Why do people that have bald friends rub their head for good luck? I don’t even know that it is for good luck, but whatever the reason that it is, it’s not really right. I was watching Rocky IV, when he faces Ivan Drago and Apollo’s original trainer is now working with Rocky. You might know this guy. He is the bald guy that always screams “No” in slow motion. Well, when Rocky begins to win against the Russian giant, Paulie is rubbing this dude’s head. Either he’s very happy, or there’s more to this then meets the eye. Remember, in all 5 movies, Paulie has NOT had a love interest. Anyway, that has always puzzled me. Why are bald heads always rubbed? I even have a hard time with pregnant women getting their bellies rubbed by random people… I can only imagine what a bald, pregnant woman must go through.
It’s as hot as the big old dickens here in New England. We are reaching over 100 degrees every day and the humidity is horrible. I had every intention on working on my house this weekend, but the heat is going to make it impossible. I didn’t really want to work on my house, but I don’t have any Oompa Loompas like Willy Wonka had to work on his chocolate factory. Even if I could own some Oompa Loompas, I wouldn’t. I can’t trust my cousin Neil. I won’t go into detail here, but my cousin Neil just isn’t right and nothing is off limits. So, when it comes to my home repair: Oompa Loompa need not apply.
As you know, the Geno Bambino Question of the Month Award for August has begun and I want you to get those questions in people. RSRTV is off the hook, if I do say so myself. I encourage each and every one of you to check it out :Jose Antonio Rivera interview. Read my mailbag first, but then go directly to the videos. Hey, I produced them and if you love my mailbag, you will love what I do on video (Note: I am not referring to anything that could be considered “adult entertainment”)!
Is a ghost hunter the coolest or the lamest job in the history of employment? I was watching these “ghost hunters” on the Sci-Fi network because one of the jerks that is on the show is from the same city that I was born in and now live 10 minutes away from. So, they plaster his face in the newspaper from time to time, which led me to his search for ghosts. Why don’t they seek something that actually exists like the Sasquatch? I’m not going to say that there are definitely not ghosts, but it seems unlikely. Have you ever noticed that when people see ghosts that they are missing their lower half much of the time and floating. Well, if the qualification for being a ghost is to sever off my junk, then count me out. Where does the bottom half go anyway? It has to go somewhere… That would scare me…if my grandfather’s lower half were haunting my house.
Okay, I’m rambling…rambling man if you will….let’s get to the mailbag.
TUA MAN
Hi Geno,
Thanks for the replies on my questions. Hope you could spare another for this one.
How far could have David “Tuaman” Tua achieved in terms of potential if he had given his gift of raw power, granite chin, skills and talent enough room to develop? would you consider him an elite fighter then?
Thank you very much and more power.
Ian
Ian,
When Tua first came on the scene, he was a relentless and powerful force that actually got stronger as the fight went on. He was dangerous and pretty quick. He always had trouble with boxers, but he usually caught up with them, but then he began to super size his meals at McDonalds. Those 99 cents double cheeseburgers and when you are making 250 grand per fight or more, you can afford many of them. That is why Tua began to look like Grimace. That wouldn’t be a bad idea for a movie: Super Size Me 2: David Tua’s Revenge. It needs work for sure, but you see the potential right? Tua is a time traveler and wants to stop that guy from making that movie about McDonalds equally fat. Whenever you include time travel into a movie, it is gold.
Tua screwed himself…when it comes to boxing. I can’t speak for anything else. He had the talent to be a world champion and he will have to fall into the category with Ray Mercer of a heavyweight that could have easily won a championship had they had the right focus. Tua did have a granite chin, great power, and was pretty quick when he was around 220 pounds. As he grew, he began to lose. He was lucky to beat Fres Oquendo and was totally exposed by Rahman and Byrd. Perhaps that little bit more speed that he would have had would have made the difference in those fights. I would consider him an elite fighter by heavyweight standards…capable of winning a title, but most likely wont.
YIPPEE KAY YAY
Genothebeastmasterbambino
I feel as you did on the Diehard movies. Today when I came to the site, I was like it looks so different and nice. But when I saw our idol Manny on your banner, I was like you guy rules the world. Do you think Manny goes 12 with Erik in part 3?
