By George M. Phillips
Before this editorial begins, I want to make it absolutely clear that the opinions expressed below are of my own doing and not those of any publisher who may run this article.
Over the years, all of us fans of the sweet science have heard the following statements, “Boxing has a black eye”, “The sport is tainted”. Events that have occurred since The Marquess of Queensberry Rules were enacted based on the book written by John Graham Chambers in 1865 and the first fight that took place under those rules was on August 29, 1885 when John L. Sullivan defended his Heavyweight Title against Dominick McCaffery, winning by a sixth round knockout.
Some of the events that have given the sport a black eye include: “With a little help of friends”. 1912 - two great fighters, Ad Wolgast and Mexican Joe Rivers who put up this most unusual fight have been forgotten by many boxing people, but the fight between them probably never will. Wolgast was the reigning lightweight champion at the time and Rivers challenged him for the title.
The fight went to the thirteenth round, where both fighters threw simultaneous punches. Rivers landed straight on Wolgast’s chin, while the champion fired a clear low blow. The result was like the ending scheme from the Rocky II movie where the referee, in this fight, Jackie Welsh, started to count on both of the fighters. However, when he reached the count of four, he duck down and literally picked Wolgast up from the canvas and held him up, while with his other hand he continued to count Rivers out!
The round ended as the count was still going (at those days the bell saved the fighter in any round) but Welsh nevertheless completed the count, shouted to the officials that Wolgast won by knockout and then stormed out of the ring. There is still discussion ast to whether or not Welsh was bribed that night. His actions definitely support the opinion that he was, but it also might have been a case of him losing his head. Welsh was known as an honest man, and it might be he just didn’t see the low blow and thusly he gave the advantage of the situation for the champion.
The Jack Dempsey vs Gene Tunney “The Long Count” fight of 1926, Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston “The Phantom Punch” of 1965, “No Mas” by Roberto Duran in 1980, and the “Mike Tyson bite of Evander Holyfield in 1997 to name a few. Up until now most of the events that caused boxing to have this reputation occurred inside the ring or by promoters and managers.
On December 10, 2005 HBO Sports joined that embarrassing list. Until now the majority of the blows that caused damage to the sweet science were made inside the ring by fighters or outside the ring by promoters and managers. Typically the media only reported these events not partook in them. HBO’s telecasts of World Championship Boxing almost crossed the line on a few occasions with some off the cuff and sometimes degrading remarks directed toward some of the participants in various fights. Although HBO does not recognize any of the world titles except the Ring Magazine, WBC, WBA, and IBF titles - there are many fighters that have captured titles for the WBO and IBO and paid the price for many years in order to become a champion.
It is not necessary to degrade the fighter and/or his title on live TV. If Roy Jones would come back and win the WBO Light Heavyweight Title, I wonder if HBO would put him down to the millions of boxing fans that tune in for that fight. Over the years, there have been many mis-match fights and also tune-up bouts for current and/or former champions against lesser known opponents.
HBO always seems to never give the opponent a chance at winning and has basically pre-determined the outcome of the fight before the leather is even laced up. It is amazing however, when a underdog pulls off a win as in the 1990 Douglas vs Tyson fight, where Tyson suffered a 10th round knockout - that Larry Merchant was all up in his grill for a post fight interview. Merchant also displays a lack of class when interviewing fighters as he never lets the fighter say hello to his family on TV and seemingly never let’s them get a word in edge wise.
HBO fell to the bottom of the barrel on December 10, 2005, while broadcasting the Winky Wright vs Sam Soliman fight. Soliman is a seasoned veteran with an impressive win/loss record. Wright was using this fight as a tune-up towards Jermain Taylor. Soliman, from the land down under, came into the ring with a smile that could light up the Las Vegas Strip. At that moment HBO began to heckle Soliman for his energy. Why would you make fun of a man that enjoys his job and is thankful for the spotlight he has been given. The world needs more people smiling when they begin their respective occupations.
Soliman did bring an un-orthodox style to the ring, for which he was criticized for 12 rounds. Why? Is there a universal boxing style? If you are going to criticize Soliman’s style then why not criticize the style of Ali with the rope-a-dope, or Ray Leonard's style of stealing rounds by throwing flurries in the final 30 seconds. Why not criticize Naseem Hamed or may others who have fought untraditionally, but have had success.
Did they not realize that Soliman is rated # 1 in the world by the IBF. Soliman brought a class act into the ring. He loves his wife, his job and country. Why should that be criticized? When the decision was announced for Wright - the fans at the Mandalay Bay cheered for Soliman and booed Wright. Wright even stated that he was a great fighter. For the first time in a long time, Wright actually looked like he had been in a fight.
Soliman gave him more punishment than Shane Mosley or the feared Tito Trinidad. Until the HBO crew goes into the ring and fights 12 rounds and throws over 1,200 punches, they should keep their comments to themselves. The sports world needs more fighters like Sam Soliman. If I was Bob Costas , who is by far the classiest broadcaster in the business, I would be embarrassed to be affiliated with some of HBO broadcasters. They need to clean up their act.