Calzaghe criticizes boxing, gets criticized
Date: 2008-12-13 11:00:00
Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/12/post_138....
Submitted By: Boxing Dump
In a recent interview, champion boxer Joe Calzaghe told us that boxing is a dying sport. Gee, thanks Joe. In the article, Calzaghe's list of boxing's problems included too many champions in too many weight divisions and the popularity of Ultimate Fighting/Mixed Martial Arts. The future, according to Calzaghe, doesn't look bright for the boxers here in the United States, because only one U.S. boxer won a medal at the Beijing Games. All true. But Calzaghe forgot to point out that he has also been part of the problem with boxing. Calzaghe, like so many other champions, has refused to fight the best fighters. In Calzaghe's case, he pumped up his record with victories over has-beens or never-weres. Now Calzaghe can perform the ultimate duck and dodge by retiring. He also spent most of his career fighting in Europe, instead of fighting the best of the best here in the United States. OK, he has a controversial victory over Bernard Hopkins, and he beat a washed-up Roy Jones. But we all know he will continue to duck world middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik. APOne way to fix boxing: Calzaghe not running from Kelly Pavlik. But there are ways to fix boxing's issues: 1. Go old school. No more junior this or super that. A boxer is either a heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight, flyweight or featherweight. 2. One champion in each division. No WBC, WBA, IBF, ABC or EFG. 3. Have "legitimate" mandatory fights, where the best fighters fight the best fighters. 4. Limit pay-per-view fights for only the "real" super fights. 5. More bouts on free TV (or at least cable) will bring on new fans. Remember Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard fights on free television? What other ways can we return boxing to the glorY days, or at least make the sport more attractive?
