THE WAR ZONE II: Revisiting Classics, Revisited (Vol. 1 - Leonard Michael LaPaglia vs. John Collins)

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Thank goodness for Cedric Kushner. Younger folk won't remember, but there was a period of time in the 1980's through 90's when you could depend on this middling South African promoter (who resembled the unflattering visual intersection of Vinnie Schiavelli, Paul Bearer, Wilford Brimley, Pablo Escobar, and Sam Elliot - with a doughy face, haunted eyes, and signature walrus mustache) - to stage (primarily but not exclusively heavyweight) contests between evenly matched rivals guaranteed to produce sparks, enough to singe your nose hairs if you were sitting too close to your (in those days, likely a clunky armchair-sized CRT with a convex screen....and perhaps even gas range stove-style knobs!!) boob-tube. They were never elites, nor just bums off the street - always green prospects and/or ex-contenders fallen recently from grace and looking to climb up once more and the like. The unifying trait was that stylistically they matched up in a way that promised to be 1. competitive and 2. entertaining.

This middleweight showdown - the kind of high-stakes "somebody's 0 has got to go" marquee that felt like a rare thrill in those days (long before ShoBox existed to fill that niche on a weekly basis nearly year-round) - is a perfect example. The commentators make a point to say that neither young man belongs "walking on the side of the street that Hagler is on", and that LaPaglia would have to figuratively climb Everest to fulfill his dream of rivaling his idol Jake LaMotta's legacy. Neither had made that leap from prospect to proven contender, so there was a lot being put at risk for each man - but conversely, reward & clout to be gained, a sort of shortcut past a few more dates with gatekeepers to cut their proverbial teeth and prove their readiness & mettle.

"...now there's a cartwheeling leprechaun!"

Hard act to follow, that. You can't be coming out with a limp fight on the heels of such. They didn't. In these days, any match-up pitting a hungry up-and-coming Irish-American versus a similarly ballyhooed Italian-American counterpart was known to be a must-watch, in probably equal order to how we view any Mexico vs. Puerto Rico grudge match (although the last instance of this rivalry that really stands out in memory is Ward vs. Gatti, and that was technically Irish-American vs. Italian-Canadian...)

John & Len both came in brimming with enough self-belief to see themselves standing victorious and climbing over their adversary's crumpled form like a stepping-stone to a big payday with the division's looming established contenders...like, say, a Bobby Czyz. Collins was first to score, answering the bell with a series of mining-drill right hands and short compact left hooks on the chin. LaPaglia would rally to hurt Collins in turn within a minute. The next few rounds would follow suit, as the commentators remarked, hammer & tongs. LaPaglia, who at this point was the prize of coach Pat LaCassa's stable - which included many other Chicagoan pugs, most notably a pair of Polish-American curiosities and trivia footnotes in cruiserweight Craig "Gator" Bodzianowski (who fought the last nine of his eleven year pro career on a prosthetic after losing his real right leg in a motorcycle accident) and light middleweight glass cannon (and later a prominent Illinoisan judge & referee) "The Polish Hammer" Peter Paul Podgorski - followed his trainer's advice to the letter: staying calm while riding bombs like Slim Pickins in Dr. Strangelove.

Lenny truly had ice running through his veins, soaking up enormous punishment early but then rallying bit by bit with surgical precision and patience until he appeared to have momentum well in hand as the halfway point (incidentally, deeper waters than LaPaglia had ever ventured into professionally) approached. In the waning moments of the 5th, one might have been tempted into penciling another "10" below his name on their scoresheet, giving him as wide a berth as 4-1 in rounds in his favor. Then, just after the broadcast abruptly cut to commercial at the closing bell as LaPaglia was swarming Collins on the ropes, Jackie boy landed a peach of a short counter right hand to deposit the swarthy and wiry-strong LL on his tailbone. Stanley Berg ruled it was late. The video - in its extant, edited form - makes for an inconclusive piece of evidence to either substantiate or dispute Berg's ruling. You could argue that Collins did in fact start punching as the bell was beginning to ring...or that if his counter-punch did come after the bell, so too did several of the shots in LaPaglia's flurry that he was retaliating against (and surely, a lawyerly mind could insist, one being tasked with defending oneself at all times, an opponent attacking you after the bell leaves you with a margin in which to score legal blows - and knockdowns - until the referee signals both parties to halt).

