‘Fight of the Century’ not really ‘of the Century’

Are you ready for the “Fight of the Century”? At least this latest one?

If Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao is indeed the Fight of the Century, it will mean that over the next 85 years, nothing in boxing (and/or the mixed martial arts and White Sox vs. Royals) will approach it in terms of interest, anticipation and how much one is willing pay to split a pay-per-view purchase with one’s chums.

Somehow, I don’t think this is the last Fight of the Century we’ll see during the 21st one.

But anytime you put a noun in front of the prepositional phrase “of the century,” people sure do seem to get excited.

According to Wikipedia, which is a good place to start, but also can be like putting one’s trust in the French figuring skating judge, there have been four Fights of the Century: Jack Johnson vs. James Jeffries in 1910; Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling in 1938; Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier in 1971; and now, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

I suppose how you consider them depends mostly on how old you were when they occurred, which is how most people consider things. This is doubly true for ESPN.

Louis vs. Schmeling? That was just a story your grandfather might have told.

So I’m partial to Ali vs. Frazier I, because I was 14 when it happened. It also had social implications: It was the first time I remember disagreeing about something with my father.

I was pulling for Ali; the old man wanted Smokin’ Joe. And though dad and I got along fine on most things, it wasn’t long after Ali-Frazier that we would have discussions about the length of my hair and what time I was expected home on a school night.

Ali-Frazier was so stupendous in an organic fashion, which is to say without Twitter and blogs. It was so big that Frank Sinatra requested a media credential — they were called press credentials then — although knowing what I know of Sinatra, it probably was a demand rather than a request.

A press credential would get you closer than a ringside seat, so that’s what Sinatra requested/demanded. Life magazine put one of his photographs on the cover, either because it was pretty good, or because Francis Albert requested/demanded it.

Anyway, while Wikipedia salutes only four Fights of the Century, the current issue of GQ magazine lists 14, in chronological order:

—- Johnson vs. Jeffries, 1910

—- Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier, 1921

—- Louis vs. Schmeling, 1938

—- Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Randy Turpin, 1951

—- Ali vs. Frazier, 1971

—- Ali vs. George Foreman, 1974

—- Ali vs. Frazier III (aka Thrilla in Manila), 1975

—- Thomas Hearns vs. Marvin Hagler, 1985

—- Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield (aka Bite of the Century), 1997

—- Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, 1999

—- Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti, (featuring the Round of the Century), 2002

—- Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis, 2002

—- Mayweather vs. De La Hoya, 2007

—- Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, 2015

What, no Gerry Cooney vs. Larry Holmes, 1982?

A cursory Google search turned up more Fights of the Century than Games of the Century in college football, but just barely, 14-13. Which is similar to the final score of the Game of the Century I most remember: Texas 15, Arkansas 14 in 1969. It would have been 14-13, Hogs, if the ’Horns hadn’t gotten it when they went for two.

I have read that if you take a person’s birthday and add 12 to 14 years, that’s when he will say sports were best.

I was 12 when Texas played Arkansas, so that’s probably why I remember the awesomeness of that game, and the vaunted Texas wishbone, which probably reminded President Nixon — who was at Razorback Stadium — of the Tet Offensive, the other high-powered offense of the day.

There also have been Games of the Century in chess (Donald Byrne vs. Bobby Fischer in 1956), college basketball (UCLA vs. Houston in 1968) and soccer (Italy vs. West Germany in 1970).

Unlike Fights of the Century, there was only one Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh, nonstop transatlantic, in 1927. (Denzell Washington in the movies doesn’t count.)

The great aviator deserves special notice, because when his baby was kidnapped in 1932, it was called the Crime of the Century.

(Supertramp also had a 1974 album called “Crime of the Century.” It doesn’t rank with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, not even close, though that song “Bloody Well Right” tends to get stuck in your head.)

There have been Storms of the Century, Trials of the Century and at least one “Deal of the Century,” with Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines and Sigourney Weaver. It was poorly received by critics.

It isn’t often that Anything of the Century, when billed as such beforehand, lives up to the hype and hyperbole.

If Floyd Mayweather stands toe-to-toe with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand on Saturday night, and there are knockdowns, or if they at least succeed in giving each other a bloody nose, perhaps this particular Fight of the Century will be remembered as such.

Bottom line, and that’s putting it literally: It’s good the fight is here instead of in a football stadium in Texas or on a barge in some faraway harbor.

However it turns out, the boxers, promoters and strippers won’t be the only ones to profit, as Las Vegas stands to reap the Windfall of the Century. StubHub should make out pretty well, too.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.