Cheers,

Tom

The question of Rubin Carter’s actual guilt or innocence remains a strongly polarizing one. However, this much is certain: either the criminal justice system released a triple murderer from punishment, or it wrongfully imprisoned an innocent man for almost 20 years.

Rubin Carter grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, a middle son among 7 children. Rubin Carter's parents had a stable, long-lasting marriage, provided well for the family, and raised their other 6 children without significant problems. Only Rubin Carter seems to have acquired a criminal record, one that resulted in his being sentenced to a juvenile reformatory for assault and robbery shortly after his 14th birthday. Rubin Carter escaped from reformatory in 1954 and joined the Army at the age of 17. A few months after completing infantry basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he was sent to West Germany where he developed an interest in boxing. However, Rubin Carter was a poor soldier, and was court-martialed 4 times for charges ranging from insubordination to being AWOL. In May 1956, he was discharged as "Undesireable," well short of his scheduled date of separation. Rubin Carter had served 21 months of his 3-year term of enlistment.

After his return to New Jersey, Rubin Carter was picked up by authorities and sentenced to an additional 10 months for escaping from the reformatory. Shortly after being released, Rubin Carter was arrested for a series of street muggings, which included assault and robbery of a middle-aged black woman. Rubin Carter pleaded guilty to the charges and was imprisoned in Trenton State Prison, a maximum-security prison, where he would remain for the next 4 years.

In prison Rubin Carter resumed his interest in boxing, and upon his release in September 1961, turned professional. At 5 feet 8 inches, Rubin Carter was shorter than the average middleweight, but fought all of his professional career at 155-160 pounds. Rubin Carter's shaven head, prominent mustache, unwavering stare and solid frame made him an intimidating presence in the ring. Rubin Carter's aggressive style and punching power (resulting in many early-round knockouts) drew attention, establishing him as a crowd favourite and earning him the nickname “Hurricane.” After he had beaten a number of legitimate middleweight contenders such as Florentino Fernandez, Holley Mims, Gomeo Brennan, and George Benton, the boxing world took notice. Ring Magazine first listed him as one of its "Top 10" middleweight contenders in July, 1963.

Rubin Carter fought 6 times in 1963, winning 4 of the fights and losing 2. Rubin Carter remained ranked in the lower part of the top 10 until 20 December, when he surprised the boxing world by flooring past and future world champion Emile Griffith twice in the 1st round and scoring a technical knockout.

That win resulted in Ring Magazine ranking Rubin Carter as the #3 contender for Joey Giardello's world middleweight title. Rubin Carter won 2 more fights (1 a decision over future heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis) in 1964, before meeting Giardello in Philadelphia for a 15-round championship match on 14 December. Rubin Carter fought well in the early rounds, landing a few solid rights to the head, but failed to follow them up and Joey Giardello took control of the fight in the 5th round. The judges awarded Joey Giardello a unanimous decision. An informal poll conducted among ringside sportswriters agreed that Joey Giardello had outboxed the challenger. Rubin Carter was gracious in defeat and did not protest the judging.

After that fight, Rubin Carter's standing as a contender—as reflected by his ranking in Ring Magazine—began to decline. Rubin Carter fought 9 times in 1965, but lost 4 out of 5 fights against top contenders (Luis Manuel Rodriguez, Englishman Harry Scott and Nigerian Dick Tiger). Dick Tiger, in particular, had no problem with Rubin Carter, flooring him 3 times in their match. "It was," Rubin Carter said, "the worst beating that I took in my life—inside or outside the ring." During his visit to London (to fight Harry Scott) Rubin Carter was involved in an altercation at his hotel and fired several shots from a pistol. For the fight to go ahead the promoter of the event, Mickey Duff, paid hush money to keep Rubin Carter out of the hands of the police.

Rubin Carter's career record in boxing was 27 wins, 12 losses and 1 draw in 40 fights, with 8 knockouts and 11 technical knockouts. Rubin Carter received an honourary championship title belt from the World Boxing Council in 1993, as did Joey Giardello at the same banquet held in Las Vegas.

Rubin Carter is a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

On 17 June, 1966, at approximately 2:30 a.m., 2 black males entered the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, and started shooting. The bartender, Jim Oliver, and a male customer, Fred "Cedar Grove Bob" Nauyoks, were killed instantly. A badly wounded female customer, Hazel Tanis, died almost a month later, having been shot in the throat, stomach, intestine, spleen and left lung, and her arm shattered by shotgun pellets. A 3rd customer, Willie Marins, survived the attack, despite being shot in the head and losing sight in one eye. Both Marins and Hazel Tanis told police that the shooters had been 2 black males, although neither identified Rubin Carter or John Artis (or anyone else) as the shooters.

