Why I Love Boxing

From my spot in section 210, row H, seat 9 and away from the sterility of press row at the Honda Center this past Saturday night, I was able to feel like a boxing fan again.  Don’t get me wrong, I live and breath boxing.  From checking numerous websites numerous times to combing my local newspaper for any snippet of fistic news to submitting articles to Fightnews.com or posting stories on SDFights or MyBoxingFans, 80% of my thoughts are consumed by the sweet science.  As a heterosexual male, you can only guess what the other 20% is worried about.

As a member of the media, you are expected not to have favorites.  Not to cheer for the fighters who you might like as people or whose style you appreciate.  Not to show emotion when one of those fighters who you might of admired from a far but by circumstance of both of your jobs you might of developed some type of camaraderie, wins or loses.

But this time, I decided to go to a fight card with no deadline hanging over my head.  I made the one hour and a half trip from San Diego to Anaheim with new friends that I have made and the ninety miles zoomed by as we spoke about the fights we were about to witness, wars we had recently enjoyed and a wish list of clashes we wanted to see happen in the near future.

The two fights which was featured on Showtime made me realize why I love boxing.  Those twenty rounds made me feel and witness a range of emotion that only boxing can.

At least for me.

From the intense seriousness under the hood of Almazbek “Kid Diamond” Raiymkulov during his ring walk to the never ending smile and giddiness of Tony DeMarco during his, to the concern I felt as DeMarco seemed confused in the early rounds by the unorthodox yet effective style of “Kid Diamond”.

I must admit, I am a fan of Tony DeMarco.

Since I began to make my way to the sweaty, claustrophobic boxing gym located under the stands of the Tijuana Sports Complex some years back to speak to the adolescent looking now 23 year old father of one DeMarco, I have liked the kid.  Even though to this day I believe he must work on his defense and on his balance, I think that DeMarco is a future world champion.

So when DeMarco began to pick up the pace in the middle rounds and started to land that hard straight left after two quick jabs as if he could hear what I was yelling at the top of my lungs among the 5,450 rabid fans in attendance, I felt joy at the thought of the polite young kid who always has answered every one of my questions with a shy smile going against the odds and beating the much more experienced “Kid Diamond”.

As DeMarco began to put the finishing touches of his masterpiece by the end of the ninth round when he landed a series of unanswered punches to the head of Raiymkulov, I began to worry for the safety of “Kid Diamond”.

My voice was gone by the end of the rest period between rounds when Raiymkulov refused to answer the bell which made DeMarco the new WBO NABO lightweight champion.  Words could not describe the feeling I had as Tony threw himself on his knees and with arms wide open seemed to want to embrace every one of the exhilarated fans that were in attendance sharing his happiness.

Just as I had just experienced the thrill of victory, I was ready to experience the agony of defeat.  As Jorge “Travieso” Arce walked proudly and unknowingly towards a beating he will not soon forget, I saw the smirk on Vic Darchinyan as he seemed to enjoy being the bad guy as he was booed by the mostly pro-Arce crowd on his way to the ring.

The next eleven rounds were a back and forth war of emotion as pleaded for Arce to go more to the body and to stay away from the Darchinyan’s deadly left hand.

As if you have not noticed, I am a “Travieso” Arce fan.

Arce was the first interview I ever conducted in this journey of boxing writer.  He cordially invited me into his hotel room hours before his fight against Angel Priolo in La Paz, MX.  Although I was nervous and inexperienced, he made me feel confident as he answered every one of my queries with passion.  What Arce lacks in technical skill and talent, he makes up ten fold with charisma, character and courage inside the ring.

Boxing needs ten more “Traviesos”.

I already was a fan then and since that summer afternoon I have been a bigger fan but I had never seen in one of his fights from the stands but always from press row where your every movement is scrutinized by not only the publicist who was hired by the promoter to make sure you justify your close proximity to the ring with some actual work in shape of an article but also by some other media members who wish to see how ethical is your behavior.

So with Tecate in hand, I watched as in true Arce fashion he gave a show even in defeat and I actually admired how Darchinyan never gave up in trying to give what the Armenian crowd wanted, a knockout.

That’s why I love boxing.