As Fans Shouldn’t Have Settled for Fat Elvis, They Shouldn’t Settle for Pay – Per – Screws Either!

By Kevin “The Voice” Kincade

I was born towards the end of 1970, so the only version of Elvis Presley I ever saw was the one pimped out in a cheesy white jumpsuit, bedazzled in rhinestones. Well, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes it was a red jumpsuit, sometimes blue; but he always had high heel boots and those big framed, sparkly “superstar” shades which covered the upper portion of his face and a scarf to throw to the ladies while he crooned “Love Me Tender.” At the time, my parent’s fascination with this cartoonish character with the sing/song southern slang when he spoke, whom they referred to as, “The King,” puzzled me to no end.

Such was their love for his music that they made me sit through a concert by an “Elvis” Impersonator named, “Elvis Wade” at the Maury County Fair while I’d rather have been riding the rides I was tall enough to ride or playing some games for prizes along the main strip. Instead, there I was sitting with my cotton candy watching a bunch of old people get “all shook up”…..and this wasn’t even the real thing!

Years later, I learned about how Elvis had changed the music business and even the culture of American youth in the 1950’s, when he was the real deal, so to speak. What I happened across in my youth were the shock waves of his ’69 Comeback and ensuing victory tour where he morphed into somebody’s convoluted image of “a star”. He hadn’t topped the charts in years by the time he died; but he was still selling out arenas for fans whom he’ won over years before. His reputation sold tickets, so much so that anyone who dressed like him and sang his songs reasonably well were able to make a decent living doing so….and, still do, for that matter.

What the hell does this have to do with boxing?

I’ll tell you. Elvis, to me, has become an analogy of the current stars in the sport of fisticuffs. Here’s what I mean. How many times have you paid way too much to watch your favorite star fighter take on someone who didn’t have a chance, while waiting in vain for a superstar showdown with another “star” fighter which takes damn near a decade to materialize? How many times has potted meat on crackers been promoted as Filet Mignon while the real Filet Mignon is sitting on the counter at room temperature inching closer and closer to going bad while you’re salivating, starving on the inside for the real thing, only to finally be sold the real thing long after its expiration date?

I’m not sure where this phenomenon began; but I’ll start with Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard, in his prime, faced and defeated the best in the world. He proved himself to be the best Welterweight on the planet and possibly the best pound-for-pound fighter around. He beat the great Wilfred Benitez, warred with the great Roberto Duran and lost while showing us what he was made of, then avenged that loss by making the macho Duran quit in ring center. He faced peril against the great Tommy Hearns in a battle which saw both men forced to adjust their game plans due to the talent and the heart of the other. That was the real stuff; it doesn’t get any better.

Through no fault of his own, Leonard hung his gloves up in 1982, thanks to a detached retina, leaving the boxing world wondering, “what if”. After one unimpressive comeback against Kevin Howard in ’84, Leonard hung ‘em up again, seemingly disgusted with his own slide in ability. Meanwhile, the other legend of the time, Marvin Hagler, the man whom Leonard was supposed to meet in a super fight, trudged onward, forging his own star in boxing’s hall of fame.

While Hagler was gaining more and more respect and admiration, Leonard got to watch his fights, study his form, study the inside of how fights are scored, and at the right moment, when Hagler had shown just enough slippage, hint that he’d come back, just for a fight with Hagler. Filet Mignon was on the menu again.

Exactly who won their “super fight” in 1987 is still a hot topic for discussion among fans and scribes alike; but how it affected the sport and other “would be stars”, to me, at least, is undeniable. Leonard, true to his word, gave up the Middleweight Championship he’d won from Hagler, never to defend it; but, reveling in the spotlight and the millions of dollars his comeback produced, came back for seconds.

Donny Lalonde was not a household name; he wasn’t even the best Light-heavyweight in the world when he and Leonard crossed gloves. In fact, there were two other titlists who easily ranked higher than the “Golden Boy” in the 175 lb. division, “Prince” Charles Williams and Virgil “Quicksilver” Hill. Yet, the “Filet Mignon” this time, was Leonard challenging Lalonde and not for just Donny’s WBC Light-Heavyweight Champion; but for the vacant WBC Super-Middleweight Championship as well, two titles for the price of one? Leonard’s name sold the show and he got to make “history” of sorts by becoming a “5 Division” champion, even though he only fought in 4. This….was potted meat on crackers, yet the public ate it up.

Don’t misunderstand. Donny Lalonde was a tough fighter with a big heart; but any fool can see why a 31 year old “fat welterweight”, as Donny called him, chose to face him rather than Williams or Hill: lower risk, high reward. Then, Leonard’s next opponent was the long, long overdue rematch with Tommy Hearns, who had looked just this side of shot in his previous outing against James Kinchen, where he escaped with a disputed decision; and he and Leonard put on a great show. Follow that up with the third match with 38 year old Roberto Duran, who had looked incredible against Iran Barkley, and you’ve got more than enough money for the grandkids to retire on. Meanwhile, the young crop of middleweights and super-middleweights waited for their turn which would never come while fighting each other for a fraction of the money.

I don’t blame Leonard for capitalizing on the dues he’d paid, earlier in his career. He’d absolutely earned the right to make a butt load of money which marquee names from the past, Hearns and Duran, guaranteed. And, true to his championship heart, Leonard had to eventually test himself against a young opponent, who’d just happened to have been knocked cold in 2 rounds a few years before, in Terry Norris. This is where the fantasy ride ended. Leonard was the best on the senior tour; but once he got in the ring with a hungry young talented opponent, reality struck hard and often.