Petty criminal Alfred Bello, who had been near the Lafayette to commit a burglary that same night, was an eyewitness. Alfred Bello later testified that he was approaching the Lafayette when 2 black males - 1 carrying a shotgun, the other a pistol - came around the corner walking towards him. Alfred Bello ran from them, and they got into a white car that was double-parked near the Lafayette. Alfred Bello was 1 of the 1st people on the scene of the shootings, as was Patricia Graham (later Patricia Valentine), a resident on the 2nd floor (above the Lafayette). Alfred Bello (who admitted 4 months later that he stole $60 from the register when he went to get a dime) and Patricia Graham both called the police. Patricia Graham told the police that she saw 2 black males get into a white car and drive away westbound. Another neighbour, Ronald Ruggiero, also heard the shots and said that when he looked from his window he saw Alfred Bello running on Lafayette Street toward 16th Street. Alfred Bello further reported that he heard the screech of tires and saw a white car shoot past, heading west, with 2 black males in the front seat.

Rubin Carter's car matched the description provided by the witnesses. Police stopped it and brought Rubin Carter and another occupant, John Artis, to the scene about 30minutes after the incident. There was little physical evidence; police took no fingerprints at the crime scene, and lacked the necessary facilities to conduct a paraffin test on Rubin Carter and John Artis. None of the eyewitnesses identified Rubin Carter or John Artis as 1 of the shooters. However, on searching Rubin Carter's car, the police discovered a live .32 caliber pistol round and a 12-gauge shotgun shell; these rounds were of the same 2 calibers used in the shootings. Rubin Carter and John Artis were taken to police headquarters and questioned.

In the afternoon, both men underwent polygraph testing. Although there are serious questions about exactly what happened during the testing, examiner John J. McGuire subsequently reported the following conclusion about Rubin Carter: "After a careful analysis of the polygraph record of this subject, it is the opinion of the examiner that this subject was attempting deception to all the pertinent questions and was involved in this crime. After the examination and confronted with the examiner's opinion the subject denied any participation in the crime." The scientific merit and reliability of polygraph tests are disputed, however, and they are generally inadmissible as evidence. Rubin Carter and John Artis were released later that day.

Several months later, Alfred Bello disclosed to the police that he had an accomplice during the attempted burglary, 1 Arthur Dexter Bradley. On further questioning, Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley both independently identified Rubin Carter as 1 of the 2 black males they had seen carrying weapons outside the bar the night of the murders; Alfred Bello also identified John Artis as the other. Based on this additional evidence, Rubin Carter and John Artis were arrested and indicted.

Even though the defense showed that the accused didn't match one of the descriptions given by eyewitness Marins on 17 June, the 2 stuck to their testimony. This, plus evidence of the identification of Rubin Carter's car by both Patricia Valentine and Alfred Bello, the ammunition found in Rubin Carter's car, and questions about the testimony given by Rubin Carter's alibi witnesses, convinced the all white jury that Rubin Carter and John Artis were the killers. Both men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Rubin Carter's supporters - including The New York Times Reporter Selwyn Raab - persuaded Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley to recant the testimony they had given at the 1967 trial, and these recantations were used as the basis for a motion for a new trial. But Judge Samuel Larner, who presided over both the original trial and the recantation hearing, ruled that the recantations "lacked the ring of truth," and denied the motion.

Despite Samuel Larner's ruling, Madison Avenue advertising guru George Lois organised a campaign on Rubin Carter's behalf, which led to increasing public support for a retrial or pardon. Muhammad Ali lent his support to the campaign, and Bob Dylan co-wrote (with Jacques Levy) and performed a song, called "Hurricane" (1975), which declared that Rubin Carter was innocent. Rubin Carter also appeared as himself in Dylan's 1975 movie Renaldo and Clara.

As the defense motions were making their way through the appellate process, New Jersey legislator Eldridge Hawkins (assisted by investigator Prentiss Thompson) launched an independent review of the case, as requested by New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne. After a 3-month investigation, Eldridge Hawkins concluded that Rubin Carter and John Artis had been present at the Lafayette, assisting in the murders, although he did not believe they had been the shooters. Eldridge Hawkins and Prentiss Thompson (both of whom are black) also concluded that the motive for the murders had been revenge for the killing of a black bar owner named Leroy Holloway earlier that evening at the Waltz Inn. Leroy Holloway was the step-father of a man named Eddie Rawls, who was a close friend and drinking companion of Rubin Carter.

While the recantations had become a dead issue, defense attorneys made yet another motion, based on evidence that came to light during the recantation hearing (some of which was contained on a police tape recording of an interview with Alfred Bello). Although Samuel Larner had denied this motion as well, agreeing with the prosecution view that they had tried to present testimony about the interview, but were blocked by the defense, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted Rubin Carter and John Artis a new trial in 1976, unanimously holding that the evidence of various deals made between the prosecution and witnesses Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley should have been disclosed to the defense before or during the 1967 trial as this could have "affected the jury's evaluation of the credibility" of the eyewitnesses. "The defendants' right to a fair trial was substantially prejudiced," said Justice Mark Sullivan.

