Long live mediocrity!
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia was announced late last week, a (poop) scoop shoved into the boxing news punch bowl by the ever-annoying, knows-nothing-about-boxing, knows-nothing. It even seems that he especially likes Ariel Helwani boxing.
No one (without a monetary interest in the event) should be the least bit excited about Joshua-Ngannou, except perhaps Helwani, who is an Ngannou fan who would bet even money that there were glass jars full of Ngannou’s drinkable sweat. his refrigerator (also great for making Ngannou popsicles in the summer!).
Otherwise, to any reasonable human being and sane boxing fan, this fight is what it is: a cynical money grab that is not only a waste of time, but also an extreme blockage to the natural flow of what SHOULD be happening. in high places. final of the heavyweight division. I could rattle off at least half a dozen names of top heavyweight contenders who could/should fight Joshua, but none of them will get that chance next because there will be a clown show scheduled for that date, sponsored by a nation that only It is important to wash the blood of its flourishing tourism department.
And, in case anyone remotely knowledgeable needs reminding again, Ngannou did NOT beat Tyson Fury in October. He lost by a fairly one-sided decision and only “won” this second fight in a money boxing match because he scored a sudden knockdown against a confused and mostly disinterested Fury and didn’t look as horrible as many thought he would look.
But, yes, mediocrity rules in boxing today, as long as it can be presented in such a way as to tickle the wizened cockles of the boxing media, who can repeat nothing often enough to fool fans making them think it’s actually something.
For example, Oscar De La Hoya gave the media a tour of his new Las Vegas mansion a day before his boy Vergil Ortiz Jr. returned to the ring for the first time since August 2022 (and his last fight in importance was in August 2021), after a series of illnesses, weight loss and general errors.
The end result of De La Hoya’s hospitality?
A lot of nonsense about Ortiz and his return to the ring. And even when Ortiz’s much-discussed debut at 154 was thwarted when the contracted weight was raised to 156, no one in that media group said a word, even though Ortiz’s inability to make weight was THE story of his career. during the last three years. more or less. Why would they do it? Oscar was very kind to them in his incredible mansion. He posed for photographs with them. Plus, there was champagne!
By the way, I’m just letting you know that if De La Hoya ever gave me a “tour” of his mansion, I would sneak out and open an upper floor in all of his bathrooms and then try to catch some incriminating people. kitchen utensils near his master bedroom.
And this is precisely the reason why I am practically unemployed in this current world of boxing media. Just to SAY such a thing, gasp, after so much hospitality!
By the way, Ortiz’s comeback fight against Fredrick Lawson was everything you hoped it would be. It was an explosion. But Golden Boy’s saving grace, another shitty stoppage from Tony Weeks, will divert attention from the fact that Lawson had no business being in the ring with a monster like Ortiz, especially not in the main event of what he’s supposed to be. It’s “premium” content from DAZN.
Weeks would outdo himself on Saturday, dismissing the contest at the 2:33 mark of the first round, just as Ortiz began to unload on the hapless Portland-based Ghanaian. It wasn’t as frustrating a stoppage as his showdown with Ismael Barroso versus Rolly Romero last May, but only because Lawson had already been staggered by an Ortiz jab and, anyway, no smart boxer expected anything more than a KO loss from your part. This laugh didn’t go beyond two, even with the ghost of Steve Smoger refereeing.
But, speaking of Ismael Barroso…
The fact that the 40-year-old Venezuelan starched the irritatingly cocky British “next big star” and recent Golden Boy signee Ohara Davies in the first round was a thing of beautiful divine justice. After being on the pointy end of a brutal world title fight against Rolly Romero eight months ago, Barroso took matters into his own hands and cracked Davies’ crunchy chin to clinch the WBA interim title at 140 pounds and secure at least one more major. payday. Statistics from the final fight? Barroso: 8 of 22 total hits landed. Davies: 0 of 9 total punches landed.
As I said a couple of weeks ago, when Bam Rodriguez starched the UK’s Sunny Edwards:
“Most UK fighters are massively overrated when competing on the world stage, especially at the lower weights. With the limited talent pool from which to draw opposition and sparring in their home region, you simply don’t know what happens to the UK’s smaller Brits until they compete in America or Asia.”
Barroso on Davies (on the first boxing show of the year on American television), however, was the only bright boxing moment of the last week. Boxing enters the year 2024 with a decidedly “meh” vibe. Let’s hope things get better… or much worse (so I can have more material for these hateful columns of mine).
Do you have anything for Magno? Send it here: [email protected]
