The disappearing and lunacy of boxing

Since maybe the time of WWI, up until maybe the 1980s, boxing was a big deal in America. Over the years people gathered around their radios, black and white TVs, and later on even big screens set up at movie theaters or other venues to watch the action between two notables slugging it out.

The early days were "for free". Then somebody figured out a lot of money could be made by charging people to watch it. And they came, for years. Cha-ching. Your truly included.

All along, there was a lot of back-room wheeling and dealing, shady characters, and even shadier shenanigans afoot that most people knew little, if anything, about going on.

Without a doubt many pugilists became very famous for their skills and prowess in the ring. 

Jack Dempsy, Gene Tierney. Joe Louis. Ray Robinson. Jake LaMotta. Cassius Clay/Mohammed Ali. Joe Frazier. George Foreman. Ray Leonard. Marvin Hagler. Tommy Hearns. Roberto Duran. And Mike Tyson, to name a few.

And then the "sweet science" seemed to quickly lose favor, at least in the public eye. People don't pay near as much attention to boxing as they once did. 

Perhaps it had something to do with the lunacy of pro "wrestling". Sure, we all knew it was pre-choreographed, aka "fake", but the characters in these productions became fan favorites -- or enemies. Good guys and bad guys. A very old theme that has always worked on the idiots. Throw in a lavish production, replete with outrageous costumes, nicknames even comic books of old would have been ashamed of, a few pretty girls prancing around, and -- presto -- next thing ya know you've got a hit on your hands. Plenty of dough too. Oh lord, did the money roll in. 

Nowadays "mixed martial arts" has taken center stage. Unlike wrestling, this is the real deal. People really do get hurt in the octagon. About the only thing that's illegal is biting, or punches/kicks/strikes to the groin area. 

In boxing, when a contestant gets knocked down, the opponent is instructed to go to a neutral corner while the referee checks on the fallen, and begins giving him a "count". Even if he pops right back up, he has to take a "standing eight". 

Not so in MMA. When somebody goes down, the opponent will try to further beat him to death until the referee stops it, lest he might actually kill they guy. Did I mention "real deal"? 

Sometimes it's ludicrous. Like when Floyd Mayweather took on Conor McGregor. Some called it a "fight". But it was no such thing. It was pitty-pat boxing, hands only, Mayweather style. Had this taken place in an octagon with the aforementioned "no holds barred" rules, Mayweather would have been beaten into submission within a minute, not emerge victorious after another of his bore-a-thon performances. 

True, they both made a ton of money off those willing to pony up the ridiculous pay-per-view price. Did I mention idiots?

Fast forward to the present. Does anybody even know who the boxing heavyweight (or any other weight class) champion of the world is these days? Oh wait, that's right. It depends. There's so many different sanctioning bodies around nobody can keep up with them all. Did I mention shady characters and shenanigans?

Turns out, a couple guys named Deonte Wilder and Tyson Fury will be duking it out for some kind of title(s) on December 1. Unless it's called off, of course, due to a last minute injury, another one of those pesky drug results testing positive at the eleventh hour, or somebody's grandma taking deathly ill -- the same one that supposedly died a few years back. 

Nonetheless, these two brutes have impressive records indeed. Wilder is 40-0, with 39 KOs. Fury is 27-0 with 19 KOs.

Something's gotta give.

Time out. How perfect are the names Wilder and Fury for a couple of behemoths set to try and beat each other's brains out in a boxing ring? Yet is appears those are their actual birth names. Go figure.

Thing is, like boxing across the rest of its spectrum, few even know who these guys are. And most could probably couldn't care less.

So why, tell me WHY, are the powers that be going to charge potential viewers $75 to watch the, ahem, fight, on TV? Did I mention lunacy?

Sure, I get it, at least by their twisted reasoning. Because these guys are the best of the best, both undefeated, and it's a, double ahem, classic showdown. Did I mention SUCKERS?

Yet in reality, most people wouldn't tune in if it was shown for free on network television, unless it was in prime time and nothing else decent was on. Who's kidding who?

Worse, even if one was still one of the few boxing fans around, if they couldn't afford the $75, they probably wouldn't even find out who won the dang thing unless they went on-line and did a search a couple days afterwards. TV, radio, and the papers will likely make no mention of it.

It's sad boxing has come to this. Oh how I miss the heady days of Iron Mike biting Evander's ear off.

Or Ali being too chicken to give buy my grill (I did, love it) George a rematch. That rope-a-dope thing was only going to work once. Wasn't this the same Ali that called himself "the greatest"? And he got beat up by Leon Spinks -- LEON SPINKS -- in his prime?

Ah well, It is what it has become.

But once upon a time, it (boxing) was a big deal.

Alas, no more.