Mike Tyson's daughter, Exodus, passed away today as a result of a freak accident at home. Our condolences and prayers are with Mike Tyson and family.
Go to Yahoo Sports for a complete story.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Classic Column: What makes a good fighter?
I ran across this great article on the Ring Magazine Blog and thought it was worth sharing-Randy
Classic Column: What makes a good fighter?
Posted May. 19, 2009 at 12:06pm
By W.C. Heinz
Classic Columns by magazine founder Nat Fleischer and other RING magazine writers over the past 86 years are posted Tuesdays. Today's column was selected because of all the talk about the best fighter pound-for-pound and the fighter of the decade. W.C. Heinz provided his thoughts on what makes a good fighter in the July 1951 issue.
Joey Maxim was in New York to fight Olle Tandberg, the heavyweight champion of Sweden. This was three years ago, and we were sitting in the dressing room he was using in Stillman’s and he was telling us about the time Curtis Sheppard caught him cold in the first round and pinned him in a corner and knocked him out.
“Believe me,” Joey said, “there’s no other feeling in the world like the feeling of being knocked out. You can’t imagine what it’s like.”
“I can’t,” Francis Albertanti said. “You tell me.”
“I come to in the dressing room,” Maxim said. “Everybody is standing around with long faces and tears in their eyes. It’s like I just died. I start crying myself, I’m saying: ‘I’ll go to work. I’ll dig ditches. I’ll do anything.’
“After a while I feel better. I have my shower and I get dressed and I go up to the office to get paid. Sheppard is up there, and he’s a real good guy. He knows he was lucky and he won’t catch me like that again, and he tells me he thinks I got a bad break and I’m entitled to a return.
“Three weeks later I go back with the guy and this time I win it in 10,” Maxim said, looking at us and nodding his head “How do you like that? The guy knocks me out and he’s willing to take me back.”
Francis and I were walking down Eighth Avenue about a half hour later. I was thinking about what Maxim had said.
“He sits there,” I said, “and he tells us what a great thing it is that Sheppard, who has just flattened him, is willing to take him back.”
“I know,” Francis said.
“While he’s talking,” I said, “I’m thinking what a hell of a thing it is that Maxim wants to go back.”
“I know,” Francis said. “I am thinking the same thing myself.”
Joey Maxim is a good fighter. He is good enough to be a champion of the world. His fights do not inspire enthusiasm and his style appears controlled by his caution, and yet if you ask me to enumerate the qualities that go into the making of a good fighter I must give you Maxim and the way he went back with Sheppard. More than that, I must give you his casual acceptance of his own act, his amazement that Sheppard would take him back.
We are thinking about good fighters, the ones of our time, and so Joe Louis belongs in this. The things that make any fighter good, or great, are many, and in the days when Louis was great they analyzed this great¬ness as deriving from fast reflexes, fast hands, and proper schooling in the use of these gifts.
There was nothing wrong with this definition, except that it left those who knew Louis only from a distance perplexed. The placid, unchanging expression of his face, his slow, uninspired manner of speech gave rise to the opinion that his was only an animal ability, and some, at least, concluded that boxing greatness does not require agility of mind.
That is where they were wrong, and Louis proved it on a number of occasions. He proved it on a day in Pompton Lakes in 1946. He was training to meet Billy Conn for the second time, and we were all standing around, crowded, in the dressing room watching Manny Seamon wrapping Joe’s hands.
We were not saying much. We never did say much around Joe, but it had been written many times that Conn looked fast and that his speed might befuddle Louis, and then, as we all stood there, somebody mentioned this.
When he did, Louis said something. He raised his eyes slowly, from watching Manny, and then he came out with the best line that was spoken or written about that fight. Then he went back to watching Manny.
“Billy can run,” Joe said, simply, “but he can’t hide.”
Lines are our stock in trade, not Joe’s, but he did not surprise those of us who knew him as much as it was ever possible for us to know Joe. He had given us one of those rare opportunities to look into that mind, the mind that could recognize an opening and use it. He had explained, without trying to do so, the ability to take the single opening that Paolino Uzcudun gave him in four rounds, and with one punch, probably the most devastating single punch Louis ever threw, flatten Uzcudun.
It is generally agreed that Joe’s greatest fight was his second fight against Max Schme¬ling. Goaded by hurt pride he angrily annihilated in less than a round a good fighter who had previously knocked him out. Emotional excitement inspired his most creative performance and made it his best. Thus it comes down that the good fighter is the creative fighter, the one who is able to rise above the mech¬anical limitations of the sport.
Such a one was the Rocky Graziano who, on July 12, 1947, won the middle¬weight championship of the world. Far from a master of the moves of the sport, the Graziano of that time was a fighter whose creative ability, coupled with his right hand, more than made up for his lack of technical talent.
