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By Jake Donovan - So picture this: you’re an undefeated contender, one fight away from challenging for a title of some sort. Your promoter taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I got you a stay-busy fight on ESPN2 while we’re waiting around for our shot.”
You don’t think anything of it, given the way the market is structured today. Go from club shows to five-figure paydays on ESPN2 and Telefutura, build up your record, score a title then get your chips on HBO and Showtime.
Only, someone forgot to tell you the rules changed this year.
It was a year where undefeated prospects, notable contenders and former world champions could no longer rely on the Deuce for a quick win. The trend began with Andy Lee’s shocking stoppage loss to Brian Vera on Friday Night Fights in March, but quickly carried over to the Wednesday Night Fight series in perhaps its best season yet.
All good things come to an end. The Wednesday Night Fights series has been more than a good thing this year; it helped re-establish the standard for the way boxing ought to be.
On paper, the season doesn’t exactly end with a ****, as Joel Julio takes on Jose Varela in the main event at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida (Wednesday, 9PM ET/PT).
Then again, the hard-hitting Colombian perfectly fits the mold; a rebuilding contender looking to bide time as his handlers hope to put him in position for a junior middleweight title shot.
Even truer to the current trend is the evening’s co-feature. “Mean” Joe Greene, who appeared on the WNF series in late April, tempts fate as he’s matched up against Jose Miguel Torres, the younger brother of former junior welterweight titlist Ricardo Torres.
Greene survived his own Wednesday Night Fights scare a year ago, hitting the deck seconds into his August ’07 scrap with Daryl Salmon, only to immediately recover and ice him in the very same round. [details]
You don’t think anything of it, given the way the market is structured today. Go from club shows to five-figure paydays on ESPN2 and Telefutura, build up your record, score a title then get your chips on HBO and Showtime.
Only, someone forgot to tell you the rules changed this year.
It was a year where undefeated prospects, notable contenders and former world champions could no longer rely on the Deuce for a quick win. The trend began with Andy Lee’s shocking stoppage loss to Brian Vera on Friday Night Fights in March, but quickly carried over to the Wednesday Night Fight series in perhaps its best season yet.
All good things come to an end. The Wednesday Night Fights series has been more than a good thing this year; it helped re-establish the standard for the way boxing ought to be.
On paper, the season doesn’t exactly end with a ****, as Joel Julio takes on Jose Varela in the main event at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida (Wednesday, 9PM ET/PT).
Then again, the hard-hitting Colombian perfectly fits the mold; a rebuilding contender looking to bide time as his handlers hope to put him in position for a junior middleweight title shot.
Even truer to the current trend is the evening’s co-feature. “Mean” Joe Greene, who appeared on the WNF series in late April, tempts fate as he’s matched up against Jose Miguel Torres, the younger brother of former junior welterweight titlist Ricardo Torres.
Greene survived his own Wednesday Night Fights scare a year ago, hitting the deck seconds into his August ’07 scrap with Daryl Salmon, only to immediately recover and ice him in the very same round. [details]
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