The year 2007 is nearly here and sadly, boxing hasn’t rebounded that much in 2006. So, now I hope for a better year and have come up with a list of wishes that will probably not come true, but I’m an optimist and maybe, just maybe, there will be a chance of some of them actually coming through. With the UFC/MMA arguably, beating pugilism across the board, it will take a big year of fistic fury from boxing to bring back the fans. I, for one, will not jump ship to MMA just because the men in speedos are getting more attention then the men in boxing trunks. Boxing to me is like an old car that is beat up and the neighbors want you to get rid of it because it is an eyesore, but if it is restored, it will be a beautiful thing.
So, here they are in no particular order, the top 5 wishes that may bring boxing back to the glory days, when everyone knew the Heavyweight Champion, and the networks would have the family crowded around the television screen, excited over every punch and eagerly awaiting the next round.
Unification of the Heavyweight Title
Where the heavyweight division goes, so too goes boxing, as the saying goes, and when you ask anyone on the street just who holds the crown, you will not get an answer, or you may hear the names: “Mike Tyson” or “Evander Holyfield.” Lennox Lewis cleaned out the division and now the best of the rest hold fractions of the title and are either unwilling or unable to unify them at this point. We have four different, recognized World Heavyweight Champions in Nicolay Valuev (WBA), Wladimir Klitschko (IBF), Shannon Briggs (WBO), and Oleg Maskaev (WBC). There has been a lot of talk from all parties involved, but talk is cheap and it is yet to be seen if any of the four will square off against each other with the intent to become the undisputed heavyweight king. More likely, they are going to milk the title for all that it is worth, and then lose it to somebody else that nobody cares about and do the same thing.
This is a wish, however, and I am hoping that Wlad will face the other giant, Valuev, and Oleg will face Briggs, with the winners facing each other. We have over 12 months for this to happen, and if we can just remove Jameel McCline, Ray Austin, and Sultan Ibragimov, three unworthy title contenders from the picture temporarily, and have this dispute settled, and then these three guys can line up for a crack. One undisputed heavyweight champion is my first wish for 2007.
No More Pay Per Screws
I have the “MVP Package” from Charter Communications, which gives me every channel that you can think of for 100 bucks a month. Now, I do have to pay four extra dollars a month for ESPN Classic, for some reason, and I do. The Pay Per Views that once existed for the historical meetings between two men at the top of their game with equal popularity and equal crowd support, have become a way for the scum that runs boxing to screw the fans as hard as they can, month after month. I loved it when Jim Lampley, prior to the broadcast of James Toney-Hasim Rahman, kept on saying: “This is not a Pay Per View,” as if they had made a mistake.
This may be my biggest and least likely wish. HBO presents at least 12 Pay Per Views a year, and out of the bunch, perhaps one or two are worthy of the 50 dollar price tag. Typically, subscribers to HBO are paying somewhere around 30 dollars for the viewing pleasure of movies, played over and over again, and a boxing match that is OK, but is only put out there to hype an upcoming PPV. HBO is not the only menace to boxing…but they are the most flagrant. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad was PPV worthy. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Yory Boy Campas was not. Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Rocky Juarez II was not. 90% were not worth the money. Erik Morales had lost 3 of his last 4 bouts and was headlining a PPV as a lamb led to slaughter against Manny Pacquiao.
So, I begin the top dog of bogus PPVs with the wish that they see the error in their ways and present good fights on their network that people are already paying for. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should, and a PPV for the mediocre bouts that we have been witnessing is absurd.
More Network Televised Boxing
There was a time when NBC, CBS, and ABC all presented boxing on a regular basis. ABC’s Wide World of Sports always presented an interesting bout, but now, not one of the three networks are interested in boxing. USA, which used to have the best boxing broadcast ever: USA’s Tuesday Night Fights, no longer air boxing either, electing to show sickening episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger instead. They have thrown in the towel, but it is not too late to ask for a rematch. Boxing needs a shot in the arm and if USA began a program as they once had, and ABC and the rest followed, the sport would pick up in popularity and fighters would gain the exposure and be a known commodity when they appear on HBO to challenge for a title. It would be a beautiful thing, but it is unlikely.
ESPN continues its ways with “Friday Night Fights,” and Versus and ESPN Classic do what they can to keep boxing alive, but the networks need to step up and start showing fights, and not the Contender fights…actual fights with unknown talent going head to head, and creating a buzz in the boxing world. Network boxing any night of the week would bring the game back. If they can reserve time for Nascar and a dog show (Which USA Network does), then they can find room for boxing.
Bring Back 15 Round Championship Bouts
The 15 round championship bout was eliminated due to network television demand that the fight fit into a certain time slot, but the game has lost because of it. All the greatest boxers of our time had boxed that fifteen round limit, and isn’t there a time, John Ruiz bouts excluded, that you have sat back and wished for 3 more rounds? It “used to separate the men from the boys,” and I think that it should be brought back.
The 15 round distance is a part of boxing history and reducing it to 12 rounds has left more questions than answers. Think of how history would be different had there not been those extra 3 rounds. Rocky Marciano would have not retired undefeated. He would have lost a 12 round decision to Jersey Joe Walcott, and would have not won by KO in the 13th round. Sugar Ray Leonard would have lost a decision to Thomas Hearns in their first encounter. Think about how many fights would have been affected had the 15 round limit stood. There would have been no controversy in the Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor bout. Bernard Hopkins may have TKO’d Jermain Taylor in their first bout. Just think about how exciting the announcement would be: Ricky Hatton vs. Miguel Cotto for 15 rounds of boxing. Or even, Floyd Mayweather, JR. vs. Miguel Cotto for 15 rounds. It would certainly turn a few heads and maybe bring boxing a few more viewers.
No Open Scoring
It seems that right when you think that these idiots that run boxing can’t hurt it anymore, they come up with this “genius” idea. It was used in the Jermain Taylor-Kassim Ouma bout and I personally hate the idea. If you reveal the scores as the bout goes on, you will prompt the guy that’s in the lead to coast and perhaps, even run, to make it to the decision. It’s a bad idea from the gate, and it needs to be squashed immediately. How anyone thinks that this will remove controversy or make the sport better in any way is beyond me. Part of the fun is awaiting the decision, especially in a close fight. When you take away the drama, you take away some of the entertainment, and lose fans. That’s just what we need at this point…less fans.
Well, there you go. Those are the top 5 wishes for this year. Perhaps the boxing wishmaster will grant a few of them and begin to push boxing into the right direction. If we keep on going down the route that we are going, I’m afraid that the only action that we will see is inside an octagon, and I really don’t care for the MMA/UFC. So, it is now up to the boxing fans to refuse to buy the pay per screws, and write your networks, demanding boxing. Use profanity if you have to, although you may not get the results that you seek. This is the time when the boxing fans must ban together and tell the industry that we don’t want your crappy PPVs, you _____________! I will let you fill in the blank.
