411’s Prizefight Preview 3.20.09: Boxing + MMA!
Posted by Matt Knowles on 03.21.2009
This Saturday night on pay-per-view, boxing and MMA bouts will be featured on one great show, as Roy Jones takes on Omar Sheika and Bobby Lashley tangles with Jason Guida!
Welcome back to the Prizefight Preview!
This Saturday night, the action sports world will be in for a unique treat, as boxing and MMA bouts will take place under one roof on one intriguing fight card! In the main event, multi-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. returns to the squared-circle in what should be an entertaining battle against battle-tested Omar Sheika in a 12-round boxing affair. On the under-card, former ECW world champion Bobby Lashley, now an up-and-coming martial arts combatant, will take on late replacement Jason Guida in an MMA bout.
Rather than pick apart the two featured bouts on this card for any extensive period of time, I thought we should look into the phenomenon that is taking place with this cross-promotional card, and see if it is something that fight fans across the globe are ready for!
The idea of pairing boxing matches with MMA bouts has been a frequent topic of conversation for a few years now. Fans of both genres, like myself, have been waiting for a promotional outfit to have the desire/motivation/cojones to combine boxing and MMA on one show. Although this Saturday night won't be the very first attempt at this feat, it looks as if this fight card is the first genuine, pro-active step towards the possibility that the two sports can, in fact, co-exist under one roof on one night.
There are legitimate arguments for-and-against this idea, and an abundance of opinions from all angles that must be considered. On the plus side, boxing fans who pay to see Roy Jones may in fact begin to embrace MMA if Bobby Lashley puts forth an awesome performance. On the flip-side, the wrestling/MMA fans who order the fights may gain a greater appreciation for Roy Jones and the brilliance he brings to a boxing ring. This type of reaction would be to the benefit of both sports, and would be a very encouraging step towards peace and harmony between the fans of both genres.
Now, if by some miracle, both bouts are equally entertaining (if not competitive, mind you), then everybody wins! Boxing and MMA will grow together, fan bases will expand on both sides, and the action sports world will mutate into one big happy family with no conflict or concerns about which sport is better. Okay, so a man can still dream…
The so-called "purists," however, still have their doubts about the two genres co-existing circa 2009. HBO color commentator Larry Merchant has been bashing MMA and its fans for years. I'm guessing he hasn't seen a bout since the early 90's, or more specifically, since the days when he could complete a full sentence without a drunken stutter. But I digress…there are plenty of old-school boxing cats out there, like Merchant, that don't want to see MMA succeed.
Then, you have the new-school MMA fans, who feel boxing is too one-dimensional and boring to perk their interests. With MMA, there are infinite way to finish a bout, with all of the chokes, locks, and strikes that are available to utilize. With boxing...you've got two guys getting punched.
Then there's the entertainment aspect of the pay-per-view shows to consider. Let's face it: the concepts within MMA of having less rounds per bout, with more sustained action, and a greater number of bouts altogether on one show, is much more suited towards the short-attention-span, 18-35 male demographic that tends to purchase fight sports.
I, in no way, can argue against this notion. If you buy a big UFC card, for example, you are guaranteed 6-10 fights, none going for than a ½ hour, tops. With those fights, you'll get maybe 1 stinker, 3-4 mediocre bouts, and 2-3 that make you jump outta your seat with excitement. What do you get from a boxing PPV these days? Four bouts, one good, one bad, and two average, IF you're lucky. Bout-for-bout, MMA has boxing beat these days, in terms of PPV entertainment/most "bang for the buck."
To boxing's credit, when you do get that spectacular PPV main event, it will COMPLETELY trump all of the sports press for that particular weekend, and will garner more attention than any MMA attraction ever could. Case in point: Antonio Margarito's big win over Miguel Cotto last summer was one of the few bouts where boxing fans and MMA fans alike came to the agreement that it was an awesome match-up. When the bout lived up to its infinite hype, with Margarito winning via TKO in round 11, all action sports fans rejoiced!
So, to tie all of these arguments together, it seems as if MMA has more consistent entertainment value, card-for-card, while boxing, however inconsistent, produces more magical, "you-gotta-see-this-fight!" moments. So my question/answer to all of this: why not combine ‘em both?!?!
This brings us to this weekend, where the two worlds will interlock on one fight card. Boxing fans will have Roy Jones, the most gifted and talented fighter of our lifetime, try to revive his career (for the 3rd or 4th time) against perennial contender Omar Sheika, who has never been in a bad fight. On paper, this is a very fun match-up that could produce some fireworks. If Roy's defense doesn't hold up, Sheika could pull off the miracle and stop the man they call Superman Jones. If Jones brings his A-game, he'll cruise to his usual UD12 victory. Although not much is expected of this bout, I'm guessing that we're all in for some surprises once the two fighters begin to tangle at center ring.
On the MMA side of things we have Bobby Lashley, the former WWE talent who has jumped ship to martial arts, taking on Jason Guida, who is a last-minute substitute for Ken Shamrock (who tested positive for ‘roids and was suspended). Although not much is expected of this bout in terms of competition, it will be an excellent platform for Lashley to get his name out there and generate some buzz. If he is able to dominate and look good doing so, the UFC machine may be knocking down his door for contract talks, in the hopes that they could match Lashley with the current UFC/former WWE champ Brock Lesnar. I can just SMELL the big PPV #'s for that one!
Will this Saturday night's card completely flip the PPV-world upside-down? Absolutely not. This is simply a small step in, what I would consider, the right direction. We've got a bona-fide star in Roy Jones as the headliner, with an attractive showcase for Bobby Lashley as the main support bout. My hope, just like so many other boxing/MMA fans, is that Saturday's card will lead to more hybrid promotions like it.
Here are some thoughts to ponder:
*** Any MMA fan could appreciate the tenacity of up-and-coming boxing sensation James Kirkland…why not put his next bout on a Rampage Jackson card?
*** Miguel Torres is the brightest young prospect in MMA these days….would a bout on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. be such a bad idea?
*** Fedor Emelianenko and Wladimir Klitschko are not only wildly popular world-wide, but are the top heavyweights in their respective sports…why not have them defend their titles on the same show?
*** Boxing fans generally order a PPV card strictly for the main event…so why not have some MMA bouts on the under-card of Pacquiao-Hatton?
*** Speaking of Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king of boxing….what if he fought on the same card as Anderson Silva, MMA's top star?
I can see something…..wait….I think….it's….
Obviously, we're not ready for this type of business model just yet…but Saturday night's card is a step in this direction, and I, for one, am PSYCHED!!!
