In Rusty’s Corner
By Rusty Rubin, managing editor, of Ringsports.com, and author of “Off the Canvas”, a view of American history and the social problems of the times, as witnessed by an 80-year old ex-champion. “Off the Canvas” is a book that has been getting rave reviews. Copies are $15.00 each available at Ringsports.com and on-line major book retailers. For a list of the reviews please contact me.***
Glad to see another boxing movie winning all sorts of Academy Awards. I haven’t seen the flick yet, but I’m a fan of the enormous talents of Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. It was a must see for this scribe before the Awards, and more so now.***
This weekend, at the MGM Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas, Eric ‘Il Terrible’ Morales, whose nickname really should be “I’ll take on anyone, anytime, anyplace” takes on hard-punching champ Manny Pacquiao.
Pac Man, the champion from the Philippines, is moving up a bit in weight and should have little problem in taking his hard punching power with him, and is currently a 6/5 favorite.
Manny has the advantage in two areas, power punching and he’s coming off an easy fight.
Morales never comes off an easy fight, because he never takes one, but all boxing fans know he has a chin of granite, and a heart just as tough.
I give the edge to Morales in what should be an early candidate for Fight of the Year honors, essentially because he’s the bigger man and has the better whiskers, which he’ll definitely need against Pacquiao.
You can bet both fighters will be in each others face all night, and that the fight, unless a bad cut stops it, will go the distance.
Logic says Pacquiao, but my heart says Morales. I love the guy. He’s a throwback to the days of the gladiators.
Since there’s no beautiful girls involved, and I’m happily married, I’ll go with my heart, Morales by close decision.
Agree or disagree please reply to Rusty@ringsports.com
Great News: “Black Cloud” the boxing movie that I’ve written about here in the past, premiered on March 11, in NYC, L.A., Boston, Hartford, New Haven, and New London Ct. as well as Providence, RI. The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut will be hosting a screening or you can visit Blackcloudthemovie.com. Don’t miss this one. It’s a knockout!***
Agree or disagree, I always welcome comments.
My good friend Stephen B. Acunto, who founded the American Association for the Improvement of Boxing, along with Rocky Marciano, now has his book “Champions Boxing Guide” available in Spanish. For details visit Steve’s website: AAIB.org
Please help me with my upcoming new book. Send all boxing jokes, stories, quips and boxing oddities to (Rusty@ringsports.com), thanks, and members of the boxing media are free to send this most welcome information as well. All submissions used will be given full credit, if used in the book, and it will be given on who submits the story first, basis. Here’s your chance to have your name in print, instead of American’s Most Wanted posters.***
Agree or disagree, feel free to express your views.
Glove2Glove:
Prayers requested for the return to health of former New England featherweight champion, down but not out with a brain tumor as well as Ray Lampkin, former top contender who underwent triple bypass surgery recently. Also prayers are needed for the return to health of Sheila Sepulveda, widow of Reno based Ahora Spanish News Publisher Miguel, and mother of Steve Sepulveda.
Dub Harris, WWII hero and founder and past President of the World Boxing Hall of Fame has suffered a stroke in Southern California. Please pray for his quick return to health.***
Prayers needed for the return to health of Alfonso Luna, father of our outstanding photographer Ray Luna, who has taken ill in Southern California.
Please say prayers for the return to health of Helen Wambolt, wife of our East Coast World Boxing Hall of Fame writer Danny Wambolt. Cards will also be most welcome.***
Please say prayers for the return to health of Orazio Esposito, father of our photographer Richard Esposito.***
Sandy Johnson a great gal as well as a staff member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission is fighting breast cancer. A call, e-mail or card, along with your prayers would really do a lot to raise the spirits of an old friend.***
Special prayers go out to Mills Lane for his complete recovery. Mills, who moved from Reno to New York, suffered a stroke a few years back. He may be down, but knowing him personally, he’s far from out.***
Prayers for the return to health of Don Donelson, father of writer Tom, and Gene Sebastian, brother of former middleweight champ Billy Soose. Both are suffering from congestive heart disease. And to Arthur Terciera, father of writer Keith, also having heart related problems.***
Prayers are requested for Ringsports.com photo journalist Dale Hausner of Arizona, who is having problems with cancer.***
Prayers are requested for Kenneth E. Ryther father of our photo journalist Amy Green. Kenneth is suffering from Parkinson’s.***
Prayers for Ed “Whitey” Hadar, a former boxer who is having some serious health problems.***
Please say prayers for Phill Grazide of Santa Rosa, CA. a big supporter of amateur boxing, who is suffering the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis.***
Needless to say we need prayers for the return to health of both former champs Greg Page and Gerald McClellan, both confined to wheelchairs.***
Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their relatives in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and only contact our members when someone is in need. It’s free to join. Simply send us your e-mail address. And even if you’re not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.***
Touching on politics briefly: Figuring out the legacy of our current President is all but impossible, mainly because it’s way too early to even try to evaluate Dubya’s term in office.
Bush, who, with a very experienced cabinet and equally qualified advisors, figured to be a good President in the area of foreign policy, and seems to be. Well, if you discount the American blood for Arab oil trade scenario, a case can be made for that, except the oil prices from Dubya’s friends in the Middle East are not coming down, they are going up and up!
