By Mark Boyles: I’ve noticed this trend forming, and it’s quite disturbing to a purist like me. The big money, marquee name fighters out there are stealing the show. This weekend, there’s more money and apparently more interest in the De La Hoya Vs. Pacquiao fight than in what should be an exceptionally good title fight in Nottingham with two up-and-coming undefeated future stars in Froch and Pascal. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t understand it at all.
You’ve got a guy that made his name fighting at 120lbs getting into the ring at 150 against a fighter many seem to think is over the hill, how is that more exciting than the recently vacated super middleweight championship of the world?
I realise that money is the key factor, and Manny will probably pocket more money by fighting Oscar in Vegas than he would by defending his lightweight world title a few times against mandatory fighters, however, it seems to me that a world title is no longer the biggest accolade. Look at Froch, he’s talking about winning a world title and getting a shot at Calzaghe (unlikely, but why not let him dream?) or Jermain Taylor, (who opted to fight Jeff Lacy instead of Froch, presumably because HBO would pay more to watch two Americans pummel each other). To me, as a fan of the sport, it seems quite sad.
What does this mean for boxing as a sport though? It certainly feels like it’s more a “sports entertainment” game now. For the first time in a long time, weekend we have what should be an incredible title fight at Super Middleweight being utterly eclipsed by what is essentially an exhibition bout, with one fighter coming down a fair bit in weight and the other jumping up a fair bit with no titles on the line, and ultimately whatever happens the result is meaningless. I’m not sure what these so called “superfights” prove, if Manny wins, critics will rant that he beat a guy who is 6 years past his sell-by date, while if Oscar wins, it’s because he’s the bigger guy, and Manny was just out of his depth. Either way it’s not going to change anything for anyone.
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