When was the last time your paper had boxing as a cover centerpiece?

I can remember only one in the last 10 years at my papers and that was a local story.
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/includes/sectionfronts/D1.pdf">
Seeing today's L.A. Times front (if you view this page Friday and therefter, the front likely won't be on this link anymore) prompted the question. Its centerpiece is on the Mayweather-Hatton fight. I barely had heard about this fight and know it will end up in briefs in our paper.</a>

It seems like boxing, even during the Olympics, never ends up on the cover of most papers since Tyson fell out of the spotlight.

 

The fact that most matches start close to our deadlines and end after them doesn't help.

 

Boxing makes our cover a couple of times a year. We have a pretty good local kid that is rising in the ranks and we have covered some of his fights. We also have some pretty good Golden Gloves here and they tend to make the cover a twice a year or so.

 

mayweather-hatton is the real thing.

if it was 1980 this would be leonard-duran I.

yes, boxing is down - mostly because of the political fragmentation - it's impossible for the public to sort it out.

but this one is the real thing. two good young fighters in their prime. contrasting styles, both in the ring and out.

mayweather-delahoya was ho-hum. not this one.

 

I don't remember a time.

 

We've had an ongoing series following a local boxer on the U.S. Olympic team, plus I think we did one for De La Hoya/Merriweather this year. And then a Tyson fight in the area the year before. Probably averaging 1 a year.

 

We had some local fights six or seven years ago that served as the centerpiece. As far as national fights, I'd guess the Lewis-Tyson fight. Not sure for certain, though.

 

The Lewis-Tyson fight in Memphis made our front, due to proximity.

Boxing, generally, seems so fringe-y to me at this point it would have to be an unusual situation. Now, when Ali dies, that's a centerpiece.

 

I would think Ali would go on the front of A Section, not Sports.

 

I think you'd probably have a main story on the front of A and a column and sidebar on the sports front.

 

Well,you'd like to think that, yes.

I'm sure there are shops where that won't get accomplished without a, um, fight.

 

At my last paper I ran a long story on a local girl boxer.