This past Saturday night, Andre “SOG” Ward would snatch an upset victory over the “Viking Warrior”, Mikkel Kessler. The 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist would enter the bout as a 2-1 underdog but perform throughout the fight as if he was a 8-1 favorite.
This was the final bout of the first round of the “Super Six” 168-pound tournament. It’s been a memorable first round to say the least as there has been plenty of excitement, controversy, and future projections for the remainder of the tourney.
While many fight fans have criticized Ward for taking a page out of the Bernard Hopkins book of fighting utilizing rough-house tactics such as wrestling and the inadvertent use of one’s head, it’s up to boxing to create a standardized system to limit the amount of times these methods can be implemented. It’s a much overdue ruling that needs to take place and should be at the forefront of what boxing needs in 2010.
Regardless of how Andre snatched the victory on Saturday, there is no doubt that boxing’s fan base spreads far and wide amongst many different ethnicities, cultures, ages, and creeds.
While the U.S. media had used 2008 and early 2009 to consistently state that the battle between boxing and mixed martial arts was a war being dominated by the fledgling sport of MMA, perhaps they spoke a bit too soon. The diversity of boxing fans spread across the world is truly mind-breaking as there are top level prize fighters who are considered national treasures and garner a huge audience when broadcast on their domestic television outlets.
On Saturday night, Andre Ward fought in front of an ecstatic crowd of 10,000 in his hometown of Oakland, California. It’s an area that’s been extremely affected by this economic downturn and financial hardships the country and more specifically… California is facing.
It was suprising to see not only the turnout but also the diversity of the fans showing up to support boxing as I witnessed numerous Filipino boxing fans sporting Manny Pacquiao jackets and similar garments. Like I’ve told many a snobbish fight fan time and time again… a boxing fan is born one fighter at a time and just because Pacquiao has sprouted various Manny-centric supporters, there will undoubtedly be a percentage of those fans that will embrace boxing as a whole.
Speaking of Manny-centric supporters… on yesterday’s segment of The Boxing Truth Radio, host Ricardo “RiGordo” Lois would officially tout Manny Pacquiao as the “Greatest of All-Time” based on this era of fighting. It was a suprising comment made by the cuban bacon eater as he’s consistently doubted the “Pacman’s” seemingly unnatural ability to overcome adversity.
You can listen to the radio show by clicking here.
Someday, I’d like to see boxing flex it’s international muscle and showcase the world’s top boxers garnering a global viewership breaking 200 million total viewers. It’s definitely possible with the right fight card and would really getting the general public to realize that there’s a reason this sport is adored and supported tooth and nail by it’s fans… it’s simply the rawest form of sports entertainment in the world.
PS. Rest in Peace Francisco Rodriguez. At 25 years old you left us much too soon but hopefully you’re now in a place where you can eat and drink as much as you’d like without having to worry about making the bantam weight limit. The Boxing Truth sends out it’s deepest condolences to your family and loved ones.
