Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted November 4, 2002 I don't know how many boxing fans there are on here, but I just watched Johnny Tapia vs. Marco Antonio Barrera on HBO, and it was a hell of a fight between two quality competitors. Barrera is steadily moving away from his tendency to brawl, and put on a clinic by working the jab, and fighting smart against the notoriously tough brawler in Tapia. Tapia was never really hurt in the fight, but he was dominated through much of the fight. However, when he got Barrera on the ropes, he really did some damage. It was pretty much a classic case of a boxer outboxing a brawler, but it was still fun to watch, with both men really mixing it up at points. Here's the catch: There was no title in this fight, because Tapia was stripped of his for choosing not to fight some mandatory challenger, and instead take a fight against better competition. HBO.com did a poll asking fans if they cared whether or not it was a title fight, and the answer was a resounding "no." The analysts also asked both participants if they cared if it was a title fight, and both men agreed that it was more important to have a good fight between to men who care more about the sport, and competition, than a piece of leather and gold with a few letters on it. I think it's a shame that the fans, the fighters, and the analysts inside the sport can all agree that the alphabet soup of boxing commissions is hurting the sport, yet nothing is being done about it. Hopefully more fighters follow their lead, and decide to really test themselves and their opponents, rather than taking a money fight and sitting on a title. In most cases, those "champions" aren't even the best fighters in their division. I just hope boxing moves away from being like a bowl of alpha-bits, and more towards being like the great sport it was. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Last Warrior Report post Posted November 7, 2002 I like the smart marks forums and all but if you want proper boxing debate then the sites to check out are: www.mma.tv - good boxing section on the underground forum www.sherdog.net - great forums with good boxing / K1 section www.secondsout.com - the best boxing site i have found on the net. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
