It's not as if Don King fighters are super-busy... but why have Francisco Palacios and Guillermo Jones wait around any longer? They should be fighting each other.. not tune-ups. Just hold your tourament outside of Sauerland, and get a real network to cover it. Who do you think James Toney and Antonio Tarver are going to come to? German promoters to get screwed like Cunningham? or Don King, where they can get screwed right here at home. I don't think Cunnigham wants to stay in Germany much longer, either.Speaking of Toney, if he makes weight, he's already won. Something tells me that if Jones was able to hang tough with Lebedev, while having only minimized reflexes, Toney's better chin will get things done here. He still might be too old, but he was good at cruiser, and I'm starting to think he could pull it off.
Speaking of making weight... is no one else going to bring up the NYSAC not allowing Donaire and Narvaez to be weighed by the HBO crew? Why on earth would that be, unless there was something to hide? Looks like Joey Gamache's lawsuit for a similar incident involving his fight wtih Gatti, may have actually accomplished very little.
Speaking of large for your weight... Did anyone else catch the dimensions on the recent Club Nokia main event?! Alfonso Blanco at 6'0" with a 79 inch reach versus Leshon Sims, at 6'2" with a 77 inch reach. Anyone else think I'm talking about a couple of heavyweights? Wrong. Junior Middles! Skill is the most important thing, but with natural gifts like that, you're starting out well. However, as Blanco's 2 KO's in 7 wins would attest, that wedge body with gorrilla arms does not always equal power. Ditto the aforementioned former 2x cruiser champ Steve Cunningham. Diego Corrales and Rocky Marciano had kangaroo arms for their height, and they devastated people. Still, it helps to be able to hit someone across the ring while sitting on the stool.
Speaking of the stool... is no one standing between rounds anymore? We used to see this macho thing all the time. I rarely see it now. Not that I am recommending the practice, but it would be nice to see it brought back at a dramatic time... like from a fighter who was just down, as he hits the water bottle away in disgust.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
