Boxing Perspective: Ailing Sweet Science Can Be Cured

America has become too fixated on the fights that generate the most money. This acts as a force that steers the attention of fans and the media onto a mere fragment of the boxing world, rather than the whole.

The history, the amateurs, the professionals–famous, unrecognized, or in need of deserving credit, promoters, managers, trainers, teams, writers, reporters, fans, fight doctors, corner men, that is a part of the entire world.

Presently, America’s media have become unmindful of the hard work of what keeps this sport existing. And boxing should not ever just exist in America, it should be alive and living.

Where did the glitz and glamor of boxing in America escape to? More importantly to me, since I am from and live in New York, when will the magic and intensity that dwells within the walls of the Garden return to the ring?

It has not been considered a major sport of this time by the American media because they have considered boxing as being a throwback and never to comeback. That is most certainly not the truth, and this incredible sport will only prevail if it doesn’t get discouraged about the rigid mountain placed in front of it.

Once the world of boxing can figure out a way to keep their feet firmly on the ground without being enticed by the almighty dollar, they can begin to climb up. Some professional fighters sell themselves too short and go down someone else’s path with money trees, while others take their own path and make their money trees.

This affects the way the media perceives boxing because now many boxers/advisers/managers/promoters, and other people involved, are at risk of falling victim to having only a financial interest.

I am in absolutely no way implying that financial interest is what can deteriorate this sport, however, what sets the standards these days for a fight to be considered great? High profiled and multi-million dollars.

And, of course, the best are paid the best, right? Wrong. The best can be easily overlooked because they maybe had more low-profiled fights.

In today’s boxing world, the fights are not always made on a level playing field. You take a less recognized fighter and put him in the ring with somebody who is ranked higher than he is. The media has to understand that even if the less-recognized man doesn’t win the fight, he not only proves himself against a tough fighter, but against a tough fight.

The world of boxing has succumbed to believing that the best is the well-known. Give the unknown a chance and you may just discover the next superstar.

The American media has become afraid to give their attention to boxing as their negativity towards this sport grew. They have focused their attention on case specific incidents through the years of boxing and have defined the sport by that.

They have also relied on their tactics of sensationalism to cover boxing and lack diversity in news, reporting and writing. The sport is genuinely dramatic, and there are more genres involved than meets the pen and paper.

To return to the status of boxing being a leading and exhilarating sport, the media has to concentrate their attention onto the whole scene of boxing, and not just the high profiled fights.

Reporting and writing and sharing news on the 360 degrees of boxing is what can effectively give this sport the notoriety it deserves.

As for the Olympics, they are proving how boxing is not perceived as a major sport by the American media. It’s as though the USA is gladly giving boxing away on a silver platter. I just think that as the rest of this world is celebrating this brave sport, America has lost its pride in it.

Rocky Marciano is, thus far, the only professional prizefighter to retire a heavyweight champion and undefeated. He invented the road to boxing greatness simply by being himself.

Marciano may have been proud of his Italian heritage, just don’t forget that this boxing extraordinaire’s colors were Red, White and Blue.