But I suspect somebody is. The forthcoming fight between Oscar DeLaHoya, boxing’s poster boy for the past decade and Floyd Mayweather the consensus pound for pound champion, is being hyped as the major fight of the year and perhaps beyond. It certainly brings together two of the most talented fighters of my generation and in DeLaHoya it also delivers the last great cross-over star of world boxing. Morales, Barrera, Pacman, Gatti and Mosley all touched the broader public but nobody has been as effectively marketed as Oscar and he brings all that promotional know-how to this show too. Read the rest of this entry »

All sports are burdened and enriched in equal measure by their history. I propose few create the depth of debate boxing does when it seeks to pitch its bygone champions into mythical encounters with their modern day equivalents. Some observers prefer to avoid the debate entirely, pointing out that comparison is futile and propose judgement of individual fighters can only be done within the relative context of their own generation.

Fair point. But where is the fun in that? Read the rest of this entry »