The star ratings indicate how well the writer believes the fighters match up, the fight(s)’ contextual significance, and how good the fight(s) will be
MAIN EVENT
UNDERCARD
THOUGH often and sometimes rightly praised, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is occasionally no more than a sign of desperation. Some would argue, in fact, that true creativity and out-of-the-box thinking can only be achieved with desperation as its fuel, and that only when we are knocked out of our comfort zone, or short on options, do we start to broaden our horizons and look beyond what is immediately in front of us.
In the typical midlife crisis, for example, this could mean a sports car, a return to Ibiza club music, growing out what’s left of one’s hair, or a sudden obsession with ultra runs.
As for boxing, a sport very much predicated on the idea of desperation as fuel, what tends to happen when a big-name fighter has either cleaned out a weight class, or has acknowledged signs of their own deterioration, is this: they cherry-pick opponents to flatter them. This could mean selecting an opponent they feel, stylistically, suits them and what they have left, or it can simply mean dragging fighters from lower weight classes up into their terrain for a fight on their terms.
