R.I.P. Joyce Brothers, Boxing Expert
by Gautham Nagesh
A blog about combat sports might seem like a strange place for a memorial about a pop psychologist and advice columnist, but Dr. Joyce Brothers probably knew more about the Sweet Science than any of us.
Brothers first rose to prominence as a young housewife and boxing expert on the now-infamous gameshow “The $64,000 Question,” which was later part of the Quiz Show scandal. It’s important to note that Brothers was not among those accused of cheating, but producers did suggest the telegenic young lady try mastering an unorthodox subject like boxing.
She responded by mastering 20 volumes of a boxing encyclopedia (where can I get one of those??):
According to the testimony, Brothers applied to be a “64,000 Question” contestant as an expert in home economics and psychology. The producers, looking for an audience-pleasing oddity, suggested the pretty young woman try boxing as her specialty. She learned the subject so well, Koplin said, she kept on winning even after the producers “threw the book” at her with tough questions aimed at eliminating her.
Born Joyce Diane Bauer in New York, Brothers earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia.
An author and fight scholar, and therefore one of us.
R.I.P. October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013.
Emmanuel Taylor vs Albert Mensah On ESPN July 19th
Emmanuel Taylor photo by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
We pride ourselves our coverage of the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia boxing scene, but somehow the rise of local junior welterweight Emmanuel “Tranzforma” Taylor caught me completely by surprise. After scoring back-to-back knockouts on ShoBox and ESPN, Taylor has come from nowhere to become arguably the hottest fighter in the DMV.
Perhaps it’s because the only time I’ve seen Taylor fight live was his only professional loss, against Prenice Brewer at Fight Night 2011. I scored the fight for Taylor, but it’s fair to say I wasn’t too impressed. Which goes to show the danger of judging any prospect on one performance, especially their first eight-rounder in in a ballroom full of cigar smoke and drunken defense contractors.
Taylor was raised in Capitol Heights, Md., home of the Fighting Gary Russell clan, among other boxing notables. But he’s more closely associated with Baltimore, where he develops under the watchful eye of his longtime trainer David Sewell. Taylor grew up in boxing; his father Maxell Sr. is a former fighter and trainer at Charm City Gym, and was inducted into the Maryland Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Taylor will fight on national televisoin for the third straight time on July 19th, when he returns to ESPN’s Friday Night Fights for the second time in a row to battle Albert Mensah of Ghana in New York City. We interviewed Taylor from ringside at Club One Fitness in Millersville, Md. last weekend, where he was ringside to watch his brother Maxell Jr. lose in the main event. Taylor labelled Mensah “awkward” but didn’t seem overly concerned.
Dusty Harrison Looks Like A Headliner Against Eddie Soto
Photos by Anna John for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Like all entertainers, boxers are unpredictable by nature.
Men that fight for a living are often more temperamental than the brattiest teen idol in Hollywood. Almost every card includes at least one fight scratched because an opponent has succumbed to that peculiar sickness that takes hold between the weigh-in and the opening bell. Promoters can only book their fights, make their contingency plans, and pray.
If boxing is, in the end, simply show business, then another maxim holds true: the fans come to see the main event, not the supporting players. That might be a hard truth to swallow for some undercard fighters, especially since they are putting themselves at the same risk as their better-compensated peers. But it’s the truth.
There were some complications on Saturday night during the first professional boxing show promoted by All-In Entertainment at UDC in Northwest Washington. Only five of the nine scheduled fights were completed, and writers were left typing their reports in blackness after a power outage cut the walk-out bout short. None of that mattered. To the nearly 3,000 fans that packed the auditorium, it was a night at the fights, a moment to be savored regardless of the complications.
It is still far too early to say how good 18-year-old D.C. welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison will be. Even with 15 professional fights under his belt, Dusty is only scratching the surface of life as a professional fighter. But Hernandez-Harrison offered a tantalizing glimpse of his potential on Saturday night, displaying poise beyond his years during his 5th-round knockout of Eddie Soto.
Lucas Matthysse Stops Lamont Peterson
Photo by Tom Casino for SHOWTIME
by Gautham Nagesh
Not every tale can have a Hollywood ending. Lamont Peterson found that out the hard way on Saturday night, losing by knockout in the third round to Lucas Matthysse in Atlantic City on Showtime.
Preview: Dusty Hernandez-Harrison vs Eddie Soto This Saturday At UDC
Photos by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
If you read this blog at all, you know we’re extremely upbeat about the both the present and future of DMV boxing. The current kingpins of D.C. will be on display in Atlantic City this weekend, but the next generation of stars will be honing their craft this Saturday at a more local (and appropriate) venue: the University of the District of Columbia Sports Complex.
