How do you feel about trash talking?

I’ll moider the bum
--Tony Galento

Trash talking is for some scared ass (brothers). I do my talking with my fists...
--Winky Wright.

"I'm a baaaadd man!" exclaimed Muhammad Ali after the first Liston fight. Did it all start then? Did Ali leave behind the legacy of trash-talking? Clearly, he was the first athlete to verbally assault an opponent consistently, often referring to them as “chumps” or “bums.“ And he strengthened the legitimacy and acceptance of this noxious behavior by connecting it to his successes in the ring, including the accurate predictions of when he would knock out opponents.

For all the good things he is perceived to have done, this is something that has created a line of demarcation between old school and new school. In fact, some think the dignity of the sport has suffered mightily as a result. Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson and Ernie Terrell were among his many victims. Curiously, Ali was named "Sportsman of the Century" by Sport Illustrated in 1999.

Since then, "trash talking" has become an art, or so it seems. The ballsy trash-talking Nicaraguan, Ricardo Mayorga, has seen it backfire, James Toney is a consistent practioner, but his act has worn thin, and so was Brooklyn born Mike Tyson who once vowed to eat the children of one of his opponents.

Mention of Tyson brings us to that beautiful borough of Brooklyn, NY which seems to produce trash talkers at a reasonably consistent rate.

Riddick Bowe, before he became unintelligible, was a true practioner dumping his Belt in a garbage can while insulting Lennox Lewis...a feat that still haunts him. Of course, a pre-reformed Zab Judah carried on the tradition with his behavior against Referee Jay Nady and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather (no shrinking violet himself when it comes to this noxious behavior), and his continual bad mouthing of opponents. Though in all fairness, he did show grace in victory against Cory Spinks, calling him a great fighter.

Then there is Paulie Malignaggi, blessed with uncanny boxing ability and cursed with no power. This brash product of Brooklyn seems to have followed in the footsteps of Hector "Macho" Camacho when it comes to showmanship. He even had to be carried out of the ring as a spectator at Foxwoods because of his heckling and behavior targeted at another fighter. Perhaps this makes up for the fact his fights are dreadfully and predictably boring with the exception of his efforts against Juan Diaz and Miguel Cotto.

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs, another Brooklyn native, sat ringside as IBF champ Wladimir Klitchko iced Calvin Brock on November 11, 2006 at the Garden. This is what he had to say about Brock's effort:

"I told everyone that Brock-oli was green as grass," Briggs said. "He looked like a rank amateur. The guy was a total flop on the US Olympic team and he was a total flop in the Garden. Is he animal, vegetable or mineral? After this showing, I think he can be stored in the vegetable section with the rest of the Brock-oli. I knew he was a pretender contender from Jump Street. That was an embarrassment to our whole country. You can stick a fork in Brock. Hush, hush, Sweet Charlotte and like that. No heavyweight from Brooklyn would perform like that in the Garden, that is for sure........go with the best and forget the rest....I am the real world heavyweight champ,. Not Klitchko, not the robotic Valuev and not Oleg Maskaev. I am the whole enchilada. These other guys are, well to use a Brooklyn expression, they are chopped liver."(Evans, Ant. “Ringsider Briggs not impressed at Garden,” [Available Online].

That was the first times I ever heard one boxer go after a losing fighter in another fight. What possibly could be accomplished by pouring salt into the wounds of a fighter who had just been knocked out? Briggs mentions his Brooklyn heritage, but my close knowledge of Brooklyn tells me “The Cannon” may have been away too long and has lost touch with the gritty reality of that turf. That or he has confused trash-talk with Brooklyn swagger.
These days, David Haye does a fair job, and I rather like his approach (I also thing he is a very fine heavyweight).

Staged and phony press conference brawls (including kisses) and trash talking hyperbole to stoke up interest and gate figures are now a part of boxing. In my view, they are not in any immediate danger of wearing out their welcome. Nevertheless, can you imagine Jerry Quarry, Thomas Hearns, Bob Foster, Michael Watson, Salvador Sanchez, or Irish Mickey Ward, engaging in this behavior?

I can live with well rehearsed trash-talking for its entertainment value. But I like explosive non-rehearsed stuff even better.

What do you think?

 

Great avatar. Who is she? :good

 

Goos stuff, amigo

 

Hmmmm. Slurp!

 

Good stuff. I hate that PC ****. A while back, Randy Moss tried to mate with a goal post and was fined.

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson started it in the late 70
s when he did the "Funky Chicken" in th end zone.