Despite enormous public and political pressure to drop the case, prosecutor Burrell Ives Humphreys decided to re-prosecute the 10-year-old murder indictments. As part of the re-investigation of the case, Burrell Ives Humphreys had Alfred Bello polygraphed, and while the polygrapher concluded that Alfred Bello was being truthful when he identified Rubin Carter and John Artis as the murderers, there were questions about Alfred Bello's location when the shooting started.

Burrell Ives Humphreys also made an offer to both Rubin Carter and John Artis—a "no-risk" polygraph test. If either man would take and "pass" a polygraph test conducted by a nationally-recognised expert, Burrell Ives Humphreys would drop the prosecution as to that man. Were he to "fail" the test, there would be no adverse consequences. Both Rubin Carter and John Artis refused Burrell Ives Humphrey's offer.

During the new trial, witness Alfred Bello repeated the testimony he had given in 1967, identifying Rubin Carter and John Artis as the 2 armed men he said he had seen at the Lafayette Grill. Arthur Dexter Bradley refused to cooperate with prosecutors, and neither prosecution nor defense called him as a witness. Rubin Carter's alibi witnesses from the 1st trial appeared as prosecution witnesses, and testified that Rubin Carter and his attorney had persuaded them to commit perjury at the 1st trial, providing Rubin Carter with false alibis. But the biggest blow to the defense case occurred when Judge Bruno Leopizzi forced defense witness Fred Hogan - whose efforts had led to the discredited recantations of Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley - to produce his notes. These showed that Fred Hogan had discussed paying money to Alfred Bello to procure the recantations, an apparent discussion of bribery.

Judge Leopizzi instructed the jurors that if they did not believe Alfred Bello, they should acquit the defendants. The State objected and requested that the Court instruct the jury that a conviction could be based on the other evidence the State had presented, but this request was denied. After deliberating for almost 9 hours, the jury (which included 2 African-Americans) again found Rubin Carter and John Artis guilty of the murders. Rubin Carter and John Artis were again sentenced to life in prison.

John Artis was paroled in 1981, while Rubin Carter's defense continued to appeal on various grounds. In 1982, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense, but that the withheld material was not material (and thus did not create a Brady violation), and affirmed the convictions in a 4-3 decision.

3 years later, Rubin Carter's attorneys filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, a rarely successful collateral attack on the judgment of a state court requesting federal review of the constitutionality of the state court's decision. The effort paid off; in 1985, Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled that Rubin Carter and John Artis had not received a fair trial, saying that the prosecution had been "based on racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure." Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin chided the State of New Jersey for having withheld evidence regarding Alfred Bello's problematic polygraph testing and set aside the convictions. New Jersey prosecutors appealed Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin's ruling to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and filed a motion with the Court to return Rubin Carter to jail pending the outcome of the appeal. The Court denied this motion and eventually upheld Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin's opinion, affirming his Brady analysis without commenting on his other rationale. The prosecutors appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

These rulings left the prosecutors with the choice of either trying Rubin Carter and John Artis for a 3rd time or dismissing the indictments. In 1988 New Jersey prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the original indictments brought against Rubin Carter and John Artis. "It is just not legally feasible to sustain a prosecution, and not practical after almost 22 years to be trying anyone," said NJ Attorney General W. Cary Edwards. Acting Passaic County Prosecutor John P. Goceljak said several factors made a retrial impossible, including concerns about whether Alfred Bello could still be a convincing eyewitness and the unavailability of other witnesses. John P. Goceljak also doubted whether the prosecution could reintroduce the racially motivated crime theory due to the federal court rulings. Furthermore, John Artis had already been paroled and would not have been returned to prison even had he been re-convicted. The motion to dismiss was granted, effectively dropping all charges.

Rubin Carter now lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was executive director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (ADWC) from 1993 until 2005. Rubin Carter publicly resigned from the ADWC when the prosecutor of Guy Paul Morin, a wrongfully convicted man, was promoted to a judgeship and the ADWC declined to support Rubin Carter's protest of the appointment. In 1996 Rubin Carter, then 60, was arrested when Toronto police mistakenly identified him as a suspect in his 30s believed to have sold drugs to an undercover officer. Rubin Carter was released after the police realised their error. Rubin Carter now works as a motivational speaker. On 14 October, 2005, Rubin Carter received 2 honourary Doctorates of Law, 1from York University (Toronto, Ontario) and 1 from Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia), in recognition of his work with the ADWC and the Innocence Project. Rubin Carter is currently in St. Johns Newfoundland and Labrador filming a documentary about wrongfully convicted people at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St John's and across the Atlantic Provinces for CBC.

Rubin Carter's saga inspired the Norman Jewison 1999 feature film The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington in the title role.

John Artis, after being released on parole in 1985, was imprisoned again in 1986 when he pled guilty to dealing cocaine and to receiving a stolen handgun. John Artis is now a social worker, helping troubled youths.

Rubin Carter has had stuttering problems since youth but it has been the least of his problems until his old age.

