Somewhere, Marvelous Marvin Hagler must be laughing. So, perhaps, is Michael Spinks.

Boxing’s former middleweight and heavyweight champions rank among the rarities in their sport. They retired once and stayed there.

The multitudes travel the opposite path. Some make numerous “comebacks.” Most boxers have at least two encores in their arsenal. The latest involves Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, who fights Winky Wright on July 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

It was only last year that Hopkins retired on top, with a virtuoso performance in Atlantic City. Hopkins diced, sliced, toyed with and dismantled favored Antonio Tarver to capture a light-heavyweight championship. Hopkins won by a whopping nine points on all three scorecards.

For a fighter who once made 20 successful middleweight title defenses, jumping two weight classes to capture a crown was significant. Hopkins enjoyed his finest hour, unveiling a boxing clinic that thrilled boxing purists. The energetic, well-spoken Hopkins then left the game to focus on promoting for Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Hopkins’ nephew, contender Demetrius Hopkins, became a full-time project.

Ah, but Hopkins is back. Boxing, television and seven-figure paydays exude that irresistible aroma. Nothing else provides the big emotional hit. There won’t even be a title at stake in this 168-pound fight, but Hopkins is ranked first by Fight News at 175 pounds and Wright is ranked No. 2 as a middleweight. This weight class is a middle ground for both.

Hopkins does not need this at age 42. But he rarely takes hard shots and Wright is a methodical lefty, even less powerful than Tarver.

Fans witness two of the finest athletes of this generation. Their combined record stands at 98-7-2. Hopkins is 47-4-1 and a throwback to the days when fighters remained in their division. Wright, 51-3-1, owns two victories over Shane Mosley and outclassed Felix Trinidad in his finest performance two years ago.

Hopkins and Wright share something beyond their place in boxing’s top pound-for-pound list. They clamored several years for notoriety before breaking though. Hopkins finally emerged by winning Don King’s middleweight tournament six years ago and then defeated De La Hoya. It became even sweeter for Hopkins once De La Hoya became his promoter. Hopkins realized his greatest paydays behind De La Hoya’s promotional company.

Wright was the best fighter nobody heard of until promoter Gary Shaw began marketing him four years ago. Some high-level paydays and the formation of his own company followed, but his fortunes soured. Wright obtained a bitter draw with Jermain Taylor in 2006 and refused to be interviewed afterward. The sullen approach and Shaw’s departure hurt Wright, but he rebounded with a victory over Ike Quartey late in 2006.

Wright and Hopkins hang their future on the nature of this fight, even more than the outcome. One of them must gamble to make it exciting.

Critics consider this a pillow fight. Both are thinking-man boxers who wait for their opponents to make mistakes. One Atlantic City property passed on Hopkins-Tarver because of the fight styles. Hopkins surprised the boxing public then and hopes to duplicate the achievement against Wright.

Salad Days for MMA
Those who believe mixed martial arts and boxing can’t be partners should consider Las Vegas’ recent accommodation of both.

The Nevada Athletic Commission realized a record fee structure of about $5 million for the fiscal year concluding June 30. Most of the revenue comes from gate and live-entertainment taxes, which have caps. Some comes from fines. Within six months of each other, boxing and mixed martial arts produced the biggest live gates in their histories, in Las Vegas.

MMA delivered a $5.4 million gate for a December 2006 event. Boxing weighed in with the biggest of all time, an $18,419,200 total for De La Hoya against Floyd Mayweather in May 2007.

A stream of substantial boxing and mixed martial arts events delivered a fiscal bonanza. When the commission collects $5 million, the city probably realizes more than $100 million.

Boxing and mixed martial arts continue to co-exist like cousins. Marc Ratner started the trend by leaving the Nevada Commission for a UFC post last year. Followers include Jay Larkin, a former Showtime executive. The newest is Richard Steele.

Does the name seem familiar? Steele refereed some of the biggest boxing matches in Las Vegas history for many years. He formed an MMA company and has an event July 7 at the Orleans Arena.

Las Vegas concludes its monthly calendar July 28 with a WWE showdown at the Thomas and Mack Center. Recent legislation removed professional wrestling from the commission’s responsibility, but the WWE will still pay taxes. The move lets the WWE avoid the administrative hoops associated with its shows. It also lets the commission focus its resources on the boxing-martial arts juggernaut.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.

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