A Fat Tub Of Guts

The heavyweight showdown this past Saturday brought back the sorry nostalgia of the 80s, the decade of the fat heavyweight. It started with Greg Page, the erstwhile Ali imitator who proceeded to eat himself out of heavyweight contention. Then there was Tony Tubbs, whose last name befitted his blubbery physique. Lower down the food chain, there was James Broad, again someone whose last name perfectly described his stomach.


But perhaps the above heavyweights couldn't help themselves. They were big guys. Toney, on the other hand, is old for a fighter (37), short for a heavyweight (5'9") and weighed in at a grossly out of shape 237 pounds. This lack of professionalism is astounding, people pay to see the bout live, they pay for their HBO subscriptions and to see this kind of non-effort is insulting. This wasn't a fight he was taking on short notice, he had ample opportunity to get in shape and win the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. Hell, the oddsmakers even declared him a 2 1/2 to 1 favorite.

His lack of passion was match by Rahman's lack of fire. Rahman was content to fire a jab at the lazy Toney and seem to win the fight simply by throwing more punches. Rahman's post-fight reaction was puzzling. After a fight he had appeared to easily win was declared a draw he took it with a shrug of the shoulder. He then stated in the interview with Larry Merchant that "Toney will come in shape next time. The rematch will be different". This is the first time I've ever heard a fighter become an apologist for his opponent. If he had any fire or desire he would have been angry at the decision and nixed the need for a rematch. If this had been Ali, you would have seen ranting and raving. Hell, even Larry Holmes had the temerity to tell the judges to kiss his "big black behind" after being robbed in the rematch with Michael Spinks.

So the commentators made a point throughout the broadcast that the fans are seemingly uninterested in the heavyweight division. The reason was made clear Saturday night. These are fighters without passion, with no desire to put forth the effort to make people interested.

When is Pacquiao versus Barrera II?