The gap between Nero and Don King

I am a pretty big boxing fan. I'll watch just about any fight on television for the sheer excitement of seeing two men clobber each other with an almost total disregard for life or limb, on live television. I know it's a primitive thrill, but the amazing skill involved in the sport, contrasted against the pure humanity of the fighters who can bleed and fall just like anyone else, makes for a great spectacle.

So when I turned on the Olympics today to watch men's boxing, I was extremely disappointed. To begin, the time delay deprives the entire event of the thrill of being a live bout. Part of the excitement is knowing that you are watching something so brutal as it happens. With the time delay, you know that if any truly spectacular knockout were landed, it would have already crossed the news wires.

Worse yet, though, such knockouts aren't landed. This isn't real boxing; this is amateur boxing with lighter punches and such an overdone emphasis on scoring that the boxers don't seem to care as much about putting each other on the canvas as scoring a few tactical points. And while intelligent boxing is always enjoyable, if the goal isn't a knockout, the vigor just isn't there.

The irony is that the Olympics commenced in Nero's time as an extreme spectacle, where safety was of little concern. And in today's regulated boxing matches, safety is of pinnacle concern with doctors at the ring side. So who would have thought that Olympic boxing would be even more toned down than professional boxing?