Now that June is in our rear views, it’s an appropriate time for a mid-term report card on just how well boxing is representing itself in 2007.  If I were giving it a grade it would have to be a C+.

 

I’m not among the haters who thought the much-hyped fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather on May 5 was a dud.  Perhaps that’s because I knew, no matter what he said, Mayweather wasn’t about to go toe-to-toe for any extended rounds (he doesn’t have to do that to win) and De La Hoya was out of his element playing the role of predator.

 

In fact, I give Oscar credit for doing as well as he did trying to be the bull against the matador.  Yet, if they’d fought like they did for the last 10 seconds of the fight, when they slugged it out like angry grade school kids, people would still be talking about the fight and the mid-term grade would be a B.

 

Aside from the record 2 million-plus pay-per-view buys, the lukewarm response to De La Hoya-Mayweather couldn’t carry the first-half of the year on its own.  There were enough duds and ill-conceived matches to keep the sport from taking the huge step forward it had hoped.

 

As you’ll recall the year began with Sam Peter and James Toney fighting in January to become the mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight champ Oleg Maskaev.  Problem was, that was supposed to have been settled last September when Peter won a 12-round decision.

 

After complaints about the scoring (as if that’s a news flash), an unnecessary rematch was ordered by the WBC and Peter won more convincingly.  The whole exercise was a waste of time and money.

 

Shane Mosley, whose career seems to have stalled, won a meaningless fight in February and in March one of the worst mismatches in the history of boxing took place when Wladimir Klitschko stopped a non-combative Ray Austin in the second round of an IBF heavyweight title fight.

 

Yet, aside from Klitschko-Austin, March provided the best month the sport has enjoyed so far. Rafael Marquez earned a seventh round TKO over Israel Vasquez in a slugfest that we can’t wait to see again; Jean Marc Mormeck recaptured the cruiserweight title with a tough 12-round decision over O’Neil Bell; and Juan Manuel Marquez reached superstar status with a hard-fought decision over Marco Antonio Barrera.

 

Those should have been the fights that saved boxing, yet everyone was already pointing to De La Hoya-Mayweather.  Perhaps that was a good thing though. It helped us ignore Joe Calzaghe’s uninspiring third round TKO against and over-matched Peter Manfredo in April.

 

Then came May and boxing or should we say De La Hoya and Mayweather were on the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine. It felt like the old days Duran-Leonard, Hagler-Hearns, or De La Hoya-Trinidad.

 

The real proof would be whether that fight would create enough momentum to help future bouts.

 

What we’ve learned the two months since then is what we’ve always known. Great competition sparks great interest.  That’s why more people were talking about Kelly Pavlik’s seventh round knockout of Edison Miranda on May 17 than Jermain Taylor’s 12-round chase of Corey Spinks on the same Memphis card.

 

It’s why Sultan Ibragimov’s victory over Shannon Briggs, which fortunately few in the States even saw, makes you wonder whether there will ever be a heavyweight title fight of substance involving an American fighter.

 

But then came June 9 at the Garden where Miguel Cotto and Zab Judah staged an old-school blood bath delighting the sellout crowd.  Too bad it was on pay-per-view.

 

The first-half ended with Ricky Hatton’s liver-shot knockout win over Jose Luis Castillo in a fight that was expected to be more competitive. The whole event, however, was soiled more by what was going on outside of the ring than inside with just about everyone expect for Don King (how’s that for irony) claiming a piece of Castillo’s purse.

 

The second half of 2007 has several intriguing match-ups on the horizon. Klitschko will try to avenge a defeat when he defends his heavyweight title against former champion Lamon Brewster on July 7.

 

And more excitement is expected on July 14 when Antonio Margarito defends his welterweight title against Paul Williams.  If Margarito wins, he’ll likely fight Cotto this fall.  If Williams wins, it could be the berth of a new star.

 

And on Aug. 4, Marquez and Vasquez will finish where they left off in a can’t-wait-to-see-it fight, while Peter finally gets his shot at Maskaev in September.

 

Barrera makes what could be his last stand to remain an elite fighter when he challenges Manny Pacquiao to a rematch on Oct. 6.

 

Let’s hope boxing makes the most of the second half of this year, reminding us this sport isn’t about hype but heart.

 

MID-TERM AWARDS

 

Fight of year:   Cotto-Judah

Fighter of the year:  Rafael Marquez

Trainer of the year:  Ignacio Beristain

Round of the Year: 7th Round,  Pavlik-Miranda

Best Promotion:  De La Hoya-Mayweather

Worst Promotion:  Ibragimov-Briggs

Worst Fight: Klitschko-Austin

Worst decision:  D. Hopkins W 12 Forbes

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Send questions and comments to: gwillis@boxingtalk.com