Paper Champion: The great illusion

By Michael Vena - 03/08/2014 - Comments

By Yannis Mihanos: A paper champion is a fluke, a phony. He talks too much, shows of a lot and  avoids to take  risks. When he is challenged by a serious opponent he always back off by making up all sort of excuses.

He prefers to prolong his career out of fighting inferior opponents. He knows well what he can do and what he can’t so he has to play along with that  role.

Records create standards, barriers, illusions, beliefs and fears. But once somebody breaks them, they  no longer look like a threat neither like an obstacle. What is only left is the belief that they can be beat.

Records are meant to be broken but when they are not, they can create some sort of invisible shield that intimidates almost everybody.

Whoever has this record, he seems to be protected, he seems to be unbreakable. All too often paper champions appear in boxing .They come  with their perfect clean sheet records 15-0, 20-0, 24-0.

The difference with the real champions is that these records are fake. They are made out of cherry picking opponents and fooling the audiences.

These are opponents that are below standards but somehow look good. Most of the time these opponents are journey men with decent records or fighters past their prime to the point that the only  best thing for them is a decent paycheck. The target is building momentum and expectation slowly. The fans and newspapers many times eat this and start  supporting them or talking about them.

By collecting victories the hope is that the boxer will look scary and serious enough to receive  attention in order  some day in the future to sign a lucrative deal by fighting an ‘A class opponent’ so they can eventually fade in the sunset with good money in the pocket.

With the right management a Paper Champion  can have a decent career even a profitable one but it is only based on image, only based on lies  but once the mask is out he has no where to hide and eventually he will have to retire.

Once the mask has been dropped, he is not any more respected and feared. His real identity is revealed  and his record naturally ends.

That will happen when he finally meets his match: an A class opponent, an opponent gifted enough to set the things straight.

After that day he is not longer the same. He becomes officially a Paper Champ.

Real Champions, real fighters, real men, never have to do that, they are not afraid of  challenge and believe in their capacity.

Records impress for a while and can help average fighters to sign expensive deals, but  they are made out of paper, and when  the right time comes this paper is gone with the wind.

Who do you see  as a Paper Champ? keep me posted.



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