Former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor has been cleared of any possible rape prosecution after an Arkansas woman recanted her claim made last weekend.
The decision came following a full police investigation where Taylor was questioned. Although no active investigation is ongoing, authorities confirmed to the Arkansas News Bureau that they are awaiting the results of a rape kit, toxicology tests and analysis of scene evidence.
The still unidentified, 27-year-old woman was arrested last Friday at a Maumelle hotel after police were called due to a domestic disturbance with Taylor. According to the police report, the woman claimed she traveled weekly from Mississippi to Arkansas to meet Taylor for sexual services. The woman fled the room following an argument with Taylor and hurt her ankle falling down a flight of stairs. Police arrested her for possession of unlabeled prescription painkillers. Taylor left the scene before police arrived.
The woman then made the rape allegation while being treated at a local hospital.
At press time, the woman is likely to not face any additional charges for the recanted rape allegation.
Jermain Taylor dodged a bullet with this one. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that this embarrassing incident happened while Taylor is away from the spotlight and on a quiet comeback. Had this happened when he was the reigning middleweight champ, it would have generated a lot more headlines. And considering that boxing, and many sports for that matter, are littered with celebrated people guilty for a lot more nefarious crimes, this will pass from memory in a few months.
Loyal reader Water Ur Seeds made a good point in the original article that the woman should face some type of charge for making such a serious false allegation. I’m not sure how the law works in Arkansas, but to accuse someone of one of the worst crimes imaginable and then get off after recanting just seems wrong
Arkansas police are investigating a claim from a 27 year old woman that former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor raped last Friday (May 18) after a failed “sex for money” arrangement.
Police were called to a Maumelle hotel after 9:30 p.m. after a disturbance call. The unidentified woman told police that she arrived at a hotel in Maumelle to meet Taylor. They argued over money, causing the woman to become frightened and flee the room. She subsequently fell down a flight a stairs and injured an ankle.
While Taylor was not there when authorities arrived, a police report confirmed that hotel manager Chaten Patel verified that Taylor had been there earlier.
The woman made the rape accusation after a hospital stay and arrest for suspicion of carrying a controlled substance.
At press time, no charges tied to the rape claim have been announced.
Jermain Taylor last fought on April 20, surviving a late knockdown to take a unanimous decision win over Caleb Traux.
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Jermain Taylor isn’t the first nor will he be the last man to pay for sex or cheat on his wife. Nonetheless, this whole situation is very sloppy. If you’re gonna do dirt, at least try not to publicly embarrass your family. Allegedly arguing with and chasing a prostitute at a hotel is not a good look.
There’s no point speculating on the rape charge until more information comes out. Until then, we can only hope that his shortcomings were strictly of a moral nature and not a criminal one. Either way, the Taylor household is not a happy home these days.
BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI — Jermain Taylor kept his poise after another late knockdown scare to take a unanimous decision win over Caleb Truax on ShoBox Friday night (April 20).
After controlling the first eight rounds behind a stiff jab, Taylor was dropped off a counter right hand. Taylor effectively held the rest of the round to recover. Taylor repeated the survival technique in the tenth but also added jabs and left hooks to finish strong.
The final scorecards read 98-91, 97-92 and 97-94 all for Taylor. Despite the knockdown in what was supposed to be a exhibition bout, Taylor was defiant in the post-fight interview and made it clear that he was ready to face a Top 10 middleweight.
“Talk about it [the knockdown]! I got back up and did my thing,” exclaimed Taylor. “That’s all I been thinking about — how I was gonna act when I got knocked down… I was alright, a little dazed, but this is what I planned for, I know the feeling. I’ve been there before but I know I’m in shape so I can get back on his ass. I don’t care about getting knocked down. I’ve been knocked out a lot of times so who gives a damn! That’s what’s dangerous about me, [that] I don’t care about it! They gotta get me out of there. If they don’t I’m beating them!”
CABAZON, CALIFORNIA — Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell returned from prolonged medical sabbaticals with dominant knockout wins last night (December 30) on a special Showtime tripleheader.
An early injury to his right hand caused Jermain Taylor (29-4-1, 18 KOs) to rely on his formidable jab and a newly found left hook to break down Jessie Nicklow (22-3-3, 8 KOs). The 33-year-old Taylor came out throwing heavy uppercuts and right hands. Nicklow tried to pressure, but found himself unable to get past Taylor’s long left jab. Outside of a glancing left hook in the third, Taylor retained complete control of the early rounds.
