Did Shane’s Balls Stay On the Deck After He Got Up?
HAS MOSLEY THE GUTS TO STILL BE A “REAL” FIGHTER?
Las Vegas, NV– If you even pretend to be a fight fan, you have seen the YouTube clip from Fight Camp 360 on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosely” where Mosely supposedly wants to quit, and his trainer Nazeem Richardson won’t let him.
SHANE SHOWED FEAR PRIOR IN HIS USE OF PED DRUGS
It’s a short clip, it jumps around, thus they have put in captions,and you know Hollywood…They can do anything with film, and they will do anything for a buck! I cannot tell from that 34 second teaser if Mosley really wanted to quit or not. Nothing in his career to date gives any indication that he has a ticker problem, although he was scared enough to call ex-BALCO Labs guru Victor Conte and beg him for EPO (Blood Doping, increasing the amount of Oxygen in his blood) as he prepped for the Oscar De La Hoya rematch, this according to Conte and Shane’s own admission under oath in a taped deposition.
IS THERE ANY STUFF LEFT IN SHANE’S BASEMENT?
To be sure, Shane has got some mileage on him. But it does bring up an interesting issue that tags along with my last “Still Stuff In The (boxing) Basement” column, and that is heart and character.
PROFESSOR TRYING TO MAKE A POINT HERE!
In today’s universe of sports, you have athletes who can run a hundred meters in less than ten seconds, who can throw a football seventy yards, can drive a golf ball over 300 yards, can sink a basket from half court routinely, or that can bench press an automobile–all of which translates over into absolutely nothing in boxing. You can have all the strength, speed, and reflexes in the world, but if a fighter doesn’t have technique, experience, psychology, and a sound strategy, all the other matters almost nothing.
OTHER INGREDIENTS IN THE MIX OF A PRIZEFIGHTER!
But there is something else in this “Manly Art of Self Defense” that is needed (and the supposed Mosley fiasco notwithstanding), and that is heart and character. Heart and character are important for anyone to have, especially anyone wanting to rise above mediocrity, but it takes on special significance when it comes to fisticuffs.
ESQUIRE MAGAZINE HIT IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD 15 YEARS AGO!
In an article written for “Esquire” magazine in 1996, author Pete Hamill in “Blood on their hands,” talked about the importance of heart and character in a fighter, “We are not speaking here of simple courage. Any man who ties on the gloves and walks into the ring has a degree of courage. To say that a man had heart was a more complicated matter. The fighter with heart was willing to endure pain in order to inflict it. The fighter with heart accepted the cruel rules of the sport. He must not– could not– quit. He might be out classed, he might be out gunned, but he never looked for an exit!”
FIGHTERS DIDN’T HAVE TO CHECK THEIR NUTS AT THE DOOR
I’m not exactly sure when checking your cajones at the arena door became a part of the fight game, but it seems to have happened as something has taken the “Man” out of “The Manly Art of Self Defense.” Perhaps we are just now beginning to see the results of the “no score” rec league sports for our kids. Maybe it started in 1982, 1987, and 1988 when the alphabet boy’s emasculated the sport by wimping out in championship bouts by reducing the rounds from 15 to 12.
THERE IS NO “RELIEF” PITCHER IN BOXING
In other sports, you can get away with some character flaws or less heart, because you have teammates to help you out. In boxing, in the squared circle, it’s just you, your opponent, your two fists, your skill, and your heart; and if you leave that heart, that will to fight at home with your mommy, Shane, and this is not directly pointed at your almost 40-year old carcass, do us all a favor and stick to playing hop-scotch and dancing with Bella.
Professor Chuck Marbry