Pantera Vocalist, Phil Anselmo's boxing articles

Most people that know the heavy metal band Pantera know the vocalist, Phil Anselmo, is a pretty big boxing fan. He writes articles on the state of boxing today and here is a recent one I found interesting

On Floyd's Retirement -

"Scoop Malinowski and Philip H. Anselmo deliberate and discuss on the controversial issue of Floyd Mayweather’s baloney retirement from the sport of boxing, in this debut feature we call “Tellin’ It Like It Is”, in honor of the late, great Howard Cosell, “The Mouth That Roared”…
Scoop: It’s obvious to just about everyone in boxing that Mayweather retired so as to duck the Cotto-Margarito winner which public pressure would have demanded he meet the winner since his schedule is wide open now that Oscar II fizzled out. Floyd’s legacy is that of a great talent and multiple titleholder who ducked and dodged too many tough challenges. Compared to all the great honorable champions who fearlessly and proudly faced the best without excuse or alibi, Floyd shrivels in comparison. Compared to that standard, Floyd is a counterfeit posing as a great champion. Floyd did not uphold the integrity of the sport of boxing - that the best are obligated to fight the best - and therefore it’s a good thing he has gone into hiding to avoid Cotto or Margarito. Floyd is welcome back if he wants to do the right thing and fight the best to prove he is P4P, but if he wants to comeback and handpick again, it will further shame his legacy and embarrass the reputation of the sport of pro boxing of being the sport where the best compete against the best.

Phil Anselmo: Floyd Mayweather: one of boxing’s PFP greats? What a laugh. If you examine his record, every fight was COMPLETELY hand-picked from the start of his forgettable career. Beating a ripe for the taking Genaro Hernandez, who had already hinted at retirement BEFORE they fought, stopping a distracted man facing jail time in Diego Corrales, LOSING to Jose Luis Castillo in their first fight, but being given a gift decision a la James Toney-Dave Tiberi, winning the rematch with Castillo by “boxing” safety first, beating a chin dented, underachiever in Zab Judah after LOSING the the first four rounds, stopping a SHOT Arturo Gatti, beating an Oscar De La Hoya who was 10 YEARS PAST HIS PRIME by split decision, and his grand finale being a KO over Rickey Hatton, the JR. WELTER CHAMP. Isn’t the welterweight champ supposed to beat the junior welterweight champ? The money dictated Floyd’s choices, NEVER his heart.

Only true “world” champions clean out their respectful divisions. Not only did Floyd duck EVERYONE rated in the top 10, he gave no respect to the fans nor the fighters by protecting his undefeated record by milking the boxing system, systematically.Cotto, Margarito, & Williams don’t need Floyd anymore, not that Floyd would ever fightany of them, but between the those three fighters, it’ll be a pleasure to see them erase the name Floyd Mayweather Jr. from our memory banks forever. He’s a *****, best put on a shelf to gather dust. Let him lay arm & arm with his lame accomplishments in bed at night-alone, (if he can really sleep, knowing in his own mind what a true hoax his career has been) while the rest of the world passes him by, just like The Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota should.

Scoop: I agree, I would not vote for him to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. Too many lies, too many avoided fights the paying customers wanted to see, disqualify him from Canastota in my personal opinion. Now, by all evidence, Floyd in a way is a beaten man. He has been defeated by the Cotto mystique. Psyched out, intimidated by the confidence, the passion, the Cotto hunger and drive to be the BEST. You stand those two together at a press conference and every one in the room including Stevie Wonder would know who the real champion is and who the manufactured, immature, empty talking phony fraud is. This is why Phloyd has never even tried to negotiatie with Cotto to fight this past April. He never even tried to ask for 90-10 cut of the total purse. And Floyd never tried to demand 90% of the PPV pie considering what a big draw he claims he is.

