Connect with us

Articles of 2003

What Super Heavyweights

Published

on

Over the past couple years, boxing fans have heard many commentators talk about the size of today's heavyweights. The announcers make a big deal over how big some of them are, implying that size is equated to a fighters ability. Some have suggested the idea of implementing a Super-Heavyweight division. There are those that point to the supposedly imposing size of Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers as to why this should be considered.

Why? If you're a heavyweight, 6'1″ and 220 pounds and you can fight, that's plenty big enough to not only be a major factor, but to become the heavyweight champ. Sonny Liston of the late 50's and 60's is viewed as the fighter who transitioned the era of the big-heavyweights. Liston at 6'1.5″ and 218 pounds was the first heavyweight champ over six feet tall and weighing over two hundred pounds since Joe Louis of the 30' & 40's (6'2″ 198-207). Since Liston, how many heavyweights bigger then him have achieved greatness? How about four, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Lennox Lewis. Since the end of the Holmes era in 1985, other then Lewis, the two best heavyweights are Evander Holyfield, who was a cruiserweight and weighed between 205-210 in his best days as a heavyweight, and Mike Tyson who was 5'10″ and was 216-221 in his prime.

I believe the era of the giant heavyweight is totally overblown. Until recently it was perceived that the lighter a heavyweight weighed in, the better shape he was in. Today it's the opposite. Most look at bigger heavier fighters as being stronger and better punchers, this is a myth. Look at some of these big guys today, most of them carry too much weight, which hinders their speed and stamina, and adds nothing to their punching power. Other then Heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, what other big heavyweight has been even moderately successful sustaining a championship reign ? Not Riddick Bowe, he made two title defenses and lost to Evander Holyfield who only weighed 215. In spite of beating the smaller Holyfield two out a three, it seems that the bigger Bowe had more taken out of him, and was an empty package by the time he fought Golota. Lennox Lewis cemented his legacy beating and old cruiser weight in Holyfield, and a past his prime 5'10″ Mike Tyson, not exactly the biggest heavyweights in the world.

Even in todays heavyweight division, 210-225 is plenty big enough if you can fight. Most of the fighters over 235 are just big and cumbersome. Most of the big heavyweights tire easily, you seldom ever see them fight a full round. Their size adds nothing to their punching power, nor does it help them take a big shot on the chin. Just in the last month we've seen two great examples as to why this is true. On March 1st of this year we saw Lt. heavyweight champ Roy Jones weigh in at 199 pounds, and totally dominate WBA heavyweight champ John Ruiz who had a 27 pound weight advantage. Why, because Jones is a great fighter and Ruiz was just a bigger fighter. Off of Jones' victory over Ruiz, some belive he can beat any heavyweight except Lennox Lewis. Using that logic then one has to wonder what a prime Ali or Holmes would've done to the Klitschko's or Lewis. Certainly no one in their right mind could possibly belive that Roy Jones brings nearly the same to the ring at 199, as Ali or Holmes at 220. On March 8th we saw 224 pound Corrie Sanders stop the 6'6″ 245 pound WBO champ Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds. Why, because Sanders has fast hands and at 224 can punch plenty hard enough to do damage. The towering Klitschko's size didn't do him any good when he got hit on his chin.

Other than Lennox Lewis, who are the big heavyweights of today that show any promise of greatness ? Jameel McCline is a huge guy with good basics but, he can't punch and has shown that he's nothing special inside. Michael Grant, he's put together physically but, he has a suspect chin and hasn't shown the upside potential that some thought he could have achieved. How about the Klitschko's, Vitali is big and can punch, however he is slow and ponderous, and has already lost to former super-middleweight Chris Byrd. Wladimir has shown good boxing skills and decent speed but, against McCline he was tentative when McCline threw punches back, and after the Sanders defeat his chin has to be considered suspect. Lance Whittaker is a big strong guy who can hit but, he's slow and hasn't shown that he has the boxing skill needed to be a complete fighter. Henry Akinwande is another giant but, he flat-out can't fight at the world class level. I just don't see why some commentators and writers are making such a fuss over the bigger heavyweights of today.

