Mark E. Ortega
January 3, 2013
At the end of last year, I pessimistically counted down the list of ten of the worst things that happened in boxing during the calendar year. Here I take a more positive look at the sport and examine things that really worked out greatly for the sweet science.
10. Tony Thompson's hilarious postfight interview after David Price rematch
Longtime heavyweight contender Tony Thompson was responsible for the year's most hilarious moment in boxing after knocking out David Price for the second straight time. Though the win positioned Thompson for a potential third shot at the heavyweight title, the only thing on his mind immediately afterwards was how he was going to punish his wife sexually as he was interviewed by BoxNation.
Just as funny were some of Thompson's Facebook posts after the victory, of which I've assembled some screenshots below. GoHardGoHome is Thompson's wife.
9. Zou Shiming opens up the Great Wall to China and for the little guys
Disregarding name value, if we are going on sheer talent and entertainment value alone, the flyweight division is up there as one of the best divisions in the sport. Zou Shiming, who became China's first Olympic gold medalist in the 2012 games, helped open the door for some of the best in that division to be showcased as Top Rank has built around him in taking their ball to Macau.
Though Shiming is extremely limited and earning crazy dollars, he's the big reason for that market existing at all. Top Rank has also done a good job getting HBO-2 to televise these shows, which from what I understand, are pretty much at cost to the promoter. They're getting so much money from the Macau deal that it is worth it to them, and boxing fans have benefited greatly from this venture. Thanks to Shiming, we've had an opportunity to see young phenom Juan Francisco Estrada come into his own in 2013. It is doubtful Shiming becomes a world champion, but boxing should be thankful for his presence while he is this highly publicized.
8. Promoters and networks investing in fighters not from States
2013 saw the emergence of a number of possible stars that don't come from the United States, but have found the various television outlets in the region available for them to showcase their talents. Names like Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Lucas Matthysse, Adonis Stevenson, Guillermo Rigondeaux are just a few of the fighters whose journeys began outside of the States but have been able to make a splash.
While networks once focused heavily on MAKING stars out of fighters from the States, regardless of if they are of ordinary talent, they've switched things up and have put their money into fighters that are appealing in the way they fight rather than how well they speak English. Golovkin swiftly became a fan favorite, fighting three times on HBO against limited opposition (of no fault of his own) and could become one of the bigger stars in 2014. Kovalev and Stevenson face similar hype in 2014 off their successful 2013 years, whereas the highly touted Matthysse looks to rebound from his first defeat since facing that pressure on his shoulders. As promoters begin to look elsewhere for talent, networks are becoming more willing to utilize it, which is a win/win for boxing and its fans.
7. Coverage everywhere you look
This may be a bit specific to being an American fight fan. Though burgeoning premium network EPIX took what looks to be a permanent vacation from the sweet science, other networks picked up the slack as boxing saw a crazy amount of hours of programming on American networks. WealthTV (now AWE) tailed off to close the year but televised a number of international cards that HBO and Showtime passed on. Showtime's coverage of undercards on Showtime Extreme was very well received as the network televised the most amount of hours of boxing coverage in their illustrious history according to Showtime Sports executive VP Stephen Espinoza. HBO added coverage of additional fights on HBO-Latino and picked up the Macau cards on HBO2.
Though Fox Sports 1 has been hit or miss thus far and is limited in being a Golden Boy Promotions exclusive, they've put together some fantastic bouts between young talent like the upcoming Jan. 30 co-feature between Eddie Gomez and Daquan Arnett, two highly touted prospects. Top Rank did their part in allowing fans to stream their untelevised undercards of nearly every one of their major shows. It only opens the door for fans to become attached to fighters earlier in their career rather than discovering them for the first time at 15-0 and beyond. ESPN2 also pitched in with a solid schedule on Friday Night Fights. It makes 2014 look extremely promising, especially if you're an American fan.
British fans saw tons of action as well as BoxNation, the only network dedicated to boxing in the world that I know of, helped pick up a bunch of American cards, as did Sky Sports, though sparingly.
6. Barker, Martinez overcome odds in Atlantic City
Admittedly, I didn't much fancy British middleweight Darren Barker's chances when he traveled to Atlantic City in August to face off with accomplished Aussie Daniel Geale for a version of the middleweight title. I felt Barker was being overvalued by his British followers for being game but outgunned against Sergio Martinez the previous year.
In a back-and-forth fight that didn't get enough buzz as a fringe Fight of the Year contender, Barker got dropped by a wicked body shot in the sixth round. Barker got up at the count of nine-and-a-half, just narrowly beating the count, before turning the tide. In a fight that could have gone either way, Barker gutted out a split decision and became a champion. Yes, it is annoying how many world title belts exist out there, but when moments like Barker winning one happens, it is hard not to embrace it for a second. Though his title reign lasted mere moments as he was stopped in his first defense by Felix Sturm, Barker will someday, if not soon, retire feeling as though he accomplished something great.
On the undercard, Spaniard Kiko Martinez did similarly to Barker, knocking out IBF 122-pound titlist Jhonatan Romero to become one of the more unlikely titleholders in 2013. To see him rebound from his knockout defeat to Carl Frampton earlier that year to later win a belt was a pleasant surprise.
