Fight Island.
Given recent quarantine-centric sports headlines, the two-word phrase probably strikes a chord.
Some hear it and conjure images of a megalomaniacal czar putting profits ahead of employee safety, expert healthcare counsel and plain, old common sense.
Others, meanwhile, are instantly drawn to an outspoken combat sports maverick who’s being forced to dodge corporate snowflakes while trying to stay true to his brand mission.
I’ll concede to leaning slightly in both directions.
Though I’m not entirely convinced UFC boss Dana White has dotted every conceivable I and crossed every necessary T, part of me does admire the fact that he’s so brazenly willing to swim upstream while every other major professional sports organization is desperately baling water.
And let’s not kid each other, a freelance sportswriter is always going to root – at least on the level occupied by his or her wallet – for more sports to write about.
So, if UFC 249 does go as (tentatively) planned on May 9, I’ll be unapologetically happy for that reason.
But sure, if given my choice, I’d certainly rather see boxing up and running again.
However, I’m not holding my breath expecting the Bob Arums, Al Haymons and Eddie Hearns of the world to announce an all-in venture on an ocean liner, submarine or cargo plane (ummm… million-dollar idea alert!) that’d let them stage fights while remaining conveniently clear of the regulations White is so determined to skirt.
Given that reality, I’ve decided to glean the best of both worlds.
Along with four esteemed writing colleagues at Bleacher Report, I’ve worked on a piece for the last several days in which we tried to blend the Fight Island concept with elements of the NFL Draft.
We drew from a hat to establish a 1 to 5 order, then went through five rounds of selecting mixed martial arts matchups with the aim of building a pay-per-view card worthy of such a high-profile venue.
I encourage anyone of the MMA persuasion to check it out on Wednesday.
For these Tuesday morning boxing purposes, though, I’ve streamlined things a bit. Instead of me and four colleagues, I’m flying solo. And instead of building a five-bout card comprised solely of active fighters, I’m trimming the package to four never-made fights – two in the present and two historic.
(NOTE: Historic, in this case, covers my time as a boxing fan – let’s say, mid-1970s forward.)
Without further ado… here goes:
Bout No. 1 (modern) – Terrance Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr.
As PPV openers go, this one would be pretty darn good, no?
Two reigning welterweight champions. Two consensus members of the modern pound-for-pound elite. Two fighters who’ve risen a level ahead of their competition in the weight class.
And, to top it off, two fighters who’ve barely come close to defeat across 62 fights, with 48 KOs between them.
It surely warrants a place in a line of generational matchups of unbeaten 147-pound stars – tucking nicely behind Leonard-Hearns in 1981 and Trinidad-De La Hoya in 1999 – and, so long as it happens in the next year or two, will still be a legitimate duel of guys at their competitive peaks.
The Pick: Crawford strikes me as the more rugged of the two. He wins by decision, or late KO.
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Bout No. 2 (historic) – Alexis Arguello vs. Roberto Duran
Ask yourself, just how much would pay for a card where Arguello-Duran is the second bout?
Second mortgages, anyone?
When it comes to fights between guys who swam in similar weight-class waters, but never met, this one is near the top because both make my list of all-time favorites and all-time greatest. Arguello had such class and elegance in the ring that it often masked his ferocity; while Duran was just the opposite, a violent whirling dervish whose sublime skill set was hidden behind his furious machismo.
Whose will would have been imposed on the other? It would have been fascinating to find out.
The Pick: Could Arguello have kept Duran off consistently for 15 rounds? I say no. Duran by decision.
Co-main event (modern) – Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua
When it comes to boxing’s mainstream it’s almost always about the heavyweights, so it’s probably no surprise that a matchup of the world’s preeminent big men would lead most modern dream-fight lists.
No question, it makes a lot of sense. It’s two heavyweights who’ve beaten every man they’ve ever faced. It’s two heavyweights who combine to hold every championship belt that matters. And, conveniently, it’s two heavyweights who just happen to reside less than 200 miles apart in the same country.
Now whether the fight itself would justify the build-up, that’s another question entirely.
A poll taken a year ago might have made Joshua, then unbeaten, a heavy favorite. But a loss to Andy Ruiz created questions that even a rematch victory didn’t answer, and Fury’s competitive evisceration of Deontay Wilder two months ago made it seem, when healthy, he’s head and shoulders above all peers.
The pick: If the Fury who beat Wilder fights any other heavyweight, he wins. Period. Call it a KO 9.
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Main event (historic) – Ray Leonard vs. Aaron Pryor
When I was 13 years old, there were a few certainties when it came to boxing: Larry Holmes was the heavyweight champ. Marvin Hagler was the middleweight champ. Ray Leonard was the welterweight champ. And Aaron Pryor was the guy I’d rather watch than any of them.
But lest you chalk it up to blind devotion or simply confusing an exciting fighter with a truly elite one, trust me… the “Hawk” from Cincinnati was fully deserving of both adjectives.
More than one expert will suggest the fact that he and Leonard never fought was no accident. And more so than any match I can recall since those teen days, this one still resonates as the one that got away.
Even now, the matchup entices.
Ray was a peerless boxer and far grittier than most had assumed when he emerged from the Olympics in 1976. Meanwhile, Pryor was fueled by frustration that he’d never had Leonard’s promotional advantages, and blended skill with fury and attitude on the way to becoming a 140-pound nightmare.
The size advantages – four inches in height, five in reach – were on Leonard’s side, but such deficits were routine for Pryor, who was the shorter man in each of his 11 title fights, all victories, nine by KO.
And he got off the deck several times in those fights.
So, if I ponder it multiple times, I can find a path to victory for each more than once.
But…
The pick: Pryor was amazing but flawed. If Ray hit him – and he would – he’d stay hit. Call it a KO 13.
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OK, there you go. My Fight Island card for the ages. Come up with some picks of your own, and drop me a line or a tweet to tell me just how wrong – or, gasp… how right – you think I am.
And P.S., Bob, Al and Eddie, if you change your minds on that boat/plane/submarine thing, gimme a call, we’ll work something out.
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This week’s title-fight schedule:
No title fights scheduled.
Last week’s picks: None
2020 picks record: 14-3 (82.3 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,130-368 (75.4 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body’s full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA “world championships” are only included if no “super champion” exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.