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by David P. Greisman - “That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5
By now, Ricardo Mayorga knows his place. He is the bad guy and the b-side, the man people love to hate.
His unpredictability has become predictable, and yet no one begrudges him for being so. Not when he is the antagonist, the heel, the character people will to pay to see receive his comeuppance.
He will unleash all manner of fire and fury in press conferences and in the ring, but by the end of the evening he will have gone from brash to sheepish, a wooly bully put out to pasture.
His five wins since 2003 have been mixed in with four defeats. In most, he is there to play the same role, to help fans root for the superstar, and to make the hero look good.
Yet his antics have never been dismissed as sideshow. Instead, his showboating is merely seen as showbiz – that is, he shows off until he is shown the floor.
Those are the two Mayorgas: he who is foul, and he who is grateful.
That once again was how it ended for Mayorga this past Saturday, when all the trash talk directed at Shane Mosley merely led to him being disposed of in the final second of the final round.
But that was far from the beginning.
Dec. 13, 2003 – Ricardo Mayorga-Cory Spinks
Mayorga and Spinks were to battle for the welterweight championship, but Mayorga landed the first low blows before the two ever got in the ring. In the build-up to the bout, Spinks spoke of the deaths of his mother and older brother.
Mayorga responded.
“He says his family is pretty much all gone, and he doesn’t have much else to live for,” Mayorga was quoted as saying in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So … I’m going to send you and reunite you with your whole family, who happen to be upstairs with our lord, Jesus Christ.”
Spinks, all the more motivated, out-boxed Mayorga en route to a majority decision victory. Mayorga apologized afterward.
But don’t think he had learned his lesson.
Oct. 2, 2004 – Felix Trinidad-Ricardo Mayorga
Felix Trinidad hadn’t fought in more than two years, leaving the sport just one bout after Bernard Hopkins had dismantled him in front of a boisterous Puerto Rican crowd.
His comeback was in front of the same Madison Square Garden audience. With Mayorga as his opponent – and with Mayorga’s tendency to catch shots – the thunderous punching Trinidad was expected to come out triumphant. [details]
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5
By now, Ricardo Mayorga knows his place. He is the bad guy and the b-side, the man people love to hate.
His unpredictability has become predictable, and yet no one begrudges him for being so. Not when he is the antagonist, the heel, the character people will to pay to see receive his comeuppance.
He will unleash all manner of fire and fury in press conferences and in the ring, but by the end of the evening he will have gone from brash to sheepish, a wooly bully put out to pasture.
His five wins since 2003 have been mixed in with four defeats. In most, he is there to play the same role, to help fans root for the superstar, and to make the hero look good.
Yet his antics have never been dismissed as sideshow. Instead, his showboating is merely seen as showbiz – that is, he shows off until he is shown the floor.
Those are the two Mayorgas: he who is foul, and he who is grateful.
That once again was how it ended for Mayorga this past Saturday, when all the trash talk directed at Shane Mosley merely led to him being disposed of in the final second of the final round.
But that was far from the beginning.
Dec. 13, 2003 – Ricardo Mayorga-Cory Spinks
Mayorga and Spinks were to battle for the welterweight championship, but Mayorga landed the first low blows before the two ever got in the ring. In the build-up to the bout, Spinks spoke of the deaths of his mother and older brother.
Mayorga responded.
“He says his family is pretty much all gone, and he doesn’t have much else to live for,” Mayorga was quoted as saying in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So … I’m going to send you and reunite you with your whole family, who happen to be upstairs with our lord, Jesus Christ.”
Spinks, all the more motivated, out-boxed Mayorga en route to a majority decision victory. Mayorga apologized afterward.
But don’t think he had learned his lesson.
Oct. 2, 2004 – Felix Trinidad-Ricardo Mayorga
Felix Trinidad hadn’t fought in more than two years, leaving the sport just one bout after Bernard Hopkins had dismantled him in front of a boisterous Puerto Rican crowd.
His comeback was in front of the same Madison Square Garden audience. With Mayorga as his opponent – and with Mayorga’s tendency to catch shots – the thunderous punching Trinidad was expected to come out triumphant. [details]
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