Will Pro Boxing Regain Prominence Post Paris Olympics?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 13 Aug 2024
The persistent rumor is that boxing may have seen its last as an Olympic sport event in the recently concluded 33rd Olympics in Paris.
The reasons given are varied, ranging from the continued absence of an IOC acceptable global governing body to oversee the holding of the sport, persistent perception of unfair judging and the blurred distinction between participating amateur and professional boxers.
We will yet see if Paris 2024 is indeed the death knell for boxing four years from now in the 34th Summer Olympics set in Los Angeles, California in a country and state known not only as fervent advocate but mecca of the fight sport.
But the immediate concern of professional boxing is - will the sport regain its prominence after the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris?
The Global Games may be over but many people around the world, especially in countries that won record setting medals and performances, the talk will still be on the Paris Olympics for a considerable period later in the year.
Usually, public attention to other regular sports as professional boxing is not be as much as in non Olympics year. That was especially so during the previous Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 when pro boxing was still getting back to its feet following the Covid pandemic.
Three years had passed and within that period we have seen the rise of fighters as Terrence Crawford and Naoya Inoue and treated to some memorable boxing events that somehow brought the sport to the prominence it used to enjoy pre-Covid.
But then, the very same superstars that carried the sport in those years seem to fail us this year, an Olympic year no less.
Prior to the opening of the Paris Olympics, Crawford was challenging a former Olympian Israil Madrimov for his WBA light middleweight title and raising expectations of another spectacular win that would take him to a dream bout against Canelo Alvarez two divisions north.
No less than Saudi sports mogul Turki Alhashik promised to arrange the dream match with Canelo if Crawford could convincingly beat the Uzbek champion Madrimov.
Crawford beat Madrimov, alright, but not as impressively as many expected. As a consequence, Alashihk has allegedly withdrawn his promise even as Madrimov is reportedly gunning for a rematch.
The chatter has toned, if not died down as of this writing.
Before Paris, Monster Inoue was already raising a ruckus for his insistence in facing in his next fight an aging former champion TJ Doheny instead of his WBA mandatory challenger Morudjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev even at the risk of being stripped.
Akhmadaliev, another Uzbek, was a former unified WBA-IBF super bantamweight titlist who became such by defeating American Danny Roman who earlier unseated Doheny for the IBF belt. MJ however got upset by Filipino Marlon Tapales who was beaten by Inoue in his last fight, a unification for all the major belts.
In the rundown to Paris, it appeared that Inoue has reached a modus vivendi with the WBA that allowed him to keep his title without fighting Akhmadaliev and going on with his plan to face Doheny instead this September.
Inoue's co promoter Bob Arum tried to assuage general disappointment by saying that Inoue would invade the featherweights after the Doheny fight.
Inoue himself would deny this saying he is not ready to move up and that he intends to stay at super bantamweight for two more years and fight exclusively in Japan.
Meanwhile in other fronts, Japanese promoters continued to try and collect and hold as many world titles in the lower weights by organizing fights for their fighters exclusively in Japan; virtually establishing a "Boxing Hermit Kingdom".
What's the good for pro boxing in this when the bigger boxing universe would not see those fine Japanese boxers up close and personal, so to speak, live or at the very least through local cable and appreciate them in language they can understand?
There were also talks of Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao returning to competitive boxing and challenging no less than a reigning WBA titlist Mario Barrios. But instead of getting a tune up, Pacquiao chose to engage in a 3 round exhibition bout, a high paying one no doubt, against a bigger Japanese MMA champion who proceeded to expose him and putting a huge question mark in his pro boxing return.
With this sort of hubris, can we expect professional boxing to regain its luster and prominence in this Olympic year?
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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