How Spanish Language TV Is Saving Boxing In 2016

Viewing habits are changing for some fight fans

Let's face it - we like watching boxing. All kinds of boxing. Especially on the weekends. Unfortunately the powers that be are not giving we English speaking American fans much boxing this 2016. I know, I know, things are supposed to get better. Temporarily, at least. We'll see.

To the point - Spanish Language television has saved boxing for us fight fans this year. Want to watch boxing? Better hope there's some Spanish language stations on your cable lineup. Otherwise you may well find yourself out of options.

Make no mistake about it, UniMas, BeIn2, Fox Deportes and other outlets that broadcast in Spanish are pretty much the only reliable sources for boxing lately. Forget about English speaking American pay cable networks, American mainstream networks or American basic cable networks. They just ain't delivering.

So, let's give some credit to those networks most of us Americans who only speak English rarely watch. They're keeping the sport alive in a way our English speaking networks can't or simply won't. In other words, they're boxing friendly. And they've no doubt gotten themselves some new viewers,

Quite a feat when you step back and think about it.

Is It Time For Fans To Start Ignoring Pay Per View Cards?

The bigwigs have turned their backs on the fans.

Let's face it, folks, boxing's powers that be don't care much about us.

Maybe they feel they just can't, as they have businesses to run. Fine. But, at the risk of sounding harsh, that's not our problem. Besides, who reading this is bringing down the cash Al Haymon, Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya are? I'm not saying these are bad guys, I'm simply saying they're not giving the people what they want. It's that simple. Indeed, boxing is the only business I know of where the power players publicly suggest the consumers "just don't understand."

Oh, we understand, all right.

Let's face it, 2015 was a banner year for those in any way involved with Mayweather-Pacquiao. I almost have to smile wryly when I read the media touting the UFC's buy rate these days. Why? Because May-Pac was that much bigger than anything Dana White has sent the world's way. Conor McGregor brags about earning 10 mil? Manny and Floyd earned HUNDREDS of millions for their 2015 meeting.

Thing is, the success of May-Pac wasn't good for the fans. First off, the lead up was completely overblown (trust me on this, I had to cover and partake in it for publishers). The fight also disappointed people in a lot of ways (though I think we in the media were to blame for that). Here's the thing, though - last year's superfight may now stand as the gold standard for boxing's powers that be. Believe it.

Oscar De La Hoya has referenced May-Pac when speaking of a potential Canelo-GGG match. Indeed, one wonders if Oscar wouldn't mind letting a Saul-Gennady match hold off for a good five years. After all, it then might bring in a similar windfall to what May-Pac did.

What does that do for the fans, though? And what does it do for the sport? Does anyone at this point think May-Pac helped boxing in any significant way? Will "marinating" more interesting fights help anyone besides the power players?

I could be wrong here, but I'm starting to suspect boxing's elite ruling class doesn't want to give the fans much boxing at all. I'm not talking about holding off on superfights, either. I'm talking about holding off on ALL significant fights.

Look, it's past mid March and boxing has been dead since before Christmas. That's a fact. Using the May-Pac method of business, however, this is a perfect way of doing things. The fans salivate, after all, and then jump at any old thing that's thrown their way as if it were surf and turf.

If that's the strategy boxing's power brokers are now employing, it's actually quite brilliant. Or is it? Truth be told, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth getting the Bradley-Pacquiao and Canelo-Khan fights. Sure, they're good fights, but are they Pay Per View worthy at this point?

With news that Bud Crawford will be on Pay Per View against an opponent no one even knows of yet, I'm wondering if Pay Per View may soon be the only way to watch significant boxing at all. It that's the case, it won't be right. So perhaps, just perhaps, it's time to nip this Pay Per View thing in the bud.

As always, though, I could be wrong. Let me know what you think in the comments.

What If Pacquiao Wins Big?

Things to ponder...

Let's face it - the Mayweather-Pacquiao era is over. But that doesn't mean we've seen the last of Manny. Even though it's a pretty safe bet many would simply  like the sport to move one, Pacquiao is still fighting Tim Bradley next month. Frankly, I have a feeling Bradley may pull it off this time. But what if he doesn't? What if PacMan looks not only good, but really good? What will people say, then?

