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I thought a cheery, upbeat article would cheer you all up. Its a gooden (from scrubs... no?) 
2007 and the Boxing Renaissance
by Reynold Wallace
Boxing is considerably less popular then it was just over a decade ago. The reason for its downward tumble and near collapse is one that’s easily identified. Quite simply the best were not fighting the best. Even when the sanctioning bodies, promoters, and fighters themselves came together and made it all happen, they were forced to live up to years worth of hype and expectations of which no fight would ever live up to.
I recall an era not to long ago when Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Rid**** Bowe, and Michael Moorer were all the heavyweight champions, yet a fight between any of them never materialized (Tyson-Lewis was later). I recall both Mike Tyson and Rid**** Bowe, actually placing there championship belts into a garbage can in a pathetic and disgusting attempt to avoid a fight with Lennox Lewis.
Nobody in there right minds can really blame them for avoiding Lewis, he looked nothing short of a wrecking ball at the time, and had already topped Bowe in the amateurs. But these are fighters, and it’s the job of a fighter to fight the best, or who the fans and media acknowledge as the best.
Do you think the Buffalo Bills can opt out of their game with the Steelers this weekend? Absolutely not. But guess what, they wouldn’t want to anyway. Whereas the thought of a loss this weekend has entered the minds of every Bills fan on the planet, the players instead choose eat, drink, and sleep victory. They dream of the big play, the game winning touchdown, and having their players lift them above their shoulders while they hold the Super Bowl trophy high above their heads. Our athletes instead pondered who they could actually beat, and how much money was in it for them. They measured the pros and cons until ultimately arriving at an unsettling decision.
Of coarse there was the occasional exception. One of the more obvious ones was Evander Holyfield, whose burning desire to fight the best and always challenge himself left him swimming in money, glory, championship belts, and best of all, the respect of every sports fan, writer and little kid on your street.
I recall a time when both Oscar De La Hoya versus Felix Trinidad II and Bernard Hopkins versus Roy Jones Jr. II were expected to happen, and in all honesty should have happened. Instead they both fell apart for the umpteenth time, and were promised by writers that it would probably happen the next year. And we bought it like saps and continued to salivate and build are appetites, only to go hungry in the end.
Boxing had become its own worst nightmare, with promoters out to make a quick buck and have their fighter always come out on top, and corrupt sanctioning bodies that let it happen.
Well fellow boxing fans, I sit here today with a list of fights as deep as it is great, as entertaining as it is important, and as much for the fans as it is for the promoters. This, my friends, is what boxing is all about. The best have finally decided to fight the best.
I remember that just a couple years ago, when boxing was falling apart outside the heavyweights, there was that mega fight. Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson were going to get it on and the world took notice. Unfortunately for the promoters and those financially involved, the original arena in which the fight was to be held would not sell out. 20,000 tickets would not be sold in time for the fight of the decade. Nearly 2 million people would pay to watch it from their TV screens, but not 1/100 of that amount would make the trip to the arena.
Well the following the fights I’m going to list may not be as big, they may not make SportsCenter or even ESPNEWS, and they may be outside the heavyweight division, but you can be assured that every ticket will be sold and every fan will opt out of parties, friends, or family and sit themselves in front of the biggest TV they can find. Anybody that can make the trip will, and they will be rewarded to boxing done the right way, from the start of the card to it’s always to soon end.
For the rest of the year we wont have to worry about politics, money, or the heavyweight division that has fallen so far. Instead we can dream of super fight after super fight, we can dream of those one or two mega fights a year like we always do, but this time we wont have to worry about anything getting in the way. The best will now fight the best.
--------------------------------------------------------
September 29th:
Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor. A fighters fight. A dream fight. I sat down on May 19th to watch a fight just like this one, and one that was sure to be the polar opposite. Kelly Pavlik stopped Edison Miranda in seven rounds in a war, Jermain Taylor won in a snore. Afterwards I watched Taylor ramble on about money and the first thought that popped into my mind was that Pavlik and Taylor would never meet. Instead Taylor would move up and fight Calzaghe and nullify another superfight with Kessler involved. But Jermain Taylor stepped up the plate. He took all that criticism and threw it out the window. He did what every fan wanted him to do and I give him all the respect I can. Unfortunately I pick Pavlik in 10, but boy oh boy what a fight it should be.
October 6th:
A double whammy. Samuel Peter makes his highly anticipated return to the ring against Oleg maskaev, at Madison Square Garden. An exciting fight and one that Peter should definetly win, but the point is this is a good heavyweight fight, something the sport has lacked for years.
Then Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera will slug it out again in front a packed Mandalay Bay event center. I’d have to pick Pacquiao in an entertaining bout, but at this point in Barreras career, where he’s as hungry as ever and has vengeance and an apparent key to victory on his mind, its difficult to count him completely out.