The bottom line is 210-225 pounds is plenty big enough for a heavyweight of today as long as he has some ability to box. Chris Byrd the IBF Champ started as a super-middleweight and usually weighs around 214. He has fast hands and can box and knows exactly what he's doing in the ring. It will take a fighter with more then just size to take his title. Roy Jones campaigned mostly as a middleweight and Lt. heavyweight through out his career, and now he's the WBA heavyweight champ. Just like Byrd, it will take more then size alone to make him an ex-champ. Corrie Sanders was 224, yet he stopped the 245 pound Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, and Wladimir was projected to be the best of the big heavyweights. Lastly we can't forget Evander Holyfield, who was thought by most to be too small throughout his entire heavyweight career. Yet from 1990 through 1999 he was the best and most consistent heavyweight in the game. It appears Chris Byrd has put the first nail in his career coffin, and most likely Roy Jones will add the final nail to it. How about that, neither the enormous Bowe or Lewis will be remembered for retiring the “Real Deal” but, Byrd and Jones will be the ones to end his dream of becoming a five-time heavyweight champ. Two guys who started their careers at even lower weights then he did.

In the heavyweight division bigger is not better. You can actually be too big in the heavyweight division today, especially if you can't fight. Being able to fight is what makes the difference, and a fighter who weighs in the range of 210-225 is plenty big enough to knockout a fighter who weighs 245-260 who's not as skilled.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Advertisement

Articles of 2003

The War at 154

Published

on

They're calling it the “War at 154,” though no one will confuse it with plucking evil dictators out of dirty rat holes or patrolling the rubble and dark streets of a dying city.

Still, they're hoping this fight somehow lives up to its top billing, praying a slugfest breaks out instead of 12 rounds of elevator music.

IBF champ Winky Wright (46-3, 25 K0s), versus WBA and WBC champ Shane Mosley (39-2, 35 K0s) for the undisputed junior-middleweight (or, depending on your mood, super-welterweight) championship of the world.

Finally.

It has a nice, long-overdue ring to it, a kind of “it's about damn time,” feel to it.

If you want to give credit to the right people for getting this fight done, you can start with Cory Spinks, an unlikely hero now known as the undisputed welterweight champ of the world.

If Spinks hadn't beaten Ricardo Mayorga on Dec. 13, Wright could have spent January and February snagging some sun on a St. Petersburg beach. That's because Mayorga was expected to walk through Spinks on his way to a lucrative fight with Mosley in March.

But somehow, Spinks found a way to beat Mayorga and suddenly, Mosley no longer had a March opponent and everything appeared to be ruined. Plans were shattered, promises broken, money was lost. The wife cried, the dog howled and the kids were sent to bed early.

How can this happen?

Then an idea occurred to someone important.

Hey, what about Ronald “Winky” Wright? I don't think he's got any big plans for March.

Winky, who was free in March, owes Cory a friendly slap on the back.

So what does the March 13 fight between Mosley and Wright (on HBO) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas mean?

Just about everything if you weigh 154 and hold a world title belt.

It means Winky finally gets the big-money, big-name fight that could define his career, the fight he's been chasing since his controversial majority-decision loss to Fernando Vargas in 1999.

It means Gary Shaw, Mosley's promoter, also deserves a little pat on the back for somehow putting this fight together.

It means for the first time in 29 years, you'll only have to know one name when the bar talk turns to who the best junior-middleweight fighter in the world is.

It means Mosley better arrive at the gym early and leave late. He's not fighting the awkward banger he'd be facing in Mayorga. While Mayorga knows how to slug, Wright knows how to box.

It means Wright doesn't have to pack his passport the day he leaves for the fight. He won't have to hire an interpreter, change his currency, drive on the left side or learn how to eat and pronounce strange food. Of Wright's 49 fights, 20 have required extra paperwork and extra-long plane rides. He's fought in eight different countries and on four different continents.

No wonder no one over here knows who Winky Wright is.

Finally, this fight means that with the right money and for the right reasons, two guys in the same weight class holding different world titles, can come to an understanding that meeting inside the ring to decide who is the real champion makes all the sense in the world.

