All new boxers will have to climb the ranks of their predecessors. Most contenders in becoming the new face of boxing are 25 years old or younger leaving them plenty of time to maintain some spotlight.
These elite boxers under 25 have what it takes to be the next Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard or Roberto Durán. Whether it was more time in the ring at a younger age, an extra youth speed and agility training camp, or innate talent, these young boxers have the potential to rise to the top in the boxing arena.
Given all the hype leading up to this fight, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather put on a pretty good show last night in a bout that had some very interesting moments.
McGregor came out and seemed liked he was controlling the action in the early rounds. Of course, Mayweather was sizing up his unpredictable opponent, but he was extremely cautious and didn’t seem to be quite up to his championship form. Perhaps age and size would be a factor?
The early rounds added some excitement for the large number of betters that placed their money on the underdog. Who knows what motivation drove all these bets. Many of course love the underdog – it’s always more fun in Vegas to hope for the big payout, versus the approach of pro betters who carefully weigh the odds. Also, you had the Irish fans who love Conor and the fans hoping to embarrass the boxing world. All that led to a ridiculous amount of money coming in on Conor, and the Vegas sportsbooks looking at a debacle if somehow Conor could pull out a victory.
But then reality started to set in. As Conor started to tire, Floyd started to force the action. Despite all the talk of Conor being a big puncher, it became clear that Floyd didn’t fear those punches at all. Floyd started to do some damage with his own punches, and then the length of the boxing match format started to wear on the MMA hero. By the late rounds, it became clear that Conor had little left, other than his big heart.
Some say the fight was stopped too soon, and that is understandable given Conor’s MMA background, but this fight was over. It was just a matter of how much more punishment Conor could endure. Had he fought a younger Floyd or a younger contender, this boxing rookie would have suffered an epic beating.
Still, the fighter put on a pretty good show. Bob Ley of ESPN called it a “long con” as he dismissed the fight, but the fight delivered an interesting battle between two fighters from completely different worlds. I’ve seen much worse . . .
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Does Conor McGregor have a real shot against Floyd Mayweather?
Who knows, but this is certainly a spectacle garnering plenty of attention. Mayweather will get richer, and McGregor has a shot to make history. The word out of Vegas is that plenty of money is flowing to the underdog, setting up a potential bloodbath for the casinos if Conor shocks everyone with a win.
we’ll all be watching . . .
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“The Greatest” has passed. Muhammad Ali, one of the icons of the 20th century that transcended sports, died at the age of 74.
In his prime, Ali was an incredible fighter. He was also an entertainer with his original rhymes and hysterical antics with Howard Cosell, though there was also a dark side with his “gorilla” taunts of Joe Frazier.
He stood up to the US government at the height of his career when he refused to join the army and go to Vietnam War, sacrificing much of his boxing prime. Still, his most epic fights were still to come with the Thrilla in Manilla and the Rumble in the Jungle.
GLORY is the premiere kickboxing organization in the world. And even if you aren’t familiar with it yet, Spike TV is betting it will take off. Similar to the way Spike popularized the UFC with an unprecedented TV deal in 2005, the network is betting on the crossover appeal of kickboxing, featuring GLORY kickboxing events on a monthly basis.
“We really like this sport,” said Jon Slusser, Spike’s senior Vice President of Sports. “If you talk to people who like MMA, they love kickboxing. With the growth of MMA and the growth of combat sports over the last decade, a reintroduction of the sport is what we think will give this sport the boost it needs to really climb into the spotlight,” says Slusser.
Middleweight Wayne Barrett finds himself in the perfect place at the perfect time. On the mat is where his opponents have found themselves since the former Golden Gloves boxing champ turned pro.
As an amateur, Barrett compiled a 19-1 kickboxing and Muay Thai record. Barrett’s GLORY debut came in a September when he knocked out Robby Plotkin in the first round. In his second GLORY fight, he toyed with and then knocked out previously undefeated Mike Lemaire in round two. In a total of 23 fights, he has amassed 18 knockouts.
Saturday November 23rd on Spike TV, Barrett faces Schilling at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the inaugural GLORY Middleweight Championship.
