First of all, before we go in, the biggest reason why Garcia beat Benn was because he was quicker on the draw. Brain to fist communication. Same way he beat Haney. No hesitation.
Here we go, boxing: Now even the knockouts don’t have definitive ends.
This is nuts. It just keeps getting worse. How does such a simple, primitive dance of a sport like boxing, suddenly become so convoluted and sullied?
The winner of the fight is the one who punched the other fighter in the face most effectively.
Simple.
When the fight goes the distance, there are questionable decisions. Okay, I got it. Always been that way.
Today, when the fight ends shy of the distance, there are questionable KOs? Why?
How does that happen? How do you have a questionable KO?
A knockout must be un-convoluted. It doesn’t get any simpler than a KO. The fighter is obviously visually hurt and can’t protect himself. He can’t continue. That’s it. The ref shouldn’t be a soothsayer.
FIGHTS SHOULD BE SETTLED BY THE FIGHTERS.
Now everyone is friggin’ Nostradamus… “Well his opponent WAS obviously gonna bash him…”
It’s pugilism, NOT prognostication. No one cares what you THINK the end was gonna be.
It’s like those infernal cliffhangers they had after every TV show.
“I looked into the future and I saw…” NO! That’s not how boxing works. I want to see the end.
(A quick aside: And they should’ve let Floyd bash the Paul brother for a definitive end as well. The ref pulled that plug way too early. Bro got millions of dollars, talked all kinda reckless, and when it was time to pay the piper, the ref saw what was coming and stopped the fight. I’m not blood thirsty individual, but that was indigestible to me. Obviously, I’m still harboring that unresolved trauma. But I paid good money to see someone get mangled and not to see someone play Nostradamus.
Definitive end? His cornerman can throw in the towel, jump in the ring. Mom can hit the other fighter with her clogs. A fighter can go “no mas,” which is no different than a fighter taking a knee. (I don’t know why people got so worked up over that.)
I’m sorry, that’s the sport. Don’t like it, there are millions of options.
We can’t change boxing’s nucleus. It will not be boxing anymore.
We’re trying to put safety bumpers on a sport that is literally sanctioned violence.
I hate to say it but without the element of danger, death, and brain damage, it isn’t boxing.
Boxing is 100% about physical dominance. The first unwritten goal of boxing is, your opponent doesn’t go the distance: That should be the goal of every fighter: “My opponent will not go the distance.”
If he does go the distance, then the judges got it. But that isn’t the intent of the fighter.
Yeah, that’s tough if you aren’t a puncher, but then you learn to punch in numbers and put combos together like Willie Pep. Adapt. Or maybe learn to punch harder.
There are options.
Keep Boxing, BOXING. Stop trying to perfect, perfection. We can’t keep watering the sport down.