Comments on: It Ain’t US, It’s YOU

By: Avery

Avery — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:29:37 +0000

i bet they weren’t complainin about livingstone bramble, though. lol.

i’m sayin’ though - i actually agree about gettin my money’s worth from fighters who actually throw punches in bunches. i appreciate a tactical fight, but the only time i really like it is when i got money on the tactical fighter. and even then, i be secretly wishin ole boy would jump out there and get busy.

By: Lee Coles

Lee Coles — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:12:49 +0000

I`ve only noticed this (from Lampley and the blow-by-blow announcers, not Merchant and the analysts) in the sense that some fighters, such as Mickey Ward, have been lauded as scrappy blue collar types that give viewers their money`s worth because they throw beaucoup leather and are full of heart- while few if any Blacks are described such.

Call it the Ray Mancini archetype.

By: Avery

Avery — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:41:43 +0000

now, actually, given my wrestling background, i am kinda interested in mma. my assistant coach actually fights, and if i were about 5-10 years younger, i’d probably be trying it out myself.

but as far as the strict boxers, even the great boxers of yesteryear could also fight, and there was enough competition to make them have to do it. these days, because of all the competing interest, there’s very little continuity with titles, and aside from a big-money fight, there’s very little interest on the part of fighters in putting together a serious ticket. not that there’s a hearns to pbf’s leonard, but if there were, i don’t know that he’d take the fight; they’d probably be at marginally different weight classes (junior welter and welter, maybe) and they’d run their own yards and talk about how bad they are.

By: brotherbrown

brotherbrown — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:05:21 +0000

Avery, that simply puts you in the “Mixed Martial Arts” generation. I put it in quotes because it’s not Enter the Dragon martial arts, it’s “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razy” brawling. I personally don’t like that you can knock someone off their feet, then drop a flying elbow on their head while they’re down, but ultimate fighting has supplanted pro wrassling as the sport of the red bull crowd.

Kimbo Slice is the new Iron Mike.

By: MIB

MIB — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:17:38 +0000

Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant: racially biased?

IMO, that’s ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong; the boxing industry is corrupt to its core and its attendant media coverage does hype non-Black, English-speaking boxers over others. I’m only addressing Lampley and Merchant.

I can understand why viewers interpret Lampley and (especially) Merchant’s pooh-poohing of mouthy louts like Floyd Mayweather as a cryptic form of racial bias. I believe it to be a mere coincidence — many contemporary Black boxers talk more than their fair share of smack but don’t back it up in the ring. The critics’ contempt isn’t limited to just Black boxers. I remember how the pundits similarly dismissed Hector Camacho, who was known to pop off like Mayweather and Roy Jones. Let us not forget the boxing establishment hated on Ali too. Many fans see that type of behavior as unprofessional. And not just boxing fans.

I don’t have a problem with boxers hyping themselves. Professional boxing is a business first; a sport second. They’re the ones laying it out there in a very dangerous line of work, so they’re due the latitude to get all they can get any [legal] way they can get it. My only expectation of boxers… of any athlete… is that when they ‘work’ they give 100% effort.