Rusty Rubin, Managing Editor
www.ringsports.com

The balance of power on the Nevada State Athletic Commission has always been 3-2, at least to the best of my memory. That’s the way it should be, because the majority of the population and the majority of the fights are held in the South.

Now that Commissioner Luther Mack, from the North end of the State, an old friend, has resigned from the Commission to take a job with Boyd Gaming, the governor, Kenny Guinn, appointed another commission member from the South, and suddenly the Southern part of Nevada is more then just well-represented.

Guinn may have meant well, although most political jobs are generally brought and paid for, but in this case he may have made a big mistake. But that depends on the performance and fairness of the Commission member appointed to replace Mack. For the time being, we’ll hope for the best.

Before anyone takes offense, I’m not implying that things now will be run to favor the judges and referees from the South. It’s still a Commission decision, but for obvious reasons they will be more prone to favor the South.

On the plus side, for the officials in the North, highly respected Executive Director Marc Ratner, has always done things with an even hand, and there’s no reason to think he wont now.

Except, for the fact that Ratner serves at the pleasure of the Commission and has to follow their orders or can be replaced. It can become a very hard job for a hard working, honest guy like Marc Ratner, but if anyone can handle the pressure, if indeed it does come to pass, he is certainly eminently qualified.***

To the surprise of no one, Oscar de la Hoya wants a rematch with Shane Mosley and that James Toney will stay at heavyweight and take on Jameel McCline. For Oscar it’s a chance for redemption and for Toney, well why drop down in weight when the real money is with the big boys, in a division that is badly in need of competent fighters.

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

Mosley has six inch wrists. Even the tiny framed Delahoya has seven inch wrists. If Mosley continues fighting big strong guys he Thank God for you. I hate cheaters period but when you are carrying an unfair advantage into a contest where your objective isn't to cross the finish line first, but to knockout, and lets face it, impose damage on another human being, the edge in power and stamina steroids give you is especially dangerous.

Boxing should be the most not least vigilant sport about not just steroids but blood doping and stimulants during a fight. I couldn't believe that in Michigan they only test a fighter before they go into the ring.

Fighters should be tested before, after and during training and randomly tested a couple of times a year. This new steroid breaks down before it even gets into the urine.

On one hand I think of Roy Jones as the most gifted fighter I have seen in my life time on the other, I think of him as a cheater whos legacy will be forever tainted. Vitali Klitschko, Roy Jones, Fernando Vargas and quite likely Shane Mosley, some of the biggest names in boxing and I suspect others have used steroids.

I have been a personal trainer for some time it's really incredible what steroids, blood doping and stimulants can do. I see this as a huge problem and a very real danger to the health of fighters, the ones not using the steroids of course, but also the ones on the steroids who are bulked up beyond where there bone structure says they should be.

Evander Holyfield has seven and a half inch wrists, how good has it been for him with his tiny frame (bulked up to look like superman) to be hit by men with 10 inch wrists? Shane will be okay for awhile, but watch out down the road.

In the past the guys that moved up successfully where big men who had fought far below there natural weight, Tommy Hearns had eight and a half inch wrists. He moved up in weight and carried his punch with him because he was a large strong framed guy , whom I believe gained weight honestly and even he has some brain damage ,these little guys getting big on roids are going to pay big time in the future, with the exception of Jones who doesn't get hit anyway…Paris Black, Toronto, Canada.

If true, I can't believe Gatti's people wouldn't take a Mayweather fight. It would be a PPV type fight, and Gatt would have a chance because he is a huge puncher who is busy and Mayweather isn't. Hell, if Gatti can go 7 rounds with Oscar at welter, he can go with Floyd.

Yeah, as for Gainer v. Marquez, I thought it would be a stinker. Marquez was just as mesmerized/intimidated/clueless against southpaw Freddie Norwood years ago. That said, Gainer is mostly to blame as he was clearly there just for a payday, looking to go the distance without getting hurt. When he found a way out sooner, he took it.
Pollack: Mayweather looked great

I too thought Floyd looked good, exhibiting beautiful defense, and selecting, timing, and placing his punches well, especially to the body. That said, N'Dou was not the smartest boxer I have seen. He seemed stiff and unstable, lacking fluidity. I'm not even so sure he hit all that hard. His punches were pretty slow and had no snap, although he did seem heavy handed a few times.

