Ever the deadbeat writer I’ve come home to my article, head bowed and wearing that guilty facial expression. But hey, what the hell can I say? A brotha had some business to attend to -it’s not like Boxing was in the process of doing anything we could be proud of. While I was working on getting a new place I watched Bob Arum, master snake charmer extraordinaire, put Peyote into the salad of mainstream America. For the life of me I sat back scratching my head and asking myself have we ever seen a real fight break out between two cake eaters in their thirties? (:crickets chirping:) Well, I’m waiting. Manny Pacquiao committed an evening in his prime to “punking” a 40 year old dude who had already been punked a year ago. Reportedly this farce went off to the tune of 1.2 million buys, proving once again that Boxing is the one industry that in recession can still put make up on a pig. America is a shallow mistress and Bob Arum is the kind of dirty old man who can keep her distracted and committed. When celebrities endorse our crappy event as a place to be seen and ESPN (the Kool Aide factory) invades our world, there’s not a lot for us to do but sit back and observe with awe. No need to check my wraps Brotha Nazim; you know the brass knuckles are in there- you put them there so step aside and act outraged when this is over.
You had to know where this was going
You know the Hip Hop that the young folks like so much? You know the worst cringe inducing stuff that intelligent Black folks hate? It became “big business” when executives realized young white kids (aka majority) buy the stuff in mass. This is when it became worth the investment to sign brothas who could only brag about money, women and getting shot. There aren’t enough Black folks (let alone ignorant ones) to generate the kind of money you see Floyd’s buddy “Fiddy” raking in. I use this analogy because Bob Arum and the Golden Boy gang know the anatomy of million sellers and it isn’t “you.” 1.2 million? There aren’t 500,000 completely ignorant boxing fans out there and that’s including Pacquiao fan boys. No, for that kind of audience you need the suckers who get their boxing info from talking heads like Skip Bayless who confuse weight classes and details with impunity. You also need the celebrity cache from actors and athletes who respect the collision of Pacquiao but can’t recall a fighter BEFORE De La Hoya. If you think CBS Network executives know more about boxing than you, you’re wrong! They got the same clips of Mosley destroying Margarito that the suckers did; they didn’t have anyone in that sky rise that could discern what was so startling about a defensive Mayweather walking him down last May. And now, instead of piling on the system you pile on an old fighter who has every incentive to keep getting paid? Did you see the man’s new girlfriend? Do you think a Hall of Fame fighter is humble enough to downgrade from a 10 to an 8?
After the Round 3 knockdown the fight was essentially over
If you believe what your eyes saw, the round 3 knockdown forced Shane Mosley to tuck his granite chin and run. All week he’s been telling anyone who will listen he’s never felt anything like Manny even claiming to have “come to” in round 6. Call me a skeptic but he didn’t look any less ill-equipped than he did against Mayweather. He ran to maintain his market value and nothing more. For him to just show up on Floyd’s current website of choice touting Manny’s power was his way of finalizing a Top Rank deal that includes return bouts vs. Margarito and Cotto. Do I believe Manny hurt him? Of course; but I also believe the fallout is merely part of a larger “show.”
And what a show it was.
Top Rank Put on a Show
Never mind the drama of seeing Jorge Arce stop young lion Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. at the finish line in the night’s best fight. The pre-fight build-up to the main event was worth a fool’s admission. LL Cool J and Jamie Foxx combined with the celebrity crowd ran the PED levels through the roof when it should have been in the ring. That’s right. I said it! I mean for that kind of scratch I believe people should see both fighters at an unfair optimum; or at least price it based on what you knew Shane had left naturally? 10.99$. The crack Showtime crew featuring Al Bernstein and Magic Man Tarver did a great job of making mainstream rubes buy that Shane Mosley’s “anger” would result in punches thrown. After Shane entered the ring with LL Cool J kicking old school anthem “Mama said knock you out” Manny Pacquiao showed the Pomona native what corny really is. Twitter blew up with who the hell? From the children when Manny rolled out Jims Jamison, the singer of Rocky 2’s “Eye of the Tiger.” In a pre-fight ceremony that rivaled the Super Bowl in insignificance Top Rank should be commended for being slight of hand and for its audacity. If you’re in a house full of people, void of boxing knowledge and on their fifth Corona, I can honestly see how this was a great time. Boxing is notorious for looking like cheap dates compared to MMA productions, so I did take a perverse pride in seeing Top Rank throw a little coin around while we entertained “company.”
The problem is you can draw the mainstream AND the hardcore (call it 2 million) for the RIGHT fight and you wouldn’t even need a national anthem. Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is worth 60$ easy, no light show, no documentaries and certainly no “celebetards” stealing airtime in the front row.
Is Pavlik Super Six Ready?
It was great to see a clean Kelly Pavlik back in the ring taking a tough UD over Alfonso Lopez. Over hotly contested rounds with the journeyman Pavlik revealed that he won’t be anywhere near the banger he was at middleweight. Showing more bending at the knees, and less of the ominous stalking that made him a star, Pavlik looked like a man laying the groundwork for a new identity. Lopez isn’t a world-beater but he was a willing subject for Pavlik’s new head movement and straight right hands to the body. Before the main event the Super Six caste sat down for a little re-introduction to boxing fans and run up to tonight’s Ward vs. Abraham battle. I understand Team Pavlik may want to throw him in that mix but he isn’t the least bit ready. Pavlik may feel fresher at 168 but his fists are lighter and rushing him in against a Lucian Bute would put him back in the same conundrum he couldn’t solve against Sergio Martinez. Besides, that vehicle is a testament to the failure of the round robin format. It may promise more good match-ups but it takes so long to unfold and Pavlik is sorely in need of a steady schedule. Sometimes young fighters burn out in action bouts and sometimes they get mentally broken down by more skilled foes. Pavlik is a victim of both. Hopefully Top Rank is sensitive enough to move slowly, addiction and recovery make Pavlik’s situation precarious.
Stealing the last Rounds
If Boxers mattered like Football players Bernard Hopkins would have been put in the nitwit corner a long time ago. His comments about Donovan McNabb left me in need of Maalox, but then I realized only people I love can make me sick. I’ll get at you next week Mr. Racial Tourette Syndrome. Boxing needs a pint-sized Jason Whitlock to keep “ignant” brotha’s in check. Did anyone see Victor Ortiz’s eight minute interview on ESPN’s “First take”? Let’s just say while our best fighter is riding around in limos talking only with websites who “don’t hate” this Ortiz kid looked like a full-blown STAR. Watching Jay Crawford swoon over Ortiz’s personality and back story brings to mind something politicians talk about obsessively; winning THE FUTURE. Sitting there in a suit sounding like an All-American kid Ortiz is a triple threat, Mexican, Midwestern and Interesting. Golden Boy can afford to let this awful period in history blow over because they just may have the bigger star in Ortiz. Juan Manual Lopez should seek revenge vs. Orlando Solis on the same card as his countryman Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. Might as well get it “on and popping” since Yuriorkis Gamboa not only seems to be forfeiting his freedom but his manhood. Sharif Bogeran is an exciting prospect but damnit he should lose the real lion head he wore into the ring Friday Night. I like Andre Ward to make Arthur Abraham unravel tonight, he’s too skilled and borderline dirty ~look for the King to get DQ’d.
