Olympic Fever Heating Up 

The Square Ring by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will open this Friday in Beijing, China, before more TV and media coverage than any event in history. “Back in the day” that would mean an automatic shot in the arm for the sport of boxing. Cassias Clay, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones jr., the Klitschko’s and Oscar De La Hoya all got their pro careers jump started via Olympic boxing.

What happened? First and foremost the International Amateur Boxing Association became just as corrupt as the Olympics themselves. Judges were bribed to determine the outcome of fights, which meant the term Olympic Champion Gold medal winner didn’t mean ‘diddley.’

Roy Jones loss in 1988 turned the harsh light of public opinion on the problem of corrupt judging. TSR has some personal knowledge of an official who was offered money and refused only to find his bags packed and sitting in the lobby of his former hotel.

From the HBO website came, “After watching Jones soundly defeat hometown favorite Si-Hun Park in the light middleweight final, the world was stunned when the South Korean boxer was given the gold medal by a score of 3-2. As one boxing expert moaned: ‘Those blind bums would have given Custer a gold medal after the Little Big Horn.’ One judge immediately admitted the error of his ways, but later, after a serious discussion with his superiors, he recanted. In an attempt to cover up the blatant crime the Olympic officials exposed it further by awarding Jones the Val Barker Trophy, given to the Games outstanding boxer.”

The sport was already in disfavor when TV decided that the Olympics was more than sport so they went out of their way to show Olympic events as “family entertainment.” That welcomed in the era, which we’re still in, of water ballet, women gymnastics, synchronized swimming (singles and pairs) along with other feel good politically correct events that sell cosmetics.You can never have too much TV time devoted to pairs rhythm gymnastics, ballroom dancing or fencing, which one must watch while sipping a double coffee late’ mocha from a recyclable organic container in natural sunlight.

Amateur International Boxing Federation

To its credit, it appears that the AIBF is taking steps to improve its image by electing Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu as the new president. He replaces the 84-year old Anwar Chowdhry from Pakistan, of whom many ethical questions were asked.Those questions were not only about officials, but also finances.

Following an outside financial investigation, AIBF Turkish General secretary Caner Doganeli was suspended.

The AIBF ethics committee is looking into financial irregularities against both Doganeli and Chowdhry. The critics of “business as usual” involved in amateur boxing strongly supported and voted for Dr. Wu. Prior to the Olympics he received a letter, released to the public, from Dr. Jose Sulaiman, President of the WBC.

“I am suggesting to President Wu that he take a very important step in the history of amateur boxing, which is to warn the ring officials that will work in the coming Olympic Games to devote themselves absolutely to the principles of honesty, impartiality, competency, and loyalty to the AIBA institution, and that those who do not should be eliminated from the Olympic Games and never be appointed officially by the AIBA again,” said Sulaiman.

He continued, “I believe strongly in Dr. Wu’s honesty and integrity. I am confident that he will work very hard to erase the apparent corruption that has existed in the past with some of AIBA’s ring officials that (has) hurt many innocent boxers and nations who have deserved to win medals.”

Note to Dr. Sulaiman - Nations don’t win Olympics medals, athletes do. As Jeeves’ mother use to say, “People in glass houses should not run away nekked.”

2008 Thailand Olympic Boxing Team

Thailand has had some success in Olympic boxing, starting in 1996 when Somluck Kamsing became the Kingdom’s first Gold medal winner.

Many felt that he had a good chance to repeat the feat in Sydney in 2000 but by skipping training while working on his singing and acting career he eliminated his chances.

Manus Boonjumnong got the light-welterweight Gold in Athens by out-punching Cuba’s Yudel Johnson. He collected a $600,000 USD bonus from the Kingdom and then went goofy by acting like a farang on holiday. He spent the money on alcohol, gambling and one would expect an occasional “lady”. To turn things around and get away from the “Bangkok playboy lifestyle,” Manus spent time in Cuba and then became a monk to wean himself off the party life.

He’s back on the team as the leading candidate for the Gold. He turned up winning Gold at the 2006 Asia Games and the Southeast Asia games last year.Trying to head off a “train wreck” at this year’s Games, Thailand’s boxing chief Taweep Jantararoj three months ago deported the team to rural Vietnam to avoid “distractions” of the Thai nightlife. “I’m keeping them in Vietnam right up until the Games because I worry about what they will do at home,” said Jantararoj.

There will be eight Thai boxers at this year’s games with Taweep tipping seven to win medals. Two boxers, besides Manus, have good chances of winning. Flyweight veteran Somjit Jongjohor was the runner up last year at the world championships in Chicago and reigning bantamweight silver medallist Worapoj Petchkoom is back.Called the “best of the new bunch,” but a long-shot for a medal, is middleweight Angkarn Chomphuphuang whose stock shot up after the beat Kazakhstan star Bakhtiyar Artayev, the Olympic gold medalist from 2004, in the Kings Cup.

