Goodbye Quality, Hello Quantity

Mismatches and showcase fights have always been staples of boxing. There are even those mismatches and showcase bouts that excite and entertain fans. In some instances simply watching a master of his craft work and steamroll an over matched opponent is more than enough for fans, especially when a dangerous fighter is unable to coerce bigger names and talent into stepping into the ring with him. Exciting mismatches and showcase fights are the exception however and not the rule. The overwhelming majority of these egregious affairs are difficult to watch even for those whose lives and careers are centered around the sport.

Quality Over Quantity

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In this era of boxing we've seen a severe increase in the number of mismatches and showcase fights and fewer meaningful big name/talent fights . Although many are quick to point their finger solely at Al Haymon's Premiere Boxing Champions, the truth is that there is no one single entity or factor responsible for the increasing lack of quality matchup's in boxing. Make no mistake; the PBC plays a large role in the demise of quality but there are other things at play here.

Attitudes within the sport have changed dramatically over the past decade and more so over the last 5 years. It's not only the attitudes of boxers that have changed but promoters and even those responsible for sports programming at networks have changed the way the sport is handled and presented to the public. Some have dubbed these changes in attitude the “Mayweather Effect”. This boxing neologism aptly describes the modern boxing business model to a tee. Floyd “Money” Mayweather, at least once he made his move to welterweight, made a career out of fighting just twice a year and against only those opponents who posed no real threat to his reputation and branding. Careful matchmaking is how fighters grow and has always been a natural part of the sport but Mayweather's glaring cherry picking has essentially laid the blue prints for today's boxers and promoters to follow.

Whereas fighters where once carefully matched to allow for growth and maturation, seldom do today's pugilists ever leave the safe confines of what is supposed to be just a phase of their career. Instead of taking risks of any kind the overwhelming majority of fighters are content in following Mayweather's business model and are content to fight just twice a year...sometimes less, against sub par opposition. Making matters worse, promoters encourage this behavior and television networks like HBO and Showtime play the role of well compensated complicit enabler.

Enter The PBC

Prior to it's launching, Al Haymon's Premiere Boxing Champions was touted as a return to form for boxing. Promoted with an embarrassing amount of hubris and hyperbole, the PBC allegedly aimed to return boxing to “free” network TV and asserted, ad nauseam, that it was all about exciting fights between the sports best fighters. Whether it was the disingenuous marketing, Haymon's track record at HBO and Showtime, his talent being exposed by sub par fighters, or the fact that the sports biggest talents weren't actually a part of his boxing league, the writing was on the wall well before the PBC ever made it's official television debut.

Danny Garcia hands Rod Salka
his paycheck
courtesy: theboxingobserver.com

Although there has always existed a small but very vocal and willfully ignorant group of PBC supporters, it became clear to the rest of us after just a few broadcasts that the PBC wasn't going to deliver on any of it's promises. Instead of delivering fights between seemingly evenly matched opponents nearly every single broadcast featured a 2nd tier boxer against a 3rd or 4th tier boxer. Furthermore these fights carried no drama and lead the winner only to another mismatch. These matchups were sold to the public with deliberately dishonest marketing to disguise the fact that one guy was average and his opponent had a full time job outside of boxing. Moreover it quickly came to light that Haymon was paying his “top” level talent ridiculous sums of money to fight tomato cans and cabdrivers. Anyone who tells you that Rod Salka was a serious contender prior to his fight with Danny Garcia either doesn't know much about the sport of boxing or is receiving a paycheck and/or favors from the PBC.

The PBC has done it's best to convince both casual viewers and boxing's less savvy/informed fans that what they provide is either the norm or is better than what existed before it did. If ratings are any indication of their success in this matter however, the PBC has failed miserably. The PBC has done far more harm than it has done good as it's attitudes and business model have long since metastasized throughout the sport. Should the PBC one day collapse and implode on itself like a dying star it's negative effects of the black hole it leaves behind will linger and fester within the sport for decades if not longer.

Making You Love It

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The PBC has inundated it's viewers with mismatches and showcase fights in order to keep boxing at the forefront the minds of those who normally don't tune in or do so only twice a year. That said, you'd be hard pressed to find a hard core boxing fan that wouldn't love to see boxing everywhere on TV and available on the internet everyday but not at the expense of quality. What's currently being offered by the PBC, HBO, and Showtime are largely cards featuring mismatches and showcase fights. Sure there are the rare Thurman vs Porter type bouts across these networks but these types of fights are becoming increasingly rare. Fights between the biggest and most talented names in the sport happen even more infrequently than the aforementioned. With most of the sports top talent openly avoiding dangerous fights and getting paid to do so there is little hope that things will change or that the pendulum will begin swinging in the opposite direction. The oft quoted Larry Merchant once proclaimed “Nothing will kill boxing and nothing can save it.” For a variety of reasons boxers, promoters, networks, and fans have a terrible habit of looking away, rationalizing, and even supporting horrible trends and/or changes when they come to the sport they love. What's that old adage say? “The first step in fixing a problem is admitting you have one.”

--Scott

Just How Good Is Anthony Joshua?

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Whenever an up and coming boxer walks away with a dominant victory there's always questions regarding just how good that fighter is. Is it a high level of skill or a soft resume that's responsible for their impressive wins? In the case of heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua we aren't sure yet. Anthony Joshua is a new breed of title holder in that despite holding a major world title he's relatively unproven. The towering Briton has fought just 17 times against limited opposition, knocking out everyone as he goes, yet it wouldn't be entirely unfair to label the rising heavyweight star a “work in progress”. As exciting as he is, Anthony Joshua's game appears to be somewhat incomplete. Yes the power is there and he certainly looks the part but there are a few things in his arsenal that appear to be conspicuously absent or lackluster.

Vs. Dominic Breazeale

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In his most recent outing against fringe contender Dominic Breazeale, Joshua looked strong and walked away with a 7th round KO though this writer couldn't help but notice that the champion utilized very little head or upper body movement. It would be foolish to expect Tyson-esque movement from Joshua but a little movement can keep an opponent guessing and adds another dimension to a fighters defense. As we've seen in previous fights, AJ was again slow of foot against Breazeale and spent most of his time plodding at the over matched and outgunned Breazeale. More alarmingly there were also moments where it appeared as though Joshua was gasping for air which is often a sign of poor conditioning. In addition to the aforementioned, the champion also utilized a one-two combo ad nauseam. While it was enough to get past the very limited Breazeale, Joshua is going to need a more varied offense should he plan on defeating the upper echelon of heavyweights out there. Perhaps Joshua finds himself in fights where those added gears simply aren't needed or perhaps he doesn't have those tools in his toolbox. For now he's exciting, delivers violent knock out's, and has the attention of the boxing media as well as enthusiasts.

Stepping Out From Behind The Shield

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In this era of boxing a world title is often used as a shield. Belts offer inexperienced, manufactured, and mediocre fighters a sort of safe haven in which they can avoid tough and dangerous opposition until it's time to cash out. Though there are plenty of fighters whom use their titles in this egregious manner, Joshua's management seemingly does so in an effort to give their upstart time to grow and mature. Although it's easy to overlook and forget the holes in a fighters game when he's got a 100% KO ratio those holes remain nonetheless. Eventually Anthony Joshua will be tested either when he either faces some dicey competition or his handlers decide a payday is just to big to pass up. Until such a time occurs we can only speculate on just how good Anthony Joshua is or isn't.

My Reaction To Joshua's 7th Round KO