October 13th:
Evander Holyfield gets what may be his last shot at a heavyweight championship against the dangerous Sultan Ibragimov. Call me crazy but I’m picking Holyfield to win a close one. Much like the Peter-Maskaev fight, this is another good heavyweight fight, and it comes only a week after the last one.
And of Coarse, the Lightweight unification everybodies been waiting for, Juan Diaz versus Julio Diaz. Its gonna be a great fight, I’m going with Juan Diaz, the new star of the lower weight classes, to show us why the critics love him and dominate this one with a very impressive performance. Best news is that it sets up a FOTY candidate next year, between Katsidis and Juan Diaz.
October 16th:
Alfonso Gomez bounces back fresh off his win over Gatti to challenge Ben Tackie in what is sure to be a very exciting fight. Why include this in a list of great fights you ask? Cause its gonna be a big Fight Night for Espn2, it involves a star in the making, and will reach out to that fading casual audience. I think its an important one in that sense.
November 3rd:
Fresh off yet another great heavyweight match up between 2 upcoming starters (Chambers-Brock) the fight of the year will finally arrive. Kessler and Calzaghe will duke it out for supremacy and rulership over the entire Supermiddleweight division. I got to give the edge in odds to Calzaghe, he is hard to go against, but I’m picking Kessler in one of the great fights you’ll see this decade, or the next. In case you didn’t already know, this one will be fought in front of 70,000 in a soccer stadium. And they say Boxing is dead?!
November 10th:
The next week we are still going strong. Mosley and Cotto will **** it out for a shot at the biggest name in boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The way it was done in the old days, you’d have to fight for your shot. Not only will this be a great fight, but it will be fought in front of a raucous and electric capacity crowd at MSG. I’m going with Cotto by late round stoppage, but who knows with this one. I’m thinking Mosleys getting old and his recent winds are deceptive.
November 17th:
Maybe the most overlooked great fight I have ever come to know, Humberto Soto and Joan Guzman are going to do battle in a very very very very important fight. The winner could get a shot at Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez, and either is a worthy challenger. After a decade of begging boxing to pit the best against the best, it’s a shame that fights like this one are getting completely overshadowed.
November 23rd:
A fight we should already know the result of, Fernando Vargas vs Ricardo Mayorga. Yes, these two guys are old and washed up, and yes this could be either guys last victory as a professional, but this is going to be a damn entertaining slugfest. I gotta give the advantage to Mayorga, which may be surprising.
December 8th:
Hatton-Mayweather… do I really need to say anything else? Oh, and if you pick Hatton you’re just thinking wishfully, although I do give him a better chance then most.
2007 and the Boxing Renaissance
by Reynold Wallace
Boxing is considerably less popular then it was just over a decade ago. The reason for its downward tumble and near collapse is one that’s easily identified. Quite simply the best were not fighting the best. Even when the sanctioning bodies, promoters, and fighters themselves came together and made it all happen, they were forced to live up to years worth of hype and expectations of which no fight would ever live up to.
I recall an era not to long ago when Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Rid**** Bowe, and Michael Moorer were all the heavyweight champions, yet a fight between any of them never materialized (Tyson-Lewis was later). I recall both Mike Tyson and Rid**** Bowe, actually placing there championship belts into a garbage can in a pathetic and disgusting attempt to avoid a fight with Lennox Lewis.
Nobody in there right minds can really blame them for avoiding Lewis, he looked nothing short of a wrecking ball at the time, and had already topped Bowe in the amateurs. But these are fighters, and it’s the job of a fighter to fight the best, or who the fans and media acknowledge as the best.
Do you think the Buffalo Bills can opt out of their game with the Steelers this weekend? Absolutely not. But guess what, they wouldn’t want to anyway. Whereas the thought of a loss this weekend has entered the minds of every Bills fan on the planet, the players instead choose eat, drink, and sleep victory. They dream of the big play, the game winning touchdown, and having their players lift them above their shoulders while they hold the Super Bowl trophy high above their heads. Our athletes instead pondered who they could actually beat, and how much money was in it for them. They measured the pros and cons until ultimately arriving at an unsettling decision.
Of coarse there was the occasional exception. One of the more obvious ones was Evander Holyfield, whose burning desire to fight the best and always challenge himself left him swimming in money, glory, championship belts, and best of all, the respect of every sports fan, writer and little kid on your street.
I recall a time when both Oscar De La Hoya versus Felix Trinidad II and Bernard Hopkins versus Roy Jones Jr. II were expected to happen, and in all honesty should have happened. Instead they both fell apart for the umpteenth time, and were promised by writers that it would probably happen the next year. And we bought it like saps and continued to salivate and build are appetites, only to go hungry in the end.
Boxing had become its own worst nightmare, with promoters out to make a quick buck and have their fighter always come out on top, and corrupt sanctioning bodies that let it happen.
Well fellow boxing fans, I sit here today with a list of fights as deep as it is great, as entertaining as it is important, and as much for the fans as it is for the promoters. This, my friends, is what boxing is all about. The best have finally decided to fight the best.
