Fight Insight

Mike Tyson may not be fighting anymore, but he’s still speaking his mind. As history has shown, that can be good, bad or ugly. In the new documentary entitled Tyson, it appears that all three adjectives are appropriate.  The film has received a decent reception at the Cannes Film Festival in France.  I am sure that the sordid details of Tyson’s often troubling life will elicit sympathy as well as disgust.  The question is: should we care to watch?

I will. 

I will watch because, like you, I am a boxing fan and always welcome video footage of vintage Tyson knocking someone out.  I know it sounds cruel, but I know I am not alone here.  Secondly, I am searching for answers to the following question: "what on earth was he thinking?"  Specifically, what was going through Tyson’s mind when he bit Evander Holyfield’s ears; while he sat "zombie-like" next to Robin Givens as she humiliated him on the Barbara Walters show nearly twenty years ago, or what drove him to bite Lennox Lewis’s leg at a pre-fight press conference?  I do not know about you, but I would hope this film sheds some light.

From witnessing him destroy a petrified Michael Spinks in 91 seconds for the unified heavyweight title or watching him participate in WrestleMania, Mike Tyson has always had an uncanny ability get me to pay attention to what he is doing.  He was once quoted as saying that, "more people would watch me (Tyson) relieve myself than watch Lennox Lewis fight."  As silly as the statement sounds on the surface, the point is clear. When it is available on Netflix, I’ll be ordering the documentary Tyson.  I have a sneaking suspicion that you will too.

Rabid British boxing fans aren’t the only ones seeking an answer to the question posed in my post title. On the other side of the pond (the U.S.), we are just as eager to find out who the best junior welterweight in the world is. Should Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and Junior "The Hitter" Witter take care of business in their fights this month, we may soon find out. I mean no disrespect to Juan Lazcano (37-4, 27 KOs) and Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs), Hatton and Witter’s respective opponents, but I hope they both lose.

Forgive my selfishness, but I like seeing undisputed champions crowned. A match between Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter would do just that. The facts that they are both British and Witter has been calling out Hatton for nearly a decade, make this an appetizing, backyard brawl in-the-making! I don’t know about you, but this excites me.

In facing the battle-tested Juan Lazcano, Hatton appears to be facing the bigger obstacle in the ring, of the two fighters.  However, I expect him to get back on the winning track after his drubbing at the hands of Floyd Mayweather.  To be honest with you, I haven’t seen Witter’s opponent (Bradley) fight.  I believe that Bradley will be overwhelmed by the speed and skill of Witter, as he leaves the state of California for the first time in his career.  The fact that he has yet to leave his home state of California makes me wonder if his handlers are hiding something.  Look for Witter to uncover whatever it is.

So, it appears that Ricky Hatton and Witter are on a collision course, much to the delight of boxing fans the world over.   Well, I surely hope so.  In recent years, Hatton has not show much willingness to face Witter for reasons both financial (Witter’s limited drawing power at the gate) and competitive (Witter being held in low regard based on his despicable showing against Zab Judah in 2000).  Hatton has been quoted as saying that, “He’s (Witter) nothing but a boil in me arse.”  Recently, he has softened his stance and seems more willing to participate in this potential battle for supremacy at 140 pounds. Time appears to heal all wounds (in this case, all boils). 

Before you get upset and say, "Ja, you idiot, the fight isn’t even signed," please be mindful that I am only predicting that the fight will take place.  Once it does, I’ll give you my prediction on who will win.  I’ll give you a hint, the fighter is British and has the word hit in his nickname.

You are probably wondering why I am even asking this question, if I already am telling you who I think that person is based on my top boxers, pound-for- pound list.  Hey, just because I predict boxing matches very well (this year, at least), does not mean that I think I have figured everything out. And unlike boxing predictions, which are ultimately proven right or wrong based on what happens in the ring, determining who the best fighter in the world is a highly subjective matter.

Hopefully, you accessed my boxing ranking page mentioned above.  Whether you did or not, I’ll get straight to the point.  For better or for worse, Floyd "Money" Mayweather is still the best boxer in the world.  "For better," he still has the best defense of any fighter in the sport, and perhaps its faster pair of fists.  "For worse," he has increasingly fought in relatively low-risk, high reward fights (Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, and Oscar De La Hoya) for a fighter of his caliber. 

