by David P. Greisman
(photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com)
Having received his first heavyweight title shot, Calvin “The Boxing Banker” Brock was looking to cash in but instead went crashing out. Wladimir Klitschko, meanwhile, had a sound return on his investment.
In a heavyweight landscape where nationalism and ethnocentrism lead to a constant search for the next great American big man, Brock had been the heir apparent – and almost by default, as all of the recent contenders and pretenders were either too inconsistent or too improbable.
A 2000 U.S. Olympian, Brock’s first brush with stardom came in 2005 when he earned victories over Clifford Etienne and Jameel McCline on national television and pay-per-view, respectively. But Brock’s path to prominence stalled when his next appearance was limited to highlights on the Arturo Gatti-Floyd Mayweather pay-per-view.
Brock, though, thought he had done enough to earn a shot at the heavyweight title – or at least enough to face Vitali Klitschko in a proposed tune-up prior to Vitali’s then-mandatory bout against Hasim Rahman.
But the Vitali Klitschko fight fell through, and Brock saw his spot on the heavyweight landscape being painted over. All he could do to hold on was keep busy.
Brock outpointed David Bostice on a MaxBoxing.com webcast to wrap up his 2005. His first bout the following year was on the Mosley-Vargas I undercard, a humdrum affair against journeyman Zuri Lawrence until a single Brock left hook knocked Lawrence flat out.
The kayo was noteworthy, something of value worth cashing in on. Four months later and Brock was on a coveted HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast, headlining against Timur Ibragimov in what essentially amounted to a tryout for a title shot.
It was boring.
But the heavyweight landscape is full of twists and turns. Wladimir Klitschko had a November date at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and despite months of negotiations, a Klitschko title defense against Brownsville’s own Shannon Briggs fell through.
Enter Calvin Brock.
Though the memories of Brock as the exciting fighter who knocked out Etienne and battled back against McCline had faded into nondescript performances against the non-household names of Lawrence and Ibragimov, the thought was that Brock still had a chance as long as there were still questions over Klitschko’s chin, confidence and stamina.
The wild cards never came into play. They might not even be in the deck anymore.
After essentially playing 52-card pick-up following stoppage losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, Klitschko has compiled a winning hand thanks to a winning team and his recent winning ways.
Under the tutelage of trainer Manny Steward, Klitschko has learned to fight like a big man, switching between caution and capability in the same manner that Lennox Lewis had through Steward’s guidance.
In outpointing Samuel Peter and crushing Chris Byrd, Wladimir replaced retired older brother Vitali as the most popular man with the Klitschko surname, all the while building a following with American audiences.
Against an American fighter in the American boxing mecca of Madison Square Garden, Klitschko was the draw, the man the fans were cheering for. Brock, meanwhile, was the able but ultimately overmatched opponent.
It was a smart investment by Klitschko, taking on and out an undefeated American fighter who had everything to gain in knocking his head off. But Brock couldn’t adjust to Klitschko’s height and reach, and suddenly Brock – a tap dancer in his spare time – was standing still in front of Klitschko’s stiff jab and powerful straight right.
After rounds of ineffective aggression by both, Klitschko did what Brock had yet to show the ability to do – he adjusted and took over. In the seventh round, a left hook into a straight right rocked Brock, and then a jab and short straight right put him down.
Now Brock is broke, forced to go back to working the menial jobs until he has saved up enough experience for another big outing. Klitschko, meanwhile, cashed in on Brock’s crashing out, and he can take his admiration and reputation to the bank, where it is sure to grow with interest.
The 10 Count
1. Not that Klitschko will be allowed the chance at unification anytime soon. With modern heavyweights generally fighting an average of twice a year, their appearances leave room for one mandatory defense and one optional defense – with the latter rarely coming against the kind of challenge that their fellow beltholders pose.
As of late, the sanctioning bodies have been busy creating elimination matches and installing mandatory opponents – even when doing so makes little sense and serves only to delay a long-desired heavyweight tournament.
Klitschko will have to make his next defense against mandatory Ray Austin, a longtime contender whose title shot came as a result of a draw with Sultan Ibragimov in an IBF eliminator. Ibragimov, though, ascended to a mandatory position in the WBO rankings and will look to challenge Shannon Briggs next.
Meanwhile, the WBA asked John Ruiz and Ruslan Chagaev to meet for the right to face Nicolay Valuev, immediately creating millions of Chagaev fans out of people who have no desire to see Valuev-Ruiz II.
As for the WBC, it is, well, the WBC. March’s Hasim Rahman-James Toney bout ended as a draw, with Rahman retaining the belt and the responsibility to defend against mandatory Oleg Maskaev. The WBC, though, ruled that the winner of Rahman-Maskaev II had to face Toney. In the meantime, Toney decided to fight Samuel Peter and ended up losing a split decision to the “Nigerian Nightmare.” Maskaev knocked out Rahman, but rather than immediately face his mandatory Peter, he has been allowed an optional defense against dubious challenger Peter Ohkello while Peter and Toney will fight a mandated rematch.
