Articles

Watching Floyd Fight Does Not Make You a Bad Person

Published

8 years ago

May 7, 2015

As the coverage increased to a fever pitch just before the showdown between Floyd and Manny Saturday night, many people learned of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s history of domestic abuse for the first time. As the story began to gain traction, a modest boycott of the fight began to take shape. As people became horrified to discover that 5 different women had accused Floyd of beating them, and of his 90 day jail sentence for battery in 2012, people began to ask “how could you support this man?”

Of course, most of those protesting the viewing of the PPV fight are not boxing fans and therefore aren’t really giving anything up. It’s a bit like a person boycotting Target when there isn’t a store anywhere near you. It’s hardly an act of great courage and principle to refuse to support that which you already ignore.

Regardless, even as a person who writes about boxing, loves the sport, and simply wanted to see a historic fight, I did find myself considering the implications of taking part in the pocket lining of a man who uses his fists on women almost as often as he does on men.

As I thought about it and debated with those who felt that by partaking in the telecast I was committing an immoral act, a flaw in their piety began to take shape. As the argument continued, I asked the dissenters, “Do you watch football?” Most of them did. I then rattled off names like Rae Carruth, Greg Hardy, Jameis Winston, Aaron Hernandez, Adrian Peterson, etc. as examples of recent low behavior perpetrated on others by athletes in that sport.

There was a momentary pause, then someone chimed in with “yeah, but this is a direct deposit-like deal.” Which in a way is true. However, if anyone watching a football game doesn’t think they are counted in the ratings which result in massive TV deals for the sport and therefore place cash into the hands of each and every football player—even the ones you don’t like—then they really have another thing coming. Saying you are somehow absolved because your money takes a more circuitous route into the hands of scoundrels sounds like the kind of thing you say to make you feel better about your own comparable decision. It would be better to simply admit you just like football and you can’t give it up. Because let’s face it, if your protest requires no sacrifice on your part, it’s a fairly hollow one to make.

You can extend this beyond sports too. Should no one ever see a movie Tom Cruise is in ever again? Because each time you do, a little bit of that purchase winds its way into the hands of a mad Scientologist. Should you avoid art galleries of painters who were unpleasant characters? (Picasso and Pollock come to mind). What about music? Are you done with James Brown because he struck women?

I point these things out not to defend the reprehensible behavior of those that would put their hands upon another person with violent intent or commit other acts that one could argue are not good for society as a whole. What I am saying is if someone expects another person to give up the things they enjoy, they may want to make certain they have no similar pastimes they take pleasure in which contain matching undesirables.

If you consider athletics an art form—and I do—then I believe you must try to separate the art from the artist. Sometimes bad people are capable of extraordinary things. Pick a sport and you will find a participant who has run afoul of the law or of at least basic decency at one time or another. Golf? Tiger Woods. Basketball? Allen Iverson. Baseball? Kirby Puckett. Football? See my far less than comprehensive list from earlier in this piece. You can go on and on. Before long, the only competitive sport you will be able to watch is curling. Sweep as fast as you can, kids.

I don’t mean to be overly critical of those who avoided Mayweather/Pacquiao on principle. What I do question is the ability of those grumbling souls to apply this standard to the things they love—whether they be art, entertainment, or other sports. That slope isn’t just slippery, it is treacherous.

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David Phillips

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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