You Can’t Spell “Blame” Without “Lame”…RASKIN

Published

13 years ago

October 3, 2011

“The worst part is, I don’t even feel bad about the days that I hated Bartman … I know it’s irrational, but I think most of us can’t help it.”
—Michael Wilbon

The new ESPN Films documentary Catching Hell spins off of the case of Steve Bartman, the Chicago Cubs fan who interfered with a foul ball and indirectly sparked the 2003 Cubs’ playoff collapse, to examine the psychology behind scapegoating in sports. In an interview that was tangentially attached to the documentary, Chicago native Michael Wilbon captured the essence of the sports fan’s need to find a scapegoat with one word: “irrational.”

Everybody knows it wasn’t really Bartman’s fault that the Cubs didn’t go to the World Series, not with the team holding the same 3-0 lead after that play that it held beforehand. Everybody knows it wasn’t Bill Buckner’s fault that the Red Sox lost the 1986 World Series, not with the score already tied before he infamously let a ground ball roll past his glove. Rationally, we know there’s blame to be spread around. It was Bartman—along with Moises Alou and Alex Gonzalez and the pitchers who gave up the hits and the fans who let their sense of dread overcome them and spread to the players on the field. It was Buckner—along with Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley and manager John McNamara. We see and understand all of this when we enter rational mode. But sports make that mode hard to locate sometimes. Sports make us irrational. And when we’re irrational, we need someone to blame for what’s gone wrong.

And that brings us to Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz, who drew the collective scorn of the fight fraternity last week with a teleconference that even LeBron James’ image consultants could have told them was a bad idea. Defeat in the highest-profile fight of Ortiz’s career made both the boxer and his mentor/promoter think and behave irrationally. They called a press conference so they could whine publicly and place the blame everywhere except on the fighter who (a) intentionally headbutted his opponent and (b) dropped his hands and looked away from that opponent while the fight was going on.

This isn’t to say Floyd Mayweather isn’t guilty of unsportsmanlike behavior; he most definitely is. It isn’t to say that Joe Cortez’s refereeing wasn’t flawed; as usual, it was. But the great majority of the blame for Ortiz getting knocked out in the fourth round falls on the shoulders of Ortiz. After he launched a blatant headbutt, he, to use a baseball cliché, took his eye off the ball. He backed away from his opponent with his hands down, got hit with a left hook, then somehow didn’t take the hint, kept his hands at his sides, and got knocked out with a right hand. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, he seemed to understand he’d made a mistake and insisted he would learn from it. A week later, he was able to find no fault in anything he’d done and insisted he deserves a rematch. Defeat has left him irrational. He needs someone to blame. He’s turned into Bob Stanley, forgetting about the wild pitch he threw to let the tying run in and remembering only Buckner’s error to allow the winning run to cross the plate.

The collapse-and-scapegoat phenomenon reared its head in baseball again in the aftermath of last Wednesday night, the final evening of the regular season. The Red Sox and Braves completed quite possibly the two most extraordinary September nosedives in the history of the game, and naturally, media members and fans of both teams have spent the last few days looking for someone to blame. The managers, Terry Francona and Fredi Gonzalez, both hit the hot seat immediately, with two-time World Series winner Francona gone two days after the season ended. In Red Sox Nation, some have pointed the finger at ESPN The Magazine for releasing “The Boston Issue” a few days before the end of the season, the latest “cover curse” to befall a player or team. In reality, both the Sox and the Braves had been depleted by injuries to the extent that neither had much chance of getting out of the first round of the postseason anyway. But that sort of rationalizing mostly took a backseat to the irrationalizing that devastating sports defeats breed: Fire the manager! Curse the magazine! Blame the Yankees!

In boxing, as with most individual sports, there isn’t as much room for scapegoating. It’s a one-on-one competition. Most of the time, the loser loses because he either made mistakes or wasn’t good enough to win in the first place. But for some reason, in 2011, excuse-making is at an all-time high in our sport.

It was all David Haye could do back on July 2 to wait for the 12th round to end before removing his shoe and showing the world his pinkie toe. There was no “I should have done more, I should have taken more chances.” Just “look at my toe, with 10 good toes I’d be the greatest of all-time.”

Three weeks later, Zab Judah got dropped by a barely legal bodyshot from Amir Khan, acted as if it was a low blow, and then blamed the referee after he’d been counted out. Never mind that Judah was getting dominated for all five rounds that the fight lasted or that Vic Drakulich made the correct ruling. Never mind that it looked from the outside like Judah could have gotten up but used the borderline punch as an excuse to quit. A month after the fight, Judah, apparently stuck in irrational mode, lodged a formal protest.

But De La Hoya and Ortiz are the leaders in the clubhouse in the 2011 pugilistic expostulation competition. On their conference call, Ortiz said the headbutt he launched was retaliation for elbows thrown by Mayweather. He said Mayweather’s punches were “like getting slapped by a girl,” which would be fine to allege if one of those slaps hadn’t knocked him out. De La Hoya went to town on Cortez, pointing all the fingers he could while proving just how out of sync he is with reality by also declaring that Cortez is usually “one of the best refs out there.”

I don’t believe professional poker player Daniel Negreanu is a boxing fan, so I don’t think this was directed at De La Hoya or Ortiz, but Negreanu tweeted last week, “I always have way more respect for people who just admit ‘It’s my fault I’m a idiot’ rather than look for creative ways to deflect blame.” It’s hard to find anyone who thinks Ortiz wouldn’t have been better off sticking with the smiling, aw-shucks, “I’ll learn from this” approach that he used on the night of the defeat.

