Valero Problems Create American Burden

by Dafs117

Edwin Valero's professional record maybe perfect, but his lifestyle is definitely blemished, as the knockout machine has been placed in a psychiatric rehabilitation center for six months, where they hope to cure his alcohol and drug related problems.

El Inca had mapped out plans for capturing a US boxing license after his recent run of victories, but a failed MRI scan in 2004 still raises concerns over his safety in the ring, and the major commissions don't want to run the risk of fatality in their state.

His actions outside the ring have not helped his cause, with Valero often in trouble with the law in Venezuela. Allegations of domestic violence rose again after his wife was hospitalized with a punctured lung. Other incidents include possession of illegal firearms and a DUI charge in Texas, which stops him from fighting in one of the most tolerant of states.

His chances of building on his best career victory over Antonio DeMarco have indefinitely put on hold. The offers were coming in and he was considered as Juan Manuel Marquez's biggest threat to his lightweight championship, but the momentum gathered seems to be lost.

The repercussions have already kicked-in, with his planned move to light welterweight to face Lamont Peterson put on hold for now. The fight was destined for HBO, who only have interest in Valero when he fights on American soil as they like to invest in boxers they can build, and it would be a tougher sell for them to showcase Valero if he doesn't have a US license.

The worry is that Valero's career will rot if he can't get the fights to advance his career, especially if his fights take place in Mexico, where the biggest names would demand that their fights take place on American turf as there's more money in the pot. This limits his options, and without lucrative fights, HBO will steer away as he's not an attractive investment. With Valero without a license and in no fit state to fight, his name will be quickly erased from the broadcasting shortlist.

The thought that we might not see Valero in the ring again is worrying, as he's an all-action fighter and the sport needs exciting fighters to expand it's fanbase. It's disappointing that such a great talent is struggling with personal issues, but it's good to see him getting the help he needs.

They say when you've got it all, you've got it all to lose, and one would hope that this isn't the case with Valero. His dream of becoming a superstar hangs in the balance, as the American officials and fight fans alike wait on further developments out of Venezuela.

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Allegations of Dirrell Cheating Are Unwarranted

by Dafs117

Experienced writer and analyst, T.K. Stewart, has been the first to openly criticize Andre Dirrell following his disqualification victory over Arthur Abraham at the weekend, accusing Dirrell of 'mock pain and agony' as he was laid flat on the canvas following a cheap shot from Arthur Abraham in Detroit.

Stewart complains that Dirrell faked injury to claim his first victory in the Super 6 Boxing Classic so he can continue on in Showtime's 168-pound tournament.

As always, Arthur Abraham's fan club has used this to back their poorly thought-out argument on how their guy was badly treated by Michigan officials, and how he was robbed of a 32nd career victory.

Dirrell was clearly ahead at this point in the fight and looked relatively comfortable, if slightly tired, as he hopped on his motor scooter and stayed well clear of Abraham, who stalked him looking for another dramatic knockout. The momentum was hardly with Abraham, even though he should have been awarded a knockdown in the tenth.

Stewart goes on to slate referee Laurence Cole, who made the decision to disqualify Abraham after the foul. He claims that Cole "went for the bait - hook, line and sinker", which is uncalled for in my opinion. Cole's job is hard enough without writers like Stewart on his case every time he gets a big fight, constantly referring to this fight for extra credibility from casual fans.

Abraham claims that he "did not see that he was down." Is that his best response? C'mon get real. He'd been looking up at Dirrell, 6'1'' no less, who had been towering over him, 5'9'', all night, but then suddenly Dirrell was clutching Abraham's ankles. Maybe Stewart went for the bait - hook, line and sinker?

Stewart closes his article with "the boxing ring is no place for actors - especially ones as putrid as Andre Dirrell." But the only actor I saw in the ring on Saturday night was Arthur Abraham, who complained and nagged at referee Cole about non-existent low blows. Trying to buy points from officials is a form of cheating, and because he didn't have 'his' referee, frustration boiled over which ultimately led to a thundering right hand from one of the biggest punchers in boxing landing on a defenseless Dirrell.

If Dirrell was acting, he should really try to get a part in an action film, because I was sold. He was obviously not, as he still hadn't realised that he had won moments after he regained consciousness. The twitching, the disorientation; both obvious signs of concussion, was enough for the doctors to make a thorough check on Dirrell in the ring and at the hospital.

The conspiracy theories are flooding in on forums across the web, but you only need to look at other televised fights to see why there is such skepticism of Dirrell. Francisco Lorenzo's melodramatic actions against Humberto Soto is a prime example, even if the aftermath was as despicable. Lorenzo is the scapegoat here, but he and many others are partly responsible for making spectators doubt the true purity of one's actions. It's the same in other sports, not just boxing.

