This past Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. easily defeated 38 year old Shane Mosley in a 12 round unanimous decision. In terms of pound-for-pound fighting, coming into the bout, Mayweather was ranked second and Mosley was ranked third in the welterweight division, according to ESPN.com. On the surface it certainly seemed like a pretty good fight. And it was for the first two rounds, as the quick Mosley was giving "Money" Mayweather a run for his money. But Mosley's lead disintegrated quickly as Mayweather began to land his shots. By the end of the fight, Mayweather had landed 208 compared to Mosley's 92.
The fact that a 2 vs. 3 fight was as lopsided as this one was, just goes to show that the only acceptable fight, the only fight that even has the possibility to save the sport of boxing from falling into oblivion is No. 1 Welterweight Champion of the World Manny Pacquiao vs. No. 2 Floyd Mayweather.
Back in March, Pacquiao had a lopsided fight of his own, going against Joshua Clottey, at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in front of 50,994 spectators. Clottey, although not as popular or as skilled as Mosley, had a 35-3 record going into the fight, and was one of the better kept secrets in boxing, at least until millions saw him lose big time to Pacquiao, who landed 246 of his 1,231 punches on the overwhelmed Clottey, who landed 108 of his only 399 punches.
So now we're back to Square 1. When will Pacquiao and Mayweather, undoubtedly the two best fighters in the world, face off in what would be one of the biggest fights in decades? It's the same question people not only in the world of boxing, but in the world of sports, were asking everyday months ago, and after the Mayweather-Mosley fight it's the question everyone is back to asking.
Mayweather refuses to fight until Pacquiao agrees to undergoing Olympic-style drug testing. This type of testing calls for random blood and urine tests before and after the fight, instead of the usual testing which would only test urine for banned substances before and after the fight. Pacquiao was originally only willing to have his blood taken 24 days or more before the fight, because he claimed if their blood is taken "close to the match, it will be a disadvantage for me because I'm smaller and he's big."
Many boxing insiders say that the fight is bound to happen no matter what, as there is too much money on the table for anyone in their right mind to pass up. If the fight actually occurs it could be the fight that would save the dying sport of boxing.
Another historically American sport is undergoing many of the same problems that boxing is going through right now: horse racing.
Horse racing, like boxing, was extremely popular throughout the 20th century, and for many of the same reasons. Like the huge fights in boxing, the huge races in horse racing would take place only a few times a year. In between the competitors would have large layoffs, or would compete in smaller races or fights. The big competitions however, were perfect for gambling, which had a resurgence following the Great Depression, with its' legalization used as a way to help the economy. Las Vegas was also growing with gambling, and quickly became a popular spot for big fights.
Technological advances also helped the two sports. With the invention of the radio and television, the big horse races and premier fights became some of the biggest events of the year.
Then there were the personalities and the flash that both sports had that fit so well with the pop-culture filled periods of the 20th century. Periods like the Roaring Twenties and and youth-filled Sixties, were periods where boxing and horse racing experienced huge growth. Boxing brought characters like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Don King, as well as some fun, yet hate-filled rivalries. With the idea of the pop culture celebrity coming about, the large personalities and egos that came with the gambling and flashy atmospheres of horse racing and boxing were perfect for the American audience.
The focus on the individual, whether human or horse, went hand in hand with a rise in American individualism as a result of a concurrent rise in Soviet socialism. As silly as it sounds, individual sports like boxing and horse racing had more capitalist tendencies than team sports did.
So what happened? Boxing these days seems an afterthought to many, as does horse racing. The main reason for this is probably the rarity of these events. In a world of constant sports coverage, big horse races and fights are put on the backburner to sports that can provide constant news with games every day or every week for most of the year. Since we don't hear about boxing and horse racing every day, we just naturally push them aside.
Then there's the lack of identification many feel with the sports. Boxing, especially the heavyweight class, is dominated by fighters from Eastern European and Latin American countries, with solid Americans far and few in between. Horse racing is seen as too old school, dominated by old, wealthy white guys who own or train the horses. It almost has too much tradition for the masses to be able to relate to it.
Then there's the change in the gambling culture. With online gambling on the rise, fewer people are leaving their homes to go to the track. Then there's the idea of having to pay-per-view for boxing. With so many sporting events available on cable television, a lot of people don't find it worth it to pay extra to watch sporting events.