Did the controversy matter, though?

Now, if you are too young to remember Kushner you almost certainly didn't experience the 5 point must system. Hell, even I often forget it once existed.

Ferdie "The Fight Doctor" Pacheco had it level after three, splitting them 1 apiece, 1 even... and then had LaPaglia up slightly after four and 28-27 Collins after six, with the fifth a 5-4 round due to Collins' knockdown being "extracurricular" (scored after the bell, otherwise it would have been a 5-3 round). 33-31 after seven. 38-35 after eight. 42-40 after nine (in 10 point must terms, equivalent of 87-84). Final score on the Fight Doctor's unofficial card: 47-43 Collins (97-92 Collins under modern 10-point must syntax).

Official scorecards from the ref & two judges:
49-41 Collins (too wide, IMO)
47-44 Collins (good)
47-43 Collins (good)

Here is my breakdown of the fight scored RBR under both systems (5-point must and 10-point must) - with Collins' tally on the left and LaPaglia's on the right:

C. L.

5-p.m. system
5 - 4
4 - 5
5 - 5
4 - 5
5 - 4 (3 if you perceive the KD punch as landing before or simultaneous w/ the bell)
5 - 4
5 - 4
5 - 4
4 - 5 despite a HUGE whirling hook by Collins, grazing. Too much volume and intensity.
5-3 Collins

47-43 or 47-42 Collins (depending on whether or not you award him an extra point for the on-the-bell knockdown as the fifth concluded).

10-p.m. system
10-9
9-10
10-10
9-10
10-9 (*10-8 is acceptable here, as is 10-9 LaPaglia, creating a potential 3-point swing)
10-9
10-9
10-9
9-10
10-8

97-93 or 97-92 (depending on whether or not you award him an extra point for the on-the-bell knockdown as the fifth concluded).

The second half was competitive, but Collins easily took a majority of it...with the second (first official) punctuating knockdown of a game yet battered & bloody LaPaglia in R10 making it pretty much academic. LaPaglia still managed to acquit himself respectably well, but was clearly unused to being dragged this late into a contest, and was a step behind Collins the rest of the way save maybe the ninth.

So the knockdown, while certainly providing the fight narrative its apex of drama, was ultimately a non-critical factor in terms of points allocation. No matter where you land on the potential three-point swing from 5-4 (or 10-9 in modern syntax) LaPaglia to 5-3 (or 10-8 in modern syntax) Collins, it wouldn't end up altering the outcome, nor even coming very close to doing so. It was no walk in the park, but this was a clear victory for the young mick...and yet another feather - nay, giant red-dyed ostrich plume - in the cap of the original "Cedric the Entertainer" (years before stand-up comedian Cedric Antonio Kyles would adopt that moniker).

Eat your little heart out, cartwheeling leprechaun.

 

...ah, you gotta be fucking kidding me!! I've been compiling this little by little in a word processor, and that YT link was valid as of like a week ago. Now dead (as is the only uploaded incarnation of what I'd meant to be vol. 2 of WZ II - Rahman vs. Puritty - for next week).

Here, luckily there's a backup:

This content is protected

 

• Drew101
• Russell
• pistal47
• Stiff Jab

 

Well, this...landed with a thud.

Between this rolling tumbleweed reception, and the fact that Rahman vs. Puritty (my planned next installment) has been removed from YouTube...should I just take all this as being omens the universe is telling me not to bother resurrecting this series?

If anybody specifically would like me to continue doing these, please speak up.

 

Cheers, Drew. That's about as much encouragement as I need to keep on trucking; an audience of one is still an audience.