Biting The Hand That Feeds

By Edgar Perez: In the last two weeks we have heard the rhetoric between the boxing world and MMA world ratchet to a new level, or shall one say, dip to new lows. The petty arguments about the merits of each sport are not usually much of a concern for the average fan because the average fan only cares about seeing good fights. It is a simple relationship in a market economy, people will pay for what they want to see, and most PPV events usually revolve around some kind of violence in a combat sport.

The ring or octagon is the ultimate “results based” argument. People want to see competition to the level of literally fighting to win. It reveals something about each competitor’s character, it reveals who has the will to win. This is what fans want to see, even in non-combat sports. When emotions run high in non-combat sports what happens? They fight. Fights are intriguing on the most basic level of human conscience.

Whether or not some may want to admit it, there is definitive cross-over potential, even though the sports themselves share very little in common. Why a promoter like Bob Arum or a top athlete in a sport like Floyd Mayweather Jr. would attack a fan base of another sport with potential cross-over, is beyond comprehension. It is so stupid to think that by attempting to tear down the reputation of one sport you can elevate another one, that anyone engaging in such acts should really get their heads examined.

Long before these statements, boxing had an uneasy relationship with the fans. From bad decisions to boring fights to ripping off loyal fans with closed circuit or PPV fights, fans have been getting sick of boxing’s act. As if what Arum and Mayweather have done so far to contribute to that mess wasn’t enough, now they turn their venom towards the fans.

The fans have rejected their garbage so Arum and Mayweather lash out at them instead of looking inward and trying to understand what the fans are looking for. If they need an example, all they have to do (in Arum’s case) is look in their own stable.

Pacquiao and Cotto represent what any fight fans want to see, courageous warriors who will put it all on the line. Find more guys like them and have them fight each other. The Pacquiao vs Cotto fight has given the fans something that was stolen every time they were promised fight of the year, or fight of the century and bought into it.

This isn’t a fight where one boxer has engendered such a hatred that people would pay to watch him lose. This is a fight with two guys that have paid their dues and now get to reap the benefits of their hard work. This fight will be a barn-burner while it lasts. The real test for boxing comes after November 14th. Will boxing continue to produce fights that the fans have been asking for or will they be put in a holding pattern once again?

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