Boxing is Bigger than Two Men

I have always been an avid fan of boxing and I enjoy watching both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight over the last decade and decade and a half. But I have grown tired of the Pacquioa Mayweather debate on every sports column, blog, and website and I hope other people have as well. Don't get me wrong it would be great for boxing, more money generated than Ali vs Foreman, good vs evil, money money money, blah blah blah. These are all supposed to be talking points for promoters yet it seems to be coming up more on comment boards, blogs and various other places where people are not paid to hype up a fight that has yet to occur. The Rumble in the Jungle was not about how many tickets it sold (though I'm sure someone has a record of it somewhere), it was about the greatest of the era fighting each other. Most would argue Pacquioa and Mayweather are the best of their era and most would be right, but this should be demanded by fans for that reason. However at the same time, the sport of boxing does not consist of only one super fight every generation. Mega fights don't come along every decade, they come along when two fighters put on a terrific performance against each other; their name, background, title or any other myriad of stats are irrelevant. The Gatti Ward trilogy were fights between two men who had suffered defeats and weren't even fighting for a belt, but it is hailed as one of the greatest fights of the 2000's.

The Purse is irrelevant, the names are only as good as the wars they have been involved in and the wars they will be in. Let’s face it, and I'm talking to true boxing fans, should any of us care how many Pay Per View buys a fight generates. True boxing fans should not be sucked into a vacuum where all of a sport’s fate relies on two men. Boxing is fine with or without this fight and the simplest reason is that there are more than two fighters in this sport to pine over. At the end of the day if Money and Pacman never fight Angulo vs Kirkland will still happen, Cotto will remain relevant, Adrian Broner will continue fighting, Marcos Maidana will continue jockeying for rematches. All of these fighters still exist as well as countless others. It is the promoter's job to hype up a fight that may never be, not the fans. You know what you want to see, a phenomenal fight that can be talked about for years. Between who really doesn’t matter.

James Toney

 James Toney will be fighting on November 4 against Denis Lebedev a cruiserweight from Russia who recently defeated Roy Jones Jr. in the tenth round K.O. Toney is eleven years older (43) and is coming off of a victory earlier this year in February. I've always been a fan of James Toney not just for his skill but also his record 73(44) wins, only 6 losses (never being KO'd) and 3 draws. He's been in the sport for a quarter century and has never shyed away from a fight. In honor of one hell of a warrior I made this video so enjoy!

Mayweather Ortiz

The hype has ended and the anticipated matchup between Vicious Victor Ortiz and Floyd Money Mayweather has ended in an abrupt and in most perspectives controversial fashion. While everyone loves a knockout no one was expecting one to be delivered in the manner that it was. First and foremost the facts:

1.)    Mayweather came in the ring 14lbs lighter and 10 years older than Ortiz.

2.)    Ortiz was able to connect effectively on some occasions.

3.)    Mayweather was continually pushing Ortiz backward rather than lying in wait.

4.)    Ortiz led with his head, something he routinely does against most opponents which will naturally lead to some accidental head butting.

5.)    Ortiz deliberately head butted Mayweather which cause Floyd to bleed from the mouth.

6.)    Mayweather took a cheap shot and then knocked Ortiz out with the second punch.

7.)    Mayweather continues to state that he is open to a rematch.

Now after this fight there was tremendous backlash against the already highly criticized Mayweather. Most made statements that his acts were deplorable, he is childish and he is bad for the sport. However to play Devil’s advocate, the completely legal yet arguably cheap left right combo was not unprovoked. Ortiz did head butt Mayweather and while he may have been trying to make amends for a dirty shot, a kiss on the cheek can add insult to injury. And even though the shot did seem a tad bit unfair, the main reason the two punches were considered such bad form was because Ortiz was K.O.d from them.

