Rusty Rubin, Managing Editor
www.ringsports.com

HBO and Showtime go head to head on Oct. 4, to see which network gets the higher ratings, or more to the point, which fights the public wants to see.

It’s also another case of promoters Don King vs. Bob Arum.

Showtime has two interesting bouts on tap, although only one figures to be very exciting, and that’s not even the main event of Evander Holyfield vs. James Toney, in Las Vegas.

Holyfield is all heart, and certainly the better heavyweight. But he’s also the older of the two and coming off shoulder surgery, and many people feel he should have retired a few years ago before tarnishing his image as an all-time great heavyweight champion.

Toney, who has never impressed at heavyweight, is coming off a great fight win over Vasily Jirov, and instead of keeping his IBF cruiserweight crown, he has decided to move back to heavyweight in a non-title match. To be fair, it’s not clear if Toney is vacating his title by moving up, but word from a good source is that is what is going to happen.

But the better fight on the card figures to be the war between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor, purely a fight featuring boxer vs. puncher, with Casamayor being the boxer. And Corrales, who does have a slight height advantage, figures to hit harder at this weight.

But this is going to be, far and away, a more action packed event.

Heavyweights are the big attraction, but are usually slow and cumbersome. This wasn’t the case with a young Holyfield or Toney at the lighter weights, but that doesn’t figure to apply to a 40-year-old ex-heavyweight champ and Toney, who always seems to fight better at the lesser weights.

Meanwhile, Bob Arum’s LA, HBO card has five great lighter weight title fights and figures to be a better bang for the buck.

It will be interesting to see which of these two fight cards draw more, and if I was buying either of these fights, it would be the Top Rank event, mainly because I enjoy watching the smaller guys in action.

I’ve never been a big fan of the heavyweights, and this crop leaves a lot to be desired, like enough guys who can really fight, and you always get a bang for your buck with the little guys who always give 100%.

Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear from you.

For the record, we are still calling for Billy Soose to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Soose beat Tony Zale and fought a draw with Charley Burley, neither of which could be considered an easy opponent, and he did so as a converted puncher. He was a big banger in college and early on in his pro career, but an injury to his right hand caused him to become a boxer. The transition from banger to boxer is one that very few have been able to make successfully. And he used it to win the middleweight championship of the world!

As a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and a voter for those inducted into the IBHOF, I take personal offense that this former champion's name does not even appear on the ballot. The World Boxing Hall of Fame in LA had the good sense to induct Soose in 1994. Let's hope that common sense carries over to the IBHOF.***

Reader Ed Ramos is looking for a bottle of Old Kentucky Cabin bbq sauce, Muhammad Ali fashion shade sunglasses, Ali's high school yearbook, Ali large popcorn bags, Ali cookie box, Cassius Clay golden gloves and Olympic Boxing finals full tickets, Ali champ shoe bumper sticker and a Mousehammad cat toy. He is also seeking a 1960 Olympic-boxing program. If you have or know of someone who has these items call Ed at 1-860-246-9096, or e-mail him at Andinoramos@hotmail.com.

Our next boxing party at Spiros Sports Bar at Mira Loma and Longly, in Reno, will be held on July 26, and will feature the Vanderpool – Vargas fight.

Glove2Glove is absolutely free and non-denominational, and the only time you will be contacted is if someone is in need of prayer and/or cards. You join by sending us an e-mail. It's that simple. And Glove2Glove is our way of showing that boxing folk genuinely care about each other and the world we live in. In short, it’s called compassion!

The success of the Glove2Glove program has provided some sensational results, and we can take credit in extending a number of lives. It also shows the world that boxing folks care about each other, and stand tall for them. In short, it enhances the sometimes-seedy reputation of our sport.***

Say prayers for the soul of heavyweight fighters Brad Rone and boxer Rich Manning, both passed away last week.***

Say prayers and send get-well cards to ring announcer Mark Biero, who has lost sight in both his eyes from the ravages of diabetes. You can write to Mark at 2700 N. MacDill Ave. #218, Tampa, FL. 33607-2273.

Also prayers are needed for the return to health of Colleen Tucker, wife of NV boxing judge Doug Tucker; Colleen will be having heart surgery on July 30.

Glove2Glove is on a crusade to help former champions Gerald McClellan and Greg Page and their families. They were injured in the ring and have very high medical bills. We need your prayers for them. And remember that on July 4th, their freedoms have been taken away from them to a great degree, and we should do what we can to help.

