Ring canvasses like this have become all too common in boxing. How many logos do we need to be reminded that the New York Daily News is sponsoring the event?It was an event that every boxing fan dreams of. A packed Madison Square Garden teeming with thousands of fight fans on Puerto Rican Day in New York City. HBO and major press coverage buzz all week. A fight card featuring Matt Korobov & Ivan Calderon, headlined by the much-anticipated welterweight showdown between Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey. And, to top it off, a great nip and tuck fight going all twelve rounds with Cotto squeaking out the win despite a bad cut that he bravely fought through. The stands packed full of Cotto’s Puerto Rican brethren made for an electric atmosphere. The best of boxing, right?
Well, thanks to something that is symptomatic of the worst in boxing, we almost never got to see it.
In round five, Clottey tried to clinch with Cotto near one corner of the ring. Although it has been described as a tackle, Cotto more or less pushed Clottey off of him. This move sent Clottey airborne, then spinning down to the canvas; it was immediately apparent that the Ghanian had injured his knee. Unfortunately, referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. didn’t get a clear look at the situation, as he had tripped on a ring photographer’s camera a couple of seconds before Clottey hit the canvas. Mercante allowed Clottey to take a few minutes to recover, but for the next few rounds, Clottey was a one-legged fighter. Cotto regained control of the fight at that point. Luckily, as the rounds wore on, Clottey was able to shake off the injury and continue (even winning rounds in the process), so the injury was not serious enough to warrant a stoppage of the action.
Further replays showed, however, that the injury was actually caused by Clottey slipping on a Tecate logo as he landed. This caused a subsequent WWE-like flop to the canvas. On that one bad leg, Clottey would continue to slip on the ring logos several times the rest of the way, sometimes on that same bad knee. Although Cotto didn’t have as much trouble, he did lose his footing a couple of times during the fight as well.
Which begs the obvious question: Why are these ridiculous canvas designs allowed to continue?
On the ring itself, there were four Tecate logos in each corner, with a fifth logo taking about a third of the entire canvas in the middle. There was an AT&T logo above that, plus a Madison Square Garden logo below. So out of the whole ring canvas, only each side of the large center logo could be found any free space. Making matters worse, the paint obviously had no grip to it, as many times as both fighters slipped during the bout. Although neither fighter complained about the canvas afterward (they were both far more worked up about the judge’s decisions), it was brought up by the HBO announce team during the telecast.
The question is, then, why does boxing continue to allow this to happen? With all the medical precautions that are taken with boxers, from the examinations and weigh-ins before fights to the ringside doctor, paramedic team and ambulance during, it seems crazy that these unsafe canvases are largely ignored. If I can buy a resin additive to put in paint at my local hardware store, explain to me how Top Rank is unable to do the same, especially with their million-dollar promotion at stake? I’ve seen fights where the canvas was so slippery, a referee took a Coke from ringside and poured it on the canvas logo. How utterly minor league does that sound? Just imagine the NHL not using a Zamboni between periods of hockey, and having the officials pouring water from a cup to clean up ruts in the ice. It never would happen, would it? Worth billions of dollars, the NHL has standards that all arenas need to follow to protect their players.
Boxing needs this as well. It is understandable that promotions need all the advertising revenue possible, but there should be a limit as to how much ring space can be used for advertising, uniform throughout the sport. Also, these commissions need to test the canvas prior to fight time with water, sweat or any other elements that a fight would have to make sure there’s no threat of injury. If a commission was to declare a ring unfit for fighting, you can well bet promoters would respond with some alacrity. With all that commissions do already, this doesn’t seem like a lot more to ask. The last thing anyone in boxing needs is for a great career to be cut short due to a torn ACL caused by something as stupid as slippery canvas.
Boxing is a dangerous sport by its nature, and those who step into the ring already risk so much to ply their trade. With all the steps made over the years that have made the sport safer, it’s time to make that first step on the canvas a safe one, too.
Alacrity? Nice.
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