Pound for Pound Abdiel Vallejo-Lopez

Transcription

1 Pound for Pound Abdiel Vallejo-Lopez Floyd Mayweather Jr. is well-known for being challenged. The 39-year-old champion of boxing has been at the forefront of controversy throughout his career among scandals of domestic abuse and lavish arrogance. With his undefeated record of 49 wins it s no surprise many boxing and MMA contenders envy the chance to knock his teeth in. But, when former UFC champion Ronda Rousey was asked in an open Reddit Q&A about the possibility of her winning a fight against Mayweather, her response went past common verbal-jabs. Following a couple months after Mayweather s predictable victory over the Pac-Man Manny Pacquiao (a fight which generated a record breaking $410 million in revenue) Rousey, who has never been shy about trash-talking had this to say: Floyd is one of the best boxers of all time. He would definitely beat me in a boxing match. I unfortunately don t get into matches. I fight for a living. In a no rules fight, I believe I can beat anyone on this planet... The response would spark months of debate from sport commentators and journalist in both the boxing and MMA spectrum. Weighing in on the side of Rousey, UFC commentator and fight enthusiast Joe Rogan commented in favor of the UFC fighter by saying that Mayweather does not have what it takes to avoid Rousey s clinch. Let s crunch the numbers. At 5 8 and 151 lbs. the boxing champion from Grand Rapids, Michigan (Floyd Mayweather) has the obvious strength advantage. With an impressive 72-inch reach it would be pretty difficult for Rousey to avoid the beat down that broke great contenders like Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, and De la Hoya. That being said, if Rousey can avoid the knockout in the first 15 second, Mayweather would have a real problem on his hands. Ronda Rousey, fighting out of Santa Monica, California. At 5 7, is only an inch shorter than Mayweather. Her 68-inch reach puts her at a disadvantage as well as her last weigh in at 135 lbs. Even if Mayweather loses 8 lbs. (highly unlikely) and Rousey gains 8 lbs. (also unlikely) and both fighters meet at a medium weight of 143, the higher body fat to muscle content in Rousey s body would give Mayweather the advantage in strength. What made Rousey such a powerhouse in MMA (pre KO by Holly Holm) and the reason Mayweather would not want to take her on inside the octagon (besides the fear of losing his perfect record) is the fundamental aspect of her technique; what Joe Rogan called her clinch. As a 3-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games and Judo Championship, the 4 th degree black belt Olympic judoka has the conditioning and skill to take down half the men in her weight division. In an interview on ESPN2 s SportsNation, Rogan said: If Ronda got a clinch on him, it s not just worrying about being taken down to the ground, it s worrying about knees to the body. It is worrying about her manipulating his

2 body in ways that he doesn t understand She keeps her chin tucked, hands high and gets a hold of you. There is going to be a lot of things she is doing that he doesn t understand. The next few months of the verbal slugfest that was the Mayweather vs. Rousey debate lead to comments on both sides perpetuating the possibility of the fight becoming a reality. Among the most memorable jabs was the crack Rousey made at Mayweather s previous jail time for domestic violence saying in an interview with Access Hollywood I don t think that me and him would ever fight, unless we ended up dating. The feud quickly deescalated after the brutal knock out of Rousey by underdog Holly Holm landing a powerful left kick to the face that knocked Rousey on her back. In one of the most memorable take downs of UFC history, Holms followed Rousey to the floor with a right hook to the temple, then landing two right hands to the dome after which the referee stepped in and broke the two apart. Rousey was immediately rushed to the hospital where doctors evaluated her injuries. Rousey declined a rematch to Holms post fight admitting that it would take months of recovery before she could even eat an apple. Holms kick to the head sent the previously undefeated UFC champion tumbling into a pit of self-loathing and depression of which she slowly recovered. Mayweather, in an interesting choice of words (considering he retired undefeated after his victory over Andre Berto) said about Rousey s loss: Just in boxing period, contact sports period, you win some, you lose some I don t know about this fight, I just know that you win some and you lose some. It basically comes with the territory. Throughout modern history professional sports have been at the forefront of cultural and socio-political change. Even if the culture of society says otherwise, professional sports often times break the rules by introducing exceptional, non-traditional, athletes. Jackie Robinson s transition into the MLB, Billie Jean King defeating Bobby Riggs in the tennis match that would be dubbed The Battle of the Sexes, both athletes and organizations vilified for going against the grain. Rousey s shot at Mayweather (though shocking) was, in a way, nothing new. There is a longstanding tradition of women in professional sports squaring up against the men in an effort to dismantle their opponent s reputation or to secure their place at the table. And of course, whenever a female competitor steps up to the plate, the backlash begins. The Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) received negative feedback after their loss against Karsten Braasch in an attempt to play in the Men s Professional Tennis, ATP World Tour. Danica Patrick continues to take backlash for her performance as a NASCAR driver. In each different sport the rhetoric remains, largely the same. Characterized as unfeminine or redirected to the cheerleading squad, female athletes are immediately thrown in comparison to the guys when their exceptional athletic abilities exceed the context of their sport. The question always becomes would they be able to handle it in the NBA? or would they be able to handle it in the PGA?

