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TALKIN BOXIN
by Howie Reed
November 10, 2003
As most everyone in the civilized or uncivilized
world
knows Roy Jones (49-1) was suppose to have little
trouble with Antonio Tarver (22-2) on Saturday night
in Las Vegas We know that because “Chicken” Roy Jones jr., the greatest
fighter ever, told us. ‘I’ll knock
him out in two. I’m mad”. That was the way it was
suppose to go. Didn’t happen that way. Of course most of “Chicken” Roy’s
pronouncements don’t hold water in the cold gray of dawn. (“Say is that
Mary?” “No, that’s Cold Gray of Dawn.”).
o be blunt Jones was and is better boxer. He has
more talent than most anyone and does less with it. Tarver is then amateur,
such as they are, was an overachiever. In the pro’s he was just one of a
below average heard fighting at 175. Tarver’s one previous loss was in
an elimination fight against Eric Harding. That fight was for the right to
face Jones back in 2000. Later Tarver would KO Harding in 5 to avenge the
loss but that was the first and last time that he “fired” on command until
Saturday night. There was no real news or little interest in the fight
anywhere. (It is rumored that the PPV went in the dumper. “Boo Hoo Boo Hoo”
I shed no tears for HBO. Heck why should I. I don’t hear them crying for Mr.
Wonderful?” Yes they do cry for Argentina but I have no idea why.) Jones had
finally hit PPV pay dirt against Ruiz when the show did 500,000. This fight
is expected to do about 1/3 of that. Up to Ruiz if he did 200,000 HBO was
happy. Well not really happy but less unhappy. They lost less than they
though. Heck of a way to run a business.
Last Vegas is known as a “small town” that got very
big almost over night. Tiz true. Did happen. Nowhere
is that more apparent then in the local media. The
newspapers (still have two) are just a step below
being of the quality to line the cage of your pet
parakeets. No self-respecting fish would allow
themselves to be wrapped in either the RJ or the Sun.
Their main purpose in being is to carry the political
water for the gaming industry while promoting left
wing causes of various stripes.
Local TV and Radio takes me back to my days as a
Radio & TV Major at San Jose State. It’s back to the days of the Friday
morning, 11-11:30 AM, Radio show called “Down the Tubes with Chuck & Howie”.
I was Howie. Chuck was Chuck Lagamarcino. He later changed his name to
Logan, for professional reasons, when he became a dj in a minor market in
Oregon. I know some of you will say that Oregon IS a minor market but that
begs the point.
Back in them good old days, we broadcasted on COED via a telephone line
direct from the studios of the Speech and Drama Building to the Student
Union. In my four years at SJS I never did find out if there was a Student
Union. Like the Library to my knowledge it was a myth perpetrated by the
same folks that sponsored snipe hunts. (Editors note here. It should be
noted that Mr. Reed had no trouble finding Lenny’s, The Three Star, The
Jolly Roger or the Awful-Awful. He
also was able to become a regular at Happy Harold’s
where you got two sandwiches for 25 cents and all the
coffee you could drink for a dime. The second cup was
best used to replace motor oil in his 1956 Volks Bug.)
Las Vegas media is amateurish which, as any student of media knows means
that the advertising it produces is also “bush”. In fact one could make the
argument that since the “empty suits” took over running Casino’s and the
state from the “dees and dems guys” the entire
operation of Nevada is “Bush league”. They would be
correct. The saving grace is that they control
everything and like the off lamented former Mother
Russia, by some, there is no dissent. Or to borrow
from a tune Dad “Chick “Reed use to sing, “Never is
heard a discouraging word.”. What does this have to do
with Roy Jones-Antonio Tarver? Though you’d never ax.
In an effort to sell tickets some genius at the
hosting site decided to use radio. Usually a good idea
if you have something to sell. I also suspect that the
ads were written ”in house”, as they say in the ad
business, by someone that either sold aluminum siding or ocean front
property in Phoenix prior to becoming a “suit”. If someone actually got paid
for the spots they should be arrested for impersonating a
copywriter. Here’s portions of one ad.
“Undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones was going to retire but
Antonio Tarver wouldn’t let him.
After he became the first light heavyweight to win in
100 years to win the heavyweight championship….
Antonio Tarver showed up at the press conference
talking trash.” Let’s stop for a moment to digest and
regurgitate what this blithering idiot just said.
“Undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones.” For openers Roy Jones was
not the “undisputed light
heavyweight champion.” Antonio Traver held the WBC and IBF belts, Julio
Cesar Gonzalez the WBO and Silvio Branco the WBA. First “lie”.
