HITTERZ Pound 4 Pound

Every site on the Internet has a similar Pound 4 Pound list. They all copy off one another, so I decided to come up with my own list that deviates from the norm.

Pound 4 Ground Champ – Roy Jones Jr.

Most people who suffer humiliating consecutive knockouts with an addition of a loss by decision would be somewhat humble. If they decided to stay in the sport they would regroup and get themselves together mentally. Not Roy, he is still talking about himself in the third person and believes that he can beat Tarver, Johnson and most recently had the gumption to mention Oneil Bell’s name (Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion).

Pound 4 Pound Paper Champion – Miguel Cotto

Either this guy is extremely cautious or he is really scared. He currently holds the WBO Jr. Welterweight championship. He needs to get in the ring with some better fighters. He keeps fighting journeymen.

Pound 4 Pound Coward – Floyd Patterson ducked Liston as long as he could, but when they finally met, thug ass Liston knocked him out in the first round. Floyd left the arena in wearing a disguise that included a beard and mustache. My question is why did he even have that with him?

Pound 4 Pound Ring Entrance – As far as a I can remember, I would have to give this to Mike Tyson. His ring entrances have always been a part of his attraction. The menacing look, accompanied by hip hop music has been his signature.

Pound 4 Pound Hated – Jack Johnson.
America hated him with and unequaled passion. Even Black people hated him. America still hates him, gold teeth, bald head and all.

P4P Hero – Joe Louis/Rocky Marciano

America loves its heroes. Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano were heroes to many.
Although they would meet in the ring, with Marciano winning by knockout, the
humble champion would later admit that Joe Louis was one of his heroes and that he
found himself in tears following victory.

Pound 4 Pound Weirdo – Demarcus Corley

I’m sorry, wearing women’s lingerie is just too overboard for me. Getting your eyebrows waxed is another. He solidified his position as P4P weirdo during his entrance to fight Miguel Cotto when he wore a mask which hecreated himself. It looked like some kind of insect with implanted dreadlocks.

P4P Bad Behavior – Larry Holmes
Who can forget him jumping off the car and kicking Trevor Berbick. Larry Holmes was just an ill tempered individual. Great fighter how happened to be a bit on the ugly side.

P4P Thug – Sonny Liston
Sonny Liston was “gangsta” and he kept it that way until he was killed in December 30^th, 1970. Liston was found dead in his apartment by way of a drug overdose. This was hard to believe since Liston had a known phobia of needles. Sonny Liston got wacked out!

P4P Canvas Back – Hashim Rahman

His knockout suffered at the hands of Lennox Lewis had to be one of the most thunderous serious of punches I have ever heard.

Pound 4 Pound True Life Story – Jim Braddock/Rubin Carter

The stories of both of these fighters is truly amazing. Both showed an amazing amount of courage, will power and strength outside of the boxing ring.

Forget the “What If” columns! Pick up EA’s FIGHT NIGHT, ROUND 3!

Check out any boxing message board on the net and you are bound to see a number of “What If” threads sizing up fighters who never had the chance of meeting in the squared circle. Most recently, came across a lengthly thread that positioned Rocky Marciano against Larry Holmes. These threads are interesting at times, but they are more than often biased and have no direction.

Why bother with this when you can find out what would have happened by turning on Electronic Art’s (EA) Fight Night. EA has positioned itself as pound for pound best in the boxing video game market. The latest in their “Fight Night” Series is entitled “Round 3“.

What makes Fight Night so special? Electronic Arts has done a good job of recreating the likenesses of boxers past and present, including the respective fighting styles, physical attributes and ring attire.

EA has been real hush-hush about the lineup on this year’s version of Fight Night, but the producer of Fight Night provided the following information:

There are 32 boxers you can choose to fight with in the game. This year, we focused on getting the boxers involved in the biggest rivalries from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ’70s, ’80s and modern day. We have the classic Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta rivalry. You can fight with either Ali or Joe Frazier from the ‘70’s. We have the boxers from all the great ’80s rivalries (Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Duran, etc.). Then, there are all the great modern day rivalries like Gatti vs. Ward and Barrera vs. Morales — and even the most recent rivalries like Hopkins vs. Taylor. We really made sure the best boxing rivals are all in our game. Then, we also signed big name boxers who we did not have in the game yet like Oscar De La Hoya.

