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You hear a lot of strange things working the boxing beat.
For example Mike Tyson has told reporters that he'd like to feast on Lennox Lewis's (then unborn) children and once spoke with enthusiasm about making Razor Ruddock - with his 'sweet lips' and '*** voice' - his girlfriend. Then there was the time Hector Camacho told the wide-eyed press that he didn't mind a negative fan reaction because he gets his 'girls to boo me in bed' and it was almost a surreal experience to listen to Oliver McCall explain away the incident where he a fought off armed policemen with a Christmas tree in a hotel lobby.
And yet, fight folks can still surprise you when they draw breath to speak. Here's a recent example:
In Las Vegas last weekend International Boxing Federation Champion Chris Byrd told me a was avoiding WBA rival John Ruiz. This is the guy who just gave away 56lbs in a title fight and he actually said he was 'afraid' to fight the Hispanic hugger.
"Everyone in the division is afraid to fight that guy," Byrd stated as though facing the most resoundingly average 'champion' in heavyweight history is tantamount to wrestling a handicap match against two half-starved grizzles while wearing a minced beef leotard.
"I don't fear his skills, strength, punch, size, nothing," Byrd explained. "But he is allowed to use his own rules in there.
"In his fights, Ruiz goes one-two (left and then a right) and holds. The ref breaks it up and then it's one-two, hold, one-two, hold, one-two, hold. That's not boxing. That's not supposed to be allowed under the Queensbury Rules. It's illegal, it is cheating but for some reason referee after referee let the guy get away with it. He should be deducted points and then disqualified for doing it but he's basically allowed to do it regardless.
"When a guy is allowed to use different rules to win a fight than every other heavyweight on the planet why should I want to be part of that? I'd fight him and beat him but why should I climb in there with a guy who doesn't want to box when there's a division full of much more interesting fights for me, including a rematch with Vitali Klitschko? Why should I want to be part of Ruiz and his holding?"
And, moreover, why should b-o-x-i-n-g fans have to watch it?
For example Mike Tyson has told reporters that he'd like to feast on Lennox Lewis's (then unborn) children and once spoke with enthusiasm about making Razor Ruddock - with his 'sweet lips' and '*** voice' - his girlfriend. Then there was the time Hector Camacho told the wide-eyed press that he didn't mind a negative fan reaction because he gets his 'girls to boo me in bed' and it was almost a surreal experience to listen to Oliver McCall explain away the incident where he a fought off armed policemen with a Christmas tree in a hotel lobby.
And yet, fight folks can still surprise you when they draw breath to speak. Here's a recent example:
In Las Vegas last weekend International Boxing Federation Champion Chris Byrd told me a was avoiding WBA rival John Ruiz. This is the guy who just gave away 56lbs in a title fight and he actually said he was 'afraid' to fight the Hispanic hugger.
"Everyone in the division is afraid to fight that guy," Byrd stated as though facing the most resoundingly average 'champion' in heavyweight history is tantamount to wrestling a handicap match against two half-starved grizzles while wearing a minced beef leotard.
"I don't fear his skills, strength, punch, size, nothing," Byrd explained. "But he is allowed to use his own rules in there.
"In his fights, Ruiz goes one-two (left and then a right) and holds. The ref breaks it up and then it's one-two, hold, one-two, hold, one-two, hold. That's not boxing. That's not supposed to be allowed under the Queensbury Rules. It's illegal, it is cheating but for some reason referee after referee let the guy get away with it. He should be deducted points and then disqualified for doing it but he's basically allowed to do it regardless.
"When a guy is allowed to use different rules to win a fight than every other heavyweight on the planet why should I want to be part of that? I'd fight him and beat him but why should I climb in there with a guy who doesn't want to box when there's a division full of much more interesting fights for me, including a rematch with Vitali Klitschko? Why should I want to be part of Ruiz and his holding?"
And, moreover, why should b-o-x-i-n-g fans have to watch it?
to your mom..
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