It was a few minutes after Graziano had knocked out Tony Zale in the heat of the Chicago Stadium and in one of the most fierce fights of our era, that several of us were crowding him in the closeness of his dressing room. His one eye was closed and a clip held together the flesh above the other, and someone asked him to try to explain how he felt during the fury of that fight with Zale.
“I wanted to kill him,” Rocky said. “I don’t know why. I got nothing against him. I like him. He’s a nice guy, but I wanted to kill him. I don’t know why.”
The greatest fighter of his time and one of the greatest of all time is Ray Robinson, the middleweight champion of the world. It is probable that in him, more than in any other fighter of today, are combined more of the qualities that go into the making of a great fighter.
Among the fighters of the present there is, for example, no more avid student of the sport. Robinson has been thus since the days when he started to box. As a four-round preliminary boy he made it a practice to sit at ringside in his ring clothes, before and after his own fights in order to study the others on the card.
One day we were talking in the Uptown Gym in Harlem. He was explaining how he had learned to fight by watching others and fighting others, and I asked him from whom, among those he had fought, he had learned the most.
“Fritzie Zivic taught me a lot,” he said, speaking of the former welterweight champion. “He was about the smartest I ever fought. Why, he showed me how you can make a man butt open his own eye.”
“How?” I said.
“He’d slip my lead, like this,” Robin¬son said, demonstrating. “Then he’d put his hand behind my neck and he’d bring my eye down on his head. Fritzie was smart.”
We were sitting one day in Robinson’s office on Seventh Avenue, just south of 124th Street. He had fought Kid Gavilan twice. The first time they had fought Gavi¬lan had given him trouble. The second time, for the welterweight title in Phila¬delphia on July 11, 1949, he had handled the Cuban with ease, and I wanted him to tell me at least one of the things he had learned about Gavilan in their first fight.
“Well, I noticed one thing.” Robinson said. “I noticed that when he throws his hook he’s not in position, so he shifts his right shoulder forward maybe an inch or two. When he does that you know the right hand is dead, and you how the hook is coming.”
I was not amazed by this, because I had ex¬pected some such revelation. I was merely im¬pressed that of the many who have fought Gavilan and of the many more who have watched him closely, this is the only one to find this weakness.
I was not amazed, moreover, when Robin¬son told me that he knows fear. I have never known a really good creative artist, whether he be a writer, painter, or boxer, who has not confessed that he often doubts himself, experiences nervous¬ness when the big project is at hand.
“Accidents happen in a ring,” Robinson said. “You can never tell when you’re liable to be hit with a good punch.”
He remembered the night he fought Artie Levine in Cleveland in November of 1946. Levine had a dozen pounds on him and so Robinson was fighting it the way you should fight it, moving and throwing no more than combinations and piling up the points.
“In the ninth round,” he said, “he started a right hand and I reached over to catch it. When I opened my glove it wasn’t there and I heard the referee say: ‘Four.’ I thought to myself, Man, he’s startin’ awful high.”
Robinson got up at nine, and in the next round he knocked Levine out. He has never forgotten this, however, but the fear that Robinson knows is the limited fear that inspires a degree of caution and out of this gives birth to inspired performance.
http://www.ringtv.com/blog/685/classic_column_what_makes_a_good_fighter/
Classic Column: What makes a good fighter?
Posted May. 19, 2009 at 12:06pm
By W.C. Heinz
Classic Columns by magazine founder Nat Fleischer and other RING magazine writers over the past 86 years are posted Tuesdays. Today's column was selected because of all the talk about the best fighter pound-for-pound and the fighter of the decade. W.C. Heinz provided his thoughts on what makes a good fighter in the July 1951 issue.
Joey Maxim was in New York to fight Olle Tandberg, the heavyweight champion of Sweden. This was three years ago, and we were sitting in the dressing room he was using in Stillman’s and he was telling us about the time Curtis Sheppard caught him cold in the first round and pinned him in a corner and knocked him out.
“Believe me,” Joey said, “there’s no other feeling in the world like the feeling of being knocked out. You can’t imagine what it’s like.”
“I can’t,” Francis Albertanti said. “You tell me.”
“I come to in the dressing room,” Maxim said. “Everybody is standing around with long faces and tears in their eyes. It’s like I just died. I start crying myself, I’m saying: ‘I’ll go to work. I’ll dig ditches. I’ll do anything.’
“After a while I feel better. I have my shower and I get dressed and I go up to the office to get paid. Sheppard is up there, and he’s a real good guy. He knows he was lucky and he won’t catch me like that again, and he tells me he thinks I got a bad break and I’m entitled to a return.
“Three weeks later I go back with the guy and this time I win it in 10,” Maxim said, looking at us and nodding his head “How do you like that? The guy knocks me out and he’s willing to take me back.”
