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“Zute” for Thought: Boxing Edition

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By Anthony “Zute” George

Alexander Povetkin’s knockout over Dillian Whyte provided boxing fans with a much-needed adrenaline shot. Indeed, the moment was stunningly epic. It shows what a fighter can do when given a chance to come back from failed drug tests. What is that you say, you were not aware of the fact that Povetkin has been popped multiple times for PEDs? Well, who can blame you? After all, when you hear boxing people speak about the Russian Vityaz, all they say is how talented he is. Hardly ever a spoken word about the failed tests. And I have never heard anyone refer to him as a cheat.

I wonder why?

What is the big difference between Povetkin and “Big Baby” Miller? Let’s see, does it rhyme with spite, and end with privilege? Leave race out of it, you say? Well, one of the tests Povetkin failed was when he was set to fight Deontay Wilder. When it happened, hardly a whisper was heard about how heinous an act AP committed. I know at least one boxing pundit who tried to dismiss Povetkin’s failed drug test as no big deal. Is it an accident that this same person has criticized Wilder virtually since day one? Us New Yorkers are smarter than that.
When Miller was popped recently, people went so far as to call him a criminal. The inconsistencies are appallingly sickening.

It is what I like to call false rage. It is easy to criticize “Big Baby” Miller, call an end to his career. But what measures are being taken to ensure universal, safe, drug testing in boxing? And what are those with the most significant mouthpieces saying about that?
I’ll wait.

It is like when everyone states that women still fighting two-minute rounds, for the most part, is a tremendous injustice. Yet, not taking on the WBC as one of the biggest obstacles for female boxers to compete in three-minute round fights. Why is everyone afraid of the WBC? Indeed, there are some critics, but not as loud as they should be, thus the silence on the female injustice. Also, typically the WBC’s criticism is impaled with negative comments about all the sanctioning bodies. From where I am sitting, the WBC has done way worse than good for boxing, yet they still are as powerful as ever.

False rage from the majority of boxing pundits is a big reason why the WBC keeps on trucking.

I do not want to be a complete Debbie Downer. There was some fantastic pugilism this weekend, and I would like to discuss it. But I refuse to be a Positive Patty when such inconsistencies run amok.

Speaking of female boxing, Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon indeed put on a great show for boxing fans. However, the wrong person won. If you felt that Katie Taylor won, you need to give that fight another look. Persoon made the fight and was hitting Taylor enough to win most of those rounds. She even got her jab going to some degree at a certain point in that fight. Rounds 1,2,3 and 9 are the only rounds you can possibly give to Taylor, with 3 being a round that can go either way. The rest of the fight was all Delfine.

Speaking of fantastic pugilism. Joe Smith, JR. and Eleider Alvarez was the best matchup on paper going into the weekend. Indeed, it delivered. You can cite a slight disappointment due to the fact that the fight was much more one-sided than fans would have liked. Still, when that happens, you just have to give credit to the dominant pugilist. In this case, Joe Smith, JR.. Although he dominated from the start of the fight, there was still a sense that Alvarez could land that game changer to turn things in his favor. It just never occurred.

Speaking of Joe Smith, JR., he has now handily beaten top fighters, Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez. So, I think it is time we stop referring to him as a ‘one-trick pony,’ it is clear that he has learned a few more tricks.

Speaking of progressing, how fun is it to watch Joey Spencer and Sebastian Fundora get moved along? Especially Fundora. He is something to behold. A 6’’6 junior middleweight who can deliver, short, crisp, punches on the inside. I will take more, please. Nathaniel Gallimore was an excellent step up for him, and he more or less made it look easy. By next fall, The Towering Inferno should be competing in championship fights. We will then find out how good he really can be. As far as Spencer goes, I need to see more. As of now, his level of competition is still on the lower tier, and he has not faced any punchers yet. The talent is there, yet, he is being moved along extremely slow.

Speaking of finding out how good a fighter can really be, is the Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez fight set? People all over social media are certainly talking as if that fight is set for October; however, I have not seen an official announcement from any news outlet that I would trust 100 percent. There is no official word on Top Rank Boxing’s website, either.

Speaking of trusting 100 percent, Teofimo Lopez did make a statement that Lomachenko giving up a good chunk of his purse to make the fight happen is indeed false. This whole melodrama of making this fight happen reminds me of the In the Air Tonight scenario. What is that you say, what is the In the Air Tonight scenario? Well, hopefully, you have heard of the Phil Collins song In the Air Tonight. However, you might not be aware of the drama attached to the song.

It goes like this. At the time, Phil Collins was part of the group Genesis. Phil was not an original member of the group and was low on the totem pole in terms of making decisions for the group. Including which of his songs went on the album. Indeed, Phil sang lead vocals on all the songs at that time, but he did not write them all. The process went as such. Phil would play a demo of a bunch of his songs for Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, the two elder statesmen of the group, and they would pick which of Phil’s songs would go on the album.

Circa 1981, Phil Collins insists that they passed on In The Air Tonight, so he used it for his first solo album, Face Value. Not only did that song carry the album, but it also became one of the epic songs of the eighties. Now, Tony Banks insists that Phil never played the song for them because he withheld it for his solo debut. Collins says that is not true. Mike Rutherford, who never appeared to be as bossy and controlling as Tony Banks, claims he does not remember either way.

Why am I telling you about this is a boxing article? Well, it kind of reminds me of what is going on with the Lomachenko/Lopez negotiations. It also shows how complicated simple things can be when human beings are involved. It should be straightforward, either Phil played In the Air Tonight for Genesis or he did not. Still, unless someone’s story changes, we will never know the truth.

I know for sure that if Vasyl and Teofimo do fight in October, it will take a herculean effort from the winner.

I would like for the fight to be set in stone before I go any further about it.

Stay tuned…

Anthony “Zute” George is the Author of Tough Man: The Greg Haugen Story, a new boxing book that covers the skilled champion from Auburn, Washington, as well as the scope of the times during his days of pugilism.

Purchase your copy from Amazon.

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