Boxing's Death Knell Finally Arrives

Well, now boxing has officially gone to hell. Blogger Mark Evanier was excited to learn recently that Mattel is bringing back Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, the toy originally produced by Marx which he never had the chance to own as a child. Excited, that is, until he was flooded by e-mails from readers who said that the new version is a piece of junk. How devoted were people to the original? They were even playing by mail. As one of Evanier's readers explains:

You do it just as in chess — each postcard has instructions such as: move red robots left arm two inches forward, etc. Reflexes and timing are de-emphasized and it beomes a true game of strategy! In this way, I became Mid-West regional Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots champion in 1972.

We imagine Larry Holmes taking a break from his game of Twister to dash off another such postcard to Ken Norton.

After the jump. a rendering of the greatest Rock 'em Sock 'em bout of all time.

Robot Response [News From ME]