Iraq and Afghanistan are free (for now) and while Iran should have been the target of choice because of the nuclear capabilities there, that’s a good thing. It’s always good to get rid of cold blooded killers, as Sadaam and his kin certainly were.
There seems to be peace in Palestine, and we can only hope that it remains. The President will be judged on the long-term consequences of the shaky but still holding peace treaty.
Libya renounced nuclear and weapons and there are rumblings of democracy in Lebanon and Egypt, so perhaps the world is becoming a safer place. But is America? Many countries show signs of democracy, so, assuming another theocracy doesn’t take control in the region, Bush should get high grades here.
However, his handling of domestic policy leaves a lot to be desired, like a brand new domestic policy.
And for now, let’s forget what Mr. Bush had done to our once strong economy. Both the national debt and the trade deficit are at record levels and only figure to go higher.
The President wants us to open our borders with Mexico even wider, allowing for the possibility of drug dealers and worse crossing our already porous border, and to make matters worse, he wants to make illegal aliens, legal. As if it’s not bad enough that they already have free access to many of our resources.
Not only is this a dangerous practice, but one that no American should stand for.
While illegals crossing the border from Mexico is not new to the Bush administration, the security of our borders is, and should be of increasing concern since Sept. 11th.
Homeland security should come before the security of any other nation, PERIOD! Sharing our wealth is one thing, but remember, Rome, the greatest empire in the world, before America, was destroyed more from within than without. If nothing else, we should learn from history.
I know that I am not the only person who has problems with the friendship of our President and Vincente Fox of Mexico as well as former Communist hard liner, Vladamir Putin of Russia? Isn’t it all too obvious that both leaders are dangerous to the well-being of this country?
These men are leaders because they know that their first responsibility is to their own homeland, how come Mr. Bush doesn’t realize the same thing?
We know the vast majority of Mexicans are good, honest, hard working folks, who only want the opportunity to earn a living for their family. That is to be respected, but only if they came to America legally, and the vast majority have. Coming into America illegally doesn’t make anyone, less than a felon.
But to the trained eye, there is no obvious reason for the economy of Mexico to be in shambles. Mexico has many natural resources, so why are so many compatriots coming over our borders?
Homeland security? What’s that? Anyone who can count knows there are more terrorists in this country now than were on board any of the 9/11 flights, and I’m not talking radical Muslims. The Mexican Mafia, white supremacists, etc. are all dangerous to our society, and unless proven otherwise far more numerous in America than those that preach and follow radical Islam. Instead of taking action, against those already here, he changes the issue to social security reform.
No one is blaming the President for terrorists in our midst. They’ve been here a lot longer than he’s been in office, but because of his ‘deals’ with Mexico, and NAFTA, the problem is clearly getting worse. I won’t name the problem without a viable solution, how about we get Vincente Fox to tightly patrol his side of the border while we do our side? Of course the President wouldn’t dare suggest sanctions on Mexico for not following this; after all, he enjoys supporting illegal aliens in America. Sure Mexican border guards can be bribed to look away, just as easy as American guards, but at least it’s a start.
As for other domestic issues, so far it looks like our President must be dyslexic, thinking that his favorite book is Hood Robin, as he continually takes from the poor to give to the rich. Here’s a prime example why we do need stem cell research, as maybe it can cure this illness.
And now Dubya wants to help his rich friends by reforming bankruptcy laws. The way he’s ruining our economy, it’s a good thing that America isn’t going to be subject to them. Notice corporations aren’t affected negatively?
Yes, our homeland security is tighter than it was prior to 9/11, but certainly not tight enough. Even members of the President’s own party admits that. More can and must be done, and social security reform is not a real issue, at least not at the present time.
And don’t get me started on the outsourcing of American jobs and the trade deficit. Under President Bush, America is slowly turning into a banana republic, and I’m sure I’m not the first to notice this.
The President’s new social security plan (read bad joke), is an attempt to wag the dog, making an immediate issue out of a long-range one, to get the voters mind off the miserable job he’s doing domestically.
If President Bush really cared about the seniors, how come they didn’t get one cent in his tax cut for the rich?
Does Mr. Bush really think we don’t notice the outrageous prices we pay at the gas pumps? Does he really think that we don’t know there is a surplus of oil? Does he think the American people don’t realize (or care) that members of his administration have interests in oil companies?
The answer is yes, and that’s exactly the reason he wants to put a portion of social security money into individual accounts. He believes the average person doesn’t have the knowledge to manage their own money, and he’s right. Look at the last voter turnout among young voters.
How much money are the pro social security reform ads costing, which won’t help anyhow, but gets the publics mind off the real problems of the world? Wouldn’t that extra cash, put into the social security accounts help, at least a little? And that doesn’t even take into account how much time and money he’s wasting trying to promote this can’t win program across the nation...
Looking at Bush’s domestic agenda, sometimes I wish that impersonating a President would be an impeachable offense, but when I look at whose next in line, I’ll take what we have.
Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear from you (Rusty@ringsports.com)