Another Black Eye for Boxing?
I've always hated that term. Any controversy that happens in boxing is always referred to as a "black eye" for the sport. The latest one is James "Lights Out" Toney testing positive for banned substances after his title winning performance against John "The Quiet Man" Ruiz. Anyone who saw the fight would sit there and think, "No way that butterball is on roids. Now, unless you are a hardcore boxing fan, you probably didn't even know that this fight took place. Most mainstream press didn't even cover the fight. They're covering Toney's piss test, though. That's part of what makes me irritated about that phrase. The media can't be bothered to cover the fight when it happens, which did have some history attached to it, but they jump all over it when something bad happens. That is why Mike Tyson is known to everyone in the world. Tyson is a cartoon character, and the media loves his neanderthal mentality. They love to report things that are baaaaaad. However, there are many things that are good in boxing. And many good people that participate in the sport. Guys that most people have never and will never hear of. Arturo Gatti, Mickey Ward, Jose Luis Castillo, Ricky Hatton, Kostya Tszyu, Chris Byrd, The Klitschko Brothers, Winky Wright, Jermain Taylor, Erik Morales, just to name a few. Want to know why you've never heard of them? These guys are all class acts.
People sit there and piss and moan about how boxing is "fixed". What most people don't realize is that boxing does not have a set scoring system. There is a criteria for judges to use however, even that, is relative to what the judge thinks he or she is seeing. Don't get me wrong, there have been instances where fights have been fixed. There is NO denying that. However, unless there is a knockout of some sort, everything depends on what the judges see. Boxing fans, like fans of any other sport, don't have opinions. They are always right. Don't disagree with them on something regarding boxing, or you may find yourself in the squared circle yourself. We see what we want to see. And we'll usually fight to the death to prove that we are right concerning our thoughts. Most people look at this as a detriment to the sport. Me? I think its one of the things that make my favorite sport so exciting. Granted, I get just as pissed as anyone when something seems amiss. But we aren't sitting there in the 12th round already knowing what the score is like in football, baseball, or basketball. In a good close fight, we know that the decision can go either way. A couple weekends ago, I was sitting with a couple of really good friends watching Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo wage war with eachother. Normally, you kinda keep track of who you think is winning in your head. After three rounds, Matt and I gave up on judging the fight ourselves. The battle was too close to call. In other sports, you know who is winning. In boxing, you don't. How can a sport that exciting have so many black eyes?
People sit there and piss and moan about how boxing is "fixed". What most people don't realize is that boxing does not have a set scoring system. There is a criteria for judges to use however, even that, is relative to what the judge thinks he or she is seeing. Don't get me wrong, there have been instances where fights have been fixed. There is NO denying that. However, unless there is a knockout of some sort, everything depends on what the judges see. Boxing fans, like fans of any other sport, don't have opinions. They are always right. Don't disagree with them on something regarding boxing, or you may find yourself in the squared circle yourself. We see what we want to see. And we'll usually fight to the death to prove that we are right concerning our thoughts. Most people look at this as a detriment to the sport. Me? I think its one of the things that make my favorite sport so exciting. Granted, I get just as pissed as anyone when something seems amiss. But we aren't sitting there in the 12th round already knowing what the score is like in football, baseball, or basketball. In a good close fight, we know that the decision can go either way. A couple weekends ago, I was sitting with a couple of really good friends watching Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo wage war with eachother. Normally, you kinda keep track of who you think is winning in your head. After three rounds, Matt and I gave up on judging the fight ourselves. The battle was too close to call. In other sports, you know who is winning. In boxing, you don't. How can a sport that exciting have so many black eyes?
posted by Matt at 9:07 AM
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