The lesson here is that boxing is every bit as mental as it is physical. Kennedy may have been there in body but he was vacant in spirit.
The question is with all this hanging over his head, should this bout have been scrapped altogether?
His promoter, J. Russell Peltz, answered, “Well, the charges didn’t get dropped till like a good month, month-and-a-half after the fight. So it was a question of fighting or staying idle and there was no guarantee they would be dropped. I mean, we knew they were going to be dropped. We just didn’t know when, so it’s a tough call.”
Both Peltz and Kennedy’s manager, Doc Nowicki, had spoken in the past of Kennedy’s association with the street life. Neither of them are necessarily shocked that Kennedy would get caught up in this manner. “I’ve been around too long to be shocked about anything, really, although you’d think that most athletes would be smart enough to run in better company. Yeah, you’re shocked but when you think about it, you shouldn’t be,” said Peltz, bluntly.
Nowicki says, “Was I surprised? I know that Teon hung around with some guys that weren’t probably the nicest guys around but I never believed Teon to be a person like that. Even though you’re in the playground shooting hoops with a guy, that doesn’t mean that the guy you’re shooting hoops with deals drugs that you do it also, even though you’re having a pick-up game with him. I think that what happened was Teon had a little disagreement with one of the guys that they were hanging out with. It escalated a little bit and Teon actually had nothing to do with the actual shooting and the guy had mentioned Teon’s name.
“But like I said, Teon had nothing to do with the shooting. He was exonerated from all the charges. I spoke with his attorney quite a few times. He went to the courtroom; everything was dropped.”
Asked what he recalled of the whole ordeal, Kennedy said, “Ah, man, the only thing I really remember is the scary feeling because what I was charged for could put you down for a long time. So it was a scary feeling.”
For young men like Kennedy, the allure of the street is almost irresistible. Oftentimes, it’s all they know.
“It’s hard, real hard,” he says, “because there’s a lot of temptations, lot of people telling you to do fast stuff. You know your mom and your parents tell you, ‘Don’t do it,’ but when everybody is in your ear about it, it’s kinda hard, the peer pressure.”
The 25-year-old Kennedy spent approximately three weeks in prison- and, no, nothing “Oz”-like happened to him behind bars.
“It was bad but I mean, it wasn’t too bad because when I was in jail, I just stayed to myself and a couple of people knew me in there too and people knew me from boxing also,” he said. Kennedy admitted, “I felt like I was in there for six months.” Of being cleared of the charges, he adds, “It was a great relief but at the same time, they still tried to get me for another charge, so it was like some relief but I was still up for trial.”
As for the first thing he did after his release, like a true Philadelphian, Kennedy says, “I got me a cheesesteak.”
So is “The Technician” a changed man? Has his incarceration altered anything in his life?
“Well, you hope it does,” said Peltz, who pointed out, “The problem is Teon’s never really had a full-time job and he’s got a lot of time on his hands. It’s not like being a black super bantamweight living on the East Coast, that he can support himself on his ring earnings. So he’s had about a half-a-dozen jobs since he turned pro in ’07 but he’s never really kept any of them. But you would hope he could learn from it, that’s for sure.”
Nowicki, who also manages top-rated welterweight Mike Jones, is a bit more optimistic, “I think he has [changed]. I know he moved in with his trainer, Wade [Hinnant], and was living with him. Wasn’t going to the same areas that he was before. Since then, he moved out of that area in Philly, has his own apartment outside of Philly but not too far away. And, yes, he’s made changes in his life.”
To the manager, Kennedy is a decent guy stuck in a bad environment, largely a product of said environment and circumstances. “I would say that Teon’s a good guy, a great guy, a terrific fighter. ‘The Technician’ is a perfect name for him and when you’re growing up in North Philadelphia, there’s all kinds of things that can test you and you’ve got to be strong enough not to give in to those things and so far in his life, he hasn’t. It’s just some of the people that are around him do bad things and he’s got to eliminate [that] himself and move out of that. I think he’s come to that point in his mind where he knows what decisions he has to make.”
So has Kennedy been scared straight?
“I guess you can say that,” he answered while laughing, also admitting he has reevaluated things. “Yes, I have. I spend more time with my kids and my family.”