Phil you have studied the Sweet Science and all the great fighters over the last 25 years. Do you think it’s possible Phloyd may man up and save his name and rep? Do you think the inner shame he is feeling now as a coward who has fleed pro boxing to duck and dodge Cotto or Margarito can evolve and mature into pride and honor? I believe Phloyd is a very sensitive and somewhat insecure individual underneath all the cocksure bravado. And eventually his reputation as a handpicking counterfeit will eat him alive. and he will eventually say, All the $ in the world ain’t worth living in shame as a chicken who ducked and dodged Cotto/Margarito. “I need the love Hatton gets. I need to be embraced like Cotto is by Puerto Rico, like Pacman is by Filipinos.” I gotta get back in there and do what I do best, I gotta be Floyd, and win or lose or get savagely knocked out, my destiny is to face my ultimate challenge Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito.

Phil do you believe the bully punk in Floyd is capable of making this honorable realization and manning up to face his bogeyman? Or will Phloyd ride this out and wait until the coast is clear, and then comeback in 09 and, say, pay a bonus to Paul Williams through Al Haymon to move up to 154 and then handpick the Hatton-Pacquiao winner or some other phony exhibition?

Philip H. Anselmo: Being young, rich, & retired won’t bode well at all with fake Floyd. Once he realizes WCW wrestling, golf, flashing wads of cash around the same old hangers-on & token friends, or driving a different brand new car to the bank in Grand Rapids MI everyday gets old FAST, he’ll NEED to feel the excitement that only fighting for world championships could possibly bring. A guy like himself needs the spotlight MORE than a plant needs sunlight. He craves it.
He’ll comeback, for sure. Will he fight Cotto, Margarito, or Williams? That depends on HIS psychology. And the state of the game.

We know his “business/$first” approach to the game. I know for a fact that there’s NO WAY
he relishes fighting the aforementioned three fighters in what’s sure to be three completely different, fiercely contested chapters in his stellar career. By telling the public that Cotto isn’t a big enough name at this point in the game is stupid. Besides, Floyd is “a major pay-per-view attraction on his own, regardless of who he fights.” More BS. It takes two to tangle, and to make it attractive for the public to demand it should be against the best guy, a la Cotto, etc.
Or, maybe Floyd is slyly enjoying duping boxing and its fans in general. He always has, so why not now? Or more importantly why? He had to laugh inside a little (or cry) when he saw the shape De La Hoya had gotten himself into when he fought Steve Forbes, only to drop the guillotine blade on the fight with Oscar by “retiring.”

When Margarito & Cotto clash, how much will it take out of both fighters? Ever think of that? I bet Floyd has. To come back and beat the husk of either fighter would be right up Floyd’s alley. If and when Paul Williams continues to improve, Floyd will have absolutely NO ****ing problem AVOIDING him. And if Williams gets to the husks of Cotto or Margarito before Floyd you can forget Floyd fighting him-EVER!!! But…YES! He’ll still comeback. Not fighting Williams, but against a 55-year-old De La Hoya, or even (especially) Ricky Hatton, even if he’s is coming off of a three-fight losing streak at junior welter, Floyd would DEFINITELY take that fight, and if he won, he’d act like he’d beaten insurmountable odds stacked against him, and once again, call himself the greatest fighter that ever lived.

Remember two things Floyd, the fact that you’re considered the #1 PFP fighter today rings hollow. Especially when a mere decade and a half earlier, Roy Jones Jr. was considered the #1 PFP fighter in the world, because he DESERVED IT. Roy was faster than you, punched harder, was 100 times more exciting & took calculated RISKS! All you’ve done is calculate! When have you REALLY risked ANYTHING? In the Carlos Baldomir fight? Don’t make me and those others who’ve seen straight through your facade simultaneously puke.

And the second thing, deep down inside, you, your dad & your uncle Roger talk so much about
being “the best” (you ***holes are so insecure of yourselves), they must know what I’ve suspected for a long time: you Floyd, have “The Mayweather chin” that I’ve been waiting to see exposed for a long time. But you’ve been matched so carefully, there’s not been much of a chance of that happening. Now you’re taking the easiest way out. But one day, and it will come, when you make your comeback, a punch will hit you square on the chin, and you’ll collapse like your uncle Roger did against Rafael Pineda, with his head resting across the bottom rope, eyes crossed, and his ****-talking lips flapping in the breeze, dreaming the non-dreaming of the KO’d.

