"IT'S BOXING... 1 + 1= 3" By Aladdin Freeman

-To My Friends Sam and Sara-

What's going on with boxing these days? I mean is it just me or has most of this year -with the exception of a handful of fights- been nothing but a big letdown? 2002 started out with a bang, with Vernon Forrest beating Shane Mosley from pillar to post, and then there was Bernard Hopkins breaking the late Carlos Monzon's record for middleweight title defenses. Other than that and the epic battle between Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti which will no doubt stand the test of time, this year's been kind of dull. I think for me it started with some of the bad decisions back in early January when Jessie James Leija got a decision over Micky Ward when clearly a cut over Leija's right eye was from a punch and not a head butt. Then a week later Acelino Freitas got a gift decision victory over Joel Casamayor when clearly in this writer's view Casamayor won the fight. Those two bad decisions right out the box should have warned me about what was to come and if those two didn't do the trick, seeing Gatti out box instead of out slug Terron Millet should have. You've had some real lopsided big fights -like Kostya Tszyu vs. Ben Tackie and Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson- that didn't help the hype any as well. I know every year for boxing can't be like 2000; that was a real special year for many reasons, many fighters and many fights, but in 2002 some of the most entertaining things that have happened in Boxing have happened outside the ring. For instance, the Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis press conference where Mike rushed Lennox and a melee ensued; then there was the Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Eric Morales press conference where Barrera popped Morales and Morales came back to fire two shots of his own. Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins talking trash to each other during a teleconference before Roy was set to go out and fight his barber...oh wait, that was somebody else. I know some of these things happened to promote the fights or future fights but it's kind of sad when you can remember the press conferences more than the fights. I don't want to point the finger at anyone because when you do, usually there are three fingers coming back at you but to hell with it, I'll start with a city first. Las Vegas, Nevada for as much as I like the City of Sin, especially the women at Olympic Gardens, the city is killing boxing right now. Think how many bad or real close decisions have happened in the very recent past: Quartey vs. De La Hoya, Trinidad vs. De La Hoya, Barrera vs. Morales I & II, Ayala vs. Tapia I & II, Casamayor vs. Freitas, Mayweather Jr. vs. Castillo and I'm sure there are a hand full of other fights that I'm missing. Then there are those fights where the ref plays too big of a part like Corrales vs. Gainer, Trinidad vs. Vargas, Judah vs. Tszyu (all Jay Nady fights); Freitas vs. Casamayor, and Mosley vs. Taylor. People don't put good money down to see the wrong guy get awarded the fight or to see a ref control the fight itself. They also turned down a boxing license to Mike Tyson and tried to get other states to rally behind their decision. Memphis didn't and really benefited from having the fight there. Before I get lost in a tangent the last thing I can say about Vegas and boxing in general is bring back the 15 round fights or get three judges that know what is going on. Other things that have been bothering me are the best guys not fighting each other or ducking each other. Tip your hats to guys like Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Fernando Vargas, Felix Trinidad, and Lennox Lewis to name a few. These are men that want to cement their legacies as great fighters by taking on the top opposition in their weight divisions. However, what has made this year a little dull was De La Hoya pulling out of his fight with Vargas that should have taken place in May. This isn't the first time that De La Hoya has done this crap, and this will be a big reason why I hope Vargas bounces him around for twelve rounds. Speaking of people who are puzzling me...What's up with Bernard Hopkins? Bouie and James Fisher gave up fourteen years of their life for this man only to be tossed aside when Hopkins ran into some longer money. I don't want to put it all on Bernard, but how can you not? Lou DiBella, who is as honest a person as you'll cross in boxing was supposed to be ripping Bernard Hopkins off? I have to put up a red flag on that. The saddest thing for me is that Bernard Hopkins -if you looked in his eyes really close- seems to be telling the truth all the time. The first time I ever did a interview with Hopkins was after the Trinidad-Vargas fight and I came away from the interview saying to myself "damn, he's got the most truth telling eyes I've ever seen in this sport." Now since Bernard isn't dealing with anyone I can't really call it. I do know that the Fishers are damn good folks who can be trusted. James Fisher is as professional a person as any I know. I also know he is the kind of person you'd want to represent you because the man thinks on his feet and for the right reasons. When you sit down and look at all these problems I'm grateful that now people are discussing these problems, that the government is trying to form a National Boxing Commission that will help unify all the rules and state regulations, that hopefully one day soon there will be a union and a program that helps retired fighters earn money and do something once they're done with boxing. To sum it all up though the next time you see something and it doesn't add up remember... it's boxing and 1 and 1 will add up to 3. Questions? Comments? Write Aladdin Freeman   Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004