Was Abraham's foul malicious? Probably not, I think it was more out of frustration than anything. It was out-of-character for a guy that has been very laid-back on Fight Camp 360, without even a mention of hatred towards his competitors. His reputation has been tarnished because of one moment of madness. It was a rush of blood to the head type of thing, nothing more.

Everybody's entitled to their opinion, and I'm not trying to brainwash you into thinking that Abraham's shot was intentional, but the correct decision was made. Make up your own mind, the video is here.

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Promoting Boxing Incest

by Paul Magno

While the general boxing public cries and gnashes its teeth about the rotten sanctioning bodies, I have always held to the belief that the real culprits are the ones with the smiles, the posed publicity photos and the flowery language...The Promoters.

The "alphabet soup" boys deserve their fair share of abuse, but let's not forget that, like in most criminal organizations, the real devils can be found by simply following the money. The sanctioning bodies are merely props playing the role of dim-witted Fredo Corleone to the major promoters' Godfather.

In the case of boxing, the promoters have the checkbooks and it's their ultimate call as to which fights get made and where we'll be able to see them. The promoters have their fingerprint on every aspect of the game, even when it comes to the officiating.

For those unfamiliar with the behind-the-scenes mechanisms of boxing and just how incestuous the relationships are, Mitch Abramson of the NY Daily News wrote an outstanding article on the subject over the weekend. It sheds a lot of light on just how whacked-out the situation really is:

After scoring a fight last Saturday in Houston, Gale Van Hoy, a 75-year-old professional boxing judge, got off his stool and huddled with his boss, Dickie Cole of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

In a private meeting that night, Cole presented Van Hoy with an envelope. Inside the envelope was a check for $1,800.

The check was signed by Golden Boy Promotions, which promoted the fight between Brooklyn's Paulie Malignaggi and Houston's Juan Diaz.

If someone didn't know any better, the act of Van Hoy collecting a paycheck from Golden Boy Promotions might be considered a bribe. After all, his scorecard helped advance the career of a Golden Boy fighter, as Diaz has an exclusive contract with the company.

...In the dense world of boxing, judges who score these fights are on the payroll of the event's promoter.

For appearances sake, the promoter hands the check over to the commission, who then delivers it to the judges.

But the result is the same: The promoter is paying the judge to make a decision in a fight the promoter has a financial stake in.

The relationship doesn't end there. In California, if a judge lives more than 100 miles from the fight venue, he receives lodging and a per diem of $25, all courtesy of the show's promoter. Van Hoy told me he was given $80 for meals over two days while staying in a hotel for the night, courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions.

This is outrageous. In no other major professional sport is a team owner responsible for the salary and housing of its officials.

You don't see Yankees owner George Steinbrenner pulling up in a golf cart and cutting a check for "Cowboy" Joe West, or any other umpire. Major League Baseball handles that fiduciary duty. You don't see James Dolan, who oversees the Knicks, waiting in a Garden corridor to pay Dick Bavetta.

There is also no review process in most states after a controversial decision in boxing. Van Hoy said that Dickie Cole "was not unhappy at all," by his scorecard. That was the extent of Cole's evaluation of his performance. This is incredible. The NFL reviews every single play of a game and assigns a grade to the officials based on the number of correct and incorrect calls made.

If an official receives a number of failing grades, he is put on notice. No such scrutiny exists in boxing.

"Someone like Van Hoy, he'll be back in a couple weeks judging another show," Malignaggi said. "He doesn't get fined, nothing."

Without a national commission to police the sport, boxing is subject to the whims of the commissions of each state. The Texas commission didn't assign one neutral official for Diaz-Malignaggi, stacking the deck against the kid from Bensonhurst.

And the result? You get an uncomfortable decision for the hometown kid and the sport of boxing is the night's biggest loser.

Actually, given the abundance of nefarious types with shady dealings, it's a minor miracle that boxing isn't even more corrupt.

Right now, in the vacuum created by the absence of a real commission, the promoters are the only ones with the money and power to run the day-to-day operations of the sport...and the asking price, in return, is that their investments be protected.

Honestly, I'd rather have Fredo Corleone in charge.

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Daylight Robbery

by Dafs117

There’s nothing worse for a boxer than being on the wrong side of a hometown decision. Just ask Emanuel Augustus. The journeyman has grown a cult following because he’s been on the wrong side of many hometown decisions more often than the number of stitches Chris John received after being head-butted for several rounds against Hiroyuki Enoki. He’s frequently the unhappy beneficiary of terrible decisions none worse than his split-decision defeat to Courtney Burton.