I am not going to give Mayweather the respect that Roy Jones has earned until he fights a couple good southpaws. Why isn't anyone talking about southpaw Artur Grigorian? That guy is really good. I saw him totally dominate Raul Balbi (the guy who gave Leonard Dorin a great war). He has been undefeated over many years, mostly winning by knockout, but he can also box very well. He has nice footwork, pretty good balance, fairly quick hands, and nice pop on his punch. Hell, I think even Spadafora would give Floyd a tough fight based on what I saw from their sparring, and I don't even like Spadafora….A. Pollack

Glove2Glove:

Glad to report that promoter Moe Smith is back at work and doing fine after his heart surgery.

Please say prayers for the soul of Hungarian amateur great Lazlo Papp, who passed away earlier this month.

Please say prayers for former top-notch fighter Art Soto, who is having some severe health problems from Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Say a prayer for the return to health of great boxer Mando Ramos, who is badly hurting, a result of an unsuccessful back surgery.

Please say prayers for Phill Grazide of Santa Rosa, CA. a big supporter of amateur boxing, who is suffering the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis.

Chas. Shandor, father in law of Ringsports.com writer Nick Constantine has been diagnosed with cancer and needs your prayers.

Your prayers have worked and Martin Sommers is no longer in hospice care, and in fact, is at home recovering. He and his family pass along their heartfelt thanks, and ask that your prayers continue.

Also down but not out with cancer is Kathy Ceravola, sister of top referee Elmo Adolph, and my best friend and co-founder of Glove2Glove, Susiey Walker.
Needless to say we need prayers for the return to health of both former champs Greg Page and Gerald McClellan, both confined to wheelchairs.

Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their relatives in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and only contact our members when someone is in need. It’s free to join. Simply send us your e-mail address. And even if you’re not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.

Touching on politics briefly:

A lot of folks have written and asked how I would extricate America from the boondoggle in Iraq.

Well, after a lot of thought, which is not easy for someone in boxing like myself, here’s my solution, and I happen to think it’s as good (or bad) as anyone else’s that I’ve heard so far.

First, let me make it clear that I have no hateful feelings to Iraq and never have had. In truth, I’d like to know when or why they became our enemy. But that’s another story. We do know the evils of Sadaam and his family, so getting rid of them was a good thing. And, getting out of the quagmire that we are in over there is even harder for me to deal with. But we must bear in mind that we accomplished what we set out to do, and so to pull out now is certainly not a defeat. As they say “I came, I saw, I conquered”.

So, here’s my opinion, for what it may be worth:

1. To improve our standing with the world community, we pull our forces out of Iraq completely and let the country be run by the U.N. If the U.N. refuses to help, well that’s another matter and we have to remain. And remember, we’re not retreating here, just moving our victorious forces to a more important local to fight our real enemy.

2. To show that we are not a greedy nation, all contracts with Halliburton and other US based companies should be re-negotiated and go to the highest bidder, so no one can accuse America of being involved in this mess for oil, or more to the point, greed.

3. Then I’d send out troops to where they should have been sent from the start, into the mountains of Northern Pakistan and finish the job on the people who are really are enemies, and people almost all Americans detest, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. That’s a cause which we can easily and truthfully explain, as these scumbags attacked us first and we’re just paying them back.

4. I believe Americans and those who serve in the military of this great land should at least risk their money and lives for a worthwhile cause, and no one in the world can legitimately blame us.

Yes, I know that there’s a lot of other groups and tribal war lords that protect the terrorists there, and they are bought and paid for by Bin Laden and his army of brainwashed trash, as well as the very profitable poppy trade. But if they want to get in the way, they can easily be disposed of as well, and probably should be, as sooner or later they will want to control the government of Pakistan, which for those uninformed has nuclear weapons.

It may not be the answer, but it is an answer and one that to me at least it makes more sense then the continuing death of American troops in a land where we are not wanted and in truth not needed. The U.N. can do as good a job or better, and that in itself improves our image to the rest of the World.

We did our job, we got rid of a cold blooded dictator and his sons, and we should be proud of it. But now it’s time to move on and fight the war we should have fought all along. The war that was started by a cowardly attack on Sept. 11, is showing no signs of being completed or avenged anytime soon.

Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear from you. Your responses are most welcome and the best will be posted as they arrive.
Truly I hate to say this, because I pride myself on seeing both sides of debates and situations, and while I can understand the Muslims countries frustrations with Israels very presence. The manner that they vent there frustrations is a world threat. Why have nuclear reactors in Iran? Is this in case they run out of oil in 5000 years? No they are definitely a threat to world security. I would have to say at this point thatthe allies should get together, say we are at war, and while treating the followers of Islam currently within our borders with the respect they deserve, as members of a free society we should shut our borders to any immigration from countries we are at war with, or who are allies of those countries…Paris Black, Toronto, Canada