Next we have the rubbish about Jones taking the
fight because Tarver talked trash. Now some would think that the American
people are stupid but they can’t be that stupid. (Although Howie Dean and
the eight Dwarfs and one Dwarfetts may prove me wrong.) Jones took the fight
for money (3 million dollars) against someone he could beat. It also allowed
him to dodge fighting a real heavyweight which he has no intention of doing.
The argument could be made that winning a heavyweight championship from John
Ruiz is like winning a tennis match against Stevie Wonder. (What do you call
a tennis match between Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles ? Endless Love.
That’s a tennis joke.) The bottom line was that the promotion was “bush”,
the fight “bush” and boxing is getting more “bush” with each passing day.
How bad was the fight? Odds had Jones favored 9-1. But it turned out to be
an average fight.
The correspondent for Talkin Boxin was forced to find
a tar paper shack in the Bayou of Louisiana to watch
the fight on a “8 inch black and white TV.” AS a bonus
he was allowed to eat all the PoppyCock he wanted
which as all gourmet’s knows ranks right up there with
Screaming Yellow Zonkers and Fiddle Faddle. When Jones fought in the middle
of the ring he was effective.
Tarver got him on the ropes and landed some good
punches. I had it 7 rounds to Jones and 5 for Tarver.
I’ll put the phone to the TV so you can hear the
scores. Glenn Hamada has it 117-111, Judge Dave
Harris has it 116-112 and Jerry Roth has it 144-114
all for the new undisputed light heavyweight champion
of the world.” “Did you get the scores?” “Yep.” “The
crowd is chanting bullstuff…bullstuff.” And well they
should have. Not about the decision but about
“Chicken” Roy Jones. Sometimes when fans get ripped
off they have a tendency to vent their spleen in forms
of protest. Many times those forms of protest take
shape in words like “You suck” or the ever-popular
“Bullstuff.”
In recent times as sports talk has grown on radio we
have a phenomena that would have been impossible years ago. It’s the “one
subject show” with “persons” who act as “reporters” but are sponsored by the
specific events they talk about. What this type of radio show provides is
nothing more than an “infomercial”. I
caught one of those on Wednesday. Two gentlemen, one who should know better,
did a one-hour “infomercial” for the Jones fight and the staging venue that
just happened to be paying for the show. “They’re packing this lovely
casino. There are no rooms. There is no doubt that this is the world
headquarters for boxing.
People come here to fights because it’s such a great
place.” Not exact quotes but you get the idea. It was
pure unadulterated BS. Why was the casino filled? Was it the fight? No the
venue was playing host to the
Professional Bullriders Finals. They had taken every
hotel room by Wednesday. To be a good shill you must have some
creditability.
A few days prior to the fight Tarver relinquished the
IBF Title. He did it with words, obviously written by
someone, that would make one think that the IBF light
heavyweight title actually meant something. “After
having given the issue considerable thought and after
reviewing every available option with the members of
my team, I have made a decision that I had hoped could be avoided. For the
reasons set forth below (which by the way never were), I respectfully
relinquish my IBF Light Heavyweight Title. In light of all that has
happened to me in my career, I hereby relinquish the
title now to clear the way for other deserving boxers
to compete for the title without any delay. I take
this position in order to show my respect for the
organization, its title and its Rules, and in order to
set an example for others who have impeded the
progress of fellow boxers in the past.” Would someone
please pass the barf bag.
In light of Travers action one could assume that the
Clinton Woods (35-2) fight against Glencoffe Johnson
(39-9-1) held in Sheffield England the night before
would have been elevated from “eliminator” to a title
match. It was But….. Time out. Is there a better name
out there than “Glencoffe” ? While absent from these
microwaves I had occasion to visit a Starbucks. My
first venture. Folks were ordering a “double latte
with vanilla cream and Vermont sugar”. Heck all I
wanted was a plain old coffee. If I ever go again I’m
going to order a “Double Glencoffe”. Now back to box
fighting. Yes one would assume that the fight in
marry Old England was for a title. If so, one would
assume correctly. That means the two gents in England came up with the
$20,000 to pay the sanctioning fee or the IBF waves the fee so they’d have a
champion. Me and the boxing public except those in at Hillsborough Leisure
Centre in Sheffield ? Couldn’t give a rat’s posterior. That aside it was a
heck of a fight. Both fighters brought to the table an alacrity that is not
seen at this level. They both came to fight and did. Like almost everything
in life but divorce the fight
ended in a draw (115-113 Woods, 116-112 Johnson,
114-114 all). The IBF light heavyweight title is still
vacant.