The sad thing is, it took an upset by another fighter in a different weight class – Spinks – to finally make it happen.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading

Articles of 2003

KILL THE BILL Volume 7 — ANOTHER REFORMER WHO NEEDS TO BE REFORMED

Published

on

The 99th Round

Earlier this month, in response to what he, and others, considered an excessive amount of “pork” in the latest energy bill, John McCain told his Senate colleagues, “The outbreak of Washington trichinosis will be so severe, we will be forced to have a field office for the Centers for Disease Control right next to the Capitol.”

In a recent Associated Press wire story, McCain was described as “an avid critic of spending for lawmakers' pet projects.”

One of the great curiosities of McCain's campaign to slip through Congress his own pet project, the expensive ($36 million over five years), ineffectual, and perhaps unconstitutional Professional Boxing Amendments Act (to federalize control of boxing) has been his outright refusal to include television entities – by far the most powerful and influential forces in the sport – among those which would fall under regulatory jurisdiction.

Critics have cried foul – and they've had a point. If networks are going to control the balance of power, define the major 'players', put fighters under contract, and in some cases actually assume the 'de facto' role of a promoter, they are receiving unequal and unfair protection vis-a-vis the promoters in boxing who are actually required to be licensed and regulated.

However, McCain has been resolute about maintaining this protection, avoiding all opportunities to adjust or amend the bill to accommodate the reality of the industry, not to mention Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who had previously introduced legislation that would provide some oversight of networks when they play a promotional role. McCain has been nothing short of combative on occasion, “calling out” Reid in press conferences, and in correspondence he has leaked to the public.

Why is McCain so stubborn? Part of the reason lies in a mode of political operation that has become imbedded in the man itself, despite countless “spins” to the contrary.

What is common knowledge inside the Beltway, but not necessarily among average boxing fans, is that while McCain has carefully crafted an image as a reformer railing against special interests, he has developed a talent that is much more acute, as one of the very best in the business at feeding from the corporate trough.

He has been slick enough to parlay his coziness with corporate interests into political capital, resulting in lots of money coming his way for campaigns. And his public relations apparatus, which has included many highly-cooperative writers, both in and out of sports, has enabled him to avoid having to discuss the considerable influence special interest groups have had on the drafting and development of McCain's boxing bill – the same types of groups he would purport to be thwarting in the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (otherwise known as McCain-Feingold), which, at the end of the day, amounts to little more than a rather brazen attempt to protect his own incumbency and that of other elected officials.

Campaign finance records available through the website OpenSecrets.org indicate that, for example, during 1999, the third-highest contributor to what, at the time, was McCain's insurgent run at the Republican presidential nomination was Viacom ($47,750), which controls a number of TV outlets, including Showtime, which has a major investment in boxing.

The top eight corporate contributors to McCain's “Straight Talk America” political action committee from 1997-2002 included three companies that would be affected, one way or another, by the way McCain's bill was shaped – Viacom, AT&T (which controlled cable outlets and sold pay-per-view boxing events), and AOL Time Warner (which owns HBO, boxing's most powerful single entity).

And as for McCain's last U.S. Senate campaign, waged in 1998, the list of his top fifty corporate donors is replete with entities who have a substantial stake in boxing, and which have a “special interest” in avoiding the regulatory blanket – Viacom (3rd – $55,250), AT&T (4th – $51,563), NBC/General Electric (20th – $19,500), Fox/News Corp. (22nd – $19,050), Time Warner (T43rd – $12,000), and Univision (T43rd – $12,000), not to mention Anheuser-Busch (5th -$51,563), a company in which McCain has considerable financial interests, both individually (he has reported at least a half-million dollars in debentures) and through his family (which controls the largest distributorship in Arizona), and which over the past two decades has been boxing most prominent sponsor, with nearly all of that advertising delivered through television.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which McCain chairs and under whose domain the boxing bill falls, is heavily courted by companies with interests in the sport. For the six-year cycle between 1995-2000, the top committee-related contributors to committee members include: AT&T ($369,960), Time-Warner ($249,585), Viacom ($167,654), the Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN ($147,758), and the National Cable Television Association ($129,101).

