11-25-2002, 11:05 AM
It was supposed to be a foregone conclusion for everyone in the crowd. The champion would defeat the challenger without much trouble. That is until the challenger knocks down the champion in the opening round. The crowd rises to its feet in shock, the under dog whom no one gave a chance is standing over “the greatest”. The challenger was Chuck Wepner and the man he knocked down was Muhammad Ali. One of the people in the audience was a struggling actor who spent his last dollars for a ticket to see the fight. Though Ali would eventually win the fight, the idea was planted in this young mans mind. Everyone loves to see the underdog win, the hopeless who finds hope. That young man’s name was Sylvester Stallone and the idea he got that night would end up being “Rocky ™”.
We all love to see the underdog somehow pull off a victory against someone whom they stand no chance against. Maybe it makes us feel that if they can accomplish the impossible, then we can also. Maybe it’s just cause we hate seeing the same person or teams win over and over again. How many times can we have the Yankees or The Lakers win. How many times can you fathom to see Tiger Woods hold up a trophy? Granted these are the people who have distinguished themselves from everyone else because of their greatness. It is astonishing to watch the accomplishments Tiger constantly attains.
Who didn’t love seeing John Starks dunk on Michael Jordan? Yeah but what is the big deal, Jordan did that on such a constant basis it became almost expected of him. The big deal is for that one moment he got a taste of his own medicine, it felt good. How many people jumped on The Sacramento Kings bandwagon during last seasons NBA playoffs? How bad did every want to see the Lakers dethroned?
Then again after thinking about it for a while, the law of the jungle is that the lion is king of the jungle. There is a certain chain that has to be followed, you disrupt that chain and a chain reaction begins. What I mean is, while it is sweet to see a cocky athlete get his mouth shut it isn’t always a good thing. Let me explain by using the sport I love most.
I will use a recent event to show you how an under dog has disrupted the chain of events in the sport of boxing. Last year promoter Don King set up a tournament to unify the Middleweight Titles. The Four-Man elimination included all three champions and Felix Trinidad. The finals ended up with Long Time champion Bernard Hopkins facing the younger, stronger and faster Trinidad. Anyone who says they gave Hopkins a chance is probably full of it. Those are the same people who probably knew Spacey was Keyser Soze throughout the whole movie.
The showdown was no more than just a stepping stone to the true prize. If…no, when Trinidad beat Hopkins. Trinidad would move up in weight to meet the pound for pound king, light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. Boxing fans drooled at the thought of it. The only problem is, Bernard Hopkins closing in on 40 years of age disrupted everyone’s plans. He knocked out the unstoppable Felix Trinidad in the 12th and final round of the fight. To prove how much a forgone conclusion it was that Trinidad would win. Hopkins was not presented with his winning trophy that night because Trinidad’s name was already inscribed on it.
I was happier than probably anyone that Hopkins beat Trinidad. Finally someone stopped him and shut him up. A year later now, Trinidad has retired and Hopkins has had one fight since against a mandatory challenger whom posed no threat. The Trinidad Vs Jones fight never happened. The Hopkins vs. Jones fight seemed like the next best thing. Jones offered Hopkins twice the amount of his biggest payday ever. But it would call for a 60/40 split in favor of Jones. Hopkins wanted 50/50, which is absurd. First and foremost Jones already owns a win over Hopkins, granted it was 8 years ago. Plus it would be Jones titles on the line. It was because Hopkins knew what most of us tried to ignore; Jones would destroy Hopkins once again. 8 years ago Jones defeated Hopkins with a fractured right hand, why should it be different now? Jones is stronger and Hopkins is weary.
So now Hopkins is going nowhere, Jones is moving up to heavyweight in a dangerous fight that might shorten if not end his career. The middleweight division is at a standstill, the light heavyweight division will be in shambles soon. We lost Trinidad and now where do we go?
For the nonchalant fans, I’ll give you an easier example. Just remember Tyson Vs. Douglas, think, what if? Does anyone care that the Houston Rockets won back to back NBA titles during Jordans absence?
We all love to see the underdog somehow pull off a victory against someone whom they stand no chance against. Maybe it makes us feel that if they can accomplish the impossible, then we can also. Maybe it’s just cause we hate seeing the same person or teams win over and over again. How many times can we have the Yankees or The Lakers win. How many times can you fathom to see Tiger Woods hold up a trophy? Granted these are the people who have distinguished themselves from everyone else because of their greatness. It is astonishing to watch the accomplishments Tiger constantly attains.
Who didn’t love seeing John Starks dunk on Michael Jordan? Yeah but what is the big deal, Jordan did that on such a constant basis it became almost expected of him. The big deal is for that one moment he got a taste of his own medicine, it felt good. How many people jumped on The Sacramento Kings bandwagon during last seasons NBA playoffs? How bad did every want to see the Lakers dethroned?
Then again after thinking about it for a while, the law of the jungle is that the lion is king of the jungle. There is a certain chain that has to be followed, you disrupt that chain and a chain reaction begins. What I mean is, while it is sweet to see a cocky athlete get his mouth shut it isn’t always a good thing. Let me explain by using the sport I love most.
I will use a recent event to show you how an under dog has disrupted the chain of events in the sport of boxing. Last year promoter Don King set up a tournament to unify the Middleweight Titles. The Four-Man elimination included all three champions and Felix Trinidad. The finals ended up with Long Time champion Bernard Hopkins facing the younger, stronger and faster Trinidad. Anyone who says they gave Hopkins a chance is probably full of it. Those are the same people who probably knew Spacey was Keyser Soze throughout the whole movie.
The showdown was no more than just a stepping stone to the true prize. If…no, when Trinidad beat Hopkins. Trinidad would move up in weight to meet the pound for pound king, light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. Boxing fans drooled at the thought of it. The only problem is, Bernard Hopkins closing in on 40 years of age disrupted everyone’s plans. He knocked out the unstoppable Felix Trinidad in the 12th and final round of the fight. To prove how much a forgone conclusion it was that Trinidad would win. Hopkins was not presented with his winning trophy that night because Trinidad’s name was already inscribed on it.
I was happier than probably anyone that Hopkins beat Trinidad. Finally someone stopped him and shut him up. A year later now, Trinidad has retired and Hopkins has had one fight since against a mandatory challenger whom posed no threat. The Trinidad Vs Jones fight never happened. The Hopkins vs. Jones fight seemed like the next best thing. Jones offered Hopkins twice the amount of his biggest payday ever. But it would call for a 60/40 split in favor of Jones. Hopkins wanted 50/50, which is absurd. First and foremost Jones already owns a win over Hopkins, granted it was 8 years ago. Plus it would be Jones titles on the line. It was because Hopkins knew what most of us tried to ignore; Jones would destroy Hopkins once again. 8 years ago Jones defeated Hopkins with a fractured right hand, why should it be different now? Jones is stronger and Hopkins is weary.
So now Hopkins is going nowhere, Jones is moving up to heavyweight in a dangerous fight that might shorten if not end his career. The middleweight division is at a standstill, the light heavyweight division will be in shambles soon. We lost Trinidad and now where do we go?
For the nonchalant fans, I’ll give you an easier example. Just remember Tyson Vs. Douglas, think, what if? Does anyone care that the Houston Rockets won back to back NBA titles during Jordans absence?