A Nicklow bloody nose by the fourth round was a testament to the effectiveness of Taylor’s jab. The former middleweight champion used it as a power punch and seemed reluctant to finish with right hands, hinting at the later confirmed injury. In the fifth, Taylor diversified his attack with left hooks downstairs which clearly bothered Nicklow. By the sixth, Taylor was tripling the left hook but lost a point for hitting after the bell.
After landing a big right at the end of the seventh, Taylor picked up his dominance in the eighth by backing up Nicklow with power shots. A Taylor right stunned Nicklow, and a follow-up left hook prompted a stoppage from referee Patrick Connolly. Nicklow protested vehemently and the crowd booed loudly.
Taylor explained he was anxious to get back in the ring to work off additional ring rust. Although not going into specifics, Taylor affirmed his desire for top competition in 2012.
“I’ll never run from nobody,” said Taylor. “We see that jab is back on…I’m ready for whoever!”
Andre Dirrell (20-1, 14 KOs) showcased his trademark speed but added devastating power in a quick dispatching of Darryl Cunningham (24-3, 10 KOs).
The smaller, 37-year-old Cunningham was kept at bay in the first round by Dirrell jabs and straight lefts to the body. In the second, Dirrell exploded with two fast lead straight lefts that badly hurt Cunningham. After holding and getting some extra time, Dirrell immediately dropped him with another straight left. Cunningham beat the count and tried to hold, but was dropped again by a short right hook inside despite more recovery time since Cunningham’s corner was indecisive after initially throwing in the towel. Cunningham made it to his feet again but was in no condition to continue.
Dirrell, now 28 after nearly two years out the ring, vowed to push hard to win a title in the upcoming year.
“2012 is mine, I promise you!” said Dirrell. “Everything I threw was with full confidence..I’d like to pick up my game 100%. It’s almost like starting over… If you’re ready for me,call me out or I’ll call you out…The window is short; I’m 28 years old and ready for that title.”
The card’s opening bout featured Cuban standout Luis Garcia (12-0, 9 KOs) winning a lopsided eight round decision over Alexander Johnson (21-1, 5 KOs). After showing some good signs early countering Garcia, Johnson would go into a shell by the fourth. Garcia appeared close to a stoppage behind clubbing right hands and hooks downstairs, but the Cuban prospect did not consistently throw heavy shots. Garcia would take the decision by scores of 80-71 and 80-72 twice. Johnson could be heard blaming his performance on an undisclosed stomach ailment.
It’s been two years since Jermain Taylor was badly knocked out by Arthur Abraham in one of the opening bouts of the Super Six tournament. After being knocked out in three of his last five fights, Taylor took a sabbatical which most people thought would turn into a full-fledged retirement. Instead, Taylor will return to the ring tonight (December 30) against Jessie Nickllow on a special Showtime doubleheader that also features a returning Andre Dirrell. Check out Taylor’s last big interview in 2010 on Showtime’s Fight Camp 360. Tonight’s card begins at 11 PM ET.
An aged fighter overcomes the odds and defeats a young, prime boxer. How many times have we seen this scenario with “The Executioner” Bernard Hopkins? From Felix Trinidad in 2001, through Kelly Pavlik in 2008, B-Hop has made many a boxing and armchair critic look foolish in the way he’s dismantled young fighters. There has been disputed losses along the way (Taylor, Calzaghe), but Hopkins now has an opportunity to win his second light-heavyweight championship. For further incentive, the 45-year-old Hopkins is fighting for the distinction of becoming the oldest champion at boxing history, eclipsing the record George Foreman established in 1994 by knocking out Michael Moorer.
Standing in his way will be Canadian Jean Pascal, who took out the man some say Hopkins was reluctant to face, Chad Dawson. In addition, Hopkins will be going to enemy territory by facing Pascal in his home country of Canada in Quebec City. Will Saturday night (December 18) add another notch in the legacy of Bernard Hopkins, or be the execution of another legend who hung around too long?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Before we look ahead, let’s talk about what happened with Golden Boy right after the Roy Jones fight. You had your own friction going on with CEO Richard Schaefer. How was everything smoothed over?
Bernard Hopkins: I wouldn’t say it was a lot of friction. People in the boxing industry felt aroused because of the Roy Jones fight, [and Schaefer stating] I should be buried in the same grave that Roy Jones, Jr. is in. Richard Schaefer apologized for making that statement to the media. A win is a win. I understand people look out and care for me. But you talk about timing, and I don’t think the Roy Jones is a blueprint to state Bernard Hopkins doesn’t have anything to contribute to his legacy, or the sport of boxing anymore.
