Someone`s 0 has to go
Aw…there there`s a current snakes and ladders ”Apples and pears,” awe and obsession with undefeated records in Boxing, but do defeats really define or even denigrate a fighter?
Whitey Bimstein, The great trainer, cut man, man with a pin for lazy fighters and often as not in the other corner from that of Joe Louis, once patching up a battered ”Two Ton” Tony Galento said: ”Show me an undefeated fighter and I`ll show you a guy who`s never fought anybody.”
Gloom and doom hand wringing after Canelo`s fists weren`t effective enough to defeat the swarming Terence Crawford, yet World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said: ”Zero defeats on a record has been very popular and attentive, because it`s undefeated. But virtually every champion and great legend has lost. Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns. All of them lost, so the concept of undefeated is mostly due to popularity.
”With the Canelo VS Crawford fight, it was a great night and a legendary fight and there`s no shame in losing, especially against another great fighter. Canelo is the number one contender in the super-middleweight division, he`s a legend in the making and we will always have the WBC doors open.”
Legendary Boxing Matchmaker Roberto Diaz described losing the O on the record as: ”The Mayweather effect.” He elaborated: ”The young fighters saw that is how you are successful, that`s how you become the face of boxing, that`s how you make a lot of money. You protect your record. I think we`re going to see this change. Younger people coming up now are not so worried because in this era, we have the Canelo effect. He is still the face, he`s still successful and he has losses on his record. Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney have had losses early on and are still successful.
”Back in the day, Arturo Gatti…may he rest in peace, lost some big fights, but everyone tuned in to see him because he provided action. Many can go twenty and 0 and they`re lying to themselves. It`s the true fighters who are willing to take those risks like Crawford and Canelo who both fought outside their comfort zones with bigger guys for legacy and I think the fans, especially when they leave will say WOW, it happened. Even Roberto Duran, who I was not a big fan pf, because he defeated my idol Sugar Ray Leonard. But oh…now we so miss Roberto competing.”
