On its surface Pauli Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner can only
turn out to be one of two things; A: a bigger talented veteran stunting the
progress of a special fighter, or B: that special fighter easing his way into a
more lucrative weight class. That’s it, and it you are a pragmatist that’s all
it can ever be- unless Broner is intending on calling out his “idol” Floyd
Mayweather post bout. But this is Boxing, the last sacred space of all things
politically incorrect- so much so that Media Matters wouldn’t dare come
snooping around these hur streets looking to make a name off of us. We don’t
have to abide by the PC gestapo taking over all corners of public life, we’re boxing
man- and with that comes an implicit understanding that we’re incapable of
sinking to the gutter because we “are” the gutter son. Our only portal to the
mainstream is a fighter who got out of jail for assaulting his girlfriend who
then generated over 80 million dollars. Before that he could be seen calling
his father a bum and a faggot on HBO- Chris Broussard received more attention
from the PC Police for declaring himself a damned Christian! Malignaggi vs.
Broner from the announcement was always
going to be the Gatti/Ward for shit talkers but strangely both men have blown
their wads in the early rounds and there’s only one place to go from there and
that’s down.
Remember, shit talking isn’t really rooted in wit or any well
thought out agenda; in fact some of the most consistent shit talkers are for
lack of a better word... stupid. Ali and Hopkins don’t talk shit they
pontificate, and Mayweather is more of a provocateur who wants to be loved-his
“shit” is slow to unfold like his fight game. Guys like Ricardo Mayorga have a
spigot for vile nonsense with little substance, on the trash talk nutritional
pyramid Cotton Candy or butter comes to mind- illicit going down but largely
forgettable. Malignaggi and Broner can produce this kind of bullshit at a
prolific clip because it is integrated in their personalities; with Broner
being the younger of the two and thus more malignant. And yet, this fight set
off something in both men that made them come out swinging at a ridiculous
punch count rate, to the degree where the IQ points of those present at the
first press conference were lowered by 10. Speed can reduce vision, and now we
have two guys who have said every vile thing that can be said with almost 5
weeks to go until the June 22 fight! To make Matters worse Floyd Mayweather
just flexed his muscle with the stroke of a pen and agreed to fight Canelo
Alvarez, pride of Mexico and biggest draw in Boxing.
Talk about Peaking Too Soon
Trash talk is like weight, you gotta let it build to a fine
point for optimum performance, Malignaggi and Broner couldn’t have imagined
they’d be battling Money Mayweather for space in our minds. Broners
“Girlfriend” stunt was clearly misplayed and would have come off better in the
next to last Presser, he not only lacks Mayweather nuance and charisma but he
also lacks the PR calculation. Floyd gets personal late in the buildup; he also
allows the opponent to show his hand first and drops little dismissive nuggets
as time goes on. Floyd is especially good at nibbling around the edges of a guy’s
personal narrative, implying his opponent is not as genuine as he portrays-this
is sophisticated stuff developing over weeks. Together Malignaggi and Broner
have covered about everything that makes boxing the last bastion of Political
Incorrectness in about two weeks and with the “announcement” it feels like a
year ago. The Misogyny came out early as both men categorized one “” as a
“piece of ass” that Pauli considers “weekend pussy” that of course Broner is now
claiming as a new possession. Newsflash, a lot of Alpha Males feel this way
about women and Boxing requires Alpha males from the ring to the dude carrying
the spit bucket .Broner rather flippantly implied Malignaggi may have been
violent with the young lady both men have clearly reduced to a “thing” and
somehow not one socially plugged in feminist I know asked me about it.
Because it’s boxing, and there’s no Political or Corporate
Power to be gained by going after anyone in it. An uncomfortable truth about
getting shit done in America, don’t plan on seeing Gloria Allred at a Boxing
press conference anytime soon.
The Next Frontier is Race, because there’s no place else to
go and you can’t allow consumers to sober up and see the fight for the “Good
vs. Special” snoozer it can turn out to be. Only Racial BS can take our eyes
off of the Magical Mayweather vs. Alvarez showdown and these two just may be up
to the challenge.
