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By Thomas Gerbasi - Before I got on the phone with him this week, the last thing Ray Oliveira told me, moments after his 2000 win over Vince Phillips in the same Foxwoods ring he will return to on October 2nd, five years after his last bout, was "I'm just a stubborn fool."
He laughed when he said it, the kind of laugh that says, hey, ‘I fought the other guy’s fight, made the night harder than it should have been, but I still came out on top because that’s the kind of skill, heart, and chin I’ve got.’
I reminded him of the line, shortly before he got back into the gym to prepare for his comeback fight against Joey Spina, and asked him if that was why he was returning to the ring four days before his 42nd birthday.
“I’m not stubborn, I just always wanted 50 wins,” he said. “That was my goal when I first started boxing. I’ve got three fights to go and I figured I’d do it now before I get any older. And I miss the crowd, I ain’t gonna lie. I don’t miss training (Laughs), but I miss the crowd.”
It’s not anything different from what any fighter would say after he’s been under the bright lights and on the world stage. And Oliveira tasted the sweetness the game offered, winning 47 of 60 fights over a 15 year career that saw him win an NABF and IBU title and defeat the likes of Phillips, Vivian Harris, Charles Murray and Tracy Spann while becoming a New England fight scene staple.
But there’s also the downside, and it wasn’t just the losses to guys like Jake Rodriguez and Zack Padilla in his lone world title shots, or defeats at the hands of Vernon Forrest and Ricky Hatton. It was the way he lost in what many believed to be his final fight, a scary 2005 loss to Emanuel Augustus. In that eight round TKO defeat, ESPN viewers watched as Oliveira took shot after shot, chin almost pasted to his chest as he held the back of his head and winced in pain, refusing to quit under obvious duress. When the fight was finally waved off, the words of color commentator Teddy Atlas were ominous as the cameras focused in on Oliveira sitting in his corner. [Click Here To Read More]
He laughed when he said it, the kind of laugh that says, hey, ‘I fought the other guy’s fight, made the night harder than it should have been, but I still came out on top because that’s the kind of skill, heart, and chin I’ve got.’
I reminded him of the line, shortly before he got back into the gym to prepare for his comeback fight against Joey Spina, and asked him if that was why he was returning to the ring four days before his 42nd birthday.
“I’m not stubborn, I just always wanted 50 wins,” he said. “That was my goal when I first started boxing. I’ve got three fights to go and I figured I’d do it now before I get any older. And I miss the crowd, I ain’t gonna lie. I don’t miss training (Laughs), but I miss the crowd.”
It’s not anything different from what any fighter would say after he’s been under the bright lights and on the world stage. And Oliveira tasted the sweetness the game offered, winning 47 of 60 fights over a 15 year career that saw him win an NABF and IBU title and defeat the likes of Phillips, Vivian Harris, Charles Murray and Tracy Spann while becoming a New England fight scene staple.
But there’s also the downside, and it wasn’t just the losses to guys like Jake Rodriguez and Zack Padilla in his lone world title shots, or defeats at the hands of Vernon Forrest and Ricky Hatton. It was the way he lost in what many believed to be his final fight, a scary 2005 loss to Emanuel Augustus. In that eight round TKO defeat, ESPN viewers watched as Oliveira took shot after shot, chin almost pasted to his chest as he held the back of his head and winced in pain, refusing to quit under obvious duress. When the fight was finally waved off, the words of color commentator Teddy Atlas were ominous as the cameras focused in on Oliveira sitting in his corner. [Click Here To Read More]
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