ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Ross Molovinsky and his father, Gene, have been putting on quality boxing shows locally for years with their Keystone Boxing promotion. They sponsored one recently at Rosecroft Raceway, and on Saturday night, hosted one at The Sphinx Club, a hidden, old-school gem on K Street in the District that could wind up being Washington’s version of the legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia.
They’ve been fighting the good fight for boxing, so excuse them if they are a little frustrated that suddenly people are acting like boxing rose from the grave with the anticipation of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megafight scheduled for May 2 in Las Vegas.
“Being in the boxing business, all the Mayweather-Pacquiao talk gets on my nerves,” Ross Molovinsky said. “I’d rather talk about other fighters and up-and-coming guys, and that’s only because of being so close to the business, day-in and day-out. So, I tend to be short when I talk about it. We were toying around with the idea in our business of having a surcharge if anyone asks us about about Mayweather-Pacqiuao.”
Gary Williams, the keeper of the flame of local boxing with his web site, “Boxing Along the Beltway,” knows how Ross Molovinsky feels — the notion that boxing is back, when, for the Molovinskys, Williams and others, it’s been alive and well all along.
“It might give boxing a bump,” Williams said. “But here in D.C., we’ve been running boxing shows all along without a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. We’ve always been here, and always had a regular, hardcore fan base. So, I don’t know if it will mean a whole lot. That’s a whole different level. We know where we are with boxing in Washington, and we’re in good shape.”
Hardcore is the key word here. The fact is that the circle of interest widened significantly when a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao was finally made. Boxing went from a lower-case B to being spelled with a capital letter with the news that the much-anticipated showdown would finally happen.
ESPN devoted a large block of time to the initial fight press conference, including an unprecedented “red carpet” segment before the event. It is on a slow roll to leading up to the No. 1 sports debate as May 2 draws closer — Who do you like, Mayweather or Pacquiao?
And it comes while boxing makes a return to network prime time television with NBC’s Premier Boxing Champions program — the ambitious plan by boxing power broker Al Haymon to actually buy time on the network for monthly boxing shows. Last week, it premiered with Keith Thuman vs. Robert Guerrero and Adrien Broner against John Molina, Jr.
It drew impressive numbers, tying the Duke-North Carolina game on ESPN. The next show features District favorite LaMont Peterson, the International Boxing Federation’s 140-pound champion, and Danny Garcia on April 11 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Luke Runion, executive director of the United States Intercollegiate Association, welcomes the attention.
“I think it will have an impact. Combined with what Al Haymon is doing on NBC, [it] will drive viewers that may have lost interest, who may have liked it when they were younger — the crowd that isn’t there anymore,” Runion said. “At least, that’s what I hope for.”
Undefeated rising D.C. star welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison, coming off a 10-round win over Tommy Rainone at Madison Square Garden in January and who hopes to fight again April 17 in Atlantic City, has been peppered with questions about who he thinks will win the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.
“Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about the fight and asking about it,” Hernandez-Harrison said. “It would have been better if it had happened five years ago, but the fact that it is finally happening will help boxing.”
Another local boxing talent, undefeated welterweight Mike Reed, who was in the main event at Saturday night’s show at The Sphinx Club, is hoping to be part of the Mayweather-Pacquiao party. A Top Rank fighter — Bob Arum’s promotional company, Pacquiao’s promoter — Reed possibly set the stage with an impressive second-round knockout of Eddie Soto.
Typically, the Friday night before a big Saturday night fight in Vegas, Top Rank will put on a show in town showcasing their young fighters. Reed hopes to be part of that.
“Going into my fight tonight, no matter who the opponent was, my main goal was to get a knockout,” Reed said after the fight. “I never say that, but I felt like I needed one. It’s been almost a year since I’ve had one. I’ve been undefeated with Top Rank, but with no knockouts. I felt pressure on myself to get a knockout.
“I think I could wind up in Vegas that weekend,” Reed said. “I want to be there for that. I am excited about the fight. I’m glad they made it happen. Boxing needs it, you hear people talking about it, they are the only two names they know.”
Mayweather and Pacquiao. Like it or not, the rising tide that could lift all boats. Climb on board.
• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.