I don’t think anyone should dictate to people whether they should or shouldn’t. I think a lot of people should retire. Matter of fact, I think business people, those who can’t pull the trigger on big deals anymore, should retire. When you hear a statement like that, emotionally, people have to understand no one else can make that decision. I’ve been doing this professionally for 23 years, and since I was nine years old. To me, I looked at it as no one has the right to speak for me but me.
I think it was an honest mistake, and one where you’ll learn from. I made one statement that settled it all. For the sixth round to the 12th, I fought [Roy Jones] damn near blind. That’s no drama, it is what it is. It took Oscar six months after the Pacquiao fight to say he’s retired. You and everyone waited to see what he’d do. Boxing is full of surprises. It’s only right since I’ve put my work in that I get the same, if not more respect.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Last time we talked, you mentioned to me that Chad Dawson was a “failed stock” that HBO had brought into. That was before Pascal beat him. There was no hesitation in you signing to fight Pascal. What makes Jean Pascal such an attractive fight for you?
Hopkins: Well, Chad Dawson did my work for me, by proving he wasn’t the guy HBO was promoting who could fight. I’m not one to use the word “great” often when I’m talking about another athlete. I think great is earned through time and achievement. Boxing is so looser than any other sport, that guys who sit on their asses will give a fighter that stamp of approval before they’ve earned it. A lot of great fighters are turning in their graves when they hear those statements. Things get missing and underrated when you evaluate while they’re still active, as opposed to when you sit back after they’ve retired. When it’s over, that’s when you’re really analyzed. It’s only a few people that were great and active: Michael Jordan, Bernard Hopkins, and a few others. I don’t want to call myself great even though I did, they gave me that title. I think I’ll become greater when I retire and my report card is analyzed.
Chad Dawson, they invested a lot of stock, and a lot of promotional conversation behind that product. If that product in boxing doesn’t deliver like Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, and a few other names I can run off to you, no one can save you in that ring. It’s just you against another guy’s skill, and you can’t fool the people. TV can be good or bad for you. When people see the truth not being promoted, they basically jump off the bandwagon. Pascal did my dirty work, and settled that conversation about Chad Dawson. I kept telling them if I destroyed another young fighter, what does it do for me if I can’t make a substantial amount of money doing it, or no other tangibles? The RING belt and other titles are very important to me, even at this stage of my career. I’m going back to get what I feel is still mine, going back to the Joe Calzaghe fight.
This shows you how things come full circle. I’m on Showtime for this fight. I won my first title in 1995 against Segundo Mercado on Showtime. I made about 5-6 of my 21 defenses on Showtime, a record that I think will never be broken in my lifetime. Here I’m back. Not necessarily at the end, but not the beginning. How profound is that when, not if, I become the oldest champion in history, beating out George Foreman? That’s enough motivation. If I have to be out of character [to win], I’ll be out of character.
This fight with Pascal, what haven’t I seen in boxing? I respect his swagger to call me out, I’ll give him that. That raised some eyebrows. I have to train on that note itself and be ready; he thinks he can beat me.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You mentioned this isn’t the end. Are you still considering a heavyweight run? I know you wanted David Haye, and he retained his title last month.
Hopkins: It would have been an option now, but Golden Boy didn’t see that fight as being realistic. I thought people would’ve understood it because of historical fights like Michael Spinks-Larry Holmes and Roy Jones-John Ruiz, and David Haye coming from cruiserweight. I’m a fan of David Haye and he’s a fan of mine. We hung out some years ago in Miami. Business is business and not personal, but there has been an agenda to get Bernard Hopkins out of boxing. You remember that night when I beat Kelly Pavlik. I stood on the ring apron and faced the media, [and not] jumping up and down like a buffoon and hollering. I just stared at the media, because I understood the forces wanted me to just go away. I’m not going until I want to.
You remember when I came out with a 75-year-old billionaire named Artie Rabin, who owns have of the clothing industry that every rapper and actress has a label on, with [Frank Sinatra’s] “My Way?” Things get lost in little sound bites of history with media. I do things subtle, and then very bold, which may cost me a fight or two. That was the reason the Kelly Pavlik fight was a devastating blow to HBO, the youth of boxing, and a lot of people. I showed I still had a lot left. I handled that boy every round.
