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 In and Out, Again (Part I)
15 Rounds with Steve Kim (May 10, 2004) Photo © Chris Farina
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Since I did my first 'In and Out' column, detailing my day as a boxing scribe on April 10th, where I took the round trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in one hectic day and in-between saw Cory Spinks decision Zab Judah and Lamon Brewster knock out Wladimir Klitshcko, I've been inundated with requests to do another 'blog'.
So since we aim to please here at MaxBoxing, this past weekend was the perfect opportunity to do so with the eagerly anticipated featherweight clash between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez taking place.
With our editor Doug Fischer playing Mr. Mom, I'd be taking the short flight from LAX to McCarron on Saturday afternoon and then hopping on the red-eye back to LA at midnight. As usual, a lot happens in between.
9:01 AM: I wake up as my alarm goes off. My flight on America West doesn't take off till around two, so I've got plenty of time before I leave home. As I wake up I turn on my laptop to check my email and browse the net for awhile.
That's one way the internet has changed things; I'm sure there are a lot of people like me that used to wake up to the newspaper or flip onto 'Good Morning America' or a 'Sportscenter' re-run, but now, like myself, I'm sure the first thing they do is log on. Honestly, I find it hard to walk out the door and face the cold, hard world without checking my e-mail.
I'm still getting e-mails from Wladimir Klitschko fans saying how nuts I am not to believe their conspiracy theories. Yeah, after all the tales of contaminated water, Vaseline, missing credentials, betting lines that moved and now, a call for a federal investigation, I'm the one who's delusional, huh?
For breakfast, I have a 'Cup of Noodles' and a bowl of Cheerios. Not exactly the Atkins Diet, huh?
10:00 AM: Before I jump into the shower, I make sure I set my VCR( I know, I know, I gotta get TiVo) to the NBC fights this afternoon featuring Francisco Bojado. There is no worse feeling in the world than being out on the 101 freeway and suddenly realizing that you didn't set the VCR to the 'Chappelle Show' or some other program you watch religiously.
With that done, I throw on a CD of Nas' 10th Anniversary 'Illmatic' album, which I really bought for the remixes. Hey, I sing about as well as William Hung (no relation, although I've been told we ALL look similar), so why even try and sing in the shower? Let a pro handle his business and provide the entertainment; I'll make sure I get cleaned up.
10:40 AM- I'm out the door wearing my slacks and 'Tommy' tablecloth shirt and I take my usual route to LAX, the 101 to the 110 to the 10 to the 405. Now
even for a neurotic guy like me, leaving more than three hours before my scheduled departure is a bit much, but I have some business to take care of at LAX that I'll explain later.
Like always, the radio has nothing worth listening to. It seems more and more that our radio stations out here have a rotation of about a half-dozen songs that they play on a loop, so I throw on 'Schoolly D's Greatest Hits'. I don't know if he's one of the greatest rappers of all-time or anything like that, but the guy makes me laugh with his lyrics.
As I hit the usual bottleneck on the 101 near the 110, I'm bobbin' my head to 'Lookin' at my Gucci', thinking about what I might see tonight. My last trip to Vegas was memorable, with Brewster's upset over Klitschko and the pandemonium around the ring with the sheer energy and hysteria. It was a fun night that I won't forget.
See, these are the nights that make this job worthwhile. I equate it to football, where players and coaches will tell you all the time that the practices, the weight training, the mini-camps, and the meetings are the tough part. That's about the occupation. The actual games and getting paid, now that's where it's fun. That's about the love for the game.
For all those dreary club shows, the press conferences that start an hour late, boxers that stiff you on interviews, or give you such banal answers you only wish they would have stiffed you and all the boring fights you watch because you have to, these are the nights that you live for. For me, this is a like a playoff game or Super Bowl.
11:32 AM- I hit trusty old Lot C and today it's really crowded, so instead of parking in my usual vicinity, I'm stuck in section D50, which is akin to sitting in the rafters or the cheap seats at the Staples Center.
Ok, now why am I, Mr. Punctuality, soooo early? Well, last October as I was going back home from Miami's win over FSU in Tallahassee (or as I call it, Trailerhassee) I was given a chance on my layover at Charlotte to give up my seat for a free round trip to anywhere in the United States and for good measure, the wait would be only two hours AND I got a first class upgrade. This had to be the most lopsided trade since the Houston Astros got Jeff Bagwell from the Bosox for Larry Anderson in 1990. US Airways had a deal.
But there's one thing they don't tell you about these vouchers (which are good for one year). Not only do you have to call in a reservation, you have to physically go down to the airport and turn it in so they give you a paper ticket in return. I guess there really is nothing 'free' in this world. So today, I will kill two birds with one stone. And guess what, this couldn't have worked out any better.
