Raymond Ford isn’t in favor of Turki Alalshikh’s directive to no longer allow “Tom and Jerry” type fights, where one fighter is running around and not engaging the entire contest.
Ford Slams Turki’s Fight Ban
The super featherweight contender Ford points out that boxing is a dangerous sport, and it’s asking too much of boxers to change their style to sit in the pocket and bang. Ford (17-1-1, 13 KOs) says it’s “ignorant.”
Given that Alalshikh is paying fighters top dollar to fight on his cards, he can choose the type of fighters he wants. It’s up to Ford and the fighters if they want to fight in a safety-first manner. They won’t be on Turki’s cards. If Ford wants to defend runners, he can, but it’s a waste of time. He can’t force Alalshikh to put dull fighters on his cards if he doesn’t wish to.
Ford is fighting Anthony Cacace (24-1-1, 9 KOs) on August 16th in Turki’s card in Riyadh. However, his fighting style is more aggressive and doesn’t fit into the non-engaging approach that Turki no longer wishes to support for his events.
“It’s definitely unfair to boxers because with a lot of people, that’s all they’re taught,” said Raymond Ford to Fight Hub TV, reacting to Turki Alalshikh saying that he no longer wants fighters who don’t engage on his Riyadh Season events. “How do you want them to change up their whole style, something they haven’t been doing, to something that you want them to be doing.
The May 2nd event at Times Square in New York was widely criticized by fans and the media for the safety-first approach employed by Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and even Ryan Garcia at times.
All three fights were boring to watch, and it appeared that the A-side fighters in those three contests, who were paid millions, played it safe the entire night. You would think that they would want to work hard for the massive paydays they were given, but it worked in reverse. They weren’t taking any chances, and all three were boring and unwatchable.
Ford: Boxing Is Dangerous
“Mind you, boxing is a dangerous game. So you want people to risk their lives more? You want them to sit there and be in the pocket and bang the whole time, especially with somebody that’s not something they really do,” said Ford. “There are people getting hurt in the sport. So, I just feel like it’s an ignorant statement.”
Turki isn’t saying that he wants fighters to sit in the pocket the entire time. He doesn’t want a situation where one fighter is running around the ring being chased all night. There’s a difference.
If Ford watched Haney’s fight againt Jose Ramirez, he’d agree with Alalshikh that these types of contests will not be supported. They’re bad for the sport. If boxing is going to be brought back to where it was, runners need to be phased out. It starts by not being included on Turki’s cards.
“I got a plan for Nick Ball once I handle my business and I get one of these world titles,” said Ford about wanting to avenge his loss to Nick Ball.
Ford lost to Ball because he didn’t stay in the pocket to throw the ball. So, he might have been better off if he’d tried to make it entertaining because he moved too much in that fight, and it cost him.
