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Wilder, Fury Both Believe Providence is on Their Side
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Wilder, Fury Both Believe Providence is on Their Side
You hear it more and more frequently at the conclusion of significant sporting events, including boxing matches. The winner or key-play maker for the victors thanks God for His supposed intervention, thus giving the impression that the Almighty, like many humans who pray that their wagers pay off, plays favorites on the field or in the ring, perhaps even to the point of running a celestial bookie operation.
Remember how it was when Joe Louis knocked out Adolf Hitlerâs favorite heavyweight, Max Schmeling, in the first round of their June 22, 1938, rematch at Yankee Stadium? Millions of Americans considered it an affirmation of Divine Intervention, of Star-Spangled good conquering the pure evil of all that the Nazis represented, and never mind that Schmeling found Der Fuhrer as repugnant as did Louis and his vast legion of admirers.
Nowadays, choosing whom to support in a major fight, emotionally and financially, is not always so cut-and-dried. Some will plunk their money down on someone representing their country or home region, more pragmatic types are apt to follow their heads instead of their hearts. But the bedrock principle of gambling still most often applies: when in doubt, root for whichever individual or team will yield a profit rather than a loss.
Given that Saturday nightâs megafight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and lineal titlist Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) is about as close as it ever gets to being a 50/50 proposition (Wilder is favored by the narrowest of margins), many of those backing their play with big bucks might have to confess that theyâre doing so with fingers crossed and fervent prayers offered to a deity that may or may not have determined the outcome beforehand.
But there are two individuals who profess to be absolutely certain of a favorable outcome at Las Vegasâ MGM Grand, and not just for reasons that are presumably based in fact or logic. Wilder, the pulverizing puncher from Tuscaloosa, Ala., has offered his opinion that God indeed has blessed his cause, much as it was widely believed nearly 82 years ago that the king of heaven wanted Louis (also a native Alabaman, for those who take note of such things) to whack out Schmeling. But a different certainty is being offered by Fury, the gigantic âGypsy Kingâ from the United Kingdom who also claims he has it on good authority that it is his destiny to emerge triumphant.
Wilder, who had an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican in December, at which time he was named the papal Ambassador for Sport, said he has been aware since childhood of the plan God supposedly has for him.
âIâve always had power,â he said. âI always tell the story of how my grandmother said I was anointed by God, that God is trying to use me for things. Itâs just all about living, coming into this world and finding your purpose in life. I think I found one of my purposes in life, and of course thatâs whupping ass and taking names. And I do that very well.
âIâve just been blessed tremendously. Itâs one of the things I canât describe how it transpired. When you have a calling in life, itâs just that. I just have a calling all my life. Iâm showing the world who I am and what I am.â
Fury doesnât exactly identify God as the reason he will win. His explanation vaguely hints at Tarot cards and tea leaves, but heâs just as convinced that a mighty wave of predetermination will carry him to his inevitable success on fight night. He claims that it is his seemingly miraculous recovery from an emphatic 12th-round knockdown by Wilder in their first meeting, on Dec. 1, 2018, in Los Angeles, that has cloaked him in virtual invincibility.
âI didnât know I was knocked down,â he said of the second of the two times he was dropped by Wilder. âIt wasnât a flash knockdown, like in round nine. It was like a knockout. I watched it on tape. He hit me with a right hand and when I was on my way down he hit me with a left hook. It should have been bye-bye. I remember opening my eyes after around four seconds. I thought, `Get up!â I just jumped up. And then Wilder rushes in and hits me with another massive left hook right on the temple. But it was like I was bullet-proof. It was a more damaging shot than the one that buried me. But it wasnât meant to be. It wasnât Wilderâs time (to win). It wasnât my time to lose.
âI come from a long line of gypsies going back thousands of years. Iâm the latest king of our tribe, our people, whatever you want to call them. I believe itâs written in the stars. I donât believe all the hard work, all the dedication, have that much to do with it. You have to do that as well, but some things that have happened to me in my life now make me 100% believe itâs written in the stars.â
(One has to wonder how Furyâs public pronouncement that frequent cunnilingus has helped strengthen his jaw was received by his wife and mother of the coupleâs five children, the most outrageous such comment since Livingstone Bramble bragged that, counter to standard boxing protocol, he engaged in sexual activity with his wife multiple times a night right up to the day of his bouts.)
