The Chicken Littles of the boxing world are yelling their false alarms once again. “The fistic sky is falling,” these Cassandra types are screaming three months ahead of the Sept. 15 Mexican Independence Day PPV TV showdown between boxing’s fiercest rivals. When I say fiercest rivals, my reference is not the surging Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or the massively popular fellow Mexicano Canelo Alvarez. And I’m not referring to Chavez’s alluring foe, Sergio Martinez, or Alvarez’s probable 9/15 opponent, rugged Vicious Victor Ortiz. No, I mean HBO against hated cable TV archrival Showtime. There’s real fire in their competition now, what with ex-Showtime leader Ken Hershman now head man for the Sixth Avenue H(o)BOes and ex-Golden Boy barrister Stephen Espinoza calling the shots for the situated on Broadway Showtime. And I mean Richie Rich Schaefer-driven Golden Boy renewing hostilities with Top Rank. To a lesser extent, this mid-September night in Las Vegas will also be a war of wills and might between casino mogul Steve Wynn, working with Arum and TR, and with boxing mainstay MGM Grand, hosting the GBP stellar attraction. Maybe they’re playing chicken and one promoter will blink, change their fight date and fervent fans won’t be forced to tape one show while they watch their first pick en vivo. To use one of Uncle Bob’s common expressions, “Who cares?” Three out of the four main event combatants are Mexican (OK, Ortiz is Mexican American) while Martinez is from Argentina. But what’s more symbolic of American capitalism than two glittering events going head to head on the same evening? You say it’s stupid, I say it’s fantastic. It will be a two ring circus in Vegas and, while I wish I could attend both events, I give Chavez-Martinez a narrow nod as the more intriguing matchup. Just slightly, yes, but neither Canelo nor Vicious Vic can say they are fighting the world’s generally acknowledged No. 3 pound for pound fight as that’s what Martinez remains. So choose your entree and save your side dish for later consumption. Genuine boxing fans, and you know who you are, will watch both of these crackerjack fights. Competition at the highest level of boxing? Tell me when that became a bad thing. I guess somebody has to defend the American Way. ([email protected])