Binky
Binky,
Thanks for the props my good friend. Manny Pacquiao deserves to be up there and it is due in large part to you and the rest of the Pacfans out there that support our site and keep writing it. I know that there are other sites that have mailbags, and pick and choose their emails and then there are sites that cure insomnia. I am very pleased that you have stuck with me and putting Manny in the banner was the least that we could do.
Now, this third encounter is very interesting and it will be very heated. EM will not be content with just going the distance, but perhaps Manny will. He might tackle this occasion as he did the Larios bout, but I don’t think so. His reputation is built upon the knockout and he wants to keep the attraction going. I think that we won’t see a distance fight. Manny by late KO in what could very well be a crazy fight.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRINCE?
Hello there Sir, Mr. Geno McGahee!
I hope that all is well in you. I never really saw that fight between Hamed and MAB but boxing analysts say that that was a show of perfect boxing for MAB and it went 12 rounds? And when the smoke cleared, it was MAB and Hamed was never the same again, so his retirement or long time away from boxing. I just want to know what really happened that night and how was each other’s caliber/status before that fight night? And, why isn’t MAB VS. PACMAN 2 billed yet? Thanks a lot, Sir!
Rotciv_2
Rotciv_2,
All is pretty well…would like to quit my job at the chemical plant. One night, I’m talking with the biggest names in boxing and then the next night, I am dealing with truck drivers that can’t even spell their own names and bosses that couldn’t have made it beyond the second grade. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I guess I have to pay my dues before I make a full time career out of boxing. I’m hoping that my movies will take off (www.xposse.com), and we will see.
Prince Hamed…first, I thought that he was incredibly entertaining for sure, but he was a lot of hype and MAB did burst the bubble, but it wasn’t nearly as one-sided as people will lead you to believe. Hamed was able to stun Barrera from time to time, but the consistency of the Mexican warrior was too much and the decision went that way. MAB did employ some dirty tactics though and I thought that it was too much, but I can’t take the victory away.
The reason why Pacman-MAB 2 isn’t signed yet is because MAB cares about his health, although he will be forced into it by his team because money rules and there are many that thought that MAB was just off that night. I disagree. He was beaten by the better man at this time in their careers.
90’S HEAVYWEIGHTS
Geno,
Lately I have been wanting to see a really good Heavyweight fight, so I looked at the schedule. Well, as appealing as McBride and the White Wolf is and Rahman fights generally lack real entertainment value, so to get me by I pulled out the old fight collection. (And I just noticed Valuev is going out on a limb and fighting Monte Barret…I guess a UD loss to Rahman one year ago deserves another title shot) Anyways…I started with the Bowe-Holyfield trilogy. Moorer-Foreman, Bowe-Golota 1 and 2, and then I even tossed in a couple of Tommy Morrison fights. This got me to wondering where the 90’s would rank in the decades of heavyweight boxing. We are 6 years out of the decade which makes it a little easier to look objectivly at it. I am sure 9-10 boxing geeks like us will tell you either the 60’s or the 70’s was the golden age of heavyweight boxing. Which is easy to do when you can name Ali, Frazier, and Foreman as the top 3 fighters.
So my question is as follows: Where do you see the 90’s stacking up as far as quality of fighters top to bottom and quality of fights. How is this for a list of fighters? Best of the best: Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis…next level: Tyson, Moorer, Foreman…best of the rest: Golota, Morrison, Ruddock, and Holmes. Plus an up and coming Tua and Ibeabuchi. Not being old enough I can’t really speak that far into the top 10-12 fighters of any earlier era’s. Do they really stack up in depth to those fighters? Also when top 10 Heavyweights of all time are argued you really never hear Riddick Bowe. I realize he turned into a fat tub of jelly and only beat Golota on DQ’s, but up until and including Holyfield 1, am I crazy or could he not hang with just about anyone. He made and unbeaten Holyfield look just OK in the first fight. Longevity-wise not top 10…but at his absolute prime, what do you think?
Also one fight that is coming up that I have not heard many people even mention is Forrest-Quartey. I am kind of pumped about this fight. Who do you have? And can the winner contend again?
Jon
Jon,
I love the question my friend. Okay, the heavyweights of the 1990’s. They were pretty darn good. There is no question that the 1970’s had a great selection of fighters, and these fighters fought on a regular basis and were very motivated. Well, maybe we can count out Buster Mathis, SR. He was not in the best of shape, but what a fighter!
