Sometimes I wonder if anyone in the world ever actually knows what they are doing, or if everyone is just skating along on instinct, bullshit, and blind luck. I know that I’m doing that quite often, and I still find myself amazed that others are even more clueless than I.
For example, I showed up nice and early to the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City to get my press pass so I could eat a leisurely dinner without worrying about time before the Star Boxing card headlined by David Tua and Monte Barrett began. Also, I wanted to splash some chips around on the tables for a while, as I am wont to do. For once, I had no issues getting my press pass (which in this case was a blue wristband with stars, like you’d get at a bar with a cover – nothing but the best for the boxing press). However, when I arrived for the start of the card a few minutes before 8:00, a Tropicana employee that didn’t seem to understand how the media works asked me, “Who are you the press for? The casino or the promoter?” I tried explaining that her question was nonsense (in friendlier terms, I assure you), that I wrote for a blog and was covering the fight, but she just didn’t seem to get it. She kept asking me that same question over and over, occasionally pointing at other members of the press walking by with the same silly wristband and asking, “Do you work with him?” It was a little surreal. Finally, I told her, “I don’t work for your casino or your promoter. I work for the fans. I work for the people.” With that, she let me pass.
OK, so all that is true except the, “I work for the people,” line, which I came up with when I sat down and started typing. It would have been a good line, though. Like, “The jerk store called, and they ran out of you.” Actually, she just let me go without resolving the question at hand. Regardless, I thought she inadvertently asked a somewhat ominous question, given the shady nature of some boxing coverage. Based on some of the things I glimpsed on press row, some members of the boxing press are engaging in nothing more than public relations disguised as journalism.
Confounding conversations with hotel employees and ringside “press” giving standing ovations to their fighters were not the highlights of the night, however. A fight sheet that looked like a showcase for Tua and a slew of local fighters instead provided sustained, sometimes stunning action with almost universally unpredictable results. For the second time in two weeks, my expectations for a fight card were exceeded by the action in the ring. For the second time in two weeks, smart, diligent matchmaking and attention to the live fan experience produced standout cards. For the second time in two weeks, I went to an overachieving, fan-friendly card and it was not promoted by either of the big two of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions. Just saying.
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