The two Micky Ward-Arturo Gatti fights I attended rank up there with the Mike Piazza post-9/11 game as the best sporting events I’ve been to live.
As such, I’ve eagerly awaited The Fighter since first seeing the trailer. I’m just not good at actually carving out time to go to the movies, so it took me a while to see it after it released.
Bear in mind I’ve never actually done a movie review. I’m far from qualified to be a film critic, as evidenced by my affinity for Ichi the Killer. But for what it’s worth, I did very much enjoy The Fighter, as a fight fan and in general.
Of course, it was by no means a perfect film.
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There was a moment on Saturday night, right after Paul Williams crumpled to the mat, when even Sergio Martinez had yet to fully register what had taken place.
It reminded me of watching Piazza’s post-9/11 homer floating past me in the upper deck at Shea. Watching the formerly feared Williams sprawl face-first on the mat, time slowed to a crawl as our minds furiously processed what we had seen. And as Martinez’s jubilation took hold, everyone erupted, regardless of rooting interest.
A moment like that is a reminder that through all of the issues and nonsense boxing fans are privy to, it finds a way in the end to give us something to hold on to.
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The fact that Manny Pacquiao’s whitewash of Antonio Margarito last Saturday drew anywhere between 1.25-1.4 million pay-per-view buys, depending on who you ask, is a testament to two things: the popularity of Pacquiao, and the effectiveness of the HBO 24/7 program.
Tonight’s Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez rematch in Atlantic City, which I will be attending, has neither of those aspects in its favor. But while last week’s spectacle was valuable in that it showed that boxing could still be a major mainstream draw, the vibe for tonight’s fight from fans and writers actually possesses more excitement.
Last week’s fight was for everyone. This one’s for us.
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“I’m not really a boxing fan,” the guy working at Champs Sports in Times Square told me as I tried on a Manny Pacquiao sweatshirt. “But I never miss one of Manny’s fights.”
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If you’ve been expecting anyone other than Antonio Margarito to be waiting in the ring for Manny Pacquiao this November, you haven’t been paying attention. This is the fight Top Rank promoter Bob Arum wanted all along.
Disappointed it’s not Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather? Sure, me too.
But that’s not the way this sport works. Nothing comes easy. There are always agendas.
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I had the privilege of covering the Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight for my day job this past Saturday, which I enjoyed a great deal. I hadn’t been ringside for a fight since Floyd Mayweather and DeMarcus Corley way back in 2004, and it was good to be back. It almost made up for all the times I’ve had to work until long after the sun has risen. Almost.
Here are some of my favorite images from the first boxing match at Yankee Stadium in nearly 34 years.
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Yuri Foreman shuffled around the ring in the seventh round on Saturday night, attempting to fight with a badly injured right knee, while most observers lamented what a bad break had befallen the first Israeli world champion.
But Foreman’s injury took his title defense against Miguel Cotto from a surprisingly good match to unforgettable. And in the process, he showed us just what kind of person he is, and established a legacy that extends far past the ring.
Not a bad silver lining, if you ask me.
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Thought I’d share some of my favorite pictures from the run-up to Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium tonight. Feel free to use any of them for whatever you’d like, but please credit SportsAngle.com.
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I haven’t been around here as much I’d like to be lately, though that will change – my day job has taken up a slight bit more of my time given that I’ve been covering the events leading up to tonight’s Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight at Yankee Stadium, which has been great.
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Floyd Mayweather’s systematic destruction of Shane Mosley on Saturday night wasn’t the most exciting fight, as per usual. But it was a rare chance to see an athlete at the absolute top of his craft, and one who knows perfectly how to market himself at the same time.
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