Sunday, March 22, 2009

Missed it by That Much

No live show this week. Sports Byline will run a "Best of..." show in its place. I'll be back live the following week.

Now, two quick stories.

Thursday, Jimmy Lennon, Jr. called me and asked me if Roy Jones' people had called me. I told him they hadn't. "That's strange, he said, I told them to call you." Jimmy was sick and didn't think he could do the show. He said he'd talk to Square Ring and they would call me shortly.

I stared at the phone for 2 hours before it finally rang. It was Jimmy. "I'm feeling better," he said. "I think I'm going to do the show."

I've never been so disappointed to NOT be in Pensacola.

My 7 year old has career day coming up at school. I asked him if I should come in and talk about being on the radio and TV. My son rejected my offer. I asked him why. "I don't think the kids will think it's very interesting," he answered. "Would it be more interesting if I worked in a bank?" I replied. After a minute of thinking, "Yeah, probably."

The glamorous life continues...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

El Gato in the Casa

We're in for a treat this week. Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa will be in studio with me. Gato faces Randall Bailey in a WBC junior welterweight title eliminator on April 3 on Friday Night Fights.

El Gato is 20-2 (13). He is very entertaining to watch and even more fun to listen to. We're working on trying to get Timothy Bradley as well, but don't have him confirmed.

By the way, I received some emails asking whether last week's explosion in the studio while I was on the air was real. It absolutely was. The computer that sits right at my feet literally blew up. Acrid smoke was pouring out of it. Luckily, there was no fire, which I didn't know until my board operator Colin came in and confirmed my very life wasn't in immediate danger. Though breathing in that smoke for the next 45 minutes couldn't have been good for me.

But they don't call me "The Weekend Warrior" for nothing. I toughed it out through stinging eyes and burning lungs in order to deliver the best boxing show on the air.

Hopefully this week, we'll be explosion free.

Talk to you tomorrow night.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sweet!

This week, "Sugar" Shane Mosley returns to Through the Ropes. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say about the Margarito fight. Practically no one (other than yours truly) thought he could win. I also can't wait to ask him about his thoughts on Margarito's hand wraps. Should be a classic interview.

Also joining us is Showtime's Steve Farhood. Steve will call the Bute - Zuniga fight on ShoBox. Bute doesn't get a lot of press in the U.S., but he's an exciting fighter who has a lot of potential. Zuniga has heavy hands and we know how Bute's last bout ended. I know where I'll be Friday night at 11:00.

Talk to you Thursday night.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Fan Favorites

This week we've got two fan favorites.

The Pocket Rocket Wayne McCullough is making a comeback attempt next week. His last outing did not go well as he was forced to quit on his stool. Find out why he'll be back in the ring again.

Also, power punching James Kirkland is always in exciting fights. He's not afraid to take a punch and lord knows he can deliver one. Hear what he has to say about his upcoming match with Joel Julio.

By the way, I'm hearing that Wlad Klitschko - Chris Arreola will not happen and that instead Arreola will face Jameel McCline. Big Time is one of hte biggest underachievers in the sport. He should have been heavyweight champ several times already. Don't take him lightly. If he's in shape and focused he is very capable of the upset.

I train at the same gym so I'll let you know just how focused he is.