Timothy Bradley: The Time is NOW to become Mayweather Foil

In a recent interview Larry Merchant gave to Chris Robinson (follow @hustle boss) the veteran Boxing scion theorized Tim Bradley possibly becoming a future opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr. Currently Mr. Bradley is waiting on that call from Manny Pacquiao to finish a little business in 2014 but Merchant believes the WBA Welterweight Champ could possibly challenge the current trade sanctions levied on Boxing fans by Monopolistic promoters- you call it a “Cold War”. I call it Bullshit. The truth is Bradley, like any other “precedent” case looks good enough on paper to force the hands of “Boxing” because he isn’t in debt to Bob Arum or the IRS. I’m going to venture to say that Arum owns Manny’s ass like King once owned Tyson and he will fight out his days as a deterrent to big fights as opposed to being a maker of such fights-enter the uber credible Tim Bradley. What Merchant didn’t do is make the itemized list of “things” Bradley would have to execute besides buying one house and one car to elicit the ire and interest of Floyd Mayweather, which is where I come in.

‘Positioning” in the marketplace is hard when you don’t have the benefit of a built in ethnic fan base, even the great Mayweather requires foes to bring fans when he’s supposed to be the face of boxing. Why else does Amir Khan merit discussion? And why else would Golden Boy be prudent to keep Danny Garcia in the Barclays Center for the foreseeable future? Bradley is suffering from the oldest of maladies and it can be traced back as far as Charley Burley and Marvin Hagler. He’s going to have to make himself worth the risk to a fighter who resembles Jack Johnson in his propensity to profit from tribal passions in Floyd Mayweather and it can’t be done without planning. As of now on a mainstream level he’s seen as “that guy who didn’t beat Manny Pacquiao” and he has to change that perception before setting out on the Mayweather campaign. Yes, I said campaign and campaigns require more than a few well-placed quotes here and there. Here is the blueprint for making Tim Bradley a candidate for a super fight with Mayweather beyond his sterling resume.

#1 beat the Breaks off of Manny Pacquiao

A tall order if Manny turns in a 6 week camp, but if it turns out to be a war then that’s all the better. The general public will endorse Bradley if ESPN jams highlights from a slug fest down their throats, remember this is a highlight generation and there’s no advertisement like a quip from a Sports Center anchor. If he repeats the next level FOY performance against Manny Pacquiao Floyd Mayweathers name will come attached with the clips and he’ll be forced to explain it away to a less than receptive audience. A decisive win over Pacquiao is a game changer, it puts Arum in a position to where he has to choose to put his golden goose back together again while letting Bradley cross the street Miguel Cotto style. Arum isn’t a believer in black fighters as “draws” which is why Floyd hates him, trust me he’ll be too busy looking for another punching bag for Manny try to leverage Bradley. And after beating "Pacman" decisively Bradley can easily co-opt his fans with a gracious demeanor and respect for the Champion of the Philippines. Hell if he can he should go there and support Manny’s political efforts and bond with the people who would gladly transfer their hopes of beating Mayweather onto Bradley in the short term.

                #2 Call Floyd out early and often

I know I know, everybody calls him out but Tim Bradley will be the most decorated welterweight to call him out in years. Remember, there’s no shame in calling him out when you consider the fact that he is actually listening to everyone but the guy you just beat Pacquiao once and for all. Calling out Floyd will be greeted with derision by his propaganda arm but all one has to do is point out that Amir Khan, Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricky Hatton were all “heard” (by Floyd) because they all had no shot. Bradley has no better platform than post fight once he handles Pacquiao to let it be known and do it in a colorful and unmistakable way. This will assure face time on ESPN’s “First Take” and Bradley must find a way to lead Stephen A. Smith (A Mayweather “fan”) to the water because he’s not hard to convince. Hell even where a Floyd Who? T-shirt to Max Kellermans “Face off” if you have to, remember Floyd will start saying Bradley’s trying to “get paid” but make it clear to every hot microphone  within 50 feet that he deserves to get paid. Turn his words against him, Bradley shouldn’t be the least bit shy about reiterating Mayweather's “they call it prize fighting” mantra.

