IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“For years, Mayweather events have been little more than grand exhibitions of sly matchmaking and wearisome promotion. Because “The Moment” involves Maidana, however, this card will appeal to anyone who appreciates an injection of meritocracy into a world that regards connections as tantamount to worth. Since losing a lopsided decision in his February 2012 welterweight debut, where the clutch-and-grab tactics of Devon Alexander not only stymied Maidana but also, incredibly, managed to make him boring, Maidana has reeled off four consecutive wins. In those wins, among them stoppages over fellow roughnecks Jesus Soto-Karass and Josesito Lopez, Maidana exhibited his power and vulnerability, while revealing technical improvements that, in all fairness, are usually ingrained by the amateurs. Better late than never, of course, whether it is a fighter learning to jab or earning a payday that changes his tax bracket.”

Read Cruising: Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Marcos Maidana Preview on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on the Cruelest Sport

“Since Danny Garcia outpointed him last September, Lucas Matthysse had committed himself to the rites of the defeated: there was a change in his corner, delays and mixed messages about his return, and probably, squeezed somewhere onto his crowded flesh, a palliative tattoo. He would speak of what he learned in defeat, too; that small victory for the loser so crucial to dreams of reascension. And to the ring in the StubHub Center in Carson, California, along with his trunks, gloves, gumshield, he brought a grim look that seemed shaded in hesitation.”

Read Savage Grace: Lucas Matthysse TKO11 John Molina on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“In recalling a rather disastrous anecdote regarding Randall “Tex” Cobb, and commenting on sports-writing in general, John Schulian wrote that, “the sentiment still outweighs the results.” It is an idea that easily applies to the endless twilight of Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins, who won a split decision over Beibut Shumenov at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C., last night, has been dealing more in sentiment than result for as long as his age has been the focus of his fights. A 49-year-old man thriving in a bloodsport is story enough: it is a remarkable feat, and will not be reproduced. But in writing about Hopkins, the sentiments, that spectrum of color mixed from a limited palette, provide the real interest. The longer he keeps winning, the stronger those sentiments—both laudatory and critical—will become. And Hopkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just keeps winning.”

Read That Sentimental Feeling: Bernard Hopkins W12 Beibut Shumenov on The Cruelest Sport.