3 Said, Dr. Cheryl Cooky (associate professor of Women s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University) in an interview with Bleacher Report. For some people, this is a well-intentioned and legitimate question to ask. For others, it s an attempt to belittle female athletes by comparing them to men. For all intents and purposes, let s assume that questions about mixed-gender bouts are asked mostly in good faith. The question then becomes would male players in professional sports accept a woman on their team? The female and male anatomy is comprised of complex muscle fibers which react differently in men and women in relation to the natural body fat found in each sex and the skeletal dimensions of their hips, legs and torso. Take into consideration the role of testosterone and estrogen, gland secretions and their relation to muscle growth and it s easy to assume that men are, for the most part, much stronger than women (in a general sense, there are plenty of women who could kick my ass). To subject women to the notion of strength as the amount of force a person can exert on an object might, however, be unfair. A woman s anatomy allows them to overshadow men in many categories that cannot be seen in conventional sports because, let s face it, conventional sports were designed by men to be played by men. If anyone ever invents a sport where the focus lies on flexibility, concentration and overall just living longer, men will be at a serious disadvantage. That being said the concept of men and women cohabiting under the constructs or professional sports, as we are accustomed to, is not that far of a stretch. Chief medical officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2011, Dr. Cindy Chang, said studies have shown that men have greater upper-body strength than women, but added that studies compare physical differences by comparing averages. Dr. Chang also mentioned that there are women who may be at the far end of the curve in areas such as leg strength, or have a body type that is beneficial for certain sports. Other women, such as Danica Patrick, are able to defy their size and compete in sports which utilize upper-body strength by using their strength efficiently. Still, there is some push back in the scientific community on what could possibly be a male dominated bias. In her book Myths Of Gender: Biological Theories About Women And Men, biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling finds, what she calls, a shocking lack of substance behind ideas about biologically based sex differences. She argues that muscle fibers (isolated from body fat content) react similarly in growth and dystrophy regardless of sex. While this might not lead us to believe that a women can have overall physical strength over a man with the same muscle density and weight, relative to their size; it could lead us to believe that many thoughts on how women perform are mainly social constructs. Other studies have suggested that women might have more endurance than men in long stretches of cardio such as marathon running or long distance swimming. This research comes to no surprise as female athletes continue to improve and break records in their sports each year. Considering the fact that women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon until 1972, I d say it s only a matter of time before a woman breaks the male record in a long distance sport. In 1967 (five years before the Boston Marathon officially welcomed female athletes) Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon under a gender neutral pseudo name: K. V. Switzer.

