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You know that it would take a special kind of talent to generate buzz of their own in the wake of such a thrilling war as this weekend’s Brandon Rios-Urbano Antillon scrap in Carson, California, but contender Mercito Gesta certainly has some redeeming qualities that are hard to forget.
On the night of February 19th, 2011, undefeated junior lightweight Mickey Bey Jr. suffered the only blemish of his career when he was held to a majority draw against Fort Worth, Texas' Jose Hernandez inside of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The disappointment following the verdict ran deep for the Cleveland, Ohio native, especially considering the fact that Bey feels he wasn’t at his best for a particular reason.
During a recent visit to the H.I.T. Factory Gym in Las Vegas, trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad could be found working with budding amateur and soon-to-be professional Taylor Larson. A former light heavyweight champion in his own right, Muhammad is always a busy man and outside of working with former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, lightweight contender Jorge Teron, undefeated super middleweight prospect Badou Jack, and proven veteran Ishe Smith, he claims to get calls on a daily basis inquiring if he is open to working with new talent.
When I caught up with Larry Merchant on Wednesday night it was actually just hitting the early morning Thursday hours over in Germany as the HBO color analyst had been overseas for over a week for his duties covering the recent Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye heavyweight title affair in Hamburg. Just waking up and with only a few minutes to spare before heading for his plane home to the States, Merchant was still open to a brief talk and I decided to take a look at some of the action taking place this weekend.
At the moment former champion Paulie Malignaggi is enjoying some free time in his second home of Italy, having a ball with friends and family in the city of Sicily. Still recovering from a right hand injury that he suffered in his unanimous decision victory over Jose Miguel Cotto in April inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Malignaggi figured what better time than now to visit those close to him overseas and to rekindle his love for his roots.
In the first part of my interview with welterweight contender Mike Jones, we went over his early years in the sport, his impressions of the Philadelphia gym scene, and the learning lessons he took away from his recent scraps with rugged Sinaloa, Mexico native Jesus Soto Karass. Jones is also being considered as an opponent in the near future for WBO welterweight champion and revealed that although he would prefer some more experience before a fight of such magnitude, he would be ready if called upon for that challenge.
Every fighter is blessed with their share of physical gifts but it is the intangibles that ultimately determine their true worth. Having mental toughness, getting through difficult situations, learning to pace one’s self and fighting off of instinct all come into play at one point in time and it’s when these treats are combined with the God-given talents that we see a fighter at their best.
At its best, boxing has a way of lifting us in an almost magical way, whether you are a fighter in the ring or someone closely connected to the sport in general. But just as the highs are heroic, so too can the lows be devastating.
In the first part of my latest interview with HBO Sports' Bert Sugar, we took a look at this weekend's heavyweight title clash between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye. Not wanting to leave anyone out, I was also sure to get Sugar's take on another one of the sport's biggest stories, the recently announced Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz welterweight title showdown, set to take place on September 17th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
For the past seven years, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has gone undefeated, reeling off thirteen consecutive victories and ten stoppages along the way. There is no question that in that stretch it has been the younger Klitschko who has been the most dominant heavyweight on the planet yet the painful reality is that his fights have lacked any real suspense or intrigue.