We like writing fighters off. It’s similar to how we, as a society, seem to crave building a character up only to tear them down again. But in boxing, resurrections seldom happen the way they do in works of fiction and the sick worlds of celebrity and fame. The cerebral damage is carried out, and it cannot be taken back. It’s art, blood being the medium.
Success in boxing today seems to favor businessmen over idealists, and politicians over artists. Risks are calculated, words expendable, and sales almost always hard. There’s little room for anyone not moving on some preset, deliberate track to be successful. But a few fighters remain that can violently jog a memory or two, making sure we remember that the phrase “Anything is possible in boxing” isn’t just cliche.
Miguel Cotto sculpted the middleweight title right out of Sergio Martinez’s hands with a masterful performance worthy of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Only, had Bernini attempted to capture Cotto’s bludgeonry in a single multidimensional piece, it would have looked more like Benvenuto Cellini’s take on Perseus dangling the head of Medusa after his kill (pictured above; via). Cotto’s demolition was that surprisingly thorough.
This week on Queensberry Rules Radio, Bad Left Hook‘s James Foley and Patrick Connor of TQBR welcome on Eric Raskin, boxing contributor to ESPN, HBO and Grantland, podcast co-host and author. Also on the agenda, the Cotto vs. Martinez undercard, a Ruslan Provodnikov vs. Chris Algieri preview, and various other musings.
Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.
