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Ok I listen to this guys radio show and I visit his website ringtalk.com and he seems to be a guy who is always on the look out for the fighters and always keeps their best interests in mind. Although he does come across as offensive and rude sometimes, I like the guys style. He is one of the few muckracking journalist left in boxing. But then I read an article by this guy from 15rounds.com named Mike Swann and he rips Pedro. Is Swann just trying to make a name for himself by being a gutless turd and attacking Pedro, or is he telling the truth? Pedro always has good guests on his radio show, and almost every week he features Larry Merchant as a guest, so he seems legit. Heres the article that went after Pedro...
REBUTTING RINGTALK RUBBISH
The boxing channel
By Michael Swann
Reading the rants of Ringtalk rabble-rouser Pedro Fernandez conjures memories of the chuck wagon scene in “Blazing Saddles.” You know, the one with the cowboys sitting around the campfire eating beans causing a mass outbreak of flatulence? Ex-cop Fernandez paints himself as a crusader for ethics in boxing, yet mows down everyone in his path who doesn’t buy into his latest vendetta.
Lately he has been stalking the case of an allegedly bounced check of $5000 to fighter Yory Boy Campas from Arizona promoter Peter McKinn. There are all sorts of subplots here - Pedro walking the picket line to support Campas and his manager Joe Diaz in front of Arizona Boxing Director John Montano’s office, Pedro allegedly accused of assault and detained for 20 minutes by the Arizona police, an alleged forged receipt for $5000 allegedly signed by Diaz, handwriting experts, and more twists and turns than you could buy for $5000.
According to Wikipedia, Diaz has alleged in the past in Phoenix that two of his fighters were not paid their full purses. Wikipedia also notes that Diaz “and some of his boxers staged a rally in front of the Arizona State Athletic Commission.” So, it appears that possibly some of this may be new business, but old tactics.
In all honesty, I don’t know Diaz or his character, nor that of McKinn or Montano or any of the long cast of players in this ongoing saga. For all I know, Fernandez may have tripped over a legitimate cause this time, and should be credited appropriately. In fact, a reliable source close to the Arizona boxing scene tells me that he received a rubber check from McKinn, and that Joe Diaz made good on it.
Not that solving a $5000 case is the equivalent of unlocking the secrets of the Kennedy assassination, but it would be a step up from Pedro’s usual work, which is more like finding the “real killers” in the O.J. case.
But my concern today is not his reportage of this BIG CASE, but his proclivity to resort to character assassination to engage conflict or exact revenge. I’m making this case in the optimistic hope that Fernandez will consider the long-term effects of living in a glass house.
Recently, Fernandez wrote an article entitled “The Penalty for Being Honest.” In it, he writes that, “There is a price I pay in bringing it to you straight.” Pedro claims that he was told by a promoter and his wife, alleged to be friends of John Montano, that “We lose money and friends by working with you,” and suddenly “the steady announcing gigs were over.”
Pedro claims in bold print that he lost 35% of the Ringtalk traffic which he attributes to his blasting of award winning and highly respected boxing journalist Norm Frauenheim of the Arizona Republic for his “failure to follow any of the leads in this case.” Because of that, Fernandez claims that Maxboxing’s Mike Katz gave instructions for the site not to link any Ringtalk articles, resulting in his loss of web traffic.
“Instead of proving me wrong, to which both Maxboxing and the Arizona Republic had ample opportunities, they cut us off from their readers,” wrote Fernandez.
A promoter’s decision to cut off announcing assignments or a business decision by a website not to link to a site in freefall is, to me, simply their prerogative, whatever their reasons, but particularly if the work is not up to their standards. However, lashing out at the highly respected Frauenheim was the kind of journalism that leaves Fernandez friendless in the boxing community.
In a paragraph sub-titled “Norm Sleeping at Wheel… Or Is He?” Pedro goes on the attack.
“…Norm Frauenheim fumbled the ball here,” Pedro writes. “The question is, did Frauenheim ‘throw the story,’ like an athlete throws a game, with criminal forethought, or were the twists and turns in the story that turned into a case too much for Mr. Frauenheim to comprehend?”
Criminal forethought? For not crusading with Pedro? This personal attack was uncalled for, and typical of the type of journalism found on his site. Little wonder then is it that his traffic would be down 35%. I can’t think of anything less entertaining than to read Pedro’s character bashing day after day. His articles are often repetitive information, much in the style of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Even researching this article made my stomach queasy.
A few months ago, Fernandez lashed out at another award winning journalist, Steve Springer of the Los Angeles Times. Fernandez accused Springer of “impersonating a journalist,” and claimed that he was a “shill” for Top Rank and Bob Arum. The article in its entirety is simply a slanderous hatchet job, the further details of which I will spare you. But suffice it to say that its genesis was a call placed from Springer to Joe Diaz, the trainer and gym owner previously mentioned who had criticized Top Rank and Bob Arum.
