I have a basic premise about humans. People love to see people beat the "Bejesus" out of each other. It's biological, like our need to breathe oxygen, or our hatred of any Weezer CD after "Pinkerton."
Think about it. When you were in high school, did anyone ever yell "Someone's doing homework!" causing everyone to stand on their lunch tables to peer at the guy finishing chemistry for next period? No.
However, if two guys were going at it with fists flying, classrooms emptied to see a few punches thrown. We love fights, no matter where, no matter when. But no longer it seems, at least in the sporting world, do the fights love us.
When our parents were growing up, boxing was something special. Men who were larger than life traded upper cuts and jabs in packed arenas brimming with excitement.
Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier. They were all giants who savagely beat each other senseless, and as a result, were idolized by millions worldwide. Especially Ali. He was a hero not only to those feeling downtrodden in America in a time by segregation and repression. He was a symbol of that deeply desired freedom.
Boxing, in essence, represented the national consciousness.
Now? Boxing is a joke. Those who care about boxing, all twelve of them, will argue that it's just as good as ever. They'll say you just need to look past the heavyweight division, to some of the smaller guys, to see real fighting. But we're Americans, and we like things big, Only boxing purists watch the welterweight divisions. For most of us it's heavyweight or bust.
For instance, Mike Tyson's last fight, which he lost, was fought in Louisville, Ky. What? Was Butte, Mont., holding a rodeo? Fights in the 60's and 70's were in glamorous places like New York, Kinshasa, Manila - not Louisville!
And then there is the number of belts that are out there. I think its like 27 belts that can be held by anyone at any time. In fact, I'm holding the United Boxing Championship belt right now. I've got my title defense in two weeks. With so many extraneous championships, unification would be like trying to solve some of the math problems Matt Damon does in "Good Will Hunting."
Perhaps boxing's biggest problem is the personality vacuum at heavyweight. Look at the two men fighting for a title soon in Vegas. Vitali Klitschko? Give me Ivan Drago vs. Hasim Rahman? Klitschko makes Lennox Lewis look colorful. I mean at least Lewis made a Red Stripe ad. Hooray Lewis!
Boxing's decline is much sadder than any other sport's, including hockey. At least people once cared about boxing. Yet as we evolve as a sporting nation, Boxing is falling to the ranks of horse racing and professional arm wrestling. And people are more likely to turn on ESPN Classic to watch good boxing than HBO.
Can the sweet science ever come back? Maybe, when a colorful character with a wicked right arm comes on the scene. Until then we'll have to watch the Thrilla in Manila, the Rumble in the Jungle, and George Foreman grill infomercials to remember what boxing once meant to us.
