Here's to Karma - A Look at Upcoming Fights

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Weary from a pestilence of inept and/or corrupt judges, moron promoters, depraved sanctioning organizations and countless short-sighted "state commissioner"-like suits wielding much more power over boxing than they deserve, naively persistent fans are owed a reprieve. 


Or at least a reminder of how things were unfolding before the latest string of frustrating stroke-inducers. 


Aside from recent snafus and outright calamities, the action over the last year or so has usually been enjoyable. Divisions like bantamweight, super middleweight and featherweight are the gifts that look to keep giving for a little while longer, with some surprises at light heavyweight. Meanwhile junior welterweight is poised to reclaim the popularity it held in the early 2000's. 


Fine-tuning or even revamping the system that at times appears broken may be an impossible task. Many have claimed viable solutions, few have had the clout or desire to implement them. Not with so much money invested in television fighters based on who they call "advisers" or "promoters" - guys who usually do very little advising or promoting, but rather act as middle men, pimping out TV dates. 


Make no mistake. The dynamic is unlikely to be altered easily.  


In the meantime, a couple of high profile fights approach that can help lift the fans' spirits clear out of their rut. 

Reflections After the Seething

Photo: AP/Rich Schultz

There exist many idioms, sayings and clichés in boxing that are gobbled up by mainstream press and loathed by fans and proponents of the sweet science. 


"Black eye for boxing" is probably towards the top of the list - perhaps above "This is why boxing isn't popular anymore." 


This last weekend in Atlantic City, the terribly putrid decision to name Paul Williams the winner over Erislandy Lara gave the naysayers proper justification to shout the ills of boxing from the rooftops; it was bad enough that the last line of defense die-hard fans would be up there shouting alongside them. 

Random Classics - Acelino Freitas vs. Jorge Barrios

PhotoL Hector Gabino/AFP/Getty Images

To observant fans and media, Freitas vs. Barrios wasn't one of those matchups whose promotion and build-up flew under the radar, only for the fight to become a seemingly unanticipated success. Those who paid attention were well aware of its potential to draw a large live crowd as well, regardless of the outcome. 


Many fans probably tuned in to the Showtime triple-header for a glance at then-rising future star "Panchito" Bojado, and the Freitas-Barrios main event looked to be an undefeated headliner who could bang, against an eccentric character with a boisterous posse and decent knockout percentage.


A nice cherry on top to South American fight fans, matching a Brazilian against an Argentinian in Miami - one of the few U.S. cities with a respectable concentration of both Brazilians and Argentinians - would surely serve as a mere extension of the famed Brazil-Argentina football rivalry. 

Random Classics - George Foreman vs. Ron Lyle

During the week of January 24, 1976, it's more likely that sports fans were debating missed field goals from Superbowl X the weekend before to the tune of their brand new "Frampton Comes Alive" records, than worrying about the comeback of a hulking figure once considered the most feared guy around. 


George Foreman would give them a little under 15 minutes worth of a jarring wake up though, as he went on to deliver one of the more classic performances of his career, with a little help from fifth-ranked heavyweight contender Ron Lyle. 


The tumultuous battle was more natural disaster than prizefight - like two sizable structures taking turns battering one another to see which falls first. 


The two-way walloping is still a fan favorite over 30 years later. 

Wladimir Klitschko Embarrasses David Haye in Frustrating Affair

Photo: AP/Frank Augstein

Embarrassment has been plentiful among the big men of boxing for quite a while now. But whether the shame should stem from being 30 lbs. heavier than necessary and sadly out of shape, or undeservedly maneuvered into a favorable ranking or position far outside the proper pay grade, varied from one miserable pug to another. 


Many have been both undeserving and out of shape.


More importantly, the dearth of quality fighters and worthy challengers isn't any one person's fault, but it's an issue that's plagued the division for far too long.


Unfortunately Wladimir Klitschko's unanimous decision victory over former unified cruiserweight champion David Haye on HBO Saturday provided no deviation from the usual recipe of letdown with a side order of disappointment.


At this stage heavyweight fights should automatically come with antacid tablets upon being signed. 

Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye Draws Near

Photo: AP

That familiar anticipatory rousing we get during the build up of a potentially exciting heavyweight championship fight has become not-so-familiar in recent years. 

Routine, however, has become the stream of mundane updates and recycled trash talk from heavyweight titlists Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye in recent weeks. 

Though for all the dismissals and cursing of the heavyweight division over the last umpteen years, fans seem relieved to feel as though blood just may yet flow through the veins of the sport's go-to division, even if only for one fight. Both Klitschko and Haye - but Haye in particular - have slung some memorable hyperbole and entertaining quotes about in the press recently, vigorously selling a fight that until last March, after tireless wrangling, appeared impossible to deliver. 


Skeptics will remain skeptical until that first bell rings in Hamburg this coming Saturday, and rightfully so after the inane drama of year-long-plus negotiations. But maybe the prospect of an exciting unification in boxing's glamour division has brightened the overall spirit of fight fans enough to let them drop their guard and attempt to enjoy. 

Random Classics - Kennedy McKinney vs. Welcome Ncita I

When most boxing fans hear the name "Kennedy McKinney," they think of the classic brawl between he and a 22-year old Marco Antonio Barrera in February 1996.

Often forgotten is the Mississippi native's tumultuous rise to the top long before the Barrera fight, which featured about as many well-documented hurdles as is it did highlights.

A ranked player in the amateurs since the mid-80's, McKinney became well-known for his work ethic, and steadily placing in the US Amateur Championships a few years in a row. McKinney then earned the right to represent the US at bantamweight in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, beating future champion Junior Jones in the Olympic box-offs, and avenging previous losses in the qualifiers.

Despite Kennedy winning gold at 119 lbs., much of the talk following the Seoul games centered around Roy Jones Jr.'s highly controversial decision loss to Korean fighter Park Si-Hun. Regardless, McKinney still experienced a period of celebrity status upon arriving home.

According to McKinney, this was precisely when he began abusing alcohol and cocaine.