Tomer Chen
A brief history of the NYSAC
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007By Tomer Chen
On June 21st, a Lower Hudson Online article criticized the sport of MMA, which is really no big shock given the rough ride of the sport over the last 14 years in the media and the sensationalism that seems to grasp the mainstream media as a tool to draw in readers. What was really shocking, however, was the criticism of a New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) Deputy Commissioner emeritus by the name of Steve Acunto, who has been a trainer for several decades in the sport of Boxing. It isn’t a shock that Mr. Acunto would criticize the sport of MMA given his deep rooted links to Boxing, but the analogy he made to the need for stopping MMA:
Read on…
The magnetism of feuds
Sunday, February 18th, 2007By Tomer Chen
Ali-Frazier. Zale-Graziano. Shamrock-Ortiz. All of these feuds have etched a place into the history of combat sports and when you list one of these opponents, inevitably the other gets mentioned out of word association. But why? Why do people get enamored by the desire of two fighters getting into a ring (or cage) and batter [...]
The value of records
Saturday, February 17th, 2007By Tomer Chen
The name of Rocky Marciano invariably brings up his record: 49-0 with 43 KOs. After all, Rocky is the only World Champion in Boxing history to ever retire with such a high record without any losses or draws to ‘mar’ it. True, there have been numerous champions who won more bouts than Marciano [...]
How high can the UFC rise?
Sunday, February 11th, 2007By Tomer Chen
It’s simply amazing: a product which, five years ago, was on the verge of collapse due to ever increasing expenses as well as not being able to run in a number of prime markets suddenly became in the last two years one of the biggest businesses to shift itself from ‘Dog’ status (under [...]
Purses or: How the fighters get paid
Sunday, February 4th, 2007By: Tomer Chen
One of the biggest topics of discussion throughout the hardcore MMA fan base tends to be the topic of ‘How much did _________ get paid for his last fight?’. After all, as a sports fan, one wants to imagine the glory and the riches that sports players and fighters receive for doing activities [...]
The Hall of Fame game
Sunday, January 28th, 2007By Tomer Chen
On December 7, 2006, the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) announced their 2007 class of inductees, with legends Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker & Ricardo Lopez as the living inductees (there were 13 total inductees from various eras and categories). On September 25, 2006, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Mixed Martial Arts Hall of [...]
The importance of weight
Saturday, January 20th, 2007By: Tomer Chen
Weight, in many combat sports throughout history, was a secondary consideration. Most combat sports began with the very basics, forming a very fundamental set of rules (such as Broughton’s rules in Boxing, which eventually became the London prize ring rules and was the foundation of the Bare-knuckle era from the 1700s to the [...]
The third man in the ring
Sunday, January 7th, 2007By Tomer Chen
Perhaps the hardest job in combat sports (and really, sports in general) is that of the referee. Unintentionally or not, they often, through their attempt (or lack thereof) to enforce the rules of the ring/cage can make or break a fight. A fight may be stopped seconds in from a trigger happy referee who [...]
Fighting and the bottom line
Saturday, December 30th, 2006By Tomer ChenÂ
Throughout the history of combat sports, there have been titanic clashes between two fighters which the public had demanded to face each other in order to be recognized as ‘the’ man. One of the earliest examples of such a superfight would be the 1860 John C. Heenan-Thomas Sayers bout which pitted an American [...]
The perils of judging
Thursday, December 21st, 2006By Tomer Chen
Perhaps the most contentious topic in the world of combat sports is the area of judging in fights. To begin, combat sports can have one of the following decisions rendered either after the distance is completed or one fighter cannot continue due an accidental injury (eye poke, headbutt, etc.), also known as a [...]
Champions & Contenders
Saturday, December 9th, 2006By Tomer Chen
Combat sports such as Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, just like team sports such as Baseball, Football & Basketball, have always relied on the prestige of a recognized championship (or championships) to be the centerpiece of their products. Fans want to see who will win the World Series, Superbowl or Stanley Cup and [...]