Welcome to day 204 of Saudi Arabia saving boxing by smothering the life out of the American boxing scene.
If it feels prefer it’s been ages since we had a high quality high-end home present within the States, that’s as a result of it HAS been ages. It’s been since June 15 and the Tank Davis/David Benavidez double-header, to be precise (204 days in the past), since we’ve had a giant present put collectively by an American promoter, in the USA.
So, yeah, Turki and the Saudis are saving boxing.
However I digress.
There isn’t any boxing to talk of lately and nothing actually noteworthy till the January 24 Naoya Inoue slaughter of Sam Goodman. And if we’re speaking an precise aggressive battle, you then’d have to attend till David Benavidez vs. David Morrell on February 1, delivered with a rattling wonderful Brandon Figueroa vs. Stephen Fulton 2 prelude.
For now, boxing followers don’t have anything to speak about past social media gossip and recollections of higher days.
In that spirit of nothingness, listed below are my ideas on a number of issues of (my) curiosity these previous couple of days:
– Per social media rumblings, Devin Haney is getting ready for his comeback. And so fucking what?
Haney will at all times bear a scarlet letter for me because the man whose lack of preparedness and basic over confidence allowed Ryan Garcia to turn out to be a boxing major stage presence like stinkweed rising between the cracks of a sidewalk.
For as a lot as I admired Haney’s enterprise moxie in taking brief cash to get the Kambosos fights that might permit him entry to a next-level alternative, I acknowledge that all the things after that has been lower than scintillating.
Yeah, he twice outclassed a really simply out-classable George Kambosos. He adopted that up by barely shedding to (in my view) a considerably smaller Vasiliy Lomachenko after which decisioning a dead-legged Regis Prograis.
His subsequent whupping by a sloppy-as-hell Ryan Garcia was prodigious on the subject of a loss towards a 6-to-1 underdog. It was the type of worldwide de-pantsing that saps a younger man’s confidence and, in lots of followers’ minds, turns him into an afterthought. Garcia testing optimistic for the banned substance ostarine appears to have offered Workforce Haney with false confidence, however, imagine me, Haney is shook and his “shookness” will current itself the primary second he finds some actual resistance in a strong opponent.
– It’s disgusting how dismissive some folks have been on the subject of the profession and achievements of Claressa Shields, simply because they “don’t love her persona.” Some boxing folks must develop the fuck up.
I keep in mind a number of years again, when Shields was turning professional. I used to be virtually laughed out of the room by some boxing previous timers once I mentioned that Shields and feminine boxing on the whole have been going to turn out to be a draw within the coming years. Properly, I used to be proper.
Ladies’s boxing continues to be stricken by the dearth of a deep expertise pool, however that is simply, actually, the primary era of feminine boxing being a legit accomplice to males’s boxing. Women like Shields, Amanda Serrano, and Katie Taylor are inspiring women to choose up the gloves and we must always see extra depth within the years to come back.
As for Shields– what else does she should do to earn respect? She’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a four-division world champ as a professional, with undisputed 4-belt champ standing in two of these divisions. She’s fought who’s on the market and has by no means even come near shedding in fifteen fights.
Once more, boxing folks must develop the fuck up. This ain’t a “let’s be mates” reputation contest. Give the lady her due.
– Have you ever observed that there’s been zero “what number of buys did it get” speak on the subject of the December 21 Usyk-Fury 2 pay-per-view? I’m wondering why that’s, whereas choose different exhibits appear to be stricken by gross sales queries beginning the Monday after the occasion. It couldn’t have something to do with paid-for narratives being pushed on-line…
– Properly, FFS, there’s actually not rather a lot attention-grabbing occurring. There’s so little of notice that I’ll shut this week’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column with a private follow-up on final week’s column the place I overtly debated leaving this boxing world behind.
And, properly, I nonetheless don’t know if I needs to be achieved with it.
All the pieces inside my mind tells me to ditch this rotten mess and the individuals who exit of their strategy to attempt to starve me out of the enterprise. There’s just a little spot in coronary heart, although, that wishes to maintain preventing. After I see the normalizing of boxing historical past and journalism being co-opted by a murderous monarchy for the aim of hiding bloody fingers relatively than cleansing them, it hits me proper within the intestine. After which seeing a few of these wildly compromised media folks on social media truly bragging about how wealthy and highly effective their “excellency,” Turki is? Yeah. Anybody who’s even half-a-man and one-quarter invested in issues like ethics and morals needs to be cringing.
The reality is that if I am going away, there IS no voice of dissent to all of this. And, ultimately, these items turns into commonplace, normalized, and legitimized. Even WITH me round, that is certain to occur, although, as a result of the massive media voices have far more attain than me. However a minimum of somebody, someplace will probably be pushing again.
It doesn’t matter what I resolve within the coming days, my love for the game stays intact.
I need to thank those that’ve reached out to me during the last week and have supplied sort phrases, inspiration, and a few concepts on tips on how to proceed. I admire your enter. We’ll see how this goes.
Obtained one thing for Magno? Ship it right here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.