Okay, the 1990’s. My list would be:
TOPS (in no order) Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis
JUST BELOW Ray Mercer, George Foreman, Tommy Morrison, Razor Ruddock, Bruce Seldon, Oliver McCall, Michael Moorer, Frank Bruno
OTHERS OF NOTE Andrew Golota, Francesco Damiani, Herbie Hide, Larry Holmes, Alexander Zolkin
FUN HEAVYWEIGHTS TO WATCH Alex Garcia, Bert Cooper, Lionel Butler, Alex Stewert, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Bonecrusher Smith, Jimmy Thunder, Shannon Briggs, Frans Botha, Phil Jackson, Jeremy Williams
CAGIEST GUYS THAT COULD BEAT ANYONE ON A GIVEN NIGHT Tim Witherspoon, Tony “TNT” Tubbs, Mike Hunter, Greg Page
THE LOVABLE UNDERDOGS Everett “Bigfoot” Martin, Mike Dixon, Art Tucker, Melton Bowen, Marshall Tillman
I like Tua and Ibeabuchi, but they really didn’t come along when these guys were around. Golota barely did. Okay, Riddick Bowe…lost to Tony “TNT” Tubbs in my opinion, but was very good when he was right. He KO’d the tough Bert Cooper in 2 rounds. Bowe, at his best, was a good big man with skills on the inside and great from the outside. His fear of Lennox Lewis and his bad training habits made him a very short lived force…and his disgusting behavior with Larry Donald and Buster Mathis, JR., added to his negative persona, not to mention the kidnapping of his family and allegations that he stabbed his wife. At his best, he was great, but he was only at his best for about….let’s say…5 minutes or so.
I am picking Forrest by UD, but what a great card. Powell-Ouma is great too! I think that HBO forgot to make it a PPV. Hey, you have to cut them slack. When you have a PPV every 2 weeks, it’s hard to keep track. Besides, this fight is too good to be an HBO PPV.
POUND FOR POUND
Best day Geno!
I will pray that you will not just get rich but a very, very rich for you to have an affordable amusement park and share it to me here in the Philippines because its my dream too. Sorry for the intro. I was just touch by your amusement park kind of idea. Back to #4#… My question is, is there any rules formulated by a legitimate body/council for any boxing writer would base in determining the rank of a boxer in pound for pound category? What do you think about Brad Cooney as a person and a writer? Are you friends? I hope to read your answer soon in pacland. Thanks & more power… Wish you excellent mental & physical health.
HOMER O. PUQUIZ
Homer,
Hey thanks man. I would love to open an amusement park that is affordable and for the entire family. To answer your question…the pound 4 pound list is opinion across the board, no matter who does it. Sure, most of the time, they are similar, but in all actuality, there is no group that determines who the best in the world is. It’s just boxing fans/writers giving their two cents.
I know of Brad Cooney and I respect his efforts. I don’t know him personally, and I don’t want to critique him in my bag here because it’s probably not fair. I think that every writer can look at another and pick faults and say: “I would never do that,” but it’s different strokes for different folks and he’s got a fan base, so he must be doing something right. So, as a person, I don’t know, and as a writer…he loves the game and writes about it…and I respect that.
Thanks for the well wishes. I think that many people would say that you are a little late on the mental health there, but I appreciate the physical health part. It surely means a lot my friend.
EL GALLO’S NEXT OPPONENT?
Hey Geno,
It’s me again. I hope you don’t get annoyed. =) I saw Jose Rivera’s open letter to Margarito and Arum here at RSR. Wow! He’s really courageous. I really love champions like him who duck nobody. That would surely bring more ladies to his mailbag! now, tell me his chances against margarito. I hope that fight would happen and I would like Jose to win.
Viva Jose Antonio Rivera! Mabuhay Geno! Thanks!
El Torero
El Torero,
I never get annoyed with consistent emails man. I welcome them all. If I got annoyed, my response right now would be: Leave me alone you annoying mother @#$#@$@#! But since I’m not annoyed…how are you doing my friend? Jose is looking for a fight and there aren’t that many boxers that are raising their hands to volunteer. Both he and Margarito are old school fighters and it makes all the sense in the world for them to meet in the ring.
