History is Repeating Itself

For the first decade of commercial television, it was boxing - not NFL Football - that was the top sport on the tube. The Gillette Friday Night Fights were a staple of the small tube on NBC, as were the Pabst Blue Ribbon Wednesday Night Fights on CBS. THe Dumont Network ran regular cards from the St. Nicholas Arena and even the upstart ABC had the Muriel Cigar Fights on Saturday Nights.

Then came the deaths of Benny Kid Paret and Bobby Moore on TV and the outcry saw boxing reduced to an afterthought on television while profootball saw the NFL, then the AFL, rise dramatically in popularity. Todayu we have Fox, CBS, and NBC dividing the broadcast network pie with ESPN and the NFL Network complmenting with cable coverage. Boxing? Forget about it.

Now comes the brutality charges for the NFL, heightened by the Junior Seau suicide. The NFL is facing the same crossroads that boxing faced....will they do a better job of managing the outcome? Students of history are taking keen notice!

BOXING REVIVAL IN LAS VEGAS TO INCLUDE NEW CLUB VENUE

Ever since the 1960's, Las Vegas has been considered the capital of boxing in the USA. From the great pro championships at the old Convention Center, and then the outdoor arena at Caesars Palace to the legendary club fights at the Silver Slipper to the outstanding amateur programs that gravitated to Vegas, the sports was ubiquitous in Sin City.

Now, of course, the unconscionable conflict of letting the Barry Boxing group be both promoter and regulator has all but killed off amateur boxing here while the costs of running a club fight have seen the regular pro boxing card literaly disappear. There are hundreds of quality boxers still in Las Vegas, but nowadays they spend their time punching bags and hoping for SOMETHING good to happen for the sport.

Now that seems to be taking shape. Right on the shadows of the Las Vegas strip, plans are being finalized for a small Silver Slipper style boxing club. The building is up, and the finishing touches begin shortly. By the fall, Las Vegas again will have an intimate club boxing venue here the fine fighters trainintg here can again be showcased.