Sunday; the day of rest. Not really a time for Dale Gribble-esque conspiracy theories but bear with us; we might be on to something here. The theory comes in response to yesterday’s outrageous heavyweight title bout in Munich between Vitali Klitschko and Derek Chisora. The fight itself left little to debate with The Ukranian champ dominating. Although failing to win every round as is the norm and appearing physically less imposing against a game challenge; the fights post-mortem would hardly provide water cooler fodder for the office workers on Monday. As you’ve probably witnessed on YouTube by now, an ultra-aggressive fracas exploded in the post-fight press conference between Chisora and a David Haye we’ve barely seen in public since his high profile defeat to Vitali’s brother Wlad. Haye swiftly made up for his recent spotlight absence.
As the world’s media waited patiently for the two fighters to analyse the earlier twelve round round clash, the Hayemaker decided to crash the party to confront Vitali and apparently secure a summer showdown. As verbal blows were exchanged between Haye, Klitschko and his manager Bernd Boente, Chisora chipped in with his ten bobs-worth before a violent clash erupted between the two British boxers. The action looked genuine enough yet there’s been a slightly surreal feel about so many of the factors surrounding this fight. Chisora-Klitschko found itself slightly under the radar last week with a distinct lack of media coverage. Then came the slap at the weigh-in which woke the sporting world up. It wouldn’t be the first time the scales had played witness to some last minute promotional efforts, yet Del-Boy’s smack, on such a respected personality, was extreme even for his standards.
It done the job, regardless of how spontaneous it was or wasn’t, and the fight began to trend on social network sites, even prompting Boxnation’s broadcast rival Sky Sports to show the incident on their 24 hour news channel. As Boxnation’s coverage kicked off the next night, it became apparent that David Haye would be joining Big Daddy Bunce and Jim Rosenthal as pundit to proceedings. The ‘retired’ fighter’s credentials as a guest made sense, having fought the younger Klitschko last year. A bit strange however for long term enemy Frank Warren to be offering his former foe a payday, and platform, to promote a possible future comeback clash with Vitali? Haye had his trowel out and was laying foundations from the get go, even excitedly informing the viewers that he’d been ejected from ringside by Team Klitschko’s management.
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An interesting development in relation to the broadcasting then unfolded, as BoxNation declared through Facebook and Twitter that the fight would be shown for free, as there had been problems with the subscription process. Computer systems have crashed in the past due to a high demand for last minute purchases, yet the cynic could have viewed it as a crafty campaign. After obtaining as many subscriptions as possible before the threat of encryption twenty minutes before the fight, showing the scrap to non-paying sky viewers was possibly a ploy, executed in the hope that those viewing for free would pledge allegiance to the channel on the back of the action . With a barrage of adverts for the upcoming Cotto-Mayweather match-up being shown between breaks, it made sense that there’d be more chance of new signatures if fight fans were watching the production, rather than tuning into the nights second rate boxing alternative being shown on Channel Five.
And so for the piece de resistance. After such a volatile build up and in-ring exchange between Chisora and the Klitschko’s, a distinct lack of security at the press conference seemed inexplicable, yet not one peace-keeper appeared as Del Boy waddled off the stage to confront Haye following Warren’s proposal for a number one contenders match for Vitali’s belt. It had all the hallmarks of a Vince Mcmahon constructed wrestling promo; smashed glass, bloodshed, big threats and most importantly of all, it was all caught on camera, clear as day. Vitali’s ring-walk a couple of hours earlier had been compared to The Undertaker’s thetrical WWE entrance and the brawl that followed was reminiscent of a segment from Piper’s Pit. Wrestling has been creating interest via heated scenarios and rivalries for years; it’s what the show runs on and so does boxing to an extent. The sizzle of genuine grudge matches, such as Benn and Eubank, has helped sell the boxing steak for years. Recently more fabricated conflict has assisted ticket sales, none more so that the Warren promotion between Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverley last year. The fight was sold to us on the basis of two fighters who despised each other, yet after the final bell the Scouser was happy to admit his over aggressive antics in the build-up were simply for promotional purposes.
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Last night’s ugly scenes from Germany may have been the real deal, yet it’s funny that none of the online videos have been removed, especially with the incident apparently a legal matter now. At a time when shows like The Only Way Is Essex and The Kardashian’s, shows that feature staged scenarios where real life people play exaggerated versions of themselves, are cleaning up in the ratings and popularity stakes; is it beyond the realms of possibility that one of Boxing’s Big Wigs has decided to commission some money spinning dramatisations of his own?
The Heavyweight division has needed an injection of excitement for some time. Purists would have preferred a fantastic new talent to emerge or an epic encounter to spark interest in the diminishing division but after last night’s shenanigans, at least people are talking. A couple of police cautions, a few scratches and a further sullying of already tarnished reputations are a small punishment for a potentially lucrative future payday. If Chisora and Haye sign on the dotted line to do battle, you can guarantee the reportedly underwhelming number of BoxNation subscriptions will increase. Whether authentic or not, expect the regularity of intense pre-fight promotions to do the same.
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