That Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is Not A Train Or Why Boxing Is Hardly Dead:
1. Manny Pacquiao has become a crossover star whose broad Filipino base, 97 million or so strong, has been extended to Mexicans, to Americans, to fight fans anywhere on the planet who appreciate his buzzsaw style and genuine humility.
2. I don’t view boxing versus MMA as Us Or Them any longer but UFC 103 did tapout going against Marquez-Mayweather.
3. Floyd Mayweather, heretofore labeled a B side attraction, just graduated to A side status with the Marquez fight numbers.
4. Mayweather’s wide popularity in the UK is another positive vital sign for boxing’s health.
5. Don King, persistent salesman, just landed new Treasure Island Hotel-Casino owner Phil Ruffin, a kindred soul it seems to King, as a new client. So maybe boxing in Vegas is not limited to MGM Grand-Mandalay Bay.
6. American promoters who limit themselves to their own regions seem to be surviving and/or thriving. A prime example is Chicago’s Eight Count which month after month delivers quality bouts to Chicagland audiences (David Diaz over Jesus Chavez being a good example).
7. Energetic, knowledgeable guys such as University of Nevada, Reno, boxing coach Michael Martino are in Colorado Springs injecting needed life and changes into the corpse that America’s national amateur program had become. Maybe we can remove the shame from our USA Olympic boxing Games.
Comedy act of Kimbo Slice (AP Photo)
8. One TV pundit just wrote that MMA flop Kimbo Slice should take up boxing. Kimbo should rename himself Glass Jaw Joe the way he gets KTFO’d so often. Now the heavyweight division, aside from the Klitschko Brothers, is as toxic as the Love Canal but we’re not that desperate. Other weight classes are shining even as the behemoths bore us.
9. Promoters and TV types are finally pricing PPV shows more selectively, realizing Joe Fight Fan can’t fork over $50 every month for a PPV show.
