The Power of the Press

[TitoFan]

Just received my Jan 12 edition of ESPN magazine, and saw an article titled "1,506 Days With Boxing's Next Great Thing." When I open the mag, it's a 6-page spread on none other than Andre Berto.

See... this is why sometimes I start rooting against certain fighters. Still on the way up... never having faced the career-defining fighters that other fighters have faced... and already being annointed the next "great thing." It's what I've always said. The press picks its own favorites, and basically makes them into the next "great things." No dis on Berto. He's young and exciting. But what about the other fighters out there that have fought longer, beaten better opposition, and currently have championships? What about those?

Guess I'll just have to start rooting for Berto to lose.

[Taeth]

That doesn't make any sense at all, him being the next great thing means he has more potential than the champions do right now, or that their are already considered great, and he is the next generation of that.

Also to hate Berto because of his hype IMO is jumping on a gay bandwagon, he is incredibly fast, he hits hard, he actually comes to fight, he is getting hard to hit, and he's an extremely nice guy who doesn't run off at the mouth.

[Onix]

That doesn't make any sense at all, him being the next great thing means he has more potential than the champions do right now, or that their are already considered great, and he is the next generation of that.

Also to hate Berto because of his hype IMO is jumping on a gay bandwagon, he is incredibly fast, he hits hard, he actually comes to fight, he is getting hard to hit, and he's an extremely nice guy who doesn't run off at the mouth.

I see what Titofan is saying, but judging by just the Title of the article I would have to agree with Taeth.

[TitoFan]

jumping on a gay bandwagon

Let's leave personal fantasies out of it.

That doesn't make any sense at all, him being the next great thing means he has more potential than the champions do right now, or that their are already considered great, and he is the next generation of that.

Also to hate Berto because of his hype IMO is jumping on a gay bandwagon, he is incredibly fast, he hits hard, he actually comes to fight, he is getting hard to hit, and he's an extremely nice guy who doesn't run off at the mouth.

My point here is that:

1. ESPN hardly ever writes about boxing. Then, when it does, it blatantly ignores young up-and-coming fighters with much better records (read: quality of opposition), and conveniently picks out the next U.S.-born and bred hope.

2. Well... that's pretty much it.

BTW, I don't HATE Berto. I don't even know him. I just want him to lose, is all.

[CFH]

jumping on a gay bandwagon

Let's leave personal fantasies out of it.

That doesn't make any sense at all, him being the next great thing means he has more potential than the champions do right now, or that their are already considered great, and he is the next generation of that.

Also to hate Berto because of his hype IMO is jumping on a gay bandwagon, he is incredibly fast, he hits hard, he actually comes to fight, he is getting hard to hit, and he's an extremely nice guy who doesn't run off at the mouth.

My point here is that:

1. ESPN hardly ever writes about boxing. Then, when it does, it blatantly ignores young up-and-coming fighters with much better records (read: quality of opposition), and conveniently picks out the next U.S.-born and bred hope.

2. Well... that's pretty much it.

BTW, I don't HATE Berto. I don't even know him. I just want him to lose, is all.

Well, the bolded part is pretty understandable considering their target audience.

[TitoFan]

jumping on a gay bandwagon

Let's leave personal fantasies out of it.

That doesn't make any sense at all, him being the next great thing means he has more potential than the champions do right now, or that their are already considered great, and he is the next generation of that.

Also to hate Berto because of his hype IMO is jumping on a gay bandwagon, he is incredibly fast, he hits hard, he actually comes to fight, he is getting hard to hit, and he's an extremely nice guy who doesn't run off at the mouth.

My point here is that:

1. ESPN hardly ever writes about boxing. Then, when it does, it blatantly ignores young up-and-coming fighters with much better records (read: quality of opposition), and conveniently picks out the next U.S.-born and bred hope.

2. Well... that's pretty much it.

BTW, I don't HATE Berto. I don't even know him. I just want him to lose, is all.

Well, the bolded part is pretty understandable considering their target audience.

Yes it IS understandable. But it goes along with my point. Boxing's long been an international sport. And some of its biggest stars are foreign-born (Hispanic, European, Asian, etc.). But because the U.S. is where all boxers aspire to fight (ie: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MSG)... and the boxing rankings are basically controlled by the U.S. press... U.S. born and bred up-and-coming young stars are given a huge head start in terms of recognition.

Sometimes, I don't begrudge this (ie: Pavlik is a recent example). But who the hell has Berto fought yet? Of the young, known fighters, probably only JCC Jr. has had a softer slate of opponents.

Hey, Berto may yet become champion and beat the Margaritos and Cottos of the world. But until then, he's just another prospect. Along with a bunch of other prospects from a bunch of other countries.

[CFH]

Let's leave personal fantasies out of it.