             #3 Hire an Aggressive PR Firm

There has to be some outlay in order to bring the money home, and hiring a professional group is a wise investment. Picture it as a real campaign, a product that needs to be sold just like any other new product. Ali was his own PR machine who had no problem showing up in Denver and Philly to harass Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier because they had what he wanted. Floyd’s backyard is Vegas so why wouldn’t an aggressive firm run spots in Vegas? why wouldn’t Bradley do something charitable in Sin City and invite Floyd out to help?. Go on a Hip Hop Radio (Power 105, Hot 97) media tour and piss all over his backyard, this is the one constituency his opponents haven’t exploited in the call out stage so Bradley should be the first. A firm can stress the importance of doing more than press releases, how getting out there as a public figure is the way to sell anything in 2014. If Bradley can get some kind of cameo on a BET or "TVOne" type of show it would work wonders. Hell put on a suit and make yourself a presence at Black Hollywood Gala’s and hobnob with the celebrity set. At this point he’s a “who”? With black people and he needs to at least become “that dude who thinks he can whoop Floyd” by the fall- a serious upgrade. If Floyd is playing for anybody its black folks, specifically young black males so Bradley should appeal to the "WorldStarHipHop" crowd because if they “think” Floyd is on some punk shit they’ll call him on it.

 

                            #4 Frame Yourself as the Contrast to Mayweather

Believe it or not the fights that capture our imagination present us with two opposing forces like boxer vs. puncher or flashy vs. down to earth grinder. Bradley is a grinder with the opposite personality to Floyd, shine a spotlight on it! Mayweather cornered the market on “flashy, obnoxious African American” so Bradley has to bring attention to the differences between himself and the Grand Rapids native. HBO’s “Real Sports” can do a feature on him to create the kind of framing needed to polarize and make people choose sides. If they can play the race card by bringing in Michael Eric Dyson to lob Mayweather fat juicy softballs bring in someone else to draw the very real conflict ( us vs. them)  now bubbling in the black community. Facebook is filled with young black men posing with stacks of money that they didn’t get by hard work and dedication thanks to Floyd, so why not highlight this fact? Tim Bradley can present himself as the alternative and become a celebrity for his overtly non celebrity image if he “puts Floyds name in his mouth”. Bradley’s very lifestyle isn’t vulnerable to Mayweather’s usual claims aimed at Pacquiao, with resume in hand he can sell himself on integrity alone and put Floyd’s hypocrisy “all out on front street”. Even if he’s embraced by the conservative right as the kind of athlete African Americans “should” root for it’s better than anonymity and it also tears a page out of the Mayweather book on self-promotion. Make “the rounds”, late night or any non-boxing forum your firm can arrange because it’s about finding a supportive mainstream tribe. Floyd found the vicarious video game playing “ballers” back in 2007; in 2014 Bradley has to find his.

                                #5 Send Joel Diaz “after” the babbling Mayweather’s

It’s the worst kept secret in all of Boxing, the Mayweather’s aren’t elite trainers but their involvement with Floyd gives them license to comment on any other trainer in the business. Diaz should hit them where it hurts and make it clear that at this point training Floyd Mayweather is like coaching LeBron James which is why you can switch the babbling brothers in and out between rounds if you wanted to. I’m not sure he’d notice. Floyd may be a major league shit talker but he got it from these two, and his uncle and father aren’t as secure in their position as he is. Diaz may be a class act but getting muddy can lead him to the only fight that makes sense if Bradley beats Pacquiao in impressive fashion. The uncle and the father talk shit more consistently than Floyd so Diaz should get the running chatter going now before Bradley steps in with Pacquiao. Any claims of Cold War go out of the window after Floyd steps in with Amir Khan, by my estimation once that farce is signed Diaz can say the following to the babbling Mayweather’s.

