Andre Ward?s fight Saturday at Oakland?s Oracle Arena has got me feeling strangely disaffected. I?ve finally found out why.
It?s an important fight only because Ward is making only his second appearance in the ring since his September 2012 knockout of Chad Dawson at Oracle. Ward was ranked the world?s No. 2 boxer pound-for-pound by The Ring magazine until inactivity got him deleted from the rankings.
Although Ward?s performance Saturday against British journeyman Paul Smith will bear the most scrutiny, the performance by his new promoter, Jay Z?s Roc Nation Sports, also bears watching. So far, not so good.
Saturday?s promotion has flown far under the Bay Area radar, and not only because of the region?s preoccupation with the Golden State Warriors? drive to the NBA title. Saturday?s fight would have followed the Warriors? Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers by only 24 hours had the Warriors not wrapped up the title Tuesday in Cleveland. Instead, a victory parade was scheduled for Friday in Oakland, further obscuring the fight?s imminence and eminence in Oakland.
There have been few ads for the fight, which can be seen on BET (Ch. 70 on my Comcast lineup) on Saturday, in the likely case you hadn?t heard. I finally saw an ad Thursday on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area, but it hyped the concerts attendant to the boxing card more than Ward?s fight itself.
The San Francisco Chronicle?s Vic Tafur had a strong Ward story Wednesday and there was a film clip on CSNBA that evening. But few of the usual press contacts have been made. It seems I?m not the only scribe feeling disaffected.
?Seems like local media has been excluded. Jury is out on Roc Nation,? wrote boxing journalist and former promoter Jerry Hoffman, on Facebook. ?PR people in NY don’t seem to have a clue when it comes to promoting for the people in Oakland. Certainly coverage so far in Bay Area has been a secret. Too much bling, not enough substance.?
We?re accustoming to barrages of email from public relations adjuncts of not only Bob Arum?s Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, but also operations like Goossen-Tudor, the firm that was promoting Ward until the boxer sued to dissolve the relationship and promoter Dan Goossen died last fall.
I?ve heard nothing from Roc Nation, and neither apparently had Comcast?s Ryan Maqui?ana, arguably the most important boxing writer in the Bay Area the past three or four years.
?I’m going (at least I think I am), but it’s been bizarre to say the least, Maqui?ana said on Facebook. ?I’ve had to ask where to apply for credentials, and I haven’t even received confirmation. No initial presser to announce the fight. Weigh-in time is still TBD with the parade happening.?
Ward is Roc Nation?s first boxing client, and apparently the learning curve is steeper than they expected. They certainly need to confront the extent to which online writers are perpetuating boxing?s relationship with its fans.
Most of those fans Saturday will be fixated on a really attractive bout between Adrien Broner and former welterweight champion Shawn Porter, airing on NBC. I wouldn’t mind just staying home.
Ward?s fight, a non-title bout at a catch weight limit of 172 pounds, seems to be falling through some cracks. However, it?s clear that he?s his level-headed self and is relishing an aggressive approach by Smith (35-5, 20 knockouts). ?He?s going to bring it,? Ward told the Chronicle?s Tafur. ?That?s why we picked him.?
Ward?s opponents usually last the full 12 rounds, but by the fourth they?re reduced to minimizing the brutality of the beating they?re receiving instead of putting up a fight.
I?m guessing Ward (27-0, 14 knockouts) will score a knockout, but I?m skeptical as to whether Roc Nation will be able to say the same.
Read more about Andre Ward in Colin Seymour?s free ebook ?The Kingpin Trio: How Three Bay Area Champions Became the Class of Boxing.” Here?s the link. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/477166
