FLASH KNOCKOUT By Jeff Mayweather

I hope the "Flushing Flash" walks away from the boxing game with his dignity intact. Kevin Kelley is a very colorful guy and has tremendous belief in his abilities as a fighter. Sometimes that old saying "The mind can receive it, the mind can achieve it," well, sometimes that's all it is, nothing more than a mere saying to be used as a motivational tool to psyche one's self up for the task at hand.

It certainly was the case for Kevin Kelley as he shouted out to anyone who would dare listen that he would beat Marco Antonio Barrera. He may have even believed it himself. One person for sure didn't believe it and that is the one person who would confront him in the ring where talking the talk and walking the walk are two totally different things. When you get older as a fighter sometimes you have to lie to yourself just to keep going, just to be able to get up in the morning and still make those same sacrifices that you made when you were still in your youth and time was on your side.

You tell yourself you're wiser and you're smarter now than you were way back then and even try your best to con yourself that you still have those assets that once catapulted you into prominence in the first place. You're only young once and you only have one prime in your life as an athlete; some athletes prime just spans over a longer period of time. Every once in a while you have that one special moment in time when an athlete past his prime pulls off the unthinkable. He hasn't recaptured his or her prime. That was just his or her own personal destiny. Those are the athletes who continue to inspire us to go forth with our dreams and continue to defy the odds as well as try to outrun "Father Time." Very few bask in that glory, especially in boxing.

For Kevin Kelley it wasn't very long before the harsh reality that I am in here with one of the best fighters on the planet came knocking on the door. It would be quick and devastating. No fighter ever imagines that one day, just like when they became Champion and dethroned the previous Champion in devastating fashion. One day that guy coming out of the other corner will be them, but only with a different name, unfortunately this time around they will be on the receiving end of the destruction.

Life is a vicious cycle, history continues to repeat itself whether we want it to or not. "Everything Must Change" said singer Donnie Hathaway. The four round destruction of Kelley by Marco Antonio Barrera only exemplifies that Kevin's time has come.

I wish "The Flushing Flash" the very best in whatever he decides to do. I just hope it's not boxing, at least not inside of the ring.

4-13-2003

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