OnThEGRiND BOXiNG

Sunday July 12th, 2009
By Jack Johnson Presscot

Recently, I read an article by 2 Vegas Journalists, arguing why MMA was or was not taking over boxing’s spot as the numero uno gladiator sport. Unfortunately, the writer supporting MMA easily won the argument. Here are a few of the reasons why MMA has taken over boxing’s spot.

1. The Weakness of the Heavyweight Division. Right now we have two Ukranian Brothers holding the World Championship hostage. These two brothers, aside from their height, are virtually nondescript. The average sports fan probably would not recognize them outside of a boxing venue, while they are wearing suits. So nondescript are they that boxing power network HBO recently decided to skip the title defense and a fight between #’s 1 and 3, for the RING Title. It was shown on ESPN Classic, at 3pm in the afternoon instead. Back in the day, Jack Johnson was globally recognized as the Heavyweight Champ, as were Joe Louis, Max Schmelling, Rocky Marciano, and the modern eras of the Greatest, Muhammad Ali, who was so charismatic that he had his own action figure and was on the cover of a Superman Comic Book. He was a regular on Dean Martin and Flip Wilson, ect… and Mike Tyson was another recognizable icon, whether famous or infamous. Lennox the Lion was another star in and out of the ring. However, the two Ukranians who I wont even bother to mention by name, will go down as a footnote in Heavyweight History.

2. The Retirement of Oscar de la Hoya. Oscar, whether we loved or hated him, brought some excitement and heat to the sport of boxing. Back in September of 1999, Hotels in Vegas were sold out the weekend of the Big Fight, and the creme de la creme of the Boxing and Entertainement World were at the Mandalay Bay, dressed to the nines, awaiting a Megafight. This was also the scene, Cinco de Mayo Weekend, 2007 and in December of 2008, when World’s collided, and Oscar met Manny Pacquaio. But Oscar went and got old on us, and left us with a bunch of new blood, who fail to ignite excitement in the game. Along with Oscar, his rivals, such as Fernando Vargas, Tito Trinidad, and Julio Sr. are also now in the retirement home.

3. Bob Arum, Richard Schaefer, and the rest of the Promoters. Now, while Dana White shows the Earth how it’s done, Bob Arum still continues to charge 39.95 to watch the Son of Julio Cesar Chavez face corpses, and Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya are still clueless about how to set up a strong PPV card. These are hard economic times. People will not pay PPV $$$ to watch mediocre events and weak undercards. Saturday night in Vegas, the UFC had an awesome main event, and an exciting undercard, all for one price. This is how it should be done.

4. The Death Rattle of the WWE and Pro Wrestling. Back in 1985, it was as huge as it was ever going to get. Now, it is a cult like circus. And guess where it’s former fans have decided to venture to? That’s right, the UFC. With clueless boxing promoters ruining boxing, fighters afraid to face one another, and more Titles than any WWE storyline, fight fans are now starting to follow MMA on free Spike TV. Showtime recently had an MMA Event that did quite well. Watch for HBO to follow suit soon.

5. Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. Recently, Floyd injured his ribs in sparring, postponing what would have been the “Boxing Event of the Summer,” and fouling up the plans of the MGM Grand, HBO, GBP and fans everywhere, because his side was aching. Now, we eagerly await Floyd’s big mouth, and HBO’s 24/7 Series with him telling the Earth how wonderful he is, and a very defensive fight against Marquez. All for $54.95… call your local cable operators. My guess is that fans by the thousands will tune into free MMA Events instead, and watch bloody battles rather than Floyd protecting his ribs.

Time shall tell.