Boxing’s Biggest Threat!


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Boxing’s Biggest Threat!

By Ken Hissner, DoghouseBoxing (Nov 26, 2008) DoghouseBoxing.com

All I seem to hear lately is how MMA is taking over boxing. I cannot watch more than 10 seconds of that crap. One guy tackles another guy, who then covers up while receiving an elbow to the head. Usually 90% of the time they are two white guys. If that is the hype because in boxing the ratio is probably 90-10 with the white boxers being the latter, they can have it.

Once again I tuned into a hyped fight featuring Ricky Hatton and Paulie Malignaggi expecting a good fight since

it was boxer against puncher and two white boxers. Paulie kept ducking under Hatton’s left arm pit throughout most of this mismatch. Once again a PPV, HBO or Showtime bout did not live up to expectations including the semi with James Kirkland using Brian Vera for a punching bag. Who in the Vera camp matched the #8 middleweight up with a light middleweight contender just for a payday?

Names like Eddie Futch have been replaced by Freddie Roach, who though is one of the best trainers today, would never say he was better than Futch, from whom he learned the trade. Georgie Benton no longer trains fighters, but his fighter Pernell Whitaker is trying his hand at it, but will he be better than Benton? Al Certo trained Buddy McGirt, and so on and so on. Though it is important the best teachers train others to teach, will they be as good? The trainers are so thinned out today who can train fighters. This is the reason some trainers train over a dozen fighters.

How about the matchmakers? This is one of the most underrated jobs in the business. They are the ones who put the fighters in with each other to create exciting fights. Granted, they do not have as much to work with today, but still when you see these mismatches to build up another’s record, does it make sense?

I was recently at a show in Atlantic City when the fans actually started booing as soon as the “opponent” got into the ring. They knew the person was a sacrificial lamb being brought to the slaughter. I walked out after the 1st round with the fans now laughing, thinking “is this what it’s all about?” A month before that I was in Philly and an unbeaten fighter from Ireland comes over and destroyed a Mexican fighter who had lost 17 of his last 18 fights. I put my head down in the 2nd round when the towel was finally thrown in.

I recently did a story on Philly’s Vinnie Burgese. He said he would go to the defense of the guy losing and that is how he learned to fight. I think it time someone went to the defense of boxing by making sure a person is capable of working a corner. If it’s a mismatch then the matchmaker should be dealt with. When the publicists build up a show for the cable networks, at years end there should be a re-evaluation of what they fed the public who with paid their hard earned dollars to watch.

The only way boxing can get better instead of just exist is by watch dog groups such as the commissions seeing to it that the aforementioned trainers, boxers, matchmakers and publicists do a good and fair job or else MMA, like wrestling before it, will cut into the boxing market bringing about even a poorer quality of events.

Comments/disputes/questions?
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Ken at: kenhissner@yahoo.com