“How can you talk so much shit about who can’t fight and take on Guerrero, Canelo and Khan in succession?” Diaz may be the trainer of the #2 fighter pound for pound in Boxing by spring and you’d have to be a fool to let any one of these guys (Floyd Sr. or Roger) tell you he don’t deserve the shot. More importantly Diaz can point out that “his” guy doesn’t quit which is more than you can say for ALL of Mayweather’s recent opponents with the exclusion of Miguel Cotto.  Bradley made his bones not caring about obstacles and Floyd’s trainers are masters at hypothetical obstacles that don’t mean shit to guys like the desert storm. If he starts now he can break down all of the obstacles figurative and literal that makes this fight a long shot because the truth is he’s probably the last fighter “worthy” of fighting Floyd Mayweather.

Amir Khan: Cold War Profiteer



“War is a Racket, Always has been and always will be. Few profit and many end up paying”

Smedley Butler

 

Truer words have ever been spoken, only a select few know the truth behind a war and yet in boxing everybody “knows”. When rich men in suits posture and feign disgust while both providing a watered down service at inflationary prices only boxing fans believe they deserve that product. Now that Floyd Mayweather is searching to do business in this so called hostile environment we are confronted with a “product” guaranteed to be overvalued in this surreal marketplace- Amir Khan. Yes, he of quick hands British accent and shaky chin is now available to you at a 75$ clip because Golden Boy is taking their act global! War usually leads to shortage of supply in commodities and in this case the shortage is of welterweights who the public believes can beat Mayweather. But it won’t matter once the Showtime hype machine starts rolling, when they’re done with him many of you reading this will believe he’s competent at your own peril. And those of you already committed to the (cough) “war” will say he’s even more live than Pacquiao, Hall of Fame credentials be damned.

Cue the lights and camera’s because the boy can talk shit too, a great “fight selling” tool when you’re woefully overmatched and lacking credentials. War profiteers often exploit the largess of the state by overselling them commodities they really don’t need like mosquito nets and second tier junior welterweights. Few contractors profit from the delusional premise that Khan should be on this stage but War offers advancement to he who is willing to propagandize a meritless cause. Floyd Mayweather has an online propaganda arm in full bloom for those acolytes willing to obsess on Manny Pacquiao’s finances and Virgil Hunter calls Khans “troubling speed”. He also has family members as disinformation agents belittling Manny Pacquiao just enough to keep you from focusing on the fact that turning Khan into a threat will be a feat insurmountable by even Don Draper himself. Amir Khan will profit greatly from all of this because anyone approaching truthful analysis about the Brits “level” will be shot down and called a “broke hater”- and many of you can’t stomach the thought. This synthetic War apparatus will protect him as it will those who engage in staging “Pacquiao vs. Marquez 10” in 2015. Once a profiteer has his claws into the revenue stream of phony war it’ll be hard to get him off of the Government dole-which is why we still care about what Victor Ortiz is going to “do” in the future.

Khan is so intent on getting his Government bailout that he’s hinted at fighting Pacquiao if the Mayweather deal falls through; he’s no stranger to the fact that these two have been “using” one another to market themselves for years. Remember, in fake wars profiteers have no real allegiance and will sell pieces of themselves to whoever is willing to overpay; only Miguel Cotto swam this political swamp having delivered valuable services. Shane Mosley? not so much. The “state” (Top Rank/Golden Boy) only appear to be at a stalemate much like Democrats and Republicans but the truth is war allows them to inflate value and further control those already under contract. They also have the ability to govern with the consent of the fans who don’t realize our PPV “buys” are construed as votes for the continuation of shadow Government. They are behind the scenes a single monopolistic force who leverages one another as the NFL leverages existing franchises with the threat of expansion to LA.

