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This period in boxing history will stand out, we suspect, a bit more than the average time span, for a few reasons.
Maybe first and foremost, 2015 and 2017 saw two mega fights unfold, massive revenue generators each. This being the USA, where it's money that most often matters over and above every other category, the loot summoned by Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao and then Conor McGregor was of the mountainous variety, so these exercises in the art of clever capitalism will have staying power as mementos of an age.
Also, these last few years will be recalled as the Haymon Era, when the reclusive Harvard Business School grad turned music man turned fight game influencer held an outsized sphere of influence on the sweet and at times unsavory science. Haymon had and has a foot and toe hold dug in and still holds sway over maybe 200 contracts/fighters.
No mystery there; his ability to conjure healthy purses for them breeds a consistent loyalty. But one downside to the Haymon way is that consistent and regular activity has not been a hallmark of the average Haymon/PBC pugilist.
“Less is more” is often the prevailing scheduling POV. That is maybe better for the brains and bodies of these warriors, that must be acknowledged. But intermittent appearances, two a year, isn't the optimal activity level so athletes become more household names, allowing themselves to be known more intimately and help give fans reasons to care, to root for them, to follow their progress.
Forgive the lengthy preamble, please...
With all that in mind, I must offer (perhaps premature) applause if what I'm hearing turns out to be true, and that Cletus "The Hebrew Hammer" Seldin is due to fight Dec. 16 in Montreal, underneath a David Lemieux v BJ Saunders middleweight tango, to run on HBO.
Seldin just laced up, on HBO, Nov. 11, and made quite a buzz hubbub downing Roberto Ortiz at Nassau Coliseum. He stole the Thursday press conference and the Saturday fight night. And if the junior welterweight indeed is coming back to scrap five weeks after his last waltz, he sends an even more amplified message to the masses: I'm a warrior, I love to rumble. Give me a date, and I will entertain you.
It's not the avenue for everyone, but this I know: it's a faster track to prominence and paydays, usually, and in this age, with rapidly cycling news flurries, one risks premature irrelevance if one doesn't make frequent returns to the newsmaker station. Smart, Seldin.