The legendary New York-based sports writer Jimmy Cannon, a 2002 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, once referred to boxing as “the red-light district of sports.”
Cannon died at 64 years old in 1973, proof that what ails boxing now is not a recent occurrence.
Boxing is the most lawless of sports with the least amount of regulation. There is no central authority to enforce the rules, ensure fair play or mete out discipline.
The most recent example is the case of WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, who was caught on video Saturday grabbing a woman by the throat, yanking her from her seat and forcefully escorting her out of a celebrity basketball game in Miami.