War profiteers are shameless creatures who exploit the suffering of the whole to become one of the benefiting few. Khan is a product of this designed chaos, he’s seen guys of his ilk line up and get paid so he wants his handout too-and why not? He’s got 1.4 million twitter followers mate. This war seems to be designed to deny the historic and important and replace it with rhetorical fan chatter and a ton of rushed, not ready for primetime puppies. You know how I can tell Danny Garcia will be an All Time Great? because he’s clearly better than Khan and Broner and yet he isn’t itching to get at Mayweather. Somehow (unlike the guy he beat handily) Garcia knows the machine can turn him into a credible B side for a career high payday but he’s content with the long play  that he may possibly be Floyd in 5 years. Without a bunch of youngsters with instant gratification issues this war is at a standstill, under peacetime coherence the Brandon Rios’s and Amir Khans of the world sort themselves amongst each other while Manny and Floyd tend to historic business. But no, we are led to believe that incredibly wealthy men simply don’t like one another while men with similar grievances make BILLIONS with one another in every other industry daily. The belief in a War that makes grown men act like middle school girls is the belief in the cover story being fed the uninitiated-when the truth is somehow this thing is more profitable for all involved parties this way. One would have to suspend his faculties of reason to accept Amir Khan as anything more than another line item of the overhead needed to keep the  charade (I mean war) going.

Amir Khan is doing his part by acting as if he wants Mayweather more than he wants money, when you sign a bout agreement before your number is called son it’s about the money. By round 4 like most Mayweather foes Khan will run out of answers and his true colors will show. He’ll behave like the paid patsy he is and start protecting future paydays as opposed to fighting with little regard for tomorrow, you know like the guy he barely survived back in 2011. Back then he was fighting for more, back then he at least had the inkling that he might be special. That ship has sailed, and all that’s left is to exploit the Cold War to get paid like he’s special. In May he’ll be reminding us of our complicity and apathy, and our willingness to accept anything power tells us is reality- and yes “power” includes the networks who KNOW their use of the phrase “Cold War” is legitimizing to the promoters. Speaking truth to power is hard in wartime, and few benefit from pointing out the obvious-those who tell you to accept life as a casualty are usually those who like to call themselves the winners. But history can be cruel to many Wars and boxing history is only kind to wars that occur in the squared circle.

The History of Boxing will not forgive for the things we obsess upon daily, and there’s no room for larva like Tommy Summers or even the esteemed Al Haymon. History is for the fighters and what they did and didn’t do; history is cold and devoid of nuance much like accounting. Maybe one day there will be a book about these fascinating times (look for a subsidiary of Ring Magazine to publish it) but characters like Khan won’t register in real history books. When independent historians who aren’t beholden to the machine look at it they will examine it as political scientist does this country “after” JFK. Without the “WAR” you cannot justify how soon guys like Khan and Ortiz have reached this PPV status, with the War Mayweather and Pacquiao function as tools meant to add value to the whole stable of Welterweight talent regardless of whether they’re ready or not. “Bigger Checks Sooner” is what I call it. The model works, and we’ll never know if any of them could have grown into fighters who could legitimately retire Mayweather or Pacquiao because it don’t pay as well nor as soon. Amir Khan is perfect for this climate and if he’s OK with being “cash out” insert opponent here then more power to him.

But just don’t tell me it’s a War.  

 

 

@AdrienBroner Will Never "Run" Boxing, And Floyd Mayweather knows it!!

 

Power isn’t complicated, but it is to those who will never come close to achieving it. If it is “given”, it’s counterfeit and can easily be stripped from you-which are why men who really want it see the “giver” as an impediment to be eliminated. Kobe Bryant is powerful because he vanquished Shaq, if he hadn’t he’d never be perceived as he is now; as a Don. Our laws are written by the powerful, and many of these people made the hard decision to take what some told them to wait for- if you can’t make that decision then you weren’t meant to be powerful in the first place.