Before the loss to Lopez, Kennedy was on a roll. He beat then-undefeated Jorge Diaz in an exciting back-and-forth affair for the USBA super bantamweight title. He had cracked the IBF top five and was mentioned for future bouts against the likes of Juan Manuel Lopez and Nonito Donaire. Now, Kennedy is in a must-win situation against Martin, himself coming off an upset loss to Jose Angel Beranza last October. A lot is on the line Friday night.
“Of course,” said Kennedy, who realizes the importance of this fight, “because I just lost. You don’t want to keep losing because you really go down in the rankings.”
HUNTER
Barry Hunter, trainer/manager of Lamont Peterson, was compelled to put out this statement on Wednesday in response to all the allegations and statements made by Amir Khan and Golden Boy Promotions in the wake of their fight on December 10th in Washington DC:
Unfortunately, we are in this process of dealing with these unfounded protests. It would be an understatement to characterize Lamont as being disappointed in the unprofessional manner in which Khan is attempting to discredit his performance in the ring and victory. We were raised to conduct ourselves where Champions display professionalism, both in victory and defeat. Lamont previously tasted defeat and handled it the way it should be handled - - he worked harder on areas that needed improvement to maximize his performance in the ring. Now, he is World Champion.
Khan blames everyone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to make adjustments in the ring for his loss. He claims that the Ring Announcer privately stated he won, then that the referee’s discretionary actions should be overruled, then a mystery man in a black hat with no association to the Peterson Camp somehow affected the outcome of the bout, and also that the judges did not score the Bout correctly. Each claim is boldly false, but because Golden Boy and Khan have the financial resources to file protests and lawyers to create questionable accusations we are forced to address these issues. .We will not let these foul tactics take away from Lamont’s hard work, dedication and monumental victory. Furthermore, since Khan continues to focus on a man at ringside I want to be very clear-- Mustafa Ameen is in no way, nor has he ever been affiliated or associated with anyone within Team Peterson. That includes myself, Lamont and Anthony Peterson.
If the media reports are true, the WBA President personally believes there should be a direct rematch of the fight. This was oddly stated before an official review had taken place, as well as an official response or decision from the WBA review committee had been presented regarding the various protests and our formal submission. That makes me wonder what procedures were actually followed before the WBA President made these public statements? The Rules should be followed by everyone.
Khan complains that the referee’s decisions should be overturned even though he continued to push Lamont throughout the fight. We believe the knockdown against Lamont was questionable but the rules give the referee that discretion on that call and we respect it.
BAM BAM
There seems to be a bit of a stalemate regarding who Brandon Rios will face March 3rd on HBO. I’m told the network has turned down more than a few names, focusing in on the heavy-handed John Molina. Molina makes sense, given his Southern California roots and that this card is going to be staged at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
However, Rios and his team are resisting that fight for now.
It’s not clear what’s going to happen with that date as HBO and Top Rank look to find a middle ground that will satisfy both parties (and most of all, the subscribers of the network). So it looks like we’re between a rock and a hard place here. Certainly, Rios’ brain trust, led by manager Cameron Dunkin, will make decisions they believe are in the best interest of their fighter, which is their job. The network has their own standards that they theoretically have to meet regarding their programming, which is their obligation. Rios-Molina could be an interesting fight, given that despite being technically raw, he has natural power (of course, it would’ve helped Molina’s cause if he would’ve have fought since June and stayed in the public eye)
Francisco Salazar of Fightnews.com reported on Wednesday that Molina will face Marvin Quintero on February 17th in Arlington, Texas.
As for “Bam Bam,” well, that still has to be worked out...
HUMP DAY FLURRIES
Gary Gittelsohn, manager of WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria, made it very clear that they are ready, willing and able to face either Roman Gonzalez or Hernan Marquez in Viloria’s next outing in 2012…That Sergio Martinez-HBO divorce sure didn’t last long, did it? It was shorter than some of Britney Spears’ marriages...I guess the shine is off the Big Apple for Mark Sanchez and the Jets, huh?...So much for stability with the Raiders, post-Al Davis...The March 10th rematch between WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido and the man he took the crown from last April, Juan Manuel Lopez, will take place at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico...Did Victor Ortiz really have to explain his headbutt against Floyd Mayweather to the NSAC? I mean, when you launch a flying, battering ram assault like that, isn’t it naturally implied that you’re trying to intentionally and illegally maim someone inside that ring?...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
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