Well, it will be hard to argue that Manny isn't the best welterweight in the sport, even if he did lose to Mayweather last year. Timothy Bradley is no joke, after all. Indeed, some people forget just how strong Bradley's resume is. I myself feel he's already earned the right to be a Hall of Famer. The fact that, should Pacquiao win in April, most people would feel he beat Bradley three straight times is saying a lot.

Ask yourself this - can anyone in the division right now beat a quality Pacquiao? Thurman? Porter? Garcia? Brook? Would any of those men be favored against a Manny whose performing at the level he did against Rios and Algieri? Probably not. Again, that's saying a lot.

So let's not be so quick to write Pacquiao off just yet. While it's true the sport of boxing needs a breath of fresh air, believing Manny really is one fight away from retirement might be putting the cart before the horse. I suspect he'll be back if he wins in May and I get the feeling I'm not alone.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao era may indeed be over. The career of Pacquiao, however, just might end up having good reason to keep chugging along.

Are Today's Top Young Boxers Entitled Millennials?

Some just want to get rich while taking it easy

Back when I was in my twenties, my friends and I didn't see ourselves as being  members of Generation X. Oh, we fit the demographic by birth, but there was something about the image of a typical slacker - some mope who had no interest in taking part in the general workings of society -  that rubbed us the wrong way. Looking back on it now I see that, in a lot of ways,  my friends and I were - you guessed it - typical  Generation X slackers.

Enough of me and my generation, though, let's talk about today's youth, the much maligned Millennials. As an associate professor at a local university, I see these kids all the time. And guess what? I like 'em. A lot. Sure the most whiny, and tisky ones of the bunch get on the news, but by and far these kids are all right. Indeed, they're far more empathetic and  moral than Gen X was in it's day. Believe it.

Still, there are some generalizations that ring true with this group as a whole. And just like my friends and I were typical Gen Xers without even realizing it, a many young people in today's Western World are acting like entitled millennials in a lot of ways. And that includes top young boxers.

Current middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, for instance, won't defend his title at the middleweight limit. Like a student in a differentiated classroom, Canelo wants exceptions to be made for him. The same goes for middleweight Billy Joe Saunders who, legend has it, came right out and said he wasn't ready for Gennady Golovkin, even though both men are champions in the same weight division.

Indeed, it's accepted as fact that some highly paid young fighters don't feel like they have to go out and actually earn the big bucks when they can be well compensated for easy bouts. You know, entitlement. Things like opponent avoidance, catchweights and difficult negotiations have probably been around as long as the fight game, of course. Never before, though, have they been as prominent. And that suggests a generational attitude change.

Let's hope some of these kids grow up quick.

Will Things Work Out For Ruslan Provodnikov?

What will Provo's new path lead to? 

So now Ruslan Provodnikov is on Showtime and everyone is quite happy indeed. Why shouldn't they be? Provodnikov is never bad to watch. What's more, HBO let him slip from its grasp for some odd reason. Here's a question, though:

Will things actually work out for Ruslan over at Showtime?

Sure, he's about to face John Molina as a Showtime top attraction in June, but what then? Remember that Provodnikov is dangerous. Blindingly so. Tim Bradley was said to slur for weeks after their bout. Mike Alvarado was beaten by the Russian into submission.

Will Al Haymon, whose been attached at the hip to Showtime, allow his top guys to face such a foe? Will Haymon allow Provo to face Garcia? Or Broner? Would those men even be interested in such a fight? Sure, he's lost to Matthysse and Bradley over the past few years, but those were close fights. And no, as much as I like Chris Algieri, I don't think he beat Provodnikov when they met a while back.

So, what will all this ultimately mean for the Siberian Rocky? It's hard to tell, really. The fact that Showtime is clearly interested in being in the Provodnikov business is obviously a good thing. Fans will have to wait until after he beats Molina, however, to see what the future holds for Provo.

IF he beats Molina, that is. Never write anyone off in boxing.

What If Khan Beats Canelo?

