Here’s how much any of you know about what really went down in the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford negotiations…..
That empty space above, by the way, represents “zero.”
Zero as in nada, bupkis, rien, zilch.
The truth is-- really and truthfully and honestly-- that none of us know what went down/what went wrong. Unless you were part of the direct negotiations, you have no idea at all who’s to “blame” or where things stalled. You just don’t. And no article you read by any news source will get you any closer to the truth. This is because everything floated out there regarding these negotiations has been leaked to a reporter by someone with a horse in the race, trying to shine a positive light on their side.
In short, all we know is that Spence-Crawford is not happening next. Crawford will be fighting David Avanesyan on December 10 in a pay-per-view broadcast by relative upstart (and newbie in the professional boxing game) BLK Prime. Spence, meanwhile, is rumored to be now headed into a bout with Eimantas Stanionis.
To see the silly debates about who’s to blame for the fall of Spence-Crawford on social media-- including some finger pointing initiated by Ring Magazine staffers (more on “The Bible of Boxing” later)-- is laughingly predictable. People can be really stupid. Boxing people can be really, REALLY stupid.
If you can blame Spence or Crawford for this shit show and are only armed with info culled from the boxing media, you are either really, really, REALLY stupid or riding some definite agenda. Maybe both.
Both sides have to be held accountable for the failures of Spence-Crawford. Unless we were there, watching things unfold behind the scenes, there’s no way we can do anything but hold everyone accountable.
Let’s also point fingers, by the way, at boxing’s shitty business model which breeds this kind of cockblock buzzkill. And while we’re at it, let’s also point fingers right back at ourselves as fans for indulging in an us vs. them mentality that buries the truth in “my guy is right/your guy is wrong” bickering that, in the long run, allows ALL guilty parties to escape accountability.
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Well, damn, the end of a pretty shitty week had SOME good news for me.
Ring Magazine is shutting down, ending its print version on its 100th anniversary. But it’s not like this was at all unpredictable. Honestly, if “The Bible of Boxing” hadn't been “helped” in the most compromising of ways by certain promoters and networks, they would've shut down ages ago.
Why is this good news, though?
For the same reason that no sandwich is better than a dog shit sandwich.
Ring Magazine, because of its longevity, was the closest thing we had to a possibly fair and effective boxing media-- but they dropped the ball, underachieved, sold themselves out every damn chance they could. And this recent run of theirs was especially fetid. Passed around from compromising sugar daddy to compromising sugar daddy, they pissed away every bit of legitimacy they had remaining.
Rather than focus on the writing and the work, they opted to barter their integrity and now they're done.
Granted, print media is shuttering itself up everywhere, but this isn't just about an outdated medium. Big, unpleasant things will likely be happening at their website as well. I've been hearing the rumblings for awhile now.
The Ring won't die completely. Websites can be cheap to run (and I'm sure some other business entity might throw a few bucks at it to purchase controllable coverage). But cheap=cheap. The quality will get even worse and the brand will mean even less, especially with a milquetoast editor-in-chief who hired a crew of weirdos and creeps with political leanings right of David Duke to man the captain's deck of this boxing media Titanic. The older lady with the pony tail at the helm will now have the professional legacy of being the one who put the final nails in Ring Magazine’s coffin.
Can the sunk ship be salvaged? Everything can be salvaged. But not with a captain who can't see past the collar on his Triple G track suit or a staff manned by hacks and pantsloads with political/racial agendas who, quite honestly, look like they hate the sport, three-quarter of the athletes in it, and nine-tenths of the fans supporting it.
They need to turn the focus back on the actual sport and to the urgencies of the business. They need to step on the toes of the powerful. Fans will appreciate that and they will support it. But, you see, they CAN'T do any of that because they are FUNDED by those they need to go after.
For that reason, Ring Magazine HAD to die. It was never going to be any better than the compromised public relations outfit that it had become. If anyone at that place is serious about boxing and boxing media, they need to do a complete and total overhaul.
In the meantime, excuse me if I do this little jig on their grave...
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com