With Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia set to fight this weekend, this is the best fight of the year so far. And while there are some fights that could trump this (Crawford vs. Spence, Fury vs. Usyk, and Jake Paul vs. Deontay Wilder), the fact that Davis and Garcia have gotten more attention than many of the big fights this year leads us to the fact that the titles aren’t. Fights sell, fighters sell fights.
I’m not here to tarnish a title fight. In fact, the title on the line often makes a fight more interesting, it’s not the only reason to watch a fight. I will be willing to say that Oleksandr Usyk having three belts for a possible match with Tyson Fury sells that fight better than without it. But fighters are the product at the end of the day. Picnics, belts, trunks, fancy gloves, and everything else is meant for entertainment. At the end of the day, boxing is about two fighters who are trained to fight to the best of their abilities.
Fighters sell fights. Excitement sells fights.
Look at this picture. Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest of all time (greatest if you ask him). He has six belts in this picture. For many people, this is a lot and a joke. For others, it shows that Mayweather is in control. But the one thing this photo doesn’t do is sell you on the next fight. Mayweather sells you. You want to watch him lose. You pay him Mayweather to show you he’s not going to lose.
Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia are selling this fight, not the title
This weekend’s match between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia has no belt attached to it. It’s an old school grudge match. Manu manu. This match shows that with the right kind of upgrade and the right fighters involved they will produce some exciting powerups and hopefully a fun fight to boot.
But this is nothing new. The fights were all about the fighters and there were some great bouts that didn’t have world titles at stake. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were 2 without a world title, and George Foreman was the champion at the time. Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano were another.
Most recently, we’ve seen Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. do over two million buys per view. Jake Paul’s whole MO People sell on watching it in the box even though it’s nowhere near as world champ. Floyd Mayweather has also toured shows with names like Logan Paul, Deji, Tenshin Nasukawa, and Mikuru Asakura all to the delight of fans. It doesn’t need titles to promote it. He’s a showman.
There is an art behind storytelling and boxing does it really well sometimes. The entire world has built multi-billion dollar industries out of storytelling. Television, movies, books and almost any form of entertainment tell a story. This is why people have followed LeBron James since he was in high school. “I remember when he joined the League,” was a common sentiment. We all love to see the story. There is the underdog, the thrill and agony of defeat and victory.
In boxing, the stakes are the highest. Multi-million dollar purses, the threat of a knockout, and the dream of winning a championship are all things that appeal to the human mind. It makes boxing so much fun. This weekend, Davis and Garcia are living the dream. They tell the story, one only fit for the boxing ring.
Two men will step into the ring and only one will emerge victorious. They’ll use their skills, their fists, and sheer determination to do their best to make sure they’re the ones who have their hands up by the end of the night.
So sit back and relax. This weekend is going to be a fun battle and no matter who wins, one thing is for sure, we will all be there to have fun.
Your friendly neighborhood fan fight. I watch a lot of fights and my wife lets me know.