I knew it – I just knew it.
“Boxing hasn’t been good since the ’90s…”
“The sport is a joke nowadays…”
“That was a waste of time…”
Those are the kinds of statements I’ve been hearing for seven days, and I can’t tell you how much they’ve been bothering me.
Let’s start from the beginning.
Last Friday, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson fought Jake Paul, a YouTuber, on Netflix. Yes, that was a real sentence and, yes, the fight actually happened.
As soon as the fight was announced – months and months ago – I knew it was going to be a letdown. Want to know why?
Because, no one cares.
Now, look, I’m a massive boxing fan. I’ve never denied it, and I spend a lot of my weekends watching the sport at 2 a.m. when my eyes want nothing more than to shut.
That’s how much I love it.
On a side note, is there anything better than live boxing? I was lucky enough to watch James Perkins, of Lynn, fight at The Palladium in Worcester last year. I’ve also taken a train to New York City to watch Callum Walsh – a young fighter out of Ireland – fight at the Madison Square Garden Theater.
Back to the stupid Netflix fight.
Let me ask you a question: Would you pay to watch Bronny James play a retired Larry Bird one-on-one? Because, if you think about it, that’s really what this was.
It’s not a boxing problem. It’s people choosing to watch this fight instead of the real fights that happen every other weekend.
I know. I know. You wanted a “Rocky Balboa” scenario. I’m referring to the sixth movie, in case you didn’t know.
In the film, an older, sore, beat up Balboa comes out of retirement to fight the heavyweight champion of the world. The Italian Stallion goes the distance and nearly wins the fight.
Man, I love those movies. Even you, “Rocky V” with Tommy Morrison.
But last Friday was real – not a fictional fantasy. You chose to watch it; I didn’t tell you to watch it.
I guess I’m writing to say this: Outside of the clownfights between YouTubers and celebrities, boxing is still great.
Watch Terence Crawford. Watch Canelo Álvarez. Watch Artur Beterbiev. Watch Shakur Stevenson. Watch Devin Haney.
Better yet, the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rematch is next month. The first fight was a down-to-the-wire thriller for the heavyweight championship.
I’m not saying you have to buy the $79.99 pay-per-view fights every month, but find a favorite fighter or two and go from there.
I’ll go. I can’t get enough of Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia. They have enough power in their left hooks to light up Las Vegas, as boxing broadcaster Mauro Ranallo would say.
But hey, this is all just my opinion.
I think the sport of boxing is in a great spot, if you’re watching the right fights.