I ask the shuttle driver where US Airways was. He replies," Terminal One", then I asked him where America West was. "Oh, Terminal One, also." Oh, yeah, it gets even better.
11:46 AM- As I get dropped off, not only are the two airlines in the same terminal, they're right next to each other!!!! What did that guy in the A-Team (I think his name was Hannibal) always say? I love it when a plan comes together.
I cash in my voucher for the Hurricanes season opener on Labor Day night at the Orange Bowl and since I have an E-ticket, I can check in at one of the computer kiosks and bypass the long line.
Oh, yeah, this will be a special night, it's clear now. The stars are aligned perfectly.
12:06 PM - With me taking America West, I'm at the same gate I was at last month. Which means that I head over to the 'Home Turf Sports Bar' with some time to kill. At 1pm, I'm scheduled to do an interview on Rich Marotta's radio show that is nothing but boxing for three hours on Saturday afternoon on XTRA Sports 690/1150 out here in SoCal. So with that in mind, instead of the 32 ounce beer, I get the 20 ounce Bud Light (again, only because they don't have Miller Lite, a proud sponsor of this fine website).
I sit down to read the paper, something I do daily, regardless of the world wide web. And unlike the past, I'll actually read the whole thing, not just the sports section and the comics. I was interested to see if the LA Times had written anything on this fight. I had a feeling that like most general media outlets, they would shun this great match-up. I see that they did a relatively small story on Marquez done by - not Steve Springer their main boxing scribe - but by Paul Gutierrez.
12:34 AM- There wasn't anything particularly interesting in the Times so I finish it off rather quickly. I then open up a book that was sent to me by Bert Sugar, entitled, not-so-coincidentally, 'Bert Sugar on Boxing' by Bert Randolph Sugar. He promised to send me a copy back on the weekend of the Shane Mosley-Winky Wright fight in mid-March. I figured he had forgotten to send it to me when I didn't get it for about a month, but about two weeks ago I received it in the mail.
He starts off the book quoting people that had ripped him - and he not only laughs about it, but he seems to rather enjoy it. I don't care what people might think of Sugar; I like the guy. No, he may not be able to rattle off the 10 best jr. middleweights right now or tell you who fought on Telefutura last weekend, but he is a great historian who can provide a keen perspective and insight into an event.
Yes, I know, he's used the same one-liners and cliches for years. But didn't Don Rickles do the same?
One thing about him, no matter how many failed magazines he's gone through - and he's gone through more than one (I mean if he was a football commissioner, he would have presided over the WFL, USFL and XFL) - he always finds work. And I've always enjoyed his work. Reading the early chapters on Jack Johnson, John L. Sullivan, the 'alphabet soups' he despises and the dreaded AMA, you're not only entertained, but you're also being educated. It's good stuff.
The most endearing quality about him is that for better or worse, he is what he is. There are no real pretenses about him, nothing phony or superficial. He likes his cigars, booze and boxing. Nothing wrong with that. In a world and time where everything is so homogenized and corporate, Sugar is a throwback, he's a maverick and renegade. And I like those kinds of guys.
And he's always buying at the bar.
1:04 PM- I get a call from James Wimberly, the producer of Marotta's show. Wimberly is a former fighter who still looks like he could go more than a few rounds, even today. I can honestly say, he knows more about boxing than most of us covering it do.
It seems I'm on for a good 20 minutes with Rich as I wait for my flight. We discuss everything from tonight's fight and James Toney, to Robert Guerrero
leaving Joe Goossen and the Klitschkos. In an age where everyone else is seemingly ignoring boxing, it's good to see the sport still has a few strong advocates like him.
1:55 PM: We take off and I'm back to Sugar's book.
3:23 PM: I finally get a cab and I'm off to the MGM Grand. As we leave the airport we come across a red light on the corner of Tropicana and Swenson, where you see the Thomas and Mack Arena, home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. It's been the site of many fights, which I used to hate. It was a pain in the butt having to always catch a taxi or hitch a ride to a fight while you're at a hotel on the strip. Seriously, why would a hotel even purchase a fight if it wasn't on site?
The only time I ever want to go there is if Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt and Greg Anthony ever have a reunion. But lets keep our big fights at the hotels.
3:33 PM- I arrive at the MGM Grand, the cab fare is $8.80, I give the guy 11 bucks and I'm on my way.
3:44 PM- As I go to pick up my credential, I see Carlos Hernandez and his wife, Veronica. We chat a bit about their future, and Veronica tells me that they are no longer working with Robert Mittleman, although they are grateful for his efforts and are still friends. In light of recent events, I'd say that's a prudent move.