Francis and I were walking down Eighth Avenue about a half hour later. I was thinking about what Maxim had said.
“He sits there,” I said, “and he tells us what a great thing it is that Sheppard, who has just flattened him, is willing to take him back.”
“I know,” Francis said.
“While he’s talking,” I said, “I’m thinking what a hell of a thing it is that Maxim wants to go back.”
“I know,” Francis said. “I am thinking the same thing myself.”
Joey Maxim is a good fighter. He is good enough to be a champion of the world. His fights do not inspire enthusiasm and his style appears controlled by his caution, and yet if you ask me to enumerate the qualities that go into the making of a good fighter I must give you Maxim and the way he went back with Sheppard. More than that, I must give you his casual acceptance of his own act, his amazement that Sheppard would take him back.
We are thinking about good fighters, the ones of our time, and so Joe Louis belongs in this. The things that make any fighter good, or great, are many, and in the days when Louis was great they analyzed this great¬ness as deriving from fast reflexes, fast hands, and proper schooling in the use of these gifts.
There was nothing wrong with this definition, except that it left those who knew Louis only from a distance perplexed. The placid, unchanging expression of his face, his slow, uninspired manner of speech gave rise to the opinion that his was only an animal ability, and some, at least, concluded that boxing greatness does not require agility of mind.
That is where they were wrong, and Louis proved it on a number of occasions. He proved it on a day in Pompton Lakes in 1946. He was training to meet Billy Conn for the second time, and we were all standing around, crowded, in the dressing room watching Manny Seamon wrapping Joe’s hands.
We were not saying much. We never did say much around Joe, but it had been written many times that Conn looked fast and that his speed might befuddle Louis, and then, as we all stood there, somebody mentioned this.
When he did, Louis said something. He raised his eyes slowly, from watching Manny, and then he came out with the best line that was spoken or written about that fight. Then he went back to watching Manny.
“Billy can run,” Joe said, simply, “but he can’t hide.”
Lines are our stock in trade, not Joe’s, but he did not surprise those of us who knew him as much as it was ever possible for us to know Joe. He had given us one of those rare opportunities to look into that mind, the mind that could recognize an opening and use it. He had explained, without trying to do so, the ability to take the single opening that Paolino Uzcudun gave him in four rounds, and with one punch, probably the most devastating single punch Louis ever threw, flatten Uzcudun.
It is generally agreed that Joe’s greatest fight was his second fight against Max Schme¬ling. Goaded by hurt pride he angrily annihilated in less than a round a good fighter who had previously knocked him out. Emotional excitement inspired his most creative performance and made it his best. Thus it comes down that the good fighter is the creative fighter, the one who is able to rise above the mech¬anical limitations of the sport.
Such a one was the Rocky Graziano who, on July 12, 1947, won the middle¬weight championship of the world. Far from a master of the moves of the sport, the Graziano of that time was a fighter whose creative ability, coupled with his right hand, more than made up for his lack of technical talent.
It was a few minutes after Graziano had knocked out Tony Zale in the heat of the Chicago Stadium and in one of the most fierce fights of our era, that several of us were crowding him in the closeness of his dressing room. His one eye was closed and a clip held together the flesh above the other, and someone asked him to try to explain how he felt during the fury of that fight with Zale.
“I wanted to kill him,” Rocky said. “I don’t know why. I got nothing against him. I like him. He’s a nice guy, but I wanted to kill him. I don’t know why.”
The greatest fighter of his time and one of the greatest of all time is Ray Robinson, the middleweight champion of the world. It is probable that in him, more than in any other fighter of today, are combined more of the qualities that go into the making of a great fighter.
Among the fighters of the present there is, for example, no more avid student of the sport. Robinson has been thus since the days when he started to box. As a four-round preliminary boy he made it a practice to sit at ringside in his ring clothes, before and after his own fights in order to study the others on the card.
One day we were talking in the Uptown Gym in Harlem. He was explaining how he had learned to fight by watching others and fighting others, and I asked him from whom, among those he had fought, he had learned the most.
“Fritzie Zivic taught me a lot,” he said, speaking of the former welterweight champion. “He was about the smartest I ever fought. Why, he showed me how you can make a man butt open his own eye.”
“How?” I said.
“He’d slip my lead, like this,” Robin¬son said, demonstrating. “Then he’d put his hand behind my neck and he’d bring my eye down on his head. Fritzie was smart.”
We were sitting one day in Robinson’s office on Seventh Avenue, just south of 124th Street. He had fought Kid Gavilan twice. The first time they had fought Gavi¬lan had given him trouble. The second time, for the welterweight title in Phila¬delphia on July 11, 1949, he had handled the Cuban with ease, and I wanted him to tell me at least one of the things he had learned about Gavilan in their first fight.