I know you’ve got it in you Floyd - just step up and fight a legit guy so we can have the opportunity to see your eyes crossed, and big ‘ol flapping lips sputtering NOTHING!!! For a change as you get counted out, to the delight of we who call you fraudulent.”
Thank you for reading this installment of “Tellin’ It Like It Is.”

 

On Andre Berto

"by Philip H. Anselmo

For 5 rounds Andre Berto (vs. “Miki” Rodriguez) reminded me so much of the 147 lb. version of Meldrick Taylor, I thought I was having a flash back.

Taylor, in his days at Jr. welterweight had fight-stopping power mixed with blazing speed. However when he made his jump up to full-fledged welter, he had plenty enough athleticism, speed, & boxing ability left to lift a world title from Aaron “Superman” Davis via 12 rd. decision, although many insiders felt in his biggest test by far, a 12th round TKO at the hands of Jr. welter champ Julio Caesar Chavez, just two fights previously appeared to ruin him. Meldrick had retained his super-fast hand speed & flashy style, but he couldn’t hurt his opponent with single shots anymore, nor could he stop an opponent in his tracks long enough to follow up on—case in point being his title losing KO at the hands of the prime Terry Norris, & culminating in his next fight against bigger, stronger Crisanto Espana who crushed the rest of the shell of what Meldrick was in 8 brutally one-sided rounds.

Which finally brings me back to the subject of the overrated puncher & WBC champ Andre Berto.

It slips my mind, but whatever conglomerate is handling his career could be praised for guiding their young fighter to a glossy, always impressive looking undefeated record (22-0-19 KO’s), a contract with HBO televising his predictable, one-sided exhibitions against no-hopers, Max Kellerman kissing Berto’s ass more than Max kisses himself in the mirror daily, & a world title strap.

But unless they continue to feed Andre a steady diet of soft, pathetic & undeserving WBC mandatory challengers, his chances of looking worthy, or much less winning a bout at the elite are next to nil.

Berto’s still a work in progress. Cast no blame upon him for his achievements in the ring, but if he & his team push for marquis fights at the top of the division, blame his team—because, if any young undefeated fighter by design continues hearing, & listening to how great he is out of the mouth’s of every single person surrounding him, he too will believe it. In Berto’s case, especially at this juncture of his career, why should he doubt what they’re telling him? But in truth, all of the talk of potential greatness & huge attention being piled upon Andre will leave him wrapped tightly in a shroud of false security. Andre is being thrown to the wolves!

HBO’s desperate search to fill the unimpressive PFP king pin Floyd Mayweather’s questionable, but recently retired shoes with the likes of Berto, who shouldn’t be at all considered one of the best young fighters in the game to begin with seems premature to say the least.

Why is HBO pretending like Berto is the next big thing, when their last “big thing”, in Floyd was a flop overall for paying fight fans till the tail end of his safety-first career?

Floyd was never a PPV attraction on his own, nor could he barely fill up a 1000 seat venue for his world title defenses unless he fought a fighter who brought the audience with them, like Oscar De La Hoya for example, whom Floyd needed, never the other way around. And Floyd knew it, of course.

The lunacy of Andre being a world champ especially falls on the crap ratings system of the WBC for making the #2 challenger Miguel “Mikki” Rodriguez (Berto was #1). After doing research on this particular pugilist, HBO is also to be blamed for allowing such a disgusting, embarrassing farce to be aired as a match for a “world title” belt.

How in the Hell does a guy like “Mikki” deserve to be rated high enough to fight for any organizations ultimate prize?

I’ll explain the obvious.

The organizations ratings committee manipulates the guy (Rodriguez) to the top of the heap, over more-deserving challengers, & with HBO’s ‘crossed-fingered’ blessing, so the guy they have a contract with (Berto) wins, and wins impressively. To solidify a sensational victory, Berto’s matched consistently soft. Some will argue that point, but Cosme Rivera, David Estrada, & European import Michael Trabant are tough, 3rd tier fighters, but with that short of a resume, no boxer should be allowed a world title shot.

In shambles a re-animated corpse affectionately nick-named “Micki”.

