Black guys, white guys, Arabs, Jews, and Asians…. the entire
alphabet soup that is the world… none of
it matters in boxing. There is only one
truth, and it is in the ring, even if the truth doesn’t repose with the judges.
The truth didn’t repose with the judges in the case of USS
Steve Cunningham in a long awaited 2nd fight with Tomasz
Adamek. Stipulate that I like
Adamek. He’s a machine of a man, as
tough and determined as they come. In a
sense, he looks invincible.
That’s what trainer Nazim Richardson thought, as he and Cunningham worked out a fight plan
that should have put them in the win column.
Stipulate also that Adamek can knock you out, and that that’s something
to be avoided.
Take a long look at boxing.
Everyone loves a puncher, a KO artist, especially the squares. Pour blood in the ring and the mob will think
it’s a great fight—even when it isn’t.
Cunningham vs. Adamek was a great fight because it pitted a
tough boxer against a tough boxer-puncher with a shorter reach. What’s a guy like Cunningham to do? Is he
supposed to put himself in harm’s way, in a place that says, ‘Hey, Tomasz, here
I am and come and knock me out?”
Ridiculous. Imagine
yourself in a fight. You know the other
guy is stronger, can knock you out. The
crowd behind you is exhorting you to g’head, fight!... slug it out!... Mix it
up…get in close and punch. You’re going
to do it, but only if you’re an effing idiot.
Cunningham boxed and Adamek pressed, and eventually two of
the three judges decided they liked a guy who “came forward.” How many points do you give a guy who “comes
forward” when he’s catching more shots than the net at a Knicks game?
So two of the judges read the boxing claims manual and
woodenly decidedly to give Adamek every round he managed to walk forward in,
which was most of them. But Adamek was
beaten, and beaten while standing up. The third judge saw that, and awarded the
fight to Cunningham.
OK, I had it Cunningham won, but even if I were wrong, the
best that could be said of it was a draw.
Some guys won’t go down, not in 12 rounds, and Adamek is one
of them. You think that maybe he would have
gone down in 15, or maybe Cunningham would have slacked off and got knocked
out.
I’m okay with the 12 round limit. I used to like the 15
round limit but I don't like to see fighters die or become brain-dead.
There is another solution:
five judges instead of three.
With five judges, it would remove some of the suspicions that the fights
are “fixed.” It would be very difficult
to sway three of five judges, when it is challenging to, by questionable means,
to sway only the two needed for a win.
Just my thought on the Cunningham Robbery. Oh, and by the way, you got to see a
fantastic boxer in Steve Cunningham. The
real deal. Try fighting Adamek yourself
sometime.
G’head…. Put your head out there. Think about it.
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