When I was a kid, I fantasized about going to a mysterious land far away from Puerto Rico, like Japan, Egypt, Italy or perhaps India, and finding an Aladdin?s lamp. The reason for that was that, being a huge aviation fan and already a model aircraft collector, I wanted to ask the lamp to grant me one wish: for it to produce die cast toy airplane models of every airline in the world so I could take them home. While I did not find any lamps, part of the dream did come true, with brands like Germany?s Schabak and Herpa producing large mass numbers of airplane models branding every airline imaginable, and me discovering those two die cast toy brands at a local hobby shop. That day I learned dreams do come true?in some life areas anyways.
It would have been wonderful if Aladdin was a boxing promoter. Imagine this: you ask for a confrontation between Joel Casamayor and Manny Pacquiao, and it is immediately granted. You ask for Pay Per View to be gone and free fights to be as guaranteed as freedom is for all under the United States constitution, and it is guaranteed. Everything the fan wants, everything the fan gets. Kind of like a buffet dinner?a boxing buffet dinner.
Unfortunately, today?s boxing buffets are cooked by men like Don King and Bob Arum, with an increasing stake at the promotional area of the sport by Oscar De La Hoya. These are the Aladdins of boxing, the people we must go to if we want to see top level fights. Unlike Aladdin, however, they, more often than not, watch out for their own interests rather than ours, and so, in recent modern boxing history, we have had great fights like the Roberto Duran-Ray Leonard trio, Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad and the Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales trio, but these guys have also managed to throw us lemons like the first fight between a still up and coming, two division Champion De La Hoya against the decidedly aged Julio Cesar Chavez, and William Joppy?s anti-climatic win against another well past his prime boxing hero in Roberto Duran. In defense of Arum, however, he has given us many battles we actually want to see, like the Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello classics, Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns and Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera I among others.
So what if we had control of boxing instead of the promoters, commissioners and world organization presidents? Imagine we have found that Aladdin lamp, rubbed it and found ourselves the absolute leaders of the sport? I, for one, think I know what I?d like to do.
For starters, John Ruiz would get at least one chance to become Heavyweight Champion once again. And Ruslan Chagaev would not be able to lure people in order to have their rematch in Germany. He would have to come to the United States or to Puerto Rico to face the challenger. And if he beats Floyd Mayweather or Rocky Hatton in the future, Miguel Cotto would face Oscar De La Hoya. For now, that would be the most logical bout for the Puerto Rican to take shall he prevail in his next fight. De La Hoya is still De La Hoya?he gave Mayweather, JR., a very good fight and still has most of his ability, so I don?t see why De La Hoya can?t beat Miguel Cotto.
Alfonso Gomez would have to fight Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., in a fight that may very well define Cotto or Antonio Margarito?s next opponent. Joe Calzaghe, already an established all-time great of the modern era, would have to bring his?well, his trunks to the United States and battle Bernard Hopkins, another established all-time great, but the fight would not be in Las Vegas. Maybe Boston, Philadelphia, or even Los Angeles.
That?s another thing, I would like to see boxing expand beyond Sin City. Muhammad Ali tried to make boxing a worldwide industry and I agree with him that the sport has to become globalized and many of the super fights should take place in cities like Paris and Prague, for example, but Las Vegas has done real well in epitomizing, with boxing fights. It?s slogan that: ?What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? should not apply to the sweet science. And women boxers would get much more exposure?definitely much more. At least, the magazines should devote one cover to a female boxer every six months. And I?m not talking Laila Ali only here either?all of women?s boxing champions deserved to be recognized for their effort and dedication. Apart from Laila Ali, I do know one woman boxer who has become a national hero and that is Marcela Acuna in Argentina, so the ground work has been laid?we just need to push them forward.
I would like to see some rules enforced, such as suspensions. One month a guy gets suspended in Nevada for a year and the next month, he finds a loophole and returns in some obscure show in Idaho or Wyoming. That is not right because sometimes, the people supposed to be responsible for the sport, treat it the same way a parent treats a baby when not preventing the kid from crossing the street by itself. Also, I would never approve a fight between a guy who is 20-0 and one that is 6-10. What?s the sense in that? Would they let a puppy fight a bear? No. But suddenly it is ok to place a decisively inferior competitor in against one who needs to build his record, in a sport where lives are at risk at all times. I?m kind of split in the 12 or 15 round issue. Sure it would be great to sit down and look forward to 15 great rounds of boxing as we relax in our favorite chair but back in the 15 round era, many more boxers got seriously hurt than they do now that we have 12 rounds. Besides, if you don?t satisfy your appetite for boxing with 12 rounds, what?s the difference 3 extra stanzas will do to you?
Pay Per View would definitely be gone. Just like super fights should be, like Miss Universe, the Olympics and all star games, rotated from one large city to the other, contracts with the big three American networks, with the BBC in Great Britain and so on, need to be worked so that once again, the common citizen knows who the Flyweight Champion(s) of the world is(are). Those are the only ways that the general public can get back to talk about boxers the way they talk about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Imagine this: people at the store wouldn?t just talk about De La Hoya?s last fight, they would refer to him and his wife, Puerto Rican music superstar Millie Corretjer, as DeLaretjer!!!
Another thing would be the judging. I don?t know what exactly, but when a judge is either relaxingly watching the fight from his chair on planet Mars or lacking the mathematic skills of a kindergarten student, something needs to be done. Open scoring has proved futile because the judges keep scoring for whoever they want to score for anyways and computerized scoring may be the worst remedy invented in history as it would cause more problems than a mother in law, but an investigation of every conceived boxing robbery would be good.
A third issue would be the lavish boxing shows that should grace our sport?s events. Perhaps nothing like James Brown?s pre-fight concert with all the feathered women in Rocky IV, but something to make boxing events more than barely just a backstreet, darkened neighborhood event like they sometimes appear to be.
Boxing, it has been said very often, is the land of broken dreams. But, as I can attest, dreams sometimes do come true.
Hopefully, it won?t take someone finding Aladdin?s lamp so that all of our desires as fans do become real.
