By David P. Greisman
Pardon the pun, but I’m flabbergasted as to why Riddick Bowe was in the ring, fighting Billy Zumbrun, on “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period” this past Thursday. I’m not one for fat jokes, but Bowe is so tubby, he should follow the lard, I mean, the leads of Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders and Danny Williams and be rushed to the front of the line to face Vitali Klitschko. If you can’t already tell, this week’s edition of Fighting Words takes on the former heavyweight champion turned Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and also includes the triumphant return of The Ten Count.
Pardon the pun, but I’m flabbergasted as to why Riddick Bowe was in the ring, fighting Billy Zumbrun, on “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period” this past Thursday. I’m not one for fat jokes, but Bowe is so tubby, he should follow the lard, I mean, the leads of Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders and Danny Williams and be rushed to the front of the line to face Vitali Klitschko. If you can’t already tell, this week’s edition of Fighting Words takes on the former heavyweight champion turned Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and also includes the triumphant return of The Ten Count.
“Big Daddy” an Aptonym
Jimmy Lennon Jr. must have strained to keep a straight face when announcing to the crowd in Temecula, CA, that Riddick Bowe had weighed in at 280 pounds. In my eyes, the only way that Bowe could’ve been listed as such was if by “pounds,” one was referring to the British currency, meaning with the exchange rate, Big Daddy would be more like WWE’s “The Big Show” at around a quarter ton. Either way, with reports that Bowe refused to step on the scales, 280 must’ve been a lie, and my Redskins should be on the phone with the Fort Washington, MD, resident to try and shore up their offensive line.
In a beautifully penned article on MaxBoxing.com last week, Michael Katz noted that since Bowe is worth approximately twenty million dollars, the reasons why Big Daddy feels it necessary to step between the ropes are a mystery to all but the man from the same Brownsville, NY, neighborhood as Mike Tyson.
After a nearly eight year long layoff, Bowe knocked out Marcus Rhode in the second round last September on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma. At the time, Bowe “weighed in” at 263 (again, a falsehood), and humbly admitted that he would need more than a dozen more bouts until he got back into the fighting shape required to meet true heavyweight contenders.
It would be more than six months until Bowe arrived for his next match, against Billy Zumbrun, on Fox Sports Net. His noted trainer, Joe Goossen, reminded the audience and the press that Bowe had very short notice to prepare for Zumbrun. As much as I respect Goossen, this excuse is well, inexcusable. If Riddick is to be serious about his comeback, he should be on the bike, on the roads, jumping rope and shedding pounds daily. He will also need to fight more than twice a year, and he better have more than just a jab to keep his opponents at bay.
While Bowe did knock Zumbrun down with a tremendous left to the body in the fourth round, the smaller, fitter Zumbrun was able to buzz Big Daddy in the fifth and tenth rounds, sending Riddick to the ropes, nearly defenseless. Ten rounds of boxing ended with a controversial split decision in favor of Bowe, and an audience in favor of Zumbrun, the underdog who had initially been jeered during ring entrances.
While Bowe and Goossen speak of following the “George Foreman Comeback Plan,” the only way I can see similar success is if Big Daddy himself spends time in the Lean, Mean, Fat Grilling Machine. The heavyweight division may seem desperate, but, really, it can’t be this bad. Can it?
In a beautifully penned article on MaxBoxing.com last week, Michael Katz noted that since Bowe is worth approximately twenty million dollars, the reasons why Big Daddy feels it necessary to step between the ropes are a mystery to all but the man from the same Brownsville, NY, neighborhood as Mike Tyson.
After a nearly eight year long layoff, Bowe knocked out Marcus Rhode in the second round last September on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma. At the time, Bowe “weighed in” at 263 (again, a falsehood), and humbly admitted that he would need more than a dozen more bouts until he got back into the fighting shape required to meet true heavyweight contenders.