For anyone thinking I’m being too tough, remember, “Miki” did nothing to earn his high ranking, so it’s the WBC I’m venting gasoline at, never “Micki”.

As a matter of fact, in his last 12 fights leading up to his title shot Miki fought: 8-2 Roberto Bixano, winning the WBC Continental Americas welter girdle, up next an 0-6 Luis Orrantia, one fight later a 2-0 Miguel A. Diaz, then 0-1-1 Carlos Armenta, a 9-2 Guillermo Romero, 3 fights before his title challenge he fought 3-3 Francesco Villanueva in ’05, then the fight before he stepped in with new champ Berto, he fought 11-6-1 Jerome Ellis.

It’s no wonder his now (29-3-23 KO’s) record made him out to be a puncher on paper with opposition like that.

The upside for Miki is that he’s never been KO’d, he went 15—0, scoring14 KO’s, with 7 victories coming in the first round against hardly passable, if not pathetic opposition, before losing in 8 to Luis Vazquez.

He rebounded by stopping Leonard Townsend in 4 rounds. He beat a useful Luis Maysonette before losing a WBC eliminator to former champ Carlos Baldomir. And that’s as good as it gets for Rodriguez.

Berto was superior in every department when they fought, as he landed at will with a variety of crisp shots that continually bounced off the stationary head of Rodriguez, who despite being completely outclassed, kept pressing.

As many clean shots as Berto was getting through, the optimism of an early night loomed thick over the first 3 rounds. But as the fight continued, I found myself questioning Andre’s supposed ‘devastating’ KO power critically.

I know if former champion Kermit Cintron landed as flush as Berto did, Rodriguez would’ve been counted out face down, out cold as early as the 2nd.

Whoever did the scouting on Rodriguez did a perfect job of finding a guy with a high KO percentage who couldn’t swat a mosquito when fighting guys with a winning record. During the fight, Rodriguez skinny arms shot out a slow motion jab, a painfully amateurish & predictable right hand. His left hook looked decent in form when he’d let it go.

However, at times, the 5”11 Rodriguez would expose the lunging, wild swinging Berto with that very left hook, countering effectively. No doubt Andre had no respect for Mikki, but at times Rodriguez moved his hands decently, landing his jab & right hand from the outside & also when he & Berto exchanged on the inside. But for the most part, Rodriguez looked like a shitty sparring partner for a squared-up, technically flawed, over confident Berto, as expected.

Referee Lawrence Cole made the fight even more anti-climactic by stopping it too early, adding to the shame of the whole mess of a non-event.

But Berto won.

Mission accomplished.

But if Rodriguez could catch Berto with the shots he did, Andre’s future will be either protected like a fragile balsa wood manufactured robot, or the elite’ll crumble him.

Miguel Cotto would ruin Andre’s career. Antonio Margarito would swallow him alive. An older Shane Mosley would kick his ass.

Zab Judah & Joshua Clottey have to be salivating to get him in the ring.

Berto is but a sheep wandering amongst wolves at 147."

 

From what I understand Suge, when he's not either drunk or high he's watching Boxing. He's apparently close friends with Emanuel Steward. You'd be dissapointed to know he's a big Wlad Klitschko supporter though haha

 

If you guys want the website he writes his articles for just message me and I'll give you the link. I'd post the url here but I believe it's against the rules to post links to other boxing websites. Any future articles he writes I'll just paste in this thread for quick reference.

On the Klitschko Brothers & Samuel Peter

"SICK OF IT
By Philip H. Anselmo

You know, every media source imaginable insists that in order to determine the heavyweight champion of the world, IBF/IBO/WBO unified champ Wladimir Klitchko must AGAIN meet WBC champ Sam “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter.

If that fight were to happen, I have it on good information that it would be Sam Peter’s nightmare in the ring, because he knows better than anyone that after fighting Wlad the first time,

he can’t beat him! The Duva-powered pro-Peter machine can scream all day long about how Sam Peter is the best heavy in the world, but at the same time, they can’t find a voluntary defense for him that’s soft enough to save their lives, much less Sam’s career!

