Boxing

 

Recycle Your Boxes, I Mean Boxers!

Ed Ludwig

22.02 - Marco Antonio Barrera (56-3 39 KO’s) will meet the “Flushing Flash” Kevin Kelley (54-5-2 36 KO’s) on April 12th. The bout will be held at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada and broadcast on HBO Pay Per View. Why on earth are we seeing recycled former champions landing fights that they clearly do not deserve?

Besides Barrera vs. Kelley we also have Oscar De La Hoya squaring off against a washed up Yory Boy Campas on May 3rd. Showtime and Jay Larkin saw the light and finally dumped Gabriel Ruelas as the next opponent for Acelino Freitas. I can’t figure out what is going through the minds of promoters and the televsion networks. Do they actually think fans want to see this garbage?

Barrera will flush the flash and it won’t be pretty. I’m wondering if Campas’ will have a heartbeat once the bell rings. De La Hoya calls him self the “Golden Boy” so is Campas the “Tin Man”? One of these days someone is going to be seriously injured or worse. When a fighter retires it means they don’t have it anymore and it’s time to move on. Erik Morales gave Kevin Kelley a beating and that should have been the end of it.

A broadcasting career ensued for Kelley and since then he has the idea in his head that he can compete with the best of them. The fights I have mentioned are the equivalent of an army tank going head on with a stalled car. There have been numerous mismatches over the years but the bulk of them had active participants and not people sitting in a rocking chair then deciding they want to fight.

In reality Barrera should have the rubber match with Morales so they can settle the score once and for all. De La Hoya should stop listening to Bob Arum and give Winky Wright his shot and Freitas and Joel Casamayor need to get it on. Fighters who retire should stay retired. If they are not sure then go on hiatus and take a long break and see what you may or may not be missing out on. As time passes make your final decision.

There are many top-level boxers who are itching for their shot and promoters keeping pushing them down the ladder because of the risk to their cash cows. Paying fifty dollars or whatever the cost will be to watch a good old fashion ass kicking is not what I want to see. NBC is bringing back boxing and I applaud them for that and all I hope for are competitive bouts.

Good matchmaking is the key. Stop promoting garbage on Pay Per View and give the fans what they want. My feeling is that promoters look at boxing fans as an ATM machine and they need to keep in mind that the well does run dry. If there is the potential to put on a great fight then do it. The longer you wait the odds of it happening become slim and the attraction will lose its lustre. The best should fight the best. There have been many great match-ups that never materialized because of the selfishness of promoters. Nothing lasts forever so if something is hot then keep it burning or the flame will eventually die out.

In closing, I applaud Shane Mosley for turning down the ridiculous offer made by Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya. The ego of these two never cease to amaze me. What makes them so high and mighty? Shane Mosley and Winky Wright are on the backburner so I say the hell with “Oscar The Grouch” and lets see Mosley vs. Wright. I also hope Clifford Etienne defeats Mike Tyson this weekend because the thought of a Tyson vs. Lewis rematch is frightening.

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