By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: A fighter desires to have a big fight and payday so a contract is presented to him. He looks at the upfront money he is guaranteed, money from ticket sales, closed circuit, merchandise etc, money on the back end especially if it’s a pay per view match. But there is one catch. The bout is at a catch weight or the fighter has to drop a full weight class, or move up a weight class or two to make the fight happen. STILL…They sign the contract. Or, the fighter is past his prime and is considered old by fans and STILL sign the contract. When the contract is signed, to me, all bets and excuses go right out the door. Period.
It’s mind boggling how fans will lay on the fence about a fight and wait to the outcome to see which yard (the popular public’s opinion) they will fall into. For example. In the 90’s, Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr senior met. Oscar bloodied his face in four rounds and the fight was stopped. A rematch took place and Chavez lost again only this time the fight was stopped in the 8th round. Now many will say, “Chavez was past his prime”. Didn’t Chavez know that when he signed the contract and that Oscar was the fresher of the two fighters? Of course he did, but Chavez to determined to show who the TRUE Mexican fighter was.
After light heavyweight champ, Chad Dawson defeated Bernard Hopkins, he said he would drop a full weight class to face super middleweight king Andre Ward. He did and got stopped in the 10th round. Afterward, he complained about being weight drained. But just imagine Chavez and Dawson pulling off victories. The rewards and the publicity would have been great. Dawson and Chavez might’ve been elevated to much higher level than they were. But since they lost…EXCUSES. Fact is, fighters know what their bodies can and can’t take and there is no shame in turning down a fight that might put him at a disadvantage. But as I stated above, they also factor in the financial rewards in their decision making, especially if they are already a title holder in their respective class. Check Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Floyd Mayweather, and Kell Brook vs. Gennady Golovkin. Marquez was still the WBA lightweight champ and Brook was still IBF champ at welterweight. But excuses are inevitable when it comes to boxing. Boxers past their primes will continue to call out young lions to prove they still have something left in the tank; fighters will continue to move up and down in weights, and catch weights will still be accepted. But excuses from me? NOT GETTING ONE!!!!!!