Rivera vs. Smith: Shame Under the Radar in the Bay State of Massachusetts

Razor Ruddock tried it and so did Alexis Arguello and Donny Lalonde. Even Danny “Little Red” Lopez gave it a shot. Coming back after you have smelled the roses is generally ill-advised as these four notables learned.

While Germany’s former light heavyweight champ “Gentleman” Henry Maske, inactive for more than a decade, came back in a remarkable one-off against Virgil Hill at the age of 43, fellow-German, 39-year-old  Axel Schulz came back after seven years and was brutalized by Brian Minto. Speaking of Hill, he came back after eight years to stop limited Jimmy Campbell in Bismarck in 2015 and then retired once and for all, maybe.

There are only so many Carlos “King” Palomino’s

El Gallo

Now comes 45-year-old former WBA world super welterweight champion Jose Antonio “El Gallo” Rivera who returned to the ring this past weekend after having not fought since July 2011.

Before losing to slick Willy Wise in 1995, Rivera was 23-0. After a draw against Troy Smith, he then went on another win streak beating, among others, Kip Diggs, Curtis Summit, and Teddy Reid before losing to Pat Coleman and Robert Frazier. After these two defeats, he launched still another winning streak, a 7-fight winning skein that included Frankie Randall among his victims.

He beat Berliner Michel Trabant (38-0) for the vacant WBA Title in 2003 in Germany but lost it to Luis Collazo by SD in 2005. A year later he regained the belt by decisioning Alejandro Garcia but would lose it again to Travis Simms in 2007. After beating Clarence Taylor in 2008, he retired but came back three years later to decision power puncher Luis Maysonet and limited Paul Mpendo and then retired again in 2011.

“Slow Motion”

Friday’s fight was Rivera’s 15^th overall in his hometown of Worcester, Mass. As for his opponent, it was none other than road warrior Larry “Slow Motion” Smith who had gone 33 straight without a win and had one only one victory in his last 37 fights since 2009. Smith was a late substitute for “Modern Day Warrior” Ruben Galvan (27-26-4) who has gone winless in his last 19 (but who has fought everyone there is to fight).

Smith is 39 years old and this was his fourth bout in 2018. He had fought 234 rounds, suggesting that he could cause some trouble if Rivera’s stamina was an issue. Back in 2011, he went the distance with Jermell Charlo and Felix Diaz and more recently, in April and July of 2018, he made Ashley Theophane (41-8-1) and then Derek Silveira work to the final bell. “Slow Motion” can go rounds.

The Fight

“…like I said I’m a 12-round fighter, so I trained for that long. You never know what you’re going to get so you’ve got to be ready for the long run.”—Jose Rivera

“El Gallo” won by TKO in the seventh round of eight. No surprise there as Smith, true to form, now goes winless in his 34th straight. But also true to form, “Slow Motion” extended the former two-time world champion to seven rounds before succumbing.

Smith started well using a nice jab and some in the crowd said “oh oh,” but he soon remembered what he was there for and reverted to loser mode. Rivera hurt Smith with a body shot in the sixth. Smith then retired in his corner, failing to come out for the seventh.

Smith would later say that he had badly injured his right hand earlier in the fight with a shot to Rivera’s head. Said Rivera, now 42-6-1, “That’s a first.”

How did Jose look? Like a 45 year old. How did Smith look? Like a designated loser. The only thing professional about this match was that top notch referee Bob Benoit was the third man in the ring.

The Massachusetts State Athletic Commission has been the subject of much criticism of late. This fight only adds to it. Shame on the commission for allowing it.

 Ted Sares is one of the oldest active full power lifters and recently won the Maine State Champions in his class. A member of Ring 10, and Ring 4’s Boxing Hall of Fame, he was recently cited by Hannibal Boxing as one of three “Must-Read” boxing writers.

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