Noted boxing promoters like Don King, Bob Arum, Cedric Kushner, Main Events, Duva Boxing, Gary Shaw or DiBella Entertainment do not appear on that list; apparently there was not enough in the way of donations to rise in McCain's pecking order.

Despite his well-cultivated “reformer” image, McCain has time and again demonstrated that he is a creature of corporate America and a bedfellow of corporate lobbyists. His leveraging efforts have been particularly remarkable, and he's utilized his position on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – first as the ranking Republican and now as chair – to extract hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporations he has regulatory power over.

McCain, who through his campaign finance measure is regarded by many First Amendment advocates as no friend of free speech, is notorious for freezing out consumer groups who would like to present their cases to his committee but who have not lavished him with campaign donations. According to a February 2000 story in the New York Press, representatives of corporations – the lion's share of which are directly tied to McCain's campaign war chests – out-number such consumer-interest groups by a 10-to-1 margin when it comes to appearances at committee hearings.

The causative links between campaign donations and special favors have become a McCain trademark. In 1999, after McCain-authored legislation to allow satellite TV companies to carry local programming in each market, which had previously been prohibited, was approved by his committee, one of the players who stood to experience a resulting windfall – EchoStar Communications – held a huge fund-raiser for McCain's presidential campaign.

During the 2000 primary season, as word came down that McCain was pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to act on a license transfer in favor of Paxson Communications, a company that had, to that date, “coordinated” $20,000 in contributions for his run at the nomination and treated him to many free flights on its corporate jet, his then-opponent, George W. Bush, was moved to remark, “I think somebody who makes campaign financing an issue has got to be consistent and walk the walk.”

Of course, one understands McCain's pattern of behavior more vividly upon an examination into his central role in the infamous “Keating Five” scandal, one of history's most naked examples of politicians exerting special levels of influence for the sake of large campaign contributors.

Charles Keating Jr., who owned the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association and was a major presence in Arizona, was under investigation by authorities – specifically the Federal Home Loan Bank Board – for making investments of such a speculative nature that they put at risk the government-insured money of depositors. Keating took issue with the premise of the investigation, and wanted the regulators off his back. He had, between 1982 and 1987, stuffed the campaign coffers of five United States Senators – John Glenn of Ohio, Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, Alan Cranston of California, Don Riegle of Michigan, and McCain – to the tune of $1.4 million.

At the same time, McCain family members, including his wife and father-in-law, were the chief investors in the Fountain Square Shopping Center, controlled and managed by Keating, with a stake estimated at $359,000. McCain and his family were also frequent vacation guests of Keating – traveling at Keating's expense on Keating's private jet to the resort Keating owned at Cat Cay in the Bahamas – at least nine times in all. Surely there were interests to protect on more than one front.

Although he later claimed to be very reluctant in doing so, McCain nonetheless couldn't resist in joining with his four Senate colleagues in April of 1987 to pressure regulators to end their investigation of Keating, which had been ongoing for two years. The regulators later testified that they felt intimidated by McCain's group, which was tagged the “Keating Five”.

To illustrate the justification of the investigation, the S&L controlled by McCain's friend Keating busted out, ruining thousands of investors and costing taxpayers $3.4 billion in bailouts, the worst hit in the entire saving and loan scandal.

There was also more than one call within his home state of Arizona for McCain to resign.

During this particular period in his career, McCain was hardly interested in raising the issue of campaign finance reform. In fact, quite the contrary – he resisted it at every turn and resisted others who made an effort in that direction. According to a December 8, 1987 story in the Phoenix Gazette

, “So why has Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., gone to unprecedented lengths to block reform of the Senate campaign finance system? Why does he oppose letting this important matter even come to a vote? Perhaps it's because he is a prime beneficiary of the special interest funding of congressional elections. McCain raised over $2.5 million for his 1986 election . . . more than $760,000 of his campaign funds came from political action committee (PACs) . . . especially disturbing are the contributions to McCain's campaign coffers from PACs outside of Arizona.”

