Our RSR mailbag for this Halloween season is full of goodies to make your trick or treat bag night just right, and we aim to please. We’ve got an array of questions from the most ardent inquiring fight fans, to the nostalgic groups. We have a vote from a serious boxing fan that nominates Teddy Atlas for a position on a safety rules committee, to another one on Bernard Hopkins draw over Segundo Mercado 1 opposing the verdict. Please have a safe and Happy Halloween everybody and drive safely.
HELLO GEORGE
I LIKE TO RECOMEND TEDDY ATLAS TO BE IN CHARGE OF INFORCING THE SAFETY RULES OF BOXING BECAUSE TO ME HE IS ALLWAYS AND ALMOST IN EVERY BOXING SHOW TALKS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE BOXERS. VERY TRULY YOURS
ALAN SLEIT A1BOXING
Hi Alan,
I’d like to say that if he would it’d be an improvement that boxing can’t pass up on. Teddy reaches across more sincerely with that motive of safety in mind, and someone fighter’s who themselves do respect. Thanks for putting that out there, because up until now only a handful of fighters had voiced some grievances due to on going pressures regarding an enforced measure to take effect. Maybe if enough of them get together and present it out there, it’ll create some action to be undertaken in that direction. Thanks for it.
Hopkins/Mercado 1
I have seen the fight numerous times, how can you dispute Hopkins at LEAST getting a draw, when all the analysts/ringside announcers had Hopkins actually WINNING the fight, DESPITE the two knockdowns, and DESPITE Hopkins knocking Mercado down TWICE and the ref missing BOTH KD’s.
I’d be curious to hear your response .
John Bell
John,
I’ve had similar reservations about some hitting the deck against an off balanced slip to a near glancing blow missed too. When for example Benitez fought Tommy Hearns, when Thomas threw the cautious jab on WB’s forehead and Benitez went onto touch the canvas with a glove, the ref was right on it. Benitez returned the favor however and decked Tommy cleanlier.
They fought on a points must system from what I gathered, and it’d matched finesse against finesse as to in their first bout, IMHO, my having had Segundo Mercado ahead by the thinnest of margins for that fight, and not drawing at all with Bernard Hopkins.
If it’s of any consolation, there’d been many other fights that weren’t going in favor quite in the way one would figure for them to be. There’d been Morales Vs Barrera II, and De La Hoya Vs Molina to scratch your head and get a good case of some serious dandruff over too.
Erik has been fighting for so many years. And for those long years, he hasn’t tasted the canvass yet…I am pretty sure that that Filipino icon, our hero will knock him out…not just once… just like what he did to the very proud Barrera.
Manny is so hungry and this is his chance to prove to everyone that he is the king of the ring…and if he beat Barrera after this fight, this will solidify his rank in the world P4P. Few years from now, he will be #1 in that list…watch out!!!
an2ny_jaen
Any2ny_jaen,
There is absolutely no shame in losing to either Barrera or Morales in fighting them. What I see in Manny is his great physical conditioning and rarely seen carried weight at both particular weights perfectly.
That is a talented testament to its own that most fighters cannot do.
If he took three fights today winning each of them without a tune up in between; and then retired, you’d know what I’d say.
One fighter to be considered after his awaited Morales bout to flourish tangling with; could be Juan Manuel Marquez; a fighter having fallen behind unmentioned. If Manny waits too long to fighting with him again, the ghosts of that first draw will not sit so right to ensue greatness personified; and may comeback to haunt him.
George I just read your article and wondered how many times you were knocked out when you were boxing?
DJ
DJ,
Does a writer have any say at all if he hadn’t been? I was expecting someone to ask me if at what age was I dropped on my head (LMAO). No, as an amateur workout in a gym under the watchful eye of heavyweight contender Leon Shaw I sparred with a 169-pound guy who outweighed me buy approximately twenty three pounds, and I did pretty good a couple rounds for myself until he drilled a hard left hook to the body. If that constitutes for me being out, then that really was the time. You could envision like in the same body punch that Bernard Hopkins landed on Oscar De La Hoya in the ninth, so much for that.
KO Article
Good points and folks need to read carefully.
Bob
Thanks Bob. What I wanted to bring in the article was the humanistic approach to the sport that we enjoy, and not a slight on the fights themselves to make them safer. We spend far much too much energy ignoring what problems has been plaguing boxing; as if it were to go away on its own; or worse even yet to help prevent injury before it reaches into the White House so we won’t be given the chance to rectify it. Remember baseball with its many warnings?
I just refuse to believe that we can’t regulate our own business problems.
So whenever any referee stops a match abruptly to reduce probable injury, we should take heed to the safety measure and quit blaming others. If the Vatican saw these things being implemented, they wouldn’t have condemned it as they recently did. We must bury any other grievances there might’ve been forging ahead and make it better for the sport. This means everyone and everybody to save boxing.
George,
I think Erik Morales will beat acquiao because of over confidence in Morales last fight with Raheem. Zahir Raheem deserves more of a shot at Manny than Morales does.
Victor
Victor,
Those are all good issues you brought. If you were to pick Erik’s low point it certainly has to be the Raheem fight. They did have the match set for Pacquiao to fight Morales; but Erik did say he’d want to fight Zahir Raheem again; and so would Manny too fight him if given the same kind of circumstances. I think this all livens up the division more, and if Juan Manuel Marquez joins in on the fun, the more the better.
George, where do you see the future of Lamon Brewster now? Does he next meets in line fighting the Klitschko brothers or not?
Derrick
Derrick,
I see potentially some good things out there for Brewster keeping busy, but I’m afraid it won’t be until next year to having bigger things happening.
Right now the Klitschko brothers both seem to be focusing their energies on Chris Byrd the IBF champ for either one of them to take a title or unify one. It isn’t about these brothers to be challenging and fighting each other, for neither will do it. This would all have to involve both WBA and WBO Heavyweights for a round robin eventually to see what better halves make the most portion whole so to speak. I feel Brewster’s chances will be looking very favorable in 2006.
Ironically facing on the flipside to that you could potentially be stuck with two champions never unifying a title in the two brothers not interested in fighting, and appears to be emotional extortion for holding up title unifications.
