Oscar/Floyd - The Madsear Edition

Could someone please tell me who won this year's Belgian championship?... Does somebody care? Didn't think so... Well, it saddens me to say that most people here in France won't know and won't care about this fight either.

This doesn't speak of the magnitude of the fight itself but of the tough competition it will face this weekend even in the hearts of the most dedicated of French boxing enthusiasts.

Indeed, it is hard not to notice from our standpoint the irony of the fact that this match and our presidential election are taking place this weekend. It seems unlikely for people to stay up until 4.00 am at the very best to watch the fight, so it is safe to say that what could become one of the great fights in boxing history will go unnoticed in France. This is yet another case of the "Mauresmo Syndrome" (Amélie Mauresmo was the first French athlete to win Wimbledon in ages last summer but nobody cared because France was headed to the FIFA World Cup Final the very next day).

But these two events - the fight and the election - seem much closer than meets the eye, a connection that mostly resides with the personalities competing for both prizes.

First the favorites, Floyd Mayweather and Nicolas Sarkozy, are both extremely skilled in their domains and have been promised the victory this weekend since their participation was assured. They are both quite short and seem to be overcompensating with a fighting spirit and swagger that either forces admiration or irates populations, but never leaves them indifferent. It's strange how both Sarko and Pretty Boy Floyd have had this great deal of success and therefore command a great amount of respect but at the same time manage, with their incediary declarations, to alienate half the population, including people in their respective camps.

The challengers, Oscar de la Hoya and Ségolène Royale, share a disarmingly charming personality that hasn't been dented by athletic nor political failures. They're both examples of great willpower yet people still question their toughness and...masculinity (there!) and their personal backgrounds and peccadilloes are being scrutinized to help find some clues as to whether or not they'll be able to stomach the big moment.

For myself, I'll watch the fight till the wee hours of the morning then I'll go vote before hitting the sack. In both bouts I'll be rooting for the challenger. I just think the reign of the confident asshole should end in politics as much as in sports.