THE MOUTHPIECE... (Episode 4) By Stephen Jones

 

WILD AS A ROLLING STONE...

The sometimes hot tempered, tell it like it is manager of WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, Norman "Stoney" Stone is no stranger to controversy, and his very up front in your face manner has won him quite a few enemies in the recent past. I witnessed first hand a few years ago the venom that Mr. Stone's tongue can unleash when he almost went  toe to toe with silver haired HBO front man Larry Merchant about something and nothing that was said in an interview with Ruiz previous to his defence with Kirk Johnson.
A year ago we saw publicly how "Stoney" was made to eat his attitude when he engaged in a little Marquees of Queensberry with Alt Merkenson at the weigh in to Jones v Ruiz at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This time Storming Norman may have chosen the wrong man to get up close and personal with in tenacious IBF Cruiserweight world champion Kelvin Davis.
At the presser announcing Tito Trinidad's comeback fight against Ricardo Mayorga, Stone opened up by doing his usual tough guy mouth off. He issued threat number one upon his first trip to the podium, "Where is Steve Springer?," he asked, a LA Times writer who Stone has had some issues with. "I need to discuss some things with Springer in the men's room."  A threat?
A few minutes later, Davis, a volatile and angry man at the best of times rose from his seat to issue a challenge to John Ruiz, Norman's boy. Ruiz is honorable and polite, Norman is not... "Who the hell are you?," yelled Stone, then things got very personal.
Just prior to the arrival of Stone and Ruiz,  Davis was  brought to the microphone to say a few words.  Davis ripped off his T-shirt to reveal his bulging biceps and chest and made the most of his time in the limelight to its fullest. " Right now I feel like fighting, I wake up angry and I love to fight.  If Tarver pulls out I am ready to fight, If Jones pulls out I am ready to fight, Don (King) treat me good and I'll fight."
As the rest of the conference continued Mayorga and Trinidad engaged in some very entertaining exchanges but Davis never smiled once and looked angry and sullen. Stone had definitely picked on the wrong man.  Then it happened, Stone challenged Davis and all hell broke loose. Kelvin had to be restrained and seemed genuinely angry as hell. Knowing he had gotten the response he wanted Norman made more mouthy comments and all out insulted Davis who by now hammered his fist against the table in front of him, then cleverly Davis insulted Stone back and suicidally Norman rushed towards the fighter and both men had to be restrained. Security took control and luckily nothing major took place but I am damn sure Mr. Stone walked uneasy in the Mandalay that evening.

WBU HAS NEW BOSS...

Jennifer Robinson is to take the reigns of the Norfolk based governing body following the untimely death of her father Jon last month. From what I can gather she is the new CEO of the WBU and will be aided by an advisory committee that is currently being formed.

PRINCE NASEEM HAMED IS IN TRAINING...

I was informed recently that Naseem Hamed had taken a trip to a training facility in Tenerife and was seen training daily, but it may just be a trip abroad and a week of getting into shape for just personal reasons, no return to the ring has been announced, yet one never knows.

BOWE APOLOGIZES...

Riddick Bowe, the former Undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world, now out of prison after serving time for kidnapping his estranged wife and kids has offered an apology to his former manager Rock Newman.
Riddick had accused Newman of stealing $50 Million and of wrong doings in his business dealings with him, followed up by filing a lawsuit for damages.
Newman made his books and all paper work relating to Bowe's fights under him available to accountants and auditors and no impropriety could be found.
Following these findings Bowe's representatives issued a statement which stated in part that:
"After an exhaustive review they were completely satisfied with all of the business dealings conducted by Rock were handled in a fair, honest, professional and caring way."
A letter was sent directly to Rock Newman from Riddick Bowe saying "I have withdrawn all my legal claims against you, I was lied to and misled by a former advisor . You always tried to show me and explain to me everything you were doing for me, I can see now that you took great care of me and my finances ."
Riddick Bowe hasn't boxed in almost 8 years and is currently ready to announce a return to the ring, and a venue and trainer has already been looked into... FRIGHTENING... yet sad.

