My Rant: Part II.

You know fight fans, I’m really upset right now. I turned on the television to see what kind of coverage ESPN was giving the amazing fight that took place last night between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. To my dismay, they covered everything from rugby (yes rugby), to college volleyball (I’m not even going to say anything about that), to why Ron Artest is hanging out, “more with his posse these days,” baseball, and how Jeff Van Gundy, coach of the Houston Rockets, made a “fatal” mistake that cost his team their series. What? Using the words fatal for a decision made by a coach is insulting after witnessing one of the most brutal fights in the history of the sport, which could have, literally ended in a fatality. This is why, my fellow fanatics, I’ve said it time and time again: get involved! ESPN, which claims it is the “world wide leader in sports coverage,” should be ashamed. Hey, they will cover the continuing freak show of Mike Tyson, which, as much as people out there still love Tyson, ends up hurting the sport because of his ridiculous tactics, and they will be quick to point out how the FBI was investigating the sport because of “fixed” fights and other “shady” behavior by promoters and fighters, but they do not give two amazing warriors the credit and respect they deserve by giving at least two minutes of the network’s time to show that amazing tenth round which is one of the greatest ever.

If people who watch the network saw that round, they would be more willing to tune in next time one of these warriors fights. If one out of every one hundred ESPN viewers would tune in for another fight, then the sport wins. Of course, that would just be wishful thinking. So my friends, it is up to us to get the word out in a “grass roots” type of campaign. Take the time to host a fight party the next time a great match is scheduled.

Also, encourage all of your friends out there to watch fights and educate them on the game. Turn them on to websites like SaddoBoxing.com to get honest and consistent information about the sport, and support your local boxing. That’s just me going off on another rant my friends, but if all of us that visit this site on a weekly basis would just turn one of their friends or family members into a boxing fan, we would literally get thousands of new fanatics every month. Then, our sport will no longer need ESPN, because we will have our own network. Thank you.

Sergio Martinez can be reached at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com