For fight fans hesitant to buy into the notion, proffered by either principal, that a higher power has a vested interest in what takes place inside the ropes in this much-anticipated do-over, standard factors are likely to ultimately prove the difference. Can Wilderâs superior power get him home should he find the mark with that devastating right hand? Will Furyâs more polished boxing skills flummox his bigger-hitting foe all the way to the final bell and a nod on points? Or will Fury keep his word that he will take the fight straight to Wilder in the center of the ring, a radical shift in strategy possibly orchestrated by his new trainer, Javan âSugarâ Hill?
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 315: Tank Davis, Hackman, Ortiz and More
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 315: Tank Davis, Hackman, Ortiz and More
Brooklyn returns as host for elite boxing this weekend and sadly the world of pugilism lost one of its big celebrity fans this week.
Gervonta âTankâ Davis (30-0, 28 KOs), the âLittle Big Manâ of prizefighting, returns and faces neighborhood rival Lamont Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) for the WBA lightweight world title on Saturday March 1, at Barclays Center. PPV.COM and Amazon Prime will stream the TGB Promotions card.
Both hail from the Washington D.C. region and have gym ties from the rough streets of D.C. and Baltimore. They know each other well. I also know those streets well.
Davis has rocketed to fame mostly for his ability to discombobulate opponents with a single punch despite his small body frame. Fans love watching him probe and pierce bigger men before striking with mongoose speed. Plus, he has a high skill set. Heâs like a 21st century version of Henry Armstrong. Size doesnât matter.
âLamont coming with his best. Iâm coming with my best,â said Davis. âHe got good skills thatâs why heâs here.â
Roach reminds me of those DC guys I knew back in the day during a short stint at Howard University. You canât ever underestimate them or their capabilities. I saw him perform many times in the Southern California area while with Golden Boy Promotions. Aside from his fighting skills, heâs rough and tough and whatever it takes to win he will find.
âHe is here for a reason. He got good skills, obviously he got good power,â said Roach.
âI know what I can do.â
But their close family connections could make a difference.
During the press conference Davis refrained from his usual off-color banter because of his ties to Roachâs family, especially mother Roach.
Respect.
Will that same respect hinder Davis from opening up with all gun barrels on Roach?
When the blood gets hot will either fighter lose his cool and make a mistake?
Lot of questions will be answered when these two old street rivals meet.
Other bouts
Several other fights on the TGB/PBC card look tantalizing.
Jose âRayoâ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) who recently defeated Isaac âPitbullâ Cruz in a fierce battle for the WBA super lightweight world title, now faces Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) another one of those sluggers from the DC area.
Both are southpaws who can hit. The lefty with the best right hook will prevail.
Also, WBC super lightweight titlist Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KOs) who recently defeated Russell in a close battle in Las Vegas, faces Spainâs clever Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs). Martin defeated the very talented Mikey Garcia and nearly toppled Teofimo Lopez.
Itâs another battle between lefties.
A super welterweight clash pits Cubaâs undefeated Yoenis Tellez (9-0, 7 KOs) against Philadelphia veteran Julian âJ-Rockâ Williams (29-4-1, 17 KOs). Youth versus wisdom in this fight. J-Rock will reveal the truth.
Side note for PPV.COM
Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Lampley heads the PPV.COM team for the Tank Davis versus Lamont Roach fight card on Saturday.
Donât miss out on his marvelous coverage. Few have the ability to analyze and deliver the action like Lampley. And even fewer have his verbal skills and polish.
R.I.P. Gene Hackman
It was 30 years ago when I met movie star Gene Hackman at a world title fight in Las Vegas. We talked a little after the Gabe Ruelas post-fight victory that night in 1995.
Oscar De La Hoya and Rafael Ruelas were the main event. I had been asked to write an advance for the LA Times on De La Hoyaâs East L.A. roots before their crosstown rivalry on Cinco de Mayo weekend. My partner that day in coverage was the great Times sports columnist Allan Malamud.
During the fight card my assignment was to cover Gabe Ruelasâ world title defense against Jimmy Garcia. It was a one-sided battering that saw Colombiaâs Garcia take blow after blow. After the fight was stopped in the 11th round, I waited until I saw Garcia carried away in a stretcher. I asked the ringside physician about the condition of the fighter and was told it was not good.
Next, I approached the dressing room of Gabe Ruelas who was behind a closed door. Hackman was sitting outside waiting to visit. He asked me how the other fighter was doing? I shook my head. Suddenly, the door opened and we were allowed inside. Hackman and Ruelas greeted each other and then they looked at me. I then explained that Garcia was taken away in very bad condition according to the ringside physician. A look of gloom and dread crossed both of their faces. I will never forget their expressions.
Hackman was always one of my favorite actors ever since âThe French Connectionâ. I also liked him in Hoosiers and so many other films. He was a great friend of the Goossen family who I greatly admire. Rest in peace Gene Hackman.
