Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao: Not The Answer!
MANNY PACQUIAO & FLOYD MAYWEATHER NOT ANSWER TO BOXING’S WOES
San Francisco, CA– Television experts, as well as the general population, are of the opinion that boxing is in the doldrums because Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao haven’t fought one another. While I’ll be the first one to admit that the pairing is what a good amount of boxing fans want, believe me when I say it isn’t the root cause or the evil that is killing the game.
BLAME THE PROMOTERS, NOT MAYWEATHER NOR PACMAN
The real problem that is chasing away fans is two fold: The first being bad decisions. The nod that Brandon Rios got over Richard Abril and Tavoris Cloud receiving a decision win after having the snot kicked out of him by Gabriel Campillo, are what turns the non-die hard boxing fan against the sport. I mean it boils down to this: Who am I supposed to believe, those judges or my own eyes? Although bad decisions are inherent in the history of boxing, when they are televised and then talked about as “robberies” for days on end, this increases the feeling that the masses have that boxing is a “fixed” production much like the product put forth by the World Wrestling Entertainment company run by Vince McMahon.
MANNY PACQUIAO & FLOYD MAYWEATHER BOTH LIKE “RALPH KRAMDEN”
For those of you that don’t know who in God’s name is Ralph Kramdem is, he is a television character from the 1950s made famous by actor by Jackie Gleason in one of the top five TV shows in history, “The Honeymooners.” While the rotund Gleason, who played Kradem, a New York City bus driver, was known for a plethora of “catch” lines, his biggest was, “I got a big mouth.”
MAYWEATHER ON JEREMY LIN, PACQUIAO ON GAY MARRIAGE
When Floyd insinuated that there are a plethora of African-American players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that could smoke Chinese star Jeremy Lin like a “New York City” blunt, Mr. Mayweather was vilified as being racist in just about every major news organization on the globe. When Pacquiao, a born again Christian, said that he thought Gay marriage was taboo and might have added some other comments that he has since politically disavowed, the bottom line is that both guys, like Kradem, “Have a big mouth.”
NOW TO AFIX THE REAL BLAME ON BOXING’S WOES!
The two-major principles that have trashed the sport of boxing in recent years and brought the game to a new low are Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank’s Bob Arum. Why some of you might construe this as simply more bashing of Arum, an admitted but never charged Felon, (and I couldn’t get away with writing that “Bogus Bob” was an admitted Felon if it weren’t the absolute truth) and me adding De la Hoya to the bonfire, you’re wrong.
CASE AGAINST BOTH OSCAR & ARUM IS THE SAME!
The evidence against both Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank is identical. Like the promoter that you see showcase the only “fighter” he has under contract on ESPN 2 against a guy that announcer Teddy Atlas could beat, simply because they won’t risk his investment their fighter against a live fighter with a pulse. The same applies today to both Top Rank and De La Hoya’s company.
HERE’S WHY BOXING FANS
They sign guys, take for instance Brandon “The Nothing” Rios to contracts and giving them signing bonuses, some in the six-figure range, thus the companies have to recoup their investments. This is where the “mucked up” and unjust decisions come into play. The judges are not stupid, they see guys like Rios being coddled, while at the same time, Richard Abril is being treated like a “$3 dollar trick,” meaning they know who to vote for. As for promoters going to judges in advance, or the Mob getting to them beforehand, this is not the case. It’s the perception of the judges as to who “should win” that prevails, thus they end giving fights to those that are undeserved.
GOLDEN BOY & ARUM SIGNED TOO MANY FIGHTERS
Unlike a lot of you, I can recall the mindset of Eileen Eaton, the promoter of the Olympic Auditorium during the 20 years they held weekly cards. She was the woman who employed Don “War A Week” Chargin, now a Hall of Fame promoter, who for two decades he was Eaton’s matchmaker. Unlike Arum and Oscar “Victoria’s Secrets” De La Hoya, Eaton in my memory, and yes I go back that far, the original “Dragon Lady,” signed only one fighter in her run at the Olympic, that being Carlos Palomino.
IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, EATON PUT IT LIKE THIS
“If they don’t want to fight for us, then let ‘em go somewhere else,” or something to that effect. Golden Boy and Arum, one trying to out do the other has signed guys to contracts that if this promotional war were not taking place would be boxing free agents. Instead GBP & Top Rank are simply signing guys because they don’t want the other guy inking them up.
THIS IS WHAT HAS RUINED THE FIGHT GAME!
You can try and spin this anyway you want, the bottom line is that I’m right again. The boxing game doesn’t have chance a redeeming its glory days the way things are today. Because of TV, the promoters De La Hoya and Arum are making money, but at the same time, they are destroying the sport of boxing in order to achieve their individual goals.
Pedro Fernandez