MEDIA, MAYWEATHER AND BOXING

By Reni M. Valenzuela

A nation can only be as good as its media. While any sport cannot be any better than
the scribes who mold the minds of its constituencies. Particularly the “influential”
and “respected” opinion writers who are in privileged positions to be read by millions.

Money is not everything, much less in the sweet science, just in case you don’t know.
But with the way certain pundits reason out and defend vileness for money, there must
indeed be terribly wrong with the sport of boxing.

There is such a thing as values in life. And the issue here isn’t about hatred or love for
any particular person or athlete just as I, for one, love the soul of all villains.

But calling a villain genius (or Money Floyd as they put it) is like tagging Adolf Hitler
a hero and Osama Bin Laden a “necessary evil.” Come to think of it. Has boxing gone
that far or that low? The man’s numerous offenses are no marketing gimmick. They are
real and serious. And with all the recent “flaks” and “shenanigans” in boxing involving
certain enigmatic sports personalities and with some questionable type of mindsets in the
boxing media, could there be even just a little hope that boxing can be resuscitated back
to life soon?

If it is an exaggeration to say that boxing is dead these days, despite the millions of
dollars oddly coming in because of a “Hitler holocaust” or the “Bin Laden 9/11
tragedy,” tell me please how to describe it lesser?

Lest they forget, they have awesome responsibilities. And lest they are clueless, they
can be held accountable for the demise of the once truly great sport with great substance,
sans huge amounts of modern money or Money. The fall or decomposition of a person, a
nation or a sport always starts from within.

Nay, boxing isn’t dead. The flesh isn’t pale and cold yet and the heart beats still in the
ICU, but surgery is most urgently needed because the cancer cells have spread rapidly.

Life and death is in the power of the pen. And boxing is no different. It is right there in
your hands.

renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com