Why am I picking on Leonard? I’m not; I’m merely pointing out the precedent for what we’re seeing more and more of today. Roy Jones, JR. picked up the mantel where Leonard left off. While he was dominating the super-middleweight division and wowing fans with his incredible array of physical talents, did he ever meet Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, Michael Nunn, or Darius Michalczewski? How about Virgil Hill before he got older and slower and lost to Henry Maske? How about Henry Maske for that matter? No.

Floyd Mayweather, JR. is guilty of the same phenomenon. He was amazing to watch when he was “Pretty Boy” Floyd at Junior Lightweight and Lightweight; but anyone honest with themselves know that fights with Cotto and more famously, Pacquiao didn’t happen when they should have. When he originally moved up to Junior Welterweight, did he face the new, popular 140 lb. Champion? No. He faced a well over the hill Arturo Gatti to pick up a meaningless belt of gold, along with lots of money; and when the most obvious moment for a clash with the explosive Filipino was ripe, he retired, waiting for the demand for his return to be so great that multi-million dollar purses were there to be harvested. And now, I hear rumors of him coming out of retirement to face Godzilla. Just as well, Godzilla’s been guilty of making his own profitable comebacks.

The latest culprit, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Alvarez is 26 years old and in his prime and, no doubt, one of the best fighters on the scene today; but I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say I was rather disappointed in his brief foray into the Middleweight division. Gennady Golovkin has been knocking down middleweights left and right for years. Once upon a time, being “World Champion” meant something. If you held that title, you defended it against the best in the division to prove you were the best. Now, it’s marketing tool for more money. Catch weight? Really?! I’m surprised the WBC didn’t create a new “Caneloweight” class where you have to come in at 155 lbs. the day before the fight and put on 20 lbs. by fight night.

Well, at least “Cinnamon” decided to go back down to where he’s most comfortable, rather than hold the Middleweight Championship hostage while good fighters like Golovkin wait in vain for him to open the door they were pounding on; but why do I get the feeling this fight will happen as soon as “GGG” draws his first social security check?

The business of boxing is bleeding the sport dry. Everybody wants to be a star; but no one wants to pay the price to get there. Leonard paid the price and then went on his victory tour in his mid ‘30’s. Jones, JR. and Mayweather, JR. paid the price and then did the same thing. But star-fever is starting earlier and earlier. Boxing is not like music. Great songs are always great songs; but great fights have a shelf-life. Look at Wladimir Klitschko. For years he ruled a division seemingly devoid of talent, only to be buffaloed out of his tile by a giant Buster Keaton impersonator. The opportunity comes up for him to erase any doubt to his greatness by facing a very talented and hungry 17-0 Anthony Joshua and he opts to face “Opponent to be named” for the vacant WBA title instead, pushing the Filet Mignon away for some cheese and crackers just before his old body got injured. And who says there’s no such thing as Karma?

Thank God for young bloods like Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, and even Amir Khan and others, fighters willing to take a risk and not sit on their laurels, waiting for the big pay-day. Thank God for Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev showing what they’re mad of and meeting to decide who’s better between the two. That’s what champions do!

We need them and should reward them by boosting the ratings of their fights while eschewing pay-per-screw so-called events. Boxing fans know a good fight when they see one and they know garbage by the smell. The more we support good fights and the more PPV’s which are unworthy that we avoid dropping our hard earned dollars on, the sooner this ridiculousness will stop. No one should have to wait damn near ten years for two hot-tickets to get it on. If one or both of them don’t want to prove their better than the other man, they’re not fighters anymore; they’re businessmen. Who the hell wants to see two accountants go at it?

I understand wanting to get paid what you’re worth; but the market dictates that. We’re the market and we don’t’ have to buy if we think the product is overpriced or the meat’s gone bad. Promoters are feeding off of your desperation, making you wait, and wait, and wait until you’re starving. Letting a fight get “ripe” is one thing, selling you day-old bread for a fresh bread price is another.

In the 1950’s, Elvis was destroying the charts, he was on every jukebox, and being played on every station imaginable because he was fresh, new, and huge. By the 1970’s, he’d become a caricature of himself on stage, some fictional image selling out shows while producing no new substance, just resinging old songs once sung. He was an act, no longer the real thing. He still had the voice, he still had the name; but he was no longer the goods. Music had moved on. He was a shadow of his once great self, still giving it his all while performing; but it was a “greatest hits” show, what once was in recap. And, there’s a place for that; but it sure as hell ain’t boxing unless you want a senior’s tour.

In the end, you, the fan, control what you see. If you demand it, it will happen. If you ignore it, it will go away. Money talks or money walks; and it certainly talks while it’s walking away. The next time you smell something going sour on a PPV, don’t buy it. If those who make the money begin seeing losses at the box office, they’ll up the ante and you’ll win with a better quality product next time. On the other hand, if you keep overpaying for fights, just to see “your man” in action, even if the opponent is someone you’ve never heard of, the money makers will take that as a sign that they can always give you less for more. Don’t settle for hamburger when you can have steak.

Don’t spend all of your hard earned money to see Fat Elvis in Vegas when you can catch the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a fraction of the price….or, pick your own group and location. You know exactly what I mean. Let your money do the talking, demand
Prime Rib and tell ‘em to shove their spam, spam, bloody spam where the sun don’t shine.

[si-contact-form form=’2′]