When an organization like the WBC bleeds five rapid-fire paydays out of one belt through mandatory bouts, eliminators and forced rematches, it’s no surprise that unification seems so far-fetched. By the time a heavyweight reached that goal, he’d have expended so much energy fighting the sanctioning bodies that there’d be nothing left to give in the ring.
2. With Friday’s unanimous decision victory over Fres Oquendo, Evander Holyfield is one improbable step closer to heavyweight contention. At 44 and with diminished ability, Holyfield nonetheless still has the goal of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. I’d hate to see him win even one belt – with the way the sanctioning bodies are acting, Holyfield would be in the AARP by the time he won the IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC.
3. Sticking with people who should retire, Roy Jones’ Dec. 9 pay-per-view bout against Manny Siaca has been canceled due to what the Associated Press is calling “unresolved contract issues.” Philadelphia Daily News writer Bernard Fernandez, though, was told that his assumption that said issues “were primarily financial” was an accurate inference.
It’s far from surprising. For years, Jones was paid millions of dollars by HBO to fight a quality of opposition that often lacked quality control. Now that Jones has been cut off from his sugar daddy, he must be going through withdrawal, wanting larger paychecks than his recent performances would have him deserve.
Somewhere, Bernard Hopkins is laughing.
4. With Saturday’s pay-per-view rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales fast approaching, the contestants stepped on the scales last week for their seven-day interval weigh-ins.
Pacquiao checked in on Friday at 136 pounds, one pound under the interval limit and 2.75 pounds less than his weight 17 days ago. Morales, meanwhile, tipped the scales on Saturday at 136 pounds, six pounds less than his weight 22 days ago. Pacquiao must drop six pounds in seven days while Morales has just six days to drop the same amount of weight.
Who needs Trimspa or Jenny Craig? Anna Nicole Smith and Kirstie Alley should have been boxers.
5. Boxers Behaving Badly: Former undefeated fighter Charles Tanner was convicted last week on federal drug and conspiracy charges, according to an article in Indiana’s Gary Post-Tribune. Tanner – whose biggest fight was a 2003 majority decision over George Blades on ESPN2’s Tuesday Night Fights – will face a sentence of up to life in prison after being found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine.
6. The Carlos Baldomir-Floyd Mayweather pay-per-view sold 325,000 buys, according to an HBO press release. While the numbers are not extremely high, they are still quite good considering the poor undercard that was offered and the glut of pay-per-views in recent months. Nevertheless, Mayweather may have been hoping that his blitz of public relations appearances would have led to higher numbers and subsequently to a better position at the bargaining table should a proposed fight with Oscar De La Hoya actually go forward.
7. In his column last week, scribe Steve Kim described a scene at the Baldomir-Mayweather post-fight press conference at which Mayweather offered free wristwatches to “members of the media, who would swarm the stage as if a premium Las Vegas escort came attached to it, along with a free meal.”
I don’t know what’s lower – the lack of ethics some media members displayed in taking Mayweather’s watches or the lack of morals the contestants of “Flavor of Love” had while vying for the large clock necklaces Flavor Flav awarded at the end of each episode.
8. Orlando Salido’s victory over Robert Guerrero on the Baldomir-Mayweather undercard will probably be nullified –his newly acquired IBF featherweight title has already been stripped – after Salido tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone, according to multiple reports last week.
The positive drug test should push Salido away from title contention and major television appearances, a big blow considering how the Guerrero win somewhat made up for Salido’s one-sided decision loss to Juan Manuel Marquez two years ago.
9. Or maybe Salido – who turns 26 on Thursday – can make a successful comeback if he follows in the footsteps of former bantamweight titlist Cruz Carvajal.
Last year, Carvajal tested positive for Nandrolone after a decision loss to Silence Mabuza. Since Carvajal did not show up at his disciplinary hearing, the Nevada State Athletic Commission fined him $7,500 – half his purse – and suspended him for one year, according to a January article by Kevin Iole in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. But since returning from his suspension earlier this year, Carvajal has scored three consecutive stoppage wins, including a fifth-round knockout last week of Alberto Chuc.
Carvajal has yet to return to major network television – few bantamweights ever grace American airwaves anyway – but it would not be surprising to see him once again contend in the 118-pound weight class. As for Salido, the featherweight landscape has been wide open since Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao migrated to the junior lightweights and since the sanctioning bodies decided to stiff Juan Manuel Marquez. Though Salido proclaims that he is innocent and has never taken drugs, the sooner he cooperates with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the sooner he may be allowed to come back to challenge the remnants of a once-great 126-pound division.
10. Though Jack Palance – who died last week of natural causes – was best known as an actor, the 87-year-old also had a connection with the sweet science. Aside from his Emmy-winning role in the “Requiem for a Heavyweight” episode of Rod Serling’s Playhouse 90, Palance had a brief career as professional boxer Jack Brazzo. In 1940, Brazzo dropped a decision to Joe Baksi, a heavyweight fight who lost to Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Lots of actors – Russell Crowe, Willem Dafoe and Sylvester Stallone, to name a few – have played boxers on the big screen, but only a select few truly competed in the ring. Palance’s final record? A reported 12-2 with 12 knockouts, one Emmy and one Oscar.
