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By Thomas Gerbasi - The old adage is that revenge is a dish best served cold. Not in boxing. When a fighter is the victim of a wrongdoing, either real or imagined, there is nothing businesslike about the act of getting even. It’s all personal, no matter how gentlemanly things may play out beforehand.
Take Joseph Agbeko for example. Even after taking repeated low blows from Abner Mares in their first bantamweight title fight in August while referee Russell Mora stood idly by, the Ghana native only had this to say when asked why he didn’t fire back to a) get the referee’s attention or b) get Mares to stop: “I didn’t retaliate against him because I had to be professional and I have to obey the rules of the sport.”
That’s a classy tact to take, but don’t expect Agbeko to stand idly by if shots start straying low again. Not a second time.
Miguel Cotto has been less courteous to Antonio Margarito following their 2008 bout, one that the junior middleweight champion from Puerto Rico believes was tainted by the same illegal hand wraps confiscated from Margarito’s dressing room before a fight with Shane Mosley six months later. Cotto has even gone as far as to label the Mexican a “criminal,” even with no proof of any wrongdoing.
Both Agbeko and Cotto get rematches this Saturday night, one in California, the other in New York. It’s a bi-coastal quest to get a little get back, and while Agbeko has only had to wait four months to sing his redemption song, Cotto has had three long years of anticipation to attempt to avenge his first pro loss. The wait isn’t what’s important though; it’s what follows that wait which means everything.
That feeling is one that no one but a fighter would understand. The result of a particular fight is almost always seen in black and white terms – someone wins, someone loses. Yet when there are shades of gray involved, it makes for good copy for a while, but eventually just becomes a footnote in history, if that. Not for the fighter though. A particular loss can hurt financially in the short term, physically in the long term, and emotionally forever, especially if the loss is a controversial one.
No one knows that better than former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, whose August 2009 decision loss to Juan Diaz was one of the most disputed verdicts of the year. [Click Here To Read More]
Take Joseph Agbeko for example. Even after taking repeated low blows from Abner Mares in their first bantamweight title fight in August while referee Russell Mora stood idly by, the Ghana native only had this to say when asked why he didn’t fire back to a) get the referee’s attention or b) get Mares to stop: “I didn’t retaliate against him because I had to be professional and I have to obey the rules of the sport.”
That’s a classy tact to take, but don’t expect Agbeko to stand idly by if shots start straying low again. Not a second time.
Miguel Cotto has been less courteous to Antonio Margarito following their 2008 bout, one that the junior middleweight champion from Puerto Rico believes was tainted by the same illegal hand wraps confiscated from Margarito’s dressing room before a fight with Shane Mosley six months later. Cotto has even gone as far as to label the Mexican a “criminal,” even with no proof of any wrongdoing.
Both Agbeko and Cotto get rematches this Saturday night, one in California, the other in New York. It’s a bi-coastal quest to get a little get back, and while Agbeko has only had to wait four months to sing his redemption song, Cotto has had three long years of anticipation to attempt to avenge his first pro loss. The wait isn’t what’s important though; it’s what follows that wait which means everything.
That feeling is one that no one but a fighter would understand. The result of a particular fight is almost always seen in black and white terms – someone wins, someone loses. Yet when there are shades of gray involved, it makes for good copy for a while, but eventually just becomes a footnote in history, if that. Not for the fighter though. A particular loss can hurt financially in the short term, physically in the long term, and emotionally forever, especially if the loss is a controversial one.
No one knows that better than former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, whose August 2009 decision loss to Juan Diaz was one of the most disputed verdicts of the year. [Click Here To Read More]
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