ALI KO’s MARTIN - WHAT A JOKE

By Blackbull
Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist

INSIDE BOXING (August 24, 2003) - Next up will be Roy Jones Jr. fighting Paul Spadafora, the men’s version of Laila Ali vs. Christy Martin.

What a pathetic boxing event they held Saturday night. Your everyday club fight makes a better show.

In the only decent fight of the evening, Anne Wolfe defeated Valerie Mahfood to even the score. Wolfe’s only loss came at the hands of Manfood.

The co-main event of the evening was even a bigger joke than the Ali – Martin fight.

Undefeated NABA welterweight champion Chris Smith was paired against Frankie Sanchez. Sanchez’ record, before the fight, stood at 13-6. In Sanchez’ previous fights he has lost to Joseph Brady, Francisco Bojado, Kermit Citron and to a 12-8-1 Norberto Bravo. Still, it took Smith 8 rounds to dispose of Sanchez.

Shame on you Christopher Smith… Stay away from the big boys in the welterweight division.

In the main event, Ali came out pounding the smaller Martin. Throwing out any idea of strategic boxing, her goal was obvious: beat the hell out of Martin. And when you think about it, it was the correct thing to do. Why give the smaller girl a chance to get into the fight?

After the first 15 seconds, Martin knew she had no chance of defeating the bigger and highly-talented Ali.

In the second round, Ali took away whatever heart Martin had left. The over-matched, undersized Martin could only succumb to the hard blows Ali was landing.

The fight was mercifully stopped in the fourth round when Martin failed to get up after being downed from an accumulation of punches.

Not only were the fights pathetic but so was the entire broadcast team from the commentators to the graphic engineers. Commentators talking about one thing while on-screen graphics displayed another. On one occasion, the on-screen graphics displayed Sanchez’ weight at 176 lbs.

It’ hard to believe Corona beer would sponsor such a disgraceful event. Next time you’re at the club or liquor store, buy Miller Lite or Bud Light, the guys who bring you real boxing.

The question is, how was a show this poor ever allowed to take place? Is the Mississippi Boxing Commission so incompetent that they allow boxing mismatches of this magnitude to take place? Was it not the commission that allowed Martin to weigh-in fully clothed in battle fatigues and coat?

And what’s with the North American Boxing Association (NABA) sanctioning a title fight with their champion Smith against a non-rated opponent? With names like Kermit Cintron, Teddy Reid, Jeff Resto and Ishe Smith in the top ten of their ratings, where the hell did they pull out Frankie Sanchez? The NABA is affiliated with the WBA and was it not the WBA who had rating issues in the past? I’m eager to see how they justified this contest.

If I remember correctly, was it not the Mississippi Boxing Commission that was reprimanded for paying officials and not reporting the pay? I’m eager to see how the governor of Mississippi justifies the authorization of this boxing event.

Now would be a good time to check officials' bank accounts.

It is this type of boxing event that adds fuel to the drive to establish a federal-run boxing commission.

Hey, Mississippi Commission, how about it? Roy Jones Jr. vs. Paul Spadafora in a catch weight contest. Spadafora can weigh-in wearing a combat uniform with combat boots and the weights won’t seem too far apart.

Close the door, let’s talk.