Standing Eight Count – Monthly Series – November 2002

(TL FOX Note: “Standing Eight Count” made it’s debut in October 2002 as a monthly feature from WBAN senior editor Brian Ackley, offering news, notes and comment from the world of women’s boxing. 

It’s been a while since one individual boxer as earned so much attention, but welcome to November’s Standing Eight Count, Ali edition…

1. Now that we can lay the Ali skepticism to rest, the real interesting story will be to where she goes next. Both Ann Wolfe and Jackie Frazier are certainly on the radar scope for 2003, and there may be one more “tune up” bout before those two just so Floyd Mayweather can put Ali through the paces one more time. What wasn’t to like about Ali’s win? She was simply better in every aspect of the game than Mahfood, not only offensively, but in another area where almost no one seems to have talked about: her solid and improving defense. Hitting is 50 percent of the equation in boxing. Fans forget the other 50 percent is learning how NOT to get hit.

And, by the way, don’t buy all the bad girl hype that everyone threw around before and during the fight. Having had the chance to meet and spend time with both Ali and Mahfood, I don’t believe for a second the blood was nearly as bad as the public was led to believe. Not that the story line didn’t make Ali’s win even more compelling — hey, no one ever said a little wrestling-like storyline is bad for boxing — but both are genuinely nice people who when not being asked to sell a fight publicly are engaging, personable and downright warm.

Ali has the showmanship act down just fine, especially when wrapped in the security of her showman husband Johnny McClain. But proof that it wasn’t some volatile grudge match came shortly after the fight, when ESPN2 asked Ali if she was disappointed it was stopped. Expecting, of course, some kind of gladiator-like answer that she wanted to inflict ever more punishment on the bloodied Mahfood to satisfy some personal vendetta, Ali kindly demurred that it was only disappointing because she knew if she had been Mahfood, she wouldn’t have wanted it stopped either.

Poor Valerie. She surely knew she was in trouble the week before, when on ESPN’s promotional crawl, they championed Ali’s opponent as “Vallerie Mahfoud.” It was all down hill from there.

2. While it was disappointing that Frazier v. Ward didn’t get done for Dec. 6, Ward v. Rivers is still entertaining and competitive on paper. It’s hard to tell exactly what Frazier might be up to, but it’s hard not to imagine a Ali-Frazier V (Laila-Jackie II for the cynics). Ali all but confirmed it would be done in her one-on-one interview with TL Fox. It would be a bigger money fight than the $50,000 Ward’s camp was offering, and since they entertained a sellout crowd of 8,000 at Turning Stone Casino once, there’s no reasons they can’t/won’t do it again. Just a guess, but don’t be surprised if it’s on for sometime in 2003, maybe late summer or fall, if Ali-Wolfe is a go (see below). A common denominator: both won world title belts from Suzy Taylor, so some type of glorious world championship unification angle can easily be sold. And for those quick to criticize, remember they shut up plenty of critics — this one included — with their performance the first time.

3. Santa is delivering packages early to boxing fans. Along with the Ward/Rivers matchup, there have been or will be some tasty treats. Witness Anani/Holewyne, DeLeon/Clampitt, Vlasova/Yard, Valley/Wolfe, Caples/Zamarron, Jeffries/McCarter and Girgrah/Laracuente, just to name a few. There hasn’t been much hand wringing about the death of women’s boxing lately; it’s all cyclical. In a sport so young, there are plenty of overblown peaks and exacerbated valleys. While we have it, enjoy the view from the top.

4. Need any more proof of the hoax that is Martin vs. Mia? The PPV distribution company largely distributes second and third tier wrestling events and concerts. The only boxing event they televised lately, at least according to their own website, was one of the worst PPV boxing frauds in history: Butterbean vs. Larry Holmes. This one is so low, it would have to reach up just to make that level. Pity the people who pony up 25 bucks for this. They are either blood lusters or perverts. Fortunately, at least some of the mainstream press has labeled it the sham that it is, but sadly, others are simply parroting the Mia/Martin company line. And apparently not a lot of real boxing people were anxious to see this one happen. One published report in a Florida newspaper indicated that Martin herself was acting as the card’s promoter.

5. Speaking of Ali, got a chance finally to see her “bout” against Suzy Taylor. Longtime WBAN readers know I’ve supported Ali’s career, how she’s been handled, the gradual step up in competition and the like, but dang, Taylor was out of breath by the time she reached the center of the ring for prefight instructions. Truly, she was shot 60 seconds into the fight, which was not a surprise to those who have wondered about her conditioning for a couple of years now. It really wasn’t a good test for Ali at all, but it wasn’t her fault.

