After watching the fights of late, and then watching a series of Ali fights (v. Liston, Foreman, and Frasier III), it’s painfully clear that none of the new breed has a lick of charisma to them. They’re big bruisers who have no real value other than being able to take and deliver a punch.
Will there ever be one? Will Chris Byrd manage to get a title shot?
Dunno about boxing, but what pops into my head is the thought, “Yeah, but remember all those people who went around saying ‘golf is dead’–until Tiger Woods showed up…”
You never can tell.
I blame it on Pay Per View. I think there are some fighters out there that do have some old fashioned pizazz, but we never see it. Remember the Friday Night Fights, the Wide World of Sports, etc when we were kids? Two or three days a week you could watch boxing even if you only had three channels. And for the big bouts, you didn’t just see the fight, but also the interviews and press conferences in the weeks leading up to them. The taunting and bragging ala Apollo Creed was part of the enjoyment of boxing. Even people who didn’t follow, or even like boxing, knew Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Joe Frazier, Ernie Shaver, Chavez, etc. Now, all people see is a few commercials during a baseball game for a big fight on PPV. Nobody gets a chance to see the boxers outside of the ring.
I miss the good old days.
What, Mike Tyson isn’t charismatic?
Having him incite a semi-riot during a fucking posedown and then screech and scream and bleat obscenities at reporters for 15 minutes isn’t being charismatic?
Turbo Dog,
Apollo Creed doesn’t exist. He is a fictional construct.
First of all, what’s so great about heavyweights? I agree that Ali is amazing to watch, but especially now, the welter and middle weights are a lot more fun to watch and I think better reflect the spirit of the sport. They rely on their skill a lot more, not just their heft.
The reason I think that we don’t see charismatic heavyweight fighters now is that the boxing establishment pumps up the big names so much and tries to sell this false personality, that nothing real comes through. Plus, in boxing, charisma requires a good helping of ego. Which is not to say that heavyweights today don’t have large egos, but it often gets mistaken for charisma (by themselves, as in boxers with ego think [as do their managers] that they are charismatic) and then the effect is disingenuous.
I don’t think that boxing needs a charismatic heavyweight–it detracts from the sport. I appreciate when people watch boxing for the sport, not for the spectacle (of the kind Tyson used to be so good at). It irks me when people think of boxing is how Tyson and that celebrity boxing shit portray it. It is a sport, damnit, one of intense discipline. I do not think Tyson should be allowed to fight simply because he makes a mockery of it. He is just an example of a boxing spectacle–a real charismatic fighter might bring something else to the sport, but I think risk of spectacle is high.
Besides, boxing already had its golden age. I think its peak may just be passed.
By the way, did you see that tender sweat swab that Mike gave Lennox? How sweet [retch, retch].
I sincerely do not know how to reply to this.