And, to improve the image of our sport and the great people in it, we need you on board our Thanksgiving Cruise out of Miami, Nov. 23-30 to raise money for these great warriors who have given us so much and have received so little back. Hey, guys, the Lord remembers a lot more than we choose to. We owe it to our fellow human beings and to our sport to make the extra effort.

I know Thanksgiving is an American holiday, traditionally spent with family and friends, but what better way to celebrate the holiday than with your family and the boxing family as well? We hope you take part in this event to show the world how strong and committed the boxing family is. I know a lot of folks think that all people in boxing should be committed anyway, so let's change their minds. We’re waiting word from some fighters and promoters to either join us or at least support the cause, not with words, but by either donating money for Page/McClellan via the Retired Boxers Foundation or buying a cabin that we can give to an under-privileged fan and their family.

It comes as no surprise that a great fighter and a great guy, Wayne McCullough, has stepped up to the plate and offered to help, and we hope Wayne and his beautiful wife and daughter will be able to join us. Wayne is one of the finest people that boxing or any other sport has ever produced.

Thanks to Ron Borges and other members of the press corps for the extra coverage of this event. And thanks also to Alex Ramos of the Retired Boxers Federation who has jumped in to help the cause.

100% of the money we raise will go to these two families. And the price is very affordable and includes some extra boxing guests and entertainment. Join us. For information, please drop me a line at Rngsprts@cs.com. Or, if you can't make it, a cash donation to the RBF for Page/McClellan would be much appreciated.

Remember, fans, the worst things happen when you do nothing. And the feeling of giving your all, even if not successful, makes you a winner no matter what!

URGENT!!!! We ask for your immediate prayers for the return to health of the sister of referee Elmo Adolph, Cathy Cerola, suffering from cancer. She has taken a turn for the worse and needs your fervent prayers. Only the Lord can help them now, and with our prayers, He will.

A very special prayer was answered and we received the best Christmas miracle imaginable, as the oncologist who had given her about three years to live, now said that four more chemos, and we should get all of it. At last report, they did! Your prayers for the return to health of Glove to Glove CO-founder Sue Walker, has worked, and in the words of Robert Duval in the motion picture 'The Apostle,’ “We're small but we're powerful.” If we can do this with a relatively small group, imagine what we can do if we had the big numbers.

We still need your prayers for Sue who suffered a seizure recently, and now is back in the hospital. Her cancer has returned, and she needs a complete and quick recovery and we need your prayers again to make it happen. We need another miracle from the Lord, but we also know He has as many as we need, if we just ask. So I’m personally asking for your help on this one!

Glove2Glove is absolutely free. The only thing we ask is an e-mail address so that we can notify you when a boxing person or a member of his family is ailing. Sue Walker has been my best friend for 25 years and thanks to some of the wonderful people out there, she will be with me for a lot longer. She’s had a setback and is currently in the hospital undergoing chemo. So please, keep those prayers coming. You can send a message of encouragement or prayer for her to our e-mail address (Rngsprts@cs.com) or drop a card to our Reno office. I'll see that it gets to her, personally.

Thanks and God bless.***

To answer a question I seem to be asked more and more frequently. Yes, the website and the magazine are seeking new investors, and hopefully working partners for further expansion. If you are interested, give me a call or drop me a line via PO or e-mail. Better yet, contact our East Coast office.

This opportunity will not last very much longer! Once we start our push to make the mag and the website the finest in the world, the opportunity will either be long-gone or very expensive. For any doubters, I suggest you watch our smoke.

Touching on politics briefly: With the deaths of both of Sadaam’s sons, the world should seem like a safer place. In truth, it’s only a safer place in Iraq. Even if Sadaam was eliminated, I only view Iraq as being a safer place.

I haven’t seen any proof that Hussein or his family was a direct threat to the free world, and certainly far less than Osama Bin Laden, or even that little dictator in North Korea.

And certainly nothing is going to stop Islamic terrorists like Al Kiter and the Tally Ho’s from going forth and entering Iraq via Iran, Lebanon and Syria, and killing American soldiers—nothing unless we have strong security on the borders, which we don’t even have to protect our own country.

I don’t want to sound like I’m disappointed in the demise of two cold-blooded jerks. I’m not! The news can only be viewed as fantastic, but realistically we have to accept that this is just a small piece of the pie. There are far more dangerous fish out there for us to catch and wipe out, and until we do, no one is going to ever feel completely safe.

Agree or disagree, we’d like to hear from you.