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by David P. Greisman - Boxing was dead, they said. It needed a miracle, one fight to save it all. It needed Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, boxing’s biggest draw against its best talent.
Nonsense.
De La Hoya-Mayweather drew the biggest ever audience, an estimated 2.4 million pay-per-view buys eclipsing any of the previous lucrative extravaganzas involving Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson or the “Golden Boy” himself. The considerable hype didn’t translate into astonishing in-ring action, but then again, what did it matter? Boxing didn’t need saving anyway.
Boxing wasn’t dead. And 2007 was one of those exceptional years that, upon examination, would silence the naysayers.
There were the slugouts, from the briefer barrages to the sustained slobberknockers. Five rocking rounds with Michael Katsidis and Graham Earl. Six and seven sensational stanzas in a pair of bouts with Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Eight heats of power punches flying between Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington. A dandy distance fight with Takefumi Sakata and Roberto Vazquez.
There were the sellouts. De La Hoya-Mayweather. Miguel Cotto’s fights in his native Puerto Rico and his adopted home arena of Madison Square Garden in New York City. The British invasion in Las Vegas for Ricky Hatton’s challenge of Mayweather. The thousands of Youngstown faithful who flocked to Atlantic City in support of Kelly Pavlik.
There were the breakouts. Andre Berto progressed beyond prospect status and into welterweight contention. Victor Ortiz showed himself to be a potential player in the 140-pound division. Alexander Povetkin, just 14 fights into his career, is one step away from challenging for a heavyweight title. [details]
Nonsense.
De La Hoya-Mayweather drew the biggest ever audience, an estimated 2.4 million pay-per-view buys eclipsing any of the previous lucrative extravaganzas involving Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson or the “Golden Boy” himself. The considerable hype didn’t translate into astonishing in-ring action, but then again, what did it matter? Boxing didn’t need saving anyway.
Boxing wasn’t dead. And 2007 was one of those exceptional years that, upon examination, would silence the naysayers.
There were the slugouts, from the briefer barrages to the sustained slobberknockers. Five rocking rounds with Michael Katsidis and Graham Earl. Six and seven sensational stanzas in a pair of bouts with Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Eight heats of power punches flying between Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington. A dandy distance fight with Takefumi Sakata and Roberto Vazquez.
There were the sellouts. De La Hoya-Mayweather. Miguel Cotto’s fights in his native Puerto Rico and his adopted home arena of Madison Square Garden in New York City. The British invasion in Las Vegas for Ricky Hatton’s challenge of Mayweather. The thousands of Youngstown faithful who flocked to Atlantic City in support of Kelly Pavlik.
There were the breakouts. Andre Berto progressed beyond prospect status and into welterweight contention. Victor Ortiz showed himself to be a potential player in the 140-pound division. Alexander Povetkin, just 14 fights into his career, is one step away from challenging for a heavyweight title. [details]
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