I’ve been playing EA boxing games since its inception (originally Knockout Kings) and with every release they have exceeded my expectations.
The next time you find yourself participating in a heated discussion regarding two fighters who will never meet, slide Round 3 into your game console and end the debate.

Morales looses…is he shot?

Erik Morales suffered his first loss by way of knockout over the weekend. Is he a shot fighter? I personally believe he needs to take some time off and get a tune up fight or two. Morales will be thirty this year and he may only have a few good fights left. I don’t want to count him out just yet. Manny Pacquiao is a devastating puncher.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of El Terrible.

Ray Robinson footage

I came across some amazing Ray Robinson footage. The video clip is five minutes in length. You can see the footage by clicking here.

Judah gets a “Get out of Jail Free card”

Earlier this week, I wrote an article entitled “Morales gets to pass go, while Judah goes to Jail”. I guess I spoke to soon. ESPN reports that Mayweather-Judah will take place as planned.

Predictions:Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales

As much as I like Manny Pacquiao, I can’t see him winning the fight this evening. Although Erik Morales lost his last fight, I don’t think his confidence has waned.

I love Pacquiao heart and determination, but Morales is the smarter fighter. I think Pacquiao has problems staying focused in later rounds. This is evident when you look at his first fight with Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Long story short, I have Morales winning by decision.

Boxing Gloves and Color Psychology

Does the color of a boxer’s gloves have an impact on his opponent’s psyche?
While researching information on Color Psychology, I found the following information concerning the color Red:
“The most emotionally intense color, Red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing.”

According to Wikipedia (www.Wikipedia.com) and their definition of Color Psychology, Red is associated with the following words:“Fire, Energy, Excitement, Speed, Power, Blood, War, Anger.”

Without a doubt, red is an appropriate color for boxing gloves when you look at it’s psychological significance.

So, when today’s generation of fighters choose various colored boxing gloves are they doing this just for style? Could there be some other reason?

I believe that more than a few fighters have been psychologically beat without evening knowing it. For example, when a fighter chooses white gloves, he is pacifying or lessening the look of his punching strength.

Wikipedia associates the following words with the color White, under Color Psychology: “Peace, Innocence, Cowardice.”

Imagine if you will, that you are a fighter getting ready to take on an opponent. You’re in your corner, looking over at your opponent and he/she has on a pair of white gloves instead of a pair of fiery red gloves.

When you think about it, which color gloves look more intimidating?

Roy Jones Jr. is one of the most intelligent fighters of our time (for the sake of this article, so we don’t start a huge thread on whether Jones is intelligent). He has often adorned various colored gloves. When I look back on Jones’s fight with journey man Glen Kelly, a fight in which Jones and Kelly wore white gloves, it appeared that Jones’s punches were not as powerful, although he won by a spectacular knockout.

Throughout his career, did Roy Jones Jr. choose to fight in gloves other than red, to lessen the threat of his punching power?

Color has always had a huge importance in boxing. In recent history Mike Tyson and Bernard Hopkins (pre Trinidad) would often adorn themselves in black to symbolize the pending destruction of their opponents.

Still don’t think the colors of gloves are signifigant? Don’t believe in Color Psychology? While performing my research I also found out that there are some professional sports teams that paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy.

It’s obvious, the Color Psychology play a part in the mental aspect of boxing. I’m just wondering how many fighters are using it to their advantage or how many fighters are even aware of it.

Morales gets to pass GO, while Judah goes to JAIL

I recently read an article on Maxboxing where Bob Arum said that Erik Morales’s lost to Zahir Raheem was acceptible because of Morales’s past performances. According to Arum, Erik just had a bad night.
Morales is one of the best fighters in the sport. He is even better when you stand right in front of him. Zahir did the opposite and used a stunning display of footwork and handspeed to befuddle his opponent. What happens? Morales basically get a pass and is allowed to continue on with his plans to fight Manny Pacquiao.

I personally felt that this pass was an insult to Zahir Raheem. Raheem should be looking at a big fight or a rematch with Morales. Why should Morales get to tiptoe around Raheem?

