So many boxers dodging one another

By Boxing News - 03/05/2012 - Comments

By Dominic Sauboorah: It’s quite disappointing to see how some fighters claim to be the best without actually fighting the best. The idea of logic just clearly doesn’t exist to these sorts of people. There are boxers for sure who are extremely talented and definitely could make it far on the world stage of boxing, but when they haven’t been there and yet claim to say that they could beat the best, well why don’t they?

A question that will baffle even the smartest of people. No one really knows, because boxers hate to be called the one thing no one would ever associate with a fighter.

Take Kevin Mitchell for example. He achieved a fantastic win over the unbeaten European lightweight champion John Murray. The victory was slightly hyped up I believe but Mitchell still showed a lot of heart and skill to beat the tough and courageous Murray. Despite this win however Kevin Mitchell was supposed to face the hard hitting, unbeaten American Star and reigning WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios. Brandon Rios absolutely dominated John Murray in his last fight to the point where Murray was quoted as saying to Boxing Monthly “If the referee was going to stop the fight he should’ve done it three rounds beforehand” which emphasizes the punishment in which Murray received. Brandon Rios wanted the fight with Kevin Mitchell, but what does Mitchell and his team do after Rios’s fight with Murray? They book another fight against a complete nobody. Surprise Surprise. Sure you could use the excuse “oh well he’s never had any international experience before so therefore it’d be bad timing if he were to compete for a world title.” What about John Murray? He had no international experience prior to his fight with Rios yet he still had the optimism and belief that he could become the lightweight champion of the world. Kevin Mitchell was even quoted as saying after the fight with Murray “World champion next.” Is that the case? No. He’s not just let his country down; he’s let the sport of boxing down as well. Kevin Mitchell. All bark, and no bite.

Another perfect example could be the undefeated Timothy Bradley. With all due respect to Bradley he’s got a massive up and coming fight with Manny Pacquiao so full credit that he’s taking on a real tough challenge, big difference is though is does he deserve it? I mean he’s ranked top ten pound-for-pound which I think reflects negatively on boxing. This man has one two world titles, that’s it. He’s been in one division, that’s it. The biggest name he’s beaten is Devon Alexander, that’s it! He’s never mixed it with the likes of Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather or any of these truly top level fighters who are both easily a level above this so-called pound-for-pound challenger. He’s beaten nobody’s yet he’s been given credit for it. He’s barely got any knockouts yet is considered a superstar. He hasn’t even had 30 fights yet and he’s being compared to the likes of Manny Pacquiao. Yeah, ring magazine are doing a really good job when it comes to picking the best boxers in their sport. The irony of him fighting Pacquiao is that he refused to fight his stable mate, Amir Khan, for no reason at all in what would’ve been a massive light-welterweight unification bout.

These sorts of boxers are not just letting the sport down but more importantly are letting the fans down. Fans beg and pray that these big, well known fighters will get in the ring and fight each other. To say that there are complications such as money issues or politics just shows how much boxers are business people and not sportsmen. Boxing shouldn’t be about how much money you can make, but more so about making name for yourself in a sport and not a business. Of course it’s brilliant to make a bit of money, but it shouldn’t be a priority to the point where it stops fights from taking place. People can blame politics and economical issues as much as they want for big fights not happening, but deep down the only people to blame are the fighters themselves, because if they really cared about giving the fans what they want, they’d fight for nothing and just put on a damn good show. Unfortunately the majority of fighters allow outside sources to distract them. One aspect they have to realize though is that boxing is turning into a business but at heart will always be a sport and if they’re passionate about the sport, then how much they get paid shouldn’t be an issue. The fans don’t want to see fighters earning loads of money. They want to see the best boxers fight each other to prove that the sport is here to stay and that it stands as a sport, and nothing more.



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