And McCain simply embarrassed himself when his family's investment deals with Keating were uncovered. In September of 1989, as he was questioned about them by the Arizona Republic, he called the reporter “a liar” and denounced his efforts as “irresponsible journalism”. When pressed later, he told the same reporter, “That's the spouse's involvement, you idiot.”

In ultimately protecting one of their own, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics asserted McCain broke no laws, but did say this about the man who is now the self-professed “champion of campaign finance reform”:

“Mr. Keating, his associates, and his friends contributed $56,000 for Senator McCain's two House races in 1982 and 1984, and $54,000 for his 1986 Senate race. Mr. Keating also provided his corporate plane and/or arranged for payment for the use of commercial or private aircraft on several occasions for travel by Senator McCain and his family, for which Senator McCain ultimately provided reimbursement when called upon to do so. Mr. Keating also allowed Senator McCain and his family to vacation with Mr. Keating and his family, at a home provided by Mr. Keating in the Bahamas, in each of the calendar years 1983 through 1986……..”

According to a Time magazine story in December of 1999, ” He (McCain) denounces big-spending special interests and yet accepts flights on corporate jets; he puts the speaker of the Arizona house of representatives on his campaign payroll despite a flurry of ethics charges around him; he neglects to recuse himself from debates about measures that would affect his family beer business.”

Yet the writers, Nancy Gibbs and John F. Dickerson, insist, “But a funny thing happened on the way to his deathbed conversion (to campaign reformer): he really reformed.”

McCain's posture toward television interests in the process of crafting the boxing bill would strongly suggest otherwise.

On a personal note, as I reviewed some of the material for this story, my mind regressed to a couple of years ago, as I was compiling the investigative report “A Commission Run Amok”, which dealt with the Florida State Athletic Commission.

At the time, Mike Scionti, the commission's former executive director, was awaiting a hearing on ethics charges. He had been embroiled in a firestorm of controversy that eventually led to his firing by Governor Jeb Bush, over what was considered to be highly improper conduct while in office. A non-profit organization – a charity for youth – that the commission had established and Scionti had spearheaded, accepted a large donation from promoter Don King, after which Scionti had sought to change a commission regulation about promotional contracts that would have benefited King.

There was no evidence that any money went into Scionti's pocket directly, or that it went to furthering any personal agenda of Scionti's – public relations-related or otherwise.
Meanwhile, McCain had gone to bat, more aggressively and, by all accounts, with a much heavier hand, on behalf of entities that plowed money into his election campaigns and to political action committees that were designed to promote McCain's political objectives – in many respects creating a higher public profile for the senator, which has in turn spawned media coverage, book sales, and even more political donations.

And I'm saying to myself, isn't what McCain has done more devoid of an ethical foundation than what Scionti did? And are there not 500 others engaged in the same ballgame as McCain – albeit not as skillfully – on Capitol Hill?

The stories you hear about boxing people pale by comparison. If state boxing regulators conducted business in the same manner as McCain has conducted his business in Congress, would I not have been able to write about twenty “Operation Cleanup” books by now?

And given those parameters, at what price would we be placing the sport into the hands of politicians like him?

As one writer put it, “The John McCain of old should be thankful that his political fate wasn't determined by John McCain the reformer.”

I would suggest McCain's nothing more than an old dog who could care less about learning new tricks.

fightpage@totalaction.com

Copyright 2003 Total Action Inc.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading

Articles of 2003

The Highs and Lows.

Published

on

In a few days we'll be turning the page on 2003 and looking ahead to another year that is bound to be eventful- they almost always are.

But before we go full speed ahead to 2004, let's look back on what we've witnessed the past 12 months in the game of boxing.

And what we've found out is that sometimes the sports highlights, were also it's lowlights. Oftentimes, they were one in the same.

HIGHLIGHT: Vitali Klitschko's valiant performance against Lennox Lewis.

Coming in as a late replacement for Kirk Johnson, Klitschko would give the heavyweight champion all he could handle for six rounds before the fight was halted because of a grotesque cut over his left eye. In fighting so well and bravely against Lewis, he not only changed the perception of himself, but off his whole fighting family. The Klitschko name had been redeemed.

