by David P. Greisman
For all of the criticism and stigma attached to the sweet science, the sport of boxing is full of stories of young men living difficult childhoods, fighting through adversity and finding their saving graces through the discipline and mentorship provided in gyms throughout the world.
It is the typical rags to riches story that is so compelling: youths rising from poverty, criminals straightening up their former ways, many achieving fame and fortune that – thanks to the trials they had experienced – generally does not go to their heads.
For every Mike Tyson who – thanks to the burdens of his past combined with the difficulty of mental illness – finds himself relapsing into impulsive, destructive behavior, there is a Jermain Taylor who is the essence of humility even while reaching exemplary heights so early into his professional career.
But despite the wonderful nature of triumph, of the real-life stories that produce documentaries like Through the Fire, chronicling the rapid ascent of young basketball star Sebastian Telfair, there is an utter fascination with failure, a near-morbid curiosity that has produced such programs as E!’s True Hollywood Stories.
So, in this month when life is in bloom, this scribe’s attention is not just directed to whom will come out on top in their bouts, but to the possibilities of spectacular fizzling of potential, of bubbles being burst that – unlike college basketball teams that just a month ago had been disappointed not to receive an invite to the Big Dance – cannot necessarily just rebuild for another run the next year.
This year’s coronation of an April Fool may not take place on the first day of the month, but if it does, the transformation from The Next Big Thing to The Next Big Bust will involve one of two big men, Lamon Brewster and Joe Mesi.
With the letdown of March’s Hasim Rahman-James Toney draw, the pressure to save the heavyweight division once again rests on the shoulders of Brewster. Just like last year, when Toney defeated John Ruiz only to test positive for steroids, and when both Vitali Klitschko and Chris Byrd were inactive, people need another great show like Brewster’s blowout of Andrew Golota to establish momentum toward clarity and unification.
The name Brewster shares on the marquee may not be marquee on its own, but Sergei Liakhovich should not be underestimated nor overlooked. Despite his inactivity – Liakhovich has not fought since December 2004 when he outpointed Dominick Guinn – and even with his relative inexperience in big fights, Liakhovich has a good trainer in Kenny Weldon and – quite importantly considering his opponent – decent boxing skills.
Although Brewster has specialized of late in knocking out tall white guys, he has also had less-than-spectacular performances before pulling out the win. Against Luan Krasniqi last September, Brewster was behind on all three judges’ scorecards prior to landing his trademark bout-changing left hook, although it must be noted that the duo were fighting in Krasniqi’s adopted home country of Germany on Max Schmeling’s birthday.
But at least Brewster did what a road warrior must in not leaving the fight in the judges’ hands. Yet against his friend and former sparring partner Kali Meehan in 2004, the victory was razor thin, a split decision that had Brewster retaining by one round. With that close shave, it must have been no surprise when Brewster came out firing last May in disposing of Golota in less than a minute.
The man is driven, but recent training pictures also show him a little pudgy around the waist. Even with the yearning for unification getting stronger, Brewster must not look too far forward and come out flat against Liakhovich. People look to ride an exciting, personable champion all the way to heavyweight prominence, but the journey will be called off if this Lamon turns out to be a lemon.
Speaking of cars that should stay in the garage, Joe Mesi will go abruptly from being inactive to being in action on April 1, tempting fate against journeyman Ronald Bellamy.
While the worry and wringing of hands about Mesi has been repeated often since two years ago, when Mesi suffered two subdural hematomas at the hands of Vassiliy Jirov, it is less out of melodramatic concern than out of a legitimate acknowledgement of the past, both of Mesi and of the inherent dangers in the sport.
With the recent tragedies of the in-ring losses of men like Leavander Johnson and Kevin Payne, there is tremendous wariness about the health of Mesi, no matter how many doctors testify that the bleeds on his brain no longer pose any extra danger.
For words are one thing and actions another, even if the punches he faces from Bellamy will come from a relatively safe opponent, if any opponent can ever be considered safe in boxing.
Do not forget, even for a moment, the gray matter of concern inside Mesi’s cranium, for despite its coloring there will be no shades of gray in the outcomes of both the fight and his life. There will either be a happy ending or a tragedy; either he will prove the naysayers to be fools, or his career will continue until an abrupt halt so sad that none with a heart will feel the necessity to utter an “I told you so.”
It’s hard to compensate for mortality in a blood sport, but boxing has always been more about sport than about blood. There’s a reason why bad blood generally remains within the ring, between the opening and final bells, and after the last three-minute stanza the contestants embrace like soldiers who have survived a long battle together.
That idea sobers up a columnist previously drunk on the temporary joy of the idea of watching the elimination of hype, just like the tendency to root against the top seeds in NCAA tournament play. Perhaps I would have been the April Fool. Or perhaps there is no need for an April Fool, for destruction and disappointment. Even in a voyeuristic society that watches Jerry Springer and laughs at the absurdity of others’ lives, the enjoyment is still far briefer and much emptier than that success story which continues on, creating more reasons to watch, and more occasions to celebrate.
