Michael Lawson
While the focus and attention of the world, and her media, rest on The NBA Finals of 2015, like the “Eye of Sauron” from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and rightfully so…it showcases the Best Basketball player on the planet (LeBron James) and the best NBA team on the planet (Golden State)…there is something peculiar and little-noticed happening in the sport of boxing.
After a period of stagnation, dullness, blandness, inconsequence, and inertia, boxing is stirring to life again. The sport, and the fighters who make the sport, are showing signs of a restless rustling that might promise a coming revival. An emergence of young, brash, technically sound, and driven fighters in a number of weight classes could spearhead the resurrection of a “once left for dead” sport that is historically part of the American sports fabric. There are a number of reasons we stopped caring, and the following could be the answers to those questions and problems.
The state of boxing in the United States has been through its first Dark Age. Meaning, you don’t have to be a “boxing” fan to know the names of Ali, Marciano, Joe Lewis, Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson…you just have to be alive and sentient. But recently…other than Mayweather…most couldn’t name an American fighter if promised a million dollars. In that void, MMA and UFC stepped in to create its own vibrant and viable market, basically leaving boxing as an afterthought…or a never-thought.
That could be changing with the emergence of three American boxers who have shown they can fight, win, and market themselves. Timothy Bradley (31-1-1) is a Welterweight from California who carries all of the tools to be great. He isn’t, necessarily, the best at any one of them, but he is really good all around. “Desert Storm” can stand toe-to-toe, if need be, or he can out box you if that helps win, like he did in 2013 in a win over a legend, and still very good, Juan Manuel Marquez.
Danny Garcia (30-0-0) is a Welterweight from Philadelphia, PA…and a real life war hero. He served two tours in Iraq, and didn’t begin boxing professionally until he served his time. In fact, Garcia still trains for fights on a military base. That coupled with his undefeated record, and an up-front humility and thankfulness that is apparent from many of our men and women who served this country with honor, make him a star in waiting. People love rooting for a winner…especially one who seems thankful for the opportunity.
Terence Crawford (26-0-0) is the current WBO champion at 140 LBs, and will move up in weight class rapidly. As you can tell by his record, Crawford is one of those rare talents that comes along who can box, fight, out-think, and dismantle an opponent. He has the charisma of a Floyd Mayweather without the baggage of a rocky personal life. In the next five years, he could be a household name.
If asked what the “Golden Age” of boxing was, many might offer the Ali/Frazier/Foreman era as the height of the sport…and they might be right. But one could argue… and I would, actually…that the Middleweight rivalries of Hagler/Leonard/Hearns/Duran represented the best boxing has to offer. Regardless of the sport, but especially in boxing, there has to be an intense personal and professional rivalry to look to and drive the show. The images of the battles those four displayed, and endured against each other, over a decade’s time still endure, and we might be entering a period of that kind of competitive, bone crushing, and awe-inspiring pugilism again.
Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) is the current Middleweight champion and the…ahem…elder statesman of this group. His career resurgence has placed him, and his fans, in a position of talking “legacy”. He is managing his time at the top fairly well, but those days of Rocky III type title defenses may be numbered, as there are two guys who are begging for a collision course.
Gennady Golovkin (30-0-0) hails from Kazakhstan, and for my money, is the best fighter “pound for pound” in the world. His ability to systematically deconstruct opponents in the ring, while brutalizing them in body and spirit, is unmatched recently. And he does it with an “awe shucks…you mean me?” kind of aura. If you get a chance to watch one of his fights…do so. GGG, as they call him, will go down as one of the greatest ever, and he’s just getting started.
Canelo Alvarez (45-01-01) is a Jr. Middleweight from Mexico, but he won’t stay there long. The collision course with this tactician who throws bombs and the two aforementioned boxers in this weight class in inevitable. The mere idea that we might be treated to a round robin series of fights between these three gentlemen is enough to keep boxing fans pinged with expectation…and for me to write an entire column on it. In short…it will be epic…and could be historic.
Lastly, to the common sports fan, the difference between a Bantamweight, Flyweight, and a Featherweight carries about as much intrigue and interest as the difference between covalent bonds and ionic bonds (sorry, science nerds)…it’s just not important…or interesting…or fun. But the Heavyweights…the big boys…now you’ve got our attention. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield…Lennox Lewis. Wait, what? See what I did there? No one knows who that is. Wladimir Klitschko? Same thing…and he is the (64-3) reigning IBF, WBO, WBA Heavyweight champion. He’s close to 7 feet tall, and has kept the Heavyweight title in Russia for a while now…and America yawns. It’s been over a decade since we’ve had a Heavyweight champion to rally behind, and to box offices and pay-per-views have reflected this reality.
In steps Deontay Wilder (33-0-0, 32 KOs) from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and his first title defense of his WBC Heavyweight title won back in January. Wilder, with his 6-7 frame, has the look of a fighter, who, if he keeps his discipline and fame corralled, could be the next big American star, regardless of sport. He’s already attempting to become an ambassador, of sorts, for the sport, by hosting the 1st ever Heavyweight title fight in his hometown, and will, probably very soon, get a shot at unifying the belts with a win over Klitschko. Wilder still has a lot of work to do, and much to improve on technically, but if he somehow were to unify the belts again, and bring them home to the U.S., he’ll be on every commercial, on every channel, for every show, on your TV.
So, as the world watches with bated breath (me, included) to see if LeBron James can single handedly beat a team and solidify his place in legend…as much of the country goes to the ballpark to watch America’s favorite pastime…as much of the sports world watches the women’s World Cup (Ok…some…a few…there are dozens!)…as folks already start looking to football (please get here!)…the sweet science of boxing is stirring from its slumber….and I can promise that the coming collisions will look nothing like the over-hyped and underwhelming Mayweather/Pacquiao fiasco. Golovkin would have nothing of that.
W. Michael Lawson is an alumnus of Lee University and University of Richmond. Mr. Lawson currently hosts a weekly radio show “The Strong Sauce Hour” and Co-hosts a daily sports show “The Sports Drive” on 101.3 FM/1570 AM. You can follow him on twitter @thestrongsauce.