This Fight Doesn't Need Hype; It Has Buzz

This Fight Doesn't Need Hype; It Has Buzz
By Steve Kim (July 25, 2008) Art © Richard T. Slone

There was no 24/7 produced by HBO Sports for this Saturday night’s welterweight showdown between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. In fact, the network had to be cajoled into do a 'Countdown' show after initially giving a few flimsy reasons why they wouldn't do one.

But guess what?

It really didn't need to do either. The bottom line is that from the moment that both Margarito and Cotto defended their welterweight titles back on April 12th, every boxing fan across the world looked forward with great anticipation of the immovable object (Margarito) facing the irresistible force (Cotto). All they needed to know was where exactly this fight was taking place and they would be making their plans to fly in (economy be damned).

And the reason is simple - this is one helluva fight between two authentic, down-to-earth fighters. No press conference histrionics or manufactured storylines are needed here. No need to talk about the economic impact of this fight, and unlike De La Hoya-Mayweather - which produced 'Dark Knight'-like box-office numbers - this particular bout will be lucky to break 400,000 pay-per-view buys. And the marketing plan is very simple: 'The Battle'. While the world could await the rematch between Floyd and Oscar (and thankfully will not be getting it), the hardcore fan can't wait for this.

See, because that fight was all about hype (which it failed miserably in living up to). The fight this weekend is all about buzz, which it has in abundance.

I think Stephen King, in his monthly column for 'Entertainment Weekly' (and yes, I do read EW, thank you very much), said it best in the June 6th edition of the magazine by stating, "Buzz is not hype and hype is not buzz. Hype is paid for. Buzz is free. Hype is often unreliable. Buzz, on the other hand, is almost always reliable."

Mr. King, not only do you excel in penning fiction, you can write the truth eloquently as well. See, fights like Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo and the trilogy between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez had buzz from the boxing world and delivered big. They involved boxers who were still hungry and passionate. The fans knew something special was brewing, and they didn't need to have it incessantly shoved down their throat in the form of corporate agendas. And more importantly, the fighters involved in those memorable contests hadn't morphed into imposters of their former selves who now look for the easy way out in fights while getting paid millions. In recent years, fights involving the likes of De La Hoya, Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright and Roy Jones, among others, have come with an avalanche of hype and promises of great fights but failed to deliver. With opportunities to put boxing in its best light in front of the mainstream media and the casual sports fan, they acted like businessmen, not boxers.

Which in the long run was bad for the boxing business.

Before this fight was officially announced by Top Rank, this reporter was deluged with emails from all over the world from fans wanting to know just when and where this battle would be taking place. They didn't need to be told by a network or sold by a promoter as to why they should attend this fight. Why? Because this fight has buzz. As King noted, it's real, it's tangible and it's something you can count on.

As you peruse all the boxing websites, Margarito-Cotto dominates the bandwidth, and message board debates rage as to who will win on Saturday night. That's to be expected; after all, these are boxing websites. But if you go to Youtube.com where the subject matter is much more wide-ranging, if you type in Margarito-Cotto (or some combination like that) you will see a bundle of quality, entertaining, home-made, self-produced videos that were created by fans in anticipation of this event. And I have to say, I'm no Rex Reed, but I'm impressed by these amateur productions. I admit, I've spent a few hours looking through these videos. Are you surprised? Hey, I'm looking forward to this just as much as you are. I can't lie, for all the duds I've covered ringside for Maxboxing, fights like this are the reason I love my job. Lot's of other nights I go to work (and 'work' being a relative term, I know I'm not digging ditches here); Saturday night, I feel like Lou Gehrig - the luckiest man on the face of the Earth (or close to it.)

Ticket sales for this fight, after a blazing start, have slowed. Perhaps it's the economy, but the reality is that Cotto hasn't fought out west in about four years and Margarito, in boxing's galaxy of stars, has always been a B-lister. But for those inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena this weekend - as Marv Levy would say to his Buffalo Bills before big games - there's no other place they'd rather be. For all the mismatches and regretful pay-per-views they have shelled out for in the past, this is why you follow the sport of boxing. For those who were lucky enough to be in attendance for Corrales-Castillo I or Vazquez-Marquez III, you know it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The tension is palpable and the excitement surreal. And as it ends, you feel as though you've lived through a classic novel, something that will be etched in history and embedded in your mind forever. The special ones have that affect on you.

This has a chance to be one of those special nights.

There's a certain purity to this event. Unlike other events in recent years that felt more like corporate transactions than actual prizefights, where everybodies’ - from promotional firms and corporate interests to the fighters - wallets are satisfied - this one here is just as much about Margarito and Cotto as it is about the fans. Here you have two honest fighters who you feel are willing to give - just as much as they have received - from the sport they make their livelihoods in.