So will boxing and horse racing ever come back to prominence? If the Pacquiao-Mayweather, Jr. bout ends up happening, it would probably be the most watched pay-per-view title fight in the history of boxing. This fight also has a lot of similarities to the great Ali-Frazier fights. Today, Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum are ruthlessly promoting the big fight, like Don King had done in the past.
After Mayweather's defeat of Mosley, De La Hoya called Mayweather, "the king of the world now ... the best by far" and said that he should be the one "to dictate [the drug testing]."
On the other side there's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter. Arum's Top Rank Boxing, promoted Mayweather from 1996 - 2006, but the two had a fallout, after Mayweather accused Arum of shortchanging him on money he was owed for fights, while Arum claimed that the only reason he didn't pay was because Mayweather owed him millions of dollars. Since then, Arum has accused Mayweather of ducking big fights, saying that Mayweather has "always been a coward because he's afraid to face somebody who could beat him."
Then there are the fighters themselves. Mayweather is easily comparable to Ali. He's constantly running his mouth, and he always backs it up, just like Ali did and once said in one of his best quotes, "it's not bragging if you can back it up." Both Mayweather and Ali were criticized for their outspokenness often, especially when Ali would frequently claim he was "the greatest," and Mayweather claimed he was "better than Muhammad Ali [and] Sugar Ray Robinson." Both were flashy, outspoken, unbeatable fighters. The only difference is that Mayweather in notorious for staying away from big fights; Ali wasn't afraid of anyone.
Then there's Pacquiao, a Filipino, campaigning to become a Filipino congressman this summer. He's so beloved in the Philippines, that it is tough to predict whether the Filipino people will vote for him, or purposefully vote for his competitors so that he continues to box. Pacquiao is largely viewed as the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today. His overall record is 51-3-2, but unlike Mayweather, has gone up against the best of the best.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight may draw a lot of attention to the sport of boxing, but it's unlikely that the hype will last more than a few months. People will turn back to their usual everyday sports, and forget that the fight and boxing ever existed. There aren't enough good American fighters, or even good non-American fighters for that matter, and therefore not enough good fights to watch. With all of the coverage and media that sports get in the modern world, boxing occurs too infrequently to be a major sport.
Horse racing faces the same problem. There are too few races that matter, and it's much tougher to follow a single horse, than it is to follow a team. No horse has won the Triple Crown since 1978, when Affirmed won the Big Three races. Horse racing also isn't a sport made for television, with only two minute races, and then a wait of 30 minutes until the next race. The only way to enjoy horse racing is going to the track, and with people being able to follow other sports more closely, going to a baseball game or watching other sports from home sounds a lot better than going to a race track.
There may be a solution for the "Sport of Kings" though. With track-casinos sprouting up everywhere, the future of horse racing could be bright, as the large middle-class audience that horse racing has not been able to attract, may start flocking to local racetracks.
Either way, if Calvin Borel and Super Saver pull off the Triple Crown, there would be zero to little effect on horse racing. People would not start paying attention to small horse races, and by the time the Triple Crown came around next year, people would have already forgotten or stopped caring about Super Saver or any other Triple Crown winner. With the nature of the sport not being suited for television - unless they are Triple Crown races - it will be impossible for horse racing to catch up with major sports, or even survive as a sport.
Horse racing and boxing are two of the greatest sports in American history. They are deep parts of the fabric of American society, and were two of the greatest sports in the American 20th century.
Although horse racing and boxing are two of my favorite sports to watch, even I don't pay attention to them that often. With major sports like baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and all of their college equivalents coming one after the other all year round, and producing news for constant sports coverage by the media, it's impossible to get overly excited about sports that you hear nothing about.
Sure, maybe the Triple Crown races, and the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight (if it even happens) may get a good deal of coverage and viewers. But it's not like these sports cease to exist after these events, until the next big fight or race comes along. There are sporting venues, trainers, staff, etc. that need to be paid for by the smaller races and fights, that are needed to build competitors for the big events. Since the United States isn't at all interested in these small events, and probably never will be, it seems as if horse racing and boxing are sports that are doomed to fail.
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