Affliction/Golden Boy: Match made in…?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
It’s pretty well known that Affliction, though offering some quality fights, has been pretty much on its last legs.
Well, lo and behold, that may have ended earlier this week. Affliction and Golden Boy Promotions have agreed to a partnership, featuring cards with both MMA and boxing action.
So I pose this: match made in heaven? Or match made in hell? As an aficionado of all things fighting, I’ve never understood the whole contempt boxing fans have MMA nor MMA has boxing and then what followers of both have professional wrestling.
Eh, it’s pretty much all the same to me. Some fights are duds, some are great, no matter what organization or brand you happen to like.
When it comes to both MMA and boxing, the PPV shows are normally a joke. It may be for budget reasons or pride reasons (the one I’m leaning toward), but PPV cards as a whole are pitiful.
Nobody is trying to produce a stellar card from top to bottom. MMA cards are just a tad above boxing, but MMA fights don’t last nearly as long as the pugilistic warfare. But bad boxing can still take 36 minutes while bad MMA should only take nine minutes.
Boxing is diluted with the meaningless title bouts featuring people nobody (outside of me and some other sickos) that people know. And it’s not so bad when you’re dealing with the WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF. It’s when you get into those four-letter belts, that you start to shake your head and tap out on the sport.
Golden Boy of course is the brainchild of Oscar de La Hoya. And Affliction, whether it wants to admit to it or not, is being carried by heavyweight Fedor. Fedor won’t be lacing up any Grant gloves nor will Oscar be sporting only four-inch padding, but what if both were on the same card in what they do best?
This is where pride comes in, IMHO. You have to be willing to be the “curtain jerker.” If it’s a sensational card, swallow your pride. Fight your tail off so organizers have no choice but to never put you there ever again.
Who gets the better of this partnership? I honestly don’t know. Can MMA bring that kind of non-stop energy to boxing? Can boxing bring its throngs of Mexican-American fans to MMA? It’s interesting, so I’m in firm support of the move by both.
Golden Boy has quickly become one of the most stable promotions in boxing. If the partnership fails, Golden Boy will live on. I don’t know about Affliction.
Like I said, as a lover of the fight game, I hope this works. It’s a great way to bring both sets of fans together and learn they can co-exist.
Local scene: Hey, just want to throw out some info about the boxing card at the Cox Center on Saturday.
Discounted tickets will be offered at the Hooters’ on S. Penn on Thursday as well as at the weigh-in Friday at the Bricktown Hotel at 2 p.m.
Promoter Anthony McGhee has said he is going to spice up the card with a concert-like atmosphere. We’ll see how it goes.
I’m all for the glitz and glamour, but the fights need to deliver. And, for deadline’s sake, they need to conclude in a timely manner.
A great week to be a fight fan in OKC with C3 Fights on Friday at Lucky Star. Boxing on Saturday. And Freestyle Cage Fighting at the State Fair on Sunday. The Sooners and Cowboys are off, so it’s a perfect opportunity to re-introduce the fight game to Oklahoma City.
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