LOWLIGHT: Lennox Lewis's behavior with HBO's Larry Merchant after that fight.

Lewis has been a very respectable and representative champion during his reign. But he acted like a downright brat in his post-fight interview with Larry Merchant on live television. When confronted with the truth, he tried to hijack the interview by yanking the microphone away from Merchant, who had to hold on for dear life. During the bout he looked like a fading fighter on a bad night. Afterwords, he looked like an infant in need of a timeout.

HIGHLIGHT: Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward complete their thrilling trilogy. 

Gatti and Ward had a lot to live up to when they met for the third time this past June. And live up to it they did, in a fight with momentum shifts and a constantly changing ebb-and-flow. Gatti would overcome a damaged right hand to win a hard-fought ten round decision. It was a fitting conclusion to one of the games great rivalries and the career of Ward, who called it a day on a proud career.

LOWLIGHT: There will be no more Gatti-Ward in the future.

Which may actually be a good thing, because I'm not sure they could handle anymore of each other. But boxing will miss this rivalry.

HIGHLIGHT: Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley rematch.

It's always good for the business of boxing when 'the Golden Boy' engages in a mega-fight. The interest is high- even among the usually apathetic general media- boxing becomes the showcase event in the world of sports and everyone involved: from the fighters, to the promoters, the pay-per-view outlets and casino's make money.

LOWLIGHT: De La Hoya's and Arum's reaction to the decision in that fight.

It's one thing to think that you won a close fight, it's even acceptable to complain about the decision. But the manner in which both Oscar and his promoter cast aspersions on the judges and Nevada State Athletic Commission, were low blows of the Andrew Golota variety. Luckily for them, they were only given light slaps on the wrists for their irresponsible and incendiary comments.

But the bottom line is they both hurt the sport with their allegations and the fact that more than one media outlet ran with their quotes, further hurt boxing's reputation.

HIGHLIGHT: Roy Jones makes history

In defeating John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight belt, Jones became the first middleweight in over a hundred years to win a heavyweight crown. This fight also did very well, registering over 500,000 pay-per-view buys, which is always a good sign for the industry.

LOWLIGHT: Jones' indecisiveness after that win.

Jones had all the momentum in the world after his win over Ruiz, but instead of capitalizing on it, he tried to pinch pennies with Evander Holyfield, threw out astronomical numbers for a fight with Mike Tyson( which is a loooong ways from ever happening) and then had to settle for a rather non-descript fight back at light heavyweight against Antonio Tarver.

HIGHLIGHT- Toney turns the 'Lights Out' on Holyfield

James Toney had seemingly been in exile since his embarrassing loss to Roy Jones in 1994. But he came back strong in 2003 with wins over Vassiliy Jirov and then a stoppage of Evander Holyfield, which stamped his entrance into the heavyweight division. The game can always use a few good big men and who cares if that comes in the form of former middleweights like Toney and Jones.

LOWLIGHTS: Holyfield isn't retiring.

'The Real Deal' maintained that he wouldn't retire till he won the undisputed title or got his hat handed to him. Well, after this bout it was evident that the former wasn't happening and the latter did. But like most other great fighters, they are the last to know when it's time to call it a day.

HIGHLIGHT: 'Pac Man' gobbles up Barrera.

It's always shocking and uplifting when a fighter bursts onto the scene and elevates himself the way Manny Pacquiao did against Marco Antonio Barrera this past November. Barrera, had universal acclaim as one of the sports premiere pound-for-pound performers. Pacquiao, while a respected fighter, was thought to be just a notable opponent for Barrera.

Instead, Barrera would get blitzed by the all-out, frenetic attack of the Filipino. Barrera would be simply overwhelmed by the punches of Pacquiao and his corner would have to rescue him from the onslaught of the southpaw in the eleventh round.

LOWLIGHT: Murad Muhammad allegedly gobbles up Pacquiao.

This was mentioned prominently on the HBO broadcast that out of the $700,000 license fee given to Pacquiao's promoter, Murad Muhammad, only about $300,000 had gone to the fighter. And that was before the money was cut up in various ways.