Keep visiting: www.lifechums.com more celebrities featuring shortly ................

The promo tour is complete with scripted punch-lines from both leading actors err boxers. The fool-not proof audience loves the two superstars. The duo brings more fun, excitement and hype to their fans and followers every time they stand in front of them. Joining the boxers are Bob Arum the promoter and Freddie Roach the trainer and others.

The cast is complete making the boxing show perfect for the money makers. Indeed the fight in December already has losers and winners. The losers are those who love the sport of boxing and the integrity of the sport itself. The big winners are Pacman, the Golden Boy, Bob Arum et al. The gang will be accumulating millions of dollars in revenue, making the scripted boxing match a blockbuster perfect for Emmy Awards.

Clearly, today’s boxing is no longer about the sport but it’s all about the MONEY. The popular the fighter, the better the MONEY prize at stake. The December 06 fight-though popular-will make change the boxing world into a mere entertainment version of WWE scripted sport show. Better watch the UFC, the real combat sport that end in real victory.

]]> http://therealnonpareil.wordpress.com/?p=5 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:09:07 +0000 therealnonpareil http://therealnonpareil.de.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/5th-october-hbo-boxing/ So I wanted to talk about the HBO card from this Saturday. For those of you who didn’t catch it it was a really entertaining show, featuring three potentially really good fighters.

The first bout on the card was the flashy Argentine Sergio Martinez against the tough Alex Bunema. Before Saturday I had never seen Martinez, and looking at his less than impressive resume, wondered why he was favoured so much over Bunema, who rose to fame after unexpectedly beating Roman Karmazin on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr. vs. ‘Tito’ Trinidad. Looking at the records of the two men, you would have had to favour Bunema but obviously the bookmakers knew something I didn’t. Martinez looked really good in there. He was a very fast and accurate puncher who really shut out and put a beating on Bunema. Although the Congolese fighter was brave, he was outclassed and the ringside doctor mercifully put an end to the fight before the bell rang for the 9th round.

Sergio Martinez increased his record to an impressive 44-1-1 whilst Bunema drops to 30-6-2.

The second fight of the night was Alfredo Angulo versus Andrey Tsurkan. Now this fight really bothered me because of how brutal it all was. There was never a time in this fight where Tsurkan really looked like a threat. Now, for the first several rounds, he has a right to fight on and try to get himself back into it but as the fight progressed he was taking more and more punishment without ever landing anything meaningful himself. I think Jim Lampley may have gone over the top with the reference to fights where a guy died, but there was no way it should have been allowed to continue after about the 8th round.

1. The guy never hurt Angulo, so a knockout wasn’t likely at all

2. A points victory was impossible

3. He was taking a lot of vicious punches So what’s the point in letting him fight on?

And in the 10th round, Angulo mounted a very strong attack and the referee was slow in stopping the fight. Even without the previous 9 rounds of a beating, that stoppage would have been slow. Thankfully Tsurkan doesn’t seem to have suffered any lasting damage. Alfredo ‘Perro’ Angulo moves up to 14-0-0 whilst Adrey Tsurkan slumps to 26-4-0.

And the final fight on the card was between mega-prospect and former Olympic gold medallist, Yuriorkis Gamboa who was pitted against fellow undefeated fighter, Marcos Ramirez. This was a short fight, but action packed. The first round was pretty much a feeling out round, before Gamboa got dropped on his arse. It looked like he wandered into a decent punch, but nothing serious, which had me wondering about the guys chin. The reply showed it was an elbow though and Gamboa jumped straight back up, so I don’t think this knockdown proves anything. In the next round, Gamboa came out strong and managed to drop Martinez with a sweet uppercut. He then proceeded to put Martinez down again, who was then counted out. There is some debate about Gamboa’s chin. Some valid points have been made, but I think the real problem is his overeagerness in the ring. He is rushing in too often without a care in the world about his defence. Maybe this will be sorted out when he fights someone who he considers worthy to be in the same ring as him. Until a better version of sandy Saddler comes along, I don’t think there much chance of that.

Yuri Gamboa’s record now stands at 12-0-0, whilst Marcos Ramirez loses his unbeaten record and drops to 25-1-0. All in all, it was an entertaining night.

All three fights were good and it was also nice to see some fresh talent emerge in boxing. Martinez especially. More cards like this please, HBO.

"God has gifted me with incredible handspeed as a tool to be used. What else am I supposed to do but fight? There ain't no hand-racing competitions."

-handsomehwang-

At the end of the fight, the announcer says that Kimbo is fighting the reff. No he was not. Watch closely. If he was then the reff would have been more handsy. Saying this made it seem like Kimbo was more disoriented than he really was. His amazement was that the fight was already over.