“Well, I noticed one thing.” Robinson said. “I noticed that when he throws his hook he’s not in position, so he shifts his right shoulder forward maybe an inch or two. When he does that you know the right hand is dead, and you how the hook is coming.”
I was not amazed by this, because I had ex¬pected some such revelation. I was merely im¬pressed that of the many who have fought Gavilan and of the many more who have watched him closely, this is the only one to find this weakness.
I was not amazed, moreover, when Robin¬son told me that he knows fear. I have never known a really good creative artist, whether he be a writer, painter, or boxer, who has not confessed that he often doubts himself, experiences nervous¬ness when the big project is at hand.
“Accidents happen in a ring,” Robinson said. “You can never tell when you’re liable to be hit with a good punch.”
He remembered the night he fought Artie Levine in Cleveland in November of 1946. Levine had a dozen pounds on him and so Robinson was fighting it the way you should fight it, moving and throwing no more than combinations and piling up the points.
“In the ninth round,” he said, “he started a right hand and I reached over to catch it. When I opened my glove it wasn’t there and I heard the referee say: ‘Four.’ I thought to myself, Man, he’s startin’ awful high.”
Robinson got up at nine, and in the next round he knocked Levine out. He has never forgotten this, however, but the fear that Robinson knows is the limited fear that inspires a degree of caution and out of this gives birth to inspired performance.
http://www.ringtv.com/blog/685/classic_column_what_makes_a_good_fighter/
CHRIS ARREOLA'S "STRENGTH & CONDITIONING" PLAN
Via Bill O'Neill
May 20, 2009
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CRISTOBAL ARREOLA
By Ryan Burton
BoxingTalk's Ryan Burton speaks to heavyweight contender Cristobal "The Nightmare" Arreola.
Ryan Burton: What is new with you?
Cristobal Arreola: I just signed Darrell Hudson to be my strength and conditioning coach yesterday. I found out my next fight is going to be in September. Exact date don't know. Exact person don't know. Who ever it is I know its in September and I don't really care who it is against. I just know I will be ready.
RB: What made you and your team decide to hire a strength and conditioning coach and what made you decide on hiring Darrell Hudson?
CA: We asked a lot of people on who they would recommend and his name came up a lot. He is a great trainer. He has a great track record.
RB: Were there any concerns at all about the allegations surrounding him with Shane Mosley and the steroid scandal?
CA: Not at all. He is going to give me the same steroids that Shane took (laughing). Nah man I am not worried about that man. You can't go off of stuff like that. We are behind that stuff. What ever happened happened. Shane is his own man what ever he took he knew.
RB: You said you are fighting in September but you don't know who against. Do you have an exact date and venue?
CA: No I have no idea. Mr. Goosen told me the fight would be sometime in September and be in California so I am looking forward to this. I am going to working with Darrell. Right now I am not worried about who I am going to fight. I am concentrating about getting in shape and how I look going into the fight. A lot of people are saying Vitali Klitschko but I am concentrating on being ready.
RB: Does Darrell Hudson have a target weight for you?
CA: The thing is we don't have a target weight. We want to go in better shape. I am going to do conditioning. The thing is I am a fat boy. I may look like crap with my shirt off but I am ready to go.
RB: I have seen heavier guys have more energy than thinner guys before. It seems like metabolism has a lot to do with it. Do you just want to go in the healthiest and most in shape Chris Arreola you can be?
CA: Exactly. It seems with me they don't judge me by how I win or how I do. They judge me by how I look. I keep winning.
RB: By bringing in Darrell Hudson now and your fight not till September this is basically giving you all summer to get in shape. Was that the plan?
CA: Yeah I want to be able to walk around without my shirt this summer! (Laughing)
RB: What are your thoughts on the Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye fight?
CA: You know I am happy for Haye he got that fight. He really doesn't deserve it. He beat a guy (Monte Barrett) who is now considered a journeyman. That is all he has done at that weight. He was able to talk his into that fight. It should be a good fight.
RB: Do you have a prediction for that fight?
CA: I believe that Vladimir Klitschko beats him within 8-10 rounds.
RB: You were ringside for the Andre Ward vs Edison Miranda fight. What did you think of that fight?
CA: Great fight man. You know Andre boxed well. I thought Miranda had him hurt a couple times but Andre was able to stick to his game plan. Andre fought a great fight.
RB: You have 4 months till you fight. Hudson will get his chance to put his stamp on you What is the reasoning behind that?
CA: I just signed him yesterday. I don't versus bringing him in during an 8 week training camp. I don't want to go at this half ass. I want to be in shape and be ready to spar 7-8 rounds before training camp.
RB: The fact that you hired a strength and conditioning coach now and the fact that you hired him so early is screaming that you are going to be fighting a Klitschko. You know its my job to keep asking about that.
