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December 14, 2005
Quiet Man
Nicolay Valuev fights John Ruiz this Saturday night in Berlin, but no U.S. station is interested in showing it. It's hard not to kinda love Ruiz, just because everybody hates him so much; his unpopularity makes him an underdog every time he fights.
The complaints against him are as follows: that he's a cheater; that he's unspeakably boring; that he is something of a crybaby. How a cheater could manage to bore his audience into an angry stupor every time will be one for future historians to unravel; that a professional athlete might be something of a whiner shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody, and Ruiz's candor about it might even strike one as refreshing, if one were so inclined. Still, despite our punk rock affection for the despised Ruiz, we're pulling for Valuev. Why? He's seven feet tall. Seven bald-ass feet tall, people. It ought to count for something.
Posted by jd at 04:47 PM
December 07, 2005
Nutmeg Finish
Either you kinda love it or you really don't: the WBC has tapped James Toney as the next mandatory defense for current champion Hasim Rahman. Toney is one of the best heavyweights working, no question, but he's ranked #5 by the very organization that has now granted him a title shot. Their own #1 contender, the Bull from Bosporus, stands hat in hand on a rainy streetcorner, waiting for a cab. No wonder Toney feels like having a cigar.
Posted by jd at 09:24 AM
December 04, 2005
Time Trials
Ahh, Bernard Hopkins, you wonderful man: for the last four rounds it really looked like you were going to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Those little explosions of punches, the quick clinches, the momentum: if ever there were a fighter whose style cried out to heaven for the return of the 15-round title fight, you were him. But "were" is the key operator here: you're 40. Don't hurt yourself. History's ready to receive your career. Go gracefully into the commentator's role, or go into training. The last guy to leave the party seldom does so under his own power.
Posted by jd at 11:07 AM