Really?

There have been no postings in forever because I have been busy with finals. (Not like my readership was existent anyway, so who cares.) I had to chime in with this tidbit from the kings of hyperbole, Fightnews. In a posting by Stephen Roche on the ESPN card today he mentions the "much anticipated return" of Fres Oquendo. I can't think of a person who cares whether or not Oquendo ever fights again. He lost to a beyond shot Holyfield and is fighting a no name. There couldn't be a lesser anticipated return. Who is editing this stuff?

Quickly, because there isn't much that hasn't already been said on DLH-Mayweather, I like Mayweather to win by UD.

Promoters Not Doing Their Job

Over at Maxboxing, Steve Kim has an excellent piece on the "State of the Game". The promoters are simply doing nothing to create new fans. They take the quick and easy money from networks and casinos and anything else is gravy. As a former Los Angeles resident, seeing a fight was hard to do. You either had to go to Temecula to the Penchanga resort, to Santa Ynez to the Chumash Casino or to Las Vegas. The shortest drive is about 2 hours. Furthermore, these are not for top level guys either.

Another problem is that some of the local LA shows were expensive. A club fight with local fighters that few have heard of should not have a top ticket anywhere near $100. To ask for young or hardworking blue collar types to shell out $100 for a series of 4 to 8 rounders and two guys in the main event with 25 combined losses is absurd. A Bruce Springsteen concert which is usually 2.5 to 3 hours long doesn't even cost $100, as he chooses to keep prices a little more reasonable.

The worst example of taking the money and running is in relation to Shane Mosley. His fight against Luis Collazo and the rematch against Winky Wright were both in Vegas casinos and both sparsely attended. One of the main reasons is that tickets were as high as $400 if I remember correctly. Even $200 only got you a decent seat. Shane should fight in LA where his fans are and with reasonable prices.

It is also time that fighters got paid in accordance with their economic pull.

Taylor vs. Spinks Not Alright

I have read the opinion of several writers on the upcoming Jermaine Taylor-Cory Spinks fight. Some, including ESPN's Dan Rafael, feel that the fight is an acceptable one for Taylor. I couldn't disagree more. Who cares that Spinks is considered by most to be the best at 154. That is largely by default. The only time that facing a champion from either a weight class above or below is intriguing is when both champs have cleaned out their respective divisions, have styles that will make a great fight, or are pound for pound elites. This fight fits none of the three.

Spinks has been at 154 for only two fights. One was a questionable decision against Roman Karmazin where Spinks ran the latter portion of the fight to eke out the fight. The second was against nondescript opposition in the form of Rodney Jones. There are fights with Kassim Ouma, a rematch with Karmazin and a unification fight against Travis Simms still out there. Taylor meanwhile is in a middleweight division stacked with talent.

As for the style matchup, all you need to know is that Cory Spinks is involved. His only prayer of winning is to stink out the joint and run all day long.

Finally, while Taylor is a top 10 pound for pound fighter, Spinks isn't close. Spinks is a good boxer, not elite. One other thing that must be mentioned is that Spinks had a questionable chin for 147, his natural weight, having been knocked down and almost out in the first Judah fight and then KO'd in the rematch. At 160, and facing a big middleweight in Taylor, his chin is sure to get checked. When it does, it likely won't hold.

Sure there are reasons such as the local draw of both fighters, and mandatory defenses that others must make as to why this fight is taking place. Despite all that this is still not acceptable. Taylor who keeps saying that he needs to learn, should learn nothing fighting blown up welterweights and small junior middleweights, which has been his diet since the three Hopkins and Wright fights.

Please

I just visited Boxingtalk and the Sycuan ad on the page scrolls through their fighters, including Jorge Paez, Jr. Fine. Problem is the ad is congratulating him. For what, I don't know. The fun doesn't stop there however. Click on the ad and it takes you to the Sycuan home page. There you will find a banner that also flashes through their roster. When it gets to Jorge Paez it calls him an "undefeated young phenom." This after the overhyped fighter was just KO'd a few weeks ago. Please update your page Sycuan. I realize that you aren't a true promotional outfit who puts on regular fights, but this is embarrassing. In fairness to the Sycuan, the fighter profiles do list Paez as having lost.

Editorial Authority

It has been a long time since major media has covered boxing in a significant way. Boxing has become a sport that largely lives off of the internet. Any true boxing fan knows that the only place to get up to date information on what is happening is on the internet. There are a plethora of internet boxing sites that vary in their aim and in their quality. For in depth articles Maxboxing is the top. For constant news bits, Fight News is the place to go. Boxingtalk is best for access to fighters such as chats and interviews. For this post however I must single out Fight News and Boxingtalk for a practice that has bothered me for a while.

For some reason Fight News has long chosen to place an exclamation point after every single posting. One recent post is titled, "Kwayiba Stops Sithembile!" No one has likely heard of either fighter or cares. Is it really breaking news that deserves an exclamation point? It gets the same treatment that Juan Manuel Marquez beating Marco Antonio Barrera gets. I am not suggesting that these results should not be posted, as that is what Fight News does, they give news from all over the world. Just save the added emphasis for truly top news.

Boxingtalk, which until their recent string of hiring excellent writers, was focused entirely on getting the scoop and having chats and interviews with fighters. One practice that they have continued to follow is seemingly posting every press release sent in by a promoter or publicist. An example from this week is on Jameson Bostic who is fighting Robert Allen. Again, it is likely that no one has heard of or cares about Jameson Bostic. Further, this is not news. A press release is the creation of the fighter's team and will not have anything critical to say. Boxingtalk should exercise discretion in posting these. When Golden Boy sends out a press release on Oscar, post it. When Silverhawk sends out a posting announcing that they have signed a fighter no one has heard of and that he happens to be some regional sanctioning body champ to boot, keep it out. The only reason I can see for posting this is that the promoter pays for it as advertising. If that is the case, please make it clear that that is what it is. Boxingtalk is not the only party guilty of this, they just happen to be a very visible one.

Welcome. Hope This Works

I have finally decided to transform my blog to a boxing specific blog. A place to share my thoughts on all things in the industry. I hope to give credit where it is due and to criticize when necessary. I am not a journalist, but an attorney, so don't come here expecting the latest scoop as to who is going to fight whom or for comments from anyone in the industry. Come here to read a fan's opinion on all things boxing. As of now I am not sure how often the postings will be. I will try to be ambitious and post daily, but something tells me that it is unlikely. If anyone actually visits this page and reads what I write, I hope you enjoy it.