By Ross Enamait - RossBoxing.com
24.07 - The boxing community drooled for months over the Mosley - Forrest rematch. We all knew it was coming and were sure to tune in this past Saturday. Sure the fight came and went without the action we hoped, but it was still great to see two of the best fighters today so willing to get in the ring and do battle. So what is the problem you ask?
On Sunday morning, I opened the sports section of the local newspaper to see the media's reaction regarding the fight. Unfortunately, there was no mention at all of the fight. How can this be? The Forrest - Mosley rematch was my equivalent to the Super Bowl. I waited anxiously for weeks, unable to determine which man would win. Both men were confident, ready and willing with new fight plans. Both fighters entered the ring regarded among the best in boxing today.
So why then did the media focus such little attention? The Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis fight filled headlines for weeks, yet the best boxers in the sport do not even get a write up on the back page of the sports section. What is the matter with the media today? Why does the general public view boxing so poorly? I'll tell you why? The true champions of our sport do not get any attention. The media pretends to hate the antics of Mike Tyson, yet for some reason, his antics are the only that are reported.
Why is this so? The media constantly bombards Tyson and his antics, claiming that boxing has deteriorated from yesteryear. Did these writers forget the Barrera - Morales rematch, the Gatti - Ward battle, and the most recent Mosley- Forrest rematch? These fighters are the true heroes in boxing today. These champions are willing to fight anyone around. They don't hide behind paydays or mandatory defenses.
On Saturday, HBO showed Vernon Forrest's story; how he works with disadvantaged individuals to prepare them for a life of independence. His work is no less than heroic, truly illustrating the character of this champion. Forrest is a champion both in and out of the ring. He is not the wild, raving lunatic that the media so often likes to portray in the sport of boxing.
Why doesn't his story get more wide spread coverage? Can you imagine the coverage that golfer Tiger Woods would have received if he did such work? The support and praise for him would be endless yet Vernon Forrest goes unrecognized by the general public.
Does the sport of boxing still have problems? Of course it does, but it also has several great stories ready to be told. Why can't we focus on the positives for a change? People who claim boxing is nothing like it used to be simply haven't been watching. There have been some great fights this year with more to come such as the Oscar de la Hoya - Fernando Vargas war. The problem is not that boxing has fallen off, but that the media has lost interest in covering the true greats of the sport. Mosley, Forrest, Ward, etc. are all great fighters that live clean lives as upstanding citizens. I look up to all these champions when training, yet to most they are complete strangers.
For some reason, not one of these champions is a household name like Mike Tyson. The general public does not know their names or the greatness they possess. Let's forget about the negatives in the sport and pay some attention to the positives. There are plenty of great fighters that the public deserves to know about. It's about time that media did its job by covering these true champions.