Vergil
Vergil Ortiz Jr. finally made the circular five-year trip to his proper destination with a definitive victory over former world champion Israil Madrimov. His style and approach was perfect for Madrimovâs jitter bug movements.
Ortiz, 26, first entered the professional field as a super lightweight in 2016. Ironically, he was trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz who brought him into the prizefighting world. Last Saturday, they knew what to expect from their former pupil who is now with Robert Garcia Boxing Academy.
Ever since Covid-19 hit the world Ortiz was severely affected after contracting the disease. Several times scheduled fights for the Texas-raised fighter were scrapped when his body could not make weight cuts without adverse side effects.
Last Saturday, the world finally saw Ortiz fulfill what so many experts expected from the lanky boxer-puncher from Grand Prairie, Texas. He evaluated, adjusted then dismantled Madrimov like a game of Jenga.
For the past seven years Ortiz has insisted he could fight Errol Spence Jr., Madrimov and Terence Crawford. More than a few doubted his abilities; now theyâre scratching their chins and wondering how they missed it. It was a grade âAâ performance.
Nakatani
Japanâs other great champion Junto âBig Bangâ Nakatani pulverized undefeated fighter David Cuellar in three rounds on Monday, Feb. 24, in Tokyo.
The three-division world champion sliced through the Mexican fighter in three rounds as he floored Cuellar first with a left to the solar plexus. Then he knocked the stuffing out of his foe with a left to the chin for the count.
Nakatani, who trains in Los Angeles with famed trainer Rudy Hernandez, has the Mexican style figured out. He is gunning for a showdown with fellow Japanese assassin Naoya âThe Monsterâ Inoue. That would be a Big Bang showdown.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 4 p.m. Subriel Matias (21-2) vs Gabriel Valenzuela (30-3-1).
Sat. PPV.COM 5 p.m. Gervonta Davis (30-0) vs Lamont Roach (25-1-1); Alberto Puello (23-0) vs Sandor Martin (42-3); Jose âRayoâ Valenzuela (14-2) vs Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1); Yoenis Tellez (9-0) vs Julian âJRockâ Williams (29-4-1).
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Gene Hackmanâs Involvement in Boxing Went Deeper than that of a Casual Fan
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Gene Hackmanâs Involvement in Boxing Went Deeper than that of a Casual Fan
âOf all the celebrities Iâve met, heâs probably my favorite. Heâs just an average guy.â So said Michael Nunn during his heyday as a world middleweight champion. It was an observation echoed by Nunnâs trainer Joe Goossen. âHeâs not really what you would expect a superstar actor to be,â said Goossen. âHe doesnât think heâs a star. He thinks heâs just an actor.â
They were talking about Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman who was found dead in his sprawling Santa Fe, New Mexico, home yesterday (Feb. 26) along with his wife of 34 years Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, and one of their two German shepherds. Hackman was 95 years old. No foul play is suspected.
People forget how good Michael Nunn was in his prime. During his 27-month reign as the IBF world middleweight champion, which began in July of 1988 with a seventh-round stoppage of former Olympic gold medalist Frank Tate, Nunn defeated Juan Domingo Roldan, Sumbu Kalambay, Iran Barkley, Marlon Starling, and Donald Curry. His 88-second blast-out of Kalambay was named The Ring magazineâs Knockout of the Year and he was at or near the top of everyoneâs Pound-for-Pound list.
Michael Nunn was the jewel of the Ten Goose stable until he pulled up stakes and left one day, returning to Davenport, Iowa, the blue-collar Mississippi River town where he was raised by a single mother in the cityâs poorest neighborhood. The name Ten Goose referred to the siblings, the 10 children â eight boys and two girls — of Al and Anna May Goossen. A former Los Angeles police detective who found time to helm the Sherman Oaks (CA) Little League program, Al encouraged his sons to get involved in sports. They all excelled on local sandlots, and three found their way into boxing; Dan as a promoter, Joe as a trainer and a TV boxing pundit, and Patrick as a fighter â he lost to Hector Camacho and Roberto Duran when both were well past their primes and left the sport with a 19-3 record.
Gene Hackman, a regular at the monthly Ten Goose cards at the Reseda Country Club when he wasnât off somewhere on a movie shoot, became something of a surrogate brother to the Goossen clan. When a Ten Goose fighter such as Michael Nunn or one of the Ruelas brothers was fighting out of town, Hackman would be there if he could fit it into his schedule.