I remember that just a couple years ago, when boxing was falling apart outside the heavyweights, there was that mega fight. Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson were going to get it on and the world took notice. Unfortunately for the promoters and those financially involved, the original arena in which the fight was to be held would not sell out. 20,000 tickets would not be sold in time for the fight of the decade. Nearly 2 million people would pay to watch it from their TV screens, but not 1/100 of that amount would make the trip to the arena.
Well the following the fights I’m going to list may not be as big, they may not make SportsCenter or even ESPNEWS, and they may be outside the heavyweight division, but you can be assured that every ticket will be sold and every fan will opt out of parties, friends, or family and sit themselves in front of the biggest TV they can find. Anybody that can make the trip will, and they will be rewarded to boxing done the right way, from the start of the card to it’s always to soon end.
For the rest of the year we wont have to worry about politics, money, or the heavyweight division that has fallen so far. Instead we can dream of super fight after super fight, we can dream of those one or two mega fights a year like we always do, but this time we wont have to worry about anything getting in the way. The best will now fight the best.
--------------------------------------------------------
September 29th:
Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor. A fighters fight. A dream fight. I sat down on May 19th to watch a fight just like this one, and one that was sure to be the polar opposite. Kelly Pavlik stopped Edison Miranda in seven rounds in a war, Jermain Taylor won in a snore. Afterwards I watched Taylor ramble on about money and the first thought that popped into my mind was that Pavlik and Taylor would never meet. Instead Taylor would move up and fight Calzaghe and nullify another superfight with Kessler involved. But Jermain Taylor stepped up the plate. He took all that criticism and threw it out the window. He did what every fan wanted him to do and I give him all the respect I can. Unfortunately I pick Pavlik in 10, but boy oh boy what a fight it should be.
October 6th:
A double whammy. Samuel Peter makes his highly anticipated return to the ring against Oleg maskaev, at Madison Square Garden. An exciting fight and one that Peter should definetly win, but the point is this is a good heavyweight fight, something the sport has lacked for years.
Then Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera will slug it out again in front a packed Mandalay Bay event center. I’d have to pick Pacquiao in an entertaining bout, but at this point in Barreras career, where he’s as hungry as ever and has vengeance and an apparent key to victory on his mind, its difficult to count him completely out.
October 13th:
Evander Holyfield gets what may be his last shot at a heavyweight championship against the dangerous Sultan Ibragimov. Call me crazy but I’m picking Holyfield to win a close one. Much like the Peter-Maskaev fight, this is another good heavyweight fight, and it comes only a week after the last one.
And of Coarse, the Lightweight unification everybodies been waiting for, Juan Diaz versus Julio Diaz. Its gonna be a great fight, I’m going with Juan Diaz, the new star of the lower weight classes, to show us why the critics love him and dominate this one with a very impressive performance. Best news is that it sets up a FOTY candidate next year, between Katsidis and Juan Diaz.
October 16th:
Alfonso Gomez bounces back fresh off his win over Gatti to challenge Ben Tackie in what is sure to be a very exciting fight. Why include this in a list of great fights you ask? Cause its gonna be a big Fight Night for Espn2, it involves a star in the making, and will reach out to that fading casual audience. I think its an important one in that sense.
November 3rd:
Fresh off yet another great heavyweight match up between 2 upcoming starters (Chambers-Brock) the fight of the year will finally arrive. Kessler and Calzaghe will duke it out for supremacy and rulership over the entire Supermiddleweight division. I got to give the edge in odds to Calzaghe, he is hard to go against, but I’m picking Kessler in one of the great fights you’ll see this decade, or the next. In case you didn’t already know, this one will be fought in front of 70,000 in a soccer stadium. And they say Boxing is dead?!
November 10th:
The next week we are still going strong. Mosley and Cotto will **** it out for a shot at the biggest name in boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The way it was done in the old days, you’d have to fight for your shot. Not only will this be a great fight, but it will be fought in front of a raucous and electric capacity crowd at MSG. I’m going with Cotto by late round stoppage, but who knows with this one. I’m thinking Mosleys getting old and his recent winds are deceptive.
November 17th:
Maybe the most overlooked great fight I have ever come to know, Humberto Soto and Joan Guzman are going to do battle in a very very very very important fight. The winner could get a shot at Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez, and either is a worthy challenger. After a decade of begging boxing to pit the best against the best, it’s a shame that fights like this one are getting completely overshadowed.
November 23rd:
A fight we should already know the result of, Fernando Vargas vs Ricardo Mayorga. Yes, these two guys are old and washed up, and yes this could be either guys last victory as a professional, but this is going to be a damn entertaining slugfest. I gotta give the advantage to Mayorga, which may be surprising.
December 8th:
Hatton-Mayweather… do I really need to say anything else? Oh, and if you pick Hatton you’re just thinking wishfully, although I do give him a better chance then most.
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