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(OCT 18) Webster Dictionary describes a champion as a "winner of first
prize or first place in competition." Taken a step farther, Webster’s
defines the best as "excelling all others."
Those definitions may be accurate in other sports, but all too often it
seems they fail to apply in women’s boxing, where anyone willing to
write a check and buy a piece of hardware can find a sanctioning body
more than happy to slap their initials on a world championship fight.
How many times have we seen, or will we see boxing matches that are
advertised as "world title fights", only to discover a fighter truly
deserving their world ranking matched against someone who at best
qualifies as "luke warm," or worse.
While promoters and sanctioning bodies make their money off such bouts,
fans are often left to wonder why such a bout deserved its "world title"
designation. Sadly, neither have little reason to give the public
better, since they both are often "in" and "out" of a boxing venue
before the public and fans realize they’ve been shortchanged.
If this is the best the sport can offer, fans think, why should I be
interested? Too often, such fights are no more competitive than having
your 80-year-old grandmother run a marathon against a top long-distance
runner. Fans shouldn’t be expected to pay good money to see either type
of charade either.
When WBAN receives notice of upcoming "world title" bouts, it is both
numbing and disturbing to see who is matched against who at times. To be
sure, there are good matchups worthy of a "world title" designation, but
it definitely deflates the spirit and devalues deserving fighters to see
the bad ones that come across our desk. |
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