4 When asked about her competing in the race Boston Athletic Association director Will Cloney said: Women can t run in the Marathon because the rules forbid it. Unless we have rules, society will be in chaos. I don t make the rules but I try to carry them out. We have no space in the Marathon for any unauthorized person, even a man. If that were my daughter, I would spank her. We can link this anecdote to the disparity between men and women when it comes to the training they receive at a young age. Boys and girls are often funneled into different sports long before biology gives either a chance to define their physical abilities. What may prevent women from entering into professional sports, past physical challenges, are the social stigmas that come from going against the grain; things that Title IX, girl-friendly sport associations, and a new perspective on gender roles are helping to change. Still, there are many parents who would hesitate to subject their girls to the criticism, stigma, and vilification just to play a game. If we were to include mixed-gendered sports into education the conversation about locker rooms alone would carry months of debate from all sides of society (although some people elude to the answer being as simple as throwing on a towel ). Past the locker rooms we move to issues of sexual harassment cases from hazing rituals that go too far to the habitual smacking of a player on the rear after a good play. Considering the incredible amount of sexual harassment cases in the gender separate sports world we live in today it s easy to image what could go wrong. Still, as the societal wave pushes us towards the sentiment of gender-neutrality, we are starting to evaluate sports as one of the last institutions in our society in which gender segregation is both culturally accepted and legally enforced. It is in this context where the most important conversations of what gender equality might mean in a contemporary moment take place. Assuming that we could move past the hurdles of political correctness, we would need to evaluate the ethical implications of mixed-gendered sports. Returning to the world of fighting we can speculate on what a mixed gender fight could look like. In 1994 (during the pinnacle of creation for the sport of MMA and 21 years before the Rousey vs. Mayweather feud) Lucia Rijker, arguably one of the greatest female kickboxer s of all time, fought in a mixed-gendered match against male fighter Somchai Jaidee. At that time, the 25 year old fighter from Holland (Lucia Rijker) had over twice as many victories as her opponent with 34 total fights, 33 wins, 1 draw, and 12 of those victories being by Knock Out. Weighing in at 58 kg (128 lbs.) she was the favorite to win. Her opponent from New Zealand (Somchai Jaidee) at age 21 had only fought 14 matches, holding an average number of 13 wins and one defeat. Weighing in at 59 kg. (130 lbs.), it seemed to be a level playing field between these two competitors. In the first couple minutes of the second round (after a first round that provided a devastating punch to the face of Rijker and a kick to the side of Jaidee) Raijker cornered her opponent in an attempt to defeat him once and for all. Jaidee, trying to free himself from the corner, administered punch after punch of right and left hooks and would land a clean shot to

5 Rijker s right temple brutally knocking her out (hitting her with a left, then a right, then a left hook again as she went down). With fighting, as with any sports, there are victories and defeats. In the world of contact sports however, there are defeats implemented with brutality. While in theory we would love to see a woman defy all odds and star in an NFL game or get the chance to beat the crap out of one of these misogynistic fighters for PPV, the reality still exists that (because of the physics of the game) a woman might be sacked by a 205 lb. linebacker or seriously injured in a fight. Then what? Past the hero and villain narrative we often delegate to sports there is the physics, the broken bones, the blood, and sometimes even death. Considering the pervasive nature of domestic violence in America (more specifically, violence against women), the full integration of mixedgendered sports could seem small compared to the negative impact a mixed fight would have on a cultural level. Even Ronda Rousey, beyond all her talk, seems to agree that mixedgendered bouts are lose-lose scenarios. She commented in an interview with the Daily Beast: I don t think it s a great idea to have a man hitting a woman on television you could have a girl getting totally beat up on TV by a guy which is a bad image to put across... It's fun to theorize about and talk about, but it's something that's much better in theory than fact. In the end you may be wondering: why is this a big deal? Men play with men, and women play with women. The main reason gender integration could become a reality is arguably the most vital aspect of the sports world, income. Currently male leagues surpass female leagues in viewership and income (with the exception of possibly some top female Olympians). Defendants of the income gap associate it with the nature of the entertainment industry. The more viewership something has the more money gets put into it. Therefore, teams with a larger fan base get the most money and women, sadly enough, just don t have as much viewership as men. This however, isn t always the case. Rousey for instance, in 2015 was the biggest name in the UFC and the best paid fighter at the time making $6.5 million over the year of June 2014 to June While this is just pennies compared to the $300 million figure Mayweather made in the same June to June year, there was a lot of speculation that a fight between these two competitors could have sold more than Mayweather vs. Pacquiao (surpassing the record of $4.4 million PPV sales and $73 million at the gate). Moral and ethical reasons put aside, the great equalizer in this case might become dollars and cents. Mixed gendered sports may be closer than we think, if there s money to be made, and if the price is just right I have no doubt somebody, somewhere, will be happy to do it.