Not Maywether v Logan Paul

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts are three imaginary fists in the face of the politics of boxing. The Paul brothers, faded MMA stars and the forthcoming business of a former pound-for-pound king are not the focus of this boxing conversation, but rather why it is we are not at the very least previewing a potential super-fight in the real world of the sweet science week in and week out. The best no longer fight the best with much regularity, and the forces that have created this climate and the fights each of your hosts want most to see, whether it be unification bouts at the higher weights, consolidation at the ever-deep 126-135 pound classes, or the hopeful though complicated pairings of Tyson Fury with Anthony Joshua and Terence Crawford with Errol Spence are the crucible of this survey of the boxing landscape in 2021 and beyond. The panel concludes with a veritable nerd-out on dream-hypothetical bouts between fighters of varying generations and timelines. But first come a rant or three, where Andrew attempts to rationalize the necessity of the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program in maintaining an eco-system of 200 very rich guys as opposed to 40 absurdly rich guys, Ed reflects on an NFL Draft telecast especially noteworthy for the execrable pairing of a booger and cut-ins to conference rooms’ lacking anything remotely resembling racial or gender equity, and Zak commemorates May Day with a metaphorical flame-thrower directed at Connecticut’s failure to properly compensate lower-income frontline workers through this pandemic.