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Kreskin Thinks “The Heat” Has Some of “The Greatest” in Her

Published

10 years ago

October 15, 2014

Eighty eight times he was on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, and the odd guest host. He’s The Amazing Kreskin, the “It” mentalist of this age, a Jersey guy with a gift, who used to sit next to The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, and get ribbed by the prankster pugilist. Ali would growl at the man who makes predictions, though he doesn’t consider himself a “psychic.”

“Why’s Carson give you more time than me?” the hitter would snarl, his lip curled malevolently, but his eyes hinting at his level of true mirth. The joke always scored, and the entertainer who is still a regular on Fox News, and other broadcast outlets, still talks today about his fondness for the greatest sports entertainer the world will ever know.

He did so the other day, at the famed Gleason’s Gym in DUMBO, Brooklyn, as he did a session with female fighter Heather “The Heat” Hardy, who headlines a Broadway Boxing show in Manhattan tonight (Oct. 15).

The Brooklyner Hardy takes a 10-0 record in with her to the card promoted by Lou DiBella, which will unfold at BB Kings, and she’ll face off with 5-6-4 Crystal Hoy, with a WBC super bantam international crown up for grabs.

Hardy is open to just about any legal means to gain and edge, so she agreed to give some time to Kreskin, to seek a little something that would serve her well at a time when he stamina dipped even a tiny sliver. And, pray tell, what went on in that Gleasons office, which was closed for about 20 minutes?

“I was almost sleeping,” the hitter told me. “It was a nice break from training. I sat down, and he said, Shaddup, don’t move. Just kidding! He wants you to tap into your subconscious, talks a lot about relaxing.”

In her last outing, Hardy had a stern test, at Barclays Center, against Jackie Trivilino this June. She won a TD7, but heard a smattering of boos from folks who thought Trivilino got the W. “I was really disappointed,” she told me. “But c’mon, she butted me four different times and she wasn’t just butting, she was jumping up. That time, we did a lot of work in camp, but we didn’t practice headbutt defense!”

The Kreskin session, she said, can’t hurt, but she will rely, she says, on an old mindset instilled by one of her first trainers. “I was told, think like a tiger was dropped into the ring with you, and fight for your life! Win, or die!”

So, after she did the deep breathing, and worked on honing her concentration, Hardy hit the road.

I chatted with Kreskin, who had nothing but high praise for the fierce female warrior. “Listen,” he told me, “I can’t give her bigger muscles, I’m not going to get her stronger, but so much of it is mental. If she has the ability to anticipate her opponents’ blows, that’s a winner! Unquestionably, she was a very receptive subject, but this is not magic. I do think all youngsters can learn from sports. They are not given anything, they have to prove themselves. And we all have that unconscious mind, and the ability to get to that deeper level of thinking. So, this dates me, I remember Joe Louis, but Ali, he was a legend, too. And I think Heather could become a legendary female fighter! I think she has it in her! There’s something about her!”

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Michael Woods

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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