"THE GREATEST, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY..." By Elisa Harrison

The Greatest... The greatest had to be the unprecedented visit to AmericanAirlines Arena by the Greatest of All Times, the most recognized face in the world, Muhammad Ali. Ali paid a surprise visit to his trainer, the greatest trainer of all times, Angelo Dundee, who was being honored by Team Freedom and AmericanAirlines Arena in their 'A Holiday Homecoming' December 20th event.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz presented the octogenarian Hall of Famer a Lifetime Achievement Award. Angelo spoke of his old days in New York, when "the only time a man would get a tribute was when he was half-dead," and he asked, "do you know something I don't know?"... That was one of the best lines of the press conference leading up to this event.

It was great to see Muhammad, although I felt heavy of heart watching him in his present condition. The fans went crazy when Ali was escorted into the Arena; they chanted "Ali, Ali, Ali," and rushed ringside in an attempt to snap some shots of Muhammad, perhaps get an autograph, or simply to get a closer glance at a man who is bigger than life.

Angelo Dundee took center stage with his former pupil, much to the delight of the boxing fans in attendance. They hugged, they whispered in each other's ear, they smiled, they glowed. It was a very special moment, to be treasured by all who had the good fortune of witnessing it.

Dundee accepted several awards and many, many well deserved accolades. He was given the Key to the City of Miami, and was visited by other great luminaries of the sport, including Dr. Ferdie Pacheco.

THE GOOD... The good was the card itself... Lights, camera, action all night long, with combatants who came to fight, could and did; overall their collective performances could be scored a B+, or an A-, whichever sounds best. I will go to the blow by blow action in a minute, but first...

THE BAD... Power struggle between the promoter, the host, and some other parties involved in the event. The end result, chaos! Not for the fans, but for those of us who covered the event, and wished to do our best in reporting the night's proceedings. If my coverage is not as thorough as usual, please understand that it was very hard to juggle a writing pad and a tape recorder on one knee for umpteenth rounds. It was even harder to actually see the fights, since we sat behind a wall of people, which included photographers, the announcer, (he enjoyed watching himself on the big screen TV in the Arena), and other unauthorized parties who even video taped fights, a practice which to the best of my knowledge has always been prohibited.

THE UGLY... I'm not one to mince my words, so I won't start now. It was real ugly to see the President of a boxing organization acting like an underpaid and disgruntled usher, clearing ringside seats at will, by mere virtue of his position. The man, who as a rule lingers about undetected and seemingly unconcerned, (I've often wondered if he has a pulse at all), was on a rampage! If the odor that emanated from his breath was an indication as to why the altered behavior, he should lay off the stuff, it does not behoove him.

With that said, let's get back to the Holiday Homecoming card, headlined by a bout between Cuban favorite and former WBA champion Joel Casamayor and former sparring partner Yoni Vargas.

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! Well actually, they are already here. No, not the Klitschko brothers, but the Ibragimovs, Timor and Sultan. Angelo Dundee had mentioned during the press conference held on Wednesday, December 18th, that the situation with Russian fighters coming to the U.S. reminded him of the Cuban fighters' migration, and he made a good point. The Ibragimovs are no exception to the rule, as they stepped up to the square circle for the second time in as many weeks.

Timor opened the show in what could've been considered a difficult match up. The younger Ibragimov, with only 3 pro fights to his name, was thrown to the lions against Ivory Coast's gritty veteran, Onebo Maxime Ghanou, (14-13, 4 KOs). It was sink or swim for the younger fighter, and he made it ashore with flying colors, earning himself a shut out 40-36 all.

Undefeated hot prospect Roberto "The Ghost" Guerrero followed the order in another four rounder against José "El Cacique" Rodriguez. Guerrero was all that he was hyped about, making 'ghost' of Rodriguez 2:38 into the second assault. Gilroy, California's Roberto Guerrero is definitely one to watch; with this victory his string of W's and KO's rises to 9-0, 2 KOs, while his opponent drops to 12-12-2, 7 KOs.

