality and mayhem turned off casual viewers and sent them back to the safe, comfortable banality of pro football and major league baseball. The day after, boxing was still with us and had no fewer fans than it had the day before. And even if it did, so what. It had been true to itself. It had been what it always has been. If Mayweather-De La Hoya turns out to be the greatest fight in history, the sport will be fundamentally no different on Monday morning, May 7. There will still be too many weight classes and governing bodies, too many titlists and sharks and broken bodies and bruised brains: the same sport. If it’s a bomb and all those casual fans feel cheated, it still will have more heroes and characters and great stories and courageous acts and lives changed than all of the so-called mainstream sports combined: the same sport it was on May 4. It doesn’t matter if Mayweather-De La Hoya breeds new fans or turns away the ones it has. We either want this sport for what it is or we don’t, and it will be true to itself regardless. So enjoy Mayweather-De La Hoya for what it is: a hell of a big and interesting prizefight. No more, no less. Some miscellaneous observations from last week Acelino Freitas may be the only fighter I’ve seen who cries like a baby when he wins and smiles broadly when he loses. He looked so happy after quitting against Juan Diaz, I thought he’d won the lottery. Either way, when you’re satisfied enough at having put on a decent show, your days as a compelling fighter are over. The performance of HBO’s revamped Boxing After Dark team was very good, easily its best so far. Even Lennox Lewis sounded good. Bob Papa, one of the very few blow-by-blow guys around who keeps his ego in check and understands his role is not to provide analysis, has made an enormous difference. Good for him and good for HBO for hiring him. I know I’m supposed to hate Mayweather after watching HBO’s 24/7 episodes, but I find myself liking him more all the time. He’s real. And he’s all fighter. Vernon Paris is one hell of a good-looking prospect. Referee Joe Cooper’s command to Mike Anchondo and Darling Jimenez to “throw some thunder!” ranks as the dumbest yet of all the dumb referee slogans out there. What an abomination. Don’t give up your day job, Joe. Give up the night one instead. Please. Speaking of dumb referee slogans, I was reminded while watching an old tape that Joe Cortez is on at least his second incarnation with his “I’m fair but I’m firm” silliness. Do you remember what he used to use? The even more objectionable, “Remember, I’m the boss man in here.” So at least he’s making progress. By the way, how long was Anchondo supposed to lie face-first on the canvas before a ringside doctor came over to see if he still had a pulse? After a while I started wondering if one of the eight or nine fans in the house would have to call 911 to get him some attention. What’s the over/under on how long it takes Jason Litzau to get starched again? My pick Saturday night: Mayweather by decision, maybe even late stoppage. He is at the top of his game. De La Hoya is not at the top of his, and it might not matter if he were. Bill Dettloff can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net