The Shot

There is no "Magical Kick" that knocked the wind out of him. What everyone calls a kick, is Seth's leg and foot in the air trying to put something between him and Kimbo. I don't care what form of fighting you call that. The annaouncer makes it clear that Seth is a kung fu student. The ground foot is wide open for a stomp and a push down. The punch traveled 6 inches. Unless this is Bruce Lee's Myth coming true. It did not knock him out. The punch landed on the nose and mouth of Kimbo. Not his left eye. The 6 inch punch happened while Seth was air born and moving backwards. Watch his footing as the punch lands. He had no foot on the ground, and was moving back away from Kimbo. At most that was a 7 lbs limp hit.

Kimbo taking four solid punches twice as hard

Watch the video 39 seconds into it he tells the dude to punch him. I posted that to make the puds who claim glass jaw, STFU!

Kimbo was not knocked out. he was hit the same time he lost footing. the guy hits kimbo on the right side of his face and body about 10 or so time. But kimbos left eye brow is busted. How is this? He fell on the floor. Kimbo did not cover, because the punches did not hurt. It's that damn simple.

I am sorry to ruin the whole great white hype of the Mixed Martial Arts. But Kimbo is a whole other machine.

If he didn't throw this match. Then when the rematch comes around and kimbo makes due on his loss. Some of you lil tweaker punks are gonna scurry or become kimbo fans. I am sorry but that was a total fluke fight.

He isn't there to roll around on the floor with you in your underwear, he is there to break your head. Grappling is a last resort. It has become to much of a common thing. These clowns choke out 7 outa 10 fights now days. How? Well back in the old day they would smash your face if you got close enough, then grapple when they got tired, well a few won that way. So now everyone thinks it's the way to win... no it's what you do when you are tired.

If there is no rematch, Kimbo Sold out.

News!!!!

Rematch in Talks

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/07/2008 12:53 AM

The stakes have gone even higher two months before the epic welterweight super bout dubbed "The Dream Match" between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and 10-time world champion Oscar de la Hoya.

At least for Pacquiao, the reigning World Boxing Council lightweight champ, the December 6 megabuck fight is enough reason for him to put his life on the line for his country's honor.

"Asahan ninyo na sa akin, kahit buhay ko, itataya ko para sa karangalan ng ating bansa," Pacquiao told a crowd of Filipinos, Americans and Mexicans gathered at the Golden Gate Park's Chrissy Field in San Francisco, California, on Saturday.

Pacquiao has described the battle against de la Hoya as the "biggest" fight of his life. He said that the training being done for the bout is extremely different and relatively more painful compared to others in the past.

"This is my greatest challenge," said Pacquiao of the super bout, amid reports that he may end up losing the fight since de la Hoya is taller, heavier and has a longer reach compared to him.

De la Hoya, meanwhile, told Pacquiao to be "ready" for battle.

"I want to look into your eye, on December 6, I want you to be ready like you always are. I want you to fight hard," the Golden Boy said.

'Hindi ako susuko'

The press conference in San Francisco was part of the six-city US tour for the Pacquiao-de la Hoya battle in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena.

During the launch in New York's Liberty Island on October 1, Pacquiao said he will give his "100 percent" for the epic battle.

"I promise I will fight with all of my heart and that I will give everything I have," he said.

Ever the patriot, Pacquiao the Army reservist, said he dedicates the fight to the people of the Philippines.

"When I take that walk to the ring to fight Oscar, I will carry all the people of The Philippines -- the entire country -- on my shoulders," he said.

De la Hoya has said that he expects the December 6 clash with Pacquiao to be "long and fun."

"Be ready for a long, fun fight... I say fun because with Manny Pacquiao, there is no boring fight and that’s what I'm looking forward to," de la Hoya said last week.

Pacquiao, for his part, said, ""Tatayo ako hangga't may hininga, hindi susuko." With reports from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Let's look at Kimbo as what he really is, a great story. This is a man who lost it all, ended up in prison and within a few years and a couple of legendary YouTube videos was on the verge of making millions of dollars and being a household name.

The problem is that both boxing and mixed martial arts are real sports that you cannot just pick up and learn. A guy like Butterbean has been laughed at for over a decade for his silly moniker and look but even he could have taken out someone like Kimbo, who is nothing more than a glorified street fighter. Have you seen the guys he fought in his YouTube videos? His career was fed nothing but guys straight out of prison or "big guys" with no fighting experience. When he did take on a real fighter, named Sean Gannon, Kimbo was whooped but somehow that video never populated on the Internet like his other fights.

Enjoy the video, it's a short one!

Raging Bull is definately in my Top 5 hands down, and to me is my favorite Scorsese flick.  Robert De Niro even won best actor for his realistic portrayal of former boxing middleweight world champion boxer Jake LaMotta.  Below is the Opening title sequence from Raging Bull which has even been re-produced in the Sopranos, (see Blue Comet r.i.p. Bobby)        

"intermezzo-cavalleria rusticana"  by Mascagni is the tune and I'd be lying if it wasn't on my Infinite playlist

Though, you do find, from time to time, a respectable person worth writing about.  This is, of course, only a draft, and copyright © 2008, Editorial Mazatlan, all rights reserved.