Once source close to the situation tells me that after all was said and done, Pacquiao, wound up with about $80,000. It looks like he may have taken a worse beating than the one he gave out.

HIGHLIGHT: Johnny Tapia comes out of a coma in January.

You gotta hand it to Tapia, most guys take standing eight counts, this little guy takes mandatory flat lines, this is about the third or fourth time he's been close to dead only to come off the canvas. Once again after another relapse in drugs, he would be in an intensive care unit battling for his life. As friends, family and loved ones surrounded him, he would beat the odds once again to walk out of the hospital and fight again.

LOWLIGHTS: Tapia reportedly overdoses in December.

Tapia swears that he did not overdose, but rather took some cold medication that he had an allergic reaction to. Uh, ok, sure, whatever you guys say. But do they have to insult everyone's intelligence, here? Isn't it time that Tapia got some real help for his problems?

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Mikaelian-vs-Rozicki-Postponed-Amidst-Rumors-that Promoter-Don-King-is-Ailing
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Mikaelian vs Rozicki POSTPONED Amidst Rumors that Promoter Don King is Ailing

I-Still-Think-Anthony-Joshua-Should-Retire-from-Boxing
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

I Still Think That Anthony Joshua Should Retire From Boxing

Canelo-Ptoves-too-Canny-and-Tough-for-Edgar-Berlanga-in-Las-Vegas
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Canelo Proves Too Canny and Tough for Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas

Canelo-vs-Berlanga-Battles-the-UFC-Hopefully-No-Repeat-of-the-2019-Fiasco
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Canelo vs Berlanga Battles the UFC: Hopefully No Repeat of the 2019 Fiasco

Notes-on-the-Atlantic-City-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-The-Return-of-;Boots'-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Notes on the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame, the Return of ‘Boots’ and More

Avila-Perspective-Chap-296-Canelo-vs-Berlanga-and-More
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 296: Canelo vs Berlanga and More

Daniel-Dubois-Demplishes-Anthony-Joshua
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Daniel Dubois Demolishes Anthony Joshua

Mike-Tyson-and-his-Conqueror-Danny-Williams-Then-and-Now-A-Study-in-Contrasts
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Mike Tyson and his Conqueror Danny Williams: Then and Now, a Study in Contrasts

Canelo-Berlanga-Postscript
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Canelo – Berlanga Postscript

Reflections-on-Yoenli-Hernandez-and-the-New-Wave-of-Outstanding-Cuban-Boxers
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Reflections on Yoenli Hernandez and the New Wave of Outstanding Cuban Boxers

The-Hauser-Report-James-Earl-Jones-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

The Hauser Report: James Earl Jones and More

Rocky-Hernandez-Improves-to-36-2-with-a-Controversial-TD-in-Hermosillo
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Rocky Hernandez Improves to 36-2 with a Controversial TD in Hermosillo

WBA-Feather-Champ-Nick-Ball-Chops-Down-Rugged-Ronny-Rios-in-Liverpool
Featured Articles3 days ago

WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-Paint-Gate-the-Haney-Garcia-lawsuit-and-More
Featured Articles6 days ago

Boxing Odds and Ends: ‘Paint-Gate,’ the Haney-Garcia lawsuit and More

Jaime-Munguia-Stops-Erik-Bazinyan-on-a-Show-with-a-Shocking-Upset-on-the-Undercard
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Jaime Munguia Stops Erik Bazinyan on a Show with a Shocking Upset on the Undercard

Alycia-Baumgardner-os-Legit-but-her-Title-Defense-vs-Persoon-was-a-Weird-Artifice
Featured Articles1 week ago

Alycia Baumgardner is Legit, but her Title Defense vs Persoon was a Weird Artifice

Stephen-Fulton-Nips-Carlos-Castro-in-a-Prelude-to-Canelo-vs-Berlanga
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Stephen Fulton Nips Carlos Castro in a Prelude to Canelo vs Berlanga

IResults-and-Recaps-from-London-where-Callu,m-Walsh-had-a-Sensational-Homecoming
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Dublin where Callum Walsh had a Sensational Homecoming

