Over the weekend, boxing and the Ultimate Fighting Championship had major fights on their cards.
But they were also engaged in a fight between themselves.
UFC President Dana White instigated a ratings war after he scheduled UFC 103 to coincide with, arguably, the most anticipated boxing match of the year.
It was a move he said was made to prove that UFC is more popular than boxing.
The fight White was trying to compete with was the much-heralded return of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and one of boxing’s most entertaining personalities – Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus the Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez.
White’s event offered an anticipated matchup as well, with Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin heading up the event.
Mayweather versus Marquez was scheduled well in advance of UFC 103, but instead of White trying to maximize his profits, he opted to show the boxing world how his sport is quickly gaining a massive following.
White, an admitted boxing fan of many years, was keeping tabs on the fight during his event in Dallas and said after the Mayweather-Marquez match went to a decision, “It sucked just like I thought it would, just like I knew it would It went to a 12-round boring decision,” White told the Las Vegas Sun.
Really, Dana, you are a boxing fan?
That is exactly what the sweet science of boxing is.
It’s not a couple of guys rolling around on the ground, if that is what you were hoping for.
And what would you expect from one of the greatest defensive boxers in history.
Of course Mayweather was going to use angles to cut the ring however he wanted and pepper Marquez’s face with punches designed to score, not kill.
Understandably, mixed martial arts appeals to a younger generation, and boxing fans tend to represent older generations, but if White thinks his sport is going to take over boxing, he is dead wrong.
Boxing has not even had a legitimate heavyweight fight in nearly a decade, and its Pay-Per-View numbers still trump the UFC’s.
The official numbers from Saturday’s fight have not been released as of Monday afternoon, but I have a feeling White’s efforts were for naught.
Somehow the two sports are going to have to learn to coexist, because boxing, although not at its peak, is still extremely popular.
And Mixed Martial Arts’ viewership is rising exponentially as well.
So, Mr. White, if you were so unimpressed with Mayweather’s performance and you are so determined to beat boxing’s ratings, here is an idea: Why don’t you pit your best welterweight against “Money May” and watch him get picked apart?
Then, at least, you can get rich while your boy — whoever he is — gets worked over.
The war of words has not been one-sided over the years, though.
While he was training for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, Mayweather declared that even top-notch UFC champions wouldn’t be able to last in a boxing ring.
“UFC’s champions can’t handle boxing,” the undefeated Mayweather said at the time. “Put one of our guys in UFC and he’d be the champion. Any good fighter, he’d straight knock them out.”
Those sound like fighting words.
Reach Erik at emschimm@asu.edu.