Former Olympians

2004 Olympic silver medallist, Amir Khan (18-0), has dipped into the North American pool of trainers as he replaces Dean Powell with Jorge Rubino. While his September 6 opponent is still a mystery, his trainer won’t be. Rubino’s most successful trainee to date is Yuriorkis Gamboa (11-0).

Regular readers of TSR will remember Gamboa as one of the Cuban boxers who defected in December of ’06 while the team was in Venezuela.

Venezuela wanted, and tried, to send Gamboa back to Cuba but the Germans stepped in to save the day. Gamboa fought in Bangkok in ’03 in the world amateur’s, losing to Somjit Jongjohor from Thailand after 2 earlier wins. One might think that maybe former world champion Jeff Lacy, 2000 USA Olympic team, has gone a little “loopy”.

After his “disputed" win over Epifanio Mendoza it was announced that Lacy would face former USA Olympic teammate Jermain Taylor on November 11.

Within days that announcement was met with a riposte from Lacy about retiring from boxing. “I feel like Taylor needs me more than I need him and what do I look like fighting that fight for $550,000 and risking my life in there like I did against Mendoza because the referee is not on top of this guy hitting me in the back of the head?”

Within moments Lacy’s attorney told the St. Pete Times, “I’m telling you, as Jeff’s attorney, a deal has been reached. It took a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of discussion, but we got it done.”

One of the first ‘eastern block’ fighters to gain world recognition was former champion Mate Parlov of Croatia, who died of lung cancer last week.

After winning the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics he went on to a successful pro career (24-3-2), which included the WBC world light-heavyweight championship. He won that title in January 1978 when he KO’d previously unbeaten Miguel Angel Cuello. He would defend against the UK’s John “Mr. Elbows” Conteh before losing the title to Marvin Johnson.

He fought some of the best, getting a draw and loss against Marvin Camel and Matthew Saad Muhammad respectively. He also had a win against Tony Mundine whose bum son, Anthony, got an easy win last week in Australia.

Three Dot Lounge …Ya all come on in

“How ya doing Mr. Dunahey. What’ll it be? The usual?”
“Sure Joe. Did you get a chance to watch the replay of the Margarito-Cotto fight?”

“Yea, was a hell of a scrap.”

“You know Joe, what helps make a great fight is sometimes the third man in the ring. In this fight Kenny Bayless did a hell of a job. He was in charge, stayed out of the fighters’ way and knew that people paid to see two gladiators and not some guy in a blue shirt and bow tie run off at the mouth.“A lot of folks that watched the fight, at least in the USA, thought that Cotto might have been winning. If you listen to Jim Lamply and ‘expert judge’ Harold Lederman you had Cotto winning: ‘Jim he’s landing the more effective punches.’ What a lot of bull stuff Joe.

“To hear Lamply, who was in his ‘don’t believe your lying eyes listen to me’ mode, it was Cotto’s match to lose. After 10 rounds the official judges had it scored 96-94 on two cards for Margarito, with one judge seeing it 95 all. TSR had it 96-94 for Margarito. Another Lamply mistake was when he said ‘three Nevada judges’. Judge Glen Hamada is from the state of Washington, which for Jim’s edification is not part of Nevada.

“Ok one for the road Joe. If I stay too long I’ll probably do something stupid like the California boxing officials who seem to have stayed on past ‘last call.’

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago The Square Ring took California boxing officials to task for their stupid decision in the James Toney-Hasim Rahman fight.

The Square Ring and boxing announcer par excellence, Barry Thompkins, were ‘befuddled’ by the official ruling of a TKO for Toney. Following the 3rd round Rahman said, ‘I can’t see.’ The doctor told the referee to stop the fight and he did.

Common sense and boxing rules called it a ‘No Contest.’ “After the fight was off television, the boxing officials of California decided that Toney was the winner because Rahman had indicated he couldn’t see before the cut was even examined, so a TKO was ruled. We suggested a ‘single Finger’ salute. Now following an appeal by Rahman the result is changed to ‘No Contest.’”

Here’s Jeeves…

If viewers can tear themselves away from the Olympics on Monday, from 7-9 pm, they’ll get a chance to watch WBC lady atomweight champion Vinyu ParadornGym (7-1) against Momo Koseki (5-1) from Japan. Vinyu won the crown when she defeated Momo last August in Thailand. The referee for that one was your Lordship’s cousin, Bruce MacTavish.

Also on the TV card is former WBA champ Wandee Singwancha (56-8-) taking on Takahisa Masuda (18-7-3). Wandee is 17-0-1 over his last 18.

He had a very tough patch in ’03 when he lost to world ranked Hussein Hussein, Peter Culshaw and Vic Darchinyan twice.

Your Lordship, as I get your attitude adjustment fluid, a cigar and some musical sounds, I have a question for you. You know that the biggest event in North American harness racing is the Hambletonian. It was run last Saturday.

Do you know the name of the winner?

O.K. I’ll give you a hint.

The horse was named after either a law firm in England or all the bar owners in Pattaya. Give up? The horses name is Deweycheatumnhowe.