Mikaela-Mayer-Wins-WBO-World-Title-in-Firefight-with-0Sandy-Ryan
Featured Articles1 week ago

Mikaela Mayer Wins WBO World Title in Firefight with Sandy Ryan

Avila-Perspective-Chap-297-Callum-Walsh-in-Dublin-Anthony-Joshua-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 297: Callum Walsh in Dublin, Anthony Joshua and More

Bygone-Days-Muhammad-Ali-at-the-Piano-in-the-Lounge-at-the-Tropicana-Hotel
Featured Articles19 hours ago

Bygone Days: Muhammad Ali at the Piano in the Lounge at the Tropicana

WBA-Feather-Champ-Nick-Ball-Chops-Down-Rugged-Ronny-Rios-in-Liverpool
Featured Articles3 days ago

WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Alimkhanuly-TKOs-Mikhailovich-and-Motu-TKOs-O'Connell-in-Sydney
Featured Articles4 days ago

Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney

Avila-Perspective-Chap-299-Golden-Boy-in-Saudi-Arabia-and-More
Featured Articles5 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-Paint-Gate-the-Haney-Garcia-lawsuit-and-More
Featured Articles6 days ago

Boxing Odds and Ends: ‘Paint-Gate,’ the Haney-Garcia lawsuit and More

Alycia-Baumgardner-os-Legit-but-her-Title-Defense-vs-Persoon-was-a-Weird-Artifice
Featured Articles1 week ago

Alycia Baumgardner is Legit, but her Title Defense vs Persoon was a Weird Artifice

The-Hauser-Report-James-Earl-Jones-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

The Hauser Report: James Earl Jones and More

Terri-Harper-Wins-Third-Division-World-Title
Featured Articles1 week ago

Terri Harper Wins Third Division World Title

Mikaela-Mayer-Wins-WBO-World-Title-in-Firefight-with-0Sandy-Ryan
Featured Articles1 week ago

Mikaela Mayer Wins WBO World Title in Firefight with Sandy Ryan

Notes-on-the-Atlantic-City-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-The-Return-of-;Boots'-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Notes on the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame, the Return of ‘Boots’ and More

Avila-Perspective-Chap-298-Female-World Title-Fights-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 298: Female World Title Fights and More

I-Still-Think-Anthony-Joshua-Should-Retire-from-Boxing
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

I Still Think That Anthony Joshua Should Retire From Boxing

Esteemed-Boxing-Writer-Nigel-Collins-Keeps-On-Punching-the-keys-on-his-keyboard
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Esteemed Boxing Writer Nigel Collins Keeps on Punching (the keys on his keyboard)

Mike-Tyson-and-his-Conqueror-Danny-Williams-Then-and-Now-A-Study-in-Contrasts
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Mike Tyson and his Conqueror Danny Williams: Then and Now, a Study in Contrasts

Daniel-Dubois-Demplishes-Anthony-Joshua
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Daniel Dubois Demolishes Anthony Joshua

Undercard-Results-from-London-where-Hamzah-Sheeraz-Made-Short-Work-of-Tyler-Denny
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Undercard Results from London where Hamzah Sheeraz Made Short Work of Tyler Denny

Jaime-Munguia-Stops-Erik-Bazinyan-on-a-Show-with-a-Shocking-Upset-on-the-Undercard
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Jaime Munguia Stops Erik Bazinyan on a Show with a Shocking Upset on the Undercard

IResults-and-Recaps-from-London-where-Callu,m-Walsh-had-a-Sensational-Homecoming
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Dublin where Callum Walsh had a Sensational Homecoming

Avila-Perspective-Chap-297-Callum-Walsh-in-Dublin-Anthony-Joshua-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 297: Callum Walsh in Dublin, Anthony Joshua and More

Mikaelian-vs-Rozicki-Postponed-Amidst-Rumors-that Promoter-Don-King-is-Ailing
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Mikaelian vs Rozicki POSTPONED Amidst Rumors that Promoter Don King is Ailing

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Advertisement