Lord of the Flies: Who is Next to Hold the Conch after Floyd and Manny?
In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, two central characters, Ralph and Jack, feud for control of a small group of their peers whose plane has crashed on a deserted island with no adult supervision. Central to their control was a white sea-shell referred to as “the Conch.” This signified who had the authority, since whoever held control of the Conch, had control over everyone in the democracy.
Whoever held the Conch held the power. Similarly to how Jack and Ralph waged war for control of the Conch, on March 13, 2009, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will wage war for boxing’s pound for pound title and holder of the pugilistic Conch.
Regardless of who comes out victorious, the Conch will remain in the possession of one of the sports few remaining stars. The issue remains, with a political future in the works for Manny and dearth of mega-bucks fights for “Money” Mayweather, who is next in line to hold the Conch?
Andre Berto (25-0)
The WBC Welterweight Champion, who is slated to face Shane Mosley on January 30, seems miles away from superstardom. (Could be the fact that he never appears to be in shape on fight night) Some people, no matter how talented they are, are destined to play the “co-star” role. Don Cheadle (Seen in “Traitor”, “Ocean’s Thirteen” and “Traffic” among others) is a critically acclaimed actor and recognizable Hollywood fixture. But when compared to actors like Denzel Washington, Don’s “star” just hasn’t shined as bright. Cheadle, unlike Washington, lacks the “it” factor that is apparent in superstars. Berto lacks the “it” factor inside the squared circle.
Chad Dawson (29-0)
You don’t have to be an exciting fighter to carry the Conch; Floyd Mayeather has proven that. But what you do need fans, and Dawson is lacking in that department. The New Haven, CT native struggled to sell seats at the nearby Hartford Civic Center, and his Vegas bouts with Antonio Tarver were sparsely attended. If you can’t put people in the seats, then you aren’t ready to be in a pay-per-view discussion, much less a discussion for the next Conch carrier. If Berto is Cheadle, Dawson is David Caruso. Few will pay $9.50 for a Caruso movie, but he has forged a tremendously successful television career.
Andre Dirrell (18-1)/Andre Ward (21-0)
Here’s an interesting situation. Ward (as an impressive amateur career as you will ever find) and Dirrell are outstanding Super Middleweight talents. The Super Six tournament featuring Ward and Dirrell differs from the single-elimination Middleweight tournament that helped Bernard Hopkins break through to the undisputed crown. Ward for instance, who defeated the tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler on November 21, 2009, still has two more fights in round one. Points determine who will move on to the semifinals and from there the finals. Feasibly, Ward could end up facing Kessler again, and a loss would nullify his prior upset win. Tournament formats such as this are great for boxing fans and established veterans, but not for young lions looking to set themselves apart from the competition. Two or more losses for Ward or Dirrell could set their career back years.
Koki Kameda (21-0)
The Japanese flyweight has a knack for the dramatic and flamboyance, but public perception is also important. And the boxing public looks at Koki’s lack of real competition as a hurdle (more like a really big brick wall) preventing Koki from any real consideration as boxing’s “next”.
Shane Mosley (46-5-1)
Mosley thinks he’s found the fountain of youth at 38, but in reality, Shane’s skills are declining. Even at his height of popularity (Somewhere after the first De La Hoya victory), he was never quite popular enough to carry the Conch on his own.
Paul Williams (38-1)
He has all the tools in the ring. He’s a legitimate 6’2, throws 100 punches per round and has already competed in one of the best fights of 2009. So what’s missing? Paul Williams needs a manager. Not a manager in a sense of someone to manager his career or his money. No, I mean in a Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, Mr. Fuiji type Manager (Wrestling references to those born after 1989). Whenever a wrestler was either foreign, too boring or too articulate to rev up the crowd, wrestling promoters would assign a manager to help them get their points across. That’s what Paul Williams needs. Without a mouthpiece to assist in getting Paul some attention, he’s just the quiet fish in a very big pond.
Kelly Pavlik (35-1)
The world seemed to be in the palm of Kelly’s hands after his destruction of Jermain Taylor, but now it just appears that the only thing in his hands is bacteria. How long has Kelly had a staph infection in his hand and why are his hands to susceptible to this? Is it the hand wraps? Why won’t he change gyms? Trainers? There are too many questions surrounding Pavlik at this point for me. He’s let his career fall to the point of earning $250,000 for a fight at a University. Enough said.
Amir Khan (22-1)
Who has benefited the most from HBO’s hype show, “24/7”? Mayweather? Pacquaio? How about Freddie Roach? He is predicting fights, challenging corner men to fights and now trains Khan. Having already conquered Great Britain, the rest of world awaits the fruits of the Khan/Roach partnership.
Boxing is a pay-per-view driven sport, and with that, it needs stars. Mayweather and Pacquiao have assumed Oscar De La Hoya’s position as the top draw(s) in the sport, but neither will be around much longer.
What we do know is that in surveying the land, no one name jumps out as the next taker. In the book, the Conch established some sort of order and civilization amongst the boys. Once the Conch was destroyed, anarchy was the result. Boxing has just now established some order with the influx of viewers rallying around the Pacquiao/Mayweather debate. Not having a true pay-per-view draw after their exit could leave the sport in upheaval for quite some time. Let’s hope either someone on the island takes control of the almighty Conch.
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