If Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao is indeed the Fight of the Century, it will mean that over the next 85 years, nothing in boxing will approach it in terms of interest, anticipation and how much one is willing pay to split a pay-per-view purchase with one’s chums.
A lot of American fight fans and boxing experts, including Showtime Boxing’s Al Bernstein, are excited about Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder on Saturday night. Bernstein said it’s been more than 20 years since the last excellent, action-packed heavyweight title fight involving Americans, or sort of Americans.
The debut of Big Knockout Boxing was a different experience than traditional boxing, but there was definitely an appeal.
There was the side Bob Dylan sang about and the side Denzel Washington portrayed in the movies. That was an admirable side. Then there was the other side, the rough side. That’s the side you didn’t hear too much about.
On the 50th anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s stunning upset over Sonny Liston in their first fight, which was Tuesday, the Washington Times ran a story suggesting the bout might have been fixed. Documents implicate “a Las Vegas figure tied to organized crime and to Liston.”
When most people think of the boxer Ken Norton, who lived out his final years in Henderson and died there last week, they probably think of his cross-armed, crab-like style of coming forward that gave some of the greatest heavyweights of his generation — of all time, really — major fits. Or they think of him breaking Muhammad Ali’s jaw at decrepit San Diego Sports Arena in the first installment of their indelible trilogy.