Before making his mark on the big screen, Hackman, a former U.S. Marine, appeared in numerous TV series and on Broadway. Nominated for five Academy Awards, he won Best Actor as âPopeyeâ Doyle in the âFrench Connectionâ (1971) and Best Supporting Actor for his role as the evil Sheriff in the Clint Eastwood Western âUnforgivenâ (1992).
âThe French Connection,â which also won Best Picture, has the most spectacular chase scene in any movie, a chase between a car, commandeered by âPopeye,â and an elevated subway train in Brooklyn. Hackmanâs other credits are too numerous to list, but a personal favorite is âScarecrowâ (1972) where Hackman plays a vagabond recently released from prison, opposite Al Pacino.
Both the late Dan Goossen and Joe Goossen served as technical consultants for several of Gene Hackmanâs movies, notably âSplit Decisionsâ (1988). One of Hackmanâs lesser films, âSplit Decisions,â co-starring Jennifer Beals, is part sports film and part crime drama. Hackman plays a boxing trainer named Danny McGuin.
Another Goossen brother, the late Greg Goossen, served as a stunt double on several of Hackmanâs movies and had small speaking roles in 15 Hackman movies. Greg made it to the Major Leagues as a catcher, appearing in 193 games across parts of six seasons, mostly as a back-up with the sorry New York Mets.
Postscript:
Michael Nunnâs title reign ended with a thud on May 10, 1991, when he was stopped in the 11th-round by James Toney. Nunnâs corner, which included Angelo Dundee, threw in the towel after Nunn pulled himself upright on shaky legs after being decked with a thunderous left hook. Nunn, 36-0 heading in, was ahead on the scorecards by margins of 8, 6, and 4 points before the roof fell in on him. Although the 22-year-old Toney also came in undefeated and would go on to carve out a Hall of Fame career, this was a huge upset.
Nunn went on to capture the lineal super middleweight title before leaving the sport with a record of 58-4 (33 KOs). In his final stab at a world title, he lost a split decision to Graciano Rocchigiani in Berlin in a bout for the vacant WBC light heavyweight title, a fight that would be shrouded in controversy, not because it was a terrible decision but because Rocchigianiâs corner was allegedly informed of the score after each round. By then, Michael and Joe Goossen were back together.
The streets from which Michael Nunn escaped eventually reeled him back in. On August 6, 2002, eight months after his final fight, Nunn was arrested by an undercover FBI agent at a Davenport motel. Charged with purchasing cocaine with intent to distribute, he was sentenced to 24 œ years. The sentence was longer than what prosecutors had recommended. Witnesses testified that Nunn was involved in the drug trade as far back as 1993 and it mattered that Nunn had previous arrests in Davenport for battery on police officers.
Nunn was released in 2019.
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Greg Haugen (1960-2025) was Tougher than the Toughest Tijuana Taxi Driver
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Many years ago, this reporter overhead ring announcer Chuck Hull gushing over a young boxer who was fairly new to the professional game. âThis kid,â he said, referencing Greg Haugen, âis another Gene Fullmer.â
Hull, who would be inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was very familiar with Fullmer, a boxer he greatly admired. The ring announcer had worked two of Fullmerâs title fights, Geneâs 15-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson in March of 1961 and his 10th-round stoppage of Benny âKidâ Paret later that year.
There was a stylistic similarity between Haugen and Fullmer, but the comparison went beyond that. When the cognoscenti in New York got their first look at Gene Fullmer, they dismissed him as just another good club fighter. It was preposterous to think that one day he would defeat the great Sugar Ray Robinson, and never mind that Sugar Rayâs best days were behind him. (Fullmer and Robinson fought three times. The middle fight was a 15-round draw. Robinson won the first encounter with a vicious one-punch knockout.)
Likewise, even after recording three consecutive upsets in 10-rounders at the Showboat in Las Vegas, Greg Haugen was considered nothing more than a good club fighter. He had a wealth of grit, one could see, but in the eyes of the so-called experts, he was too one-dimensional. It was far-fetched to think that one day he would defeat an opponent as slick as Hector Camacho, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Greg Haugen, who passed away last Saturday (Feb. 22) at age 64 in a Seattle-area hospice after a three-year battle with renal cancer, entered the pro ranks after winning Tough Man competitions in Alaska. A native of Auburn, Washington, his first documented fight was in Anchorage. Each of his first five fights was slated for 10 rounds.
Those three upsets were forged against Freddie Roach, Chris Calvin, and Charlie âWhite Lightningâ Brown. Two more fights at the Showboat would follow preceding a date with IBF 135-pound champion Jimmy Paul at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion. A protĂ©gĂ© of Emanuel Steward, Paul was a product of Detroitâs fabled Kronk Gym.
