By Jim Cawkwell

Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com

 

2007 promises the ring return of former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. You have to wonder what kind of a man would be willing to break a promise to his deceased mother for no better reason than money. Not long ago, Hopkins portrayed himself as the antithesis of the “system.” He was the outsider misunderstood by all, refusing to be drawn from his stance and pricing himself out of several big fights, regardless of whether his choices were popular or right for boxing and its fans.

 

However, two contributing factors have altered the way boxing sees Hopkins and the way he sees it. Now a partner with Oscar de la Hoya, he is part of the multi-million dollar machine that is Golden Boy Promotions. Tasting the real money available in this business has made Hopkins somewhat more amenable to the media and the many machinations of the boxing world he once scorned from his high perch. You can’t afford principles when you’re broke.

 

Furthermore, despite the fact that he lost both of his fights to Jermain Taylor - thus ending his middleweight championship run - there is a semblance of sympathy from fans towards Hopkins over those losses.

 

The night he embarrassed Antonio Tarver - whose performances in the ring are too often outshone by his performances in the press - the sympathy for Hopkins turned to an outpouring of affection and appreciation. The days of his militant morals were long forgotten. Now he fancies himself as a champion of the people. From convict to Captain America is more the stuff of Hollywood than the hopeless from which Hopkins emerged.

 

It is said that the most dangerous threat is the one you don’t see coming. As a burgeoning promoter already wielding considerable power, Oscar de la Hoya could be as ruthless as any other promoter, but because of that million-dollar smile, you’d never know you were a victim until it was too late.

 

If everyone has a price, then Hopkins has named his. The sacrifice of his principles and that sacred promise he made is an acceptable loss when measured against whatever he can reap from his new allegiance and the change in public perception.

 

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr. comes to the table with the finest hand of any possible player, and yet refuses to play it in a game of high stakes. The inevitable deterioration of a fighter’s speed threatens the ambitions of even those that seem untouchable, and as those years edge closer, Mayweather, Jr’s. threats of retirement seem to indicate that he does not want to be around to have to live through them. He has long given away the desire to be the best by beating the best in the world. Luckily for him and his financial agenda, the world’s most lucrative fight is still available in the form of Oscar de la Hoya.

 

Had De La Hoya been able to defeat Bernard Hopkins, he might already have retired. The manner of his failure left him dissatisfied. The need to satiate his taste for glory brings him to Mayweather, Jr. There is also the fact that whatever Mayweather, Jr. lacks in credible opposition fought over the last four years, he claims back as the embodiment of a stylistic puzzle that De La Hoya savors solving.

 

It is not that Mayweather, Jr. deserves to be a part of the richest fight in non-heavyweight history, only that he is the target of the only man capable of producing such an event. Mayweather, Jr. has manipulated his way from danger and arrived at his promised land. He has been paid well to fight challenges well beneath him, and now stands to gain a fortune because of the vanity of his opponent.

 

He insists on avoiding risk in a business built upon the taking of excessive risks by fighters that believed that their greatness depended on it. His participation in the biggest fight of the decade indicates that reaching the top has become more an art of negotiation than physical dominance, and that should be unacceptable to all that love this sport.

 

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In their infantile wisdom, the Word Boxing Council has begun to implement the open scoring system in their championship fights. How can an organization whose very existence is meant to enhance the order of a sport, lead it off into further disarray without consequence?

 

There is already an alarming amount of subjectivity afforded to judges scoring important fights as it is. Though scoring itself may be a difficult task, and those that undertake it may be vastly underrated and easily criticized for their efforts, there are enough controversies produced within the current parameters.

 

Revealing the scores of the three judges every four rounds appears more as a step toward highlighting inconsistency between judges, but it also allows many negative possibilities concerning the way fights are fought to come into play.

 

2007 may be the year that boxing receives a true challenge in the matter of combat sport supremacy as the genre of Mixed Martial Arts - pioneered by the Ultimate Fighting Championships - begins to make serious moves.

 

The executive hierarchy of the UFC is a simple structure: Brothers Frank and Lorenzo Ferttita bankroll the operation while President and central figure of promotions is former amateur boxer and businessman, Dana White, whose decisions form the UFC’s final product. Compare this to the complex organizational labyrinth that is boxing in which small miracles are required to make some fights.

 

Driven to succeed, White has drawn the wrath of some fans by making and breaking some promises, and perhaps making himself too visible an entity where they would rather see the fighters, but overall is revered by many for understanding that paramount to the UFC’s success is giving its paying fans what they want to see; something that boxing fans can only dream about.

 

Other factors indicating that 2007 will be a hallmark year for the UFC are:

Unlike boxing, each UFC weight class has one recognizable champion.

Despite the unpredictable nature of the fighting, fatalities are very rare in MMA.

Zuffa - the UFC’s parent company - has acquired several of its regional competitors.

White has secured International deals for the UFC to be seen worldwide to a much greater audience than boxing - the majority of which is pay-per-view exclusive.

The UFC will also make its HBO debut in 2007 with four different shows and respective rebroadcasts. Showtime will also debut their MMA program in the New Year.

The potential dissolution of main competitor - Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships - has allowed White to sign up major talent such as heavyweight striker Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic. Some believe that Pride heavyweight champion - and currently the world’s most feared MMA fighter - Fedor Emilianenko, might not be far behind.

With its rich history and significance, boxing will not yield to its new opponent without a fight. But all that the UFC needs is to be consistent with its current formula and in time, it will have a history all of its own, while boxing continues to struggle with itself.

 

Ultimately, it’s the business of boxing that does the damage, not the boxing itself. Away from the glare of the mainstream sport’s world, boxing retains but an idea of its former importance. Boxing will not install a single governing body to bring order to its ranks because there’s too much money in it for too many people the way things are now.

 

Promoters will tortuously interfere; fighters will try to break their contracts; boxers undeserving of a career break will receive one ahead of those that do. The best fights won’t be made when other more lucrative ones can be made, no matter how meaningless they are.

 

The only solace available is from that rare breed of fighter that wants greatness above all else. It is those individuals that will see us through the New Year. But the sport to which they pledge their lifeblood will not honor them. Not now; maybe never.

 

Contact Jim Cawkwell at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk