First, Lance Armstrong. Now, Manti Te’o.
The hoax is in, or at least it has become America’s favorite pastime.
How it applies to boxing is anybody’s guess. You would think it would be there often and in all the usual ways. But it isn’t.
It was astonishing to look at Yahoo’s list of history’s top 10 hoaxes and not see a single entry for boxing. For a second, I thought somebody from the World Boxing Council must have put that ranking together. But, no, not a single mention, not one phantom punch or even David Haye’s toe.
Maybe, boxing is beyond repair, the original hoax. Certainly, that’s how most of America’s sports editors treat it. They ignore it, despite an emerging Latin demographic that likes it and would read about it. Instead, those newspaper editors let more readers flee while providing a running account of Armstrong’s every word in Oprah’s confessional. Then, there’s Te’o with his bizarre tale about a fictional girlfriend whom he met or didn’t meet before she died. Please, pass me a PED.
It’s become a sad game of liar’s poker with lots of players and no winners. The more it unfolds, the more I think about Bob Arum, an outspoken man always ahead of his time and probably very happy to be there in these tawdry times. He summed it up years ago:
“Yesterday I was lying. Today, I’m telling you the truth.”
Arum said it in 1981. He has had the comment thrown back in his face ever since. Yet, those old words have never been more current. I keep waiting for Armstrong to tell Oprah the same thing. I expect Te’o’s prepared statement to include them in a footnote, if not the headline.
For athletes in every sport, the days of Armstrong and Te’o will further erode trust. In boxing, there’s never been much of that anyway. Still, there’s been increasing mistrust about illegal drugs. At ringside and in back rooms, the talk spares no one. The assumption is that everybody is using. The accusatory finger has been pointed at Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. But they aren’t alone. PEDS are like gloves. If you wear them, you’re probably using them.
It’s not fair. But fair is a little bit like the truth these days. It’s gone like yesterday.
Notes, Anecdotes
The first big card of 2013 Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden looms as a potential step toward stardom for featherweight Mikey Garcia and further introduction of Kazakstani middleweight Gennady Golovkin to the U.S. market. Garcia faces a giant killer in Orlando Salido, who twice dimmed Juan Manuel Lopez’ star. Golovkin is in against a tough and determined Gabriel Rosado. A couple of picks: Garcia by unanimous decision; Golovkin by TKO.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems more like a South Beach kind of guy. A court side seat for LeBron James and the Miami Heat is is his style. But he showed up Monday in downtown Phoenix at US Airways Center for Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s blowout of the Suns. There was no news as to why he was in Phoenix, where he trained about a decade ago at Central Boxing, a downtown gym and onetime training camp for Mike Tyson. Mayweather’ s first fight since his release from jail in August has yet to be announced. It looks as if he’ll fight Robert Guerrero on May 4. Phoenx is home to Athletes Performance, which is known for its work in helping pros in every sport improve their strength and conditioning.
