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Philippines, 23 Feb 2025 |
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CROOKEDNESS IN BOXING: SOLUTION TO A WAYWARD SPORT By Reni M. Valenzuela PhilBoxing.com Sat, 15 Mar 2014  Boxing prides itself to have in its fold the highest paid athlete in the world today but, oh, at the expense of everything that is right about prizefighting as a sound and genuinely robust sport. In the sense that boxing has been in the grip of predators that foster only their pillage, by hook or by crook, the sport is deemed to have grown seriously ill, if not already totally lifeless. However, life was preserved last Saturday as we witnessed the Toe-To-Toe showdown between Saul Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo. It was a refreshing sight. Easing danger in a dangerous, violent sport is a tough job to do. Barbarism seems to be the norm in boxing from birth. Though, Tony Weeks perfectly showed the way when he perfectly called the fight to a halt towards the end of round 10 without having to tarry further for a fatal fall to happen. Never mind the cries of thugs and hoodlums. Referee Weeks did the unusual and we admire him for it. Boxing is arguably the most corrupt among all sports on account that it is run by no governing authority, or by mere dummy organizations. Boxing has been forestalled in traffic for having neither traffic enforcers nor traffic lights on the road. You, the fans, boxers and promoters together with the existing boxing outlets in media would be the first to benefit in the event that boxing is steered to its path and needed reforms are set to take effect for everyone to enjoy and profit. As the sport advances, you?d be glad to be served and exceedingly blessed in a game that is done well within the game?s rules, sans the machination of vultures, cobras and sharks. The Sweet Science is neither ?sweet? nor ?science? anymore. It has been beleaguered by ?extra terrestrials? who, for the longest time, can roam around and mingle with normal people. Thus the essence of an authentic sport and true excitement are often cut from matchups within and outside of those that were made and not made for racket reasons. When can we have a repeat of Ali-Frazier, Graciano-Zale, Dempsey-Firpo, Robinson-Lamotta, Leonard-Duran, Tyson-Holyfield, Haggler-Hearns, Barrera-Morales, Jones Jr.-Griffin, Pryor-Arguello, Gans-Nelson, and Pancho Villa vs. Willie Wilde in 1923? Boxing is too wayward a sport that it needs a commissioning body to manage and regulate it. A body to temper unruliness and to be headed by a person/s of probity and prudence who could be appointed by White House, the U.S. Congress or by an assembly of thinking aficionados representative of different nations. For sure, crooks will always have crooks to gather as demolition teams to do demolition works by downgrading the importance of a governing body in boxing like what they did to the pending bill/proposal of two concerned U.S. legislators. A song?s line imparts a thought in this regard, ?? you may be hindered from doing what?s right, do it anyway.? But for the meantime that the sport is in agony with seemingly no solution in sight to its lingering illness, we have BOYCOTT as a potent medicine to take towards healing ourselves. A man is strongest when personal interests become immaterial in his efforts to press for the concerns that involve a bigger world just as when the King of kings abandoned his lofty place to walk among mortals to save humans. Hence the people are regarded steadfast to stand their ground, to correct the wrong. For the first time in many years, yours truly won?t be watching live a Pacquiao fight not because I dislike Pacquiao. You can?t eat good principle, but you can certainly live healthy on it. Or die well with it. The protest is not against Pacman, but against Bob Arum. A certain Sydney Hall emailed me last February 7, ?I was in Manila last week and had permission to put Manny on the phone with Floyd and Manny did not seem interested. If he wants to fight I am positive nothing will happen as long as TR (Top Rank) is promoting the fight.? Whether this incident really occurred or not, the question is: Why didn?t Floyd simply come out in the open on that day to indicate his willingness to make the fight? Neither Pac nor Floyd?s scheduled bouts in the next two months are worth watching for me. Or, until first they meet in the same ring will I resolve to enjoy them again versus different opponents. The ?Pacquiao-Mayweather? is not just one fight. It is a fight against all that is wrong about boxing today. How come it hasn?t materialized up to now? Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would do well to refrain from further engaging in any bout until they agree to fight each other. Take it with a grain of salt when you hear news of fast-selling venue tickets and big pay-per-view subscriptions involving Mayweather and Pacquiao as world-apart superstars because such PR announcements could be aimed just to hypnotize the weak by creating a bandwagon effect to sell the fights, I mean shows. To perpetuate foolishness in boxing, you need only to patronize the Mayweather-Maidana and Pacquiao-Bradley-Arum II. Or, watch the bouts if you want but spend not a dime to pay for them if you care enough to make the PEOPLE POWER work to resurrect a dead Lazarus. Get your message across clearly. Speak the language of the avaricious and so render yourself a great favor side by side with an ailing, sobbing, weeping sport. Attention Senators John McCain and Harry Reid. Your idea about boxing with few revisions to improve it could be an answer. The sport needs an Easter Sunday. renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reni M. Valenzuela.  |
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