"They can say whatever they want, but if they don't disqualify Mayweather, they'll be the laughingstock of the world," King went on. "This is why our sport is going downhill. They can do whatever they want, but if they try and whitewash this, they'll only hurt themselves."
This is only part of why boxing is going downhill. The ability of a crook like King to dominate the sport for 30 years is a bigger part, really, but they're both just symptoms.
Boxing is on the wrong side of various historical, technological and demographic trends that have robbed it of both participants and fans, but it hasn't helped itself by remaining a lawless frontier where the rules are pretty much made up as needed by whoever has the most economic power.
But it's the shrinkage of the sport that has really hurt it. For the most part, better opportunities, in and out of sports, for poor people, combined with the continuing corruption and seediness of boxing, discourage most of the kids who in earlier eras became fighters from even considering it.
The sport is left to the truly desperate, plus the odd kid who gets the bug -- less and less likely, since boxing's totally gone from free TV and it's a minor niche sport on cable -- and those for whom it's the family business, like Mayweather and Judah.
That shrinkage is what makes a talented but not superlative fighter such as Mayweather the best in the world pound for pound, and what makes an ordinary kid like Judah look like a legitimate champ.
When I first started writing about boxing 20 years ago, I wrote that every sport has crotchety old-timers who kvetch that these clowns today can't hold a candle to the real men of days gone by, and that those old dudes are wrong in every sport but boxing.
Now, I'm one of those old dudes. I try to avoid saying things like "Pernell Whitaker would have taken Floyd Mayweather Jr. apart without breaking a sweat" because I don't want to sound like one of those in-my-day poops. But, you know, now that I mention it ...
Judah was the IBF champion going into this fight, incidentally, even though his last fight had been a title defense that he lost.
Huh?
Judah had been the "undisputed" champ -- that is, champ of the WBA, WBC and IBF, three of the biggest, but not the only three, associations of promoters that hand out titles -- in January when he lost a unanimous decision to a guy from Argentina named Carlos Baldomir. But Baldomir refused to pay the IBF and the WBA their sanctioning fees, saying he couldn't afford it, so he walked away with only the WBC title.
There's no way you're going to follow this, but: The WBA had two welterweight champs. Judah was a "super" champ, and there was also a "regular" champ, Luis Collado. I would explain what "super" and "regular" champs are, but why waste time? It's as confusing as it is pointless.
The IBF simply let Judah keep his belt, since he'd been the last guy to pay for it. That's the title Mayweather just won.
A great sport, reduced to rubble. Call me a crotchety old dude if you want, but boxing makes hockey look robust.
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Wisconsin wins Frozen Four [PERMALINK]
Wisconsin made it a sweep in the Frozen Four Saturday, winning a 2-1 thriller over Boston College in the Championship Game. The Badgers also won the women's hockey title.
Did you see it? A B.C. shot hit the post with 1.7 seconds left. Heart-pounding excitement.
One of these years, I'm going to forsake all the big sports and make a tour of all the sub-major events like the Frozen Four, events that are exciting and important, but not major league or big-time college basketball or football.
I'll go to the Frozen Four and the College World Series, baseball and softball. I'll finally make it to the NCAA wrestling finals. As many minor league All-Star Games and championship series as I can get to, baseball and hockey. The Arena Bowl and the NBADL, ABA and CBA playoffs. Division II and III championships in various sports. The soccer Final Four and the MLS Cup.
Is it my imagination that the heart-pounding excitement to disappointingly boring ratio of these events is better than in the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, etc.?
Yes, I think it is my imagination. But I also think that would be a hell of a way to spend a year.
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About the writer
King Kaufman is a senior writer for Salon. Visit his column archive. You can e-mail him at king at salon dot com.
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