Stiff Jab 2012 Prospect of the Year Dusty Hernandez-Harrison will continue his journey at welterweight with a step up against Eddie Soto of Pawtucket, R.I. Soto started his career with 12 straight wins before losing his last six, four by stoppage. As an opponent, Soto fits with Team Dusty’s plan to keep the risk low while exposing Dusty to various styles and skill levels. Harrison is also fighting at home for the first time this year after two bouts in Delaware and one in Mississippi.
“I’m happy to be home. Everybody missed me, they keep asking me when I’m coming home, so I’m glad to finally be back,” Dusty said at Monday’s media workout. “It should be the biggest fight yet that I’ve had.”
Opening Bell: Manny Pacquiao vs Brandon Rios Set For Nov. 24
by Gautham Nagesh
That video above of an old man busting loose at a Wizards game is exactly how most boxing fans feel after finding out that Manny Pacquiao will return from his two-loss winning stream against all-action warrior Brandon Rios in Macau on November 24th.
HBO Pay Per View will broadcast the fight in the U.S., while promoter Top Rank is reportedly teaming up with Major League Baseball Advance Media to make the fight available via Internet stream to fans in China at a much lower cost. If it works, this is the kind of visionary move that has kept Top Rank boss Bob Arum on top of the fight game for the past 30 years. Asian fans can’t get enough of Pacquiao, and they could be the key to him staying lucrative far beyond his days on top.
Local Boxers Chase Their Dreams In Queens
by Sarah Deming
JAMAICA, N.Y.—Fight fans in the outer boroughs have a lot to be thankful for. The Barclays Center has brought pugilistic prestige to Brooklyn, 2012 U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne is putting Staten Island on the map, and Queens is now home to some of the best local cards around, thanks to the mighty triumvirate of New Legend, Old World, and W.O.N. Promotions.
Saturday’s main event at the Resorts World Casino here featured undefeated super bantamweight Juan Dominguez (13-0, 9 KOs) of Brooklyn, who scored a powerful third-round stoppage of Manuel Herrera of Columbia. Dominguez simply overwhelmed Herrera, punching to the body with bad intentions.
Floyd Mayweather Makes It Look Easy Against Robert Guerrero
Photo by Tom Casino for Showtime
by Gautham Nagesh
Welterweight Floyd “Money” Mayweather cemented his status as boxing’s pound-for-pound king by picking apart Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero on Showtime Pay Per View in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Floyd looked supremely comfortable against the overmatched Guerrero, who becomes the 44th notch on Mayweather’s unblemished record. Mayweather was landing his straight right hand from the outset, and made Guerrero look foolish at points. Guerrero’s heart and effort can’t be questioned, but he was simply not on the same level as the superlative Mayweather, who somehow impressed despite being the heavy favorite.
Opening Bell: Zab Judah Stands Tall In Defeat
by Gautham Nagesh
Apologies for the sparse posting this week, dear readers. Congress was kind enough to leave town the week before the first big Pay Per View boxing card of the year, and we were anticipating a full week of coverage. Unfortunately, the news cycle didn’t comply, so I’ve been forced to spend my week writing about Internet sales tax legislation, the new FCC chairman, and other similarly mundane matters.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start this column by looking back to last week’s card in Brooklyn, which Sarah Deming covered on our behalf. As Sarah notes, I was less than kind to Zab my preview, and we’ve taken our share of shots at him since his dismal showing against Amir Khan almost two years ago. But the truth is I like Zab a lot, as a person and as a fighter. Like many fight fans, I have always thought he had the tools to become one of the greats. That he fell a little short of those goals is a disappointment, but shouldn’t erase what he has achieved in the ring.
Regardless of what else has happened, Zab is a champion. He proved it by standing up to Danny Garcia’s assault for the full 12 rounds, especially after he was badly hurt in the 6th round. As to what kept Judah standing, we can only agree with little Reuben and ascribe it to fighting in front of his people in Brooklyn.
Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero Bout Sheet
Provided by Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions
Preview: Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero
Photos by Tom Casino for Showtime
by Gautham Nagesh
Genius rarely takes an appealing form. But make no mistake, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a boxing genius, on par with any fighter that has laced up a pair of gloves.
History is littered with countless examples of great men whose personal failings were whitewashed in light of their achievements. Boxing is no different; Sonny Liston was a violent criminal before becoming heavyweight champion, Don King a convicted murderer long before his first promotion. Boxing has been run by crooks and criminals, thieves and low-rent thugs. Many of them are still around. It’s hardly a place for the pious or self-righteous.