Mayweather’s argument as all would agree with is that the golden rule of boxing is to protect yourself at all times. Though this argument is tried and true it is not impossible to get hit with a cheap shot even while you follow that rule. However this is something many blame Ortiz for not doing and to a certain degree they are right. Ortiz’s camp seemed highly concerned about Mayweather’s use of his elbow. Ortiz’s trainer insisted Mayweather is a dirty fighter and a cheater. These two statements became frequently mentioned and cosigned by media journalists and bloggers alike. Yet these are the same people who seemed surprised and highly insulted by Mayweather’s actions.

Outside of the ending of the fight, the matchup was impressive for both fighters. Ortiz showed courage and strength actually being able to make contact with an elusive Mayweather. However even before the knockout Mayweather showed the world yet again that his skill is an enigma. Not only was Floyd the aggressor against a younger bigger fighter, he also dispelled the rumors in regards to a weak spot on the temple, a point that Ortiz actually was able to connect on quite often. In the end a boxing match is a fight, a fight with rules but a fight nonetheless. And while there are tirades about Floyd’s character and lack of class, he is a fighter; a fighter from a hard back ground like Ortiz, a fighter with tremendous hand speed, a man who is paid to fight. It is hard to say what class entails when your profession is one of violence.

Both fighters fought hard and when one got dirty the other did as well; but this fight by no means kills boxing. Mike Tyson contened that his biting of Evander Holyfield was brought on by continuous head butts. This helps support two arguments; one is that head butts piss off people your fighting (so try not to do it); and two that the Holyfield incident was in 1997 and yet Tyson continued to fight and gain notoriety as did Holyfield. Boxing is a contact sport people get hurt and cheap shots will occur. Victor played the nice guy even if he lost his temper for a moment, and Mayweather remains unphased by the rantings of bloggers and writers because he is well aware that he has been categorized as the villian. Whether he won the way he did or won another way, sports commentary on Sunday would remain the same in regards to opinions of Floyd Mayweather.

Klitcko Haye

This commentary was a tad back logged due to technical problems, but if any one still even cares about this fight here's my oppinion!

Over past weekend I was watching an upsetting matchup between David Haye and Wladamir Klitchko that resulted as many anticipated but few hoped.  While commentators and spectators were swift to judge this fight in typical fashion as nothing more than a matchup of talking the talk verses walking the walk, I noticed something that a lot of people don’t like to discuss but has lingered in my mind throughout the Klitchko Brother’s reign of the Heavyweight division. The sad fact is that Wladimir uses his size in a way that most untalented heavyweights do; when a smaller opponent gets close to him he clinches and leans. During his fight with Haye, Wladimir literally pushed Haye to the canvas on several occasions. Now obviously Haye let himself fall, but before we condemn him to being a “flopper” perhaps he was simply using his smaller stature to his advantage.

When Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson the same clinch and lean tactics were imposed to nullify Tyson into an 8^th round K.O. Why is this method so commonly used? Because it wears on the smaller fighter’s legs; essentially when Wladamir leans on his opponent, the smaller fighter is forced to squat almost all 240 some pounds of Klitchko off of them. This over the course of twelve rounds drains the opponent’s endurance thus leading to a K.O. within the later rounds. Now this may be fine to most people and it is perfectly legal within the confines of the sport of boxing. This tactic however is nothing more than a big man using his weight to tip a sanctioned fight further in his favor. And so if a bigger fighter is not judged for using his size against his opponent, why should a smaller fighter be criticized for not playing the big man’s game of carrying his weight?

Now obviously I, like most boxing fans hope that taking a knee anytime someone is leaned on does not become commonplace in the sport. However at the same time I don’t think that heavyweights should open a fight holding on to each other; they have training camps for a reason, my guess would be so that you have some stamina and you don’t need to grab someone in the first round.   

Saturday nights fight was in many people’s eyes the same old story of the modern Heavyweight division. However in my opinion it has only seemed to reinforce an idea that the only reason the Klitchko brothers dominate is because they leave audiences and subpar opponents awe struck based on sheer size and the way they throw it around.