The lucrative WWF "Big Show" that he recently put on and his "Dancing with the Stars" have done well for Mayweather’s pockets, but have done little for the sport of boxing.  These events have generated frustration among even his staunchest fans while providing his "haters" with more ammunition (to shoot him down with) than Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando.  However, despite all of this, as well as the continued ascension of Joe Calzaghe and Manny Pacquiao over the past year, my money is still on Mayweather.

Now that I have gotten my last shameless ‘money’ reference out of the way, please leave a comment below to get the debate going.  I know you have something to say; take a deep breath, refrain from cursing, and type away.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather’s "upset" victory over "The Big Show" at "Wrestle Mania XXIV" this past Sunday night in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl was not the first - and won’t be the last fore of an elite boxer into professional wrestling. Is the 5′8", 145 pound Mayweather knocking out the 7-foot, 441 pound preposterous? Sure, it is. But that’s besides the point. No matter how unrealistic the matchup was, when boxers and professional wrestlers meet, fans of both sports can’t help but pay attention. The World Wrestling Entertainment record crowd of 74,635 that watched Money Mayweather knock out The Big Show, with brass knuckles in hand, proves my point.

Before Mayweather and the Big Show exchanged pleasantries, many boxers have made professional wrestling appearances in order to make some extra cash and expand their fan base. The most notables fighters to do so were "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali and, none other, than Mike Tyson.

Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki
In 1976, the greatest boxer in the world battled the greatest wrestler in Japan. No one expected that Inoki would be on his back for the entire match kicking at Ali’s legs. This disappointing "show" was seen via closed circuit by millions of viewers. Personally, it was sad to see the greatest heavyweight of all time participate in such a farce, but I am sure he collected a pretty penny.

WrestleMania XIV, March 29, 1998
Held at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA, the main event featured special enforcer Mike Tyson outside the ring for the Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin battle. This was Mike Tyson’s first PPV event since biting Evander Holyfield’s ears a few months earlier. The match ended with Steve Austin winning. In an unusual turn of events, Mike Tyson took off his D-X (Michael’s crew) shirt to reveal a Steve Austin shirt. When confronted by Michaels, Tyson knocked out him out with a right hand. As we later find out, this was only the beginning in a series of surreal events that Tyson would be involved in over the next several years. At the time, it surely was one of the funniest.

As fate would have it, even the biggest event in boxing/wrestling history (Mayweather-Big Show) was marred by injuries suffered by some fans after equipment and material from the fireworks show fell on them. I pray that all of the fans have a speedy recovery, but this bizarre ending should come as no surprise to boxing fans. Controversy follows boxing like bees follow honey, even when its participants are involved in another "sport."

I earlier wrote that the first De La Hoya-Mayweather bout was bad for boxing.  Now that it appears there is a rematch in place for later this year, I’ll simply reiterate my earlier claim.  Before I trash this potential matchup, I have to acknowledge that for both men, the fight is a no-brainer, financially at least.  Even if the rematch does not match the record-setting PPV and tickets sales that the first installment generated, it likely will be 2008’s biggest fight.  However, I compare this fight to someone (hypothetically) producing The Da Vinci Code II - a pointless follow-up to an over-hyped and uninspiring, yet commercially successful original. 

You wanna hate me, then hate me; what can I do?…but keep gettin’ money, funny I was just like you.

Hate Me Now by Nas

Who do I think wins the fight? Well, technically, they both win.  They will again be earning millions, with minimal risk in the ring.  Expect a repeat of the first fight, unless Floyd gets crazy and runs into something silly (which is as likely to happen as this fight being exciting). 

So who loses? For starters, Miguel Cotto has to sit back and hope the winner fights him.  He appeared to be the logical opponent for Mayweather in the wake of his destruction of Ricky Hatton.  The other loser is a familiar one.  You guessed it - it’s you and I, the fans.  Despite this fact, like many of you, I will complain about the matchup during the pre-fight buildup, reluctantly buy the PPV, and then complain about the fight afterwards.  It’s an all-too-familiar scenario that many fans have unfortunately gotten used to in recent years. 

Floyd now calls himself Money Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya’s boxing namesake is the Golden Boy.  So it should come as no surprise that this fight has a "cash register" ring to it.  I can’t knock both men’s business savvy, as they are proving to be forces to be reckoned with outside of the ring.  But at what cost are these efforts costing them their "boxing souls?"  History will ultimately tell the story, but I have always preferred the fighting part of the phrase prize fighting. For better (their own net worth) or for worse (fight fans’ enjoyment), Mayweather and De La Hoya recently seem to have their eyes solely set on the prize part.