My point here is that:

1. ESPN hardly ever writes about boxing. Then, when it does, it blatantly ignores young up-and-coming fighters with much better records (read: quality of opposition), and conveniently picks out the next U.S.-born and bred hope.

2. Well... that's pretty much it.

BTW, I don't HATE Berto. I don't even know him. I just want him to lose, is all.

Well, the bolded part is pretty understandable considering their target audience.

Yes it IS understandable. But it goes along with my point. Boxing's long been an international sport. And some of its biggest stars are foreign-born (Hispanic, European, Asian, etc.). But because the U.S. is where all boxers aspire to fight (ie: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MSG)... and the boxing rankings are basically controlled by the U.S. press... U.S. born and bred up-and-coming young stars are given a huge head start in terms of recognition.

Sometimes, I don't begrudge this (ie: Pavlik is a recent example). But who the hell has Berto fought yet? Of the young, known fighters, probably only JCC Jr. has had a softer slate of opponents.

Hey, Berto may yet become champion and beat the Margaritos and Cottos of the world. But until then, he's just another prospect. Along with a bunch of other prospects from a bunch of other countries.

Out of curiosity, what prospects do you feel deserve more attention than Berto right now?

[TitoFan]

Well, the bolded part is pretty understandable considering their target audience.

Yes it IS understandable. But it goes along with my point. Boxing's long been an international sport. And some of its biggest stars are foreign-born (Hispanic, European, Asian, etc.). But because the U.S. is where all boxers aspire to fight (ie: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MSG)... and the boxing rankings are basically controlled by the U.S. press... U.S. born and bred up-and-coming young stars are given a huge head start in terms of recognition.

Sometimes, I don't begrudge this (ie: Pavlik is a recent example). But who the hell has Berto fought yet? Of the young, known fighters, probably only JCC Jr. has had a softer slate of opponents.

Hey, Berto may yet become champion and beat the Margaritos and Cottos of the world. But until then, he's just another prospect. Along with a bunch of other prospects from a bunch of other countries.

Out of curiosity, what prospects do you feel deserve more attention than Berto right now?

I think a better question would be: Where were all the ESPN articles when Margarito, Cotto, and other non-English speaking fighters were coming up the ranks?

[CFH]

Yes it IS understandable. But it goes along with my point. Boxing's long been an international sport. And some of its biggest stars are foreign-born (Hispanic, European, Asian, etc.). But because the U.S. is where all boxers aspire to fight (ie: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MSG)... and the boxing rankings are basically controlled by the U.S. press... U.S. born and bred up-and-coming young stars are given a huge head start in terms of recognition.

Sometimes, I don't begrudge this (ie: Pavlik is a recent example). But who the hell has Berto fought yet? Of the young, known fighters, probably only JCC Jr. has had a softer slate of opponents.

Hey, Berto may yet become champion and beat the Margaritos and Cottos of the world. But until then, he's just another prospect. Along with a bunch of other prospects from a bunch of other countries.

Out of curiosity, what prospects do you feel deserve more attention than Berto right now?

I think a better question would be: Where were all the ESPN articles when Margarito, Cotto, and other non-English speaking fighters were coming up the ranks?

I can't really address that, I never read ESPN articles. Cotto got a shit load of press coming up, he was very hyped. I was just getting into boxing as he was ascending, and I remember learning about him very quickly and before he had accomplished much (relatively speaking).

Nobody payed much attention to Margarito prior to the PBF incident.

However, again I think it speaks to their audience. They want to appeal to most people in order to maximize their profits, and frankly Americans (just like everyone else) prefer hearing about their own.

[Onix]

Yes it IS understandable. But it goes along with my point. Boxing's long been an international sport. And some of its biggest stars are foreign-born (Hispanic, European, Asian, etc.). But because the U.S. is where all boxers aspire to fight (ie: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MSG)... and the boxing rankings are basically controlled by the U.S. press... U.S. born and bred up-and-coming young stars are given a huge head start in terms of recognition.

Sometimes, I don't begrudge this (ie: Pavlik is a recent example). But who the hell has Berto fought yet? Of the young, known fighters, probably only JCC Jr. has had a softer slate of opponents.

Hey, Berto may yet become champion and beat the Margaritos and Cottos of the world. But until then, he's just another prospect. Along with a bunch of other prospects from a bunch of other countries.

Out of curiosity, what prospects do you feel deserve more attention than Berto right now?

I think a better question would be: Where were all the ESPN articles when Margarito, Cotto, and other non-English speaking fighters were coming up the ranks?

There you go again. Titofan you know I love you bro but why do you keep answering questions with questions?

I know how you feel about wanting to have fighters from other countries get the credit they deserve, but you have to understand, ESPN is a U.S. based company so of course they are going to follow US based fighters. Additionally, I'm sure most of its subscribers are Americans, who do you think they want to follow...Americans. The average subscriber to a multi-sport magazine is'nt a die hard boxing fan, they are probably subscribing for 1 or more of the big three, Baseball, basketball, or Football. So they dont care about Angulo, Povetkin, or JuanMa they want to hear about Berto, Arreola, or Victor Ortiz...Americans. Just the way of the world pal.

