TalkingBoxing Articles
An Argument in Favor of Boxing, Does HBO Share Our Resolve?
MON May 21, ANDRES ANTONIO CARRIEDO - Three weekends into May of 2007, fight fans can now see that the sport of boxing is in the midst of its own crossroads fight. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), most notably the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), are surging in popularity, which places them in stark contrast to the sport of boxing. Oscar De la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather and Jermain Taylor-Cory Spinks gave us a glimpse at what the sport is up against. Both bouts were well fought and technically sound boxing matches, fought under the bright lights that left many observers wanting more toe to toe action.
Recently, the argument that UFC is more exciting than boxing has been bandied quite a bit. UFC fans insist that nothing but toe to toe action is seen within the limits of their octagon shaped cages. Putting aside the fact that even money odds can be put on at least two UFC matches per card being nothing more than two men in Speedos rolling around on the mat for three five minute intervals. One only needs to have tuned in to see Kelly Pavlik’s knockout win on HBO this past Saturday against Edison Miranda to know that there are still plenty of toe to toe warriors stepping into squared boxing circles these days.
Diego Corrales, may he rest in eternal peace, was honored before the Taylor-Spinks fight. He was good for toe-to-toe action, yet HBO allowed his best fights to be televised on their rival network. Rising sensation Andre Berto, a great up and coming action fighter, was tucked away on the un-televised portion of the under card for Taylor-Spinks. With that in mind, HBO’s announce team seemed intent on spewing vitriol aimed at Cory Spinks and any boxer who dares display defensive prowess in a championship caliber boxing match.
During the telecast, Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley even used the words “dreadful” and “horrendous” to describe Cory Spinks’ performance. Really? Spinks threw Taylor off of his rhythm all night and fought the legitimate middleweight champion on even terms throughout the entire 12 round bout. So, the question must be asked; is it Cory Spinks’ responsibility to ensure that Jermain Taylor lands punches? Apparently so.
Merchant and Lampley claimed that Taylor won the fight on the basis that he was “the one trying to make the fight.” Really? Spinks rarely took a step backward. Instead, he consistently circled just beyond arms length of Taylor. All Taylor had to do was time diagonal steps to either his right or left and he could have initiated exchanges whenever he wanted. The fact is he did not have the mind or even skill to do so. Taylor’s trainer Emmanuel Stewart knew this. Stewart was livid through the entire fight because Taylor fought a tactically flawed fight.
Compare this with Oscar De la Hoya’s crowding, mauling style of fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the opening weekend of the month. Should Mayweather have rested on the ropes with his hands down so as to allow De la Hoya the openings he was unable to find and create over the course of their 12 round fight? In the eyes of HBO’s broadcast team, yes. Merchant suggested on air that ring sizes should be reduced as should glove sizes and that judges should be explicitly instructed to score rounds purely on sheer aggression.
Putting aside possible health risks [because those clearly are not important when making decisions of this magnitude], one needs to ask; exactly what is the problem with displaying sound defense in boxing matches? It seems as though boxing is suffering from a lack of talent on the offensive end of the spectrum. The NBA ran into this “problem” about a decade ago. Now, the old adage that “defense wins championships” appears to be rearing its ugly head in the sport of boxing and the suits and talking heads alike at HBO clearly do not like the response that they are getting from the coveted casual fans.
Since, unfortunately, we cannot will offensive minded fighters to be better skilled, the HBO establishment appears to have decided that defense should be punished. The NBA has made similar rule changes in recent years. Has it made the game any more exciting? I don’t know; do you enjoy hearing a whistle blow every time down the court because the defensive player has the audacity to attempt to stop the offensive player from scoring? Have the rule changes significantly altered the outcome of meaningful games? The Spurs beat the Suns, the Jazz beat the Warriors and the Pistons beat the Bulls didn’t they?
The obvious victim of this bizarre reaction to defensive supremacy in the sport of boxing is the pure boxer. On Saturday, May 19th Cory Spinks served as the target in human form. Spinks performed above and beyond consensus pre-fight expectation. He nearly became a legitimate three division champion by getting Taylor to fight a Spinks fight for 12 rounds. Had a more popular fighter done the same thing, Merchant and Lampley would have been singing his praises. Or does anyone out there think that if Hopkins-De la Hoya had played out the way Taylor-Spinks did that Merchant and Lampley would have attacked De la Hoya the way they did Spinks?
The shameful bashing of Spinks’ effort against Taylor has me convinced that boxing is at its crossroads. Either a few of the offensive minded fighters step up or we are in for rule, scoring and marketing changes aimed at satisfying the casual fans at the expense of the integrity of the sport. The chances that those changes will actually attract new viewers are about as likely as Merchant enjoying the July 21st HBO PPV between defensive minded fighters Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. Fortunately for boxing fans of my ilk, Merchant will be observing that fight from the comfort of his own home…if at all. Max Kellerman is set to step in to replace Merchant soon.
For my money, having a true boxing aficionado like Kellerman on HBO’s air can only help boxing in this crossroads fight. After all, consider Merchant’s suggestions. What he is getting at is not a true remedy to cure boxing’s ills, but rather a manner of fixing fights so as to ensure that the brawler and/or less skilled defensive [read the “more popular/television friendly”) fighter wins every distance fight. It is not a solution at all, but the end of boxing as we know it. Merchant should have been fired on the spot for proposing fixed fights. Thank goodness he already has one foot out the door.
What HBO wants is a sport bereft of defensive wizardry. Like everyone else they want epic Arturo Gatti versus Micky Ward every telecast. Well, sure that would be nice except for the fact that few boxers have the chins that those guys have. So, in an effort to turn everyone into Gatti-Ward wannabes, what they will be doing is encouraging premeditated fight fixing. They are telling talented defensive fighters, “if you want to see time on our air you better allow yourself to get your brain bashed in by the one dimensional brawler we put you in against. But don’t worry we will pay you well for your trouble.”
These are the crossroads for our beloved sport. Will boxing take a dive in hopes that the dive will produce a result that elusive casual fans like or will it stick to its guns and remain a true sport? I can only hope for the later and not the former, but based on what I heard during HBO’s telecast of Taylor-Spinks, I am not certain the powers that be share my opinion and resolve.
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