Johnson had to be the surprise as he was working on a
six fight losing streak. In this case his record was a
little deceiving. That and the fact that Woods is not
the “crème de la crème” either. Johnson had lost to
IBF Super middleweight champion Sven Ottke in Germany, WBU Champ Silvio
Branco in Italy and now a draw against Woods in his hometown. Hint for
GlennCoffe’, “Don’t fight in the other guys home town. Tough to get a
decision.
Back to the radio “infomercial”. It was not a
one-sponsor show. Also signed on were Top Rank who has two problems on their
agenda. The first is the
rehabilitation of Floyd Mayweather jr. as the best
fighter pound for pound on the planet. This rebirth
was suppose to occur sometime during Mayweathers
recent win over Phillip N’dou (31-1) who‘s record was
a great deal better than it looked. Now according to
our “shills” Mayweather is Mr. Excitement. “He’s
moving up to take on the likes of Tzsyu, Mayoriga,
Mosley and DeLaHoya”. HOGDOODLE. In the words of
Larry “President of the Slow Talkers Club” Merchant,
“Why would anyone want to fight him at a heavier
weight? All he’ll do is run.” Thanks Larry. The two
clowns also suggest that a Winky Wright-Floyd
Mayweather fight would be great..”Maybe we can make
the match and get the commission.” If these two got in
the ring the most important promotions tool would be
to issue a box “No Doz” with each ticket. If that step
were not taken the snoring would sound like a choirs
of diesels climbing a mountain.
One last bit on the “radio guys”. Their other big
project was berating the fact that when negations
began for the third Mosley-DeLaHoya fight began last
week Las Vegas was not mentioned as a venue. In the
words of the late Irene Maude reed, “My God the
Bridge”. How dare anyone not consider putting a major
fight in Las Vegas. “We are the centered of the world
of boxing.” It will never be a mega fight unless held
in Las Vegas. My goodness aren’t we full of ourselves
here in the desert?
There is a really potential great fight on FREE TV
next week. On Saturday night HBO will show Marco
Antonio Barrera (57-3) vs. Manny Pacquiao (37-2-1).
From next Friday’s Pattaya Mail their Internationally
famous boxing writer entones in his widley influencial
column ‘The Square Ring”, “There are fight and then
there are FIGHTS. Featherweight Marco Antonio Barrera (57-3) against Manny
Pacquiao (37-2-1) falls into the latter category. When they step into the
ring on Saturday there will be no title a stake. Two fighters
will be fighting for pride. Pacquiao said, “When I
beat Barrera I will be king of the featherweights”.
Always a favorite with Mexican fans Barrera gained
world wide attention when he took Naseem Hamed (aka “The Lop Eared Camel
Jockey”) to the woodshed in “Ought 1”. Barrera may be the only fighter in
the
world that isn’t a champ because he doesn’t want a WBC Belt.. In 2002
Barrera took a UD(116-112,115-113,115-113) from then WBC Champ Erik Morales.
This so angered the president of the WBC, Dr.
Jose’ Suliaman. That he called it a “controversial
decision and declared the title vacant.”
Pacquiao was flying beneath the radar screen when he
was a late substitute in 2001 to fight IBF Super
Bantamweight Champ Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in Las Vegas. To type ,”He stunned
the world with a 6 round KO” would be a bit of “Porky”. So be it. Fight fans
are
hoping that the matchup with the Wild Living Gentleman from the Philipines
will return Barrera to his
slugging style that made him the “King of the
Mexicans”. It has all the potential to be fight of the
year.
AND FINALLY. Sometimes a joke or two are too good not to pass on. From my
pal Trink at the Bangkok Post. “A man walks into a bar with a slab of
asphalt under his arm and says, "A beer please and one for the road."
From a gentleman associated with boxing comes the following. ” My husband,
not happy with my mood swings, bought me a mood ring the other day so he
would be able to monitor my moods. When I'm in a good mood it turns green.
When I'm in a bad mood it leaves a big f****in' red mark on his forehead.
Maybe next time he'll buy me a diamond !!!!
(Opinions and editorials of
HotBoxingNews.com is the opinion of those writers and may not be the
opinion of HotBoxingNews.com)
Want to make contact or comments to Howie Reed
Go Here! mailto:reed@hotboxingnews.com
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