May
03
2010
0

Finding Mayweather vs. Mosley

event posterBy Regina Trolman

There is a real distinction between straight ‘Boxing’ and ‘Mixed Martial Arts’. Those of us who really follow the two sports know the difference. Or at least that’s what real Boxing fans tell me…

So why is it that when I talk about the sport that I love – Mixed Martial Arts, I always find myself in deep discussions with boxing ‘fans’ who really don’t seem to follow their sport very closely?

This past Saturday, I wasn’t even thinking about the Mayweather vs. Mosley boxing match but my neighbor was… He was sitting at home thinking; “I wonder where I can go to watch the Big Fight? – OH! I know. I’ll just call Regina. She’ll be able to tell me!”

Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not completely blind to Boxing. Hey, I know that Boxing is a Martial Art. I understand that without the broadcast and pay-per-view events of the great boxing matches from the likes of Cassius Clay, Foreman, Leonard, Frazier, Tyson, and all the others we would never be watching all this Cage Fighting and Mixed Martial Arts action that we love so much. What I don’t understand is why these so called ‘fans of boxing’ don’t really know what’s going on in ‘their sport’.

Ok, so I’m a middle aged single gal and aside from my love of MMA, I hold a full-time career job in corporate America. I’m observant. I hear the conversations around me. I know what’s happening in the local gathering places. Since I don’t have kids, after work I often find myself eating a lot of my meals in restaurants and consuming tasty beverages in the local bars. I’ve become a ‘regular’ in more than a few places.

I watch a lot of TV – bar side. I see the advertisements on the TV’s, the posters on the walls, and the signs on the doors. I know that for every UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce event that comes up, the local hangouts offer drink specials and good times for all if you will ‘Come In and Watch on Our Big Screens!’.

But, one thing that I noticed for the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight was that not one single poster, not one single sign, and very few advertisements leading up to the Big Boxing event could be found. Anywhere. Why is that? I mean, Boxing is a big sport, right? Boxing has been around forever and its fans can be found all over the world.

Boxing is a multi – billion dollar entertainment industry. Those who are leaders in the sport make millions and billions of dollars and are known by everyone around the world. Boxing is not a flash in the pan like MMA, Right?

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley are two of the top welterweights in their sport. Am I correct? So tell me: how is it that my neighbor called me to inquire about where he could watch the fights? And although I wasn’t able to tell him exactly where to watch the fights – I did have a few ideas.

Thus, begins my quest: Finding Mayweather vs. Mosley

So, I called my buddy who really does have a love for Boxing. I asked him where he was going to watch the fight. He named ‘Stats’ – a very popular sports bar located waaaaay downtown. “But, oh,” he said; “’Hooters’, may be showing it.” So I called ‘Hooters’ and guess what? They weren’t showing the fight. That was strange. ‘Hooters’ usually shows all of the UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce events.

So, then I thought I’d call another place, a regional chain: ‘Taco Mac’. Nope. “We’re a family restaurant.” The hostess informed me on the telephone. Ok. That’s interesting. I really didn’t get that. Yes, they serve food but don’t they pride themselves on serving close to 200 different types of beers? They’ve got TV’s on every wall and kids don’t drink all that beer. Hmmmm.

I know, let me call one more place. I’ll call one of my old haunts – those guys show all the sports. They have lots of big screens and plenty of seats. That’s it! Wrong! ‘Firkin Pub’ wasn’t showing that Big Boxing match either. Interesting.

I called my neighbor and told him what I found. Not much luck unless he was willing to drive waaaaay downtown or pay to see the fight at home on pay-per-view.

Here’s my observation: the boxing organizations don’t seem to have as many big events as the MMA organizations. Now, is that my opinion, my imagination, or is that true? Anyway, I’m thinking that if Boxing is so well loved by so many people then it should be easy to find out where and when The Big Boxing Event is being shown. Right?

Lately, we seem to have a regular televised or pay-per-view MMA event almost every other week. As a fan of MMA, I keep up with the all of the where’s, when’s, and how’s of my favorite sport. What I mean is: I know where I’m going to watch the events long before the day or evening of the event.

Yes, pay-per-view is expensive. Buying beers and mixed drinks in a sports bar can sometimes break the bank. Often my friends and I plan parties around the MMA events. We’ll take turns buying the PPV’s and having each other over. Sometimes, we’ll meet at a different sports bar for each event. This makes things even more fun!

So if the major boxing events don’t happen quite as often, why don’t the boxing fans get together to do the same thing we do? Or maybe they do. Maybe they have a secret society that I just don’t know about. Why aren’t there more establishments where the lovers of boxing can watch their events? I mean, boxing is The Sport. Right?

Well, Saturday night I really didn’t care about boxing. I was just trying to help out my neighbor. Actually, I was headed to a local venue to meet some friends to watch some Regional MMA fights.

The fights that I was headed to see were scheduled to start at 7:00pm ET. The Mayweather vs. Mosley fight was scheduled to start at 11:30pm ET.

When I got home at 11:35pm I noticed that my neighbor’s house was all buttoned up. It didn’t look like he had gone out for the evening, so maybe he was watching the Big Event on pay-per-view. Who knows?

What I do know is that I saw 8 (not just 1) pretty decent MMA fights all before that Big Boxing Match could even get started. What I do know is that I got to see several submissions and a knockout and I left the event feeling like I got what I paid for…

Sunday afternoon I called Bob to ask how he enjoyed that Big Boxing Match. Get this: Bob went to bed at 9:30pm! He didn’t even watch the fight. I’m still LAUGHING!

What Do You Think of This Fight/Event?