Every Thursday, FightHype makes some space among its video content to host boxing’s most NSFW mail bag column-- Mine. In this week’s Sack, I address comments/questions regarding my take on the Saudi takeover of boxing, Carl Froch on Fighting, and Tank Davis retiring.
Turki Hater
Asshole. I don’t get your constant hate for the one guy willing to invest billions into boxing and literally save the sport. What Turki has done for boxing is more than all of the promoters combined and without his work the last couple of years would’ve been dead. You do realize you look like a total joke as the only idiot crying about something that is beyond question a positive for boxing. If you hate boxing so much, go away. Everyone is laughing at you.
– A Boxing Fan
Shit head. How many times do I have to go over the same things before realizing that some people are just too stupid or too rotten to care? So, what else can I do but keep speaking truth to the dummies, weirdos, creeps, and chronically shortsighted? If you’re serious about wanting to know why this Saudi takeover is a bad thing (your probably don’t), give this Notes from Boxing Underground a read: http://www.fighthype.com/news/article45788.html.
But there’s one extra thing your attack post touched on that I wanted to address. So, here I go probably wasting my time and energy again.
So, you’re trying to tell me that all of these promoters wouldn’t have been putting on cards if not for Turki? They’d be sitting at him eating Cheetos and watching game shows, if not for the grace of Saudi Arabia paying them to run their business? Get the fuck out of here. That’s some incredibly stupid shit you have swirling in your head space. They really sold the hell out of the Saudi narrative to your gullible ass.
All that the Saudi money did was line the pockets of promoters for fights that would’ve/could’ve/should’ve been made anyway. Nothing’s been fixed. The takeover will simply just whittle away more of the fan base and degrade things further-- making things harder for the comeback after Saudi Arabia moves on from boxing. And if Saudi Arabia DOESN’T move away from boxing? Well, then it may as well be the end of the sport for many anyway as the fights will be pretty inaccessible to the West. The quality will also eventually suffer as developmental, star-building efforts will be greatly diminished under the Saudis, who have shown no interest in prospect development and won’t have much help in that area because they are driving many of the experts in the field either out of work or into very subservient positions.
But, at this point, I’m almost at the “whatever...let them find out for themselves” stage.
Riyadh Season Card
Magno.
That Riyadh Season card in February is fire. You’ve been doing nothing but running your mouth about Turki and his shows, but you got to shut your mouth now, right? Thank you Your Excellency. Thank Magno for nothing.
– P. Morrow
Hey P.
Fuck you. When all is said and done and things play out as disastrously as they’re bound to play out, some of you may realize that I was probably the only one among my colleagues that cared enough to at least try and fight the good fight. I got news for you, but a lot of these media people 100% agree with my skeptical take on the Saudi takeover of boxing, but have chosen to remain silent in deference to Saudi money and what it means to their own financial bottom line. THAT is how much the care. So, seriously, fuck off with your meat head logic.
Froch on Fighting
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your continued tilting at windmills and for providing us with some objective facts and proper journalism in our favourite sport. I must say that I was completely unaware of the shenanigans and vested interests of the boxing media until I started reading your work many years ago.
It now seems that we have you and handful of other journalists that are objective and of all people, Carl Froch that is not afraid to speak his mind and call out the sycophants. Have you seen his stuff on youtube and if so, what do you think of it?
Keep it up sir! You are appreciated.
– Louis Cockeran
Hey Louis.
Thanks for the kind words. I’ll keep up the good fight for as long as possible.
I don’t watch a whole lot of YouTube boxing content, but I’ve seen some of Froch’s stuff and he’s usually right on the money. I also just like his general style. He seems like a no BS kind of guy and I respect that. We need more and more of his kind in the sport.
Tank Retiring?
Hey Paul.
Long time reader here. I appreciate you always been real and honest with the fans. You don’t get that with anyone else in boxing media these days.
What do you think of Tank Davis saying he’ll be retiring at the end of 2025? Do you think he’s serious? If he is, I think he’ll go down as one of the greatest wasted talents of all time. There was just so much he should’ve done that he didn’t get a chance to. What’s do you think?
– Mike from Brooklyn
Hey Mike.
If he’s really and truly serious about the retirement stuff, then I applaud him. Peace of mind is worth more than any belt or any big-money purse. Boxing is a dark place with a lot of dark and twisted (not to mention dumb) people fucking with your mental and emotional well-being all the time. It’s a tiring world in which to live, even before factoring in the physical stress of training and fighting. So, I completely understand someone wanting to remove himself from that human meat grinder. He shouldn’t give two grams of a thought regarding legacy if leaving boxing behind is what’s best for him.
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.