At the end of the fourth round, Augustus landed two clean body blows sending Burton to his knees. But referee Dan Kelley had other ideas. He judged that Augustus’ punches were low and gave Burton a five minute rest. Augustus’ confidence was sky high as the underwhelming underdog was comfortably in front, though he frequently punctuated his success with showboating and constant taunting. He might have pranced around the ring like a batty but what followed could be one of the worst decisions witnessed on television. Every time Augustus clinched he was warned for a clash of heads. Referee Dan Kelly was searching for reasons to penalize Augustus but he couldn’t find any. He was warning him for imagined fouls. Then referee Dan Kelly inexplicably deducted a point from Augustus for spinning away from a clinch. Despite the point deduction, Augustus continued to outbox Burton and looked like he was going to win an easy decision.

The scores were announced. 98-94 to Augustus. Sounded fair enough. 97-92 to Burton. One judge might have perceived a fight differently. 99-90 to ..... Burton!? Was he serious!? 9 rounds to 1 to Burton! The Michigan Athletic Control Board received hundreds of hate mail from angry fans. The ESPN broadcast team went crazy. The time when Teddy Atlas had to correct a commissioner on live TV is unforgettable.

Last Saturday, Timothy Bradley met Nate Campbell for Bradley’s WBO belt at the Agua Caliente Casino in Bradley’s backyard. At the end of the third round, Nate Campbell complained that he couldn’t see due to a cut over his left eye that resulted from an accidental head-butt. After the head-butt, Bradley followed up with a barrage of power punches as Campbell argued with referee David Mendoza.

The doctor stopped the bout and they announced Bradley the winner via TKO. The unified rules state that any fight that’s stopped because a fighter cannot continue due to an accidental illegal shot that caused an injury is declared a no decision. David Mendoza was perfectly placed to see that the cut was caused by a head-butt. After the stoppage Mendoza issued his side of the story. He claimed that both fighters were head-butting and that he didn’t see blood straight after the head-butt only after Bradley threw a combination. On the replay it didn’t seem that Bradley had landed a punch near the cut.

It’s no wonder boxing fans get annoyed with bad officials. If officials don’t understand how to score or how to referee, they shouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end in a title fight. It leaves fans questioning if they could have done a better job than a qualified official. Then it leaves the, what if’s? What if Augustus would have had the decision over Courtney Burton? Would he still have as many followers? Would he have put himself in contention for a title eliminator? What if Mendoza would have given the fight a no decision? Would Bradley be ordered to a rematch by the WBO?

As boxing is judged to be a ‘dying sport’ this might be one of the reasons that’s driving fans away from the sport. Boxing needs to become more aware of these problems and solve them quickly if it wants to survive against expanding combat sports such as MMA. A national commission might solve the problem but nobody seems interested to make the first move.

The quicker we can get rid of the Mendoza’s from the sport the more fan friendly the sport will become.

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Is This The Era For The Little Men?

by Dafs117

When was the last time you witnessed a nail-biting heavyweight contest for a world title with the pendulum is swinging every way possible like in a Rocky film?

Holyfield-Tyson or Bowe-Holyfield? Exactly about a decade ago. I hope everybody has figured out that the heavyweight division is crap. I would advise some fans to take a nightcap and a hot water bottle with them for the next Klitschko fight. Yahoo’s Kevin Iole ranks this current era as the worst in heavyweight history. You could argue that Valuev, Wladmir and Vitali could use their size to beat past heavyweight champions, but if a 46 year-old Evander Holyfield gets robbed of a decision I think a prime Joe Frazier could blow them all out in a couple of rounds. Another undisputable statement is that the big guys are boring. More boring than watching paint dry. More boring than queuing. We’re talking very boring here.

One of the first rules in boxing is that a jab must start every boxer’s offense. But if that’s where the offense ends, the nightcap will be out sooner than expected. Wladmir does throw a lot of right hands, occasional left hooks, and if your very lucky you might be treated to an uppercut once in a while. His fly-swatting technique against Sultan Ibragimov was unique. These days that’s heavyweight “action”. Watching a six foot six Ukrainian smashing the CompuBox records with the robotic arm technique and throwing jabs and occasional hooks. I also don’t remember a lean heavyweight competing for a title. Eddie Chambers has lost a lot of weight and will probably weight in 210 against Wladmir, who’s always in good condition. Fighters feel they have to weight in heavier against bigger men but they lose mobility, agility and speed, which is something that could trouble the larger heavyweights. Every heavyweight title bout this year, bar the Klitschko’s have entered the ring without extra trimmings on the side.

The pound-4-pound rankings confirm this. As the great Steve Bunce said on primetime television “Pound-4-Pound rankings are like a***holes, but some stink more than others.” Wladmir Klitschko might creep into a couple of rankings but the rest of the heavyweights are miles behind. I know that they’re not accurately correct but it’s a disgrace for the division to have so much coverage and funding and to have only one fringe contender.

