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X-Mas Gifts
By Steve Kim (December 23, 2002)
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Ho, ho, ho. And no, I'm not talking about J-Lo. Christmas is upon us, which means it's the season of giving.
And if I could play a pugilistic Kris Kringle this is what I'd being handing out to those in boxing who have been naughty and nice.
Evander Holyfied: a safe retirement. No, I'm not telling him to quit- that's his choice- but whenever he decides to hang'em up, that he can do so with his faculties intact.
Shane Mosley: redemption. It was just a year ago that he was being compared favorably to the other 'Sugar's of years past like Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard, now, after two consecutive defeats to Vernon Forrest he's being treated like Sugar Ray Seales. If he gets past Raul Marquez on February 8th, he gets his shot at redeeming himself with a chance to make it two-for-two against Oscar De La Hoya.
Marco Antonio Barrera: his old style. Barrera used to be among the most exciting performers in the game and now, Harold Lederman (who used to be one of his biggest backers) compares him to Lennox Lewis!!! Marco, come back, no questions asked, all will be forgotten.
Floyd Mayweather: a new set of hands. I don't think it's just a coincidence that 'the Pretty Boy' has been reluctant to throw combination since his hand problems developed the last year or so. Without his blistering combinations he's becoming a bit of a stinker.
Bouie Fisher: another protege. With his relationship with Bernard Hopkins broken (whose isn't?), Fisher could fall back into obscurity. Here's hoping that a hungry young Philly fighter walks into Champs Gym looking for a little bit of guidance and plenty of knowledge.
Naseem Hamed: his fighting heart. It seems Barrera took it in their first fight and 'the Prince' hasn't gotten it back.
Shelly Finkel: a new pair of blue jeans and denim shirt. Because I'm sure the ones he always sports have to be worn out by now.
Jameel McCline: some relaxation. 'Big Time' is wound tighter than a golf ball. Until he learns how to relax, take a deep breath and let his hands go naturally he has already reached his apex.
Duva Boxing: a breakthrough. They keep plugging away after basically starting over, but they need that one fighter who can take them to the top- Kirk Johnson is not that guy, unfortunately.
Dariusz Michalczewski: a passport to the U.S. Yes, 'the Tiger' can say (and I've said it) that he has as much claim to the undisputed light heavyweight crown as Roy Jones, but it's almost universally recognized that Jones is the world's best 175-pounder, he will never get a shot at him staying in Europe defending his WBO title time and time again.
Steve Forbes: a weight chart. He needs something that reminds him that jr. lightweight is 130 pounds, not 154.
Jesse James Leija: new scar tissue. It's been plaguing him for years and it could be his biggest downfall when he faces the sharp-punching and precise Kostya Tszyu in January.
Don King: gheri curl. Just because I want to see him in one and it's time for a new look.
Judd Berstein: a worthy adversary in court. This guy has been on a roll, in the last year or so he has KO'd the likes of Panos Eliades, Milt Chwasky and Bernard Hopkins. Some say Berstein, not the big right cross, is Lennox Lewis' most lethal weapon.
Cedric Kushner: a heavyweight champion that won't ditch him. Only so that he can stop with the novelty acts like BlunderBox and 'Fistfull of Dollars'.
Junior Jones: a successful career as a trainer. He finally decided to quit- about two years to late -- but it looks like he got it all out of his system. He's hoping he can train more than few fighters to the heights that he reached and beyond.
Francisco Bojado and Ricardo Williams: discipline. Because if they don't show any in the future, they don't have much of a future in the sport. It's a shame because both of them are prodigous natural talents.
Joe Mesi: more protection for the complexion (as Don King would say about white fighters). But is it such a bad thing that 'Baby' Joe is being moved along slow lyand milked in Buffalo? He's making big money, drawing
big crowds and creating interest in a region that hasn't paid attention to boxing in years. It would be a shame for Mesi and the business of boxing if Mesi were thrown to the wolves too early.
Paul Spadafora: an exciting fight. While he is a skilled craftsmen, unless he can engage in some more entertaining bouts, he will always be thought of as just a regional fighter out of Pittsburgh who was guided adroitly by Mike Acri.
