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from Dougie's Friday mailbag
Posted Aug. 20, 2010 at 03:06am
by Doug Fischer
BLACK FIGHTERS AND HEART
Posted Aug. 20, 2010 at 03:06am
by Doug Fischer
BLACK FIGHTERS AND HEART
Originally posted by Doug Fischer
Well, as a child of the 1970s who became a hardcore boxing fan during the 1980s, I can’t deny that there are a lot less African-American ring warriors than there were 25 years ago.
Your email made me wonder when the last time two African-American fighters made for the fight of the year. I had to go all the way back to 1992 when Rid**** Bowe challenged Evander Holyfield. For the record, Holyfield-Tyson I was THE RING’s fight of the year for 1996, but let’s be real, that was the beatdown of the year.
However, I should point out that John David Jackson was one half of THE RING’s fight of the year for 1994 (vs. Jorge Castro), Ivan Robinson was part of the fight of the year for 1998 (vs. Arturo Gatti), Emanuel Augustus meshed very well with Micky Ward to make the FOTY for 2001, and Diego Corrales’ first clash with Jose Luis Castillo was not only FOTY for 2005 but arguably one of the best slugfests of all time (the late Chico was half black and as a Halfrican myself I’ve gotta recognize him).
So I can’t say that “heart” has simply left all African-American fighters. I would argue that the sport has become more Latino-dominated in the last 15 to 20 years and less African Americans are being attracted to boxing than in past decades (and that includes a lot of badasses). Also, the image of successful African-Americans has changed over the years and has become that of the glitzy/celebrity business man so unfortunately we’re getting fighters with once-in-a-lifetime talent and ability who want to play it safe as Roy Jones Jr. did and Floyd Mayweather Jr. does.
Are we ever going to see the likes of a Joe Frazier or Matthew Saad Muhammad in the ring again? Probably not. However, I’ll go on record as say that some of the toughest fighters I’ve ever witnessed were African Americans (Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Chris Byrd, Bernard Hopkins and Mark Johnson come to mind). Yeah, I know these guys grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, but there are still young world-class African-American fighters who bring it. Paul Williams doesn’t back down from a fight and has been in two bona fide 12-round barnburners (vs. Antonio Margarito and Sergio Martinez). James Kirkland will probably return to his brutal ways in the ring once he gets his ass out of jail.
Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson made for a enjoyable 12-round fight and showed as much balls as skill, IMO. Who knows? If Chad Dawson fights Tavoris Cloud, maybe the hardnosed Floridian will ignite the HBO-contract fighter’s inner fire.
Your email made me wonder when the last time two African-American fighters made for the fight of the year. I had to go all the way back to 1992 when Rid**** Bowe challenged Evander Holyfield. For the record, Holyfield-Tyson I was THE RING’s fight of the year for 1996, but let’s be real, that was the beatdown of the year.
However, I should point out that John David Jackson was one half of THE RING’s fight of the year for 1994 (vs. Jorge Castro), Ivan Robinson was part of the fight of the year for 1998 (vs. Arturo Gatti), Emanuel Augustus meshed very well with Micky Ward to make the FOTY for 2001, and Diego Corrales’ first clash with Jose Luis Castillo was not only FOTY for 2005 but arguably one of the best slugfests of all time (the late Chico was half black and as a Halfrican myself I’ve gotta recognize him).
So I can’t say that “heart” has simply left all African-American fighters. I would argue that the sport has become more Latino-dominated in the last 15 to 20 years and less African Americans are being attracted to boxing than in past decades (and that includes a lot of badasses). Also, the image of successful African-Americans has changed over the years and has become that of the glitzy/celebrity business man so unfortunately we’re getting fighters with once-in-a-lifetime talent and ability who want to play it safe as Roy Jones Jr. did and Floyd Mayweather Jr. does.
Are we ever going to see the likes of a Joe Frazier or Matthew Saad Muhammad in the ring again? Probably not. However, I’ll go on record as say that some of the toughest fighters I’ve ever witnessed were African Americans (Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Chris Byrd, Bernard Hopkins and Mark Johnson come to mind). Yeah, I know these guys grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, but there are still young world-class African-American fighters who bring it. Paul Williams doesn’t back down from a fight and has been in two bona fide 12-round barnburners (vs. Antonio Margarito and Sergio Martinez). James Kirkland will probably return to his brutal ways in the ring once he gets his ass out of jail.
Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson made for a enjoyable 12-round fight and showed as much balls as skill, IMO. Who knows? If Chad Dawson fights Tavoris Cloud, maybe the hardnosed Floridian will ignite the HBO-contract fighter’s inner fire.
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