Although the “Great Depression” of 1929 affected Mazatlan just as it did everywhere else, the real blow to the economy came on 23 March 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution, repealing liquor prohibition. Mazatlan had profited from the “noble experiment” – two of the city’s most profitable industries – smuggling and brewing – were hit hard. Times were tough. Margareta Montes Plata was tougher. As a ringer on the Cerveceria Diaz de Leon women’s baseball team, Margarita’s ten pesos per game helped get her family though the tough times, but weren’t enough.

With nothing but a strong pitching arm (which she attributed to a childhood spent making tortillas by hand and wielding a machete on the family farm) was desperate to find some source of income. What was then the Teatro Rubio (today’s Angelina Peralta) was desperate for any kind of act that would bring in a paying crowd. When woman boxer Josefina Coronada offered to put on an exhibition match, who knew it would be the start of one of the more amazing careers in the history of women’s sports?

The amateur trained for a month, won the bout and Margarita, fighting under the name “La Maya” boxed throughout Mexico and the United States, fighting 28 men and 5 women (she said “I prefer to fight men, they punch better”) before her early retirement in 1936.

La Maya’s only real problem with boxing had been the presumption that a women boxer was not lady-like. One Mazatlan parrandaro (a guy hanging out) probably wished he hadn’t told her one day that she wasn’t a “real woman.” she knocked him out.

And she was a proper Mexican lady. Her retirement from the ring came when, after marrying bullfighter Jose Valdez, she was expecting her first baby. For some reason, her obstetrician thought boxing might interfere with pre-natal care.

He said nothing about bullfighting. Say what one will about bullfighting, matadors from racial minorities, matadoras and openly gay matadors have been part of the sport for centuries before other professional sports. But, with a growing family – she would eventually have five children – and the bullring circuit requiring too much time away from home, she settled for the less exciting world of bicycle racing.

Widowed in 1961, and starting to feel her own age, she took up truck driving for several years. Rather than retire, she bought a gasoline station with her grandsons, continuing to take an active part in the business well into her late eighties.

(By the way, I can't find anywhere on-line, a photo of La Maya... if anyone knows of one, I'd appreciate hearing about it).

"A MAN punched unconscious following a televised boxing match was repeatedly kicked and punched as he lay motionless on the ground.

The attack took place outside the Harvey Hadden sports centre in Wigman Road, Bilborough, t around 9.45pm after a professional bout between Matthew Hatton and Rendall Munroe.

The 41-year-old victim was attacked from behind as the 1,000 strong crowd left the event, which had been televised on Sky.

He sustained serious facial injuries, which required stitches to his mouth."

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Man-attacked-Bilborough-boxing-event/article-377479-detail/article.html

Kimbo gets knocked the F*ck out, I never even heard of the dude he was going against and he just finished him in seconds its crazy. Seems like Kimbo's winning streak is coming at its end.

It's me, your "Super" bad-ass Boxing columnist coming out for another round of pure nastiness- Not to be confused with your "Regular" and "Interim" bad-ass Boxing columnists, who I hope to one day make responsible for all my mandatory columns.

There were supposed to be two PPV cards yesterday with Juan Manuel Lopez fighting "Standard Casting" Mexican fringe contender Cesar Figueroa and Arthur Abraham against Raul "No I haven't retired yet," Marquez, which was eventually called off. Maybe these promoters should crack open a newspaper and see that our economy is in the tank, gas is on the rise and everybody's nervous about where we're headed. Asking nearly 30 bucks for a PPV with no real main event is almost as screwy as charging 50 bucks for a PPV with no real undercard. It's time we stand up for ourselves and refuse to buy the steaming BS hoagies they shove down our throats or, at the very least, insist that we get four quality fights with every 50 dollar event.

Stepping down from my soapbox...

It's a good thing for Raul Marquez that Arthur Abraham came down with the flu and pushed back their bout until November 8th. Now, Marquez can have a share of the spotlight for another full month before he's sent off into retirement. Marquez is almost like the fat girl competing  for Homecoming Queen in high school- What a relief to have a delay in the voting and enjoy another few brief moments of glorious optimism before being slammed by the harsh reality.

Yuriorkis Gamboa looked almost human in the beginning of his fight last night until his opponent, Marcos Ramirez, started acting like this was a real, winnable fight for him. For future reference to all those willing to fight Gamboa- Don't make him mad and you may see the 6th round.

Lightweight King, Nate Campbell declared bankruptcy this week. This is a true first- usually fighters declare bankruptcy after leaving Don King, not before.

Cristian Mijares-Vic Darchinyan is officially set for November 1st. Expect this one to look like the home video of me slapping around my elderly, drunken uncle at last year's Thanksgiving celebration. There are only two words to describe what Mijares will give to Darchinyan: Boxing Clinic. (or, maybe: Punk Card)

With all the nasty words being exchanged between Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson before their big fight next Saturday, we should be expecting an all-out war- What we'll get is what we usually get from both fighters: a dull, confrontation-less Tarver and an unfocused, inconsistent Dawson. Whatever the case, expect 10 times the battle than what we'll get during Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr.

