Boxing is Back! Back Enough, That Is!

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By Marc “Kid Huevos” Livitz

“Boxing is back,” so sayeth the brass at ESPN throughout Tuesday night’s telecast from Las Vegas. Without question, the evening’s main event was showcased by an indeed special fighter who may even be able to surpass the sky as a given limit. No sooner than when WBO world featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson sent Felix Caraballo crashing to the canvas by way of a left hook to the gut were we treated to what got top billing on SportsCenter. We were once again notified that boxing was back, but also that Michael Jordan’s onboard team caught a 442 lb. marlin in a fishing tournament. Fair enough, as MJ pretty much the greatest athlete of all time, save for Diego Maradona, but that is neither here nor anywhere.

As the night began, the loudest noise once the action was set to begin was the clapping of hands in a fighter’s respective corner. The sound was amplified due to the latex gloves that everyone was wearing. Of course, there were no fans in attendance and the all of the bouts on the six-fight card took place in one of the ballrooms at the MGM Grand. The outside noise was nowhere to be found. I only bring this up because I prefer, or better yet demand that I have silence in the room whenever I choose to dive into a good book. There seemed to be a comparable bit of calm without all of the crowd noise on Tuesday night. At times, the raucous ones are still outside of the arena long into the night’s festivities.

Maybe you felt the same way or perhaps like most of us, we were just happy to see something akin to the sweet science. Never you mind that it was on a weeknight because back in the proverbial day, even high profile championship bouts took place during the work week. For those of us in the boxing media who get to press row early enough to see the first contest, we know all too well the sight of an arena being largely top heavy for the first few hours after the doors have opened. To be fair, somewhere like Las Vegas presents a million fun options to do before, during and always after an event.

It may be difficult to tear oneself away from the tables or the bar long enough to get to the contests before the card is well underway. There are those within the media who do the same, many of whom blow off their responsibilities until the main event. Gone was all of that on Tuesday night. Gone were the gawking fanboys and grandiose snobs who occupy much of press row, as were those who would likely seek last rites before attempting to climb a flight of stairs. All in all, the telecast seemed to go off without a hitch and the fact that it was all over before 10PM central time was a secondary treat. Boxing is back indeed. It can only go up from here.

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