6. One interested ringside observer at the Stratosphere was the best in women’s boxing today — she takes a back seat not even to Ali — Sumya Anani, fresh off her five-round toasting of toughie Lisa Holewyne. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you didn’t see that matchup coming. Neither did Anani. The fight was made little more than two weeks before they actually stepped in against each other. The two had been scheduled to fight earlier this year — also a hastily arranged bout — but a foot injury kept Anani out of the first matchup, and Holewyne settled for one of two 2002 bouts with game Britt VanBuskirk.

A straight left put Holewyne down and out in the fifth in a bout reminiscent of another of Anani’s more recent dominant performances

“She’s really tough, and really so much bigger,” Anani said. “I don’t know if I thought I would knock her out. It kind of reminded me of (my fight with) Jane Couch. She was up against the ropes almost, and I threw a good left and she dropped. In my mind, yeah, it was one clean shot. There may have been a couple before that, but that’s what I remember, one clean shot.. It is probably one of my performances I’m more proud of.”

Don’t read much into Anani being ringside for Ali’s tour de force; she harbors no thoughts of a big showdown someday between the two. “I saw an interview once where Christy said she wanted to fight her (Ali ), and Ali said she has to come up to my weight class because I’m fit at this weight. I can’t see myself or Christy going up 20 pounds and carrying it right. I just don’t see it. I would fight her, except for we’re not in the same weight class. It would be like asking Mike Tyson, ‘if you could get down to Marco Barrera’s weight, would you fight him?’ That’s how I feel about these questions.”

And as a final thought on Ali, Anani isn’t especially surprised. “It’s not like a miracle thing. If you practice and are disciplined, anybody can get better at anything. I would think being Ali’s daughter, she’d have to work hard, not mess up the family name.”

7.  Word is that RPM Boxing is looking to stage another women’s card, maybe late winter or early spring on ESPN2. That would be a great headliner, Ali-Wolfe, and the timing, say for March, would be right about in line with Ali and Wolfe, assuming she gets by her Dec. 21 rematch with Marsha Valley. Valley, if she puts in six hard weeks of training can give Wolfe a much better go this time, and although it would be a long shot, it says here she could pull the upset if she works hard enough. And, it says here, Ali beats Wolfe when they finally do meet up. It’s not too early for predictions on that fight, is it?

8. OK, admittedly George Plimpton doesn’t have anything to worry about. But under the heading of “purely personal”, after 20 years of sitting ringside covering the sport, I got an opportunity this fall to do something I’ve never done before, work the corner of a professional bout. Plimpton, for those who may not recall, is the old-time author who made books out of his appearing in professional sporting events, like playing one period of pro hockey in goal for the Boston Bruins.

Thanks go to John Trigg and Terri Moss, who I profiled last month on WBAN, for the privilege of working John’s corner in a recent bout here in the northeast. Moss, herself the WIBA’s No. 2 ranked straw weight after her upset win over Nina Ahlin, is one of the few women who actually work corner’s as a chief second. Trigg returns the favor when Moss fights. In no particular order, some random thoughts acquired while wondering when and where I should squirt the in-between round water…

A. John’s boxing license cost 20 bucks. Mine, to stand on the ring apron for 60 seconds between rounds, cost 30. Go figure.

B. A boxing corner person can NEVER have enough pockets. I had enough gauze pads stuffed down the front of my sweat suit top to do a pretty good impersonation of Santa Claus, not that I need much help.

C. It takes an arena exactly 0.3 seconds to fill up with smoke once the first patrons are let in, and 1.7 seconds for the first draft beer to be poured.

D. It’s amazing how little padding there actually seems to be once you feel and see and eight ounce glove up close and personal.

E. I can’t remember which is which, the red vs. the blue, but the fighters seem convinced that one corner is always for the underdog and one for the guy who is “supposed” to win the fight. I never knew that.

F. God love, and protect, anyone who does this for a living, especially at the club level. This fight was in a large entertainment complex. The “lockerroom” was actually a large dance hall, which had been booked by a Brazilian dance band the same night as the fight. Nothing like warming up for a pro bout while the band is doing a full-decibel sound check on, get this, an accordion.

G. Although it wasn’t our fight, the card had one of the great all time boxing nicknames I’ve come across: John “The Hellraza” Fraza. (the New England version of ‘raiser’ and ‘Frazier, to help you out a little here.)

H. We wuz robbed.