Steve Springer is a recipient of the prestigious Nat Fleischer award, the highest journalistic honor bestowed by the Boxing Writer’s Association of America. Fernandez describes himself as an award winning journalist, although no one seems to know what the awards are.
After Jay Larkin was dismissed by Showtime and Pedro wrote that he wanted to kick Larkin in the teeth with steel toed boots while he was down, I wrote an article entitled “Wayward Website is Worst of Worst,” taking Fernandez to task for his insensitivity and crossing the line into borderline psychopathic behavior.
Pedro, of course, had to retaliate, referring to me as the “Pathetic Puke that Penned the Piece,” among some other things. I would have preferred “Proud Person That Prepared This Poetic Prose,” but compared to Springer and Frauenheim, I suppose I got off light.
Of much more interest though was the incredible number of emails that I received in support of my article, and the information about Pedro that they contained.
Here are a bakers dozen of the responses that I received:
1] “The toupee wearing creep…should take his rug and bury it with his mouth somewhere.”
2] “He is banned from several of the major boxing venues and at least one promoter.”
3] “Pedro Fernandez should have been sued for libel dozens of times over by now.”
4] “He is to journalism what cancer is to good health.”
5] “…Ignore him…It drives him crazy because he is desperate for attention.”
6] “He doesn’t have a pot to piss in if anyone wins a judgment against him.”
7] “A judge declared that he is unstable and has a persecution complex.”
8] “[Pedro] has a daughter that had to get a restraining order against him.”
9] “He has at least two social security numbers.”
10] “A bank was going to foreclose on his home…”
11] “He was a cop in San Francisco who left under seriously questionable circumstances.” [Pedro writes that he spent eight honorable years with the SFPD but he doesn’t say how long he was on the force.]
12] “If Pedro is bashing you, it means that you are doing good work…I just wanted to let you know how happy I am that someone finally stood up to this classless guy.”
13] “The last straw for me was …when he asked Larry Merchant [on his radio show] if there was any truth to the rumor of Tito Trinidad being in his words ‘*****.’ ”
There are more. For the record, unlike Fernandez who prints his allegations as gospel, I will admit that this is all second hand information that I cannot substantiate, or will I even bother to try. Readers of my column sent in this information, and I can’t say with authority how much, if any of this is the truth. Frankly, I don’t care if Pedro does wear a toupee.
My objective is to demonstrate how easy it is for him to throw his malicious poison darts at people such as Steve Springer and Norm Frauenheim. Fernandez seems to have forgotten Journalism 101 - don’t make the story about you. Report the news, analyze the news, but please stop making yourself the news. It’s just not that compelling.
REBUTTING RINGTALK RUBBISH
The boxing channel
By Michael Swann
Reading the rants of Ringtalk rabble-rouser Pedro Fernandez conjures memories of the chuck wagon scene in “Blazing Saddles.” You know, the one with the cowboys sitting around the campfire eating beans causing a mass outbreak of flatulence? Ex-cop Fernandez paints himself as a crusader for ethics in boxing, yet mows down everyone in his path who doesn’t buy into his latest vendetta.
Lately he has been stalking the case of an allegedly bounced check of $5000 to fighter Yory Boy Campas from Arizona promoter Peter McKinn. There are all sorts of subplots here - Pedro walking the picket line to support Campas and his manager Joe Diaz in front of Arizona Boxing Director John Montano’s office, Pedro allegedly accused of assault and detained for 20 minutes by the Arizona police, an alleged forged receipt for $5000 allegedly signed by Diaz, handwriting experts, and more twists and turns than you could buy for $5000.
According to Wikipedia, Diaz has alleged in the past in Phoenix that two of his fighters were not paid their full purses. Wikipedia also notes that Diaz “and some of his boxers staged a rally in front of the Arizona State Athletic Commission.” So, it appears that possibly some of this may be new business, but old tactics.
In all honesty, I don’t know Diaz or his character, nor that of McKinn or Montano or any of the long cast of players in this ongoing saga. For all I know, Fernandez may have tripped over a legitimate cause this time, and should be credited appropriately. In fact, a reliable source close to the Arizona boxing scene tells me that he received a rubber check from McKinn, and that Joe Diaz made good on it.
Not that solving a $5000 case is the equivalent of unlocking the secrets of the Kennedy assassination, but it would be a step up from Pedro’s usual work, which is more like finding the “real killers” in the O.J. case.
But my concern today is not his reportage of this BIG CASE, but his proclivity to resort to character assassination to engage conflict or exact revenge. I’m making this case in the optimistic hope that Fernandez will consider the long-term effects of living in a glass house.
Recently, Fernandez wrote an article entitled “The Penalty for Being Honest.” In it, he writes that, “There is a price I pay in bringing it to you straight.” Pedro claims that he was told by a promoter and his wife, alleged to be friends of John Montano, that “We lose money and friends by working with you,” and suddenly “the steady announcing gigs were over.”