CA: You know what, in my mind I will be honest with you, I don't really care about that. I just care about getting ready for that September date against whoever. I just want to get rid of some of this fat and be in the best possible shape I can be in.
RB: It would be nice for an American heavyweight to create a buzz that we haven't had since Evander Holyfield's hey day. Even thought he is British we haven't had a buzz since Lennox Lewis either.
CA: You know what I am going to do it for fat people every where (laughing). Seriously, a lot of people didn't appreciate Lennox. Now tht he is gone people are missing him. Now they wish he was back.
RB: Do you have a message for the fans?
CA: Come September man, you are going to see a new Chris Arreola in shape. You will see the same old fight and the same fighter but I will shed some pounds. I just can't wait for the fight.
RB: I will give you a ring in another month or so to see how your conditioning is going.
CA: Thanks. I appreciate it Ryan.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CRISTOBAL ARREOLA
By Ryan Burton
BoxingTalk's Ryan Burton speaks to heavyweight contender Cristobal "The Nightmare" Arreola.
Ryan Burton: What is new with you?
Cristobal Arreola: I just signed Darrell Hudson to be my strength and conditioning coach yesterday. I found out my next fight is going to be in September. Exact date don't know. Exact person don't know. Who ever it is I know its in September and I don't really care who it is against. I just know I will be ready.
RB: What made you and your team decide to hire a strength and conditioning coach and what made you decide on hiring Darrell Hudson?
CA: We asked a lot of people on who they would recommend and his name came up a lot. He is a great trainer. He has a great track record.
RB: Were there any concerns at all about the allegations surrounding him with Shane Mosley and the steroid scandal?
CA: Not at all. He is going to give me the same steroids that Shane took (laughing). Nah man I am not worried about that man. You can't go off of stuff like that. We are behind that stuff. What ever happened happened. Shane is his own man what ever he took he knew.
RB: You said you are fighting in September but you don't know who against. Do you have an exact date and venue?
CA: No I have no idea. Mr. Goosen told me the fight would be sometime in September and be in California so I am looking forward to this. I am going to working with Darrell. Right now I am not worried about who I am going to fight. I am concentrating about getting in shape and how I look going into the fight. A lot of people are saying Vitali Klitschko but I am concentrating on being ready.
RB: Does Darrell Hudson have a target weight for you?
CA: The thing is we don't have a target weight. We want to go in better shape. I am going to do conditioning. The thing is I am a fat boy. I may look like crap with my shirt off but I am ready to go.
RB: I have seen heavier guys have more energy than thinner guys before. It seems like metabolism has a lot to do with it. Do you just want to go in the healthiest and most in shape Chris Arreola you can be?
CA: Exactly. It seems with me they don't judge me by how I win or how I do. They judge me by how I look. I keep winning.
RB: By bringing in Darrell Hudson now and your fight not till September this is basically giving you all summer to get in shape. Was that the plan?
CA: Yeah I want to be able to walk around without my shirt this summer! (Laughing)
RB: What are your thoughts on the Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye fight?
CA: You know I am happy for Haye he got that fight. He really doesn't deserve it. He beat a guy (Monte Barrett) who is now considered a journeyman. That is all he has done at that weight. He was able to talk his into that fight. It should be a good fight.
RB: Do you have a prediction for that fight?
CA: I believe that Vladimir Klitschko beats him within 8-10 rounds.
RB: You were ringside for the Andre Ward vs Edison Miranda fight. What did you think of that fight?
CA: Great fight man. You know Andre boxed well. I thought Miranda had him hurt a couple times but Andre was able to stick to his game plan. Andre fought a great fight.
RB: You have 4 months till you fight. Hudson will get his chance to put his stamp on you What is the reasoning behind that?
CA: I just signed him yesterday. I don't versus bringing him in during an 8 week training camp. I don't want to go at this half ass. I want to be in shape and be ready to spar 7-8 rounds before training camp.
RB: The fact that you hired a strength and conditioning coach now and the fact that you hired him so early is screaming that you are going to be fighting a Klitschko. You know its my job to keep asking about that.
CA: You know what, in my mind I will be honest with you, I don't really care about that. I just care about getting ready for that September date against whoever. I just want to get rid of some of this fat and be in the best possible shape I can be in.
RB: It would be nice for an American heavyweight to create a buzz that we haven't had since Evander Holyfield's hey day. Even thought he is British we haven't had a buzz since Lennox Lewis either.
CA: You know what I am going to do it for fat people every where (laughing). Seriously, a lot of people didn't appreciate Lennox. Now tht he is gone people are missing him. Now they wish he was back.
RB: Do you have a message for the fans?
