By Rich Mancuso
Sergio Martinez is the undisputed middleweight champion and Canelo Alvarez continued his rise to stardom with another title defense of his super welterweight title. That came to fruition Saturday evening at separate venues in Las Vegas, known as “Fight Town USA.” Indeed, this was fight night for the fans, but was it?
Along the way to the duel night of boxing shows, Alvarez defending with a fifth round TKO over Josesito Lopez, and Martinez with a unanimous 12-round decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., there was discussion by the promoters of fans choosing what they wanted to view.
They, Bob Arum of Top Rank and promoter of Martinez-Chavez, Oscar de La Hoya of Golden Boy and promoter of Alvarez-Lopez supplemented the main events with enticing undercards of championship fights. They said there would be no conflict of the two main events.
So, it would spar any agony for a boxing fan to hear those words of wisdom, “They won’t conflict.” Choose your fight of the night, or take a chance and watch two main events simultaneously. And those who ordered the pay-per-view and watched the Showtime telecast had their conflict, as Martinez and Chavez, Alvarez and Lopez, entered the ring and traded fists at the same moment.
There were those within the boxing media that hoped to see both main events as the MGM Grand Arena, hosting the Alvarez fight, and the Thomas & Mack Center venue for Martinez and Chavez are in proximity of each other. But, as it was, the media plans went out the window.
A dilemma for the sport, in what was a grand night for a boxing fan that either gets nothing or too much. And it is two-fold issue that fails to get answers because of a silent promotional dispute with Top Rank and Golden Boy, mixed in with HBO and Showtime the prime television providers of boxing.
Yet, Arum and De la Hoya, or for that matter, Richard Schafer, CEO of Golden Boy deny there is a promotional feud and they are doing what is best for the sport. They claim, fans are getting what they need, quality events and championship fights that are reviving a sport that too many, has sadly declined.
Moments after Alvarez disposed Lopez, Martinez and Chavez were trading punches in the eighth round, a technical fight due to Martinez who was scoring a shutout on the judges’ scorecards. Lopez would make his statement on camera as to his future, and Alvarez asked about his next move was silenced.
As it was, many did not hear that Alvarez was contemplating a move to move down in weight and challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr. at 147. Because the astute boxing fan was monitoring and paying close attention to what was happening at the Thomas & Mack Center coming to a conclusion, the comments from Alvarez were given minimal attention.
Here you have Alvarez, the 22-year old sensation from Juanacatlán, Jalisco, Mexico primed to be the next superstar in the sport making a statement. But who heard his mission statement? Showtime claims the telecast, from preliminary rating reports, was above average.
The boxing media made that fight as the one with less interest. Coverage was dominated with the Martinez win over Chavez Jr. that ended a war of words and declared Sergio Martinez as the legitimate middleweight champion.
No more diamond belt for Martinez, and if it weren’t for that 12th round, when Martinez went down from a Chavez left hook, the fight was mediocre. Martinez is also a legitimate top three fighter and at 37-years of age contemplates his next move.
There is discussion of a return bout with Chavez Jr. for Martinez, obvious as the once unknown champion from Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina, has made his statement. Or is he next in line for the undefeated welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
That 12th round has been described as epic and they say will be discussed for a long time. Perhaps, had Chavez scored the comeback knockout, there would have been no debate as to the round being epic.
To say the least, there have been better 12-round championship fights with stunning conclusions, but those who watched will remember how the younger Chavez almost pulled off the impossible. And for the traditionalist, had this been a 15-round fight, Chavez may have pulled it off as it appeared Martinez was losing his stamina.
*e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com or Facebook.com/Keep it in the Ring. Watch and view Keep it in The Ring w/Rich&Jason Thursday evening from 10:30pm-12:30am EST on www.inthemixxradio.com
