Manny Pacquiao, and the Dying of the Light

Published

12 years ago

December 6, 2012

Boxers deal with “little deaths” much more than us regular folks. (Chris Farina-Top Rank)

Truth be told, I am absolutely terrified of death. It’s not the idea of what comes next. No, as a person of faith, I believe with all my heart in what comes next. Like other Catholics, I professed it at my Confirmation and believed every word of it: I believe and profess all the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches and proclaims…

Part of this, of course, includes final matters. The Church refers to it as eschatology.

I believe these things, but I do not know them. Knowing is different than believing. Knowing requires proof; faith is void of it. This is the beautifully terrifying aspect of my faith I’d mostly rather ignore, but I know it’s not best for me to do so. After all, death surrounds me. It’s everywhere and there is no escape.

As soon as I was born, I began to experience things I like to call little deaths. I began to lose things. First, I lost my comfort, next my innocence and then my dependence. As I moved through life, I lost other things. I lost my pets, my friends, my family. What began at my birth has only continued and escalated as I’ve grown older, and will carry on until the day I die. In a way, these little deaths prepare me for my future, but I still don’t like them.

I try to ignore them sometimes. I fill my head with all sorts of nonsense. Some of it is good and some of it is not. I listen to music, watch television, take my dogs for a walk, read a book, watch boxing, go for a jog, laugh with my friends…the list goes on.

Still, there is no escape, not really. These little deaths are prologue to my future. The light is dimming and it will die someday. It is inevitable.

Perhaps this is why I love boxing.

Fighters never have a chance, you know. They face these little deaths every day, and they do it bravely and right out in front of everybody. It starts when they are young. They learn all the little things they have to give up in order to be successful. No pudding after dinner, you have to be at your best. No time to hang out with your friends, you have to train. You have to experience pain, in order to experience gain. No mercy for your opponent; boxing is not a game.

Should they be good enough to become professionals, they learn more little things they have to give up if they want to make it to the top. Keep your eye out for the crooks, because most people in the business cannot be trusted. Forget about pleasing people, you’ll let somebody down no matter what. Don’t say no to an opportunity, because it may never come around again. Everybody loves a winner but everybody loses, eventually.

Only the very best of these people make it to that top. All hail the conquerors, yes, and it’s great. But they’ll not be there forever. They are still fighting against the inevitable for boxing mirrors life. Everyone must fall. No matter how good you are, eventually you will meet someone better. They may be younger than you. They may be stronger than you. They may just be lucky. No matter, they will beat you or you’ll retire and they’ll replace you anyway. It doesn’t matter; there is no escape.

Even for the rare few who remain undefeated, it is the same. There will always be someone you didn’t face. There will always be something you didn’t do. There will always be somebody who did something better than you did or more of what you didn’t. As it is with us, history is both frail and corruptible.

It is absolutely hopeless, but here is where I find boxing’s truest merit. See here thirty-three-year-old Manny Pacquiao. He’s accomplished as much as just about any boxer could hope to achieve. Yet, see him slipping a bit now. He’s a bit older and slower. He’s less menacing now than before and only as aggressive as his age will now allow. He’s lost a bit of his edge. His little deaths have slid him down again to mere mortal. See here Juan Manuel Marquez, just one year shy of forty. See his weathered skin and forlorn eyes. See him struggle with his legacy. Winless against his nemesis, see him fret the little death of retiring without ever have beaten his chief rival. See him recall his three little deaths against Pacquiao: a draw, a loss, a loss.

And see them rage against it.

Let us look at this fight in a vacuum now and, for a moment, forget about the little deaths these men are facing. Let us also forget the particulars of this occasion: the blue canvas they’ll stand on, the Las Vegas crowd dangling their brim pockets to the poor millions not able to see it live, and the razor-thin trilogy of fights which preceded this one, each as closely contested as the other. I do believe that on its surface, even if I’d never seen the other thirty-six brilliant rounds of fisticuffs, this fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez would be something special. After all, this fight will feature two brilliant pugilists with styles aimed to please. Pacquiao is an ever-moving combustible, bouncing his way in and out of harm’s way with ferocious intent. Marquez, on the other hand, is the master boxer of his time, whose penchant for hurling brilliant combinations and ruthless use of counter aggression is unparalleled in the sport.

