Boxing Is a Joke

As a kid I was a huge boxing fan.  It was so long ago, I can barely remember it.  I followed boxing through high school and college.  I believe it has never been the same since Buster Douglas surprised Mike Tyson.  With Tyson plummeted from the lofty heights of seeming invincibility, the heavy weight class, the highest profile class of boxing, never recovered.

For twenty years now the heavy weight class, once the home of the superstars of the sport, has been filled with no names and mediocre contenders.  No excitement or interest remains for the heavy weights. 

The excitement and interest has been generated in the lighter weight classes.  Marketable stars who like to fight suddenly took over the sport.  With the expansion of the pay per view spectacle in the early 1990’s, the sport was in a position to take off.  Instead, it has become a joke.

Money rules all in boxing as in all professional sports.  There is no getting around that.  It is a fact of life in our culture.  I am not commenting on that aspect of the sport.  I have a problem with the fact that everything is aimed toward the NEXT big time event.  No matter how big the present star match up may be, the next one will always be bigger.  The bigger that match up is, the bigger the monetary stakes. 

For years, controversy has reigned over the sport.  From violent thugs in the ring doing inexplicable things (Tyson biting off an ear) to obviously corrupt judges not being held publicly accountable for their scorecards, boxing has down nothing to fix the issues.  Incompetent or corrupt referees continue to work key fights.  The sport is a mess.

I knew all this.  I have known it for twenty years.  Still, I got drawn in.  I have become a Victor Ortiz fan.  He is a local boy with a heart wrenching story.  He is personable, genuine, and an all around nice guy.  How could you not pull for this kid?  When he unexpectedly won the welter weight belt and earned a match against the talented and smart sleaze bag, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., how could he not be the fan favorite?

Mayweather co-promoted the event along with Oscar de la Hoya.  He earned 25 million for last night’s bout while Ortiz, the champion, earned a career high 2.5 million (or as Mayweather called it – shoe box money).  Despite the fact Ortiz was the fan favorite over the arrogant thug wannabe Mayweather, the smart money, or apparently, all money, was on the challenger/promoter.  Ortiz was an overwhelming underdog but didn’t seem to faze him.

The first three rounds belonged to the technically and fundamentally sound veteran.  One judge and the pay per view announcer had Mayweather winning 2 of the rounds while the other two judges had Ortiz losing all three rounds.  Ortiz was clearly winning the 4^th round, pinning the undefeated former champion against the ropes and was pummeling him late in the round.  Then Ortiz, who had been hinting on HBO’s 24/7 that Mayweather was a dirty fighter, gave Mayweather a little head butt.  The referee, Jose Cortez, stopped the bout and correctly deducted a point from Ortiz.  The fighters, who had retreated to their corners, approached the center of the ring.  The referee was still looking toward and talking to either the judges or the time keeper.  Ortiz approached Mayweather and apologized for the head butt and leaned in for a glove touch and half hug.  The referee was still not looking at the fighters and had not clapped them in.  Mayweather, in the ultimate act of a cheater, sucker punched Ortiz in the side of the head while feigning acceptance of the offered sportsmanship induced hug.  Ortiz stumbled back and looked at the referee, who was STILL not looking at the fighters.  While Ortiz looked to the referee, arms at his side and defenseless, Mayweather stepped in and clobbered Ortiz in the head, knocking him to the floor, senseless.  As the crowd roared its disbelief and indignation referee Cortez did not immediately disqualify the money maker Mayweather.   Instead, he counted out the dazed champion.  When he reached ten, he declared the thug the winner.  The crowd roared its disapproval.

After the fight, boxing legend Larry Merchant interviewed the so-called winner in center ring.  He asked Mayweather why he would do what he did.  Mayweather responded by thanking God (Satan was more appropriate) and again the crowd reigned boos down on him.  Merchant rephrased his question and again Mayweather deftly ducked the query like an Ortiz jab.  Merchant pursued the matter until Mayweather screamed that the interview was over and he wanted a new interviewer.  He told Merchant he didn’t know sh*t about boxing and wasn’t sh*t.  The 80-year old legend replied that if he were 50 years younger, he would kick Myaweather’s ass.  The crowd filled the arena with cheers of agreement.  I am not necessarily a Merchant fan but he was totally justified in his line of questioning and in his response to Mayweather’s dissembling and thuggery.  Ortiz, on the other hand, responded in exactly the correct way.  He said it was what it was and he would have to live with it.  He said it with his customary smile.  The crowd cheered him lustily.

Hence, yet another black eye for the sport of boxing.  While I would not go so far as to say the fight was fixed, it is obvious that the judges and referee were quite aware of who was paying the bills – Mayweather Promotions.  That is was a giant conflict of interest seems to be swept under the rug.  Merchant tried to make that point to Mayweather before the “champ” exploded but nobody seems to think it is inappropriate.

And this wasn’t even the first controversy of the night.  In an earlier fight between Canelo Alvarez and Alfonso Gomez, these two fighters were in an evenly matched battle when, in the 6^th round, the heavily favorite Alvarez pinned Gomez on the ropes, landed four could punches.  The referee stepped in a very prematurely ended the fight even though it was clear Gomez was not in serious danger.  In Gomez’s post-fight interview, he said it was not surprising and that he really didn’t really have a chance against the immensely popular Alvarez.  He was not talking about his talent but about the fact that the powers that be didn’t want him to win – just like those powers couldn’t afford for Ortiz to win.

This morning, I read an AP account of the fight and the ending.  It didn’t even remotely resemble what really happened.  It was so slanted it was nearly a flat out lie.  Surely the conspiracy doesn’t include the fourth estate?  At this point, who knows?

Now the scene is set for Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao was a giant pay per view purse.  I would love to see Pacquiao to refuse the fight, not because of any fear for the thug but on principle.  Because Mayweather stole his belt.  That will not happen because of the money involved and there doesn’t seem to be any principles left in this sport.  It is not about skill or talent.  It is about money and big talk.  I think I have paid my last penny to Mayweather Promotions and the pay per view powers.  At least the WWF doesn’t pretend (anymore) to be legitimate.

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