Living in a world of ghosts.

.... and I have to get out of it. This is a new era in boxing. It seemed like just yesterday that the best were anxious to meet the best. Fighters won fights by throwing punches and even combinations. If a big fight was postponed (which was rare) there was always another one around the corner. Heavyweights took pride in what they did and showed up in shape. I'm not talking about the 40's. I wasn't alive. I'm just thinking 90's. LOL. Well, I guess the good news is that there are some good potential match ups. The bad news is nobody wants to take a chance on fighting a warrior who may just beat them. I think this is idiotic. If Fighter A takes on Fighter B and the two make for an exciting fight, both of their stocks go up. We're more likely to tune in to watch them in action no matter who they're taking on. Now, it is a gamble. Sugar Shane Mosley's worth in gold has taken a dive since his lost to Mayweather. However, gambling is what sports is all about. Boxing, the king of Machismo in 20th and 21st cent. sports, lives and dies off of superfights. I understand the excuses for the lack of talent in the HW division. However, I think the lighter weight divisions are about to suffer because of lower standards people will accept based on the nationality of a fighter. Someone made a really smart prediction that Floyd M. was going to fight Amir Khan in England. Granted, he'll beat Khan and make a fortune without taking much risk. However, wouldn't it be great if the fans in England saw through this fight and didn't show up? It's okay to root for a national hero, though my opinion is that promoters are taking advantage of this phenomenon and making an ass out of all of us. Amir Khan cannot beat Floyd Mayweather. That will never happen. Manny Pacquiao will beat Mayweather (or at least threaten to) and that is the fight we want to see. Floyd is American and I'm a Pactard. Also, if it would make England happy, you can take half of our HWs and Floyd with them. Most of us don't care if a fighter is from Mars. We just want to see a great fight.

Nice post Frank. But i do think that some fighters do go after the best. Hell look at Khan. The guy is going after the best he can right now. Also Pac has done the same his entire career. We have a few fighters who are bitches and that makes boxing look bad. Dont get too down just support the guys who make the fights and piss on the others. Like Floyd.

You can blame alot of people: television networks, promoters, fighters, and fans.


The one to focus on, as we can change somewhat is the fans. As boxing fans we need to stop acting like a loss is the end of the world.


It is better for a fighter to face 5 top 10 guys and lose 1 or 2 fights than face 1 top 10 guy and 4 guys who are pretty good, but not on his level.

I respect Miguel Cotto alot as a fighter. He fought good competition at 140 (former beltholders, several future belt holders). At 147-he fought Quintana, Clottey, Mosley, Margarito, Pac, and Judah. All top 10 Ring ranked fighters at the time. He went 4-2, with 1 loss to a guy who is possibly an All-time great in Pac, and to Margarito who was tough as nails at the time (and the possibility of loaded gloves). That is what all fighters need to do. Fight the best they can.

2nd thing fighters need to do is fight more often. Why do guys now fight once or twice a year. It makes no sense. How about a schedule where you vary the competition. I don't have a problem with a guy like Donaire fighting lesser fighters. I have a problem when that is all he is doing. You can have fights against mandatories that aren't that strong, but those need to occur because you want to stay active and work on things, not because that is all you do.

And why do guys in their mid 20s start fighting so little. It seems like once you get to the HBO or Showtime level, you just sit and pray for big paydays. How about being a fighter. The big paydays will come. Work on your craft.

i agree 100% with you captain. most fans now have created this mindset that unless you are undefeated, you are nothing or at least its going to take you a long time to be worth something again. i also agree that fighters need to fight more. back in the day, we know that fighters werent fighting top level competition every month, but at least they were fighting. i think that if they did fight more, a loss wouldnt seem so bad. it would be like in basketball. the bulls have had the best season ever at 72-10 and that seems amazing. if a boxer has that record, it seems like we just see the 10 losses and forget about the wins sometimes.

we need more fights and good fights.

Could not have said it better myself, Captain. Cotto is the ideal example of a fighter staying on top by fighting top opposition and not losing clout. I also agree that tune-ups are a part of the sport, however, as you pointed out, you don't base you're whole career on fighting them.