When a boxer is laying on the canvas with a referee standing over him counting to 10, it’s pretty safe to say the last thing the pugilist is thinking about is a king-sized Whopper value meal.

But thanks to EA Sports and ESPN, the Burger King knockdown cam is just one example of plentiful commercialism in EA’s new boxing game, ‘Fight Night Round 3.’

In-game advertisements are close to commonplace now in video games – from Kelly Slater’s Nokia phone in ‘Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer’ to Nike swooshes on uniforms in ‘NCAA Football 2006.’

‘Fight Night Round 3’ takes product placement to a new level. The fights take place on ESPN2. The boxers wear Everlast or Under Amour gloves and shorts. And, of course, the commentators proudly announce the Burger King knockdown cam when a fighter hits the floor.

Whether this is the wave of the future or just an example of the combined marketing power of EA Sports and ESPN is yet to be seen. What is known is advertisers’ adventure into video games is sustained and apparently permanent.

Unfortunately in ‘Fight Night Round 3,’ the advertisements are incredibly intrusive, subtracting from the gameplay and almost defeating the purpose of having the ads in the game. If someone wants to hear about a Whopper, he or she can go Burger King, not buy a boxing video game.