It reminded me of when Dr. King made his final speech, and was dead less than 10 days later. It was someone knowing things might be over, but delivering on his promise. That’s what that stare was about. It didn’t need screaming, I said nothing. It’ll be shown 10-20 years from now. When you analyze the other greats like Ali, Joe Frazier, Satchel Paige, George Foreman etc, I guarantee you that footage will be in there. Larry Merchant said I should have got on the turnbuckle and said “I shocked the world!”
They don’t understand me and never will, because they are not my God. It’s about who I believe protects me. It ain’t Golden Boy. It ain’t any person. There’s nobody who breathes this air that I fear. I’m covered by a higher being, and if my blessing doesn’t come on Monday, that doesn’t mean I get discouraged. I meet so many people around the country that say “Bernard Hopkins, you inspire me. As a man, I changed my ways.” That feels good to me; not doing 24/7’s throwing money in the air, and having 10 cars drive with me to one spot. If I have to act like an idiot to get my just due, I don’t want it. I’m too old for that, I’m 45 years old [laughs]. That same footage, as my brother Mike Tyson says, all the big houses, Versaces etc, next thing you know they’ll be using that in a documentary on you 20 years from now. They don’t get rid of that stuff.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: As someone who’s worked with Showtime and HBO, what’s the difference between their mentalities?
Hopkins: One is trying to gain an audience of being the top network. HBO has been the 400-500 pound gorilla for the last 20-30 years. I personally think the tides are changing just based on the Super Six. I’m a businessman, nothing personal. I think there is people at HBO that need to retire; I said that to Greg Leon over at boxingtalk.com. I think they’ve overstayed their welcome. If boxers can be punch drunk, why not businessman, especially these CEOs of big corporate America, and banks? We all live to die, and don’t have the wit from when we were younger. Do you retire because of your age, or because you can’t do it anymore?
You asked a great question, and I got a lot of ammunition for you, facts! The Super Six was a brilliant idea. You took the best of the 168 pounders, man. And now you got my protégé, Glen Johnson, who’s a live dog, and Andre Ward, who I love. He and the late Vernon Forrest are like my brothers, we have history. When you come and be creative, and can go out with that bank book; it’s a fine line to becoming drunk with that power. We’ve seen preachers and priests become drunk with that power. We’ve seen politicians get caught up in all types of indiscretions. Everyone can’t handle that, sometimes you get lazy.
It’s like a fighter after they’ve won the championship. Instead of getting up at 5 AM to run, they get up at 10 AM. It’s not that they’re a bad person, some become bad, and it’s that power of comfort. It makes some egos not as aggressive, and become part of the industry. We know who used to pay the most, and that might not even be the case anymore after this year. As far as the viewership on TV right now, I’d love to see the ratings between Showtime and HBO. This year is in the books already in corporate America. I’d really like to see the comparison between HBO and Showtime Championship Boxing. You could definitely write about that. I could be wrong. Now that Showtime is doing other weight divisions with tournaments, they’re tying up top fighters. I think a couple people over there [HBO] might need to reconsider their job. Ya lost a step, buddy!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Everyone is familiar with your middleweight reign. Last time, I asked you how you would do against fellow greats like Hagler and Monzon. But you’ve been a light-heavyweight for some years now. When you look at the greats at 175 like Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles, who do you think would be your biggest challenge?
Hopkins: I would have to say Matthew Saad Muhammad.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Would that be because of his brawling ability and recuperative powers?
Hopkins: Exactly. It would be a bloodbath. Put it this way, we’d probably end up in ICU with straws in our mouths asking we did we do this to each other.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Excellent conversation as always, Bernard. Any closing thoughts?
Hopkins: December 18, I will make history and inspire every 40 plus year old person. Whatever they aspire to do in their hearts and minds, they can achieve it. December 18 will be history.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal will be for the linear and RING Magazine light-heavyweight title. The fight airs live from Quebec City, Canada this Saturday (December 18) on Showtime Championship Boxing at 10 PM ET.
Former IBF super-middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy (25-3, 17 KOs) will end a 16 month ring absence on December 11 against Dhafir Smith (23-19-7, 4 KOs).
Lacy has been dormant since suffering a 10th round corner stoppage to Roy Jones, Jr. in August 2009. Jones dominated the contest, toying with Lacy from the beginning and winning every round by large margins.