Murad Muhammad: a new schtick. Going through life as a poor man's Don King is no way to go. Also a dictionary and thesaurus wouldn't be bad gifts either as he's had more malaprops than Yogi Berra.
Pay-per-view shows: another fight. Seriously, I know that the promoters want to get the main event on as soon as possible but real fight fans aren't satisfied with only two undercard fights -- unless of course it's Mia St. John and Butterbean. But is it too much to ask to get that third fight back?
Bronco McKart: a title shot sans Winky Wright. Bronco is a pretty good professional prizefighter and it's been his fate to face Wright twice for world titles-losing both. Now, the jr. middleweight division is fairly deep, and if a semi-retired Raul Marquez can get a chance against Shane Mosley, what about McKart?
Tim Austin: a rival. Anybody, we don't care who it is or where it is. But get someone that can get Austin paid decently. He's a good fighter who's been lost in the shuffle of the King-dom. As it is, his fight against IBF mandatory Rafael Marquez will be among his toughest.
Lawrence Clay-Bey: activity. So far, this 1996 U.S. Olympians career has been stuck, in well, clay. He came into this game already a bit long in the tooth and time is quickly running out.
MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
Now, I've given enough, here's what I want.
* Boxing on network TV: It's been awhile and the sport could really use the boost. There has been talk that NBC is thinking about getting back into it but only with Main Events -- as Kevin Mohaghan has basically pledged his allegiance to Shelly Finkel/Main Events -- and with the time basically being bought through sponsors, mainly Miller Lite.
I've never been a big proponent of one entity having control or a monopoly on one network. Just look at what happened at Showtime when Don King was the sole provider of content and when America Presents had control of Fox Sports -- they were both disasters. But if the NBC deal with Main Events is made, it beats nothing I guess, it's still boxing on network TV. But I wonder if Main Events still has to buy Ferdie Pacheco's paintings?
* More arena fights: Las Vegas is the mecca of boxing, no doubt about that, but it's good to spread the wealth to other areas that don't get to see world
class boxing on a regular basis. It's healthy for the business to have big fights at venues like the Madison Square Garden in New York, the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and the STAPLES Arena in Los Angeles.
Now that I think about it, I'd love to see the return of the ballparks as a venue. The last major fight that I know off that was in a ballpark was Ali-Norton III which took place at Yankee Stadium in 1976. De La Hoya-Vargas at the Coliseum would have been a natural promotion decades ago.
* Boxing books that have nothing to do with Muhammad Ali: For a sport with so many unique characters, why is that everytime I go to a book store it seems like every book dealing with 'the Sweet Science' is a book on Ali? Enough, please. What is there that we don't know about the man already? And outside of what Mark Kram wrote, these books don't analyze the man, they fawn incessantly. He was 'the Greatest' but he was far from perfect.
I'm a huge fan of Ali, but even I've had enough. Gimme a book on Scott Frank, ST Gordon, Mike 'Machine Gun' Mungin, Tyron 'the Butterfly' Crawley, 'Rockin' Robin Blake, Dana Roston or Adilson Rodriguez. Anything but another book on Ali.
* Tuesday Night Fights: Yeah, it may have not covered the overall game as thoroughly as ESPN2's 'Friday Night Fights' but it's budget allowed it to have much better fights on a regular basis. Also, I loved the light-hearted, witty banter between Al Albert and 'the Champ' Sean O'Grady.
I remember before it went off the air in August of 1998, they had featured guys like Bernard Hopkins, Mark Johnson, Antwon Echols, Zab Judah, Vivian Harris, Fernando Vargas, Pito Cardona, Maurice Harris, James Toney, Floyd Mayweather, Andrew Golota, Ivan Robinson and of course their 'Four Starters' fights that kicked off thier telecast were always fun.
OK, admit it boxing fans, when they signed off their last show at the Blue Horizon with that song 'Time of your Life' did you get juuust a big misty eyed?
NASIR JONES
I realize I probably won't get any of the above mentioned things, but hey, I can dream right? But I did get Nas' new album 'God's Son' and his 'Lost Tapes'. There maybe a debate as to who is the games best pound-for-pound fighter, there's no debating in my mind who's the best rhyme lyricist. About the only thing Nas and Roy Jones share is the last name.
For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com
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