Sam is a fighter who could be beaten by any heavyweight at any time! He’s overweight, overrated, and vulnerable to guys who can do more than stand directly in front of him!

Why isn’t he fighting Vladimir Virches or Juan Carlos Gomez, the #1 & #2 contenders for his WBC title? Because Duva and the true boxing insiders, especially myself know Sam would have an extravagant chance to lose! And in the obscurity of Europe!

The powers that be, whether it’s The Ring magazine, or whoever else makes these decisions, ought to recognize the fact that Wlad has already beaten Sam handily in their first fight (2 of the 3 knockdown’s called against Wlad were horse**** calls), and that fact alone is enough to have Wladimir Klitchko recognized as full fledged champ.

If a rematch between Wlad & Sam were supposed to sort things out in the so-called “faceless” heavyweight division, the theatre of the unexpected known as boxing has made a last minute substitute to the program.

In walks big brother, and former WBC champ emeritus,

Vitali Klitchko, who’s penciled in to fight Peter in the Fall on pay-per-view. Wladimir hasn’t ever fought on pay-per-view.

After 4 years away from boxing due to numerous injuries and multi-mayoral attempts in his hometown of Kiev, Vitali has finally decided to exercise his unmitigated right to challenge Peter for his strap, thus the dream of both Klitchko brothers holding world titles simultaneously is still a great possibility, while little brother Wladimir’s dream of being unified champion of the world goes on ice.

Truth be told, I believe Vitali is jealous of his little brothers dominance. And the way everything in the heavy division is panning out with mandatory defenses, and the lack of cooperation to unify all 4 belts etc., there is NO WAY Wladimir isn’t extremely disappointed over his brother’s decision. Blood may be thicker than water, but when Sam defends his WBC belt against it’s former owner, big brother Vitali, the outcome of the fight has to be of keen interest to three-belt holder, and little bro Wladimir.

(A) If Vitali beats Peter in a slugfest, a potential big money rematch with Sam goes down the toilet for a few obvious reasons, however, the brother’s life-long dream of being duel champions will have finally come true.

But will Vitali actually defend the title if he wins it?

And whom would he fight? Does Wladimir chase the WBA title, or does Vitali?

(B) If Peter beats a rusty, slower version of Vitali by dramatic KO, it practically solidifies an instant rematch with Wladimir, in a big cash event that would finally put the heavy crown on someone’s head.

So, to ask a question that’s flat out taboo…

Who does Wladimir truly pull for in the darkest recesses of his imagination?

In his heart, he’ll always have that inseparable link with his brother, and both seem to vicariously live through one another’s careers, with both brothers showing affection and dedication to each other. However it’s been Vitali who’s watched Wladimir accelerate through the division for the past 4 years, and perhaps he feels that he’s healthy enough to fight again, however I question his decision.
Business is business, and there’s hardly any room for both brothers to rule the entire heavyweight ranks, depriving the boxing public one dominant champion. It may be best for Vitali, if he beats Peter, to relish his victory, and take pride in the fact that the Klitchko dream came true, but also respect his brother Wladimir’s dream and hard work to unify the division himself, and be man enough to vacate the title and retire.

What else would there be for Vitali to prove? And would his aging, battle-worn, multi-injury-prone body even allow him to defend his title? Vitali has to know he’s upsetting Wlad’s plans, thus causing what could amount to heavy tension between the two of them.

Let’s hope Vitali sees the tremendous picture, and that he realizes that the picture is really a mirror, and that his eyes see more than just self-serving destiny, as well as age in his face. As entangled the Klitchko bros have always been, Vitali must also visualize a younger, prime Wladimir staring back at him with a purposeful hunger in his eyes, who deserves the respect that he’s worked for, whilst Vitali himself has been nursing chronic injuries and endeavoring into anything, but boxing. The mirror doesn’t lie.

Even if Vitali beats Sam Peter, his days as a reliable fighter are but a memory.

The quest to reign as THE legit champ for Wladimir may remain in immediate doubt, but it’s his destiny, no matter whom he has to beat to achieve the grueling goal of unifying the collective belts."

 

Some talk on Roy Jones future and his fight with Calzaghe

"Our latest episode of “Telling It Like It Is” focuses on the great Roy Jones Jr. Where does he stand legacy-wise? Can he beat Joe Calzaghe? Can he rise from the ashes and still find redemption? Philip H. Anselmo and Scoop Malinowski discuss…

Scoop Malinowski: No doubt, Roy Jones at his best is one of the greatest most spectacularly sensational champions in ring history. His speed and skills were so astonishingly extraordinary he even made a grand master like James Toney look hopeless. He was just in another world, on a different level. Though he did become a little bit of a handpicker later on, and may have lost some desire and motivation during the the time period of the Tarver and Johnson setbacks, I actually believe he is re-energized and newly motivated and inspired again to prove something in a BIG way. Roy wants very much to go out with a bang, and erase those images of the Tarver and Johnson losses. Jones is extremely pumped up to finish out the home stretch of his fantastic career in style and in triumph. And you may be on to something Philip, Joe Calzaghe just may feel the wrath of a rejuvenated Roy Jones come November. How do you imagine Roy will upset Joe style and strategy wise?

Philip H. Anselmo: The style Roy fights, Calzaghe cannot be effective against. The Roy J. of today IS re-galvanized,
There are many problems Joe will have to overcome: Foot work. Roy’s balance & speed of foot will spoil any offensive rush Calzaghe chooses, by constantly turning Joe & countering with hard left hooks, upstairs & down. Joe will be vulnerable to Roy’s straight right hand, a la the first round of the Hopkins fight, but Roy’s will come out faster. That’s another point: hand speed. Calzaghe is used to being the quicker handed fighter, but in this fight he’s not. Roy’s hands are faster, and I believe he carries the bigger punch. His experience with southpaws is vast.
Calzaghe, I believe made an error career-wise. Instead of fighting the strong, but one dimensional Kelly Pavlik, who already called Joe out, for the middleweight title and becoming a three weight division legend, by owning the middle, super-middle & light-heavy titles simultaniously, he’ll have the glory ripped from his heart by having his much wanted undefeated record snapped in half like a twig in his last fight, instead of going into the history books, the way he envisioned. And all the glory will go to a redeemed, deserving Roy Jones Jr.- who’s place in boxing
history is cemented, but will come to a closure with a very significant “W” on his already world-class resume.

Scoop Malinowski: Roy’s extreme confidence to take on Calzaghe has been surprising, it’s as if he just can’t wait to get the chance for redemption and savor those glory days again, as if he already knows beyond any doubt that he can handle Joe. I would not count out Joe coming up with another reason for nixing this fight again, with some kind of hand injury. Roy is a man possessed to finish his illustrious career on a high note. And I don’t think he will be denied.

But the inevitable showdown at the mountain top seems to be a rematch against … Bernard Hopkins. This fight still fascinates boxing purists, not the blood and guts legions. Vernon Forrest is one purist who told me in an interview we did last month that he very eagerly wants to see them do it again. The Viper thinks BHops and Roy are still the two best technical boxers in the sport today. Hopkins made it known he wants Roy again, he said so this week at the Pavlik press conference. Hopkins could be very tricky for the 2008 version of Super Roy. How do you see that one going?

And all in all, whatever happens with Roy from here on out, how much do you think his KO losses should be factored into his legacy? Should they eliminate him from sharing the same echelon with the likes of Ali, Robinson, Duran, Leonard? Or does Roy belong with the all-time greats? I say he does. He should be judged at his best. Not his worst nights. At his best Roy Jones was a superhuman ring machine, spectacular and almost untouchable. I mean, throwing a KO punch from behind his back, in a world title fight. Come on, Leonard or Ali wouldn’t even think of trying that!

