Michael Marley?s Top Ten Moronic Fallacies Spread About Joan Guzman
Guzman runs like a chicken on speed. That?s not running, imbeclic ones, that is called smooth footwork, dexterity and when taken as a whole, it is ring generalship. Ring generalship is one of the four tenets of scoring a round. Did Sugar Ray Leonard run like a chicken on amphetamines? If you answer yes, then get the hell away from boxing because you have no appreciation for what makes the Sweet Science just too sweet to be sour. Perhaps you can make up your own sport and call it, I don?t know, Bar Fighting. Guzman is slapping with his punches. No one ever called him ?Pequeno Sonny Liston,? you mentally-challenged people out there. Guzman sat down on nearly all his punches against Humbled Soto but the Mexican brought a granite-like chin into the ring with him and all props for that. Guzman is not commercially viable because he is Dominican. If Puerto Ricans like the sizzling Miguel Cotto and, before him Tito Trinidad, are commercial successes in boxeo, then why not Joan? A fellow named Roberto Duran hacked his way out of Panama and I think he was a boxing business success, Guzman gets love from Dominicans inside and outside of his country. From Miami to Boston, there are sizable and growing Dominican populations and it?s been noted that some time ago the number of Dominicans in the NY Metro Area surpassed the number of Puerto Ricans. His own people don?t get behind Guzman. Another fallacy or lie. Big Papi, David Ortiz of the world champion Boston Red Sox, invited Team Guzman to come to his Boston area home today but Guzman demurred because he wanted to rest and heal up from the Soto fight. Guzman is also very close with celebrity ballplayer Pedro Martinez, ex-Red Sox now with the Mets. In Santo Domingo, Guzman is beloved because he never forgets to mention that he comes from a hellhole of a barrio named Guachapita. This little guy gets big love in the D.R. and wherever his own people live. Guzman?s slick style is comparable to that of Floyd Mayweather. This one is true and is likely to become more so as Pretty Daddy Floyd Sr. continues to mold him in the gym. Is this supposed to be a knock on JG, being compared with the guy generally regarded as the best pure boxer on the planet? I may be blind like the Casamayor-Santa Cruz judges but I fail to see the insult here. Guzman?s opponents have been lacking. Ridiculous. He signed to fight Rocky Kastidis but a hand problem scratched that one. I don?t see too many guys rushing to fight Soto, do you? Here?s one thing Manny Pacquaio and Guzman now absolutely have in common: they both select opponents based mainly on how much they can earn by fighting them. They both like to holler for the dollar, you dig? Guzman should have more victories, more scalps on his victory pole. This one is true but it wasn?t his fault that the late Agapito Sanchez could not pass a genuine eye exam for so long or that mandatory challenger Scott Harrison went on a year-long booze plus jail binge and that Guzman-Harrison was postponed three times. It wasn?t Harrison promoter Frank Warren?s fault nor was it Guzman?s. Guzman does not travel well. More horsespit. Guzman stood ready to go to Scotland and then to Belfast to fight Harrison but Scottish Scotty?s personal demons ruined all that. Guzman, in fact, won his first title belt inside Cardiff Castle, Wales. It says here, if the money split was fair, Guzman would go to GenSan or Manila to pound on Pacman. Boxing experts just don?t blow Guzman?s horn of greatness. Don?t tell that to my former charge and ex-world heavyweight champeen Shannon Briggs. I first got involved with Guzman when, as Shannon told me excitedly: ?I?ve got a hungry monster in my gym who will beat everybody.? Briggs seems to be quite the talent scout to me based on what Guzman has done since then. Freddie Roach, Manny?s magnificent trainer, wants to steer clear of Guzman?s style because it would be a major challenge for Megamanny and, right now at least, would not generate the additional revenue to make the risk commensurate with the money. Folks, Number 10, is the absolute truth. Barbara Roach, mother and fight judge in the amateur and pro ranks, did not raise any fools. (Editor?s Note: I am an adviser to Guzman and his able manager, Jose Nunez. I was the guy who brought Guzman and array of skills to Scott Woodworth and the Sycuan Ringside Promotion crew just after they inked their first fighter, Julio Diaz. I don?t claim neutral status here but, merely as a fight fan, I?d love to see Pacman-Guzman. I say this in closing, if you liked Kessler-Calzaghe and Cotto-Mosley, you?d love Guzman-Pacquaio. That is unless you think our sport is called Slugfest, Brawling 101 or Bar Fighting.)
