by David P. Greisman
For this week’s “Fighting Words” and the first 10 of “The 10 Count,” click here. For 10 more, read below…
11. Boxing Trainers Behaving Badly update, part one: Roger Mayweather pleaded not guilty last week to charges of battery causing substantial harm, battery strangulation and coercion, charges stemming from a 2009 incident with a female boxer who lived in a Las Vegas condominium Mayweather owns, according to the Associated Press.
Mayweather, 48, had told Melissa St. Vil – 26 years old, 1-1-1, formerly trained by Mayweather – to get out of the condominium. The disagreement got physical. Police officers said they saw the former 130- and 140-pound titlist choking St. Vil when they arrived at the scene. She was taken to a local hospital, treated and released. Mayweather, who had a lamp broken over his head and had injuries to his head and face, was arrested.
If Mayweather is found guilty on all charges, he faces between three and 16 years in prison.
Mayweather’s trial is scheduled for June 1, exactly one month after he is to be in his nephew’s corner for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Shane Mosley.
12. That was the reality of Mayweather’s court case last week. The ridiculousness of it will come further below…
13. Boxers Behaving Badly, part one: Jorge Barrios is facing murder charges after a hit-and-run in Argentina that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child, according to the Associated Press, the Buenos Aires Herald, and the Perfil newspaper.
Barrios, 33, allegedly ran a red light in the coastal city of Mar del Plata and struck a vehicle. The collision pushed that second vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians, injuring several. The pregnant woman died a few hours after the accident. Barrios allegedly crashed into at least one other vehicle while trying to flee the scene.
He later turned himself in to police.
Barrios is a former 130-pound beltholder. His last fight was in November, a fifth-round stoppage of Michael Lozada. His record is 49-4-1 (35 knockouts).
14. Boxers Behaving Badly, part two: Fringe heavyweight Matt Skelton went to court last week on six charges of “perverting the course of justice,” according to English newspaper Bedford Today.
No idea what “perverting the course of justice” means. The article says the charges are related to “motoring offence [sic] from 2006 and 2007.” And the always-accurate Wikipedia says “perverting the course of justice” can be “fabricating or disposing of evidence, intimidating or threatening a witness or juror, [or] intimidating or threatening a judge.”
Skelton, 43 (no matter that the article says otherwise as to his age), is out on bail and due back in court in May.
He last fought just this past Saturday, stepping in as a late replacement against 4-0 prospect Kubrat Pulev. Skelton lost via fourth-round technical knockout. His record, which includes a title challenge loss to Ruslan Chagaev, is now 22-5 with 19 wins by way of knockout.
15. Is it just me, or does “perverting the course of justice” make it sound like Skelton slept with a member of the jury?
16. Boxers Behaving Badly update: A member of Canada’s Olympic boxing team in 1996 who didn’t turn pro for nearly a dozen years due to legal problems is facing up to 10 years in prison, according to Ontario newspaper The Sudbury Star.
Phil Boudreault, 35, pleaded guilty last week to “violating the conditions of a long-term offender supervision order,” a charge that came after he tested positive in May 2009 for cocaine and for marijuana component THC. His sentencing is scheduled for April 27.
The supervision order was put in place after Boudreault was found guilty of assaulting a man and the man’s son nearly six years ago in a pizza bar.
Boudreault competed as a junior welterweight in the 1996 Olympics, finishing in fourth place, but he ran afoul of the law afterward. He finally turned pro as a junior middleweight in 2008, winning five and losing in his last appearance, a fifth-round stoppage loss in March 2009 to Justin Fountain.
17. Boxing Promoters Behaving Badly: Ahmet Oner is facing 16 charges, including assault, blackmail and coercion, according to German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost and BoxingScene’s European correspondent Per Ake Persson.
Among the crimes Oner is accused of is threatening and blackmailing other Germany-based promoters.
He is facing 22 to 24 months of probation and a fine of 120,000 euros. The sentence appears to be the result of a plea agreement, though this scribe isn’t sure because he’s relying on online translations.
Oner is co-promoter of Yuriorkis Gamboa, among other fighters.
18. Biggest surprise of last week? That Johnny Tapia had the pleasure of being able to appear on a ShoBox broadcast instead of having to appear in a courtroom.
19. Back to Roger Mayweather – he actually never showed to his Jan. 26 arraignment because he was needed at the gym, according to the Associated Press. The arraignment was rescheduled for Jan. 28. Mayweather showed for that one.
Here’s where it gets ridiculous: Mayweather has a history of failing to appear for court – it’s happened 50 times, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
20. How do you get away with missing court 50 times? Shouldn’t the judicial system have learned its lesson somewhere around, oh, missed court date No. 17? Or is the state of Nevada recouping its expenses through Roger Mayweather’s bail money?
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com
