THE similar day information broke concerning an Amir Khan failed performance-enhancing drug check, two British cruiserweights stood eyeball to eyeball, then considered shaking arms earlier than finally selecting to embrace one another.
Not solely a shocking flip of occasions, the hug shared by former fitness center mates Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith that April afternoon appeared altogether therapeutic. It was therapeutic for them, on the one hand, for it shattered any of the same old rigidity that happens on the day of a battle announcement, and it was considerably therapeutic for the remainder of us too.
As a result of, frankly, by no means was a excellent news story as welcome as on a day like Tuesday, April 4. Hours after the Khan information had damaged, we looked for solutions and for the sunshine and, fortunately, ultimately wouldn’t have to attend lengthy, for it arrived that very same day within the type of a compelling all-British WBO cruiserweight title battle introduced for Might 27 in Bournemouth. Higher but, there was a storyline to this specific battle able to distracting us from extra urgent and miserable issues, at the least quickly, as properly a refreshing shock factor to it which, relying in your diploma of cynicism, restored your religion in boxing’s capacity to get its act collectively and make the fights the followers wish to see when such measures are required.
For this, credit score ought to go to the boxers concerned. It’s their job, in spite of everything, to make sure fights like this happen and seemingly Okolie and Billam-Smith have been the driving forces behind the choice to primarily fast-track a battle that beforehand appeared destined to finish up happening both later this 12 months and even subsequent 12 months. Why this has occurred is anybody’s guess, however it could be truthful to say that traditionally the cruiserweight division has by no means been awash with alternatives for fighters – financially, that’s – and subsequently tends to lend itself to surprisingly easy offers and sudden (and aggressive) fights.
Between Okolie and Billam-Smith we’ve a continuation of this pattern. Each little doubt had choices – safer ones, much less dangerous ones – however, equally, each knew their quickest and straightest path to a pot of gold was to collaborate on a date already within the books, with each a venue and tv slot in place. Furthermore, to speed up this proactive pondering, it was solely three weeks in the past Okolie sleepwalked via a uninteresting 12-rounder towards New Zealand’s David Mild, which doubtless had the impact of each motivating Okolie to get out once more – towards somebody a bit extra threatening – and motivating Billam-Smith to pounce at a time when Okolie is probably nonetheless discovering his ft after a chronic interval of inactivity.
That’s excellent news for followers accustomed to listening to the explanation why two fighters can’t instantly battle relatively than the explanation why they ought to. Clearly, opposite to fashionable perception, a perception pushed by promoters and fighters themselves, an excellent battle shouldn’t be exhausting to make as long as these concerned within the course of of constructing it really need it to occur and usually are not, as tends to be the norm, utilizing the façade of effort both for consideration or to furtively work on a better possibility elsewhere.
One other factor opposite to fashionable perception, and once more that is evident within the case of Okolie and Billam-Smith, is that an excellent battle doesn’t want animosity as its gasoline or promoting level. Right here, with Okolie and Billam-Smith, there is no such thing as a such dynamic, nor would one anticipate something like that to develop within the weeks main as much as their battle on the finish of Might. As a substitute, rather than animosity you don’t have anything however respect between two former sparring companions who, in response to each, have been mates through the time they spent collectively at Shane McGuigan’s fitness center.
Since then, Okolie, 19-0 (14), has left McGuigan and ready for his final battle alongside the American Sugar Hill. But, whereas usually a divorce in boxing could be used for backstory or, in some cases, produce real rigidity and needle between the related members, there is no such thing as a such factor obvious with Okolie and McGuigan and Billam-Smith, 17-1 (12).
In some methods you’d assume that will come as a disappointment, too, what with all the chances that sort of storyline would supply: bitter cruiserweight champion battles the contender whose coach was the person who as soon as guided the champion to his cruiserweight belt. Nonetheless, removed from disappointing, the mutual respect proven by Okolie and Billam-Smith when in one another’s firm – no higher exemplified than after they warmly hugged following their press convention – merely proves what we’ve been saying all alongside: it’s the battle that issues, not the instruments, nevertheless real or manufactured, promoters and fighters use to promote it.
Some, alas, nonetheless don’t perceive this. They attempt to promote us fights of little or no curiosity after which try to attraction to our thirst for chaos and confrontation by having the 2 mismatched boxers interact in vulgar shows of pre-fight “beef”. This results in a slew of faux slanging and shoving matches at press conferences, the footage of which then naturally finds its means on to social media and, in flip, makes boxing appear like a sport run by incompetent idiots, filled with nothing however short-tempered, ill-mannered thugs. To a point, that notion is true, in fact, however solely boxing would readily current that picture to the world – an already judgemental and sceptical world – so as to merely promote a battle that with out such measures would wrestle to do numbers both on the gate or on pay-per-view.
It’s the final word act of sporting self-harm, I suppose. We do it to ourselves and with rising regularity as properly. As if the frequent failed drug assessments and varied cover-ups weren’t sufficient for the game, boxing then shoots for the bottom widespread denominator, each when it comes to promoting techniques and the audience. They assume its viewers is silly and provides them what silly folks as of late need: faux press convention brawls; younger ladies with zero boxing capacity pulling hair and screaming expletives; banter, content material, beef. They do that with all of the subtlety of a Carlos Maussa proper hand and solely those paying consideration will query it or certainly respect {that a} pre-fight hug is nearly as good as a pre-fight brawl if the battle to observe is one value making within the first place.