Racial "quips" in Boxing Happen in a Vacuum and can totally
happen before June 22nd
Even Roberto Duran swore that “No Black Man can beat me” and
it wasn’t long ago that one of the Promoters of the June 22nd event
said the same about “white boys”. Boxing is not only the last Bastion of
Political Incorrectness it’s the only Sport that traffics in ethnic rivalry-you
can be your damned Latin self and still get American love in our game. If two
fighters EVER embodied the ethnic stereotypes that take people into that (uncomfortable)
place where stereotyping is possible (or even acceptable) it is Broner and Malignaggi.
Boxing is a sport that can’t be policed by the sensitive because Boxing is all
about desecration; blood sports aren’t beholden to the neither MSNBC crowd nor
Bill Maher. Fighters desecrate the body to prepare for battle, and soon after
that same body is desecrated by the opponent- so desecrating one another
verbally is nothing to a fighter. In fact, rarely do fighters hold grudges
based on something that was “said” in a promotion, Joe Frazier was an exception
due to the times and the fact that Ali was a pioneer in hurt speech. In the Media
Matters Universe words hurt and political outrage can enforce coded behavior
but in Boxing punches hurt-and language is make believe when you can ultimately
stick a fist in a guy’s mouth.
If you look at the guys around these two fighters don’t think
for one minute Race hasn’t come up off
camera, Malignaggi is surrounded by typical Brooklyn “knock around guys”
and Broner is actually a Rapper for Christ sakes. These aren’t cats who sign
online petitions about saving a rare species of koala bear; these are guys who
probably follow the code of verbal desecration carried out in the streets, in
songs and in prisons-which are by the way influenced by ethnic rivalries too.
Just like Boxing. Mexican Fans, the best fans in the sport are now daydreaming
about Canelo dropping Mayweather (good luck with that) in September-and it’s
going to take the ugliest in human nature to get them focused on June 22nd.
Daniel Snyder just received a letter from Congress about the
name “Redskins”; only a huge deal because this discourse is unfolding between
white men in suits. Hundreds of Millions exchange hands between the NFL and sponsors
while networks pay billions (with a B)
to broadcast the games, but the top paid athlete in the word is a Boxer with no
endorsements who once said a potential opponent (of Filipino decent) should
“make me some shrimp fired rice”-in other words there’s nobody to aim your
outrage at and there’s no political advantage in going after shirtless guys
with no Q Rating. Threatening to ruin a Boxer is like threatening to kill a
zombie because most will never gain public identification outside of the boxing
fans that follow them on Twitter. Now that Mayweather has announced his intention
to fight Canelo Alvarez on September 14th Malignaggi and Broner are
in desperation mode because those who get their sports from ESPN’s Sports
ticker believe it’s the only fight they should even consider.
The Race Card is the last one in the Promotional deck
“Sissy” and “Bitch” aren’t really front burner material by
this stage, neither is a feather fisted Malignaggi’s prediction to “urinate” on
Broner once he KO’s him. That’s pretty gross, but did anyone see what Canelo is
opening at? What? + 220?. The Mayweather clone jab isn’t really potent because
it’s the worst kept secret in Boxing, and not really interesting considering
Broner readily admits to wanting to pattern himself after Money. Racial
identity is the last frontier to be desecrated especially when there’s been a
decided lack of civility and brains, so I for one won’t be offended. Broner isn’t
above calling Malignaggi a "Wigger" or a "Dago", and he
certainly isnt above the slur of implying Brooklyn’s finest is a “Guido” with
Mafia ties. Paulie isn’t above reminding Broner what real Mafiosi thought of
Black People, that “brotha’s” actually rap about drugs with pride when the
mafia deliberately dropped the stuff in the hood because they felt blacks were
less than human. I think the word used by Italians like legendary crime boss Sam
Giancana was “Moolie”.Malignaggi is a Hip Hop kid, you can tell by the way he’s
geared up complete with the baseball hat cocked to the side- and Hip Hop kids
of all races are liberal with the word Nigga (not Nigger) and I say have at it.
I’m ready for it, in fact I wasn’t offended when Hector Camacho dropped an “N
bomb” back in the day on live TV-my reasoning being... uhm it’s boxing
and he’s Hector Camacho.
So Roll out the Fried Chicken and Spaghetti
