The Greatest Knockout Artist
of All Time: ALCOHOL
Part II
Therefore, I respectfully hold back my opinion about Pryor’s record. Remember, Arguello went downhill fast after Pryor was so invigorated in the 14th by the black Pandora’s Box. Remember too that Pryor hit the skids with drugs and let his life go to hell before demonstrating positive championship spirit by kicking the habit and becoming an ordained preacher in Cincinnati. Once broke and destitute Pryor is now on a mission to try and save other addicts. He is also a boxing trainer for Golden Gloves amateurs and some professionals. His sons, Aaron Pryor Jr. and Stephan Pryor, have taken up boxing too. Let us hope that they will never fall prey to drugs or the likes of Jose Cuervo.
In case you missed it, three-time world champion in three different weight divisions, Alexis Arguello, has become highly successful in his home town of Managua, Nicaragua. After boxing, he fought with the Sandanista’s for a time. Then he returned to his home, entered politics and last November 2008, he was elected mayor of Managua. In case you didn’t know, the Miami Boxing Commission didn’t require a standard urinalysis test the night Arguello and Pryor fought. In case you’re curious, Arguello and Pryor are now good friends and occasionally see each other. In case you want to know, Rocky Galarza and I trained local karate expert Rick Reyna for a full contact fight against a top level opponent. Rick lost a close and disputed decision. He also had lumps on his cheeks even though he was a defensive master. I took notice of the cornermen taking off the gloves after the verdict and realized that the handwraps of Rick’s opponent were around striking gloves, striking gloves with a metal grip bar. I shot across the ring but the handlers hustled the fighter outside the ring and sprinted to the dressing room. I chased them but was locked out. I returned too the ring and I surely believed the referee had seen the bag gloves as I did and so asked for a change in the fight outcome as well as an investigation. You know what? Nothing was ever done about the deadly situation. Nothing!!! What with so many cheats looking for an edge and the age of steroids entering boxing some fifteen years ago, I stopped training fighters and mostly trained all comers for life long skills and fitness. I have trained MMA fighters but only for balance, striking and combinations.
Now I give you former world champion Roy Jones not as an alcoholic or drug addict but as a true role model who according to reports, never messes with alcohol or drugs. A world champion many times over, Jones has lasted so long in the fight game because he takes care of his body. On a given day Roy eats fruit for breakfast, chicken salad, vegetables and pasta for lunch, and a protein dinner of more chicken or light meat. When he trains, he goes four minute rounds on every routine after several rounds of stretching and warming up. His routine includes punching mitts, heavy bags, sparring and sixteen minutes each on a speedbag and floor to ceiling ball plus over a thousand reps on his abs. Next, he does sixteen to twenty minutes of skipping rope. Fighting or not, Roy would run five miles in the morning and then do over a hundred squats. Only once did he use weights for his upper body and that was for a heavyweight fight against John Ruiz. He was so stiff that he made a promise to himself to never ever use weights for his upper body again. Like him or not, Roy Jones is a true hero and role model in the fight game. I wish I could say the same for some of the boxers we worship but who have ruined their lives through drug and alcohol abuse. Uh Oh, I almost forgot, Roy did once test positive for steroids and was associated with Balco. Damn it nobody’s perfect. I’ll do the steroid story later.
I didn’t save the best for last but the last may be the best of the drinkers to think he can whip the brew. The British Boxing champion, Ricky Hatton, is preparing to square – off May 2, 2009, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against the pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines. Pacquaio has been moving up in weight while the championship is at Hatton’s best fighting weight, Light welter. Trainer Freddie Roach already feels Pacquaio has won the fight with his conditioning and preparation. Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. has doubts about Hatton, who between fights, bloats up with beer, sometime’s gaining thirty pounds over fighting weight. Hatton blows off the criticism by stupidly stating that his lifestyle is responsible for his success. He is a bigger man than Pacquiao and has never lost at light welterweight. Change happens though and most of us remember that Juan Lazcano, without a fight in a year’s time, nearly defeated Hatton in England last year. Many fans believe that the referee stole the fight from Lazcano who had Hatton hurt in the 11th round and ready to fall.
Anyway, time will tell and time will definitely tell on Hatton if he is foolish enough to believe he can whip alcohol. He has only gone a few rounds with the C2H5OH to date. Like those who have gone before with this errant thinking, Hatton will succumb to the spirits. Why? Because Jose Cuervo told me so (laughing). Seneca says it better, “Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.”
Authors note: The Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico requires agave farmers to register their planting, and the tequila industry monitors crops with satellite photography. Because of those strict rules, 65 brands falsely claiming to be tequila made from agave in 2006 were prohibited by the federal consumer bureau from being sold. The major crops of 100% Blue Agave Tequila are found in the state of Jalisco. Other states producing tequila are Michoacan, Guanajuato, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. The total number of plants produced in 2006 was 415,735,180. That means a major distribution on the Mexican streets and exported to the United States will negatively affect more millions than the positive gained for the poor Mexican farmer. Jose Cuervo is no friend of mine.
***A few notes form the WHO (World Health Organization):
1. Excessive drinking has been linked to gastrointestinal diseases, increased risks of cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure and heart disease.
2. Alcohol abuse is a major cause of automobile accidents and deaths.
3. There are 2,000,000 alcohol related deaths a year on earth (Ouch).
4. There is a strong link between alcoholic abuse and aggressive behavior.
5. All psychiatric literature points to alcohol as a major factor in all types of violence.
6. Alcohol use and abuse are major challenges to global health.
7. In Latin American countries alcohol abuse is severe. In Mexico,
44% of women 15 and older and living with a drinking partner
were victims of sexual, physical, psychological or economic
violence for the year 2003.
8. GDP loss due to alcoholism in countries ranges from 1.4% to 2%.
9. A 10% increase in the beer tax in the United States reduced severe parental violence by estimates of 2.3 percentage points (Markowitz).
Sources
http://www.boxrec.com
http://www.Hawktime.com
http://www.who.int
http://www.retiredboxers.com
http://www.wilipedia.org
http://www.ibhof.com/gomez.htm
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=18397
http://www.articles.latimes.com/2201/oct/14/entertainment/ca-56999?
http://www.cowboylyrics.com
http://www/eastsideboxing.com
Arnold. Peter. History Of Boxing. London: Deans International Publishing Company, 1985.
“The Book Of Boxing.” Edited by W.C. Heinz And Nathan Ward. New York:Bishop Books Inc., 1999.
USDA. Foreign Agricultural Service. “Tequila Production Tequila and Tequilla100%.” Gain Report – MX8301. Jan – May 2006 – 2007.
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