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« | Home | »

An open letter to Steve Acunto, Deputy Commissioner Emeritus of the NYSAC

By Adam Morgan | June 21, 2007

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Dear Deputy Commissioner Emeritus Acunto,

I know you’re a very busy man, shuffling around all those papers on your desk, so I won’t waste much of your time. What I have to say should ring true rather quickly, so please pay attention.

Read on…

Mixed martial arts is a sport built upon two competitors, cross-trained in several martial arts disciplines, testing their gameness against one another. They use technique to gain an advantage over their opponent, in what is more of a kinetic chess match than anything else. Have you ever seen someone pull off a perfect triangle choke? Have you ever seen a fighter use a great boxing technique to knock an opponent out? Do you know anything about mixed martial arts at all? I don’t even have to guess. I know.

You’ve never seen a mixed martial arts bout in your life. That’s fine. MMA is not for everyone. But to go ahead and make the leap and compare the rise of mixed martial arts to Hitler and the Holocaust is ridiculous. In fact, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you’ve got a heart, deep down, you are ashamed of yourself.

I know you won’t admit that. And that’s fine, too. We all have our insecurities.

I used to be a big boxing fan, sir, but those days have passed. Is it because of men like you who riddle the sport with ridiculous banter? Perhaps. Or could it be because we never see great fighters fight one another except once every five years, or because we never know who the champion is because there are so many organizations, or because it’s not about the fighters anymore? It’s about the business. That’s why I’ve stopped tuning in.

Don’t blame the decline of boxing on the rise of mixed martial arts. Boxing has done enough to destroy itself from within. Mixed martial arts had nothing to do with that. Boxing will always be around in some form or another. MMA will be there to build on the rubble of what’s left of it.

Comparing the rise of MMA to Hitler and the Holocaust is a signal. It signals a last resort from old-timer boxing enthusiasts who refuse to accept change in the landscape of combat sports. What can we expect to see next from the boxing community?

The only logical choice is the white flag.

Regards,

Adam Morgan

Topics: Adam Morgan, Media, MMA | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

4 Responses to “An open letter to Steve Acunto, Deputy Commissioner Emeritus of the NYSAC”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    NYC is just going to be losing revenues to states like NJ because the Continental Airlines Arena is close enough to NYC to get a big crowd (with a big gate), and give the money to a legit athletic commission like the NJSAC….

  2. Mr. Roadblock says:

    Here’s the thing w/ the Athletic Commission. They are all appointed to the position. NY has a new Governor named Eliot Spitzer. He knows how to sniff out a dollar. Spitzer is not the type to let Jersey make loot and have the city and upstate NY miss out. I predict MMA will be sanctioned in NY State by early 2008 at the earliest.

  3. Charles Jay says:

    That’s a really excellent letter, Adam.

    I don’t know what the hell Acunto has to do with the athletic commission, but he runs one of those “charity” organizations (The American Association for the Improvement of Boxing, or AAIB) that is constantly engaged in throwing bouquets at its founder (Acunto), i.e., himself.

    I would sure like to see the letter he wrote; the one you are referring to. If anyone has it, feel free to send it to me: [email protected].

    By the way, yes I did see a perfect triangle choke the other night in Florida. A kid named Tamdan McCrory. Something to see.

  4. Stevie J says:

    Oustanding editorial. Acunto is a joke.

Comments to Stevie J

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