Sports Night

Tonight I have to do something I haven't done for as long as I remember: skip a boxing match.

I've always been into boxing. I did it as a teenager, and wasn't exactly great, but I never lost my passion for the sport. I've watched contemporary fights, I got hold of films of fights from as far back as the early 1900's, and it really became a great pasttime for me.

That is, until the last few years. Mike Tyson's reign started me on my slide away from the sport. Watching him take a bite out of Evander Holyfield's ear was probably one of the low-points in the history of the sport, for me, anyway.

The whole scene turned ridiculous. Watching boxers enter the ring while dancing to the latest in rap tunes, dressed in ridiculous outfits, well that slowly pushed me further away. Antics were nothing new; Muhammad Ali was one of the sport's greatest characters, but he had the talent and the skills to back up his nonsense and bravado. It was up to his public to consider his greatness. Nowadays, it seems that the title "great" is something these guys bestow on themselves.

Tonight is a "super fight". Oscar De La Hoya is set to duke it out with Floyd Mayweather. HBO went all out promoting this one. They ran a series, "De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7", which chronicled the training leading up to this showdown. Watching how Mayweather presented himself was kind of sickening to me. He's a good fighter, with the skills to put him in contention for greatness, but he's not anywhere near as good as he thinks he is. I don't think there's ever been a fighter as great as Mayweather thinks he is.

Between his nonsense, and the fact that the fight is being broadcast on Pay Per View for $54.95 here, I can't stomach the idea of supporting this kind of garbage anymore.

It's a shame.

For the record, good luck, Oscar.