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The Road To Ward/Kovalev: As A True Fan Of The Sport - Calm Before The Storm
We are less than a week away from what I consider to be the biggest fight since possibly ODLH/Trinidad. What makes this fight special to me is a combination of the willingness of two elite fighters at the pinnacle to face each other, the significance of the fight results, and the masterpiece we will be treated to in style clashes and battles of the boxing mind.
In an era where prizefighting and it's fanbase is more concerned with the prize as opposed to the fighting, where negotiations and protecting hopefuls on their way to the money-generating top take a front seat and the core - the action, the style clashes, the personal storylines take a backseat, often almost lost among the hubris of greed and deception; how fantastic it is to see a light in the darkness, a glimmer of hope, a reminder as to why I fell in love with the sweet science materialize itself, manifest itself in the most purest of forms: the best fighting the best, no strings attached.
It has been many years since a singular fight has decided who should wear the crown as the pound for pound king, undisputed. The word brings chills up my spine. We were close, so close, in 2010, but the two titans of the sport at the time, for reasons which don't matter here and now, would not collide for many years later. There was no such delay here. And there shouldn't be. Boxing needs heroes, needs storylines that grip you and don't let go until the last bell rings. Ward, despite all his obscurity at the highest level, still remains one of the most perfect, most disciplined and humble fighters out there. Kovalev, despite the focus on his power and killer instinct, very much the complete fighter in practice, and perfect in record, has what it takes to enter the ring of truth and produce what we as boxing fans, true boxing fans, have had very little of, possibly ever in our lifetimes: a real 50/50 fight.
The style clash will be something remarkable, something to behold. Something that could even be underwhelming to the fan who's eye is not yet fine tuned to pick up the finer nunaces of the sport. Foreman once said the better boxing is the less it is appreciated, and that rings true today and always will, however for those of us who recognize and appreciate the sport at the highest level, we are in for a treat. This fight will have everything. Two men, ignorant to defeat, complete as they come, powerful, intelligent, determined, conditioned, hungry. Ready. Ready to leave it all in the ring in the name of legacy, history, pride, honor, blood. No payoffs, no dives, not "just an opponent". A true test at the highest level, of the highest caliber.
This is the anticipation, the calm before the storm. Enjoy it. Enjoy it like you would enjoy a peaceful relaxing drive into the mountains for the weekend. Know that the best is yet to come, but that getting there is half the reward itself. When it's over, we will have closure. No debates, no bitterness - not for us true fans. Fight fans. Fans who can set aside differences, tastes in fighter and style, and just be fans again - be the boy who fell in love with boxing the first time you realized what you were watching wasn't chaos and mindless swinging, but coordinated, orchestrated violence, and it was beautiful. For us unbiased fans of boxing, we will be kids again on fight night. Our dreams, our fantasies, this is what they ultimately always are in the end - the maximum. The climax. Two masters of their art, clashing for supremacy. For the fan who can set aside individual fandom and just love the sport for what it is, for one night, he will have an experience like no other in life. This is what we live for gentlemen, this is boxing, and on 11.19.16 we will all be in nirvana, for no matter who rises victorious, we can all agree that the best man truly won, and the best man will be truly recognized, and that he was truly tested, and it's times like these, no matter how distant from each other, when it all pays off.
~Wraps
In an era where prizefighting and it's fanbase is more concerned with the prize as opposed to the fighting, where negotiations and protecting hopefuls on their way to the money-generating top take a front seat and the core - the action, the style clashes, the personal storylines take a backseat, often almost lost among the hubris of greed and deception; how fantastic it is to see a light in the darkness, a glimmer of hope, a reminder as to why I fell in love with the sweet science materialize itself, manifest itself in the most purest of forms: the best fighting the best, no strings attached.
It has been many years since a singular fight has decided who should wear the crown as the pound for pound king, undisputed. The word brings chills up my spine. We were close, so close, in 2010, but the two titans of the sport at the time, for reasons which don't matter here and now, would not collide for many years later. There was no such delay here. And there shouldn't be. Boxing needs heroes, needs storylines that grip you and don't let go until the last bell rings. Ward, despite all his obscurity at the highest level, still remains one of the most perfect, most disciplined and humble fighters out there. Kovalev, despite the focus on his power and killer instinct, very much the complete fighter in practice, and perfect in record, has what it takes to enter the ring of truth and produce what we as boxing fans, true boxing fans, have had very little of, possibly ever in our lifetimes: a real 50/50 fight.
The style clash will be something remarkable, something to behold. Something that could even be underwhelming to the fan who's eye is not yet fine tuned to pick up the finer nunaces of the sport. Foreman once said the better boxing is the less it is appreciated, and that rings true today and always will, however for those of us who recognize and appreciate the sport at the highest level, we are in for a treat. This fight will have everything. Two men, ignorant to defeat, complete as they come, powerful, intelligent, determined, conditioned, hungry. Ready. Ready to leave it all in the ring in the name of legacy, history, pride, honor, blood. No payoffs, no dives, not "just an opponent". A true test at the highest level, of the highest caliber.
This is the anticipation, the calm before the storm. Enjoy it. Enjoy it like you would enjoy a peaceful relaxing drive into the mountains for the weekend. Know that the best is yet to come, but that getting there is half the reward itself. When it's over, we will have closure. No debates, no bitterness - not for us true fans. Fight fans. Fans who can set aside differences, tastes in fighter and style, and just be fans again - be the boy who fell in love with boxing the first time you realized what you were watching wasn't chaos and mindless swinging, but coordinated, orchestrated violence, and it was beautiful. For us unbiased fans of boxing, we will be kids again on fight night. Our dreams, our fantasies, this is what they ultimately always are in the end - the maximum. The climax. Two masters of their art, clashing for supremacy. For the fan who can set aside individual fandom and just love the sport for what it is, for one night, he will have an experience like no other in life. This is what we live for gentlemen, this is boxing, and on 11.19.16 we will all be in nirvana, for no matter who rises victorious, we can all agree that the best man truly won, and the best man will be truly recognized, and that he was truly tested, and it's times like these, no matter how distant from each other, when it all pays off.
~Wraps
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