CA: Come September man, you are going to see a new Chris Arreola in shape. You will see the same old fight and the same fighter but I will shed some pounds. I just can't wait for the fight.
RB: I will give you a ring in another month or so to see how your conditioning is going.
CA: Thanks. I appreciate it Ryan.
Classic Fights: Mando Ramos Vs. Yoshiaki Numata
Courtesy of Frank Baltazar Sr.
Mando Ramos Vs. Yoshiaki Numata
October 4, 1969
Los Angeles Sports Arena
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo
By Randy De La O
I was cleaning out my garage today and ran across this article from December 15, 1992 from The Los Angeles Times, written by Pete Ehrmann. The article is about both Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo. Rick has been on a roll with his interesting memories of the Olympic. Maybe he will share some memories of this fight.
I had trouble with the second page, getting both edges to fit in the scanner. I tried every which way to get the whole page but just couldn't quit make it. The left hand margin is slightly cut off. Still you should be able to get the gist of the article. My apologies.
I was cleaning out my garage today and ran across this article from December 15, 1992 from The Los Angeles Times, written by Pete Ehrmann. The article is about both Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo. Rick has been on a roll with his interesting memories of the Olympic. Maybe he will share some memories of this fight.
I had trouble with the second page, getting both edges to fit in the scanner. I tried every which way to get the whole page but just couldn't quit make it. The left hand margin is slightly cut off. Still you should be able to get the gist of the article. My apologies.
Click on the photo for a larger more readable version.
Sparring With Mike Quarry
By Randy De La O
In an earlier post by Rick Farris, he mentions that Jerry Quarry was hard on his younger brother Mike, bullying him and roughing him up when they sparred and more or less taking advantage of the size and weight difference.
In the above article about Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo by Pete Ehrmann, Ehrmann says this "In the last round, with the fight in hand, Quarry dropped his hands and did an imitation of ali dancing around the ring. the crowd loved it, but Quarry says he wasn't showing off."
Both the bulling and Ali shuffling clear up something, more or less, from 1976 when I sparred with Mike Quarry. I don't remember the date but it was sometime in the middle of the year. I had yet to have a fight.
Mike Quarry showed up at the Main Street Gym one day. This was the first time I had seen him at the gym since I had been training there and I had been there for at least a year and a half. Mike carried himself like a pro. His mannerisms, the way he walked and the way he dressed. He was wearing a light blue three piece suit that day. I was skipping rope when he came through the doors. From where I was standing, Mike cut a pretty imposing figure. I immediately recognized him.
No sooner did he come through the door then he and my trainer, Mel Epstein, had eye contact. They talked for a few minutes, then Mel walked over to me in that slightly bent and rapid pace way that he did whenever he felt rushed. "You're gonna spar with Mike Quarry today" he said to me. "He wants to work with someone smaller and faster than him-you okay with that?" Yeah, I'm okay with it" I said. "Okay, Keep warming up" and he walked away.
A few minutes later I was getting geared up for sparring, putting on the cup, head gear and wraps and gloves. Mel was putting Vaseline on my face and says to me "Don't try to slug with him, it's just a workout, and don't get nervous just because it's Quarry". I'm not nervous Mel" I said, and I wasn't.
As soon as I stepped in the ring, Mike started teeing off on me. He came at me as if I was someone that he hated. It took me a minute to realize that Mike was not playing around. I immediately had a bloody nose. I was doing my best to keep him off me and I never took a backward step. When the bell went off and I went to the corner, Mel was livid. "That f*cking bastid is cutting you with his laces". I hadn't noticed but I remember saying "Mel. He wouldn't do that". "F*ck it, I'm pulling you out-he can find someone else." "Mel. don't do it" I was serious. Normally I went along with whatever Mel wanted but I was firm on this. It was a matter of pride.
We sparred about four or five rounds that day and Mike was really laying it on thick. I was being pummeled. I got in a few licks though but for the most part I was just a punching bag.
When we were done sparring, Mike was back to his old self, smiling and joking. The picture of affability. I don't think I have ever seen Mel so angry. He used every curse word he could think of and probably created a few just for the occasion. After I was done getting dressed I walked back to the floor to wait for Mel. Mike walks up to me and says "tomorrow?" Yeah sure, no problem"
The next day my friend Ken Robledo came with me. I think he wanted to see Mike kick my ass. If so, he wasn't disappointed. It was a repeat of the first day only more so. Again Mel was pissed off. I know that Mel never really cared for the Quarrys. He always thought that they had a negative influence on middleweight Mike Nixon, at least that's what he told me. So for Mel, it was just one more thing to be angry about. When I was cleaned up and ready to go, my friend Ken walks up to me and said "Man, Quarry really kicked your ass" Yeah, well..." was all could muster. "You never took a backward step though, I'll give you that".
