Boxing's new global landscape

Side note: I got a Kobo Arc. Shit's awesome.

I'm a boxing fan. I've watched boxing for a long time, since I was in my early teens. I also watch MMA, but as a general rule I watch boxing more than I watch MMA. Actually, I probably watch straight grappling (ADCC, IBJJF, IJF, NAGA, etc) more than I watch MMA. There's something about watching guys who are unbelievable at one thing that is more spectacular than guys who are really really good at a bunch of things. I would go so far as to say that your average professional boxer is better at boxing than your average MMA fighter is at "MMA." As much as that exists as a concept. I'm not trying to go into the philosophy of MMA as a standalone art, so I'll just jump away from that.

This past little while has been kinda' rough for me as a fan. My favourite fighter was Miguel Cotto, followed very closely by Sergio Martinez then Bernard Hopkins and Pacquiao. Cotto fought Austin Trout, favoured by a very large margin but in the end the big man proved to be better than advertised and too much for Cotto. Okay, Cotto lost. It happens, it is not the end of the world. There's no shame in losing to Mayweather, Pacquiao and a hungry up-n-comer, it happens to everyone. What worries me is the possibility that Cotto is going to head down the Mosley route, where he's using as a standard that younger, hungrier fighters are measured against. Mosley was an awesome fighter, but as soon as his speed started to wane he got used as a way to sort out divisions more than a contender. Watching him get murder-balled by Canelo was not a fun thing to watch, and I really don't want to see that happen to Cotto. Clearly he still has lots of gas in the tank, and I truly believe he wanted the Trout fight because he knew Trout was better than the popular media expected. Puerto Rico still loves the guy, MSG loves the guy, he's going to go and mess up some poor schmuck and all will be right.

Austin Trout: Actually a pretty cool guy when he's not ruining my day.

Which takes me to Pacquiao. That fight was looking like another classic in the making, Pac-Man was back and he looked hungry, he had that look like he was going to beat Marquez to death just to remind everyone who the top dog was. Then that counter right landed. Look, let's take nothing away from Marquez here. Marquez is one of if not the most intelligent boxer alive. If there was ever anyone who has the determination and dedication to get into the best shape of their life this late in their career, it is JMM. BUT, I'm not saying he was on steroids but he was on steroids. I really want to see what Pac is going to do next, if he'll just do the fifth fight or if he'll go take down Bradley or if he'll wipe out some other poor soul. Pac should be fine, no worries here.

Seriously, he's going to use the next guy as a reminder.

So. Martinez. Just named athlete of the year in Argentina. Over Lionel Messi. Now, I have never been to Argentina. The closest I have ever been would be Arizona. I am not an expert on Latin American culture, or the intricacies of how the public assigns praise, but I'm pretty sure that a boxer being named a bigger deal than a soccer player is kind of huge. Especially if that soccer player is frickin' Lionel Messi. To be fair, for 11 1/2 rounds Martinez messed up a much bigger man and messed him up bad. And then for half a round my heart just stopped beating. It was crazy, but Martinez grabbed ahold of his giant brass balls and fought his way through a very bad situation. Given that he was fighting a guy who had a solid 20 pounds on him, and had his hands down for pretty much the entire fight, I'd say that it was a dominant win. His style is fun to watch, he's got serious power in both hands and he's charismatic as hell. While other champions have 25 man entourages around them and use the mic as a chance to "grow their brand" Martinez remains cool as hell, and a real class act in a sport noted for barbarism.

Also kind of man-pretty.

This kind of takes me to my point. There's been a lot made about the death of boxing, how no one cares about boxing anymore, how MMA has killed boxing, etc. When Pacquiao went down face first, I read so many news stories proclaiming that with him died the last best hope for boxing to ever regain popularity. This came on the heels of Seth Mitchell getting beat up. I understand that the heavyweight division defines boxing, but to be frank we haven't seen a "skill" heavyweight since Tyson. The current heavyweight mantra is "float like a mack truck, sting like a mack truck." In terms of skill, excitement and art, it has been a small man's sport for a while. If Seth Mitchell had become the next big thing, that would have been super. He still might, for gawd's sake it is one loss. But the focus on needing an American Heavyweight to "save" the sport is getting profoundly unfair to the other leaders of the sport.

More and more, I'm realizing that boxing is going to be just fine, and that boxing IS doing just fine. It just takes a slight readjustment of how I view "success." America doesn't care about boxing. Canada never did. That's okay. Latin America is craaaazy enthusiastic about boxing, Europe is getting back into it, and Asia is now coming on board. Their money is just as good as anyone else's. Maybe boxing is playing second fiddle to other combat sports in the USA, but it is still very popular throughout the rest of the planet. I'm a boxing fan in Canada, which means that I'm like a hockey fan in Finland. It's not the most popular sport around me, the highest level is usually contested on the other side of the world, but it's okay because it's still fun to watch. Boxing is going to be okay.

I mean, it would okay quicker if we didn't have the WBC, WBO, IBF, etc etc etc handing out a million belts a year in a zillion weight classes, but it'll be fine nonetheless.