Moohead Radio

May 20, 2007 8:54 am

I wasn’t one of the millions who got suckered into paying $54.95 to watch Oscar De La Hoya and Pretty Boy Floyd do the rhumba on “Dancing with the Stars”. I vomited when I read that these 2 bozos were going to bring boxing back to full luster. The big mouth money grabber, and the pretend Mexican coward. For 12 rounds they juked and jived their way to the bank, and screamed “rematch” 10 minutes later.

This morning, Edwin Miranda isn’t saying rematch. He isn’t saying anything. His face is too swollen. His heart is too ravaged. Edison Miranda will never be the same. He took a beating that few fighters recover from. From Davey Moore to the late Diego Corrales, the heart never dies. The body finally does. And it can happen in 30 minutes.

While TV heralds false prophets like De La Hoya, the REAL boxers are guys like Kelly Pavlik. In a world of safety first fighters, Pavlik grabbed his opportunity to win a title, and fought THE fight he needed to. And he did it the other guy’s way. Like Marvin Hagler before him, Kelly waded through a first round barrage, and backed Miranda down. Systematically, he pushed him back, never letting his opponent breathe. For his part, Miranda could not fight in reverse gear. He landed many fierce shots, but Pavlik was determined to outlast him.

Today, the media is talking about Pavlik’s superior technique, or that Miranda was overrated. That’s not the story. The real story lies in 2 men who did what they said they would do. Two guys who fought like it was their last fight. Two guys who REALLY brought luster back to a dying sport.

Of course the sad part of this remarkable victory, is that Pavlik remains one fight from the title. And from the looks of things, Jermain Taylor doesn’t want to be in the same state as Pavlik, let alone the same ring. And if Pavlik goes up in weight to fight Calzhage? He’ll be forced to do it on foreign soil, or worse yet, forced to run after the elusive Champion while he runs around the ring. Weight advantage or not, no one’s gonna stand in front of Pavlik now.

The final word? The history of boxing tells us the rags to riches story of determined men. From Marciano to Duran. From Arguello to Marvin Hagler. International men of iron will. Now you can add Kelly Pavlik to a list that Oscar and Floyd will never be on. A list of men who pursued their brutal dreams with singular purpose. Who had faith in their skill and gameplan. Who never wavered in the face of danger.

Even Edwin Miranda, swollen beyond recognition, can take solace in the fact that he played a vital part in what used to be the greatest sport on the planet. His name will be etched beside the likes of Billy Conn, Mickey Ward, Frank “the Animal” Fletcher, and all the others who lost with valor and integrity.

Youngstown has a real champion. And boxing had one day of shining resonance.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2007 at 8:54 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.