Personal memories are short.
Collective memories are the same.
It’s true in lots of areas of life. It’s true in boxing too. How short a memory is often reflects how much memory is built up. Upon the recent passing of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, those who were around when he was fighting were reminded how much time has gone by since then.
It probably didn’t feel like that long. It was part of their lived experience whether they were lucky enough to buy a ticket or just copped a nice spot on the couch.
Those born after the heyday of Hagler and his peers see it as history because for them it’s all it could ever be.
This week, and really since the fight was announced, ample discussion has focused at least as much on the outlet for Fox’s main event this Saturday night as it has the fight itself. The outlet, pay-per-view, comes with a price tag of roughly $50.
As always, the scolding rebuke is simple. There are many who look at former unified heavyweight titlist Andy Ruiz (33-2, 22 KO) versus former three-time heavyweight belt challenger Chris Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KO) and conclude it’s not a pay-per-view worthy fight.
They’re not wrong.
They’re not right either.
The best part of pay-per-view boxing is the part regularly assumed to be the worst. When one subscribes to Showtime, DAZN, or catches an ESPN card through their basic cable or streaming service for boxing, they’re paying for whatever the outlet gives them. Sometimes they get the good stuff, sometimes it sucks, but fans don’t really control what they get.
With pay-per-view, buyers know what they signed up for. Money’s worth is ultimately determined after the final bell.
When it comes to heavyweight boxing, money’s worth happening for fights that ‘didn’t belong on pay-per-view’ is something collective memory should remind us can happen pretty easily.
During what many could argue was no worse than the second best decade in heavyweight history, the 1990s, there were plenty of classic moments available through subscriber outlets. HBO aired Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield-Bert Cooper, Michael Moorer-George Foreman, Lennox Lewis-Ray Mercer, and Ike Ibeabuchi-David Tua among others. Showtime helped to rehab Mike Tyson after the bite fight without exclusively using pay options.
Much more of what mattered was on pay-per-view. Holyfield, Tyson, Bowe, and Lewis made a mint together in various combinations stretching into the early 2000s. Look at the names and it makes sense. When they faced each other, it cost a little extra. People remember paying for the big fights and it’s not hard to find someone who was around back then ready to express how in their day Ruiz-Arreola stuff wasn’t on pay-per-view.
They only had to pay for the big stuff.
Their memory has fallen short..
Heavyweight boxing was really expensive in the 1990s. What can be easily forgotten is how much of what went on around the biggest stars also cost a little extra. Tommy Morrison’s memorable battles with Mercer, Razor Ruddock, and Foreman?
All of them were pay-per-view. So was Mercer’s first loss to Larry Holmes and later loss to Holyfield.
Arguably the best heavyweight fight of the entire decade was also on pay-per-view and, no, that’s not a reference to Bowe-Holyfield I. For raw action, the Foreman-Lyle of the 90s was Michael Moorer-Bert Cooper.
Maybe the price tag is why it doesn’t always come up the way it should.
It still carried one.
Lots of duds did as well (someone reading this paid for George Foreman versus Crawford-Grimsley…own it) but the point here is to look at the sort of fights, often non-title or off brand belted, that have delivered in the past. What wasn’t worthy of pay-per-view was worth every cent to those who bought them live.
Anyone uninterested in Ruiz-Arreola this weekend, or unwilling to pay, can vote with their wallet. Given the styles at play, this one might have the potential to be the sort of wild affair a Morrison-Ruddock was in its day and so those who are willing to pay should do so without regard for the naysayers.
It’s ok to watch boxing for fun. This one could be.
Cliff’s Notes…
For fans of heavyweight violence in general, this should be a good Saturday. Dereck Chisora-Joseph Parker is one of those bouts that can go either way but the safe bet feels like they get into it in a good way…All hail Captain America. Marvel’s TV offerings have been outstanding on Disney+…Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder have nothing scheduled. That’s all. Everything else is noise…Floyd Mayweather can do what he wants. He’s 44 and hasn’t had a serious fight since 2015. He told the world years ago he wasn’t taking real fights anymore and he’s kept his word.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com