But like most people with an emotional investment in a sport, Ortiz needed to place blame. It was an irrepressible urge. He turned Cortez into Buckner. He turned Mayweather into Bartman. He needed his scapegoats.

Maybe Ortiz sounded like a fool on the teleconference last week. But every sports fan should be able to understand why he felt compelled to go that route. We all do it. We all look for someone to blame. We all think the refs are out to get our favorite teams. We’re all irrational.

Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz simply made the mistake of using their access to a public platform to disseminate their irrational feelings in ways that most of us can’t. And now, quite deservedly, they’re catching hell for it.

Eric Raskin can be contacted at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin and listen to new episodes of his podcast, Ring Theory, at http://ringtheory.podbean.com.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Eric Raskin

Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results

LAS VEGAS, NV – Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions was at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas tonight for the second half of a DAZN doubleheader that began in Nottingham, England. In the main event, Diego Pacheco, ranked #1 by the WBO at super middleweight, continued his ascent toward a world title with a unanimous decision over Steven Nelson.

Pacheco glides round the ring smoothly whereas Nelson wastes a lot energy with something of a herky-jerky style. However, although Nelson figured to slow down as the fight progressed, he did some of his best work in rounds 11 and 12. Fighting with a cut over his left eye from round four, a cut that periodically reopened, the gritty Nelson fulfilled his promise that he would a fight as if he had everything to lose if he failed to win, but it just wasn’t enough, even after his Omaha homie Terence “Bud” Crawford entered his corner before the last round to give him a pep talk (back home in North Omaha, Nelson runs the B&B (Bud and Bomac) Sports Academy.

All three judges had it 117-111 for Pacheco who mostly fought off his back foot but landed the cleaner punches throughout. A stablemate of David Benavidez and trained by David’s father Jose Benevidez Sr, Pacheco improved to 23-0 (18). It was the first pro loss for the 36-year-old Nelson (20-1).

Semi wind-up

Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, who as a pro has never fought a match slated for fewer than 10 rounds, had too much class for Hermosillo, Mexico’s rugged Omar Salcido who returned to his corner with a puffy face after the fourth stanza, but won the next round and never stopped trying. The outcome was inevitable even before the final round when Salcido barely made it to the final gun, but the Mexican was far more competitive than many expected.

The Cuban, who was 4-0 vs. Keyshawn Davis in closely-contested bouts as an amateur, advanced his pro record to 5-0 (2), winning by scores by 99-91 and 98-92 twice. Salido, coming off his career-best win, a 9^th-round stoppage of former WBA super featherweight title-holder Chris Colbert, falls to 20-2.

Other TV bouts

Ernesto “Tito” Mercado, a 23-year-old super lightweight, aims to become the next world champion from Pomona, California, following in the footsteps of the late Richie Sandoval and Sugar Shane Mosely, and based on his showing tonight against former Beijing Olympian and former two-division title-holder Jose Pedraza, he is well on his way.

After three rounds after what had been a technical fight, Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) knocked Pedraza off his pins with an overhand right followed by short left hand. Pedraza bounced back and fell on his backside. When he arose on unsteady legs, the bout was waived off. The official time was 2:08 of round four and the fading, 35-year-old Pedraza (29-7-1) was saddled with his third loss in his last four outings.

The 8-round super lightweight clash between Israel Mercado (no relation to “Tito”) and Leonardo Rubalcava was fan-friendly skirmish with many robust exchanges. When the smoke cleared, the verdict was a majority draw. Mercado got the nod on one card (76-74), but was overruled by a pair of 75-75 scores.

Mercado came out strong in the opening round, but suffered a flash knockdown before the round ended. The referee ruled it a slip but was overruled by replay operator Jay Nady and what would have been a 10-9 round for Mercado became a 10-8 round for Rubalcava. Mercado lost another point in round seven when he was penalized for low blows.

The scores were 76-74 for Mercado (11-1-2) and 75-75 twice. The verdict was mildly unpopular with most thinking that Mercado deserved the nod. Reportedly a four-time Mexican amateur champion, Rubalcava (9-0-1) is trained by Robert Garcia.

Also

New Matchroom signee Nishant Dev, a 24-year-old southpaw from India, had an auspicious pro debut (pardon the cliché). Before a beaming Eddie Hearn, Dev stopped Oakland’s Alton Wiggins (1-1-1) in the opening round. The referee waived it off after the second knockdown.

Boxers from India have made large gains at the amateur level in recent years and Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn anticipates that Dev, a Paris Olympian, will be the first fighter from India to make his mark as a pro.

Undefeated Brooklyn lightweight Harley Mederos, managed by the influential Keith Connolly, scored his seventh knockout in eight tries with a brutal third-round KO of Mexico’s Arturo de Isla.

A left-right combination knocked de Isla (5-3-1) flat on his back. Referee Raul Caiz did not bother to count and several minutes elapsed before the stricken fighter was fit to leave the ring. The official time was 1:27 of round three.

In the opener, Newark junior lightweight Zaquin Moses, a cousin of Shakur Stevenson, improved to 2-0 when his opponent retired on his stool after the opening round.

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

3 days ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Najee-Lopez-Steps-Up-in-Class-and-Wins-Impressively-at-Plant-City

Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

3 days ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-is-Headed-to-Vegas-after-KOing-Y-Joon-Kim

Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!