Brand New Year, Same Old Crap

By Dave “Large” Larzelere
Boxing fans had a magical run throughout the fall and winter of 2007, and many of us came into the new year thinking that 2008 would be just more of the same. On that score, this past week felt like a major setback for the sweet science, with three developments in particular coming on like a slap in the face.
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1. Oscar/Floyd – The Remix
The rumors flew all week, and now it’s all but official – De La Hoya/Mayweather II is set for September. And so, as I put it elsewhere today, the fight that saved boxing spawns a rematch that sends it right back to the gutter. There’s absolutely no reason for Oscar and Floyd to fight again except for shameless greed. Meanwhile, there’s a fight left on the table that would be the first true PFP showdown since either Oscar/Shane I or Whitaker/Chavez depending on your viewpoint. A bout between Floyd and Miguel Cotto would be the Ali/Frazier of our time, and now it seems very likely that it will never happen. A wretched development for fight fans across the board.
2. The Sadam Ali Debacle
Sadam Ali is a two-time national Golden Gloves champ, a speed demon of Yemeni descent who fights out of Brooklyn. He’s one of the most interesting stories and promising fighters for the U.S. team in Beijing, and yet now his Olympic future is in jeopardy after he tested positive for cathine, a banned stimulant found in some cold medicines. Through a project I’m involved in over at No Mas, Brooklyn to Beijing, I’m intimately acquainted with Ali’s back-story, and the kid is as dedicated and on the level as a kid can be. If he gets screwed because of this cold medicine crap, it will be devastating to him and his family. Just the thought of it makes me ill.
3. The Mere Fact of Roy/Tito
After the thrill-ride of last year’s fights – Pavlik/Taylor, Calzaghe/Kessler, Cotto/Mosley, Floyd/Hatton – having the first big PPV bout of 2008 be Roy Jones/Felix Trinidad feels like an insult somehow. And the fact that Don King is a major player in this travesty adds genuine injury to that insult. Just seeing King’s face all over the place this week is giving me flashbacks to the bad old days. Man, I swear, just wake me in February for the Pavlik/Taylor rematch. I’m going to take a long winter’s nap and hopefully dream about Arguello/Pryor on ABC.↵