This past weekend in Los Angeles, California, I was at the Staples Center to cover what would eventually be a successful and entertaining, albeit the main event, night of professional boxing on Mexico’s 200 year Bicentennial Celebration.
Breaking a bit from the norm of covering every single minute of every single fight, I got out of my seat and made some curiously entertaining rounds around the building that has housed top fighters Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley, and the last chapter of Vasquez/Marquez just earlier this year, and is the biggest venue in California that houses boxing events. We can go ahead and label the Staples Center California’s version of Vegas, without the second hand smoke.
I wanted to get the feel of the crowd; of the masses pouring in with tickets, cameras, boxing gloves that hoped to get autographed in hand and tickets that they used their hard earned cash, even in this economy, to get out to the fights and forget about everything in the world for a few hours while men punched each other in the face for sport. I wanted to get a scent of the Staples Center.
Before making my ascension to the masses, I talked a bit with writer and regular 411 contributor Igor Frank on press row, who happened to be making his way toward the back for the free comida’. I decided to join him, even though I still had a barbeque rib sandwich baking in mi pansa’ that I ate during my drive to the fight. I mean, you can’t beat that beautifully sounding word that is universally loved and adored: free. Plus, the press room at the Staples Center is large, adorned with massive blow ups of past events at the venue, and an impressive selection of food and drinks that are on the casa’.
We had a roundtable discussion about upcoming fights with a few fellow writers, which ranged from Andre Berto to Igor’s “son” Alfred Angulo, and of course talks about Pacquiao and Margarito, (funny the subject of Floyd Mayweather didn’t come up. He said himself that he wasn’t fighting for the rest of 2010, so we didn’t even discuss the fight he’s facing felonies for now.) Fightnews.com writer Francisco Salazar ended up correctly predicting that it would be a night of knockouts. I then I made my way up to the steadily increasing Staples Center crowd.
I walked past the 30 dollar fight night T-shirts, which is funny due to the fact that five minutes later I walked by the team store, and I’m sure that those hefty priced shirts featuring Mosley and Mora will eventually find their way to the 50% off rack in this store, which were shelving out past shirts and fight merchandise from previous Golden Boy Promotions fights.
Prominently displayed outside the store are beautiful artist’s renditions of the star athletes of the day, the guys who bounce a basketball as a profession in the same building, a hockey player nicknamed the Greatest who was also a King, and the absolute Greatest, Muhammad Ali. I’m sure these paintings don a hefty price tag, but they sure are nice to look at.
While walking, I saw people double fisting nice sized beers which are closer to 24 oz. than a regular 12. oz can of alcoholic beverage, women who dressed more so for a club atmosphere or even those clubs with poles in them, one woman who looked to be turning her quinceneria’ dress into a retro fashion statement, groups of bro-mances, veterano’s who huddled together for the fights, and most of all, all smiles on everyone’s faces, who were just happy to be at a boxing match filled up with Mexicans on a day to celebrate for their country and for their fighters.
The nights fights produced roars and chants from the crowd that are normally heard inside the MGM and Mandalay Bay, as the pro-Mexican crowd witnessed the rise of the next great set of Everlast’s out of Mexico in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and Victor Ortiz got his balls back, (Talladega Nights reference) in dropping Vivian Harris four times in three rounds and received his own share of chants from the crowd of “Ortiz!”
In between rounds, I spent a lot of time taking in the crowd, and watching their faces light up as fighters made their way past them to their dressing rooms after their fights, their inescapable joy as Magic Johnson made his way backstage status through the tunnel to his ringside seat next to De La Hoya, and their absolute delight in hearing Michael Buffer bellow that all too familiar adage: “Lets Get Ready To Rumble!”
Boxing historian Bert Sugar was ringside with his trademark unlit cigar and fedora cap and obliged the many fans who sought an autograph or a picture with him. Sugar signed gloves and snapped pictures with any and all who requested such, and even walked to the other side of the arena to a woman who was pleading with him to go over for a photo-op.
Aside from putting Magic Johnson on the jumbo-tron in-between rounds, the loudest ovations of the night were given to Mexico’s newest star Saul Alvarez.
The “Canelo” chants began during his fight against veteran Carlos Baldomir, were heard even during other fighters’ fights, and even came when the young fighter came out to sit and give some color commentary ringside. Most of the fans probably already had the drop on the kid via their relatives South of the Border, as all but two of Canelo’s thirty plus fights have been in his native Mexico. Imagine how many “Canelo” shirts would have been sold if placed next to the thirty dollar Mosley/Mora abominations.