Most recently, Carlos Baldomir upset Zab Judah in a fight that could have set up a superfight between Judah and Floyd Mayweather. Zab had a lackluster performance and lost a close decision. When you look at Judah’s history and past performances, he has had problems concentrating and may need to get professional help (other that Yoel) to help him concentrate.

If Morales is given a pass, why not Judah? Judah really impressed me by thoroughly handling Corey Spinks. At the time, Spinks was regarded as one of the best fighters pound for pound. Why are Judah’s accomplishments diminished?

Why is there a double standard? Morales gets to move on to a superfight while Zab gets to move on to obscurity and mediocirty.

What makes a good boxing commentator?

Is there such a thing? Is it even important for boxing? Commentators like Howard Cosell were rare and unique. His combination of charisma and intelligence made him a rarity amongst commentators.

Aside from all of these great attributes Cosell had an amazing voice. A voice he used to deliver the events of the match with a sense of urgency that is not equally matched. You felt drawn to Cosell and the match at hand.

Although Cosell never participated inside of the ring, he will be remembered as one of the best commentators to ever sit at ringside.

Can anyone fill this void?

When we look at the commentators today, there is something lacking. Guys like Max Kellerman are enthusiastic and possess charm, but lack experience inside of the ring. This is evident when he tries to match wits with the experienced Teddy Atlas.

There have been many former boxers and trainers who have attempted to become journalist, but they often lack the skills to become effective commentators. They often come across as inarticulate and undereducated. Boxing has always had the stigma of brain damage attached to it. The last thing it needs are inarticulate athletes providing proof that the sport leads to inefficient speaking and thought.

Larry Merchant could have been the best commentator in professional boxing, but he lacks charisma and does not appear to enjoy the sport any longer. Jim Lampley has a great voice, but he clearly lacks experience as a boxing analyst.
If fact, the trio that consisted of Larry Merchant, Jim Lampley and George Foreman was probably one of the worst in sports history. Constant bickering and a clear lack or respect for one another was a terrible display of unprofessionalism.

So then, what make a good commentator? Education? Experience in the ring? Charisma? I would imagine that it would be a mixture of these qualities. At the top of my list are Steve Farhood and Al Berstein. The two of them create a synergy that concentrates on the positive aspects of boxing. This is exactly what boxing needs, Positive and clear representation.

Why is boxing suffering?

While working as a photojournalist for several boxing agencies, I conducted many interviews with fighters, referees, managers and promoters. Although disgusted by the stories of corruption and exploitation, the criminal business element of boxing has always been in existence. So why is the sport suffering now?

I believe the fighters are responsible for the decline in interest in the sport.

Years ago when boxing was one of the more popular sports in America, fighters fought several times a year and in some instances fighting weeks apart. Since the fighters fought with regularity, they were well known amongst sports fans and the general public.

It was even possible to reach celebrity status without having a title. These days a championship belt does not guarantee celebrity status.

I guess America just likes there fighters stupid and tough. In the end, the fighters have nothing to show for their efforts except medical conditions that leave them bedridden, meaningless awards and debt.

The current generation of fighters is well aware of the exploitation and dangers that exists in boxing. As a result, their attitude is FUCK YOU, PAY ME!

Talent alone won’t draw interest back into boxing. It will take regularity, charm and charisma. Fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr. could have been the revival that boxing needed. His reluctance to fight regularly and high caliber opposition has hurt boxing and his opportunity to be a celebrity outside of boxing.

The merger of Damon Dash and Lou Dibella will have little impact on the sport. The two joined forces last year in an effort to merge Hip-Hop with boxing. Fight fans don’t care who the promoter is. They just want to see good fights.

Golden Boy Promotions has a good strategy, by targeting the Latin community, where boxing is still a celebrated sport. It will be interesting to see if Golden Boy can spark the same interest amongst the general public in America.

There has to be a way to draw interest in the sport and protect the interest of the fighters. The only way I can see this happening is if fights are made available on public television and if the fighters start retiring at an early age. There is no reason for fighters to keep fighting past the age of 35. Boxing is extremely dangerous and the fighters safety has to be considered as well.