Maybe it's just me but as I go around flipping channels (yes, I still have cable) it seems as though 'Gladiator' is on a lot. And I don't know about you, but whenever it's on, I will inevitably watch for at least a few minutes. No, I haven't watched it as many times as the original 'Karate Kid', but then that movie did have a 16 year head start on it.
Ray Lewis would play 'Gladiator' on loop in his hotel room before games during his days as a Baltimore Raven. Hey, if this flick is good enough for the greatest linebacker whoever played, then it's good enough for me.
Now, for those of you who haven't been blessed to see it, I suggest you do. But a quick synopsis of the movie: 'Maximus' after turning down a promotion to run Rome after leading it's army to another victory, somehow becomes a slave, and then a gladiator fighting for his freedom. Yeah, I'm leaving out a ton of details and nuances to this story but again, I don't want to give out too many spoilers.
Anyhoo, 'Maximus' is a rather reluctant gladiator. He has prodigious fighting skills but goes about his work in rather joyless fashion. He is advised by 'Proximo' (who is kinda like his Emanuel Steward) that for him to gain his freedom he must ''win the crowd''. The message was that just being victorious is not enough. At least not enough for him to attain what he ultimately seeks.
It got me thinking about Shakur Stevenson, who defends his WBC lightweight title this weekend at Louie Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York versus William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs). Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) is among the most adept boxers in the sport. He is a three-division champion and listed on a good number of pound-for-pound lists. But with all his accomplishments, his popularity pales in comparison to Gervonta Davis.
Davis, because of his KO power and ability to end fights in violent fashion, has 'won the crowd'. 'Tank' is a fighter who is beloved by his core base of fans, regardless of his flaws inside the ring, and foibles outside of them. Stevenson is a boxer who is respected by trainers and the purists, but the fans? Well...lets see they have a bit of a complicated relationship with them. They understand how good he is, they just don't really enjoy his bouts all that much.
Ring
This isn't a debate over who is better, or who would win a fight between them. But ask yourself this, if you had to spend your hard earned money to watch one guy, Davis or Stevenson, who do you think the majority of boxing fans would choose?
This is a fact, there have been fights where fans have walked out before the final bell of a Stevenson fight. I was there when it happened in Las Vegas during his uneventful (to say the least) bout with Edwin De Los Santos, and even more damning, in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey versus Artem Harutyunyan.
In recent weeks, Turki Alalshikh -- who is in charge of financing events like 'Ring III' -- has made it clear he does not want ''Tom and Jerry fights''. This was most likely in response to what was the ring-around-the-rosie between Devin Haney and Jose Ramirez on his last show in Times Square. That was followed by the run-around (and around, and around, around) that William Scull gave Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez the next day in Saudi Arabia.
Alalshikh has even spoken about using smaller rings to force more action in fights. Which has brought about the usual debates and virtue signaling. Here's the reality, shrinking the ring wont just magically make fights into Ward-Gatti I, and you shouldn't need a football field to be a good boxer. Both things can be true.
Some believe these are unfair measures being put in place by Alalshikh, but the bottom line is that as the one who is responsible for bringing the financing to these cards, he has the right to do this. On the flip side, boxers and their management have the right to look for other avenues to ply their trade.
Coming into this weekend, there seems to be extra pressure on Stevenson to not just win, but to be entertaining in doing so. The consensus is that if he can't/wont do it against the hard-charging Zepeda who isn't hard to find, then maybe it's not possible for him to be in a good fight. His skills are a blessing and a curse. With that said, Zepeda has to do his part and not get discouraged if he loses early rounds and just clam up, like other opponents of Stevenson have in the past. It takes two to tussle.
'Spaniard' Stevenson is expected to win. But the question will be -- were we not entertained?
