The fight looked good on paper, with Narvaez taking his shiny undefeated record and two world titles into the fray. In the matchup and in the ring it was quite a different story.
Ultimately the discussion between HBO announcers Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. turned to the motivation Narvaez had actually brought into the ring. Kellerman was remarking, rightly so, that Narvaez was not going to have any chance without throwing punches, and that he had resigned himself not to throw them. Lampley chimed in a bit. Those guys were giving us a perspective from what could be considered a fan?s point of view. Jones, who has been a prospective survivor a few times since he turned 40, was taking the fighter?s perspective. From one standpoint, that is indeed what he gets paid for. But THIS fighter?s perspective was a bit too, well, warped.
Jones said, in essence, that during the interview the announcing crew did with Narvaez the day before the fight, it was made somewhat clear by the fighter that he had shown up in New York City not necessarily to win, but to show off some of his defensive skills in an attempt to last the entire distance, and pick up a payday. By way of his actions, Narvaez was doing nothing to make a liar out of Jones.
Well, we appreciate that kind of honesty from a boxing commentator, but his attitude in communicating that honesty came off as if to say to Lampley and Kellerman, ?Hey, leave the guy alone. He?s trying to pick up a paycheck.? At one point, Jones even questioned why Narvaez would want to engage and incur unnecessary blows to the head.
That kind of discussion is fair enough to have ? when you?re amongst friends and colleagues in the lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from the Garden, or shooting the breeze with people at the Carnegie Deli after the fight. At the microphone, at ringside, on an HBO telecast, it was insulting to the audience.
If I managed Narvaez, and his general disposition was safety-first, I don?t know that I would advise him to spoil that undefeated record by going into a fight where he was almost sure to lose. Then again, he (and I, as his manager) didn?t make that kind of money before, and probably wasn?t going to again.
Which brings us back to a guy just going in there for the paycheck.
Any boxing fans or matchmakers who are paying attention will tell you that those kind of ?agony? fights are the worst that can possibly be made. It?s the same thing, round after round, and when a guy is intent just to get to the final bell it is not an entertaining experience for the viewer but rather a painful one. When you have that kind of difference between two guys in a ring, most people would rather see it come to an end inside of twelve rounds; maybe inside of four rounds.
