There is a fight this Saturday.
It is a big fight in the world of boxing, but Stephen A. & Skip Bayless won’t be there, Keith Olbermann won’t be calling for boycotts and there won’t be any credential scandals hours before the fight. There won’t be the outrage by media over a boxer checkered past and if he should be able to cash a seven-figure check.
There won’t be any 10k word breakdowns and investigations of police reports to show what a bad person he is. It will just be a standard boxing match because media and fans only have selective outrage when it comes to sports.
For the record this isn’t anything personal against James Kirkland, this has to do with the hypocrisy in the media.
Kirkland’s rap sheet is as followed.
- An armed robbery conviction that he spent 30 months in jail for.
- Possession of firearms by a felon which he spent 24 months in jail for.
- Arrested for choking his girlfriend to the point she had a 6 inch scar on her neck.
Kirkland who is still on probation from the various charges is a convicted felon. The REAL boxing media has covered Kirkland’s past for years, so this isn’t new to them and will only be brought up in passing during the fight, similar to how the REAL boxing media has covered Mayweather’s past well before he stepped into the ring with Manny Pacquiao.
That is the problem with media, many only have a conscious when it suits them. Keith Olbermann won’t talk about James Kirkland because it won’t bring ratings. The many journalists who lashed out against Mayweather probably have no idea that possibly a worst person is stepping into the ring on Saturday and will make over a million dollars.
That is why I always say it is a slippery slope when you say you aren’t going to support something over one person. Because, how can you say you wouldn’t support Mayweather-Pacquiao but not mention Canelo-Kirkland?
How can you want to boycott a Mayweather PPV, but not HBO?
The simple answer is regardless of their thoughts on Mayweather the reason for all the stories, controversy, rants and whatever had to do with the fact that speaking about Mayweather put more eyes on them.
Which is fine, just be real about it. Talking about Mayweather is good for business, talking about Kirkland likely only lead to crickets, so that is why their silence on his past is deafening. There is a great deal of hypocrisy in media, don’t be fooled. Maybe they didn’t know about Kirkland until just this moment, which is fair, but now you know, so what are you going to do? I have no problem with media, fans or anyone not liking Floyd Mayweather, calling him a serial abuser or not supporting his fights as long as they are consistent across the board.
You can’t cover a sport without dealing with some guys who are horrible people off the field, that is just the reality. When the media tries to get you boycott or not like a person, they are playing you like how Mayweather played with Pacquiao in the ring.
