It took a while, but boxing is back on the front of the world's sports pages, courtesy of Saturday's Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather showdown in Las Vegas. And those predicting the fight game's demise will discover that their projection may have been a wee premature.


The anticipation for this WBC junior middleweight title fight has reached stunning proportions. And boxing  relegated to the junk heap by newspaper editors and mainstream sports fans over the past few years - will surely reap the benefits.  Especially if "The World Awaits" turns into a classic. But, with the good, comes the bad.


Over the past few weeks, and especially in the last few days, the knowledgeable, hardcore fight fan has had to endure the not-so-knowledgeable opinions of those who, before now, didn't know boxing from badminton. Not that a lack of expertise has kept anyone from weighing in with their opinion even when they don't know the difference between Roman Karmazin and Roman Meal bread.


We are forced to listen to supposed all-knowing sportswriters who have spent the last decade thumbing their noses at the sweet science, while being so endlessly fascinated by golf, tennis and NASCAR.


There is, however, some satisfaction in knowing that a good number of these people, in a desperate attempt to catch up on boxing's last 10 years, were sent scrambling for their "Ring magazine over the past week - feverishly memorizing info like a college kid cramming for a final exam.


Take, for example, an ESPN The Magazine article written by someone other than the well-respected, well-versed boxing writer Dan Rafael that continuously referred to trainer Emanuel Steward as Emanuel "Stewart.


Oh, it's changed now. Some editor caught it, saving the writer from some embarrassment. But it was there, alright.
In boxing circles, calling Steward "Stewart is like calling Indianapolis Colts football coach Tony Dungy "Tom Dungy.
Anyway, De La Hoya-Mayweather is big, whether you're a boxing fan, a boxing writer, or just a guy pretending to be a boxing fan or a boxing writer.


So, in anticipation 2007's version of the "Fight of the Century and as a tribute to those loyal few soldiers who have actually paid attention to boxing over the past several years - here's one guy's opinion of the 10 biggest fights since 1980. Or, for those non-boxing types reading this column, around the time Muhammad Ali retired.


10. Oscar De La Hoya TKO 4 Julio Cesar Chavez, June 7, 1996: Chavez was the declining legend, and De La Hoya was the emerging superstar in a fight billed as "Ultimate Glory. It wasn't much of a fight, though, as the bigger, younger, faster De La Hoya carved up his one-time idol, turning Chavez into a bloody mess.


9. Pernell Whitaker D 12 Julio Cesar Chavez, Sept. 10, 1993: Chavez was a ridiculous 88-0 heading into his challenge of Whitaker. "The Fight was staged in San Antonio's Alamodome, and a throng of more than 60,000 Chavez fans watched their man get issued a boxing lesson. Somehow, though, "J.C. Superstar salvaged a draw.


8. Felix Trinidad W 12 Oscar De La Hoya, Sept. 18, 1999: To this day, the "Fight of the Millennium is the highest-grossing, non-heavyweight pay-per-view event in history. Both were undefeated welterweight champs in their primes. The cake, however, never rose as Trinidad gained a disputed decision in a boring fight.


7. Mike Tyson KO 1 Michael Spinks, June 27, 1988: Seems ridiculous now, but Spinks, a natural light heavyweight, was expected to provide Tyson with a serious challenge, "Once and For All. Not quite. The previously undefeated Spinks fell in 91 seconds and never fought again.


6. Marvin Hagler TKO 3 Thomas Hearns, April 15, 1985: For a showdown that lacked a superstar in the mold of the transcending Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler and Hearns did pretty good for themselves in another one billed as "The Fight. And if De La Hoya and Mayweather produce a classic like Hagler-Hearns  widely recognized as producing the greatest first round in boxing history - they will have singlehandedly revived the sport.


5. Roberto Duran W 15 Sugar Ray Leonard, June 20, 1980: "The Brawl in Montreal featured a raging Latin lightweight champ moving up in weight (Duran), to challenge America's undefeated Olympic darling (Leonard). It ushered in a new era of lighter-weight extravaganzas. And Duran's snarling, mauling tactics intimidated Leonard into defeat.


4. Evander Holyfield W Disq. 4 Mike Tyson, June 28, 1997: Holyfield's shocking knockout of Tyson seven months earlier ensured that there'd be a rematch  billed as "The Sound and the Fury. Pay-per-view numbers were great, the MGM Grand Garden was a rockin and the promotion was outstanding. Then Tyson went and bit Holyfield's ears and set the sport back 100 years. Thanks, Mike.


3. Sugar Ray Leonard W 12 Marvin Hagler, April 6, 1987: The prefight hype pumped up the mysterious: Could Leonard, three years removed from the sport and never a middleweight, topple the world's premier middleweight, and its best fighter? The mystery made cash registers hum for "The Superfight. Leonard went on to shock Hagler with a controversial decision.


2. Larry Holmes TKO 13 Gerry Cooney, June 11, 1982: Dubbed "The Pride and the Glory by promoter Don King, Holmes-Cooney was a classic confrontation between a dominant, undefeated heavyweight champion and a powerful, undefeated challenger. The race angle was unfortunately played up as well. Regardless, it sold spectacularly. And the fight wasn't bad, either.


1. Sugar Ray Leonard TKO 14 Thomas Hearns, Sept. 16, 1981: Incredibly, the promoter of "The Showdown Main Events was a relative rookie. But it set the standard for modern-day pay-per-view and closed-circuit promotions. Meanwhile, the fight, featuring two, undefeated, prime welterweight champions, built up for months before finally going off on a beautiful Las Vegas evening. And Leonard's come-from-behind knockout over an outstanding Hearns is regarded as one of pugilism’s great performances.


So, good luck, Oscar and Floyd. Go out there and resuscitate a sport.  

M

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