WHO'S NEXT? IS OFTEN A BAD IDEA...

When you are a world champion and about to engage in a hard fight it's a really bad idea to try to look further than the battle in progress.
I remember when Mike Tyson was preparing for a very routine fight in the Tokyo Dome in Japan against James Douglas, he made comments about who he was going to fight... NEXT. He made it clear that after dispatching Douglas he would make his belts available in a money spinning clash against Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas, in fact Evander did sit ringside to aid in the commentary of the Douglas fight, but we all know that things went very pear shaped during the fight in hand... Jimmy had a great night and Mike seemed preoccupied during a lackluster attempt to be rid of the Columbus native who was the last man to read the script. Ten rounds later Douglas had secured the multi million dollar fight with Evander and Mike was left nursing his ego.
Lennox Lewis did a similar thing when he invited Oliver McCall to London to -in his own words, "allow his beloved British fans one more chance to see him live and in the flesh defend his WBC belt against McCall before he was to challenge bigger fish in the United States to secure a place for himself  in heavyweight history." Yet after four minutes of boxing Oliver cut himself a place in boxing history by tearing the belt away via the TKO route in an very embarrassing episode.
Looking too far ahead is a very dangerous thing.. and only last week i read a column that rang in the same tune as both of these similar accounts. Roy Jones said just days prior to his ill fated rematch with Antonio Tarver,  "I want to fight either Vitali Klitschko or Mike Tyson next !" He also said that Mike would probably be the only man who could beat him because of the former heavyweight champion's power ...
As a pay per view attraction Roy has been compared with Lennox who became very popular towards the end of his career; his win over Ruiz sold over 600,000 PPV sales in the US alone, last November's fight with Tarver sold 302,000 at ($39.95 a shot) and that figure was topped in the rematch. HBO's Mark Taffett stated "Jones' popularity had a lot to do with the recognition that he was the best of his generation and that he was in some areas of boxing still held the esteem as the best pound for pound boxer around."  
I just wonder how his earning potential stands now following the very damaging KO loss to a man who didn't seem to be a reputed KO puncher.
Roy, I hate to say it but you are very badly damaged goods, and if you made your money based on the fact that you were almost untouchable, you had better go look at future marketing ideas.  Basketball is an option, so is Rap music,  K1... don't even go there... but you just kinda forgot that when you look one step beyond, things often don't work out as planned, so tell me, WHO IS NEXT NOW?

TARVER v JONES PUNCH STATS... NOT QUITE HAGLER, HEARNS 2

According to the punchstat totals during Roy Jones v Antonio Tarver , figures were quite astonishingly low. Tarver threw four Jabs and three power punches, totaling seven shots. Jones threw 12 shots the whole fight making the mini classic a complete total of, drum roll please, 19 punches combined.
I think in the first two seconds of any Wayne McCullough fight twenty punches would have been traded at least.    

BYRD v GOLOTA NOT YET SIGNED

The  rematch between IBF heavyweight champ Chris Byrd and Andrew Golota has not yet been secured. Don King was given the go ahead to stage the bout this summer by the IBF, after the governing body had already told Jameel McCline that he was mandatory challenger and allowed his shot by June 20th. But King is in South Africa  and hasn't agreed any deal to secure a date for the Pole's second shot at that belt. In the first fight Byrd accepted a purse that was below his contracted minimum, according to the Byrd camp King once again is expecting Chris to accept an amount  less than his contract states, only this time Mr. Byrd is not going to play ball.  So is it Jameel or Andrew..?  

Chris Byrd once again left holding the baby, but will it be Jameel who will be given the chance of arresting the goods ?

AMUSING FACT...