The 10 Count
1 . Boxers Behaving Badly (a recurring series with more chapters than a novel by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis): As noted above, there are success stories that inspire, and then there are the failures that just cause headshaking. Clifford Etienne had been the former, but now he will go down in the record books as the latter. A heavyweight contender that went from boxing in prison to boxing for purses, Etienne will now go back to jail for an extended period of time.
According to the Associated Press, Etienne was convicted last week of crimes he had been accused of committing last August, including “two counts of armed robbery, attempted carjacking, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, attempted second-degree murder and two counts of attempted manslaughter.” He faces at least 64 years in prison.
Sometimes boxing helps a person overcome his or her past, but occasionally the past will come back to haunt them. Unfortunately for Etienne, his loved ones and his victims, Etienne’s past will haunt their futures, too.
2 . Floyd Mayweather Jr. has vacated the junior welterweight belt he won last June by demolishing Arturo Gatti, opting to compete at welterweight. Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s adviser, told scribe Dan Rafael that due to the delays in fighting Ricky Hatton, there were no other big fights at 140, and that the proper thing to do was to give other contenders a shot at the belt.
Mayweather did the right thing in choosing to give others a title shot at the vacated belt, a decision that helps DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, a former Mayweather victim and current sparring partner to “Pretty Boy Floyd.” Corley will likely face Junior Witter this summer.
Still, while Mayweather can choose to pursue large purses and/or tough opponents, and while I believe that Mayweather is far out of Miguel Cotto’s league, I dislike when fight outcomes are decided on paper. Yes, Mayweather could probably embarrass Cotto, but that’s not to say that Cotto shouldn’t receive the chance to fight the best. If fights were to not be made because Mayweather knows that he’d triumph easily, then his pay-per-view fight with Zab Judah, which Mayweather brags will essentially be a walk in the park, shouldn’t go forth either.
3 . Meanwhile, Ricky Hatton is venturing to welterweight, too, where he will likely face WBA beltholder Luis Collazo in May. I like this match-up, even if Collazo had only been the “regular” WBA titlist until “super champ” Zab Judah lost to Carlos Baldomir. Aside from facing Baldomir, Floyd Mayweather or Antonio Margarito, Collazo may be one of the best available opponents, and a much better initial welterweight foe than when Mayweather beat Sharmba Mitchell and Gatti stopped Thomas Damgaard.
4 . Edison Miranda threw his hat into the middleweight pool with a stoppage of Howard Eastman last Friday. While the bout started off slowly, the pace eventually picked up, culminating in Miranda trapping Eastman in a corner and hurting him badly with a sequence of four punches. Some may complain that the referee halted action too quickly, especially as Eastman had been dodging many of Miranda’s shots, but the referee looked to be watching closely and telling Eastman that he needed to throw back. After the final blows landed, Eastman looked to be badly hurt and incapable of defending himself further from the incoming damaging blows, and the third man in the ring made the proper choice, however unpopular.
5 . I am quite disappointed, though, that Eastman wasn’t wearing his trademark weird beard. Perhaps that’s why he was knocked out for the first time in his career.
6 . On the undercard of Miranda-Eastman, Felix Cora and Darnell Wilson showed why the cruiserweight division is one of the most exciting to watch. Even though Cora pulled away as the fight went on to earn a one-sided decision, he and Wilson exhibited the tendency to throw heavy shots, and also the ability to be active and entertaining. Cora and Wilson may not be top-notch, but put them between the ropes with any other top ten cruiserweight and a fan-friendly fight will ensue.
7 . The untelevised portion of the Friday Night Fights broadcast that Eastman, Miranda, Cora and Wilson appeared on contained a bout between heavyweight journeyman Kenny Craven and Timor Ibragimov, cousin of heavyweight prospect Sultan. With a June bout against Calvin Brock ahead of him, Timor Ibragimov did what he needed to do in forcing Craven to retire on his stool. Although Timor is not regarded as highly as Sultan, and although it would be better for Brock’s ledger to face Sultan, the Calvin Brock-Timor Ibragimov fight is looking to be one of many quality bouts on this year’s relaunch of HBO’s Boxing After Dark.
8 . I was surprised to read that former junior middleweight titlist Raul Marquez will return in April from his retirement. Marquez, whose career includes losses to Fernando Vargas and Yory Boy Campas, as well as a no contest with Shane Mosley, had not entered the ring since a June 2004 loss to Jermain Taylor. I don’t know if Marquez got bored after HBO dropped the Boxeo de Oro show he was color commentator for, especially since I assume Marquez still does the Spanish language broadcasts of the outlet’s regular matches, but I cannot see Marquez coming back as anything but a measuring stick or a designated name for upcoming prospects.
9 . I don’t like to lend too much credence to the sanctioning bodies, but I agree with Bob Arum about leaving to the WBC the choice for which man, between Oleg Maskaev and James Toney, that Hasim Rahman will fight next. In this age of protests, press releases and lawsuits, having one decisive voice, even when that voice often produces absurdity after absurdity, is refreshing compared to the wars of words that overshadow or prevent the actual fistfights.
10 . Not only do I root against the top seeds in NCAA tournament play, but I cheer for area teams, especially ones that make Billy Packer eat crow even while my own bracket looks like a train wreck. As such, I use this spot to give praise to George Mason for making the Final Four, thought I must admit to not having the Patriots getting past the first round.