Robert Guerrero is both of those things; central casting couldn’t have produced a better champion for the throngs of Floyd-haters than “The Ghost.” His arrest for gun possession not withstanding, Guerrero is the perfect fighter to play the hero to Floyd’s heel. Guerrero’s main backstory is his devotion to his wife, a cancer survivor. He spends every interview praising God and playing the humble Mexican-American fighter, while Floyd shamelessly preens and flaunts his wealth.
But the beauty of boxing is that once the bell sounds, nothing matters but what happens inside the ropes. And no one in the world is more comfortable in the boxing ring than Floyd Mayweather. He remains a superb stylist, a fluid and elegant counterpuncher of the first order with a preternatural talent for avoiding punches. Guerrero, on the other hand, is a dirty fighter, and one that has never scored a knockout above lightweight. His only hope is to hurt Mayweather with something other than a fist and hope the referee doesn’t notice.
Brooklyn Boxing: Danny Garcia & Peter Quillin Win, Zab Judah Stands Tall In Defeat
Fight photos by Tom Casino for Showtime
by Sarah Deming
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—On my way into the Barclays Center on Saturday night, I ran into Stiff Jab favorite Lamont Roach Jr., enjoying a strawberry frappuccino with a beautiful woman who turned out to be his mother. The amateur champ was picking top-ranked junior welterweight Danny Garcia by decision in the main event over Zab Judah, but Mom disagreed.
Lamont Roach Jr. and mother, other photos by Sarah Deming for Stiff Jab
“I think Zab came to fight,” she said. “I’m old school.”
So am I. D.C. has the Gary Russells, but here in Brooklyn we have the nine fighting Judah brothers and their magisterial parents. Even in Zab’s most thuggish incarnation, he’s always had a good word for those coming up.
Doc Octagon Speaks: On Eyepokes
by Dr. Octagon, J.D.
People have been discussing what to do about accidental eyepokes in mixed martial arts for some time now. There is no way to fix the gloves so that eyepokes are impossible without fucking up the grappling game. There are two problems with the eyepoke: First, the refs almost never see them. Second, there is absolutely no detriment to the poker.
With regard to the first issue, they need to start letting the fighters signal when there’s been an eyepoke in order to stop the action. The way things are now, if the ref doesn’t see it and one guy reacts like he’s clearly been poked in the eye, the ref does nothing. Then the pokee has to hope that the other guy doesn’t fucking murder him while he can’t see. That happened more than once tonight at UFC 159.
Sometimes the ref even refuses to stop the action. It’s not the ref’s fault a lot of the time that they don’t see this shit. If you’re not in slow motion at the exact right camera angle, you just see two guys throwing hands. They need to let the fighters call time, and if the replay shows no eyepoke, they can penalize them a point or something. The current system isn’t working.
UFC 159 Recap: Jon Jones Stops Chael Sonnen in Newark
by Dr. Octagon, J.D.
Strange night of fights. Here’s what went down:
Jon Jones, as expected, mauled Chael Sonnen in the first round. Jones managed to horrifically break his toe in the process; he looked like he was going to barf after the fight. If Chael was able to hang on another thirty seconds, he would have been the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
Alan Belcher did not seem to want any part of Michael Bisping, and just hung out outside without putting up much offense while getting picked apart. The fight was ended early on a vicious eyepoke from Bisping to Belcher’s surgically repaired eye. Bisping won on the scorecards.
Roy Nelson demolished Cheick Kongo with an overhand right in the first round, as expected.
I know I keep saying it, but the fights went according to script. Vinny Magalhaes was unable to get the fight to the ground, instead getting picked apart by Phil Davis’ halfway-decent striking.
Pat Healy and Jim Miller fought for the title of best lightweight in the UFC with a ginger beard and a shaved head. Healy looked like a beast and was able to submit Miller in the third. Miller refused to tap and ended up unconscious.
For those of you keeping score at home, that was two fights that ended due to eyepokes and two fights with brutal injuries to the small digits. Jones was lucky that the fight ended when it did, because there’s no fucking way a doctor would have let him start the second with his toe perpendicular.
Rustam Khabilov vs Yancy Medeiros
by Dr. Octagon, J.D.
Big Dan is in the ring. Finally a ref who’s not an assclown.
Round 1: Leg kick by Yancy Medeiros. Right by Yancy. Right by Rustam Khabilov, then another. Huge right by Yancy misses. Rustam catches a kick and jumps on the back. Yancy pops up, but Rustam takes a single. Yancy pops back up.
Big Dan stops the fight because Yancy has dislocated his thumb. Totally reasonably stoppage, but I’m pissed because this fight was looking good.
Rustam Khabilov by TKO due to thumb injury. What a terrible card so far. Hopefully the rest of the fights are better.
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