In music the most talented step away from lifelong friends and family members to take power, ever heard of a dude named Michael Jackson? Powerful people look at their watches and the same time is always displayed 24/7 and that time is now- it’s a timezone unshared with the powerless. Floyd Mayweathers watch is always on now, and when you operate in that reality there’s a good chance there is no tomorrow for the likes of Adrien Broner.

In this buildup to a fight Broner should be applauded for taking the Cincinnati native did everything in his “power” to let you know he will be handed something from Mayweather. Something nobody else inherited, something many have had to hurt idols and friends to achieve. Muhammad Ali had the power despite his former sparring partner being heavyweight champion of the world, and even though Holmes felt deeply for the champ he had to take what was his or forever take crumbs. Rocky Marciano’s handlers knew it best, they knew he’d never be “that guy” unless he mugged Joe Louis and with that crime came financial power.

Boxing is the roughest business in sports and entertainment so it baffles me that Adrien Broner, normally an objectionable personality would be so soft in this of all matters. Did he not do his dirt on the streets like he claims? Did anyone ever “pass down” a slab of concrete to him and his crew? Especially if that concrete was the only place to get money?. What are the chances Floyd Mayweather retires and Adrien Broner collects even a 20 million dollar payday in his next fight?, only powerful people know someone of much greater financial stature has to be destroyed for this to happen.
John Gotti knew it, in fact so do most Monarchs.  

Being the best pound for pound fighter in the world is fluid and everyone is eligible, but being the money man is something contingent on lowering the financial viability of other money men. In organized crime “bosses” are routinely murdered and the wisdom from law enforcement went as such; if you want to know who killed the boss all you have to do is find out who the new boss is. Oscar De La Hoya was the boss, and Floyd Mayweather (already the superior fighter) knew then that his financial future rested on beating him on a huge stage. Adrien Broner is talented (like Floyd) and may be as obnoxious but how will he convey that on a bigger stage when he believes it will be handed to him? At this rate Floyd will leave with the stage and Adrien will remain a bitter facsimile of his mentor wondering why things aren’t unfolding as Floyd said they would. What if Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia don’t become big enough foils to reach the kind of financial solvency he believes he deserves?

Being associated with powerful people is healthy, and trying to mimic their formula (like Broner clearly does) is intelligent but believing they can bestow power upon you is what welfare recipients do. Broner pointedly tells us nobody ever gave him nothing but in the same breath believes Floyd and a volatile, unpredictable marketplace will. Having a shoulder roll and a shitty demeanor isn’t the formula for PPV success, the power will have to come from defeating a handful of recognizable names starting with Floyd himself. Zab Judah was Floyd’s best friend at one time and now he’s a footnote in Mayweathers quest for power, because the path to power isn’t easy and it is littered with broken relationships and friends. Adrien Broner is still young, still surrounded by people he feels he owes and relationships mean a lot to the young- until it’s time to pull your pants up and be a man. Young black men are often cursed with this over-emotionality in spades and sometimes they never grow out of it enough to become pragmatic, powerful people. It’s not in Floyd’s nature to share power let alone “pass it on”, because he knows that betrayal on all levels lay behind every substantial fortune.

Will it take a jail cell to make this young man see that rich and powerful are two totally different things? He says he’s “just being young and having fun” but Broner is a “live dog” to get himself in something that Mayweather the powerful could easily get himself out of. Mayweather is a proven stimulus program for Nevada so if he goes to jail there his power is a factor in the legal proceedings. Broner isn’t valuable to any local economies, at this time he’s an addendum to the Mayweather deal, a protégé or “spin off” act like Tha Dogg Pound or G-Unit -whether he can flourish outside of Mayweathers brand is yet to be seen. Real stars aren’t content with being called anyone’s “little brother” no matter how talented the older star is, and I’ve never seen a real star contented being with a cheap knock off. The only time someone is content with this distinction is if deep down they know they aren’t of the big brothers caliber, so they’ll gladly take whatever they can get from the association. If there is any hope of Broner being the face of boxing there must be underlining tension and ambition, because he’ll never reach his destination under Floyd Mayweather.

