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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - I’ve never had much luck with prospecting.
I was convinced cell phones would never be the must-have accessory of every pre-teen. I’d have guessed the only electric cars I’d see were the ones on slotted race tracks around my Christmas tree.
And yes, in 1998, I was the one who’d have drafted Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning, too.
Not surprisingly, my legacy of blatant misfires carries over to the fight game as well.
Upon watching Eric Fields improve to 11-0 at Mallory Square in 2008, I immediately went out and interviewed him, convinced he’d be the future of the cruiserweight division. And after seeing a high school-aged bantamweight named Ray Ximenez Jr. a few years later, I felt the same instant enthusiasm, wrote about him a day later and figured he’d surely be a legit world-class commodity by age 20.
Well, here we are in 2015.
Fields has won precisely one fight scheduled for more than eight rounds and was stopped in the fourth round of his most recent outing 13 months ago in a California airport hangar. And though Ximenez, now 22, remains unbeaten after a dozen performances as a pro, he’s still not graduated past eight-round fights – and only squeaked to a majority decision against a 7-12 foe to earn win No. 10.
Given that dubious history, it’s no surprise I maintain a death grip on any success I find.
So, Keith Thurman, you’ve been warned.
And now that another night in Las Vegas has come and gone, I expect the bandwagon to fill.
Though he was forced to settle for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. leftover on Saturday night rather than the “Money” man himself, the thoughtful, enlightened Floridian did enough of a number on Robert Guerrero over 12 rounds to officially stamp his ticket to the welterweight division’s exclusive room. [Click Here To Read More]
I was convinced cell phones would never be the must-have accessory of every pre-teen. I’d have guessed the only electric cars I’d see were the ones on slotted race tracks around my Christmas tree.
And yes, in 1998, I was the one who’d have drafted Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning, too.
Not surprisingly, my legacy of blatant misfires carries over to the fight game as well.
Upon watching Eric Fields improve to 11-0 at Mallory Square in 2008, I immediately went out and interviewed him, convinced he’d be the future of the cruiserweight division. And after seeing a high school-aged bantamweight named Ray Ximenez Jr. a few years later, I felt the same instant enthusiasm, wrote about him a day later and figured he’d surely be a legit world-class commodity by age 20.
Well, here we are in 2015.
Fields has won precisely one fight scheduled for more than eight rounds and was stopped in the fourth round of his most recent outing 13 months ago in a California airport hangar. And though Ximenez, now 22, remains unbeaten after a dozen performances as a pro, he’s still not graduated past eight-round fights – and only squeaked to a majority decision against a 7-12 foe to earn win No. 10.
Given that dubious history, it’s no surprise I maintain a death grip on any success I find.
So, Keith Thurman, you’ve been warned.
And now that another night in Las Vegas has come and gone, I expect the bandwagon to fill.
Though he was forced to settle for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. leftover on Saturday night rather than the “Money” man himself, the thoughtful, enlightened Floridian did enough of a number on Robert Guerrero over 12 rounds to officially stamp his ticket to the welterweight division’s exclusive room. [Click Here To Read More]
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