Column: Boxing losing popularity as talent runs dry

Does it seem like one sport has been missing from our viewing rotation recently? Maybe it hit you like it hit me the other day. Where was the TV coverage and analysis of the Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones, Jr. fight? Does SportsCenter, or newspapers around the country even care about covering America's former favorite blood sport?

Think about it, you see more of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a regular basis than boxing matches people care about. I realize HBO and Showtime won't allow sports broadcasts to run actual footage of their fights, but Tarver beating Jones (who was once considered "pound for pound," the greatest in the world) is a big deal and should receive more recognition.

The same thing happened when Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins back in July. Hopkins was 46-2-1 with 20 consecutive title defenses until he was up-ended by Taylor, who gets little to no notoriety.

On the flip side, whenever Mike Tyson makes the news for any reason at all (good or bad) he gets media exposure, and he's been washed up for five or six years now.

His idea of becoming a porn star for his next paycheck following his last loss was all over sports talk shows.

As a result, the entire sport that people train their entire lives for, is looked upon like a joke or freak show at times, because one crazy individual has dominated the "limelight."

Now I'll admit, I was as intrigued about the "Mike Tyson Soap Opera" as anyone, but now it's time to find someone else to shine the boxing spotlight on; a superstar, someone to carry the torch, someone the casual fan will recognize. Maybe it's Tarver, maybe Taylor, but these guys don't have the star power or charisma to make people want to see, talk about and anticipate their fights.

Smaller fighters such as "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Ronald "Winky" Wright are very skilled and exciting to watch, but even those two are 33 and 32 respectively, and on the downside of their careers. Floyd Mayweather is only 27, but his size makes him unappealing to some viewers.

We're still waiting for a young boxer to come along with the total package. One who talks a good game and, even more importantly, backs it up in exciting fashion in the ring. Kind of like a boxing version of Chad Johnson.

Someone that kids grow up emulating and women talk about how cute he is. Is it possible though? Until someone like that comes along, boxing will continue to fade and fade until you see Don King holding a "will work for food" sign on the Las Vegas strip.

E-mail comments and questions to Eric Harding at hardinen@uc.edu