Did not see that coming did you. After going to W.W.E.: Backlash in Newark, New Jersey this weekend I was at Madison Square Garden in New York for Top Ranks pro boxing. This was my very first live boxing event. For it to be at M.S.G. seeing one of the rising stars in pro boxing making an attempt at becoming the quickest to 3 world titles in 3 different weight classes. It was a interesting night because of what a contrast it was from last weekend. The fight was broadcast on E.S.P.N. with opposition from the U.F.C. and Bellator. I think I got to see the better show of the three of them.
I'm not going to bash The Prudential center versus Madison Square Garden, that's not fair. I will compare the W.W.E. show to Top Ranks show. I know in terms of production value W.W.E. wins every time but there are some things that I think W.W.E. could learn from Top Rank. For example the entrance way at the Top Rank show felt bigger then the W.W.E. show. Remember I went to W.W.E. at M.S.G. this year back in March. The boxing match had the fighters walk through the corner entrances on the floor. This is important because they didn't lose seats in one section of the building to make a ramp. So what you had was all four corners of the arena surrounding the ring making it look like the whole place was sold out.
The thing is it wasn't even close to being sold out. The seats I had were in the 100 section. There was one side of the 200 section available but the rest of it and the top of the building in the 30 section was closed off. Remember when I went to W.W.E. in March, that was in the 300 section seats. But this show with mostly the 100 section in use felt bigger then the W.W.E. show that used all three sections but only 3/4 of the arena. Maybe W.W.E. can go back to the old way from the 1980s when wrestlers would walk to the ring like the boxers did last night. This was also a reminder of being where the hard camera is. I was behind it so the boxers rarely faced me for post fight interviews. But the floating sky cam took some great shots from what I saw on the big tron.
I got there after the first pre-show fight ended. I watched the majority of the show to mostly empty seats around me. I forgot boxing shows can be long 5 hour shows. Basically I watch the show from 5PM until the main event which started at 9:15PM. In that time I got to see some good fights. The womens fight was by far the most aggressive. There was one fight where that ended in the first round. One guy threw himself underneath the bottom rope and could get up. It looked absolutely silly but I swear that's what happened. One fight was a work, yeah it was. I've seen enough people throw a fight to know a work when I see it. The show was the first broadcast on ESPNs streaming service featuring Top Rank boxing matches available for the low price of $5 per month. I'll have to go in depth about that on another time.
I could see on the tron that he was stunned a bit in the corner. Linares came out strong in the 7th round but Lomas combos wore him down. The thing about Lomachenko is that his feet are very good. With feet that good he can throw combos from directions most fighters can't handle. But he can be caught like Linares did to him. With Loma the old idea of, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" come to mind. In this case its the constant barrage of punches from everywhere that beats his opponents. It's be something to see what happens when he faces someone with great feet and great stamina that can move with him. The thing I want to see is how does he react to someone who has punching power and can take those combos. Can he get out of the corner after taking some mean body shots and still win the fight with a knockout?
We will all see in time what the answer is. For now I'll enjoy what I saw. The reason I bought tickets for this was I figured if he does become that megastar I should buy a ticket now because in the future tickets to his fights will be very expensive. I figure for the price I paid for the great seats I got that price might not get me into the building in the future. Don't forget this was Madison Square Garden, The Worlds Most Famous Arena in New York City live on the most important network in sports. In the future I can look back and say at least I saw him in the early stages of his career. This was his 12th professional fight show but he is 30 years old so you figure he's got a solid five years to make his mark on the sport of professional boxing. I think it was a good night to see someone like this in their ascendancy before I was priced out of the show.
I have to start seeing more boxing shows now. You know I see plenty of pro wrestling and I'm going to see a mixed martial arts show at some point but boxing has to be a priority too. This show proved that there is money in boxing. Not just because of television and gambling. No, I discovered that boxing finally learned the importance of something pro wrestling already knew. this show proved the power of merchandising can make the boxers big money if they have a personality that they can sell. The number of Loma shirts is great side money for him. Even Linares will get a nice side check from being on shirt with Loma. It's something to exploit if you see how pro wrestling does it. That's all for now and wait until you see where I go next. And, finally proof that my camera doesn't suck anymore. Enjoy.+WWE
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