Here is a report from Newsweek dated May 5th 1962.
Charles "Sonny" Liston was in training for the hardest fight of his life against Floyd Patterson in Chicago in the following September, he had just arrived in the Catskills to prepare intensely for that fight. Here is what the report had issued as a day in the training life of Charles "Sonny" Liston, heavyweight threat..
Preparing himself for the biggest fight of his life Liston fortifies himself  with two meals a day, five strips of bacon  and three soft boiled eggs, two glasses of fruit juice and two cups of tea for breakfast. Two pounds of steak for dinner. Sonny will walk seven miles in seven pound shoes, shadow box for four rounds, skip rope for nine minutes to a jazz recording of  'The Night Train.'  For diversion he will often watch television, pitch nickels with several members of his entourage, or relax by standing on his head, yet sometimes he enjoys riding a red bicycle.
I love Sonny to death but I do wonder what that brother was smokin, it's no wonder he fought like a demon possessed him.
God bless ya Sonny, you were an all time great .

JUAN CARLOS GOMEZ IS A FREE MAN...

Cuban Heavyweight contender Juan Carlos Gomez last boxed for Sugar Ray Leonard against Sinan Samil San on September's 'Night of the Young Heavyweights' in Buffalo, New York , but he is now officially without a promoter, so if there are any takers out there, J C is a Heavyweight that could be going places in the very near future and he is understood to be a totally free agent. If I had a few bucks myself I would invest but my budget couldn't even keep the Cuban export in Cohibas and enchiladas for a week.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

This week's quote of the week comes from a jubilant Calvin Brock following what I understand was a dreary too close for comfort win against Arkansas native Terry Smith.
"I am going to take the Heavyweight division by storm, I am definitely the best in the world."  Sure you are Calvin, and Leon Spinks has lovely teeth...
Calvin goes by the name of  "A Sure Right"  which I am damn sure must mean anyone who knows how to throw a sure right hook in his direction is gonna take his precious cherry..  a week or so ago I  was told by Duncan Dokiwari that he wasn't going to box Calvin because the offer wasn't that good, and for Calvin's sake I am very glad Duncan did step aside.

WORDS FROM KING...

Following the Virgil Hill v Jean Marc Mormeck fight in Brakpan, South Africa, Don King took to the microphone to begin his by now boring after fight spiel. "I love my home, South Africa, I love Nelson Mandela, I love Thabo Mbecki, and I love Tokyo Sexwale."  I believe Tokyo Sexwale is a prominent Black businesswoman in Africa, either that or a very dodgy oriental porn movie, which would make Don Africa's latest Porn King.

RAY MERCER RETIRES...  

Yesterday I spoke to someone close to former WBO heavyweight champion and anvil chinned hardman Ray Mercer who confirmed that Ray wasn't going to fight in a boxing ring any more, in fact he was to accept a meager $10,000 to feature on an ESPN show against DaVarryll Williamson some time very soon. My source described the money involved in Ray's current contract no less than slavery.               
Ray is to take an offer to feature in a K1 mixed martial arts bout for $100,000 instead.   It is a sad thing that South Florida's Warriors Boxing couldn't afford to dig deeper to pay a very battle hardened old pro more than 10 grand for a featured TV main event. Shame on them!

BIRTHDAY SHOUT...

Indianapolis' newly crowned gutsy WBO heavyweight  champ Lamon Brewster will turn 31 next week, June 5th.  Lamon has fought 32 times and has lost only twice, once to Charles Shufford  and previously to Clifford Etienne, with an amazing knockout tally of 27 in 30 wins. 
Lamon is a very religious man who said he turned to boxing because he had an amazing amount of energy and he was tearing up the house; a few weeks ago he was tearing up Vladimir Klitschko's ass, It makes a  refreshing change, especially when you are getting a few hundred grand to do so. Have a great birthday Lamon and don't be too relentless in celebrating it , and also be very wary of who may be around to spike your drinks... whoops Dr Klitschko, no pun intended.

It's around that time again...

WHO IS THIS MAN... OR IN THIS CASE MEN?

I don't want the two fighters, I would like the two trainers. Send your answers or comments to themouthpiece1@aol.com

Thank you once again to everyone who took the time to read this week's edition of 'The Mouthpiece,' feel free to E-mail me at the above address.

Until the next Episode...

Good luck, good health, God bless.
Stephen Jones... AKA The Mouthpiece