The only way to get there is over Floyd’s prone body.

 

 

Boxing: Where the Customer is Always Wrong



On Monday the WBC did something that Alphabet Organizations always do, they ranked Manny Pacquiao as Floyd Mayweather #1 challenger and mandatory defense. Now In the old days (Pre Twitter) there would be an outcry about the organization itself, their ranking practices and the arbitrary, political way they go about their business-back then the makers of the trinkets were uniformly challenged by fans at every turn. But today, if you are an alphabet crew life must be good because there’s a new villain in town that nobody ever counted on arriving-the boxing fan. Yep, the fan aka “the customer” have shown themselves to be undeserving of an organized coherent fight game because they’ve broken every cardinal rule in the book when it comes to being a paying customer.  They’ve started to identify with the very people who ask them for premium costs in exchange for a defective service.

For one, paying customers don’t personalize the people behind a given service especially if those people are committed to providing “pieces” of a service. When you pay a PPV price in 2013 it is complicity understood that you are only watching ½ of what the promoter can offer you in a particular weight class, and yet they demand inflationary prices when most of your salaries have flat lined. If you pay a cable subscription fee and buy PPV’s from both premium networks you are not out of your sorts to demand these entities work in conjunction (with one another) to provide the customer the best Boxing has to offer-YOU’RE THE CUSTOMER.

The NFL is a conglomerate of megalomaniacs who agree to a schedule and provide packages of content to several networks for billions of dollars but none of it would work if the customers weren’t provided competitive conclusions. You can see any team on one of 4 different networks throughout the season and everybody makes sure these megalomaniacs profit equally from providing a product that consumers trust. This is why a football ref makes a bad call and has to consider relocating while Steve Smoger can sleep like a baby after almost letting Glen Tapia get his career shortened on live television.

Boxing fans allow two programmers and two promotional teams to pick sides and refuse to do business with one another- this refusal is akin to colluding together in order to put promotional interests ahead of providing financially vested consumers a reliable product. Not only will these two firms refuse to enter into negotiations to provide the best programming to the customers who pay at the gate and through PPV they work in monopoly to assure no outside promoters try to answer the demand of the marketplace. The sad part is boxing fans now work in conjunction with these firms, pitting sides amongst themselves and defending the destructive polarization and the players who provide the limited services they receive.

Even the Mafia understood war was bad for business, and they often killed one another for the right to take your union dues to build casinos. Union members didn’t bicker with one another over which Mobster had the most swag or deserved to exploit them-the ones who knew what was happening to their dues didn’t glamorize the likes of Bugsy Segal.

Boxing fans piggyback the juvenile stances and statements of warring factions as if they are paid to do so, because (now) the argument over who deserves to fight whom is more rewarding than the actual fight. The players have worn the fan down, and through Stockholm syndrome the fan now identifies with the business entities who blatantly tell them “YOU WILL NOT GET THE PRODUCT YOU PAY FOR”. Customers should never allow themselves to be treated as oppressed victims unable to do something about current conditions, boxing isn’t the NFL folks-it’s a poorly built house of cards, and it would be catastrophic to any PPV to come up 500.000 buys short of projections. These are numbers the NFL picks its teeth with and yet they care about what you think, because they know if they give you “your” football it’s like a license to print money. Unlike the “old boy” network in boxing who can only feast on short sighted bank robberies. If people can use Twitter for Global Protest they can certainly use it to #OccupyBoxing. Twitter tricked fans into thinking these people “know” them and thus they’ve become fantasy managers, fake assed Al Haymons and spokespersons for entities who do nothing but fleece them- and if you point this out to them in the most objective terms they regurgitate worn out slogans (Courtesy TMT) and call you a “hater” – another term that should be stricken from adult discourse. It is a disturbing trend when “men” are willing to blindly give their money to a polarized system and accept a false Cold War scenario as a reason fights can’t be made- and nobody blinked when Big Bad Bernard Hopkins used the “term” to rationalize calling out a man 25 lbs. lighter than him. In a just system he wouldn’t be viable, in a just system he’d have to prove he’s an “Alien” by facing a “Superman”…. or go home.

