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Traditionally is it commonplace for anyone even remotely associated with boxing to not only deem themselves ‘experts’ on the sport but also to designate on a routine basis who they feel is upper echelon material and who is bottom feeder waste. As we all know patterns tend to repeat themselves and this pattern is no different from the rest. It arrives complete with negative stereotypes, elitism and skepticism all wrapped up in one very ugly and very neatly wrapped package for only the naughtiest of children on a cold winter’s evening. Unlike many gifts received at the end of a holiday season, this gift isn’t one that keeps on giving. It keeps on taking. On its menu of choice? Fighters’ respect and dignity.
Criticisms are everyday offerings from boxing media, outsiders and the like. What starts out as constructive usually dive bombs into a negative downward spiral faster than Roto Rooter can shove those troubles down your drain. And no matter of flushing on your part as a fan is going to get rid of these nasty clogs any faster. We need a real solution to unclog these filthy pipes in boxing.
Anytime a boxer faces a fighter that the public or let’s just say anyone feels is lesser than his challenger or a ‘C’ class fighter as tends to be the terminology then that fighter is just that. All the training, dedication, preparation and hard work get throw out the window to be replaced by a public sentiment that this guy is a ‘bum’ or an ‘easy touch’. While it’s completely true and plausible (it happens all the time) that many of these ‘lesser’ opponents are put in with more skilled and adept guys as tune up fights, that doesn’t make these men any less significant. In case you’ve already forgotten people, half of these so-called ‘bums’ and ‘journeymen’ that most writers and non-boxers tend to slam regularly could still work the average Joe on the corner from post to post in the ring and run them out of the gym in a heartbeat. That’s why these ‘club fighters’ are still fighting. While in other sports they might be called bench warmers, in boxing they’re still called fighters. There’s no bench to warm in boxing. And if you are warming one you usually lost the fight and can’t remember what happened anyway.
Winning and losing is all part of the make up of pugilism. Problem is how can a guy even show up for a fight when he’s already lost in the eyes of everyone and is guaranteed to lose? The nice thing about public mediocrity and the whole bandwagon ‘this guy sucks’ routine is that when the guy proves everyone wrong then all they can do is pull their feet out of their mouths that one more time and look away for fear of looking a believer in the eyes and admitting their wrongness and guilt to themselves.
‘Loser’ wins then the community rallies around the ‘loser’ for a little bit of time. Their faith in him is waning (considering they never had any for him in the first place) but they hang on for the little bit of time that it takes for them to exploit and utilize his new found position. Once he falls they help him along the way, sending him crashing into oblivion with a force harder than any knockdown the fighter has ever experienced in his entire career. And it’s on to the next man. This happens on both sides of the scale. A, B, C and even D class fighters all experience this at one time or another during their lifetimes. How much of it and how much of an impact it has on them all depend on where they sit on the ladder that was set out for them by individuals who never fought before and play them like pawns on a chessboard.
It’s time for a power shift with boxers in control of their careers and futures. And this goes for every fighter no matter what ‘ranking’ has been awarded him depending on what week it is and who’s making the most cash that day off of him.
It’s also time we dispelled the myth of what a good fighter is and what a bad fighter isn’t. While there are obvious skill and ability comparisons and separators among all fighters, let’s remember what matters most. No matter how good or bad a fighter is he’s still in the ring and you are not. He still gets up before the crack of dawn to run while you dream in peaceful slumber under the warmth and safety of your blankets and the surging of your heaters. He hits a heavy bag with ambition and drive. Not because he has to but because he wants to. Even if he never wins a title he knows that he gave it his all and no one can take that away from him.
No one can take that away from him because he is a Boxer and he already dispelled all your myths the day he threw his first punch. |
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Jason Petock (February 6, 2006)