Pedro claims in bold print that he lost 35% of the Ringtalk traffic which he attributes to his blasting of award winning and highly respected boxing journalist Norm Frauenheim of the Arizona Republic for his “failure to follow any of the leads in this case.” Because of that, Fernandez claims that Maxboxing’s Mike Katz gave instructions for the site not to link any Ringtalk articles, resulting in his loss of web traffic.
“Instead of proving me wrong, to which both Maxboxing and the Arizona Republic had ample opportunities, they cut us off from their readers,” wrote Fernandez.
A promoter’s decision to cut off announcing assignments or a business decision by a website not to link to a site in freefall is, to me, simply their prerogative, whatever their reasons, but particularly if the work is not up to their standards. However, lashing out at the highly respected Frauenheim was the kind of journalism that leaves Fernandez friendless in the boxing community.
In a paragraph sub-titled “Norm Sleeping at Wheel… Or Is He?” Pedro goes on the attack.
“…Norm Frauenheim fumbled the ball here,” Pedro writes. “The question is, did Frauenheim ‘throw the story,’ like an athlete throws a game, with criminal forethought, or were the twists and turns in the story that turned into a case too much for Mr. Frauenheim to comprehend?”
Criminal forethought? For not crusading with Pedro? This personal attack was uncalled for, and typical of the type of journalism found on his site. Little wonder then is it that his traffic would be down 35%. I can’t think of anything less entertaining than to read Pedro’s character bashing day after day. His articles are often repetitive information, much in the style of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Even researching this article made my stomach queasy.
A few months ago, Fernandez lashed out at another award winning journalist, Steve Springer of the Los Angeles Times. Fernandez accused Springer of “impersonating a journalist,” and claimed that he was a “shill” for Top Rank and Bob Arum. The article in its entirety is simply a slanderous hatchet job, the further details of which I will spare you. But suffice it to say that its genesis was a call placed from Springer to Joe Diaz, the trainer and gym owner previously mentioned who had criticized Top Rank and Bob Arum.
Steve Springer is a recipient of the prestigious Nat Fleischer award, the highest journalistic honor bestowed by the Boxing Writer’s Association of America. Fernandez describes himself as an award winning journalist, although no one seems to know what the awards are.
After Jay Larkin was dismissed by Showtime and Pedro wrote that he wanted to kick Larkin in the teeth with steel toed boots while he was down, I wrote an article entitled “Wayward Website is Worst of Worst,” taking Fernandez to task for his insensitivity and crossing the line into borderline psychopathic behavior.
Pedro, of course, had to retaliate, referring to me as the “Pathetic Puke that Penned the Piece,” among some other things. I would have preferred “Proud Person That Prepared This Poetic Prose,” but compared to Springer and Frauenheim, I suppose I got off light.
Of much more interest though was the incredible number of emails that I received in support of my article, and the information about Pedro that they contained.
Here are a bakers dozen of the responses that I received:
1] “The toupee wearing creep…should take his rug and bury it with his mouth somewhere.”
2] “He is banned from several of the major boxing venues and at least one promoter.”
3] “Pedro Fernandez should have been sued for libel dozens of times over by now.”
4] “He is to journalism what cancer is to good health.”
5] “…Ignore him…It drives him crazy because he is desperate for attention.”
6] “He doesn’t have a pot to piss in if anyone wins a judgment against him.”
7] “A judge declared that he is unstable and has a persecution complex.”
8] “[Pedro] has a daughter that had to get a restraining order against him.”
9] “He has at least two social security numbers.”
10] “A bank was going to foreclose on his home…”
11] “He was a cop in San Francisco who left under seriously questionable circumstances.” [Pedro writes that he spent eight honorable years with the SFPD but he doesn’t say how long he was on the force.]
12] “If Pedro is bashing you, it means that you are doing good work…I just wanted to let you know how happy I am that someone finally stood up to this classless guy.”
13] “The last straw for me was …when he asked Larry Merchant [on his radio show] if there was any truth to the rumor of Tito Trinidad being in his words ‘*****.’ ”
There are more. For the record, unlike Fernandez who prints his allegations as gospel, I will admit that this is all second hand information that I cannot substantiate, or will I even bother to try. Readers of my column sent in this information, and I can’t say with authority how much, if any of this is the truth. Frankly, I don’t care if Pedro does wear a toupee.
My objective is to demonstrate how easy it is for him to throw his malicious poison darts at people such as Steve Springer and Norm Frauenheim. Fernandez seems to have forgotten Journalism 101 - don’t make the story about you. Report the news, analyze the news, but please stop making yourself the news. It’s just not that compelling.
I heard from icemanjohnscully that he lied about his amatuer record. That raised my eyebrows.
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