Posts Tagged ‘Ray Mercer’

by J.Kitchen – This has been the primary reaction of a large number of observers to the result of the Ray Mercer-Tim Sylvia Mixed Martial Art bout last Saturday. To those that aren’t aware, the fight featured 48-year former (really, really “former”) heavyweight champion Ray Mercer versus Tim Sylvia; a 34 year old MMA heavyweight champ two years removed from his crown. The fight was a wall-to-wall horrible idea that was met with about as much enthusiam by MMA fans, by Boxing fans and by the state of New Jersey as it deserved. But its not totally “without meaning.” A Britney Spears album is without meaning. So are Ashton Kutcher “Twitters.” But if the result of this fight was entirely meaningless, no one would bother to mention it happening, let alone to go out of their way to point out and reiterate how utterly meaningless it all was.

Don’t get me wrong. The imaginary sibling rivalry between MMA and Boxing is something that I don’t think many hardcore fans of either sport take very seriously (and if they do, they should seriously consider getting some form of life). But the business side of prizefighting has as much, if not more, to do with the perceptions of the casual fan as it does with catering to diehards. Read the rest of this entry »