So boxing is dying, right? Whatever.
I'm so sick and tired of hearing that garbage from folks who just like to dump on boxing because it's been such an easy target. But those people are either stupid, clueless or just too lazy to do their homework, such as the many mainstream talking heads or radio goofs who don't know a left hook from a fishhook. They've been doing it for years, so why let the facts get in the way of a good diatribe, right?
In other countries, the boxing business is robust. Top Rank's Bob Arum loves to talk about how television ratings for boxing in Mexico are beating soccer ratings. In Germany, numerous broadcast networks televise boxing, and large arenas typically sell out for fight cards. In the United Kingdom, the sport remains quite popular. Ditto in Japan. And in the Philippines, the icon of the nation isn't a musician or politician or actor. It's pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
And if boxing is dying in the United States, then why was last Saturday night's Shane Mosley-Antonio Margarito welterweight championship fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles such a huge event?
The fight drew 20,820 fans to a major metropolitan arena in a difficult economy. That crowd, by the way, was the largest gathering for any event of any kind in the building's history.
That means more people showed up for a prizefight than for any Lakers game, for any concert, for anything. Not bad for a dying sport.
Promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank kept the ticket prices reasonable (ranging from $25 to $300), and folks turned out to the tune of a live gate of about $1.4 million.
On television, the fight did outstanding numbers, too. According to my sources at HBO, the telecast generated a 3.9 rating for the live airing Saturday night. The Sunday morning replay did a 1.3, which is tremendous for an encore presentation.
The fight performed better than any fight HBO televised in 2008, the exceptions being Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes in May, De La Hoya's first non-HBO PPV fight since 2001, and the Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins bout in April.
One of the things that made Mosley-Margarito so much fun was that the fans who turned out were real fans, not casino guests. You could tell because the stands were pretty much packed well in advance of the main event, something you never see at a big fight in Las Vegas.
Other than the rain in Los Angeles, it was one heck of an event, and hopefully the start of a year filled with big fights.
A few more post-Mosley-Margarito random thoughts:
• Given the outcome, here's the obvious blueprint that I (and the HBO suits) would like to see: For Mosley to defend the title against Floyd Mayweather (come on, you know he's going to unretire) this summer, with the winner to face the winner of the May 2 Ricky Hatton-Pacquiao fight later in the year.
• If the allegations against Margarito -- that he or someone on his team tried to load his gloves with a "plaster-like substance" -- are true, doesn't that mean we have to seriously question the validity of his big victories against Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron and Joshua Clottey? Cintron's camp has already sent a letter to the California commission asking to be kept in the loop regarding the outcome of the investigation so that it can weigh its options in case Margarito was found to be trying to cheat.
• Since Margarito took such a massive beatdown from Mosley, does that mean the "Tijuana Tornado" is now nothing more than a "Tijuana Breeze"?
• I thought HBO's new "World Championship Boxing" opening animation, graphics and overall look was terrific. It gives the show a sleek and more modern look. But I have to say it's going to take some time to get used to the revamped music. Why they messed with perfection I will never know. You just don't screw around with iconic music. You didn't see television shows like "M*A*S*H" or "Dallas" or "The Jeffersons" changing their tunes, did you?
• There might be 11 months to go in 2009, but is there any doubt that Nazim Richardson will be a trainer of the year candidate? Between his objections to Margarito's hand wraps and Mosley's stellar performance, he's got to be the front-runner.
• Arum says despite the crushing loss, he still plans to match Margarito and Cotto in a June rematch, assuming Cotto comes out of his Feb. 21 fight with Michael Jennings in good form. I suppose there still will be a lot of folks who want to see Margarito-Cotto II, but to me, it has lost a ton of luster after seeing Margarito so thoroughly smashed. I'd rather see Cotto-Mosley II. Arum might not have a choice if Margarito winds up suspended because of any funny business with his gloves.
• Margarito made about $2.4 million to get his block knocked off by Mosley. Do you think Margarito and his managers, Sergio Diaz and Francisco Espinoza, are having second thoughts now about not taking the $4 million offer made by promoter Dan Goossen for Margarito to face Paul Williams in a rematch instead?
• So much for the notion that Mosley was distracted by all of his outside-the-ring problems, right?
• On a personal note, a giant slam to the downtown Los Angeles Grand Wilshire, which served as the fight hotel, housing the media, fighters, their camps and the promoters. I've stayed at hotels from coast to coast covering fights, and the Grand Wilshire is about as weak as they come, especially in the service department. After a late night following the fight Saturday, I went to sleep about 2:45 a.m. with a long day of travel ahead, so I tried to get at least a decent night's sleep before my 9:40 a.m. flight from Los Angeles to Charlotte, which was followed by a second flight home to Washington (yes, I had the double upgrade). Anyway, I called for a 7:30 a.m. wakeup call and nodded off. Much to my disgust, the wakeup call came. At 5:30 a.m.
Dan Rafael