5. Timothy Bradley finally gets his respect
Though Cuba's Guillermo Rigondeaux can certainly claim to be the most underappreciated fighter in boxing, Timothy Bradley can lay claim to that title with longevity. It seems as though no matter what Bradley did, he couldn't earn the full respect from the boxing media or fans. Bradley became the first to officially hand Manny Pacquiao a defeat in seven years with a highly disputed decision in June 2012, and faced heavy criticism.
This forced Bradley to enter 2013 with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. Against Ruslan Provodnikov in March, Bradley fought in a way not characteristic of the southern California native. It almost cost Bradley his welterweight title as he survived a nail biter against the Russian just barely. I remember being disgusted when Bradley was initially booed upon earning the decision, asking myself what exactly Bradley has to do in order to get the respect he deserves.
Just a few weeks later, Bradley was in Las Vegas for the rematch between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado. For the first time, I saw Bradley absolutely overwhelmed by the positivity of the fans and the media. Bradley had a smile on his face all night as fans gave him his respect for engaging in a memorable war. That also opened Bradley up a bit when peppered with questions from a complimentary media. Rigondeaux could look to Bradley with hope that one day he'll get the same kind of love.
4. The Broner train gets derailed
Adrien Broner was labeled a future cornerstone of the sport without having ever proved it against an elite opponent. As he received an obscene amount of hype over the past few years, it became obvious nobody was a bigger believer in it than Broner himself. Beginning with his lack of professionalism against Vicente Escobedo in 2012, many have been rooting hard for Broner to suffer a shock defeat. Few felt they were going to get the satisfaction as quickly as they did.
Broner looked far from unbeatable in his first fight at welterweight as he eeked out a split decision over Paulie Malignaggi following a disgusting build-up that was as misogynistic as it was silly. When the fight with Marcos Maidana was made, a majority felt the Argentinian puncher didn't look the part of the guy that would humble Broner.
Thankfully, I was among those that were wrong. Maidana dropped Broner twice on the way to giving Broner a bit of embarassment in decision victory. Broner no doubt showed some heart in defeat, but his alleged crybaby act in the dressing room afterwards speaks to his immaturity.
The talent is undeniable with Broner, in terms of athleticism. The question that needs answering, is Broner willing to put in the necessary work and cut out the bullshit to become great? Here's hoping that his large group of enablers now see a big enough problem that he gets a talking to and rededicates himself to the sport. How he responds to the loss will forever shape people's opinions of him as a fighter and a man.
3. Pacquiao returns with a win
It didn't do a ton of pay-per-view buys, but knowing that we're at least going to see Manny Pacquaio in a boxing ring again as we enter a new year is a good thing to see if you're a follower of the sport. Sure, the Filipino idol isn't what he once was, but in dominating Brandon Rios late last year, he showed he still has enough left to give anyone trouble.
Seeing Pacquiao laid out by Juan Manuel Marquez the year prior just felt unnatural. That it won't be the final chapter written in a Hall of Fame career is easily accepted. The only downside is that it means we're still going to hear the usual bullshit about a fight with Floyd Mayweather, which is annoying. It is definitely better than the alternative of a Pacquiao retirement, which is constantly worrying whether he has hemorrhaged all his money and will wind up a cautionary tale.
2. Boxing makes a move out of the casinos and in front of big crowds
2013 saw the elimination of a number of half empty casino venues for fights that belonged in front of hometown crowds. Perhaps learning from fights like Amir Khan against Zab Judah, which drew terribly, promoters (especially Golden Boy, Khan's promoter) looked to stage fights where they made sense, not solely financially, but where it would attract the largest volume of attendants.
We saw Canelo Alvarez face Austin Trout of all people in front of 30,000 plus in San Antonio. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn was a constant site of big East Coast battles that didn't exist up until mid-to-late 2012. HBO even televised Sergio Martinez defending his title in front of a humungous crowd in his native Argentina, something that was a throwback to the days of boxing on afternoon network television. It feels as though it is a trend that will continue as it showed to great results.
As someone who moved to Las Vegas at the end of 2012, this sucked for me personally as fights that would have taken place in Las Vegas were moved elsewhere. I'm willing to suffer for the greater good, though.
1. Mayweather fights twice, part of one of the biggest fights in history
The deal that Floyd Mayweather signed with Showtime caused huge shockwaves in the sport. The first year it went into effect was a very positive one. Sure, Robert Guerrero wasn't the most desirable opponent to launch the thing, and that PPV didn't do a million buys. Golden Boy and Showtime brought it on the second attempt, making a fight with developing star Canelo Alvarez, who brought the support of Mexico into the fold in making a fight that did the biggest numbers in terms of live gate ever, among other things.
Fight week for "The One" felt like the kind of treatment the Super Bowl must get. Promoter and network pulled out all the stops, including a live weigh-in that had a bigger crowd than many of the crowds that show up on any given fight night. The cherry on top was them including Danny Garcia against Lucas Matthysse as the co-feature, allegedly at the behest of Mayweather himself.
There's an issue that comes with Mayweather fighting more actively. It gives Showtime and Golden Boy less time to build an opponent worthy enough of the pricetag Mayweather is attached to. I once said that if a fighter like Mayweather fought three times a year, it would allow him to get away with fighting a fringe guy like Kell Brook in the UK in between much bigger fights worthy of what we saw in September. Though it will be a twice a year commitment it looks like, Mayweather nearly singlehandedly made Showtime competitive with HBO more than they've been since Don King was an ally in the early 1990s. The Cold War, a bad thing in the long term for the sport, was great in the immediate.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete