Connect with us

Asia & Oceania

Terence Crawford, Natch, Votes for Himself as Pound-for-Pound Best

There is no way of definitively proving who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and maybe that has been the case since Sugar Ray Robinson was widely conferred with that unofficial but highly prized designation in the 1940s

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Published

on

designation

There is no way of definitively proving who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and maybe that has been the case since Sugar Ray Robinson was widely conferred with that unofficial but highly prized designation in the 1940s. Oh, there might be a consensus of popular opinion at any given point in time, but when all is said and done it still comes down to individual perception. People love to compile their own best-of lists, but they’re always subjective, likely to be markedly different from the next guy’s, and thus material for spirited debate.

Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs), the former two-division world champion who makes his welterweight debut when he challenges WBO 147-pound titlist Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, makes no bones about it. He considers himself the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, an iffy status he figures he can help solidify with a no-doubt-about-it thrashing of Horn, who rose to prominence by scoring a controversial unanimous decision over the legendary but aging Manny Pacquiao on July 2 of last year in Horn’s hometown of Brisbane, Australia. Horn followed the nod over Pacquiao with an 11th-round stoppage of Gary Corcoran on Dec. 13, also in Brisbane.

But although Crawford’s high regard for his own abilities is shared by more than a few knowledgable observers who also consider him the top pound-for-pound guy, the person he would most like to convince remains his own promoter, Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum. Apparently one to play favorites, Arum has publicly sided with another superstar member of the TR stable, newly crowned WBO lightweight champ Vasiliy Lomachenko, as the best of the best not only in the here and now, but maybe for all time.

While Arum has paid Crawford the high compliment of comparing him to the great Sugar Ray Leonard, in the wake of Lomachenko’s 10th-round stoppage of Jorge Linares at Madison Square Garden on May 12 he proclaimed that in his 50 years in boxing, he had “never seen anything like” Ukraine’s Lomachenko, who presumably has risen to a strata occupied only by himself. The night before he dethroned the very capable Linares, Lomachenko accepted the Sugar Ray Robinson Award as 2017’s Fighter of the Year at the Boxing Writers Association of America Awards Ceremony in New York City. Loma also was ESPN’s pick for Fighter of the Year.

Playing set-up man to Lomachenko apparently does not set particularly well with Crawford, who met with three invited members of the media – a fourth arrived a bit later – in a midtown Manhattan hotel suite the day before his primary rival for king of the hill took on Linares. The purpose of the gathering was for the reporters to speak to Crawford about his upcoming fight with Horn a month later, but, not surprisingly, some of the questions focused on the matter of which fighter has the more compelling case for recognition as Mr. Lb-4-Lb.

“It’s just people’s opinions,” Crawford responded when the matter was brought up, as he probably expected it would be. “But I label myself as the No. 1 fighter in the world. If you don’t think so, that’s your opinion.

“I recognize myself as the best. A lot of other people recognize me as the best. It’s a matter of personal preference, and it always fluctuates. Some people say Terence Crawford is pound-for-pound, some say Lomachenko is pound-for-pound, some say Gennady Golovkin (the choice of The Ring magazine) is pound-for-pound. But like I said, if I have a vote, I vote for myself.”

Joe Santoliquito, the current president of the BWAA, suggested that Crawford, indisputably the finest boxer to come out of Omaha, Neb., and arguably in the top three in any sport along with baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, has not been lacking for recognition, having received the Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year Award from the writers’ organization in 2014.

“I strongly feel that I should have won it the last two years (2016 and 2017) as well,” Crawford responded. “When (Carl) Frampton won (in 2016), he fought two times, one a split-decision win and the other a decision that arguably could have gone the other way. I whitewashed everybody that year, and I fought three times. Last year I fought only twice, but I beat an Olympic gold medalist (Felix Diaz) and I fought for the undisputed junior welterweight title (against Julius Indongo) and I stopped them both. So I think politics played a role in both instances. If another fighter had done what I did, he automatically would have been Fighter of the Year both those years.”

In a very real sense then, it not only is Horn whom Crawford is seeking to take down. On Saturday night he also is making his case that he is as good and maybe better than Lomachenko, and worthy of the perks that go to the fighter sitting on the throne instead of whatever falls to No. 2 or even No. 1A in the regal pecking order.

Another possible irritant is that Lomachenko-Linares played to a much wider audience on regular ESPN while Crawford-Horn presumably will be witnessed by far fewer viewers on ESPN+, a pay app that only recently launched.

In a teleconference with the media on Tuesday, Arum said that Crawford and Horn should be honored to be helping usher in a new technology that in time will become the most accepted way for fans to watch their favorite sports.

“You can’t hold back the future,” Arum said. “The future is direct-to-consumer. The future is ESPN+. I believe in the next 10 to 20 years everybody will be watching their entertainment on direct-to-consumer platforms like Netflix. ESPN+ will be delivering sports in abundance to fans now in the United States and eventually around the world. It is the future. Get used to it.”

But Crawford is fighting now, not 10 or 20 years hence, and it remains to be seen how he reacts to viewership numbers that almost certainly will again have him performing in the lengthening shadow cast by Lomachenko. That, however, might be another story for another day. For now, the 30-year-old Crawford – who describes himself as still “a work in progress” who isn’t even “close to being at my best” – will be highly motivated by the sight of Horn in the other corner. Horn and his support crew have taken some verbal shots at the former lightweight and junior welterweight ruler that might be described as Down Under the belt.

The fight, which originally was scheduled for April 14, was postponed when Crawford incurred a hand injury in training, prompting Horn, promoter Dean Lonergan and trainer Glenn Rushton to question the legitimacy of the postponement and, worse, Crawford’s heart.

“These Yanks are nowhere near as tough as they make themselves out to be,” Lonergan said when the date of the fight was pushed back. “I can’t wait for our boy to go up there (in his first fight in America) and kick (Crawford’s) ass.” Rushton was more or less in agreement, saying, “Crawford seems to me to be a little soft. Toughen up, princess. It’s just a slight hand injury. Get a bit of cortisone in it, just grind through it and get the job done. (Postponing a fight) is just not the Australian way. We would have proceeded if it was us.”

The guess here is that Crawford, vastly more talented than the gritty but rough-around-the-edges Aussie, delivers the kind of exclamation point performance that will, or at least should, lift him a bit closer to the pedestal upon which Lomachenko gazes down upon the rest of the would-be claimants. Whether the ESPN+ audience is extensive enough to move that needle much remains to be seen.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Argentina

The BWAA Shames Veteran Referee Laurence Cole and Two Nebraska Judges

Published

on

In an unprecedented development, the Boxing Writers Association of America has started a “watch list” to lift the curtain on ring officials who have “screwed up.” Veteran Texas referee Laurence Cole and Nebraska judges Mike Contreras and Jeff Sinnett have the unwelcome distinction of being the first “honorees.”

“Boxing is a sport where judges and referees are rarely held accountable for poor performances that unfairly change the course of a fighter’s career and, in some instances, endanger lives,” says the BWAA in a preamble to the new feature. Hence the watch list, which is designed to “call attention to ‘egregious’ errors in scoring by judges and unacceptable conduct by referees.”

Contreras and Sinnett, residents of Omaha, were singled out for their scorecards in the match between lightweights Thomas Mattice and Zhora Hamazaryan, an eight round contest staged at the WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa on July 20. They both scored the fight 76-75 for Mattice, enabling the Ohio fighter to keep his undefeated record intact via a split decision.

Although Mattice vs. Hamazaryan was a supporting bout, it aired live on ShoBox. Analyst Steve Farhood, who was been with ShoBox since the inception of the series in 2001, called it one of the worst decisions he had ever seen. Lead announcer Barry Tompkins went further, calling it the worst decision he has seen in his 40 years of covering the sport.

Laurence Cole (pictured alongside his father) was singled out for his behavior as the third man in the ring for the fight between Regis Prograis and Juan Jose Velasco at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on July 14. The bout was televised live on ESPN.

In his rationale for calling out Cole, BWAA prexy Joseph Santoliquito leaned heavily on Thomas Hauser’s critique of Cole’s performance in The Sweet Science. “Velasco fought courageously and as well as he could,” noted Hauser. “But at the end of round seven he was a thoroughly beaten fighter.”

His chief second bullied him into coming out for another round. Forty-five seconds into round eight, after being knocked down for a third time, Velasco spit out his mouthpiece and indicated to Cole that he was finished. But Cole insisted that the match continue and then, after another knockdown that he ruled a slip, let it continue for another 35 seconds before Velasco’s corner mercifully threw in the towel.

Controversy has dogged Laurence Cole for well over a decade.

Cole was the third man in the ring for the Nov. 25, 2006 bout in Hildalgo, Texas, between Juan Manuel Marquez and Jimrex Jaca. In the fifth round, Marquez sustained a cut on his forehead from an accidental head butt. In round eight, another accidental head butt widened and deepened the gash. As Marquez was being examined by the ring doctor, Cole informed Marquez that he was ahead on the scorecards, volunteering this information while holding his hand over his HBO wireless mike. The inference was that Marquez was free to quit right then without tarnishing his record. (Marquez elected to continue and stopped Jaca in the next round.)

This was improper. For this indiscretion, Cole was prohibited from working a significant fight in Texas for the next six months.

More recently, Cole worked the 2014 fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Orlando Salido at the San Antonio Alamodome. During the fight, Salido made a mockery of the Queensberry rules for which he received no point deductions and only one warning. Cole’s performance, said Matt McGrain, was “astonishingly bad,” an opinion echoed by many other boxing writers. And one could site numerous other incidents where Cole’s performance came under scrutiny.

Laurence Cole is the son of Richard “Dickie” Cole. The elder Cole, now 87 years old, served 21 years as head of the Texas Department of Combat Sports Regulation before stepping down on April 30, 2014. At various times during his tenure, Dickie Cole held high executive posts with the World Boxing Council and North American Boxing Federation. He was the first and only inductee into the inaugural class of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame, an organization founded by El Paso promoter Lester Bedford in 2015.

From an administrative standpoint, boxing in Texas during the reign of Dickie Cole was frequently described in terms befitting a banana republic. Whenever there was a big fight in the Lone Star State, his son was the favorite to draw the coveted refereeing assignment.

Boxing is a sideline for Laurence Cole who runs an independent insurance agency in Dallas. By law in Texas (and in most other states), a boxing promoter must purchase insurance to cover medical costs in the event that one or more of the fighters on his show is seriously injured. Cole’s agency is purportedly in the top two nationally in writing these policies. Make of that what you will.

Complaints of ineptitude, says the WBAA, will be evaluated by a “rotating committee of select BWAA members and respected boxing experts.” In subsequent years, says the press release, the watch list will be published quarterly in the months of April, August, and December (must be the new math).

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

 

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading

Canada and USA

In Boxing, the Last Weekend of July was Chock Full of Surprises

The first upset of last weekend occurred in an undercard bout on the big show at London’s O2 Arena. David Allen, a journeyman with a 13-4-2 record, knocked out previously undefeated

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Published

on

The first upset of last weekend occurred in an undercard bout on the big show at London’s O2 Arena. David Allen, a journeyman with a 13-4-2 record, knocked out previously undefeated

The first upset of last weekend occurred in an undercard bout on the big show at London’s O2 Arena. David Allen, a journeyman with a 13-4-2 record, knocked out previously undefeated Nick Webb (12-0, 10 KOs) in the fourth round. Allen said that he intended this to be his final fight, but will now hang around awhile.

In hindsight, this was an omen. Before the show was over, upsets – albeit mild upsets – were registered in both featured bouts. Dereck Chisora, trailing on the scorecards, stopped Carlos Takam in the eighth. Dillian Whyte outpointed Joseph Parker. And later that same day, in Kissimmee, Florida, Japanese import Masayuki Ito made a big splash in his U.S. debut, beating up highly touted Christopher Diaz.

– – – –

Joseph Parker is quite the gentleman. Following his loss to Dillian Whyte, Parker was gracious in defeat: “I say congratulations to Dillian. I gave it my best. The better man won.”

In case you missed it, Whyte survived a hoary moment in the final round to win a unanimous decision. Most everyone agreed that the decision was fair but there were a few dissenters. Well known U.K. boxing pundit Steve Bunce said, “I thought Parker deserved a draw.” Bunce noted that the scribes sitting near him were in complete accord that the most lopsided score (115-110) was far too wide.

We’ve seen fighters grouse that they were robbed after fights that were far less competitive. Parker’s post-fight amiability was all the more puzzling considering that he had a legitimate beef that referee Ian John Lewis was too lax, enabling Whyte to turn the contest into a street fight.

Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry was all on board with the selection of Lewis. “He’s a very highly qualified guy who I think is the best British referee,” he said. But Barry changed his tune after the fight, saying that there were at least two occasions when Lewis should have deducted a point from Whyte.

Veteran Australian boxing writer Anthony Cocks said that going forward, Parker, a soft spoken, mild mannered man, needs to have more of a mongrel in him. Cocks noted that when Whyte transgressed, Parker’s response was to look at the ref with a bemused expression. The first time that Whyte bent the rules, opined Cocks, Parker should have hit him in the balls.

– – – –

Top Rank hasn’t had much luck with their Puerto Rican fighters lately. First there was Felix Verdejo. Hyped as the next Felix Trinidad, the 2012 Olympian was 22-0 when his career was interrupted by a motorcycle accident. He won his first fight back in Puerto Rico, but was then exposed by Tijuana’s unheralded Antonio Lozada Jr. who stopped him in the 10th round at the Theater of Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day, 2018.

More recently, Top Rank gave a big build-up to Christopher Diaz, but Diaz, the 2016 ESPN Deportes Prospect of The Year, also hit the skids after starting his pro career 23-0. Diaz was upset on Saturday by Masayuki Ito in a match sanctioned for the vacant WBO 130-pound title.

Unlike Verdejo, Diaz was still standing at the final bell, but he was taken to the cleaners by his Japanese opponent who won comfortably on the scorecards.

– – – –

Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin made his pro debut on the Diaz-Ito undercard. Nikitin won every round of a 6-round contest.

If the name sounds vaguely familiar, this is the guy who defeated top seed Michael Conlan in a quarterfinal bantamweight match at the Rio Olympics. The decision, which Conlan greeted with a middle finger salute to the judges, was widely seen as a heist.

In signing new prospects, Top Rank honcho Bob Arum likes to gather up fighters who compete in the same weight class as fighters that he already controls. This sets up a scenario where he can double dip, extracting a commission from the purse of both principals.

The cluster is most pronounced in the lower weight classes. These fighters, listed alphabetically, are currently promoted or co-promoted by Top Rank: junior bantamweight Jerwin Ancajas (31-1-1), junior featherweight Michael Conlan (8-0), featherweight Christopher Diaz (23-1), super bantamweight Isaac Dogboe (19-0), super bantamweight Jessie Magdaleno (25-1), super bantamweight Jean Rivera (14-0), featherweight Genesis Servania (31-1), bantamweight Shakur Stevenson (7-0), bantamweight Antonio Vargas (7-0), featherweight Nicholas Walters (26-1-1).

The aforementioned Nikitin launched his pro career as a featherweight.

– – – –

In July of 2004, Danny Williams knocked out Mike Tyson in the fourth round at Louisville. Iron Mike had one more fight and then wisely called it quits. Williams had 48 more fights, the most recent coming last weekend in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Williams was stopped in the 10th round by a local man, 35-year-old Lee McAllister, whose last documented fight had come in 2013. In that bout, McAllister, carrying 140 pounds, outpointed a Slovakian slug in a 6-round fight. During his hiatus from boxing, McAllister (that’s him in the red and white trunks), served a 9-month prison sentence for assaulting a patron while working in an Aberdeen kebab shop.

Danny Williams’ weight wasn’t announced, but in his three fights prior to fighting McAllister he came in a tad north of 270 pounds. He reportedly out-weighed McAllister by 4 stone (56 pounds), likely a loose approximation.

Williams is a product of Brixton, the hardscrabble Afro-Caribbean neighborhood in South London that also spawned Dillian Whyte. But he has no intention of going back there. After the McAllister fight, in which he was knocked down three times, he said he was retiring to Nigeria where he had a job waiting for him as a bodyguard.

– – – –

The ink was barely dry on the weekend’s events when news arrived that Tyson Fury was close to signing for a December bout with WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder. On social media, Fury said the deal was almost done and Fury’s promoter Frank Warren confirmed it while saying that it was conditional on Fury looking good when he opposes Francesco Pianeta on Aug. 18 at the Windsor Park soccer stadium in Belfast. Fury vs. Pianeta underpins Carl Frampton’s WBO featherweight title defense against Luke Jackson.

As to whether he would be ready to defeat Wilder after only two comeback fights, Fury, who turns 30 this month, said he was ready to beat Wilder on the day he was born.

Deontay Wilder is disappointed that his dream match with Anthony Joshua won’t happen until next spring at the earliest, but there are plenty of options out there for him and more of them for him to ponder after this past weekend’s events.

Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz looked good against Razvan Cojanu, dismissing his hapless Romanian adversary in the second round on the Garcia-Easter card in Los Angeles.

After the bout, WBC prexy Mauricio Suliaman gave Wilder his blessing to skirt his mandatory against Dominic Breazeale for a rematch with Ortiz.

Presumably that also applies if Wilder accepts promoter Eddie Hearn’s offer for a match with Dillian Whyte. The WBC now lists Whyte as their “silver” champion and has bumped him ahead of Breazeale into the #1 slot in their rankings. And then there’s Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller who has an Eddie Hearn connection and is a more interesting opponent than Breazeale.

If Wilder vs. Fury is a go, say Fury and Warren, it will be held in December in New York or Las Vegas. We make New York the favorite. The only good date in Las Vegas in December for an event of this magnitude is Dec. 1 and that’s only because Thanksgiving arrives early this year. The National Finals Rodeo, a 10-day event which fills up the town, arrives on Dec. 6, eliminating the next two weekends. And when the rodeo leaves, Christmas is right around the corner. Historically, boxing promoters shy away from putting on a big show right before Christmas on the theory that fight fans have the “shorts,” having exhausted their discretionary income on Christmas gifts.

There are some interesting fighters competing in the upper tier of the heavyweight division and a slew of intriguing prospects coming up the ladder. The division hasn’t been this exciting since the Golden Age of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, et al. Enjoy.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading

Asia & Oceania

Les Moonves, Hero of Mayweather-Pacquiao Deal, Now Cast as a Villain

“He refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
That comment, offered in praise of Les Moonves for the pivotal role the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation played in helping make the May 2, 2015, megafight pairing

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Published

on

Moonves

“He refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

That comment, offered in praise of Les Moonves for the pivotal role the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation played in helping make the May 2, 2015, megafight pairing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, has taken on a more sordid connotation in light of the avalanche of accusations of sexual impropriety that have thrust the 68-year-old Moonves into the unwelcome company of such accused high-visibility miscreants as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Bill O’Reilly and Matt Lauer.

But while the other aforementioned power players have been fired or indicted, their reputations in tatters, Moonves remains on the job as one of the most influential and highest paid (a reported $70 million in 2017) media executives in the United States. Despite a damning article authored by Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker that details numerous instances of bad behavior ranging from merely dubious to criminally actionable, and to which Moonves himself has admitted to some extent, CBS on Monday issued a statement of support that seemed to catch the editors of Variety somewhat off-guard. The entertainment publication’s opening paragraph reads thusly: “In a surprise move, CBS’ board of directors is keeping Leslie Moonves as chairman-CEO even as it launches a probe of sexual assault allegations leveled against him by six women in a New Yorker expose.”

Why should still another story of alleged sexual misconduct by an older man seeking to exert improper control over younger women be of any significance to a fight audience? Well, normally it wouldn’t, except for Moonves’ position, which includes a say in the direction of Showtime’s increasingly important boxing operation if he so chooses. When negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao, a pay-per-view event which was to be co-produced by Showtime and HBO, hit a snag, Moonves insinuated himself into the discussion because it made financial and logistic sense for him to do so. CBS/Showtime had entered into a six-bout, $250 million deal with Mayweather, and three of the four fights held to that point had underperformed. Subsequently, the prevailing belief in CBS/Showtime’s executive offices was that Mayweather’s long-delayed showdown with Pacquiao was not only advisable, but absolutely necessary to stanch the flow of red ink.

“Without Les Moonves, this fight wouldn’t have had a prayer of happening,” Top Rank chairman and CEO Bob Arum, a longtime friend of Moonves, said after the last “i” had been dotted and the last “t” crossed. “The real hero in getting this done is Les Moonves.”

And this from Stephen Espinoza, Showtime Sports’ executive vice president and general manager, tossing another verbal bouquet to his boss: “One of the main reasons this deal got done, when maybe other ones didn’t, was having Les Moonves as part of the process. He was deeply committed to making this deal. He is someone that all parties in this negotiation respected. He was really the catalyst for seeing this through. He refused to take `no’ for an answer from any side. He was there making sure that the parties came together in a successful and cooperative manner.”

But while the high-level wheeling and dealing to finalize Mayweather-Pacquiao was done behind closed doors, so too were those instances when Moonves was attempting to arrange a private deal with a female subordinate whose career he could either advance or stymie. One such occasion allegedly involved writer-actress Ileana Douglas, who was summoned to Moonves’ office to discuss matters involving a television project in which she was to have starred. The New Yorker story quotes Douglas’ heightening discomfort as Moonves made coarse and physical advances toward her.

“At that point, you’re a trapped animal,” Douglas said of the incident. “Your life is flashing before your eyes. It has stayed with me the rest of my life, that terror.”

After The New Yorker story came out, Moonves apologized, sort of, to the six women who told Farrow that the CBS bigwig had sexually harassed them. All claimed he became cold and hostile after they rejected his advances, and that they believed their careers suffered as a result.

In a statement, Moonves said, “Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees, and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our company. I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected – and abided by the principle – that `no’ means `no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career … We at CBS are committed to being part of the solution.”

What makes the furor that has suddenly swirled up around Moonves all the more curious is his prominent support for the #MeToo movement and other feminist causes. In December, he helped found the Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace. A month prior to that, at a conference in November, he said, “I think it’s important that a company’s culture will not allow for (sexual harassment). And that’s the thing that’s far-reaching. There’s a lot we’re learning. There’s a lot we didn’t know.”

There’s a lot we didn’t know? Oh, for sure. We didn’t know for a very long time that TV’s favorite father figure, now-81-year-old Bill Cosby, would be classified as a sexually violent predator by a Pennsylvania court. Cosby is due to be sentenced Sept. 24 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, and his alma mater, Temple University, rescinded the honorary Ph.D. it conferred upon him in 1991. The Cos resigned his spot on Temple’s  Board of Trustees in 2014, after 32 years, amid accusations that he sexually assaulted dozens of women over decades.

We also didn’t know that Harvey Weinstein, 66, the co-founder of Miramax, would be dismissed from the company and be expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after the New York Times ran a story on Oct, 5, 2017, detailing decades of allegations against him by over 80 women. It would seem that the most important piece of furniture in Weinstein’s office was not his desk, but the proverbial casting couch.

One of the more intriguing developments in the widening scandal involved TV newsmen Bill O’Reilly and Matt Lauer. In September 2017, O’Reilly, fired by Fox News for a series of alleged sexual improprieties, appeared as a guest on NBC’s Today show, where he told host Matt Lauer that his dismissal was “a hit job – a political and financial hit job.” Two months later, Lauer was canned by NBCUniversal after it was found he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with another much more junior NBC employee. Three additional women subsequently made complaints against Lauer.

Boxing is a physical sport, maybe the most physical there is, and in most cases the transgressions committed were by fighters who resorted to brute force, the fastest way to bring cops and attorneys into the equation. Think Tony Ayala Jr. spending 17 years behind bars for rape, a conviction that came on the heels of a previous incident in which he broke a teenage girl’s jaw after he made unwanted advances toward her in the restroom of a drive-in theater. But it might be argued that those who seek to have their way with women by exercising a different kind of power are just as much or even more reprehensible, an affront not only to the females they view as disposable objects but to any man who would not want to see his mother, wife or daughter treated so shabbily.

According to CBS, there have been no misconduct claims and no settlements against Moonves during his 24 years at the network. He deserves, as everyone does under the American system of jurisprudence, the presumption of innocence. But given the current landscape befouled by others who apparently felt that they could do whatever they wanted because they always had gotten away with it, sticking with the status quo might send the wrong message.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Remembering-the-Macho-Man-Hector-Camacho-a-Great-Sporting-Character
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Remembering the Macho Man, Hector Camacho, a Great Sporting Character

The-Hauser-Report-Some-Thoughts-on-Mike-Tyson-v-Jake-Paul
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

The Hauser Report: Some Thoughts on Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul

Avila-Perspective-Chap-301-Mike-Tyson-Returns-Latino-Night-in-Riyadh
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: Mike Tyson Returns; Latino Night in Riyadh

Boots-and-Bam-Win-in-Philly
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Boots and Bam Win in Philly

Golden-Boy-in-Royadh-Results-Zurdo-Ramirez-Unifies-Cruiserweight-Titles
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Golden Boy in Riyadh Results: Zurdo Ramirez Unifies Cruiserweight Titles

The-Davis-Brothers-Hit-the-Perfecta-on-Their-Norfolk-Homecoming
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

The Davis Brothers Hit the Trifecta in Their Norfolk Homecoming

RIP-Israel-Vazquez-who-has-Passed-Away-at-age-46
Featured Articles5 days ago

R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46

Say-It-Ain't-So-Oliver-McCall-Returns-to-the-Ring-Next-Week
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Say It Ain’t So: Oliver McCall Returns to the Ring Next Week

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-Oscar-Collazo-Reimagining-The-Ring-Magazine-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Boxing Odds and Ends: Oscar Collazo, Reimagining ‘The Ring’ Magazine and More

Avila-Perspective-Chap-304-A-Year-of-Transformation-in-Boxing-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: A Year of Transformation in Boxing and More

Hake-Paul-Defeats-Mike-Tyson-and-Other-Resulys-from-Arlington-Texas
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Jake Paul Defeats Mike Tyson plus Other Results from Arlington, Texas

The-Noted-Trainer-Kevin-Henry-Lucky-to-be-Alive-Reflects-on-Devin-Haney-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

The Noted Trainer Kevin Henry, Lucky to Be Alive, Reflects on Devin Haney and More

Fighting-on-His-Home-Turf-Galal-Yafai-Pulverizes-Sunny-Edwards
Featured Articles1 week ago

Fighting on His Home Turf, Galal Yafai Pulverizes Sunny Edwards

Philly's-Jesse-Jart-Continues-His-Quest-plus-Thoughts-on-Yuson-Paul-and-Boots-Ennis
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Philly’s Jesse Hart Continues His Quest plus Thoughts on Tyson-Paul and ‘Boots’ Ennis

Boxing-Was-a-Fertile-Arena-for-Award-Winning-Sportswriter-Gary-Smith
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Boxing was a Fertile Arena for Award-Winning Sportswriter Gary Smith

Remembering-Prizefighters-Danny-Nardico-and-Billy-Murray-A-Story-for-Veterans-Day
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Remembering Prizefighters Danny Nardico and Billy Murray: A Story for Veterans Day

Avila-Perspective-Chap-306-Flyweight-Rumble-in-England-Ryan-Garcia-in-SoCal
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 306: Flyweight Rumble in England, Ryan Garcia in SoCal

Avila-Perspective-Chap-307-Destination-Puerto-Rico-Israel-Vazquez-and-More
Featured Articles2 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 307: Destination Puerto Rico, Israel Vazquez and More

The-IBHOF-Unveils-its-Newest-Inductees-Manny-Pacquiao-is-the-Icing-on-the-Cake
Featured Articles3 days ago

The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake

Navarrete-Valdez-and-Espinoza-Ramirez-Rematches-Headline-Phoenix-Fight-Fiesta
Featured Articles3 days ago

Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta 

Emanuel-Navarrete-and-Rafael-Espinoza-Shine-in-Phoenix
Featured Articles15 hours ago

Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

Brooklyn's-Richardson-Hitchins-Wins-IBF-140-Pound-Title-in-Puerto-Rico
Featured Articles16 hours ago

Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico

A-six-pack-of-undercard-action-from-the-Top-Rank-card-in-Phoenix
Featured Articles20 hours ago

A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Recaps-from-London-where-Bentley-Noakes-and-Okolie-Emerged-Victorious
Featured Articles22 hours ago

Recaps from London where Bentley, Noakes, and Okolie Emerged Victorious

Avila-Perspective-Chap-307-Destination-Puerto-Rico-Israel-Vazquez-and-More
Featured Articles2 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 307: Destination Puerto Rico, Israel Vazquez and More

The-IBHOF-Unveils-its-Newest-Inductees-Manny-Pacquiao-is-the-Icing-on-the-Cake
Featured Articles3 days ago

The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake

Navarrete-Valdez-and-Espinoza-Ramirez-Rematches-Headline-Phoenix-Fight-Fiesta
Featured Articles3 days ago

Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta 

RIP-Israel-Vazquez-who-has-Passed-Away-at-age-46
Featured Articles5 days ago

R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46

Fighting-on-His-Home-Turf-Galal-Yafai-Pulverizes-Sunny-Edwards
Featured Articles1 week ago

Fighting on His Home Turf, Galal Yafai Pulverizes Sunny Edwards

Avila-Perspective-Chap-306-Flyweight-Rumble-in-England-Ryan-Garcia-in-SoCal
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 306: Flyweight Rumble in England, Ryan Garcia in SoCal

The-Noted-Trainer-Kevin-Henry-Lucky-to-be-Alive-Reflects-on-Devin-Haney-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

The Noted Trainer Kevin Henry, Lucky to Be Alive, Reflects on Devin Haney and More

Remembering-the-Macho-Man-Hector-Camacho-a-Great-Sporting-Character
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Remembering the Macho Man, Hector Camacho, a Great Sporting Character

Avila-Perspective-Chap-304-A-Year-of-Transformation-in-Boxing-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: A Year of Transformation in Boxing and More

Philly's-Jesse-Jart-Continues-His-Quest-plus-Thoughts-on-Yuson-Paul-and-Boots-Ennis
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Philly’s Jesse Hart Continues His Quest plus Thoughts on Tyson-Paul and ‘Boots’ Ennis

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-Oscar-Collazo-Reimagining-The-Ring-Magazine-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Boxing Odds and Ends: Oscar Collazo, Reimagining ‘The Ring’ Magazine and More

The-Hauser-Report-Some-Thoughts-on-Mike-Tyson-v-Jake-Paul
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

The Hauser Report: Some Thoughts on Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul

Golden-Boy-in-Royadh-Results-Zurdo-Ramirez-Unifies-Cruiserweight-Titles
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Golden Boy in Riyadh Results: Zurdo Ramirez Unifies Cruiserweight Titles

Hake-Paul-Defeats-Mike-Tyson-and-Other-Resulys-from-Arlington-Texas
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Jake Paul Defeats Mike Tyson plus Other Results from Arlington, Texas

Avila-Perspective-Chap-301-Mike-Tyson-Returns-Latino-Night-in-Riyadh
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: Mike Tyson Returns; Latino Night in Riyadh

Say-It-Ain't-So-Oliver-McCall-Returns-to-the-Ring-Next-Week
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Say It Ain’t So: Oliver McCall Returns to the Ring Next Week

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Advertisement