Boxing's Fall from Grace

            The boxing fan of today craves big money fights with crowd pleasing styles. The problem with having a craving is you don’t always get satisfied. For example the schedule of cards that HBO has lined up for the fall is going to leave fans everywhere wanting and not getting more.

Last fall we had one great thrill ride after another. I don’t mean in terms of PPV money generated but instead with the throw-back style of the promotions. The fall was kicked off in spectacular fashion with Kelly Pavlik’s rise to glory as he picked himself off the mat in the second round to come back and score a sensational knockout over Jermain Taylor, the then-unbeaten middleweight champ.

After this fight people were not gossiping about how many people tuned in (one has to point out it was world championship boxing and not HBO PPV so viewers mattered a little less anyway) but instead were giddy about the combat and the fighters themselves.

Then there was Mr. Miguel Cotto and Sugar Shane Mosley. Cotto had a universal reputation for his iron will, granite chin, and a painful commitment to body punching. “Sugar” on the other hand already had cemented his Hall of Fame status and was in the midst of a rebirth of sorts due to his amazing knockout of a still viable Fernando Vargas.

Yes the fight was on HBO PPV but the ebb and flow is what carried the day. Miguel surprised many with his speed and Mosley did the same with his will. In the end a 12 round war that left no one unsatisfied. The year ended with Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton. It was a throw back that had a "Rocky" feel to it. You have the humble working class club fighter in Hatton. A true man of the people, heck he even has his own song. Then you have the super brilliant Floyd Mayweather. A filthy rich six time undefeated world champion. The fight was a throwback in itself with the classy boxer and the determined brawler. In the end this was not the movies and Floyd’s style was too much for Hatton to cope with. However it left the boxing world entertained and even touched upon the mainstream with the famous people that could be seen at ringside or heard with their opinions on the two fighters.

          There are about five fights I did not go over but if you look at just those three anyone of those fights kept us tuned in and on our sofas. Now, if we take a look at this fall, it leaves something to be desired.

The one that jumps out at me is the Pavlik vs. Hopkins promotion. Not only is it not for a title, but it marks the second time in three fights that Kelly will not defend his undisputed middleweight championship. On top of that Hopkins has an awful style that is meant to frustrate the other fighter not to mention us, the fans.

For anyone that has been paying attention, Arthur Abraham is a very viable opponent with a world title to boot. I think I should mention he is also a MIDDLEWIGHT. HBO for whatever reason is making it a PPV card and losing fans in the process. The second fight that jumps out at me is Juan Manuel vs. Joel Casamayor card. These are two great fighters who have world titles and great resumes. However Joel opted to not fight Nate Campbell for his three alphabet titles.

If the two of them had fought we would have had four belt unification. Joel however in this situation has all the marbles because he is the “Linear” world champion which is such a bogus notion it’s insane. So in the end we have a bogus world champion and a guy who is living off his reputation of having pushed Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao to the limit. This is 49.95? Give me a break. The only part of this card that matters is the undercard and in my next article I will explain why.

Last but not least, we have the highly undesirable card Mosley Vs Carlos Mayorga. Why in the world is this fight being made? Mosley has a great reputation right now and deserves a big money fight. Mayorga is years removed from a significant win and doesn’t even have a world title. Not to mention the fight is being fought at 154 pounds even with Shane’s mid thirties welterweight renaissance. The card is awful and the matchup is awful. Why not have Shane challenge Andre Berto for his world title? Or even Paul Williams. Seeing Mosley test a young champion in his best weight class is a much better move. These fights make no sense and are going to set boxing back if certain people don’t get over themselves and make great fights.

      Mayweather and Cotto remain unbooked and I hope they make the right decision because as of right now, I take a look at the fall lineup and as a boxing fan, my first reaction is a long drawn out yawn.