Oscar-Worthy Ambitions

Few sports exhibit the same cutthroat business model of boxing. Perhaps the solitary nature of the sport compounds the ruthlessness, but in fact most other sports seem to emphasize, at least on the surface, creating and maintaining a level field of play - salary caps, conduct policies, universal governing organizations, etc.

Boxing has always operated under the guidance of its own Golden Rule: he who has the gold greases the palms of those who make the rules.

However, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar de la Hoya is apparently looking to reform that idea.

In a September 27th interview with Broadcasting & Cable, De la Hoya ruffled quite a few feathers by claiming the sport would be much better off with Golden Boy Promotions as the sole promoter and distributor of boxing, directly referencing and praising the business model of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and what it has done for mixed martial arts.

Fellow promoters Gary Shaw and Bob Arum seemed angrily annoyed by the interview; Arum suggested Oscar's ideas would be illegal, and Shaw claimed he'd warned HBO about Golden Boy's attempt at a monopoly.

All feigned outrage aside, the question becomes whether or not a UFC-like business model would even work in the sport of boxing -- or, more accurately, who that model would be good for.

A Heavyweight Curse

Any fighter hoping to earn mention among heavyweight greats from yesteryear is met with critical eyes, and must endure likely unfair comparisons to former champions and contenders.

Many of the most famous fighters in boxing cut their teeth in the heavyweight division. And until the wave of popularity currently driving mixed martial arts rolled into town, the Heavyweight Champion of the World (especially when there was only one) was the consensus "baddest man on the planet."

Lennox Lewis, for example, was plagued by such comparisons throughout his respectable career. It didn't help that he had the personality of a wet shoe, and settled into a more cautious and safety-first style before retiring in February 2004. Aside from that though, he was unlucky enough to succeed more exciting and famous American champs Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, among a number of other belt-holders generally glossed over by boxing historians.

Whether or not the big men of yore were actually better fighters worthy of the nostalgic invincibility is of course fairly subjective, though the overall toughness of the division in particular eras isn't quite as difficult to determine.

Current unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko finds himself in the unfortunate position of dominating what is potentially the worst heavyweight division ever.

Erislandy Lara Unslicks Willie Lee in One, Yordanis Despaigne Scores Wide Decision Over Frank Paines

Wednesday Night Fights was the 2006 successor to what wound up being ESPN2's seasonal mid-week boxing program, Tuesday Night Fights. Unfortunately for fans, ESPN2 cut back their boxing programming to Friday Night Fights, thus any televised pre-Friday boxing has come to be a nice surprise. 

ESPN2 aired what they called their "ESPN Boxing Special" earlier this evening, featuring Cuban standouts Erislandy Lara and Yordanis Despaigne. 

Jean Pascal Dethrones Chad Dawson in Montreal

The same city to host the great light heavyweight classic between Yvon Durelle and Archie Moore over 50 years ago again held a surprising matchup at 175 lbs. Only this time, Canada came out on top.

Recent light heavyweight kingpin "Bad" Chad Dawson snoozed his way to losing his undefeated record and Ring Magazine title to former super middleweight contender Jean Pascal on Saturday night. The 3-1 underdog Pascal stole the show en route to an 11th round unanimous technical decision win, with the fight being stopped due to a cut over Dawson's right eye that was caused by an accidental headbutt. 

Pascal, now 26-1 (16), just happened to also be defending the WBC belt that Dawson dropped in 2008 to face former champ Antonio Tarver, though Dawson was widely regarded as the best light heavyweight in the world until tonight.

Dawson, an amateur standout and Pound-for-Pound list entrant as a pro, fell to 29-1 (17), with 1 No Contest. 

Breidis Prescott Decisions Harrison Cuello, Patrick Lopez Halts Prenice Brewer

Photo: John Gichigi - Bongart/Getty Images

Tonight from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, ESPN2 attempted to showcase Colombian banger Breidis Prescott and young prospect Prenice Brewer, and things didn't go precisely as planned. 

Following a 15-minute delay for the ever-important Legg Mason Tennis Classic, fans were treated to the last few words of what sounded like an interesting studio lead-in from Brian Kenny. But the world will never know. 

At least we got to see David Nalbandian preach truth, his tennis racket a bullhorn of mullet-sporting excellence. Right? Gilles Simon didn't stand a chance in those colors.