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NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: KING CRAWFORD, THE MONEY FIGHT IS THE END

By Paul Magno | August 21, 2017
NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: KING CRAWFORD, THE MONEY FIGHT IS THE END

With each performance, Terence Crawford further establishes the fact that he could very well be the best all-around fighter in the game. His one-sided mugging of Julius Indongo on Saturday night was a thing of beauty to those of who crave craft with their violence.

Unlike the spoilers, front-running offensive “beasts,” and herky-jerky physical phenoms who generally take up most spots on pound-for-pound lists, Crawford is a truly complete fighter—a rarity these days.

Although I didn’t think as much of Indongo as so many apparently did, the unification of all four belts is a real feat and about the best that can be accomplished from a weak junior welterweight division at this time. 

The real challenges await Crawford at 147, but only if politics are put aside to make the fights that he needs. Ironically, the biggest fight for Crawford at this point may not be with Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, or Manny Pacquiao—it may be with his own promoter and against the politics involved in trying to make fights outside of his own promotional and network ties. 

But, alas, the plight of “Bud” Crawford may be pointless to discuss any further because boxing will cease to be after the Mayweather-McGregor PPV credits finish rolling this coming Saturday night. 

Sapped of its “purity” and “sanctity,” boxing will find itself helpless in the face of such a gaping black hole of ego and greed. Torn apart into random molecules and scattered throughout the void like bacon bits on a gigantic Dan Rafael baked potato, boxing will be unsalvageable, finished, done. 

Injecting something as base and as ugly as greed into a pure sport like boxing is sure to kill it. 

Like introducing a virus into a pristine ecosystem, Mayweather-McGregor will destroy boxing by ruining its core purity and poisoning its very essence. Boxing has never had to deal with greed or dishonesty before. The pure souls involved in the sport and the kind, benevolent fans who embrace it are helpless in the face of such nastiness. 

The dark shadow of The End is already upon us. Word has it that some of the stories leaked to the press are actually not true at all, but are pure exaggerations planted in the media to—hold on tight for this one—INTENTIONALLY mislead fans and get them to purchase the PPV. Imagine the dark promotional soul that would intentionally misrepresent one fighter’s chance of winning just to create the impression that a fight will be more competitive that it really is! Never before in boxing have we ever had to face such nastiness. 

With fight week upon us, it appears that there’s nothing us fight fans or media can do to stop The End. 

The purists warned us that there would be such a day, but, we didn’t listen. We just sat here, basking in the pure, loving embrace of a righteous boxing game that has never steered us wrong before, and we didn’t take the Mayweather-McGregor threat seriously enough. We grew fat and complacent, trusting a sport that has always dealt with us in total pure-of-heart honesty and complete integrity. We mocked the defenders of boxing sanctity as squares and alarmists as the door was wedged open for a dark intruder. We were confident that no single event could damage a sport so deeply-rooted in good will and fan appreciation. 

But we were wrong—and now we pay the consequences. 

Good-bye dear boxing brethren. When the end comes, I will be in my basement bomb shelter mancave watching videos of Jack Dempsey and thumbing through my old Ring Magazines. 

 Quick (S)hits:

-- I’m not getting why boxing shows on network TV and basic cable don't lead off with the main event. Few casual-curious fans are going to sit through an hour and a half of prelims. Seems to me that Top Rank would want a guy like Crawford fighting as early as possible and as close to the lead-in mainstream programming as possible. This goes for all companies running such shows. Put the “money” fighter first. In the premium cable model, it makes sense to put the prelims first because, for the most part, hardcore boxing fans are the ones tuning in and you’d want these guys exposed to the up and comers. With shows running on mainstream networks, though, you want to get to the big guns first, hook the viewers, and then get the other fights and fighters out there. What you absolutely DON’T want is for the mainstream fans to be weeded out before the big fight happens. My guess is that by the time Crawford and Indongo hit the ring, the show was pretty much preaching to the choir—only the die-hards (who watch everything, anyway) were paying attention. 

-- Watching SportsCenter kick off with boxing highlights was a trip. Kinda like getting a glimpse of an alternate universe where boxing hadn’t insisted on sabotaging itself for the last thirty years or so (or a glimpse at SportsCenter Mexico, where boxing IS still covered as a real sport).

-- I’m wondering how different Terence Crawford’s media treatment would be if he suddenly partnered up with Al Haymon—especially when it comes to certain compromised media stooges.

Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.

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