“There is more to creating a diamond than pressure and heat. Time also plays a role; and time, as something exhaustible, is a player in Matthysse-Provodnikov as well. It is impossible to imagine these men leaving the ring Saturday unchanged by the other’s mischief, nearly as difficult to imagine their careers maintaining whatever trajectory caused their collision. And does it not feel as if, in facing each other, Matthysse and Provodnikov, are meeting their destiny, that beast in the jungle whose pursuit, however unforeseen, would inevitably overtake them?”

Read The Beast in the Jungle: On Lucas Matthysse-Ruslan Provodnikov on The Cruelest Sport.

“What Garcia is as a fighter brings one of those aforementioned fictions into play. Garcia is often described as an unremarkable fighter, one who, while excelling at few facets of boxing is proficient enough at most to get over on the unpolished types who dominate the sport. The more Garcia fights, however, the less he appears to deserve the second part of that description—the more he looks like merely an unremarkable fighter. That this reevaluation throws shade on the merits of his opponents perhaps also explains some of the vitriol directed at Garcia, who is nothing special, yet good enough to beat more popular opponents.”

Read Another Fiction: Danny Garcia W12 Lamont Peterson on The Cruelest Sport.

“Garcia-Peterson is an interesting fight, though not so interesting that it justifies the setup. Nor is there some kind of mandate for this fight simply because Showtime bought the disgraceful audition. Garcia-Peterson pits a fighter who tamed Lucas Matthysse against a fighter ravaged by him. That does not mean that Peterson is doomed: there are reasons to think he can succeed against Garcia in ways Matthysse did not. Still, enthusiasm for this fight is generated in part by lowered expectations—expectations that Haymon is largely, purposefully responsible for. Having teased the public with the possibility of Garcia-Peterson—a good fight, but an excellent one in the context of last year—Haymon may be banking on the recovering public celebrating the matchup and the brand delivering it.”

Read The Kicker: Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson Preview on The Cruelest Sport.