Boxing Should Own August

The month of August is the bane of my exsistence as a sports fan. The NBA free-agency period has ended. Tim Tebow is being debated for no apparent reason. Preseason football is providing a tease of what is to come. Baseball, golf, and auto-racing are the main sports being played. Those are sports that I can do without. All of that leaves me stuck looking towards September and the start of actual football. My question is, why wouldn't boxing take this month to spotlight itself?

Boxing has been an afterthought in the sports world for years. Between the price of pay-per-views, bad decisions, crooked politics, the heavyweight division dying, and MMA growing, people do not tune in like they used to. Casual fans come out in mass to watch Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquaio fight. That is cool, but how are you going to keep those people coming back when Floyd and Manny retire? You have to introduce up and coming fighters with the hope that casual fans latch on to them. The month of August would be the perfect time to do that. 

On September 8th and 15th there are two fights that have me excited as a die-hard boxing fan . On the 8th, Andre Ward will take on Chad Dawson for a super-middleweight belt. On the 15th, Sergio Martinez will take on Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr for a middleweight belt. Both of these fights will be great battles, and are toss-ups as to who will win. These fights in August would have been perfect to introduce these fighters to the casual fan. Instead, the genius promoters chose to have these fights at the beginning of college football season. Yet another bad move by the boxing establishment. 

Dawson, Ward, and Chavez, Jr. are three fighters that could carry boxing on in the future. Martinez is on the downside of his career, but still a compelling guy nonetheless. These type of fighters, along with others like Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, Nonito Donaire can carry the next generation of boxing. They are entertaining fighters, with personalities that will make you love or hate them. Garcia and Broner had fights in July. Donaire has a fight coming up in October. Why not have them fight in August so they can showcase their skills and personalities? Probably because that would make too much sense. 

So, boxing, let me introduce you to August. This month could help get you a little more time in the limelight, instead of on the backpages. You can present yourself to a sports starved audience during this month. You can showcase up and coming fighters, so that the casual fan won't declare you dead when Floyd and Manny retire. There are many things you need to do to repair your image. Setting up big time fights during this month can help start that process. Hopefully, next year you take advantage of what this month can do for you, and give me something to enjoy leading up to football season. Thank you for listening.

I'm Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. and I approve this message.