In between his attendance at Las Vegas Bowl and other well known establishments in The Entertainment Capital of the World our intrepid sports newscaster Howie Reed has penned his latest epistle on the World of Boxing, entitled The Square Ring. In customary manner Howie socks it to the referees (and others, especially Bob Arum)...and lays it on the line as he calls the next big boxing extravaganza, a Khan vs Mayweather clash in Vegas next May....will it happen ? ...check it out.....read on.... THE SQUARE RING Dec. 23, 2014 By James Wellington Jeeves III VISIT keepboxing & Phuket Brookies Sports Bureau , Thailand...... Those who thought that Ebenezer Scrooge, the focal character in Charles Dickens 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, was dead are in for a surprise. He’s alive and well operating under the name The Lord of the Manor. Just a week ago the Master informed us, the Serfs that do his bidding, that we were done for the year. “That’s it for 2014. See you all next year. Spend the holidays with your family and loved ones. Have a Merry Christmas.” We should have realized that he wasn’t serious as the usual lump of coal was missing from our stockings that were hung by the chimney with care. Just days later he “extended and revised his remarks” ordering us back to the office. Why? Big week in boxing. First the Lord of the Manor had to cancel a brief, 5 minute, talk to the WBC referees seminar meeting in Las Vegas. A scheduling conflict had arisen. The rumor was he couldn’t miss Popeye’s Tuesday $1.27 special and a trip to visit with his pal Frances. That rumor is as phony as the scorecards at the Saturday fight card on HBO. He was to address the annual referee’s seminar on “what the media expects of boxing referees?” The answer is simple - as the media expects boxing referees to be just like them... PERFECT. Boxing referees have the most difficult officiating job in all of sports. The media want referees to have done their homework and know the tendencies of the boxers. This applies to main event refs - as 4- and 6-rounders are for a ref “learning grounds.” Like the big name comedians that hone their craft at local comedy clubs 4- and 6-rounders are training grounds not only for boxers but officials of all stripes. The referee must know the rules, apply them even handedly, always be in position to make the right call and to take charge without seemingly taking charge. With the exception of Jim Lampley the media doesn’t like “showboating.” Lampley recently observed, “He’s a good referee, knows the rules, takes charge and is fun to watch.” No one ever bought a ticket to watch a referee. In short, referees are right more often than media types. Media types should every day thank Promoter Bob Arum for being Bob Arum. He’s the gift that just keep giving. He’s entertaining, outspoken and never shy about voicing an opinion. By far his most famous statement was, “Yesterday I was lying; today I’m telling the truth.” Last Saturday, there were two major televised fight cards taking place - with one on HBO and one on Showtime. The Lord of the Manor is dining on “crow, fava beans and a nice Chianti” after forcing us to write, “Both cards completely non-competitive if you use Las Vegas odd makers as a source.” The Manor Lord has “Eat a Crow” on speed dial. “Non-competitive” maybe but both cards were entertaining. Arum after the fact questioned whether Nevada had enough officials for two major cards at the same time and day. The referring was terrific with only Jack Reiss brought in from California, and he was terrific. The judging? Keep reading... Amir Khan was perfect, almost, in pitching a near shutout against Devon Alexander (26-2) 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110. He put on a display of boxing that has boxing fans in the “Motha Country” dropping their fish and chips - with mushy peas - in their pints of lager to applaud. He had a game plan and executed it to perfection. This performance may just have cemented Khans constant everlasting whining that “I deserve a Mayweather fight.” Khan is right. He was so impressive that the Manor Lord not only jumped on the “Khan Bandwagon” but predicted that the fight will take place May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This did not sit well with Bob Arum. He had announced, along with Oscar de la Hoya, that Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto would fight May 2 in New York. Most know that in 2015, May 2 is close enough to Cinco de Mayo for PPV. Arum