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BEFORE AND AFTER By George Elsasser |
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BEFORE AND AFTER By George Elsasser |
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In the event you hadn't noticed ... the professional fite game is a survivor ... there was no
problem during the great Joe Louis era ... even with his so called "bum of the month" tour the
Brown Bomber repeatedly played to SRO.
Wasn't that way with the Ezzard Charles-Joe Walcott road show that followed ... altho' both valid professionals they never caught on with the paying clientele ... met enough at center stage to have become officially engaged while playing musical chairs with the title. And then help ... Rocky Marciano ... wasn't old-time religion that he brought to the dance ... was old-time heavyweight punching power ... and the fite pulse quickened. Next to the plate Floyd Patterson ... and the market value plummeted ... not because "Fallin' Floyd" was dull ... he wasn't ... problem was his mentor Cus D'Amato ... would reject any opponent that wasn't packaged via Campbell's tomato can. Floyd's victims carried the names Pete Rademacher, Roy "Cut-and-Shoot" Harris, Brian London ... enuf said ... still, he had pride ... and was literate ... bad combination for a protected species ... and he goes and dumps Cus to manage himself ... enter Charles "Sonny" Liston. They meet twice ... both quickies ... ending in opening candles with Liston standing and Floyd assuming the fetal position ... and interest once again returns to the heavyweight division. Others followed ... with Ali, Frazier, Holmes keeping the game afloat ... and then it's 1979 and another drought ... with the era of split-titles in full bloom ... and a fite version of time-sharing ... Tate, Weaver, Dokes, Coatzee, Thomas and Page all claiming bits of the once cherished bauble. And then 1986 ... and Tyson time ... and unlike the Titanic the good ship pugilistica is no longer taking on water ... the 20 year old phenom quickly stays the course winning the WBC crown before unifying the title the following year. The victims went quietly ... offering little resistance ... Berbick, Thomas, Bonecrusher Smith, Holmes, Spinks, Tucker to name a few ... and with it came a handle ... "Baddest Man on the Planet." But he too would stumble ... a shocking 1990 KO loss to journeyman Buster Douglas ... and the beginning of another era of split titles. Bowe, Moorer, McCall, Seldon, Bruno ... and a second coming of a reborn George Foreman ... and ... well, I think this is where we came in ... as I was saying ... the professional fight game is a survivor. Keep the faith guys and gals ... and the hands up and head down. Semper fi, Geo El
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