The power of the crowd for Katie Taylor’s retribution and boxing’s future
HINDRANCE OR HELP: Katie Taylor will take on Chantelle Cameron for a second time in front of a home crowd, was the pressure of the home crowd to much in their first fight and can it be a help tonight. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Sometimes raucous support betrays the pledged advantage. Andy Lee forged a career out of raiding the lion’s den, weaponizing the jeers and taking a scalp. His Olympic dream was demolished because of an inability to deal with the opposite.
The future World Champion wasn’t quiet at home in Athens where he took on Hassan N’Dam but the conditions were cosy. He won his opening bout handy in a near-empty stadium. Two weeks later, every other Irish fighter and a host of athletes had been defeated. Lee became the only channel for celebration. The arena was awash with a green wave of tricolours and leprechaun suits. The combination of pressure, wonder and anxiety formed a poisonous brew. It seeped into his legs and corrupted the challenge. By the time he realised and went looking for the calmative remedy in the third round, it was too late.
This week Lee is in the corner for burgeoning Limerick prospect Paddy Donovan on the undercard for Katie Taylor’s rematch versus Chantelle Cameron. He has maintained in the buildup that May’s disappointment will stand to her. “She was carrying all this, the nation behind her,” Lee told the BBC.
“Even the ring walk was so emotional and a religious song, no one could really get into it. It meant so much to her. She was already crying, within a round she was spent.”
Taylor’s bid to regulate the noise this week has been much discussed. Before it was all too much. Goodwill and public appearances driven by gratitude proved suffocating. Her team have methodically stripped it back. At the public workout on Wednesday, she was physically frogmarched through a crowd of adoring fans. Saturday is strictly business.
Cameron’s camp has identified that theme and twisted it to their advantage. The champion and her trainer Jamie Moore have been keen to stress that despite their disproval with the venue, it does bring even more pressure: “I’m back in Dublin, in Katie’s country.”
A rematch was contracted. So was the money. The location wasn’t.
Cameron is undisputed champion of the 140 division. It is understandable that she sought to defend the belts on home turf or at the very least, a middle ground like the O2 Arena in London. However she doesn’t sell tickets the same way Katie Taylor does and the bottom line is the bottom line. Remember, this is business.
The crowd in May was a curious thing, as crowds often are. For one, they had endured two enormous disappointments as Gary Cully and Dennis Hogan both suffered crushing losses. Those who jetted across from the Aviva Stadium arrived in a shaken state having watched Leinster collapse in the Champions Cup final. Even still, by the time the main event kicked off, the atmosphere bore few signs of damage and roared uncompromisingly as Taylor strived to close the deficit in the latter rounds.
A crowd is not good or bad. It does not have one mind. It is a proudly alive and conditional organism. One full of different people doing different things for different reasons. It can be manipulated and even controlled. That energy can be a source of power or a burden. How do you dictate that?
Many have tried. It is precisely why the psychology of a crowd is so keenly studied. Everyone knows where the mob mentality comes from and why it is so easy to follow the crowd. Do what others are doing. Boxing is no different. For better, for worse.
The game’s collective drive towards Saudi Arabia has been evident across the week. George Groves vs Callum Smith in 2018 kicked off their drive to host the biggest sporting events in the world. It took place one week before dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered in 2018. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “approved” that operation according to a declassified report released by the Biden administration.
On the same BBC podcast, Hearn spelt out how the recently announced blockbuster card featuring Anthony Joshua against Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder versus Joseph Parker came into being: “We were kind of just told by his excellency, I don’t know about all this history, get it done.” He continued: “We know the financial benefits of being involved and doing shows in Saudi. This has been an opportunity for a lot of our fighters and future fighters. We’ve been there twice before with big fights for Anthony Joshua. We return. It is very exciting. They got a fresh approach to boxing. They are very aggressive. They want to make the big fights and whilst they want to do that, we are more than willing to cooperate.”
Lee is an Irish fighting idol who has successfully transitioned to coaching and works with Parker. He was recently in Saudi Arabia for the Tyson Fury split decision victory over Francis Ngannou. That week included a star-studded champions dinner where Lee met the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao. He too gushed over how the recent announcement was assembled.
“All got fitted for suits and had our lunch. The suits were tailored in a couple of hours. Ten suits! Then they did a photoshoot again in the suits. Then we were taken to a mad press conference. The Saudis are doing it big.”
Gradually, deliberately, this has become normal. It is long time for the sport to consider how the entire crowd is being controlled and for what. Everyone else is doing it is no defence.
There is every chance that Saturday shows how a crowd can be utilised for good. Paddy Donovan, Gary Cully and Thomas Carty will reap the rewards from staunch home support. Irish Olympian Emmet Brennan managed to sell his entire allocation of tickets, 700 in total according to Hearn, for what is only his second pro bout. His big day in his own Dublin is deserved. A sellout should be sufficiently primed to roar their hero home in the main event.
And should that help Taylor turn the tables on Cameron, it will be her greatest feat yet.
