IBR on Fight Network

“In “Federer as Religious Experience” author David Foster Wallace writes, “high-level sports are a prime venue for the expression of human beauty.” Save for the apotheosizing power of resilience and the dangers inherent in miscalculated range, there seems little connection between a game once played by the affluent in v-neck sweaters and the naked brutality of the cruelest sport. But Wallace’s exploration of human beauty in sport reveals itself to be apropos of prizefighting.”

Read The Promise of Beauty: Mike Alvarado Faces Brandon Rios on Fight Network.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Promoter Lou DiBella’s triple-header from the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort at Mashantucket, Connecticut, Saturday night put some unfamiliar names on perhaps the sport’s most recognizable platform. While the opportunity to watch three fights might seem like a windfall, a discerning viewer still had grounds for scrutinizing the competition with a “persecuting spirit.” A less discerning diner might wolf down this serving of largely uncompetitive action as a testament to his “love of the sport,” but one cannot help wonder whether such love should be given so freely when so little is given in return.”

Read AFTERMATH: Darchinyan-Del Valle, Rodriquez-Escalera, Decarie-Perez, Povetkin-Rahman on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“With yesterday’s press conference announcing the final chapter in the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez quadrilogy, December 8th should find this rivalry renewed under the lights of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was on that same blue canvas that Pacquiao suffered a split-decision loss to Tim Bradley in June. It was his first defeat since March of 2005, when Erik Morales’ belligerent craft trumped the Filipino’s fury. Pacquiao would avenge the loss to Morales twice via knockout, reducing the defeat to the exception confirming the rule in a roughshod assault that produced fifteen consecutive victories in five weight divisions. Unlike Morales, Bradley is being denied a rematch.”

Read “Only the Lonely: Tim Bradely Without Manny Pacquiao” on The Cruelest Sport.