It would be more than six months until Bowe arrived for his next match, against Billy Zumbrun, on Fox Sports Net. His noted trainer, Joe Goossen, reminded the audience and the press that Bowe had very short notice to prepare for Zumbrun. As much as I respect Goossen, this excuse is well, inexcusable. If Riddick is to be serious about his comeback, he should be on the bike, on the roads, jumping rope and shedding pounds daily. He will also need to fight more than twice a year, and he better have more than just a jab to keep his opponents at bay.
While Bowe did knock Zumbrun down with a tremendous left to the body in the fourth round, the smaller, fitter Zumbrun was able to buzz Big Daddy in the fifth and tenth rounds, sending Riddick to the ropes, nearly defenseless. Ten rounds of boxing ended with a controversial split decision in favor of Bowe, and an audience in favor of Zumbrun, the underdog who had initially been jeered during ring entrances.
While Bowe and Goossen speak of following the “George Foreman Comeback Plan,” the only way I can see similar success is if Big Daddy himself spends time in the Lean, Mean, Fat Grilling Machine. The heavyweight division may seem desperate, but, really, it can’t be this bad. Can it?
The Nation’s Capital Draws Former Brownsville Champions In
With the Washington Nationals bringing in fans that must’ve been starving for baseball in the District of Columbia, boxing lovers may be treated to the dynamic duo of the aforementioned Bowe and another comebacking klutz, Mike Tyson. Bowe’s date is tentatively set for the Convention Center on April 23, while Iron Mike may face off against Kevin McBride on June 11.
McBride had been the foe that Tyson was originally slated to meet when he began his most recent bankruptcy payment plan, but instead his handlers substituted in Danny Williams. Four rounds and one knee injury later, the ballooning Brit was the winner, somehow propelling his portliness to a title shot at Vitali Klitschko.
Now the Nation’s Capital isn’t precisely a hotbed for championship boxing. While nearby Glen Burnie supplies the occasional Ballroom Boxing show, the biggest card in recent times pitted DeMarcus Corley against the ancient Darryl Tyson.
If Mayor Anthony Williams can bring America’s Pastime back, one can only hope for a major fight again, on par with May 1993 at RFK Stadium, when Roy Jones Jr. decisioned Bernard Hopkins.
McBride had been the foe that Tyson was originally slated to meet when he began his most recent bankruptcy payment plan, but instead his handlers substituted in Danny Williams. Four rounds and one knee injury later, the ballooning Brit was the winner, somehow propelling his portliness to a title shot at Vitali Klitschko.
Now the Nation’s Capital isn’t precisely a hotbed for championship boxing. While nearby Glen Burnie supplies the occasional Ballroom Boxing show, the biggest card in recent times pitted DeMarcus Corley against the ancient Darryl Tyson.
If Mayor Anthony Williams can bring America’s Pastime back, one can only hope for a major fight again, on par with May 1993 at RFK Stadium, when Roy Jones Jr. decisioned Bernard Hopkins.
Pacquiao Should Concentrate on Boxing
CFBERNARDO writes, “I think [Manny] Pacquiao should concentrate on boxing. If he wants a rematch with Morales, Barrera or Marquez, he should take away all his acting business, gambling and other negative habits. A good boxer should be a career boxer, one hundred percent. A perfect example is Oscar De La Hoya; he didn’t bite the opportunities that were offered by several production companies. What Pacquiao needs is an honest and smart counselor, and I don’t know if there are any available.”
CF, I hope that you don’t think that any of Manny’s negative habits contributed to his close loss to Erik Morales. While the Pacman has been known to shoot too much pool and have fun, he’s not exactly Ricardo Mayorga with the smoking and drinking. Pacquiao’s loss to Morales was a result of El Terrible’s magnificent game plan, which was carried out to near perfection.
Pacquiao has been attempting to surround himself with good counselors, and with Freddie Roach as his trainer, he has a man who will protect him as if Manny was his own child. Pacman has also recently brought on Shelly Finkel, and hopefully he shall be rid of promoter Murad Muhammad as soon as possible.
Oh, and are you forgetting Oscar De La Hoya’s singing career? I sure as hell tried to.
