Manny Pacquiao Retires & the Boxing Disaster
By Kevin Nelson
In order for us to understand how to fix problems we must address all the problems associated with the great sport of boxing. The obvious problems come to mind:
-Bob Arum, making decisions based on the personal dislike of Golden Boy Promotions, refusing to work with them and simply pit his own fighters against each other.
-The Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao ongoing saga.
-The lack of interest from the general public.
-The Sherman Williams /Evander Holyfield fight that somehow ended up on pay per view.
-The dubious rankings of undeserving challengers and champions having to vacate a title because of not wanting to face a dubious contender.
This all seems like it is going downhill that there are too many problems with the sport like a sinking boat with too many wholes to fix. But I am a realist and know one of several things: The first is the sport of boxing has existed for far too long to be on its deathbed. With anything in life we go through good and bad times and boxing is experiencing one of the bad times.
I recall when everyone worried about the day Oscar De La Hoya would retire. There would be no big pay per view superstar that can carry a show and becomes a household name, but along came Manny Pacquiao, a two fisted action hero who stopped De La Hoya and then we were all hooked.
Now comes the realization that Manny may not have much time left in the sport and what we are left with is old champs such as Bernard Hopkins, the Klitschkos and a super middleweight tournament that seems to have gone on for two years.
There are some fighters that have retired such as Joe Calzaghe who cleaned out his division and retired. Having a great fighter retired without getting beat is not necessarily a good thing because good fighters become great fighters by beating great fighters.
Recently, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest champion of all time in boxing and although it is truly remarkable, it may be the last thing boxing needs. Jean Pascal had the perfect opportunity to beat Hopkins and become a superstar, but alas we are still looking for the next great fighter.
The 140 pound division has Amir Khan and although I have great hopes he could be that (superstar) guy, the fact that him and Timothy Bradley could not come to terms to a fight is once again ruining the sport. If Khan and Bradley meet in the near future and Khan wins, we have a sure fire pound for pound fighter who will be universally recognized as one of the best. His stature would grow and potential matchups leading up to an eventual move up to welterweight would be appealing since Floyd Mayweather is a welterweight.
But alas we, the fans, have to wait and see if the Khan/Bradley matchup ever happens. The heavyweight division has had two brothers dominate for so long, many are convinced that they will retire champions. It is a shame that the two Ukrainians don’t get the credit they deserve. Here is a list of ideas that could help give the sport a much needed facelift.
Bring back 15 rounds
It would be great to see a fight go 15 rounds and who knows maybe a fight that goes past twelve could see more stoppages.
Create a league or organization like the NFL, NHL
Wouldn’t it be great if there was one organization that was not controlled by promoters…just a single organization that looks out for the best interest of the fighters? Like the UFC, this would be an organization that all fighters would be a part of with health insurance and once you are an established contender top 20, you join the league. Instead of manager fees once you are in the league, you have to give a portion of your fighter purse to maintain the league.
Bring back Lou Dibella on HBO
I recall watching boxing after dark and thinking that I would be in for a treat with great fights. Feature Marcos Maidana, Michael Katsidis, David Lemieux, James Kirkland, Edison Miranda, Librado Andrade and you would have a guarantee for excitement and we the fans would not feel ripped off like so many times we have felt over the past 10 years.