Haugen was one of the first boxers to cultivate a cult following on ESPN. This owed partly to his attractive young wife and their two daughters, adorable little girls, who appeared on camera a lot as they cheered him on from their ringside seats. That marriage was crumbling when Haugen caught up with Jimmy Paul, but Greg overcame the distraction and captured the title with a hard-earned, 15-round majority decision. According to an Associated Press report, Haugen supplemented his $50,000 purse by getting a $2,000 advance and betting on himself at 4/1 odds.
Haugen lost the title and suffered his first defeat in his first title defense, a 15-rounder with Vinny Pazienza before a rabid pro-Pazienza crowd in Providence, Rhode Island. The âPazmanian Devilâ won five of the last six rounds on all three scorecards to win a unanimous decision, but ended the battle with his face all marked-up. âMany ringside observers, including the majority of out-of-town press, had Haugen the winner,â wrote Boston Globe boxing columnist Ron Borges.
They fought twice more. Haugen recaptured the belt with a wide 15-round decision in the rematch in Atlantic City and Pazienza emerged victorious in the rubber match, winning a 10-round decision. It was a great rivalry. Aggregating the scorecards after 40 bruising rounds, Haugen nipped it 1141-1136.
Between his second and third meetings with Pazienza, Haugen was outclassed by defensive wizard Pernell Whitaker on Whitakerâs turf in Virginia, but Gregâs days as a world title-holder were not over yet.
On Feb. 23, 1991, fighting at 140 pounds, his more natural weight, Haugen became the first man to defeat Hector Camacho, scoring a split decision over the 38-0 Bronx Puerto Rican who was defending his WBO belt. The match at Caesars Palace would have ended in a draw if not for the fact that referee Carlos Padilla docked Camacho a point for refusing to touch gloves at the start of the final round.
For Haugen, a noted spoiler, it was the biggest upset of his career. In the sports books around town, Camacho was as high as a 10-1 favorite.
The rematch in Reno followed a similar tack; it was a very close fight, but Camacho won a split decision and Haugenâs third world title reign, like his first, ended in his first defense.
Haugen returned to Reno the next year where he ended the career of Ray âBoom Boomâ Mancini, stopping the former lightweight title-holder and future Hall of Famer in the seventh frame. And then, after defeating two fourth-rate opponents, he was thrust into the fight for which he is best remembered.
Greg Haugen vs. Julio Cesar Chavez at Mexico Cityâs Azteca Stadium wasnât a great fight, but it was a great spectacle. The announced attendance, 132,247, broke the record set in 1926 when 120,557 jammed Philadelphiaâs Sesquicentennial Stadium for the first meeting between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney.
Those that were there will never forget it. Ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr recalled that there were little fires up in the far reaches of the mammoth stadium where people were cooking the food they had brought. âI remember thinking that this was more of a mass celebration than just a sporting event,â reminisced Lennon Jr who compared the event to Woodstock in a conversation with Bernard Fernandez for a story that ran on these pages.
Haugen goosed the gate by saying that Chavez had built his record, reportedly 84-0, on the backs of âTijuana taxi drivers that my mom could whip.â Chavez took it personally and, to the great jubilation of the great multitude, he punished the American before taking him out in the fifth round.
Other boxers since then, lacking Haugenâs originality, have also demeaned their opponentâs conglomeration of former opponents as a bunch of Tijuana taxi drivers. The term seems to have supplanted âtomato cansâ as a term of derision. So, Greg Haugenâs legacy extends beyond what he accomplished in the ring. He left an acorn in the storehouse of American slang.
After being manhandled by Julio Cesar Chavez, Haugen sheepishly said, âThey must have been very tough taxi drivers.â He would have 15 more fights before leaving the sport in 1999 with a record of 39-10-2 with 19 KOs. In retirement, he trained a few boxers but couldnât keep at it after suffering nerve damage in his left arm working the pads with a heavyweight.
There were undoubtedly some very tough guys in the ranks of Tijuana taxi drivers, but in a conventional boxing match, Greg Haugen would have likely whipped them all. He was nowhere as great as the stupefyingly sappy post-mortem tribute that ran in a small Washington paper, but he was tough as nails.
Greg Haugen is survived by four children â two daughters and two sons — and five grandchildren. Speaking to Kevin Iole, his daughter Cassandra Haugen said, âHe was a good man with a huge heart. He came from nowhere and made himself into a champion, but he was always a kind-hearted man and just the best Dad.â
We here at TSS send our condolences to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.
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