It was a surprise to no one that Timothy Bradley vacated his WBO Welterweight Title. It should be an outrage to all. This is an era where the majority of boxing fans and pundits do not identify with, or respect, championship belts. When a majority of boxers themselves do not have respect for the titles they work so hard for, who can blame them?
Now I hate the old man card as much as the next guy, at the same time, how can you not help to yearn for the old days of the sweet science, when the belts meant something. The bottom line for Bradley giving up his belt was the bottom line. A third mega fight with Manny Pacquiao meant more to Desert Storm than his welterweight championship. That is his decision, I get that, but let us call it what it is. A selfish decision. Bradley is what is all wrong with boxing today.
Disregard for the titles is why boxing will never be a major sport in The United States again. It is why the PBC does not seem to be working on Network Television either. Unless you are a true boxing junkie, this sport has lost its way. The average person needs a storyline to go with their sports. They need a big fat shiny trophy, or a belt, to connect with athletes. What is football without the Super Bowl? What is Golf without the green jacket? Hockey without the Stanley Cup? Tennis without the grand slams? The fact that nobody knows who holds the titles, and in what weight class, is a major deficiency for the sweet science. It is why the average American does not care about boxing. And they do not.
So many boxing fans are arrogant enough to think that belts are not important. While that is bad enough, too many boxers and promoters seem to agree. Gouging boxing fans of their hard earned money as their top priority is not charming, and not a great storyline.
A great storyline in boxing is Ray Mancini trying to win a world title for his dad. Mike Tyson trying to become the youngest heavyweight champion. Michael Spinks becoming the first light heavyweight champion to win a heavyweight title. Not, a fighter jumping from weight class to weight class to win titles they are never going to defend. Or giving up your title so you can make more money. Or making fans wait to see a fight they paid a lot of money for so you could watch a basketball game; what were those teams playing for? Oh yes, a championship. Disgraceful.
Now this is not to say boxing is not a great sport, it is the best sport. This is not to suggest boxing is deficient on great stories. Female fighter Shelly Vincent just visited RingNews24 Boxing Radio, and Shelito’s Way told us without boxing she would most likely be dead or back in prison. It does not get more real or better than that. The problem is a story like this does not get out there to the main stream. Because they still have a hang over from the dreaded Fight of the Century. Boxing at its worst on so many levels. The greed and arrogance spewing out from all involved, a sham of a production, at the expense of the fans and inspiring fighters who love the sport. Boxing showing its ass in public, instead of what makes it great. Boxing blew that big time.
It is at it again with Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3. Being showcased as PacMan’s last fight. Or maybe not? Does anyone care? Pacquiao checked out a long time ago. Now it is all about checks for him. To ask fans to pluck down big bucks for a fight that was average at best the first two times, that has recognition only for lousy judging, is a disgrace. A story-line nobody is going to buy, expect for those who will buy anything.
It is not all bad. Two of the best in the game today, Gennady Golovkin & Sergey Kovalev, are two active champions who want to defend their belts. The trouble with that is ‘GGG’ cannot get the other champions to fight him, Canelo will only be willing to match his belt with GGG’s if they meet at a lower weight. And Kovalev cannot get in the ring with Adonis Stevenson, the other top 175 pound champion. Conflicting networks and promotions getting in the way of that dream fight. How can anyone get excited about story lines as these?
While Timothy Bradley stands to make a lot more money now that he is not a champion, he, and everyone else involved in this promotion cannot buy a clue.
