This month middleweight boxer and boxing columnist Richard Pierson offers his insights on five things that could change boxing for the better…
There were some good boxing matches and some great ones the past couple of weeks. We’ve seen the offspring of Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor use his freakish 6-ft, 5-in, 168 pound frame and a Mr. Fantastic jab, followed by a no-homo right hand to score a clear win over Dyah Ali Davis, son of former Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr.
Next, we were able to see and also taste the fountain of youth, as we all sat, watching the much younger Allan Green fall to the “Legend Killer,” and highly under- rated fighter Glen Johnson. As “Road Warrior” Glen applied pressure behind his turtle shelled defense with a consistent jab, whole time setting up the Clubber Lang right hand, letting the world know, it’s not about the age of the body, its about the age of the mind. Johnson ended the fight with another history repeating KO like he has done so many times.
The planet earth witnessed the battle between David and Goliath. As the One & Only, Pound for pound Pac-Man destroyed the giant Margarito, as he threw super fast, accurate, thumping hands of stone, from round one up until round 12. Leaving the big giant, “unjolly,” beaten and broken but full of green. So even with the broken cheek bone, Margarito is still smiling on his way to the bank…
I would love to say that I had a great time watching my wife (boxing) these past few weeks but I can’t because even with the good and great fights, we also had some bad and terrible fights that gave me morning sickness, like I traded places with a woman that’s feeling two weeks pregnant. With that being said, my wife needs a make over BAD. We need to change at least five things in boxing…
Starting with the alphabet boys WBC, WBO, IBF etc..the alphabets have taken over boxing. They’re too many champs in one division causing many unnecessary fights to occur, while having the public basically waste their time and money. Thats not what the public is looking forward to because the champion represents the public, this is why boxing should throw out all their fancy belts and just wear the original champion belt the peoples champ belt, “The RING BELT.” Rocky Balboa knew and understood the meaning of “The RING BELT” even after he went crazy in Rambo.
The WBC, IBF, WBA, and the WBO titles have their own ranking system 1-10. Note: the Champs of the other titles can not enter the other alphabet ranking system causing Champs to avoid each other. Main example: the Klitschkos, they are both champions, owners of different titles and are allowed to avoid each other because of the alphabets regulations. I’m not saying that two brothers should fight, but they are responsible for the heavyweight drought… they (alphabets) are holding up the game with that one regulation. If the other Champs could enter the other alphabet ranking system, it would cause fighters like “the Klitschko’s”, to have to think about facing one another causing the “Champion” to turn “duck”. Super Fights, unifications would be more common in the boxing world. There hasn’t been a dominate unified Champ since Lennox Lewis.
How did Manny Pacquiao become an 8-time world Champion in the fight with Margarito??? Margarito didn’t have a belt… Manny Pacquiao didn’t have a belt. So how did this happen??? Zab Judah Kept his IBF belt after he had gotten bruised by Carlos Baldomir. Baldomir didn’t pay the sanctioning fee to receive the belt when he won the fight. Zab was able to put that very same belt up in the Mayweather fight. When Lennox Lewis retired the titles that he held were vacated and the #1 & #2 or #3 could fight if #2 turned the fight down and battle for the vacant title.
The alphabet organizations allow a boxer to fight for their belt – a la Pacquiao-Margarito – without being #1 and #2 fighting for the vacant belt.
Mayweather refuses to pay those organizations anymore because his name is bigger than the belts you can buy. The Ring belt is still the only belt you can earn and can only lose in the ring… that’s why it’s called The “Ring” belt. #1 – #2 or #1 – #3 has always fought for that belt in the ring. The only way you can lose that belt is if you retire or in combat.
She (boxing) also needs to stop making love with the neighborhood Mr.Promoter, it breaks my heart that she is in bed with a promoter when her fighter (husband) can promote him self. She (boxing) is blind to the fact that her boyfriend #2 is just involved with her for her ticket sales. The promoter doesn’t love her (boxing) he loves her treasures.
Like most women, she (boxing) has numerous amounts of children with no father, I’m not saying this just to exercise my lips, tongue and teeth. I’m saying this because I’m living off experience. I am a man that was raised by a woman (Ethel Mae Dunbar) that bared six tough children. she raised us on her own and taught us all the keys to life and survival, but in boxing there are no teachers. Who ever puts a towel over their shoulder, NO!, better yet, who ever can yell “USE YOUR JAB!” The loudest, NO! NO! NO! LOL! Who ever can tell you “COME ON CHAMP YOU CAN DO IT!” Even though their fighter has no chance of winning, his/her so-called “trainer” sends him/her back out to die. I believe all boxing coaches, hype-men and cheerleaders should take time out to learn then teach the sweet science of boxing. It should also be mandatory that they take a health course, so when the fighter comes back to the corner they’ll know to stop the fight or not, instead of waiting on the doctor or the ref. The trainers that are out now are nothing more but cheerleaders. That’s why Margarito, Davis and Green went through hell, round after round, in their last matches. All three bouts should have been stopped but instead their coaches, hype-men, and cheerleaders just pushed them back out, allowing them to continue to take unnecessary punishment, the type of punishment that can damage, if not, ruin a fighter.
Sometimes us fighters need to be saved from ourselves. All daycare teachers know CPR for the students their teaching, even the waiter of your table will perform the Heimlich Maneuver if your choking and he’s not doing it for a larger tip or pay. So all coaches, hype-men, trainers, etc., should know when to throw the hotel towel in!
She (boxing) also needs to change the blood testing rules. I’m not a fan of the Pretty Boy but I’m a huge fan of the changes he’s making as far as drug and blood testing. Also, getting the judges to score not only on aggression, accurate punching and ring generalship, but giving credit for defense and pure boxing.
The last thing I would change is the touching of the glove before the first round and in the opening seconds of the last and final round, that makes no sense to me. We can shake hands after the war is over. Fighters go weeks preparing to get in the ring to land vicious shots to the head and body of his/her challenger. We don’t practice touching gloves or shaking hands with our foe. We are in the ring fighting, going hard, round after round. We have no respect for one another until someone earns the other’s respect. We shouldn’t be forced to touch gloves. Let us fight, not play PADDY CAKE!
Richard Pierson is a middleweight boxer based in Paterson, NJ who was called a “future world champion” by Kelly Pavlik. Pierson provided highly competitive sparring for Pavlik before his world title fight against Jermain Taylor. Check out “The Richard Pierson Blog” which appears regularly at www.BoxingInsider.com.