When Did The "Every Fight Has To Be A Big Fight" Craze Begin?

Well why u gotta blame Garcia?? U sure it isnt Peterson?? I mean garcia beat the dude that KO him out nasty, dont u think hes hesitant??

 

Well I suppose everyone has their definition of cherry-picking. I think it involves fighters with more popularity and market value (SRL, Pacquiao, Floyd, etc...) who have the leverage and options to get almost any fight (everyone wants the big payday and exposure), and instead choose to fight opponents that are easier, or perceived to be easier.

Leonard after Hagler:

-The Lalonde debacle when both 168 and 175 were at stake, and Lalonde went down a whole division.
-Fighting Hearns at a catchweight when Hearns was viewed as damaged goods from the Barkley loss and Kinchen
-Fighting old Duran. Sure Duran had a great performance against Barkley, but SRL was not fighting the best guys at 160-168.

Mayweather and Pacquiao is the fight that even casual fans have wanted since the end of 2009. Fights like Pacquiao-Mosley and Mayweather-Guerrero are cases of big stars taking on easier opponents instead of facing each other. This weren't "stay busy" fights, each of these guys fight once or twice a year. This is "let's see what the public will buy".

Larry Holmes was another cherry-picker, at least late in his reign. He didn't fight the toughest opponents, the WBA titlists. He was facing guys with 12 pro fights.

I consider that cherry-picking. I am more critical of fighters who are bigger stars, that have the power to get most of the fights, and instead fight against opponents that aren't the best matchups. DLH had the negotiation leverage, and he took "keep busy" fights, but they usually came before a really good matchup. At least from 99-on.

Quartey
Carr
Trinidad
Coley
Mosley
Gatti
Castillejo
Vargas
Campas
Mosley 2
Sturm
Hopkins
Mayorga
Mayweather
Forbes
Pacquiao (remember this was supposed to be a Floyd rematch).

"Keep busy" fights are fine, but at least follow it up with something really good. Oscar may be a fishnet-wearing weirdo, but he took the toughest matchup or gave us the most intriguing matchup in each division for 1999 (2x), 2002, 2004, 2007, and was scheduled to in 2008 before Mayweather "retired".

That's when it's okay to mix in lesser fighters in with the elite opponents.

 

Fine. First off noone is saying that Garcia should not take any tune up fights, especially since he is coming off a de facto loss.

The problem is the SHO card and purse going to him where it could have gone to making a real fight. Take Garcia and Peterson purses from their garbage fights, give them instead to two high level fighters who want to actually have a fight. Even HBO's new favorite GGG heads to Monaco off HBO CB to take stay-busy fights. (and Ishida and Adama were both light years ahead of Rod Salka )

Instead of a triple card with 2 garbage fights and one competitive undercard bout, make a double card with one good headliner and one competitive undercard. This should be a no brainer. The fans win, fighters who want to actually fight and raise their profile win. Everyone wins except Garcia and Peterson.

Take Quillin as just one of 100 possible examples. He gets ragged on, but he would love to headline at Barclays. He would love to fight some real comp. He is from NYC and could actually sell some tickets. But does he get a shot at the big stage?

This card is not just disrespectful to the paying fans, its disrespectful to fighters who deserve and want a chance to headline with a good opponent for a real purse and a real chance to shine. Its also bad for boxing as a sport, casual and semi-casual fans get turned off when they think they are tuning in to the best and see garbage.

Defend Garcia for taking the fight if you want. But there is no defense for SHO buying and airing the fight on Showtime Championship Boxing.

Second - just because something has happened in the past does not mean it should happen again, as in this case.

 

And that's why people want the biggest/best possible fights. We don't get to see them often, so we want the best matchups.

Mayweather-Alvarez is considered a superfight in 2013. That was the equivalent of Leonard-Kalule in 1981 on a competitive level, only SRL-Kalule was better in terms of competitiveness.

Holyfield was fighting 2x per year during his reign and he was heavily bashed for defending against old Foreman (who did better than expected), Cooper (this was not Holyfield's fault though, Tyson fight got cancelled), and old Holmes.

People just want the best fights

 

It might not have to be a big fight each time out, but was Mo Herrera a big fight? That was considered a step down.

When a guy fights 1-3 times per year, as divisional champ, I'd like to think we get better than Herrera followed by Rod Salka. It doesn't have to be huge after the highly debatable win vs Herrera, but it shouldn't be a complete unknown either. That reeks of milking the title to me. Peterson would have been fine. Jesse Vargas. Antonio Demarco, Humberto Soto, even Ali Funeka would have been loads better, been viewed as a get back in the saddle type of fight. What we're getting is a sham.

 

I don't know that Funeka is truly better than Salka as of right now. :think

Funeka had name value when he fought Guzman, but that was over four years ago now. Since then he split a pair with Zolani Marali and then fought and kayoed soft competition with spotty activity.


Salka is better than his record indicates, as was Herrera (though perhaps less so). Most thought he was robbed last year against Canelo's brother on the Broner vs. Maidana undercard, and he then popped the cherry of Alexei Collado who a while back got some pretty insane world-beater hype from some of the Irish & Cuban fans.

Ali of 2008-2010 no doubt would've made a more satisfying challenger, but Funeka has fought no live bodies in a long time while Salka has been taking on ranked guys and beating 'em up.
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I agree with you, but on the flip side If you have a divisional champ like Garcia, sometimes its not easy getting big name fight. The opponent can price themselves out, want outrageous stipulations in the contracts, expect higher rankings in the other sanctioning bodies, etc.

So sometimes promoters just get the Rod Salka type fighters to step in, keep the champ from acquiring ring rust, get some rounds in, build up a bigger fan base, etc. No disrespect to Salka.

 

i think alot of it is money, promoters, and tittles......Boxing has become way more of a buisiness now than ever before and rightfully so i guess when you consider the amount of money at hand.

 

quarry had 4 losses dumbass and was in the top 10

bonevenna was 46-6 and in the top 5

folley was top 5 and had over 75 wins
just because you dont know who the fu.ck they are dont discredit them.
Hererra was supposed to be a cherry pick that back fired...and this next guy who is rated at #77 is an absolute bum pick atsch

 

Quarry and Bonavena were contenders and pretty good tests for someone coming off 3 years of inactivity.

Tyson was inactive for 4 years and fought Peter McNeeley

 

Y u gotta jump 2 conclushuns?
I never blamed either one of them. I expect Haymon fighters to be on nothing but bull**** cards now that there's a shake up at GBP.
I'm sure Garcia and Peterson are perfectly happy fighting mismatches while being over paid for it.

 

In regards to the OP, those guys who you mentioned fighting Ali: Quarry, Bonavena, Folley, etc. Those guys would belong in the top 10 1960s heavyweights right after Ali, Frazier, Liston, and Patterson. Those are quality guys, some of the best who've ever boxed in that division.

Duran you have a case for him fighting some bums, but he fought 119 times, so you can't expect every one to be with Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns.

I don't think that everyone expects every fight to be big unless they are shelling out 70 bucks for a pay per view, and then yes, every fight ought to be big. If you only fight once or twice a year, then every fight should be big. When a career these days is 40 fights long then they should be big. Back when careers were 200 fights long boxers could afford to pad their record. When fights were on public television that was alright. When boxers get paid millions of dollars every time they lace up their gloves, it should mean something.