The ladies took center stage in an IBA bantamweight title defense by champion Ada "Ace" Velez, (11-1-1, 6 KOs) against LaKeysha Williams, a true and true Philly fighter with a record of 6-2-1, 1 KO.

Barn burner doesn't even begin to describe this match. Dispelling so many myths about women boxers, these two toed to toed from the opening bell, displaying good boxing skills, great heart and tremendous conditioning. In the end, the scores -however accurate- don't give Williams the credit she deserves; while she did lose to Ada Velez, she put on one heck of a fight.

Velez has undergone changes in her team; new handlers Isaiah Clark and Sonny Collins have brought her to the next level. She showed better focus and discipline in the ring, as well as a refreshed arsenal, accentuated by one of the best and most accurate uppercuts in the game. Ada works the body better than most women boxers, and she thrives in the competition, returning to her corner with a smile after each grueling round.

This young woman is exciting to watch, and a true competitor. She took this one by way of a unanimous decision, 100-90 all.

Local favorite and Dundee trainee David Estrada followed, in what turned out to be the male version of Velez vs Williams, although the scoring here was not unanimous but split.

This 8 rounder was a brutal fight, full of toe to toe action and blood, coupled with an incredible display of wills by the two men in the ring. Estrada's nose bled from the 3rd round on, and in the sixth assault Salas was cut over the left brow. The scores were Estrada 78-73, 77-74, Salas 76-75. Joel 'Platanito' Salas lost a point in round four for hitting low.

The stage was now set for the homecoming of one of the most adored Cuban fighters in exile today. He is a gold medallist from the 1996 Barcelona Olympic games; he was Fidel Castro's favorite fighter -until he defected of course... I'm talking about none other than Joel "Cepillo" Casamayor, former WBA super featherweight champion of the world.

As it has been reported a thousand times already, Vargas is a former sparring partner of the Cuban idol. Were we to expect that Casamayor would finish him in less than two rounds? Or was the plan perhaps to let Joel get a workout, and gain back his timing and confidence? I think the plan was to let him get some work, and that he did, plenty of it.

Joel looked very, very sharp physically. Joe Goossen had him in outstanding shape, and condition. He is back mentally, as well, looking very focused in all the events preceding fight night, and demonstrating the eye of the tiger in the ring.

Vargas was dominated through and through, with Casamayor scoring lefts at will, snapping Vargas' head so often and so hard, I wouldn't be surprised if he's suffering from whiplash. Joel escalated the attack and the pressure, cutting Vargas under the right eye early on. Casamayor closed the show in a big way, starching Vargas 2:28 into the fifth round.

Chants of "Cuba," "Cuba," "Cuba" and "Cepillo," "Cepillo" were followed by "Mayweather next!" and we doubt if Floyd Jr. was listening. Someone was listening, though, and that was Nate Campbell, who attended the fight and gave us an impromptu interview. Campbell is rumored to be the next step for the Cuban fighter.

When the ring was finally cleared, and order was restored, the other Ibragimov took his turn against an out of shape Lincoln Luke, who tipped the scales at 267 lbs., with a record of 5-3-0, 4 KOs. Sultan had his way with Luke, and the fight was stopped when Luke didn't come out in the third round. Sultan improves to 5-0, 5 KOs.

Last but not least, young Edner Cherry from Palm Harbor, Florida met Carmelo Ramos, a local favorite from Hialeah with a 6-1, 3 KOs record. These lightweights went at it with a vengeance, but in the end Cherry proved too strong for Ramos, who perished after going down twice in the second assault.

Cherry, now under a new trainer, showed much improvement since we last saw him at the Miccosukee Gaming Resort. He is very strong, with TNT in both fists, and we look forward to seeing him again in 2003.

In closing, we wish to thank Liz Roca, Director of Marketing at the Arena, for her efforts on Friday night. We feel that she was totally disrespected and harassed by the president of the organization we spoke of earlier. We also acknowledge the apology issued by Mike Walker, Executive Vice President of the AmericanAirlines Arena. We thank them both, and may we recommend a sobriety test for our "illustrious" former major league pitcher prior to attending the next event.

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