But when I remember this rage against the little deaths, I am certain that it moves me even more. The call of boxing’s wild is magnified exponentially here. Yes, I can hear Dylan Thomas urging them from the grave to rage against the dying of the light, but I know they’d do it anyway. Because these souls, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, are fighters. They will fight the little deaths until they can fight no more. Again, again and again…once more now and with feeling….they will rage, rage, RAGE… and the thought of this gives me peace.

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The Sweet Science

With Olympic Boxing on the Ropes, Three Elite U.S. Amateurs Shine in Colorado

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

With-Olympic-Boxing-on-the-Ropes-Three-Elite-U.S.-Amateurs-Shine-in-Colorado

Three USA boxers won gold medals at the recently concluded World Boxing U19 tournament in Pueblo, Colorado. The tournament, restricted to boxers aged 17 and 18, attracted contestants from 30 nations and a contingent from French Polynesia.

The U.S. team, represented by eight male and six female boxers, secured 11 medals in all, an impressive haul.

The three U.S. gold medalists appear to have very bright futures if they choose to remain in the sport. They are:

Light heavyweight (80 kg) ELIJAH LUGO (Marrietta, GA)

Lugo has purportedly scored 42 stoppages in his amateur career, the most since USA Boxing began keeping track. The record was previously held by his older brother Nathan Lugo who is currently 2-0 (2 KOs) at the professional level. The Lugo brothers are represented by David McWater (Split-T Management). One of boxing’s most influential facilitators, McWater’s clients include Teofino Lopez.

Middleweight (75 kg) JOSEPH AWININGYA JR (Joliet, IL)

The son of a Ghanaian immigrant who had a brief career as a professional boxer, competing as a cruiserweight, the precocious Awiningya, mature for his age, is a college student majoring in marketing who once aspired to become a nurse like his mother.

Flyweight (50 kg) LORENZO PATRICIO (Waianae, Hawai)

One of eight children. Patricio (our poster boy for this story) comes from a boxing family. Two of his sisters are involved in the sport.

—

In addition to the three gold medalists, the U.S. men’s team garnered two silver and three bronze. The U.S. women managed only three bronze, somewhat of a disappointment. Lightweight Shamiracle Hardaway (Lagrange, GA), considered one of the favorites, fell to England’s Ella Lonsdale in the semifinals. Ms. Lonsdale has a wonderful surname for a British boxer.

—

The best showing was by fast-rising India which had 17 medal winners including three golds. Although boxer Mery Kom (aka Mary Kom) is one of the most popular sports personalities in India, the South Asian nation, the world’s most populous country, has never had a large presence in boxing, amateur or pro. Ten of the 17 Indian medalists, including two of three gold medal winners, were female.

—

Tournament organizers noted that the Pueblo event was the first major tournament in the next Olympic cycle. Left unsaid was that boxing as an Olympic sport is on the ropes (pardon the pun). As it now stands, boxing, one of the original Olympic sports, is not on the docket for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The International Olympic Committee de-frocked the International Boxing Association, the governing body of amateur boxing, in 2023. The decision was upheld in April by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an agency headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A new body, World Boxing, emerged from the fallout. The Pueblo tournament bore the imprint of the new organization.

The chairman of World Boxing’s “Olympic Commission” is Gennadiy Golovkin who is also the president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee. A former Olympic silver medalist whose primary residence is in the Los Angeles area, “GGG” is reportedly fluent in four languages. He is tasked with repairing the rent between boxing and the International Olympic Committee so that boxing can continue to be an Olympic sport. A decision is expected next year.

If successful, it is possible that things may revert to the days when professional boxers were ineligible to compete for Olympic medals.

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

3 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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