The third and last day was more of the same. Still I was looking for some payback, just a little bit. My chance came when Mike finished teeing off on my head. The funny thing is no matter how many times Mike landed, and he did land, he never really hurt me. He overwhelmed me at times but never hurt me. He dropped his hands to his sides and did the Ali shuffle and stuck out his chin. The guy was mocking me and was probably expecting me to be awed or intimidated, instead I threw the best right hand I have ever thrown or ever will. It landed flush on his chin. His eyes rolled up and flickered and he fell against the ropes. I know I hurt him. As I rushed him trying my best to at least end this sparring session with some dignity, the guy that was working his corner called an end to the sparring. Then Mike started acting funny. He started shaking his ass and laughing the way a fighter does when he wants to show the other guy he wasn't hurt. I hate to say it but he was acting like a jerk. I think he was embarrassed.
Mel walks up to me and said "You knocked that f*cking bastid out on his feet". "I don't think so Mel, I think he was kidding" "Bullshit, he was hurt.
Later after we showered Mike came up to me and said "Randy, thanks for the workout-I had a harder workout with you than most light heavyweights". "Thanks Mike, I had a harder workout with you than most welterweights!" Maybe Mike was just being polite, I don't know, but coming from him it was quite a compliment.
Evey word was true. It took me three f*cking days but I caught him and I know I hurt him, just a little. More importantly, at least to me, I never took a backward step.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Louie Burke's Blog: Han Defeats King!
Photo by Paul Gallegos/Fightnews
From Louie Burke
Well, it was a war and by far the best fight of the night. King, a south-paw didn’t waste any time trying to land his straight left just missing it’s target but indicating that was his power shot. Abie found a home for his left hook which hurt King multiple times throughout the fight. In the fourth, King caught Abie with straight left, wobbling him, but as he went for the finish, Abie impressively bobbed, weaved and held on til he re-gained his whereabouts, enabling him to survive the round. In the fifth, both fighters clashed heads, causing a stream of blood, from a cut above Abie’s hairline. In between rounds the bleeding was stopped and never played a factor in the fight The rest of the fight, Abie stayed busier and out hustled King. I grew a little grayer tonight but was pleased with the victory. The scores were 60-54 and 58-54 twice.
Thanks for your support,
Louie
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Abie Han report: weigh-ins
From Louie Burke
After a Long drawn Out weigh-in, which was scheduled for 2:00 and didn’t take place til about 4:30 the starving, thirsty fighters were finally weighed. Luckily Abie ate a good breakfast and was hydrated, but most of the other fighters appeared to be suffering as they had to wait for the commissioners to shuffle through the mess of paperwork and then wait again for the doctor to show up. When it finally got under way, abraham and Ibahiem were called to the scales.
Abie Han weighed in at 155, a pound under the 156 contracted weight and his opponent Ibahiem King was two pounds under coming in at 154. Both looked lean and are fighting at a lower weight than they fought in the amateur ranks.
During the face off, matchmaker Vince Parra was hollering out "this is the fight of the night" referring to Abie’s and King’s fight. The fight’s scheduled for 6 rounds, a first for Abie and the second go ‘round for King. I have to agree with Vince and foresee a tough battle, but feel good about Abie’s pre fight preparation.
After the weigh-in we found a pasta joint and put down a hefty plate of angel hair with red meat sauce, drank plenty of water and toped it off with a dish of spamoni ice cream. We then went for a walk and had Vince take us to the hotel to rest and watch the NBA play-offs.
Thanks for your support
Louie
After a Long drawn Out weigh-in, which was scheduled for 2:00 and didn’t take place til about 4:30 the starving, thirsty fighters were finally weighed. Luckily Abie ate a good breakfast and was hydrated, but most of the other fighters appeared to be suffering as they had to wait for the commissioners to shuffle through the mess of paperwork and then wait again for the doctor to show up. When it finally got under way, abraham and Ibahiem were called to the scales.
Abie Han weighed in at 155, a pound under the 156 contracted weight and his opponent Ibahiem King was two pounds under coming in at 154. Both looked lean and are fighting at a lower weight than they fought in the amateur ranks.
During the face off, matchmaker Vince Parra was hollering out "this is the fight of the night" referring to Abie’s and King’s fight. The fight’s scheduled for 6 rounds, a first for Abie and the second go ‘round for King. I have to agree with Vince and foresee a tough battle, but feel good about Abie’s pre fight preparation.
After the weigh-in we found a pasta joint and put down a hefty plate of angel hair with red meat sauce, drank plenty of water and toped it off with a dish of spamoni ice cream. We then went for a walk and had Vince take us to the hotel to rest and watch the NBA play-offs.
