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BY MICHAEL KATZ - Okay, Kelly Pavlik is good for boxing, MAYBE, if Bob Arum lets him; rematches like Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera II are not, especially when falsely entitled "Will to Win," and Samuel Peter is barely the savior of Samuel Peter, certainly not of the heavyweight division.
At least the game has more fronts than a Ken Burns documentary. Just when I'm thinking the Chicken is no hen, friends are telling me not to be so sure that those pictures weren't real, that the reason Oscar de la Hoya bought Ring magazine was he feared he would become a centerfold or that his big fight next year will be against Laila Ali. These are the things we talk about while awaiting the main event, but one of the great things about boxing is that hotter rumors are always closer than your next paycheck.
Sometimes, the rumors are true.
For example, as those gathered at Mandalay Bay patiently awaited the end of the interminable semifinal to Pacquiao-Barrera II - well, Bert Sugar was not so patient, asking "where is Dr. Kavorkian when you need him" - the word went around that, in New York, Jameel McCline had dropped Samuel Peter three times in the first two rounds.
"Did Peter win?" I asked. "Did McCline pass the steroids test?"
The fight was still going on, but at least instead of having to watch Steven Luevano make a Herculean task of Antonio Davis, we could close our eyes and imagine the look on Dino Duva's face (later, when I got home to watch the Showtime telecast, I was pleased to see that he kept his cool, at least on the outside). Or, we could imagine the look on Oleg Maskaev's face. Or Dennis Rappaport's. [details]
At least the game has more fronts than a Ken Burns documentary. Just when I'm thinking the Chicken is no hen, friends are telling me not to be so sure that those pictures weren't real, that the reason Oscar de la Hoya bought Ring magazine was he feared he would become a centerfold or that his big fight next year will be against Laila Ali. These are the things we talk about while awaiting the main event, but one of the great things about boxing is that hotter rumors are always closer than your next paycheck.
Sometimes, the rumors are true.
For example, as those gathered at Mandalay Bay patiently awaited the end of the interminable semifinal to Pacquiao-Barrera II - well, Bert Sugar was not so patient, asking "where is Dr. Kavorkian when you need him" - the word went around that, in New York, Jameel McCline had dropped Samuel Peter three times in the first two rounds.
"Did Peter win?" I asked. "Did McCline pass the steroids test?"
The fight was still going on, but at least instead of having to watch Steven Luevano make a Herculean task of Antonio Davis, we could close our eyes and imagine the look on Dino Duva's face (later, when I got home to watch the Showtime telecast, I was pleased to see that he kept his cool, at least on the outside). Or, we could imagine the look on Oleg Maskaev's face. Or Dennis Rappaport's. [details]
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