The Art of “Ducking” in Boxing: Is It Helpful or Hurtful?
By Joe “MoJoe” Mollric
“I’ll fight anybody, any place, any time!”. We’ve all heard this line bellow from the mouth of any number of fighters during a post fight interview. It falls from their lips like a casual greeting from your neighbor. But in a world where fighters imply their eagerness to take on the world, it sometimes seems like nobody fights anybody, anywhere.
Those close to the sport quickly identify the culprit as politics, while those involved directly often point to the economics of producing such an event. While those are both (in all honesty) viable excuses in the current boxing climate, it’s easy for us, the fans, to resort to another excuse.
It’s an expression used by everyone associated in the sport for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s meant to slander. Other times it’s meant to enrage. Mostly it’s used to dismiss all other reasoning in lieu of a clear understanding. It’s the two words that regardless of its context will always raise the ire of fighters, promoters, manager and fans alike….
“He’s ducking.”
Ok guys listen, this topic can spin out of control real fast so before you rush to the comments section and light me up with examples of how your favorite fighter would never dream of ducking, let me set a common understanding moving forward so we’re all onboard. Ground rules if you will. For starters, let’s define the term:
Ducking
Verb
1. To purposely and knowingly avoid a contest for the purpose of protecting titles or status.
2. Refusal to face opponent due to imminent defeat
“The Champ is ducking every fighter in his weight class.”
Agreed? OK, cool. Also, I find it apt to eliminate a few excuses by making some assumptions.
1. Let’s assume that the fighter and his manager are in agreement. Neither is protecting the other.
2. For argument’s sake, let’s assume that these hypothetical fights take place at a neutral venue with a 50/50 split in all profits and expenditures including purse.
I’d like to institute these conditions to allow us to operate under the assumption there is no other reason to avoid a match and what said fighter has to gain or lose from doing so.
Phew… OK, now we have that behind us let’s dig into who ducks and why. It stands to reason that the only people that would benefit from ducking would be fighters in possession of a championship or someone with a contender status they’d like to maintain prior to getting an opportunity for a title fight. I think that pretty much sums up the “why” portion as well. Teams obviously may opt to avoid a fight to protect what they’ve worked hard to obtain.
That being said, let’s remove the negative moniker from the term and try to shed some light on reasons why it’s ok to duck an opponent. For starters, it’s possible that the fighter in question simply needs a break. Boxing is demanding, physically and mentally. Given the typical fighters over aggressive nature, It’s up to the fighters team to recognize when rest is necessary and force him to take it.
A boxer in his mid to late 30’s may not be able to recover a quickly as they did when they were younger so 3 or 4 fights a year may not be the best approach to defending your title/status. Another question that fits into this mold is, when was your last fight in correlation to your opponents? Planning a fight against a younger fighter coming off a significantly longer lay off could affect your fighter’s conditioning in the later rounds.
As for fighters without a strap, planning opponents gets much more complex. Contenders are keenly aware of where they sit in the rankings and search out fighters that would help increase their status. Title fights rarely are given to up and coming fighters that are buried in the rankings.
Those slots are reserved for veterans that will do well in the ratings department or other high ranking prospects. Therefore, a contender’s main objective is to navigate a pool of fighters within the rankings that they feel will help either bolster or improve their rankings in order to preserve potential future opportunities.
The odd duck in this bunch is the #1 ranked contender in any governing body’s rankings more commonly known as the mandatory challenger. This term is described as the governing body’s most suitable prospect to challenge for its respective title and is considered a bit of a fail safe to protect the integrity of their respective titles. Governing bodies order the champion to defend his title against this challenger in the event a suitable opponent doesn’t present himself. This puts the mandatory challenger in a difficult situation if he isn’t selected for his title shot right away.
His options are to take lower ranked opponents or “chase the money” if you will, by selecting an opponent with a name that draws a decent paycheck. A loss to either could be detrimental to his status as mandatory challenger so all things considered it may be in his best interest to remain idle until he gets his shot at a belt.
In short, the reasons for “ducking” are plentiful however it doesn’t necessarily indicate that the fighter is scared to square off again any given opponent. Sometimes it’s just the right thing to do for the fighter and the future of his career. Also, try to remember that the fighter’s future is not his own. His entire team’s livelihood may very well hinge on the success or failure of their guy. While I do believe that contests are avoided due to a belief that the fighter won’t win, I don’t believe it’s because said fighter is intimidated.
That’s all fine and dandy, but where does that leave us the fans? Good question. In my humble opinion, I believe it’s a matter of how you look at it. Of course, as viewers, we want to see a marquee showdown every weekend. We want multiple title fights on the same card in all the premier weight divisions and unification bouts to be more common. Obviously, that’s not realistic. There are only so many fighters in so many classes that can quench our insatiable thirst for marquee bouts. Also, let’s be honest. The reason we look forward to these contests so much is mostly due to the fact that they’re rare.
The build up (if done the right way) is the equivalent to enjoying the ride. It might not be the best part of your trip but it’s necessary to delivering a good final product. This is what sets great managers apart from the rest. They find the sweet spot between ducking and delivering to optimize their chances of receiving a big payday and offering up a great fight for the fans. A good recent example of this would be Kovalev vs. Ward 1. It was the right fight for both fighters in the prime of their careers and the fight itself delivered on an entertainment level.
Unfortunately, the flipside of this happens far too often. Fights happen too early due to public demand but 1 (or both) of the fighters isn’t ready for a high caliber event at this point in their career. Recent example: Canelo Vs Mayweather, JR. How do you think that fight would go if it took place in 2017 when Canelo had more big fight experience? A lesser known recent example is Jermell Charlo Vs Erickson Lubin. Fortunately, Canelo was able to bounce back and salvage his career. What’s to become of Lubin is yet to be seen. Of course, we all know of the worst variety of this… the fight that takes far too long.
Where both fighters avoid confronting each other for an unacceptable amount of time. I think you can guess the recent example…. Pacquiao Vs Mayweather, JR. This form of ducking is detrimental to a sport where the fan base is in recession. When the most anticipated event continues to get delayed, people lose start to lose interest and leave with a bad taste in their mouths. How would you feel if the NFL continually postponed the Super Bowl for an indefinite amount of time? There would be riots….
While that’s a pretty narrow scope of how these things happen, just try to keep it in mind before you declare a fighter is ducking your favorite prospect. A lot goes into these things prior to the sound of the first bell and a little patience goes a long way to getting the fight you desire.
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