SPANISH HARLEM, NY – I would definitely call myself a boxing fan, always have been. I can’t say I have been fond of the sport lately but I always love to watch great competitors in the ring. Lately the sport of boxing has had its fair share of criticism and rightfully so. You can blame the promoters, even the boxers and if you look hard enough you will find more people in between the lines to dislike.
Not too long ago, you had the very best boxers fight inside the ring. Lately, though, you see a lot more fighting… outside of it. Whether it’s at the pre-fight press conference or via TMZ, you see more and more action happening in the media and not enough of it in the ring. Boxers can talk a good game but really it’s the money that matters. Boxing is a violent sport; you better make sure you get that money. With that thinking now embedded in our minds, it’s the fans that lose out. Some big fights get delayed or never materialize because promoters and boxers haggle over whom deserves more of the cut (See Pacquiao/Khan).
My point in all this… the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Connor McGregor so called boxing match, has been held up because of said money and really… who cares. I have sided with Oscar De La Hoya on this and agree that this is embarrassing to the sport of boxing. This particular fight can’t be good for the sport, not when you have fighters that have trained their whole life to get to the top. To have to see an MMA fighter in possibly the biggest boxing match of the year would close that opportunity to those more deserving. Sure McGregor is a great fighter in his own right but he is a great MMA fighter… not a boxer. To call this a boxing match is a travesty.
There are many analysts that have knocked Mayweather’s legacy in the past and this is a great example of why. He is viewed as someone that picks the easy fights and though he has fought some great boxers, those opponents were generally considered past their prime or green behind the ears. Floyd has shown time and again that he doesn’t care about the fans; he just loves being a winner… and also making a ton of money. That is what “Money” Mayweather is and always will be about.
This all reminds of a scene in my one of favorites movies of all time, Rocky 3 when the Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky fought “Thunder Lips” Hulk Hogan in a charity event. That was great/really funny. This is not for charity, though, and will cost fans a pretty penny for nothing more than a side show. Many people will pay to see this fight and many people will be disappointed in the outcome and boxing will lose because of it.
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