When a man spends his money for something empathy for the seller should be a non-factor, do you have sympathy for the poor schmuck who served you cold French fries yesterday? Hell no you don’t.  Then you shouldn’t have feelings one way or another about men who are supposed to bring you a damned sport- stop advocating for Floyd Mayweathers “business” and handle your own finances with discriminating taste. Twitter has revealed fight fans who are more fans of the cold war than of boxing, grown men who think it’s cool that Mayweather ( after 4 years!) can say “Pacquiao who?” while telling you Amir “Chinny” Khan is up next for your 75$. Men don’t allow someone to tell them “I don’t want to make Bob Arum any money” because MEN know that ultimately before it becomes Floyds or Bobs “money” it was theirs!. The answer to Manny who? Is Manny “Better than Amir Khan” Pacquiao that’s who, men don’t sit around gossiping over the fucking details if they have no direct involvement in them- men say “work it out” or you get nothing. Since when did guys feel it was their job to play school yard insult games over two guys they’ll never meet? Since when did men think gossiping over another guys finances and who deserves what in a fight was even manly? There are websites devoted to keeping these ridiculous "divisions within divisions" going, actual propaganda jackals who parrot men who don’t want to provide unified champions in every weight class in exchange for your dollars.

And you visit them every day looking for the silly next put down you can retweet to your friends.

Manny Pacquiao is a boxer, a fine one who I’d rather see fight Floyd Mayweather on May 3^rd 2014 than anyone else- I’m too busy as an adult worrying about filling out my own tax forms than to worry about his. In fact, I don’t care about Vegas getting the fight nor who “needs” whom- like any smart consumer I know that all parties involved need me not the other way around. If you ever noticed Boxing is the one sport that mirrors our two party political system where palms are greased and nothing ever gets done. Sports are supposed to deliver us from that, which is why mainstream sports fans will always choose the socialism of the NFL over the corporate fascist dictatorship of boxing. Sport is supposed to deliver you into a purely merit driven matrix where Champions are people who have defeated all capable challengers through direct confrontation- Boxing used to be the purest expression of this principle. Being the paying customer can either be an empowering experience or one of manipulation and subjugation and it’s clear which path fight fans have chosen. We are more informed than ever, but now we’ve developed a habitualized taste for minutiae and bullshit, we’ve replaced the great addiction to action fights with a “jones” for press releases and company warfare.

Smart men of Arum and Schaefer’s ilk have often known the true path to domination is by subjecting less smart people to a chaotic environment. Through sleight of hand we’ve all lost track of the ball (the truth) and now focus only on the shell game played by a mere handful of people. Middle Class fighters have no choice but to sign on to this paradigm because they know the market will not fund nor facilitate a competing model to what we have now. The misguided will sign up for this farce the same way obscure, unsigned rap groups enlisted to shoot at one another back in 1996 on the behalf of two millionaires. I was there, and I saw people get hurt that were never afforded the dignity of a documentary of compilation CD. I am a conscientious objector to the “Cold War” in Boxing, I am not an apologist for Mayweather or Pacquiao- I am a customer and I refuse to say a foul word about either man via social media.  I deserve to see the best fighters in each division face one another (within a reasonable period of time) no matter the network or Promotional Firm In exchange for my (monthly) subscription dollars. I don’t care about any of the ancillary issues surrounding the promoter’s “job” to create a PPV star; if those issues interfere with providing the customer with a valuable product then customers should divest themselves until said party does. Instead of defending the self-interest of Floyd Mayweather fans should try imitating it, your budget will look a lot better and you just may exude a little more self-respect in other parts of your life.

And if you choose to do nothing at all, at least have the decency to stop rooting for people who mean you no good.

Camacho Whitaker Doubleheader