Afterward, Lacy was sidelined again due to problems with his left shoulder. In 2006, a rotator cuff tear on that shoulder sidelined Lacy for a year.. Since then, he has fought five times, going 3-2.
Lacy’s comeback bout will be held in his St. Petersburg, FL hometown at Jannus Live. The card will be jointly promoted by Lacy’s Left Hook Promotions, and Fight Night Promotions. The 12 round bout will also be for the UBO (Universal Boxing Organization) International super-middleweight title.
The fight will be shown locally on cable TV by Bright House Networks. Jeff Lacy’s opponent is subject to change.
Most elite level boxing careers are filled with extreme highs and lows. Jeff Lacy’s is no different. It was just four years ago when many were crowning him the next big American star, who’s coming out party would be an emphatic victory in a 168 pound unification bout with Joe Calzaghe.
We all know how that fight turned out. Emmanuel Steward call it the most lopsided result he’s ever seen in a superfight. I named it #1 on my list of the Top 10 Boxing Beatdowns of the 21st Century. It was a whitewash that Lacy’s corner should have pulled him out of around the ninth round.
Still, that loss by itself wasn’t what signaled the end of Lacy’s career as a top fighter. That happened in his very next fight against Vitaliy Tsypko. Lacy initially looked like his old self before tearing his rotator cuff early on. He amazingly finished the bout and won a close majority decision, despite essentially having one arm and being deprived of his money punch, the left hook.
When Lacy returned a year later following surgery and therapy, it was immediately apparent that the explosiveness of his left hook was gone. As a result, Lacy was now having life and death struggles with fighters he would have run through just a year before (Epifanio Mendoza, Otis Grant). And when he stepped in with a name opponents like Roy Jones and Jermain Taylor, Lacy was easily outclassed. The power had been the equalizer, and now it was gone, as evident in the fact Lacy has not scored a knockout since a 2005 second round stoppage of Scott Pemberton.
When he lost to Jones last year, many, including myself, said that was it for Lacy. The fact that a shot Roy Jones, who was KO’d in one round in his next fight, could dominate Lacy so easily was not promising news. In fact, that fight was a such a lopsided exhibition that it came at #6 on the Top Boxing Beatdowns of the 21st Century list.
That fight was at light-heavyweight, and now Lacy has returned back to 168 to make another, and presumably last, comeback at 33 years old. But the landscape is very different. The division has become the deepest division in boxing with the talent in the Super Six, and Lucian Bute. Even in Lacy’s prime, the aforementioned fighters would have been a handful and favored over him.
The odds are certainly stacked against him. But like any fighter, Lacy’s entitled to try to finish his career on his own terms.
December 11 will be the first glimpse of if Jeff Lacy has anything left to accomplish that goal.
“It’s about time for a new era, I’m the new kid on the block…You’re gonna school me? I already have a college diploma.” - Jean Pascal
Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal have hit the road to promote their light-heavyweight title fight on December 18. In this footage from their Quebec City stop, Hopkins frames Pascal as another in the long line of young challengers he’s overcome like Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor. Although Hopkins lost twice to Taylor, he boasts that Taylor was “never the same” following their series. He promised to take Pascal to school and prove he’s still the best at light-heavyweight. Pascal had a nice comeback on the school comment, running down his excellent high school grades, and even bringing a copy of his college diploma.
Very intriguing fight. B-Hop signed for this very quickly, so I know he sees something in Pascal’s style he can exploit. In contrast, note how Hopkins did not express much interest in facing Chad Dawson (a fast southpaw who would’ve potshotted Hopkins and not allowed him to work up close). I believe Hopkins feels confident he can control the pace because Pascal fights in spurts.
Showtime will air this WBC championship bout live from Quebec City. Kudos to the Montreal Gazette for the below footage.
Andre Ward’s WBA title defense against Sakio Bika next month will not take place in Stage Three of Showtime’s Super Six Boxing Classic.
The network and representatives Ward’s promoter were scrambling for an opponent after Andre Dirrell was forced to pull out due to lingering headaches and dizziness associated with post-concussion syndrome. Dirrell and Ward were scheduled to meet on November 27 after receiving a legal ultimantum from Showtime to finalize the bout. The pair had previously failed to meet in late September due to a contract dispute.
Andre Dirrell’s withdrawal does have consequences that may give Ward a decided edge in determinijng the Super Six winner. Showtime will award Andre Ward two points for Dirrell’s forfeit, giving him a total of six points heading into the semi-finals next year. At press time, Ward’s closest competitor is Arthur Abraham, who secured three points last year with a KO of Jermain Taylor. If Abraham wins another three points by knocking out Carl Froch, he would win a tie-breaker for the #1 seed courtesy of his two KO wins.
