The Fan Groupie In an industry where the two pay grades are "nothing" and "next to nothing," strange currencies come into play. The main one is the almighty PRESS PASS. Get one of those shiny suckers around your neck and you enter into the imaginary club of "insiders." Walk inside the arena-- FREE OF CHARGE-- and take your seat on press row. You have been given direct … [Read more...]
Revenge of the Nerds (Hell Hath No Fury…); Magno’s Monday Rant
It's said that rats will eat their own tails if properly upset or cut off from food for an extended period of time. In the world of boxing writing, the two-legged variety of Rattus Norvegicus is also prone to self-mutilation and fits of pointless self-destructive behavior if properly rattled. And nothing has rattled the rodents into action quite like the May 2 mega-fight … [Read more...]
Arum Blames Media For…Listening To Him? Magno’s Monday Rant
Promoter Bob Arum is quick to point the finger at the incompetent boxing media as the villains in this five-year Mayweather-Pacquiao fight-stalling fiasco. Of course, he's pointing the finger now and not before the official mega-fight signing when members of his own Top Rank team, and even his own son-in-law, were puzzled by his extreme belligerence in actually putting this … [Read more...]
Quick (S)Hits; Magno’s Monday Rant
This week is as good as any to tie up some loose ends and take a look at a few things that wouldn't normally require the full thousand word Rant treatment. So, in no particular order: Why am I higher on Sergey Kovalev than on media darling Gennady Golovkin? Just look at Saturday night's fight for that answer. Kovalev got pushed much more than expected by Jean Pascal and … [Read more...]
The Great Pacquiao Swindle; Magno’s Monday Rant
It was fight week for Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri, November 2014, when Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum began telling the world about secret Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations taking place. Was the claim true or merely a ploy to create some buzz and a glossy coat for a Macau-based fight that was probably the greatest paper mismatch ever hustled to fans via pay-per-view? After … [Read more...]