Why is it that Jose always gets all the credit for bringing ladies to the site? I get my fair share….1 or 2 counts as a fair share in my book… Now, his chances are very good to defeat Margarito in my opinion. He is strong enough, has the chin, and most importantly, brings the conditioning. This is a great fight and I would be front row to see it, if I could.
Take care my friend…
GRAPE STOMPING
Geno RSR Bambino Grapes Kicker Da Man.
If you could kick any fighter in the grapes, who would you kick and why them?
Kingpin
Kingpin,
Now we have to go under the assumption that there will be sufficient security to protect me after I stroll over to one of these fighters and kick them right in the grapes. Now, this is my list:
William Joppy for his horrible showing against Jermain Taylor. Jose Luis Castillo for coming in to heavy for the third bout with Corrales Andrew Golota because he turned Bowe’s grapes into wine and he needs to pay for it. Bernard Hopkins for revealing the end of Rocky 6 Bernard Hopkins for not singing the praises of Rocky 5 Larry Holmes for charging for use of his website that stinks Samuel Peter for liking RJJ’s Rap CDs RJJ for making Rap CD’s RJJ for making up the word: “Un-knock-out-able.” Roger Mayweather for his idiotic jump into the ring during the PBF-Judah bout Cory Spinks for that horrible dance routine Marvin Hagler for his equally horrendous dance routine at the end of the Leonard fight Larry Holmes for going on a reality show and singing Steven Joseph Adams for kicking his brother in the grapes during a no-holds barred wrestling match when we were fifteen. (Okay, not boxing, but it is hilarious. I have it on tape. Talk about bad sportsmanship.)
How’s that for a list?
NEW RSR BANNER
Geno,
Thank you for honoring the ring exploits of Pac-Man by placing his pix on your new banner! Will it benefit Erik during his bout with Pac Man with the recent approved rule allowing boxers to drink “reconstituted” water like Gatorade during a bout? Thanks and more power to you Sir Geno!
Aldoviz
Aldoviz,
No problem dude. Thanks for your support. Hmm…will Gatorade make a difference? One time, my buddy Steve, that I just mentioned above was dressed in purple and riding a mountain bike…well, I asked him: “Hey Barney, do you need baby bop to get up this hill?” He’s chubby, so the Barney thing was a fat joke. Anyway, he was beat, barely made it up the hill, but when we stopped for drinks, he got a Gatorade and you know what…I don’t think that it really helped. It tastes better than water, but I can’t say that it is going to be a factor in the rubber match coming up.
More power to you too my good friend.
JOHNNY DETROIT RETURNS
Good article my man. I am with you…what a joke it has become that these mediocure fights are on PPV! HOw about if I told ya we were walking to the Mosley fight last weekend and we made it to the entrance and everyone was walking out! We missed the fight.. lol.. We had more fun talking about the old black and white days and Sadd Muhammad than even making it to the fight that was the real strange part. Keep pounding these Cable Giants and promoters. HBO Suits could really care less, but maybe these promoters will listen one day.
Johnny
Johnny,
First and foremost, it is great to hear from you my friend. PPV has become a joke thanks in large part to HBO and their insistence on putting these so-so bouts with horrible under cards onto the public with a 50 dollar price tag to boot. Rahman-Maskaev with a soft under card is 50 bucks? Mosley-Vargas too? What garbage. At least Showtime it giving away the bouts for free and is putting on good shows. Hopefully HBO will change their ways, but probably not. Boxing was much better back in the day, but we will never get back there if these jerk offs don’t start thinking about the sport and respecting it instead of trying to line their pockets. Every time that they put one of these crappy PPVs on, they are slapping their subscribers right across the face and taking a dump/poop on the sport. I couldn’t decide which word was more politically correct, so I used both.
Anyway, my good friend, take care and keep punching!
Okay people, that’s a wrap! Check out the message board, check out RSRTV :Jose Antonio Rivera interview, and check out the X Posse and buy an Evil Awakening DVD…will yah? All you have to do is go to Xposse and lay down your 10 bucks and you will get a wonderful DVD that you will watch over and over again. I will also be digging into the Geno Bambino Vault of Prizes this month, so get those questions in and you might just walk away a happy person! Anyway, take care one and all and I will be talking to you soon…