[amat]

Well before I make this post, I haven't been sold at all as Berto being the next great thing.

But magazine writers are in it for the headlines, and come on who else would you pick right now? For sure Berto has improvements to make but there is no denying that he is as impressive of a fighter to the naked eye then you get. Did you see his fight with Mikky ROdryiguez? That was a highlight reel in itself. He's fast, he's got some inventive combos the likes of which we as boxing fans have never seen before (that right uppercut overhand right he put Rodriguez down with was criminal) and he has the build of an intimidating guy with the amateur pedigree.

Seriously I think boxing fans slate waaaayy to much on Berto because he's not as polished as we would all like him to be but damn how many other guys are doing any better then he is? We complain about him but think about this, I think by memory that only him and Juan Manuel Lopez are champions were from the 2004 amateur class. Remeber 2000 when both Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy were champs in just 4 years and probably weren't ready for it either of them to different extents. Who cares if he takes him time? It's good for him because anyone with eyes can see that he is a talent that POTENTIALLY can become GREAT. I think there are some flaws that will do him in, but that is no reason to not root that he keeps iproving. To his credit he was better defensively against Berto then he ever was, he has a couple more things to clear up and he's ready to be tested for real.

It's not his fault the WBC gave him a belt, take your time and be grateful that we have guys like Berto and Gamboa (to different extents) both in the sport.

[TitoFan]

Out of curiosity, what prospects do you feel deserve more attention than Berto right now?

I think a better question would be: Where were all the ESPN articles when Margarito, Cotto, and other non-English speaking fighters were coming up the ranks?

There you go again. Titofan you know I love you bro but why do you keep answering questions with questions?

I know how you feel about wanting to have fighters from other countries get the credit they deserve, but you have to understand, ESPN is a U.S. based company so of course they are going to follow US based fighters. Additionally, I'm sure most of its subscribers are Americans, who do you think they want to follow...Americans. The average subscriber to a multi-sport magazine is'nt a die hard boxing fan, they are probably subscribing for 1 or more of the big three, Baseball, basketball, or Football. So they dont care about Angulo, Povetkin, or JuanMa they want to hear about Berto, Arreola, or Victor Ortiz...Americans. Just the way of the world pal.

Hey, you're absolutely correct, Onix my friend. I got no argument with any of the above. My only point is that sometimes it's a little unfair to the great, up-and-coming international fighter who may happen NOT to speak English (thank goodness Cotto corrected that in remarkable fashion).

But know what? I'm not saying it's right or wrong... only that THAT'S how it is. Giving it a positive angle, that's one reason to actually support a fighter like Berto (I sound like I'm contradicting myself here, right?). But the logic being: As long as there's a bright U.S. born and bred star coming up in boxing, the press will heap stardom status on him... and boxing itself will benefit. More exposure, more new fans, etc. So it's not all doom and gloom.

[TitoFan]

Well before I make this post, I haven't been sold at all as Berto being the next great thing.

But magazine writers are in it for the headlines, and come on who else would you pick right now? For sure Berto has improvements to make but there is no denying that he is as impressive of a fighter to the naked eye then you get. Did you see his fight with Mikky ROdryiguez? That was a highlight reel in itself. He's fast, he's got some inventive combos the likes of which we as boxing fans have never seen before (that right uppercut overhand right he put Rodriguez down with was criminal) and he has the build of an intimidating guy with the amateur pedigree.

Seriously I think boxing fans slate waaaayy to much on Berto because he's not as polished as we would all like him to be but damn how many other guys are doing any better then he is? We complain about him but think about this, I think by memory that only him and Juan Manuel Lopez are champions were from the 2004 amateur class. Remeber 2000 when both Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy were champs in just 4 years and probably weren't ready for it either of them to different extents. Who cares if he takes him time? It's good for him because anyone with eyes can see that he is a talent that POTENTIALLY can become GREAT. I think there are some flaws that will do him in, but that is no reason to not root that he keeps iproving. To his credit he was better defensively against Berto then he ever was, he has a couple more things to clear up and he's ready to be tested for real.

It's not his fault the WBC gave him a belt, take your time and be grateful that we have guys like Berto and Gamboa (to different extents) both in the sport.

Good post and good points, bro.

[rjj tszyu]

I agree! He is the next great thing.

[CutMeMick]

I can't say he's the next great thing cause still to soon for me to call him that.
I've made the mistake many times before where I jump on a boxer and label him the next big thing only to see him lose and not be the next thing.


To be fair here Berto is at the front of American Boxing which makes me understand why ESPN would do that. I'm sure sometime in 2004-2005 the same thing happened with Jermain Taylor.

It's how it goes...