Speaking of Calzaghe-Jones, I hear both parties have settled on an 80 ft. ring so they won't accidentally have to come in contact with one another during their November 8th "fight."

Sam Peter will be defending his WBC Heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko this Saturday. Expect these two to look like me and my brother coming out of the Circus Circus buffet in Las Vegas- bloated, disoriented and extremely gassy.

There's a horrible joke floating around that Arturo Gatti is considering a comeback. If there is any truth to this, Gatti should be handcuffed to his radiator immediately. The only world-class fighter I've seen more shot than Gatti in his loss to Alfonso Gomez was Meldrick Taylor- and that's a very sad comparison to make. Any promoter who thinks about booking a Gatti comeback should have his license revoked.

Positive note of the week: Is there anyone more "Old School" than Alfredo Angulo? The kid looks like he was brought to life straight from a 50's fight film. Fighting spirit, granite chin, 100+ punches a round? This kid's a keeper.

Until next week...stop buying the sizzle when all you want is a good steak...and pay off your damn mortgages- even if it means missing Calzaghe-Jones!

:D

Petruzelli, while standing on one foot, fired a short right hook which landed right on Kimbo’s chin. The punch sent Kimbo crashing face-first down to mat. Petruzelli followed up with a series of strikes to the head and it was all over for Kimbo.

Kimbo was slated to fight MMA veteran Ken Shamrock but Shamrock wasn’t cleared to fight due to a cut above his eye sustained from his training. Elite XC scrambled to find a replacement fighter for Shamrock and eventually picked Petruzelli.

Petruzelli didn’t waste the opportunity as he handed Kimbo his first defeat in four professional MMA fights.

-fouledout

Carano unleashed flurries of nasty strikes but Kobold absorbed most of them easily. Kobold attempted to take Carano down to the mat for most of the match but Carano’s stand-up game was just better. Carano also showed improvements with her takedown defense as she thwarted most of her opponent’s takedown attempts.

Carano clinched the victory when she peppered Kobold with vicious strikes in the third round including a couple of hard kicks to the face.

Carano won the fight with the scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27. Her MMA record improves to 7-0.

-fouledout

With that said, I've heard the chatter about KIMBO SLICE since about 5 or six months ago and have been a little curious myself about how he would fare against a true MMA fighter. I've logged on youtube and seen the cheesy back yard fights and stuff so I even said compared to what I've seen in those video excerpts, this guy would get beat down by probably a mediocre MMA fighter; If they got him to the ground.

WHAT I JUST SAW ON THE FOLLOWING:

• http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/10/05/video-seth-petruzelli-kos-kimbo-slice/

truly shows that not one punch landed on Slice. Not one! Not even the kick!

Video takes of Slice's personal side certainly lead me to believe he is the type of guy that would take a pay off to dive. If it's the right sum, what else does this 34 year old smoe have going for his future? Going back to being a security guard for a porn company?

THIS FIGHT WAS FIXED! Even the Shamrock sham was comical (getting headbutted before the fight therefore not being able to fight). THIS WAS LIKE WATCHING SARAH PALIN TV. FAKE!

PUNCH THE BELLY, DAMMIT!

first thing is first...

check out the youtube promo for the game.  my thoughts about it are below.

not too shabby.

first off - i'm a little disappointed that this game is a straight re-make of the original.  while i love the characters nintendo created, i wish they would have incorporated some real life boxers into the game.  virtually kicking mike tyson's ass was actually a bit of a thrill (mostly because i was in no real danger of being raped, cannibalized, or pummeled within an inch of my life).  not saying that nintendo should have licensed the game back to mike's crazy ass... but it'd be pretty fresh to fight an animated version of dela hoya, trinidad, roy jones, and manny pacquiao on the way to becoming the champ.  fuck floyd mayweather, though.

second - the graphics look great.  this game looks like it will have a nice, cartoonish feel... sort of like the old arcade standard dragon's lair did (remember THAT?).  the wii system is great, but if you're going for realism in game play you're barking up the wrong tree.  i think its wise for nintendo to recognize this, and embrace their style (as they've done with the mario series).

third - when glass joe gets knocked down... are those croissaints that are falling out of his pockets?  really?  is that supposed to be some sort of comment on the fighting acumen of the french?  if so, i'm ok with that.  however... if we're going to go down that road, please be sure to allow users to get all hiroshima on piston honda when its time to whip that particular ass during the tournament.

finally - ever notice how the original game had little mac was training for his fights (clearly in brooklyn) while rocking the pink sweatsuit?  that's not a good look.  please make sure that silliness won't be repeated this time, nintendo.  and while you're at it PLEASE let little mac's manager have some more useful advice in between rounds than he did in the original game.  FUCK floating like a butterfly, and fuck the nintendo fun club.

all in all, this looks pretty good nintendo.  it sucks that we have to wait until 2009 to play, but it seems like punch out might be worth the wait.

