(1) NEWS ITEM ? PACQUIAO GETS A FERRARI
Reports coming from, of all things, an orthodontist in Los Angeles, are that Manny Pacquiao has purchased a new Ferrari 458 Italia at a price of about $225,000. He liked that one better than the Mercedes with the gull wings that was listed at only $210,000. I hope he lets those new accountants know all about it?.
(2) NEWS ITEM ? BOSWELL GETS SHOT AT HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN
When Cedric Boswell says he has been waiting a lifetime for this opportunity, he?s really saying something. When he steps into the ring to fight Alexander Povetkin for the WBA heavyweight title on December 3, it will have been 17 years, five months since he turned pro and 13 years, seven months since his very first 10-round fight. Boswell, who beat Oliver McCall on a decision on March 18, has lost just one of 36 pro fights but has flown completely under the radar in his career. He is 42 years old, and I am not sure about this, but I don?t think there has been any first-time heavyweight title contestant who has been older than that?.
(3) NEWS ITEM ? KLITSCHKO DOCUMENTARY GETS RAVE REVIEW
The respected film critic of the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan, is raving about the new ?Klitschko? documentary about the fighting brothers, calling it ?fascinating.?
Another quick passage:
?One of the interesting aspects of this film is that it initially makes no attempt to tell the two brothers apart, even though we need the help because they look enough alike to be mistaken for twins. This is probably an intentional device, meant to emphasize a bred-in-the-bone closeness that the brothers view as, in Vitali?s words, ?a secret weapon. We are two people in the ring. We give each other extra support. With that, no one can stop you.? ?
(4) NEWS ITEM ? JERMAIN TAYLOR BACK IN ACTION
The Super Six boxing tournament has gone on so long that it has outlasted an entire retirement by Jermain Taylor. Now the former middleweight champ is getting ready to come back in December, having been cleared medically. He had a concussion, short-term memory loss, and subdural hematoma from being knocked out a couple of years ago. I cannot imagine him being able to make the middleweight limit. maybe an eventual challenge to Bernard Hopkins?
(5) NEWS ITEM ? SOUTH AFRICAN FEATHERWEIGHT RECEIVES TWO-YEAR DRUG BAN
A South African featherweight named Matima Molefe has been banned from the sport for two years by South African authorities as a result of a positive test for anabolic steroids (specifically Nandrolone), following a fight for the vacant South African title in May.
It didn?t seem to do him any good, as he was knocked out in two rounds by Simphiwe Tom. I?m not sure whether his drug use was a pattern that had been going on for years, but he had fought only once in 17 months prior to that; he had come into the bout with five straight knockout wins, over less than challenging opposition.