Should Bika upset Ward, he would win the WBA title, and possibly be seen as viable opponent to unify with IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute. Bute is not in the Super Six, and just defended his title successfully with a KO over Jesse Brinkley last Friday (October 15). Andre Ward would still be able to continue in the Super Six without his title.
Two Super Six Stage Three bouts will air in November. Allan Green faces Glen Johnson on November 6. Arthur Abraham versus Carl Froch joins Ward-Bika on November 27 as a double-header.
Andre Dirrelll is citing “neurological problems” as the reason for his abrupt withdrawal from the Super Six Boxing Classic, and cancellation of his fight against Andre Ward on November 27.
Dirrell has not trained since winning a controversial disqualification against Arthur Abraham in March. Dirrell dominated most of the fight, but Abraham began surging with two rounds to go. Dirrell slipped on the canvas in the 11th, and Abraham unleashed a flush hook on his defenseless and downed opponent. Dirrell was knocked out for several minutes, prompting a disqualification.
Later, Dirrell gave a disoriented interview with Jim Gray, and was taken to a hospital where doctors concluded he did not suffer a concussion or any extensive damage.
Ward and Dirrell were originally scheduled to face each other in September. However, neither fighter’s promoter moved forward with selecting a venue, a press conference, or beginning training camps. It was later determined that the fight did not happen due to a contract impasse over the purse split. This prompted cable network Showtime, who bankrolled the entire tournament, to threaten legal action if the fighters did not face off by November.
According to Dirrell’s camp, the fighter did suffer a concussion after the Abraham bout. Because of lingering effects like dizzy spells and headaches, Andre Dirrell hasn’t trained since that fight.
“Well, they did MRIs and cat scans…They found that he was still concussed,” explained Dirrell trainer Leon Lawson, Jr to AOL FanHouse. “They found that he was still concussed from the punch and the injury in the fight. They recommended that Andre be at least three months symptom free before he would even consider giving him the go-ahead to go back in the ring.”
The reason for the surprising revelation is because Dirrell kept his condition a secret for months following the fight. When Lawson, Jr did find out, he was hopeful that Dirrell’s condition would improve before the Ward fight came off. Unfortunately, the lack of improvement has forced the third fighter withdrawal in the Super Six tournament.
“He has not sparred since the Arthur Abraham fight. We thought that he would get better by the next time that he got in the ring,” Lawson, Jr stated. “But, you know, Andre kept it a secret for a while from us, and then, we monitored it for a while and he said that it was still happening, so we had no choice but to come out with it.”
In August, an injury to his left eye caused Mikkel Kessler to withdraw from the tournament. Late last year, Jermain Taylor withdrew following his knockout loss to Arthur Abraham, which was his third KO defeat in his last five fights.
At press time, Showtime has not released a statement on Andre Dirrell’s withdrawal.
Not the news I wanted to wake up to this morning. Is the Super Six cursed? For the first time in a very long time, someone tries to actually do right by the sport and its fans. And look at the thanks they get.
Boxing is a very brutal sport. I tend to not even look at it as a sport, since you don’t really “play” boxing. It’s literally life and death every time you step in the ring. So when fighters go down with injuries or quit after prolonged punishment, I normally give them the benefit of the doubt because I know the physical sacrifice it takes to be a fighter. But in this case, I also can’t be mad at anyone who doubts the validity of this injury.
Ward vs. Dirrell was the only Super Six fight to be stalled by contract negotiations. Because of their close friendship, neither side seemed ethusiastic about fighting each other. Now that Showtime puts their foot down and locks in an ultimatum date, all of sudden Dirrell’s camp reveals a highly convenient medical issue that gets him out of it.
Could the injury be on the up and up? Definitely. I believe Andre Dirrell wasn’t faking the effects from Abraham’s blow immediately after their fight. King Arthur is the consensus hardest puncher at super-middleweight, and he essentially got a free shot. But when the tests that night came back negative, I was certain that was the last we’d hear of it. So if I’m thinking that, I know Showtime will want to look closely at these new MRI and cat scans that show Dirrell is indeed suffering from post-concussion syndrome.
It’s was all good when this tournament started. I really wish they could drop the round robin format, because now we’re looking at this Super Six saga extending to the end of 2011.
