NO HEAVYWEIGHT OTHER THAN PACQUIAO
San Francisco, CA- When boxing was going through the rough times of the early 1960s, a time when the Mafia�s control of boxing was out in the open, this due to the Kefauver Hearings in the US Senate, a heavyweight champion came along named Sonny Liston. He was a black brute, reputedly a collector for the St. Louis Mob family in the early 50s, a man that instilled fear in the hearts and minds of white people all across America.
ALI WAS WORSE THAN LISTON
His conqueror, Muhammad Ali, he burst on the scene like a breath of fresh air. Lively, young, this former Olympic champion, Ali, then Cassius Clay, he, although black like Liston, wasn�t looked as in the evil manner Sonny was until he used the �M� word!
WHILE CLAY WAS COOL, ALI WAS NOT!
�I�m a Muslim,� those three words sent chills down the spines of the boxing establishment, as well as many whites across the country. The racist sects now have something worse than a Nigger, the detractors thought, for Ali was a Nigger and a Muslim! As for all the popularity he enjoyed, Ali had a significant portion of people who tuned into see him lose. The Right disliked him because he wasn�t a Christian.
WE NEED A HEAVYWEIGHT OTHER THAN MANNY
Today, the most controversial thing in heavyweight boxing is Wladmir Klitschko�s glass jaw and Chris Arreola�s waist line. Does boxing need hate to prosper? Is there an inherent need to vilify an athlete to the point that you watch him hoping for defeat? Or do we just need ten heavyweights in boxing other than Manny Pacquiao?
b>Pedro Fernandez
Note: Mr. Fernandez is an award-winning writer, TV commentator, radio talk show host, former San Francisco Policeman and four-time Golden Gloves champion. Comments regarding this submission can be left below.
