Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Galaxxy Warrior in the Studdio

This week, the Galaxxy Warrior, lightweight champ Nate Campbell will be in the studio as a special co-host. Also on the show is Jr. Flyweight champ Ivan Calderon.

Glad to be back.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Firsts

Tonight, I'm taking my 7 year old son to the fights for the first time. He has never shown an interest in boxing, despite the fact that he knows about my radio show and ring announcing. Then out of the blue, two weeks ago, he asked if he could come with me to a boxing event.

Warriors was gracious enough to grant him a press credential. That alone should make him feel special. As Wayne and Garth showed, there's nothing like having a laniard around your neck that allows you to get into restricted places. Usually, at the Hard Rock there are lots of well known boxers. On a given night you might see Shannon Briggs, Jameel McCline, Glen Johnson, Ricardo Mayorga, Kassim Ouma, Edison Miranda, Juan Urango, etc. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to talk to some of these guys and have pictures taken with my son.

I remember going to my first ball game with my dad like it was yesterday. It was against the Baltimore Orioles. I was 8 years old. Grant Jackson threw me a baseball and Dick Tidrow signed it.

I can't tell how excited he is about tonight. He is a pretty mellow kid. But I can't remember the last time I was this amped about going to a show. I'm sure he'll be blown away by the experience and it will create memories for both of us that will last a lifetime.

FYI -- no show for the next two weeks. After getting home around midnight tomorrow, I'll be on my way to the airport by about 4:30 to catch my flight to Fresno to cage announce ShoXC Friday night. I'm off the following week as well. It's a good opportunity to recharge the batteries.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

What's the Score?

If you've been listening to the show over the past month or so, you know that I've been eagerly anticipating the Olympics. After watching a few bouts, I came to the conclusion that my memory must be going, beacause I forgot how assinine Olympic scoring is.

It appears Olympic judges wouldn't know an effective jab if Larry Holmes planted one on their kisser. I don't think I've seen one jab scored a point, despite plenty landing cleanly. Same can be said for body shots.

In one fight, a boxer got knocked down and the judges didn't give him a point.

I've seen boxers' heads turned around from hard rights to the jaw, with no movement on the scoreboard. Why is Olympic boxing relegated to CNBC at 3:30 a.m.? The scoring is absolutely one of the reasons people are not interested. Even my mother can watch a fight and discern what is a clean and effective blow. When they don't get scored as points, fans lose interest, believing they either don't understand it, or it is rigged.

The current system does nothing to eliminate biases. They need to change the scoring system, if they want to grow interest in Olympic boxing.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Head in the Clouds

This week, we've got undefeated light heavy contender Tavoris Cloud, who fights Julio Gonzalez in the main event on Friday night Fights this week.

And on the even of the Olympics opening ceremony we'll talk with former heavyweight contender and 1972 Olympic team member Duane Bobick. Though he beat Teofilio Stevenson a year earlier, Bobick lost to the Cuban great in the Olympic games.

I'll also have lots to say about the Judah - Clottey fight. I've got a strong point of view on the bout and one that I haven't heard anyone else discuss.