GEO EL'S NOSTALGIA CORNER A Special Corner By George Elsasser

 

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end
may also be only the beginning."
-- Ivy Baker Priest

Bragging Rights is particularly proud to add a "Nostalgia Corner" to its roster. We hope that our readers, young and old, will enjoy the special style of its very talented writer, Geo El. The articles are listed in alphabetical order. Enjoy and thank you! "AN OLD FITE FAN LAMENT" "The game is much too difficult for such nonsense ... scars much too visible for one fighter to ridicule an adversary ..." "BEAM ME UP" "...The white collar clerk convinced of superiority over the supervisor ... laborer over the carpenter ... combat sergeant more qualified than the "loonie" platoon leader ... and sports you ask?...And who more knowing than the fight fan?..." "BEFORE AND AFTER" "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..." "CARMINE ORLANDO TILELLI" (Vintage 7/16/30) "The name on the birth certificate reads Carmine Orlando Tilelli ... born July 16, 1930 ... Began his career under the name of Joey Giardello on October of 1948 with a KO 1 of Johnny Noel ... always a tough cookie ... could take a punch with the best of them ... and so it was..." "THE CLUB FIGHTERS" "Was the war years of the 1940s ... and the new miracle invention of the magic-lantern still hadn't as yet found its way into our Brooklyn cold-water flats ... and the small fite clubs still remained alive and well..." "FLASHBACK 1996" "I mean, we're talking pugilistic pablum at its worst ... granted, both these guys were super talents in their day ... and have probably forgotten more about the business of boxing than today's heavyweight pretenders will ever learn ... but then was then and today is today..." "GALLO'S HAPPY SOCIETY" "...Sitting at ring apron and flanked by Rose and Graham ... and with knees knocking ... he remembers Rose saying "Just do it kid." Do what, he thought ... and then Graham leaned his way and whispered to him. "It's simple... Just watch and take notes. When it's over write a letter to a friend and tell him exactly what you saw." "HOLYFIELD 2001" "While 'Vander' has truly made an indelible mark on heavyweight boxing history, that proverbial tunnel light is certain to turn totally dark on him, if he continues in what now appears a futile quest of once again re-unifying the heavy baubles." "IF IT'S BROKE, FIXT IT" "Was the first week of November ... year 1999 ... and boxing in the news on two fronts ... only way it can be these days ... the ol' "F" word ... as in "FIX." "IT'S A GIRL" "...We laced up the oversized mittens, adjusted the protective headgear, and applied the vaseline ... and a final reminder to the kid, "Remember ... discipline ... jab... jab ... discipline." Activity in the gym ceased as all eyes were on the big guys readying to do battle ... and then the opening bell..." "JULY 2000" "...Then it's 1987 ... Big George is back ... and some 31 fights later on Nov.' 94, at age 46, he starches WBA-IBF champ Michael Moorer in round 10 ... but back to the past weekend over ESPN2 ... and a battle of the might-have-been versus the once was..." "MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS" "Pep finally called it quits on March 16, 66 at age 44 following a 6-round decision loss to a faceless Calvin Woodland ... leaving for posterity a sparkling record of 230 wins, 11 losses, 1 draw ... and a spot on the wall at the Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y..." "NEUTRAL CORNER" "And along with the heavyweight promise we were blitzed with shouts of "best pound-per-pound" intro's at each bout we tuned in ... and the majority of today fans took the bait. Neat move ... aroused the senses ... letters, e-mails and verbal sparring heated up on internet boards ... and the purveyors of pugilism grinned from ear to ear ... and saw it as another score over the Barnum disciples..." "NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ - Y2K VERSION" "The lyrics to an old melody began "There's no biz like show biz" ... maybe so ... but if Boxing Y2K doesn't earn parity it surely rates honorable mention..." "OCTOBER 20, 2000" "And then it's a big Tyson right hand ... and for all practical purposes this one is history ... altho? it enters the archives as a second round TKO when Golota opts to vacate the killing field prior to the sound of the bell for round three..." "PUGILISTICALLY CORRECT (1999)" "Just call me pugilistically correct ... I mean ... some of these dames doin' battle on the pro circuit today are pretty good at the business of boxing ..." "REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT" Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson ... an odd one to be sure ... couldn't be interviewed ... mostly verbalized with himself ... and made no sense at all ... but my oh my how he could scrap. Was tall at 6' 3" ... scaled 195 ... never used the height and reach against smaller foes ... always brought it to the other guy in non-stop fashion..." "THIRD MAN THEME" "Back then the referee responsibilities were fairly basic ... break clinches and watch for flagrant fouls ... and also share in scoring assignment with two judges at ringside ... left little time to see himself as part of the "entertainment." Then the changes ... come the glorious '70s or thereabout ... and the fite hierarchy making some adjustments ... for the better of course ... yeah, right..." "TYSON FLASHBACK Y2K" "...And now you were a former champ ... and the media turned on you ... called you a bully and said you were evil ... shouted you were disloyal for dumping Cayton and Rooney for the Don King entourage. You're Mike Tyson and you began the comeback ... and finished 1990 with one round knockouts of Henry Tillman and Alex Stewart ...and then 1991 ... a KO and decision win over Donovan Ruddock ... and then a 3-year stretch at the Indiana Youth Center for the Desiree Washington thing..." "The Cruiserweights" "...And Joe Louis ... the "Brown Bomber" ruled the heavy scene for a dozen years ... arguably the best heavyweight ever ... much of the time he fought at under 200 pounds ... spotted Tony Galento 33 pounds in their title tilt on June 28, ?39 ... and took out "Two-Ton" in four candles." "YOU'RE A FITE FAN" "...You're a fight fan ... and recall the great battles of yesterday ... Zale-Graziano ... Pep-Saddler ... Basilio-DeMarco ...LaMotta-Robinson ... Moore-Durelle. And Marciano-Walcott ... Rocky and Charles ... Frazier-Ali ...Leonard-Hearns ... you're a fight fan and you remember ... but today it's a whole different ball game with multiple title holders at each weight class ... WBA, WBC, IBF ... and WBO anyone?"   Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004