There are always two sides to a story. The fighters who are bagging all the praise are the little men. They entered the ring weighing approximately the same as Chris Arreola’s left breast but Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz kicked off the year with a bang in a thrilling contest with the fighters involved in back and forth action. They don’t show up out of shape, and only throw a jab and an occasional hook as a combination. No. It was pulsating action with the younger, veteran counter-puncher Juan Manuel Marquez out-witting the younger more aggressive Juan Diaz. It took time for Marquez to work the “Baby Bull” out but the veteran stopped Diaz in the ninth round. The thing is they get more praise but a lot less money than a heavyweight. Sultan Ibragimov has retired this week after one big heavyweight fight. It’s enough to be a healthy pension for him and his family.

Another contender for fight of the year is Bernard Dunne vs. Ricardo Codroba. This is the kind of burning desire that’s severely lacking from the heavyweight division. Both fighters showed true heart and a will to win unlike anything in any other sports. Dunne was down twice in the fifth round. Memories of his 86 second defeat to Kiko Martinez were flowing through his head. The crowd were all waiting for the referee to step in to stop the fight. But the one guy that who hadn’t been convinced was the Irishman. He stayed with Codroba until his opponent was out on his feet and stopped him in the eleventh to capture his first world title. He might have been behind on the scorecards but he showed guts to come back and stop the Panamanian.

The most frustrating thing about the heavyweight division is that there has been a glimpse of the heart that was shown in the Dunne-Codroba fight. Wladmir had to come off the canvas three times against Sam Peter, to win a decision. Vitali didn’t stop slugging against Lennox Lewis even if his face looked like it been involved in a car crash. They can entertain and put on a show. But like the world’s better heavyweights (“better” being a more accurate term than “good”) they choose not to. They concentrate too much on tactics and about their faces. Maybe this is the reason that the brothers rule the roost. They show heart where others don’t. Tony Thompson was supposed to be a decent challenge for Wladmir but his heart wasn’t there on the night and he was stopped in the eleventh and went home with a healthy pay-check.

Maybe David Haye will be the start of something new, a more exciting heavyweight era as we move ever closer to 2010. But could we see a safety first, bigger heavyweight outpoint the mouthy Brit and continue the poor level in this era to the next? Boxing’s economy suffers badly with the lack of heavyweight entertainment and you could argue that it drives fans away towards MMA and WWE but I’ll save that until another rainy day.

At least we have the little men. From welterweight down, boxing is as entertaining as it has ever been. Laptops, mobile phones and iPod’s just keep getting smaller. It’s a small world after all and in boxing the little guys are proving the entertainers. The big guys give us more of a reason to watch the little men instead!


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Can Somebody Please Stop Comparing Hamed to Frauds?

by Dafs117

When exactly did Naseem Hamed become the gold standard for fighters who turn out to be frauds or flops?

When Amir Khan got knocked-out spectacularly by Breidis Prescott in 54 seconds, everybody said that the Olympic silver medallist was a fraud, just like Hamed was. The only comparison I can see that their both Brits of Arab descent. Can anybody remember the Prince getting blown out in one round by a nobody? Actually, does anybody remember him getting knocked-out at all? Didn’t he unify the featherweight division by collecting all the alphabum belts before he flopped against Marco Antonio Barrera?

Khan has a title under his belt after being revitalised under Freddy Roach at the Wild Card Gym. But he’s not in the same bracket as Hamed at the moment. He has the talent but we’ll have to wait and see if he could ever achieve what Hamed did in his illustrious career.

A month later Yuriorkis Gamboa had beaten Marcos Ramirez in a two round thriller and Max Kellerman said “I sometimes wonder if Gamboa is going to be the next Roy Jones Jr. or the next Naseem Hamed.” As if having a career like Hamed is bad? A prime Roy Jones Jr. was a superman. A prime Naseem Hamed was considered an international superstar. Gamboa has been as familiar to the floor as a high school caretaker, so Gamboa should be over the moon to have half the career Hamed had. Gamboa is a talented kid but Kellerman needs to sort his word jumble that comes out of his mouth when he does a post-match analysis.

Maybe Kellerman should've asked Gamboa if he wanted to be Roy Jones Jr. or Gabe Brown. Maybe he should've asked Top Rank is they wanted a Hamed or a Tom Johnson who Kellerman rates?

Gamboa has a link with the WBA and he could secure the belt on September 26th on the Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Rogers Mtagwa undercard.

As a Brit, I like to think that Hamed put us on the boxing map in the States and showed the world that we could put on a show. He was something new to boxing and he obviously didn’t read the boxing manual. He was a showman and an exciting fighter. Even those who disliked the Prince must admit that the brash puncher accomplished a lot and had a productive career. He might not have handled defeat very well, and he might have retired a bit early but Hamed was no flop. He was top of the 126 lbs weight-class for a few years and he was a big money fighter and always brought money to the table.

Let’s hope that these prospects can reach the heights of Hamed.

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