19.03.06 – By Chris Acosta: You could hear the hope in the voices of the HBO announcing team, in the media in the weeks leading up to this fight and even in the crowd after a rousing second round that saw James Toney show flashes of a skill that can often be overlooked to the untrained eye.
But just as quickly as the flames were rising, so were they pissed on by forces that really are under the control of the fighters themselves. Toney, coming in at an unsightly 237 pounds can say what he wants about a body with no existing waistline being able to perform aptly but it did affect his performance as demonstrated by his struggles to reposition his body after missing wild right hands. He was unable to muster sustained outbursts in order to catch his breath and for all of his old school taglines and instincts, no one in this day and age cares. They want action. Hasim Rahman, for all of his efforts has all the physical tools but for some reason or another, just doesn’t seem to be able to put them all together for more than one fight at a time. Like Toney, he’s willing and able, but “The Rock” will always be one fight away from looking like a glorified club fighter.
The Baltimore, Maryland native relies on a paint- by -numbers approach to his game and only seems to fight when provoked. Of course we all know that Toney is not going to do any provoking (in the ring at least) but instead retreat to the ropes where so many opponents follow like drunken fratboys to a pretty girls’ dorm room. This fight would have been winnable for “Lights Out” had he truly been in fighting shape. Rahman was wide open for counterpunches and got down low to the shorter man’s level, apparently to assert his superior strength but in doing so, completely neutralized the effect of his long right hand. The draw seemed gracious to Toney’s flashier connected punches and I’d bet most would agree that Rahman won the fight but does it really matter? What stands as the most pertinent question in the heavyweight division is not who the champion is but WHO the champion IS. Let’s face it people, the reason so many folks are gravitating towards the UFC and celebrity boxing is because they want to be entertained and that’s that.
Forget all the crap about boxing losing it’s great trainers and the nuance that comes from actually learning their craft, we don’t live in the 50’s anymore. People are evolving (or devolving, take your pick) into creatures of limited patience and appreciation. Hey I love nature documentaries so much that people wonder why I don’t go into forestry but I am also saddled by the inclination to watch garbage like American Idol, MTV and celebrity boxing. Sometimes I just don’t want to think and those last three satisfy my appetite for lifeless consumption.
That’s why we all got so excited about Samuel Peter. That’s why no one abandoned Arturo Gatti after he was trounced by Floyd Mayweather Jr. As for “Pretty Boy” Floyd, he’s a guy who had definitely absorbed every facet of his game but has seem to suddenly realize that if is to become the popular guy he longs to be, he had better start closing the show. And he has. I’ve read so much negative press about Lamon Brewster and while he does have flaws, who really gives a you-know-what? He punches hard, seems to find a gear when he absolutely needs it and has enough balls for five of us. Wladimir Klitschko as Lennox Lewis put it last night, always brings an element of drama to his fights. Will he get knocked out? Will he run out of gas? Maybe, but there isn’t a better jabber in the division, he can box very well and he even knocks people out.
For the division to thrive, its participants must acknowledge that while their fans “don’t take punches” they sure as hell shell out PPV money, buy all the magazines and provide the potential to recruit new fans. Without us, the sport wouldn’t exist. We laud their courage but at a price. I don’t like the UFC but I can see its attraction. It’s a quick fix in a world that can’t wait too long between quick fixes.
Sometimes, the mentality is at a crossroads. In the twelfth round of the Joe Calzaghe- Jeff Lacy fight, I can remember yelling out with my boxing brain, “Why doesn’t he play it safe!” My attention-challenged brain countered, “Why should he man? This is for all the marbles!” Too often, we’ve heard the adage “Win this one, look good the next one.” Nonsense.
If that’s the case, you can bet that the “next time” will be less a couple hundred viewers. We recognize an elite fighters’ talents, Chris Byrd for instance but in today’s market, he’s an entity at best. Calvin Brock is good and I actually like that he seems easy to hit and sloppy at times. In fact, I’ll take a fighter with glaring weaknesses over an unbeatable guy any day because that’s the guy that we are going to remember. That’s the guy we are going to relate to when he’s hurt and is one punch from hitting the floor. Cassius Clay was good but it wasn’t until he was a heavier, older Muhammad Ali that we discovered his greatness. Jr. Welterweight Miguel Cotto is seen as vulnerable and perhaps a bit chinny, but he also has a scary will to win and what do you know- skilled to boot.
But heavyweight boxing will always, unfair as it is, be the gauge by which it is measured in relation to other sports. We need not look for the next great thing to come along but instead ask the current crop to do something about it. After all, greatness isn’t always anointed. In some cases, it can even be grabbed by initiative.