CF, I hope that you don’t think that any of Manny’s negative habits contributed to his close loss to Erik Morales. While the Pacman has been known to shoot too much pool and have fun, he’s not exactly Ricardo Mayorga with the smoking and drinking. Pacquiao’s loss to Morales was a result of El Terrible’s magnificent game plan, which was carried out to near perfection.
Pacquiao has been attempting to surround himself with good counselors, and with Freddie Roach as his trainer, he has a man who will protect him as if Manny was his own child. Pacman has also recently brought on Shelly Finkel, and hopefully he shall be rid of promoter Murad Muhammad as soon as possible.
Oh, and are you forgetting Oscar De La Hoya’s singing career? I sure as hell tried to.
How To Write In
Got an opinion, a question or a semi-creative insult? Send it to boxingscene@hotmail.com
Got an opinion, a question or a semi-creative insult? Send it to boxingscene@hotmail.com
, and don’t pull any punches.
The Ten Count
1. The month isn’t even half over, and already a handful of world titles have changed hands. On April 2, Jean Marc Mormeck added Wayne Braithwaite’s cruiserweight belt to his own, and Luis Collazo beat Jose Antonio Rivera for his WBA “regular” welterweight trinket. Two days later, minimumweight Isaac Bustos lost his WBC greenie to Katsunari Takayama. Mike Anchondo lost his 130-pound belt at the scales, and Jorge Rodrigo Barrios picked it up on the eighth of this month with a TKO4. Finally, super flyweight Fernando Montiel dominated Ivan Hernandez last Saturday to regain his old WBO belt. The only two champions to retain this month have been minimumweight Muhammad Rachman, who thanks to a clash of heads with Fahlan Sakkreerin, had a third round technical draw on April 5, and Marco Antonio Barrera, who blew away fellow super featherweight Mzonke Fana on April 9.
2. Waiting impatiently for Ring of Fire, the USA television documentary on Benny “Kid” Paret’s fatal bout with Emile Griffith. Dateline NBC teased it recently with a profile piece on Paret’s son, who was only two when his father died after a brutal beating from Griffith. It was emotional to see Griffith break down in appreciation when Benny Paret Jr. told Emile that he was not to blame. Kid Paret’s death has obviously weighed on Griffith for more than four decades, and the film will supposedly shine light on the events that lead to that fateful day.
3. Fox Sports Net pet peeve #1: Boo and hiss to FSN, and not for their televising Bowe’s fight with Zumbrun (after all, I did watch). I was more disappointed at the lack of Vassiliy Jirov on the small screen, even if his opponent was a tomato can, and I’m sure some of the talk time in-between fights could have been condensed to allow for three more rounds of boxing.
4. Maxboxing.com’s Michael Katz chided Ringtalk.com’s Pedro Fernandez for irresponsible reporting. Fernandez called Katz smelly and old. And then Heather Locklear showed up and turned the whole thing into a severe bitchfest. Seriously, it’s not like anything this trite ever occurs between, say, Dick Vitale and Billy Packer.
5. Anyone know where to buy some good boxing gloves?
6. Am I the only one seriously jonesing (no pun intended) for the June 18 rematch between Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson? Two likeable light heavyweights that can fight need to be on my television soon and often.
7. Interesting fight on ESPN2 this Friday, with Antwun Echols meeting Kingsley Ikeke for the #2 IBF middleweight ranking. The programming on the deuce has been much better this year (most of the time) than in the past, and my anticipation is still high for the April 23 PPV quadrupleheader.
8. Quick Contender
2. Waiting impatiently for Ring of Fire, the USA television documentary on Benny “Kid” Paret’s fatal bout with Emile Griffith. Dateline NBC teased it recently with a profile piece on Paret’s son, who was only two when his father died after a brutal beating from Griffith. It was emotional to see Griffith break down in appreciation when Benny Paret Jr. told Emile that he was not to blame. Kid Paret’s death has obviously weighed on Griffith for more than four decades, and the film will supposedly shine light on the events that lead to that fateful day.
