Wait ... Did I Just LIKE That?

Once upon a time, I enjoyed watching a boxing match to some extent. For one, I used to spend a lot of time watching sports, any sport, on television. With my marriage, the birth of my son, and my eventual divorce, rearranged priorities meant that there was much less time to sit and watch sports on TV, and boxing was one of the first to go. But when I watched it, I enjoyed it. Part of it had to do with the fact that my grandfather boxed when he was young (and was Golden Gloves at Notre Dame). Part of it had to do with the fact that I enjoyed the “sweet science” aspect of the sport. Boxing is very much a technique driven sport (watch Million Dollar Baby again if you don’t agree) and I enjoyed watching fighters with good technique. For that reason, I preferred the lighter weight classes and amateur to pro boxing.

But anyway, as I said, I pretty much stopped watching it. I’m sure there is no causal relationship, but the sport seems to be pretty much dieing. If you need evidence, Evander Holyfield is fighting for the heavyweight championship. AT 47!!!

I had heard of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting, but hadn’t been interested. It seemed too close to pro wrestling. Too close to being a blood sport. And the guys that were fans of the sport (including Jim Rome) didn’t seem like the kinds of guys that I wanted to have something in common with. So I never watched it.

Until Friday night. I was channel flipping a little because my son was with his mom for the weekend and noticed EliteXC fighting on CBS. I was intrigued because Kimbo Slice was scheduled at the top of the card, and I had heard him interviewed on ESPNRadio earlier. So I decided to check it out. Now I didn’t watch it start to finish--I kept channel flipping--but … wait for it … I sort of liked it. The production values were strong. The athletes were interesting. And the fights were … exciting. I was flabbergasted. Oh, and it helped that they spent a significant time with Gina Carano, the “Face of Women’s MMA” and that she has a really pretty face, a rock solid figure, and just the cutest personality. And she could totally kick my ass. mmmRowrrrr.

Anyway, not sure why I felt compelled to confess this here. AFAIK, no one reads this blog (except for my sweet ViePrivee. We will chat one day!!!), but I wanted to write about this weird experience just a little.

Last night, I heard there was some controversy as to whether EliteXC tried to orchestrate the fight with Kimbo Slice. I hope that’s not true. I don’t know how often I would really watch anyway, but I can tell you that if the fights are orchestrated the way professional wrestling “fights” are …

The answer is not at all.