Caleb Truax recently returned from Big Bear, California, where he trained for two weeks 7000 feet altitude.  The camp was at Sugar Shane Mosley's house and was chock full of big-time talent.  Here Truax shares his thoughts on the experience.

Fistic Mystic: So Caleb, I've heard such good things about Big Bear, tell me about it!

Caleb Truax: First and foremost, it was awesome, a great experience for me, and I'll never forget it.

Fistic: Who was there?

Caleb: Me, Enrique Ornelas and his trainer, Jaidon Codrington, Tony (Grygelko, Truax's manager), and for the first week, Shane Mosley and his people.

Fistic: Tell me about Mosley.

Caleb: I couldn't believe how small he was, first of all.  Just a tiny little guy, for a 154 pounder.  And he's fast, it's true.  And a really classy and professional guy.

Fistic: What about Ornelas?  You told me before that he was a monster body puncher...

Caleb: Enrique was a monster!  I've never been in the ring with anyone like him.  He's so strong and he put so much pressure on me.  With his strength and the pressure and the altitude he was real tough on me.  But after a week I had kind of got myself together and I was able to hold my own.

Fistic: What did you do?

Caleb: We sparred Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I went four rounds the first day, five rounds the other days - except we went six rounds the last day.  I'm looking forward to getting back in the ring here at home and showing everyone what I learned.

Fistic: What did you learn?

Caleb: I learned that defense and fundamentals are very important.  Not that I didn't already know that.  But I've had a tendency to get kind of loose in fights, and I know that I have to buckle down and keep working hard and improving and working on small things and get more experience.  That what the name of the game is.  I think I'm on the right track.

Fistic: Caleb, do you keep up with the bulletin board chatter?

Caleb: Sometimes, yeah.  I check it out once in a while.

Fistic: Have you heard about Ivan Stoval from California?  He's been talking about you, you know.

Caleb: Yeah, I know.  (Laughing)  I've never heard of him, I don't know who he is, and I don't really care.  Tony (Grygelko) and Ron (Lyke) want me to fight him, and if they think that's a good fight for me then I'll take it, but it makes no difference to me if I fight him or not.

Fistic: So what's next, then?

Caleb: Ron and Tony are looking for a fight in the next couple of weeks for me to take advantage of my conditioning that I got in Big Bear.  Tony is looking at something in Chicago and he's also been in touch with Golden Boy to see whether he can get me on the same card as Ornelas; the next Kelly Pavlik fight. (October 18 in Atlantic City)

Fistic: Anything to say in closing?

Caleb: Like I say, it was a great experience and I'm a better fighter from it.  I think everyone is going to see that.  I want to thank Enrique Ornelas for having me out there.  He's a class act.

Fistic: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Caleb.  I'll talk to you again soon.  God bless.

Caleb: Yeah, see you around.

Here it is people...the most anticipated fight for WBC; Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxing icon from Manila Philippines is going to fight the WBC Super weltertweight Championship at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 6, 2008 with Oscar de la Hoya. This game has always been the dream match in boxing.

Promoter Bob Arum says it all started as a fantasy. Nobody thought that the idea would ever be taken seriously. Now, it had become the match that it is, a glaring $100 million dollar deal that is greater than any other that boxing ever had. Pacquiao vs. De la Hoya Tickets are officially priced at $1,500, $1,000, $750, $500 and $250 but because of high demand and bulk purchases, the retail prices are expected to go as much as $42,000.

However, a lot boxing insiders are asking if the fight be worth its hype.

Initially, there were apprehensions whether Oscar De la Hoya can cope with the Pacman. They say that Manny Pacquiao is perhaps too young and much faster than what De la Hoya can handle. When Golden Boy Promotion’s CEO was interviewed a few weeks ago, he said something like the Pacman is different from the fighters that they want Oscar to fight. The others are said to attack only from one direction- the front door. Pacquiao, however, enters and exits from the front, side, back and any other door, making him very difficult to predict.

But now that the fight night is getting closer, a lot of people are saying otherwise. These naysayers however, speak with good authority and should not be taken lightly. The first is De la Hoya’s on/off and quite expensive trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. Acknowledged as one of the best boxing trainers, he declared that Pacquiao will be an easy pick for De la Hoya and that any coach will suffice for Oscar (in the upcoming fight). According to Mayweather Sr., the fight will end as soon as the first of De la Hoya’s left hook lands.

Others include Massachusetts State Boxing Commission chair Daniel Fitzgerald who declares that the difference in height makes him not want to see the fight, World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman who calls the De la Hoya Pacquiao fight a “Circus” and the numerous regulars of online boxing forums. One suggests that the title “Dream Match” be corrected to “Fraud” while another says that the more appropriate is “Dream Mismatch”.

Whatever the most fitting fight title is, one thing is for sure. The fight night has been scheduled and the two fighters will meet. Let us see what the end will be like.