Filip Bondy, a sportswriter for NY Daily News, doesn?t usually write about boxing, but that?s no reason to start now?
In the wake of the Abdusalamov tragedy, rats are abandoning the sinking ship. Filip Bondy, a sportswriter for NY Daily News, doesn?t usually write about boxing, but that?s no reason for him to start now.
One knows one is on shaky ground when a columnist starts by tripping over his assumptions right out of the gate.
?Boxing has seen its time,? writes Bondy, ?and thank goodness that primitive era is done.?
Has boxing seen its time? And to which primitive era is Bondy referring? We can revisit cavemen or glance at the news to know that primitivism is alive and well and still kicking.
?In a more enlightened age now,? he continues,? we are concerned with concussions and other head injuries in sports.?
The enlightenment of which Bondy speaks has been a long time coming. In fact, it only occurred this year. It must be instant enlightenment, where one just adds water, gives it a good shake, and enlightenment appears as if by magic where the primitive once reigned supreme.
But there?s something more at play. Bondy doesn?t come out and say that he?s flaking for UFC, but it?s hard to conclude otherwise.
?Mixed Martial Arts organizers, UFC chief among them, have ratcheted up lobbying efforts recently, hoping to convince New York State legislators to legalize their fights. New York is the only state where the sometimes brutal sport is banned at the professional level, and a recent study commissioned by the UFC stated that lifting the prohibition could bring in nearly $70 million annual revenues to the state and local businesses.?
What that has to do with boxing is anybody?s guess. That nearly $70 million in revenue is tantalizing, even mouthwatering, even if it?s not the writer?s professed subject.
?The UFC has put forth many arguments in this regard over the years, including the fact that boxing is legal in New York and that MMA is now regulated as closely as that other sport. In this regard, the UFC is correct. But that should only convince legislators to do the right thing, finally, and ban boxing.?
Before we ban boxing, let?s remember Prohibition. Before we ban boxing, let?s remember the Inquisition.
?Once again this month, we were witness to another boxing atrocity in the city.?
What other ?boxing atrocity? is he alluding to? We can only guess, because Bondy isn?t telling.
He repeats for the umpteenth time what happened to Abdusalamov, using known facts to reach dubious conclusions.
?The New York State Inspector General is investigating whether Abdusalamov was properly examined by the Athletic Commission after the fight, but that is almost beside the point.?
How could that be almost beside the point? Isn?t that exactly the point if accidents like this are to be prevented? One would think so. But Bondy has bigger fish to fry, so logic needn?t stand in his way.
?The damage was done by a legal pounding inside the ring. Whether or not Abdusalamov succumbs to his injuries,? another thing that is apparently ?almost beside the point,? ?James Dolan must understand that he has been the host to something vicious, cruel and potentially fatal.?
James Dolan may not be the brightest bulb in the room, but even he knows that boxing can be ?vicious, cruel and potentially fatal.?
After much dithering, Bondy lays his cards on the table.
?It is hypocritical for the state to allow these events to continue while banning MMA, which at least offers the possibility of victory by submission, a more humane finish.?
The writer, who has suggested that an investigation and Magomed?s condition are almost beside the point, suddenly pulls a humanity card from up his sleeve.
?If Gov. Cuomo is looking for a humanistic crusade, then here it is. Boxing is so repulsively gladiatorial, even the ancient Romans banned it.?
This is History for Dummies. Bondy should stick with what he knows. He can lobby for UFC to his heart?s content, but not at boxing?s expense.
The full article can be read here.