One of the storylines being pushed for this fight is the specter of the Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry. It's just my opinion, but that's a cheap, easy and unnecessary angle. Yeah, I guess it's natural to go with this anytime these two countries meet inside the ring, but Margarito is not a beloved figure inside Mexico like their ultimate icon Julio Cesar Chavez, much less having the cache of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales - although a victory against Cotto would go a long ways towards his cause. As for Cotto, while his resume is impressive, his stoic nature has left him without the adulation and unconditional support of the icon that preceded him in his homeland, Felix Trinidad. Both fighters have been as respectful as you can expect them to be in the lead up to this bout. It certainly doesn't have the nationalistic fervor that fights like Sanchez-Gomez and Chavez-Rosario had in the past.

Also, I've received plenty of email correspondences from folks whose surnames were not Gomez, Gonzalez, Calderon, Lopez and Munoz. Guess what? Non-Latinos are also plenty excited about this matchup, too.

Like I said, it's got buzz.

Just two real fighters, one potentially memorable battle.

No hype needed.

PRESSING ISSUES

Don't get me wrong now, media interest in this event is pretty high. They also seem to have a sense that this fight is worth covering.

“I’ve been working with Top Rank for almost nine years now, and I've done the three Morales-Barrera fights, the three Morales-Pacquiao fights, all of Cotto's championship fights and I have never, ever had so many requests from the media about these guys," said Ricardo Jimenez, Top Rank’s publicist, on Monday afternoon at Margarito's media day in Montebello, California. "They've wanted to talk to them, they wanted to visit them in camps. I know the Cotto camp, I got like two or three visits a camp - I had like eight, ten this time around. And Margarito, maybe a couple of guys will come out who know him. But this time people from back east have come out to see him. People from all over the place, people from Mexico came to see him.

"So I know this is one of the biggest fights I've ever been around."

What's interesting is that not too much out of the norm was done to promote this fight by Top Rank, outside of the usual conference calls and media days. Both camps resisted doing too much, preferring instead to focus in on the fight. Unlike a Manny Pacquiao, who participated in a weekly function for his last bout against David Diaz in late June, neither fighter believes they have the luxury of taking so much time off from training.

Jimenez says that over 300 credentials have been issued for this fight. And a good number of writers from the East Coast will be coming in. The Los Angeles Times has already done stories surrounding 'The Battle'. From what I'm told, on Wednesday, the press room is already, do we dare say, buzzin'?

TRAINING DAZE?

On October 18th Bernard Hopkins - the man who refuses to go away - will take on Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Will trainer Freddie Roach be in his corner?

"I haven't heard from anybody in that camp yet," he would say on Tuesday afternoon. "But there's a couple of things me and Bernard would have to talk about. I'm not so sure if three trainers at one time is the best move. I don't think you can have three bosses, even though I respect the two other trainers. Everyone has a different agenda, everyone thinks differently, we're human beings. I believe he should fight this way, John David (Jackson) might think another way, Naazim (Richardson) might think another way. So it's really difficult to have three trainers. If I did it, I'd have to be the sole trainer."

After his loss to Calzaghe in April, Roach encouraged Hopkins to call it a day.

"I did give him that advice and I asked him to retire," confirmed Roach. "But he's a grown man and that's what I like about our country, we do have freedom of choice. Bernard picked a helluva fight to go with. Pavlik's a tough guy; he might be biting off more than he can chew. Then you look at it, what if he beats Pavlik? There's a possibility at 170, could he do it. Possibly. He's a crafty guy but he'd have to be much more offensive in this fight than he has been because Pavlik's going to make him fight."

When asked about the immediate future of his franchise fighter, Manny Pacquiao, Roach says, "In talking to Bob Arum, he told me to keep quiet about it, 'I'm doing my job.' I said, 'Well, Bob, nobody does it better than you. Do your job.' I'm not going to comment on that."

'On that' - which he says with a laugh, means a possible fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

"That's the fight I want. I think it's the best fight out there for us at this point. Ricky Hatton, obviously, is the one I really want, but he's not available. But I hope Bob does a good job."

FRIDAY FLURRIES

Isn't it great to have 'College Football Live' back on ESPN? Yes folks, the season is upon us....I have to admit, I thought Justin Timberlake was funny on the ESPY's - at least the parts of it that I caught.... If Calzaghe-Jones ends up on November 8th, wouldn't that be a bit of a problem with Hatton-Malignaggi taking place two weeks later? It's already been proven that many more Brits will travel for Hatton than Calzaghe. Why not just reschedule the fight where it belongs, in Wales?....I guess it's the best of times and the worst of times for Christian Bale....I had to laugh watching the clips of Vai Sikahema KO'ing Jose Canseco, I remember when Canseco used to just use his head to deflect fly balls over the right field fence....By the way, I thought Sikahema did a great job in-studio with Brian Kenny on FNF....For more information on the artwork done by Richard Slone that accompanies this story, log onto www.sloneart.com......

For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com

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