Philip H. Anselmo: If the proposed date of the Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Jr fight falls through, I’ll be in serious disbelief. They WILL fight, and no matter the location, the role reversal stands: Roy spoils Joe’s boxing. Perhaps easily. Roy knows no matter where they fight, the fight will be broadcast worldwide, and to give Roy the big stage back at this point of his career will motivate his already re-ignited skill level to their peak. As far as the losses on his ledger, not only should there be an asterisk next to those loses - Roy coming down to light heavy after winning the heavyweight title - and take Evander Holyfield, for instance, how many times was he written off after suffering major loses - he was KO’d by Riddick Bowe & James Toney as well - before shocking the world by winning a fight he was supposed to lose? Just like Evander, Roy has taken the time off he’s needed and has been winning ever since. After Bernard Hopkins beats middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, and Roy Jones is successful in defeating light heavyweight champ Joe Calzaghe, you can bet your ugly ass both Bernard and Roy will clash. In their first fight, a young, tentative Roy beat a mature, tentative Bernard by a boring 12-round decision. I know for a fact that Bernard learned a lot from Roy in that fight, even emulating Roy’s style in his fights there after. If they fought today? I see Roy winning by decision, but more decisively. Now for the x-factor. Antonio Tarver is a world title belt holder, and you can bet he’ll be howling Roy’s name louder than a DOWN concert. To see a rejuvinated Roy Jones fight HIS fight vs. big mouth Tarver could prove both lucrative and even MORE redeeming for Roy. Believe it. If Roy comes off of consecutive wins over Calzaghe & Hopkins respectively, he’ll be ready to kick Antonio’s ass once and for all.

Check out Philip H. Anselmo’s “Mythical Welterweight Showdowns” feature in the September issue of Boxing Digest magazine available on newstands now."

 

The Problem with dreadlocks in a boxing match

"A DREADFUL ISSUE…
Look here; far be it from me to judge anyone’s hairstyle.
It’s their business. Lord knows I’ve had too many ridiculous quaffs it’s baffling. But when I had dreadlocks, I almost put my eyes out on 5 different occasions.I have permanent damage in my left cornea from just jamming onstage and having them whip into my peepers.

When the Dr. said if I injured my left eye again, I could lose it (my vision).
I left the office and shaved my head. It’s never been proven that a boxer who sports dreadlocks has any advantage over an opponent without. But in a physical match, where both guys’ heads come together frequently, and the rolling around of both heads on the inside occur as often as a clean punch lands, I cringe. Dreadlocks are as hard as rocks. They can be jagged in texture. They have weight to them.

Before Lennox Lewis defended his undisputed heavy title against David Tua, I had to chuckle a little about the issues being made about Tua’s lid (and his lid itself). Tua, a native of New Zealand, has hair that is very much an Afro. It’s naturally soft. At 5′10, Tua’s hair, even when he grows it out as he did vs. the 6′5 Lewis, was never much of a threat to any fighter because of his hairstyle.

Imagine if Evander Holyfield had dreadlocks during the later part of his career! I’d bet it could become an issue quickly. You know certain fighters who “make no excuses” would be the first to cry about it. Like John Ruiz.
Or Mike Tyson. Or Hasim Rahman for crying out loud!

When it comes to Lennox, he was a huge man who used his size and weight to his advantage. Although an excellent outside boxer, he would commit to clenches where he would impose his strength, lean on his opposition, fight inside, and get off his concussive uppercuts.

In the midst of his career, he too, began growing dreads.
By the time he fought his last pro fight vs. Vitali Klitchko, whom was just about 2 inches taller than he, his ‘locks were down past his broad shoulders. To his credit, he always kept his hair tied back very tightly.

But in that fight, as exciting and grueling as it turned out to be, Lennox’ hair became unraveled. Make no mistake; the axe wound type cut over Vitali’s left eye was surely caused by a Lewis right hand. But the inside grappling had to make a difference. Granted Vitali had never fought the caliber of opponent as Lennox Lewis before, but his face had never fallen to pieces like that before, in any other professional outing.

In a bit of humble advice to the boxing commissions out there, and the powers that be (what a joke), every pro boxer should have a ‘regular man’s’ haircut. For lack of better words, a ‘military’ style haircut, or a shaved head. Accidental butts that cause cuts won’t magically disappear, nor will gum shields for that matter. Anyone who has dreadlocks may also recognize, after they get to a long length, the weight that I mentioned before, hinders head movement (check Shannon Briggs as one example).

Just something to ponder, when the priority of the sport is the safety of the fighters…
Philip H. Anselmo "