implied “that date is taken with Alvarez-Cotto. It would be disrespectful for Mayweather to fight on that date.” Like that enters in as Mayweather and Showtime would love nothing more than to stick it to Arum and HBO. Maybe not. For Khan-Mayweather, the card would have to start the PPV at noon Las Vegas time. That would open up a gigantic PPV in England with the main event at 2:00 pm, which is Saturday night at 10:00 pm in England. Besides almost Cinco de Mayo, it’s also Kentucky Derby Day in Vegas, so a sellout is assured. Price the PPV at $50 and you’d have a blockbuster show. At the MGM and Showtime Abner Mares (28-1-1) was spectacular in halting outgunned Jose Ramirez (25-5) in five. Mares dropped Ramirez three times which could have been four except referee Jack Reiss made the “wrong call that was right.” Ramirez knee briefly touched the canvas with Reiss on the side away from the touch. At first, Mares called it a knockdown starting the count behind his back. But within seconds he realized “he didn’t actually see the knee touch” so waved the knockdown off. Brilliant call as a referee guessing is a “cardinal sin.” There’s often little humor in boxing. It’s a brutal war disguised as a sport. The HBO show from the Cosmopolitan had lots of humor although for boxers “not so funny.” The Top Rank promotion was to be a showcase for “prospect” Jose Benavides, Jr. and the reemergence of Timothy Bradley. Benavidez was in against Mauricio Herrera, who many feel got “hosed” when he fought Danny Garcia back in March. For those folks, he got “hosed” again. Benavidez spent most of the fight covering up while leaning back on the ropes as Herrera threw punches in bunches. At the end of 12, before the official scores were announced, Harold Lederman did his evaluation of the judges. He gave them all high marks adding, “he’s by far the best judge in Nevada.” Lederman had Herrera winning easily. The judges? No way. The scores were 116-112 twice and the best judge in Nevada had it 117-111 for “prospect” Benavidez. Nothing from good guy Harold Lederman but both Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman let it fly. “Funny but promoted prospect fighters always seems to get favorable treatment from the judges.” It got better from an entertainment standpoint. Some may remember Diego Chaves who got DQ’d in his last outing against Brandon Rios, as he should have been. Evidently he got the memo. The were some clashes of heads but “unintentional,” if there is such a thing in boxing. Chaves fought well against Timothy Bradley even though most ringsiders gave the nod to Bradley. Those ringsiders included HBO’s unofficial official scorer Harold Lederman who had it 116-112 for Bradley. As is usual Lederman gave his rundown on the judges ending with “Julie Lederman - his daughter - is the best judge in the Lederman household.” The fight ended in a draw with Ms. Lederman scoring it 116-112 for Chavez. Dad said nothing but Bob Arum had plenty to say... “This was as bad as the decision in the first Pacquiao-Bradley fight. Julie Lederman should never be allowed to judge a fight here again. Her scorecard was a disgrace. The real problem is the disparity in the scoring. It makes all of us look insane.” There were those that stood by the “horse feathers” scoring. Graham Houston is a well-respected boxing journalist. He defended the scoring saying that too many fans just listen to the TV commentators. It would be hard to argue with him. He also defends Ms. Lederman’s scorecard... “Julie Lederman’s score of 116-112 in favour of Chaves surprised me, but Lederman was in agreement with at least one of the other two judges in every round, so from a judging-seminar perspective Lederman’s score would have been 100 percent.” Except this wasn’t a judging-seminar. It was a real life boxing match where Mr. Bradley got hosed. Mr. Bennett, Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, agrees with Mr. Houston even though he didn’t see the fight live. In the Lord of the Manor’s prepared remarks to the referee’s seminar he did want to point out that referee Jay Nady of Nevada violated the cardinal rule of referees. Before a gigantic TV audience and a sold out venue he appeared in the ring with a crooked bow tie. Merry Christmas to all and thanks for your input during the year. The best way to celebrate? Light up a cigar and pop a Corona because Cheewit dee Khrup.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 03:40:20 +0000
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