At the MGM Grand, when you pick up your credentials, unlike the Mandalay Bay, they make you take pictures that are laminated on your pass. It's a bit of an inconvenience for us, but I'm sure it pleases Judd Burstein and the Klitschkos.
3:59 PM- I meet my good friend Bryan 'Grassy' Knoll for lunch at the Studio Cafe. Knoll is the owner of Canestime.com, a part of the Insiders network, a conglomerate of websites dedicated to college athletic programs across the nation. Along with former UM great, Bernie Kosar, he runs the Miami website and is on the advisory board of 'the Insiders', which is having its annual convention here in Las Vegas.
Like boxing, followers of college athletics have reaped the benefits of the internet. I remember back in the early 90's, waiting eagerly by the mailbox for my edition of Canesport to come in the mail. Now, not only are stories of everyone's favorite team all over the net, you can chat and post messages on forums with fans from all over the world. In boxing, fans at one time had to wait months for publications to come out, in order to read in-depth articles on fights and their favorite boxers. Now there are a proliferation of websites that update news as it happens. And yes, the football message boards can get every bit as heated as the boxing ones. Trust me, I know.
I've done a few stories for Canestime, doing features on past Canes like Melvin Bratton, Roland Smith, Kenny Calhoun and most recently Bubba McDowell. My favorite project was my 'Top 100 Canes, post-1980' that I did a few years ago. I like writing about more than just boxing, and I think a good writer should be able to write about any subject, or at least a few different ones.
Also, being involved with the website gives me some special privileges, as my association with Canestime gave me an invite to a special players reunion on the weekend of the spring game last month. Which means I got a chance to rub elbows with Edgerrin James, Bubba Franks, Jimmy Johnson, Donnell Bennett, Ryan McNeil, KC Jones, Richard Mercier, Coleman Bell, Danny Stubbs, Gerard Daphnis, Keith Griffin, Darrin Smith, Tolbert Bain, Carlos Huerta, Terris Harris, Bernard Clark, Hurlie Brown, Art Kehoe and countless other Canes of the past.
My eyes were as round as saucers as I looked all around. Yes, my eyes.
I had gotten some e-mails saying how I was hurting boxing by admitting that I'd rather be at the Miami spring game than at Don King's pay-per-view show on the same weekend. Sorry folks, but this was waaaaaay better than having to sit through John Ruiz-Fres Oquendo.
5:00 PM- Me and Bryan discuss our travel plans for this upcoming season and a few story ideas and we say our good-byes. For me, it's time to get to work, which means after a quick bathroom break, I head off to the press room.
As I make my way through the casino, I notice one thing right away. For the first time since I've been covering fights, the Mexican fans are outnumbered in a fight where a Mexican is involved. All over the place you can see Filipinos of all shapes, sizes and age, that have come to support their national icon. There's no denying just how big a fight this must be in the Philippines.
You see young men with Pacquiao paraphernalia, Filipino flags and placards showing support for their man. Tonight, the M's in MGM Grand must stand for Manila. No sightings of Imelda Marcos and her shoes, though.
5:37 PM- I've finally made my way ringside, just after Hassan Al knocked out Quandray Robertson in six. I'm pleased to learn that I'd be seated next to Graham Houston. Graham is a guy I respect; he's a real pro. While we wait for the next bout, Marc Ratner, the embattled executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, comes over and talks with our own Michael Katz, Graham and myself.
6:04 PM- The next bout finally begins and it's a six round super featherweight contest between undefeated Arturo Quintero( 11-0) and Johnny Nolasco (11-3-3). On paper, it looks like Nolasco is the 'opponent' brought in to pad the record of Quintero. But I remember him giving Steven Luevano a tough time last year. He's no stiff, which he shows right away with a left hook that sends Quintero on his backside. But Quintero would battle back in the next five rounds, forcing the action and hurting Nolasco with strong left hooks that shake Nolasco. Entering the sixth round, he had firmly taken control of the fight.
But then it happened. As both fighters were in the center of the ring, Nolasco launched a huge overhand right that landed right on the button, sending Quintero down, face first, out cold on the canvas. It was as beautiful as it was brutal. Remember that classic scene in the movie 'Friday' when Ice Cube and Chris Tucker's characters saw their friend's blackened eye? 'DAAAAAAAMMMNNN!!!' Well, that was basically the reaction of everyone inside the arena.
6:31 PM- As a groggy, but conscious Quintero was put on his stool, wondering what had hit him, I went for one last bathroom break. As I make my way out, the crowd is still reacting to the knockout that is being shown on the overhead big screens at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The two main fights are about to begin with HBO coming on the air soon and I don't want to miss a minute of the action.
The crowd is relatively calm at this point. But is it just the calm before the storm?
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