Thanks for your support
Louie
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Burke’s blog: Han arrives in San Diego
Blog by Louie Burke
Abie Han and I arrived in San Diego yesterday where we were picked up by matchmaker Vince Parra. He took us to the hotel where we changed into our workout gear to finish off our last workout, and to see what Abie’s weight was.
After the workout, Abie was 156, which is the contracted weight. He looked and felt ready for Thursday night’s fight with Ibahiem King, a 6-0 middleweight from West Palm Beach, Florida.
The event is promoted by Rogue Boxing Promotions and will be the first of a series of fights at the San Diego Hardrock Hotel. Tickets sales seem to be doing very well and a few celebrities will be in the audience.
We look forward to fighting King, he’s a crafty south-paw, much like “No Doubt” Austin Trout. We had great lefty sparring in preparation for the fight, working with Austin and Rene Armijo.
After doing our homework, we know that King will be a true test, and someone not to be taken lightly. At 3-0 we would have liked to get someone a little softer, but it’s been impossible to find an opponent for Abie anywhere in the southwest. We’ve reached out to big promoters with no avail. So, in order to keep active, we decided to jump up a few levels, feeling confident we’ll land feet first.
No matter the outcome, we’ve been promised a few more spots this year with Rogue Boxing Promotions.
Weigh-ins are today at 2:00 p.m.
Abie Han and I arrived in San Diego yesterday where we were picked up by matchmaker Vince Parra. He took us to the hotel where we changed into our workout gear to finish off our last workout, and to see what Abie’s weight was.
After the workout, Abie was 156, which is the contracted weight. He looked and felt ready for Thursday night’s fight with Ibahiem King, a 6-0 middleweight from West Palm Beach, Florida.
The event is promoted by Rogue Boxing Promotions and will be the first of a series of fights at the San Diego Hardrock Hotel. Tickets sales seem to be doing very well and a few celebrities will be in the audience.
We look forward to fighting King, he’s a crafty south-paw, much like “No Doubt” Austin Trout. We had great lefty sparring in preparation for the fight, working with Austin and Rene Armijo.
After doing our homework, we know that King will be a true test, and someone not to be taken lightly. At 3-0 we would have liked to get someone a little softer, but it’s been impossible to find an opponent for Abie anywhere in the southwest. We’ve reached out to big promoters with no avail. So, in order to keep active, we decided to jump up a few levels, feeling confident we’ll land feet first.
No matter the outcome, we’ve been promised a few more spots this year with Rogue Boxing Promotions.
Weigh-ins are today at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Manny Paquiao KO's Ricky Hatton in the 2nd
By Randy De La O
First Ricky Hatton: A game rooster if ever there was one. His heart cannot be questioned. While he was in the fight, which was very brief, he fought valiantly. The old adage "You can't teach an old dog a new trick" was never more evident than in last nights fight. I don't think it would have made one bit of difference in the outcome but he should have spent more time working on his own assets instead of trying to change his style, especially before such a big fight. I give Hatton all the credit in the world for coming out and facing Paquiao and an imminent knockout. Mayweather Sr showed great courage sending his fighter out for the second round.
His first mistake was trusting Floyd Mayweather Sr, who had no real answer for Pacquiao's speed, power and angles. Freddie Roach said before the fight "I have the better fighter" and he was right.
On Manny Pacquiao: I don't know what I can say about Manny that I haven't already said, or that hasn't already been said by almost everyone else. Pacquiao is a force of nature. There's no doubt that Paquiao would fit into any era. He joins the ranks as an all time great, and deservedly so. The ease and quickness in which he figured out Hattons flaws was amazing. After the first knockdown it was a foregone conclusion. The knockout, which came near the end of round 2, was a debilitating left hook to Hattons chin. Hatton was out. It was a serious knockout. The kind of knockout that causes damage. Thankfully Hatton was able to get up and walk out of the ring on his own.
The knockout sends a message to both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez who will be fighting each other later this year, on July 18. Marquez, who has already fought Pacquiao twice and has been pushing for a third fight, has to notice the improvement that Manny has shown over the last year or so. Both fights between the two were controversial, with a split decision win for Paquiao and a draw, which says a lot about Marquez. A lot of people, myself included felt Marquez was the winner of both fights. Whatever happened in the past though really doesn't matter. Marquez will be facing a vastly improved and infinitely more confident Manny Paquiao.
Mayweather on the other hand, has also stopped Ricky Hatton, back in December of 2007. He didn't have nearly the easy win that Paquiao had. We'll have to see how that plays out. The winner of the Marquez vs Mayweather jr. will more than likely face Pacquiao.
With Pacquiao, Hatton, Marquez and Lopez all fighting each other, it evokes memories of boxing's last glory days, the 1980's when Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns and Wilfredo Benitez were all fighting each other. The best in boxing were fighting each other. That's the way it should be. Let's hope it becomes the norm again.
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