Hello boxing fans and dedicated haters. Here’s another week’s worth of my bulbous sack, bulging with gooey, salty truth, in your face. Enjoy. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Tank Davis in the Hall of Fame, De La Hoya selling out to the Saudis, and the WBC insulting our intelligence.
Is Tank Davis HOF-worthy?
Hey Magno,
First, let me say that I am a huge fan. I can count on one hand the most honest boxing reporters/experts in today’s world and you are definitely at the top. I really appreciate you for that because that’s very uncommon these days so Thank You for that.
I am very honest and unbiased in my boxing opinions as well and my question for you is, if Tank really retires without having that one career defining fight, does he really belong in the Hall of Fame? Now, I’m speaking from a resume point of view. Example, no one on Tank’s resume stands out as an all-time great. I’m saying no one because we all know Leo Santa Cruz was wayyy out of his weight class and Tank came down from 135 to fight him at 130. I can’t give him the credit for that. At that exact time he chose to fight Leo, at 135 was Loma, Teo, Haney. He chose to not fight any of those guys and then Shakur comes into the weight, wins a super title and he hasn’t fought him either. Tank became an email champ when Haney vacated his titles. He went up to 140 and fought Barrios, but Barrios was just an interim champ because Josh Taylor was undisputed at the time. And he puts weight restrictions on almost everyone. Ryan Garcia, Pitbull Cruz, Frank Martin, Rolly Romero at the time that Tank fought them were not champions and have never even fought for a title before fighting Tank.
So, where I’m getting is Tank fights a lot of prospects or guys who are wayyy at a disadvantage due to weight restrictions. Clearly whether it’s him or his team he avoids the top guys in the weight class. Does he really deserve to get in the Hall of Fame just because he’s undefeated by beating guys wayyy overmatched that he should beat? I say no but I know he will. In your opinion do you think he should get in with a weak resume like that and why?
– Jamel Adams
Hey Jamel.
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate that.
First, I have to preface all of this Hall of Fame talk with the fact that Vinny Pazienza was just voted into the Hall of Fame. So, no matter what you think of Tank Davis’ body of work, he’s probably a lock to get in.
Now, as for your pretty harsh assessment of Tank’s resume…
I would definitely agree that he’s yet to have that defining fight against an elite-level opponent in his weight class. In my opinion, that weighs heavily on his legacy. There are legitimate reasons for certain fights not getting made. Bob Arum flat-out (and vocally) ruled out a Tank fight for Lomachenko for years and when he did want to sign off on one, Lomachenko backed out. It’s also pretty much an open-book fact now that Tank’s team approached Shakur Stevenson for a fight, but Stevenson walked away over a disagreement related to future fight options (He reportedly wanted a multi-fight deal, while PBC wanted a one-and-done deal for the Tank fight). But I’m a black and white guy when it comes to resume– a fighter either has the names on his resume or he doesn’t, and he’s judged accordingly. And, as of right now, Tank doesn’t. His resume is not as flimsy as people make it out to be, but there are no real legacy-defining fights and, for a 30-year-old fighter with 13 world title fights under his belt, that’s a pretty damning reality.
As for the weight stipulation stuff, I absolutely do not hold that against him. All fighters should insist on opposition competing at a fair weight. If Tank is fighting against larger men and/or known weight bullies, he has every right to demand that they’re held accountable for competing on an even playing field. If these guys want to compete as larger men, they shouldn’t be trying to make fights against smaller men.
Oscar’s Golden Sellout
What’s up P Mag.
Hope all is well with you and the family. Glad to see you’re still hammering at the Saudi sculpture while everyone else is buying into the nonsense they are selling. Speaking of which…
How did Oscar [De La Hoya] go from (paraphrasing) “Ain’t nobody going to come into by backyard and set up shop” (in regards to Turki doing the Crawford-Mardimov fight in Los Angeles) to “partnering” with Turki, to help induct him in the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame having NEVER put on a show there, to selling the Ring Magazine?
– Big Rob
Hey Big Rob.
Well, to be blunt– Oscar’s stance changed because he was given a lot of money to change it. It’s really that simple. Taking $10 million for that money-losing mess Ring Magazine was like hitting the lottery for Oscar. Everything in his company’s “partnership” with the Saudis has been done in the spirit of sucking up to the cash-rich Saudis. Oscar is the stripper at the Tijuana strip club and Turki is the rich foreign guy walking into the club, seated at a table by the stage. Oscar’s working the perceived money marks, but, in reality, he’s the one being worked. He’ll find that out in the long run, just as the others rushing to sell out to the Saudis will.
Dumb and Dumber
Hi Chief!
I took this from a Boxingscene story:
“Earlier in the evening, Alalshikh was named the WBC’s Man of the Year, an award previously won by Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela and Pope Francis.”
On a related note, word in the streets is that a Vatican committee investigates whether an incident where a boxer mysteriously healed is indeed a miracle performed by His Almighty Excellency.
P.S. hahahahaajjajajaj! Do you think the WBC REALLY think that the boxing fans are that stupid? Are boxing fans that stupid????
– Carlos, from Hermosillo, Mexico.
Hey Carlos.
The answer to your two questions are “yes” and “yes.”
Never underestimate the power of a unified corrupt, for-sale media to sell a narrative. And never overestimate the collective will and savvy of the public to resist being sold a narrative.
The unmitigated, shameless sleaziness of it all is funny, but it’s also not.
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.