If you're like most fight fans, you take it as a matter of fact that Canelo Alvarez is pretty much going to walk down Amir Khan this May and turn him into a punching bag. It's easy to understand why. Canelo fights a significant number of pounds higher than Khan has up until now. What's more, Canelo promoter Oscar De La Hoya seems a bit skittish about having his man face GGG. It only stands to reason fans would therefore suspect that Oscar would match his star carefully against other opponents, as well.

What many of us are forgetting, however, is that Khan is an exceedingly skilled fighter. He unquestionably has his weaknesses, but Khan's ability in the ring is nothing short of impressive when he's at his best. It might also be worth keeping in mind that although Canelo may be popular, popularity does not go hand in hand with great ability. In other words, the man hasn't really shown signs of greatness in the ring - at least not yet.

Of course, there's also the small fact that boxing plays its favorites and it may be hard to imagine Canelo ever losing to Khan on the judge's scorecards in Vegas. Since Khan likely can't knock Canelo out at 155, it simply might not seem likely that he can walk away with the win under any circumstances.

Unless, of course, he really takes Canelo to school, like Mayweather did. No, Scratch that. Canelo still got a draw from one of the judges after Floyd made an easy night of him. Khan might have to do an even BETTER job than Floyd did against Canelo if he were to somehow even hope to move the judge's needle in his favor.

What if he were to do that, though? What if Khan were to surprise the world by fighting Canelo so efficiently that the judges absolutely, positively could NOT rule against him out of fear of getting the CJ Ross treatment? What if, in an even greater surprise, Khan were simply to get the better of Canelo and the judges ruled fairly?

Hey, it's not ENTIRELY out of the realm of possibility, is it?

So, what happens if Khan finds himself being the toast of the fight world? Well, for one thing, Khan would have gone from laughing stock to hero in the amount of time it takes to go through hedge fund money on a boxing series. The world would surely be his.

What would he do, though? Rematch Canelo? Go back down to welterweight? What if he were to stay at middleweight? Would he keep GGG at bay? Some would argue Khan is fine with keeping big fights from happening if they don't suit him. Just ask Kell Brook supporters. Will a new mega-bout be in order (between Khan and GGG) or will a planned mega bout (between Canelo and GGG) simply have died because of Canelo's insistence on marinating things to death, in the process leaving fans with nothing?

I find these questions fascinating. I may be getting ahead of myself here, of course. Then again...

The Top In-Your-Face Fighters In History

None of these guys are your man on the street type

The world is filled with fighters that are cocky, swaggering, and in-your-face. Some love this sort of thing. Some can't stand it. One thing is certain - these types of individuals are DIFFERENT. For they not only shoot off their mouths when the rest of us remain silent - they back those big words up. With no further adieu then, let's take a look at the upper echelon of the In Your Face Crowd, from the 1800s to the present.

1. John L Sullivan: The original. This strutting Irish American ruled the post Civil War fight scene like no other. Boastful and hard drinking, he was also as brave as they came and - yeah - appears to have been one hell of a fighter, whether it was with gloves or with bare knuckles. A true one of a kind.
2.  Jack Johnson: The first African American heavyweight champion of the world was also a first class mouth. Hated for his skin color, Johnson doesn't seem to have been interested in winning over the ignorant. Indeed, he was all about taunting and flashing an expensive lifestyle. Controversy sells, and Johnson - the first old time fighter who might well hold his own today - was living proof of that fact. 
3. Muhammad Ali: Interesting in that he was a combination of the social, the political and the athletic. In short, the man transcended not only boxing, but all of sports. And he did it all while shooting off his mouth in a way that could be as much wink-and-a-smile as in your face. In sense, he perfected the craft.  
4. Floyd Mayweather: You didn't think this list would skip Floyd, did you? In a sense, the guy was a strange combination of Sullivan and Johnson in that he boasted of his skills while openly indulging in his financial success. Unlike Sullivan and Johnson, however, no one was able to beat Floyd throughout his career. And if he remains retired, Floyd will have backed up the talk all the way through to the end. 
5. Tyson Fury: Behold, the class of 2016. Outspoken, and obnoxious, this walking master class of bullying as psychological warfare stunned the dominant Wladimir Klitschko late in 2015...and has yet to be shut up by anyone.