3. Fox Sports Net pet peeve #1: Boo and hiss to FSN, and not for their televising Bowe’s fight with Zumbrun (after all, I did watch). I was more disappointed at the lack of Vassiliy Jirov on the small screen, even if his opponent was a tomato can, and I’m sure some of the talk time in-between fights could have been condensed to allow for three more rounds of boxing.
4. Maxboxing.com’s Michael Katz chided Ringtalk.com’s Pedro Fernandez for irresponsible reporting. Fernandez called Katz smelly and old. And then Heather Locklear showed up and turned the whole thing into a severe bitchfest. Seriously, it’s not like anything this trite ever occurs between, say, Dick Vitale and Billy Packer.
5. Anyone know where to buy some good boxing gloves?
6. Am I the only one seriously jonesing (no pun intended) for the June 18 rematch between Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson? Two likeable light heavyweights that can fight need to be on my television soon and often.
7. Interesting fight on ESPN2 this Friday, with Antwun Echols meeting Kingsley Ikeke for the #2 IBF middleweight ranking. The programming on the deuce has been much better this year (most of the time) than in the past, and my anticipation is still high for the April 23 PPV quadrupleheader.
8. Quick Contender
comment before the longer update: How much was Tommy Gallagher paid to scream, “Don’t scratch them Toyotas!” Almost as strange as hearing Sugar Ray Leonard tell Vin Diesel how big a fan he is, after which Diesel showed off his new third facial expression.
9. Fox Sports Net pet peeve #2: Boo and hiss to FSN, for during a repeat showing of Oscar Larios’s February clash with Wayne McCullough earlier this week, two rounds were cut out “for time constraints.” In-between rounds, I saw the same commercial for a Netflix-ish video game rental service four times in the series of half an hour. Twelve rounds of the sweet science should easily fit into an hour, and shame on the network for depriving fans from seeing the whole fight in favor of money from rinky-dink advertisements.
10. The Contender
9. Fox Sports Net pet peeve #2: Boo and hiss to FSN, for during a repeat showing of Oscar Larios’s February clash with Wayne McCullough earlier this week, two rounds were cut out “for time constraints.” In-between rounds, I saw the same commercial for a Netflix-ish video game rental service four times in the series of half an hour. Twelve rounds of the sweet science should easily fit into an hour, and shame on the network for depriving fans from seeing the whole fight in favor of money from rinky-dink advertisements.
10. The Contender
Update: A strange sight on Sunday night, as I watched the little man, Juan De La Rosa, play the part of the brawler, while the bigger Tarick Salmaci ended up the boxer. After a five round unanimous decision, De La Rosa gave the East only their second victory, leaving only one fight left in the first round of the reality show. Next week, Jimmy Lange and Joey Gilbert will face off to see who the last member of the final eight will be. An intriguing note: Salmaci, from Detroit, was on the West team, while De La Rosa, a Texan, is on the East. I know Mark Burnett isn’t originally from America, but, well, Texas is further west than Detroit, and for that matter, the previous week’s winner, Anthony Bonsante, a Minnesotan, is also closer to the east coast than De La Rosa.
The Next Episode of Fighting Words
Next Monday, Fighting Words will return, as always, with attitude, and as the second half of April arrives, this columnist’s attentions will turn to April 23’s ESPN PPV, April 30’s fight between James Toney and John Ruiz, the big fights scheduled for May and anything and everything else worth writing and reading about. Until then, feel free to check out my other articles by clicking the link on my name next to “Submitted to” on the upper right edge of this page, and don’t be afraid to write in at boxingscene@hotmail.com
Next Monday, Fighting Words will return, as always, with attitude, and as the second half of April arrives, this columnist’s attentions will turn to April 23’s ESPN PPV, April 30’s fight between James Toney and John Ruiz, the big fights scheduled for May and anything and everything else worth writing and reading about. Until then, feel free to check out my other articles by clicking the link on my name next to “Submitted to” on the upper right edge of this page, and don’t be afraid to write in at boxingscene@hotmail.com
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