PAUL “THE HOMETOWN KID” SPADAFORA

By Stephen S. Johnson


INSIDE BOXING (March 17, 2003) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has once again proven to be a safe haven for hometown hero Paul Spadafora (36-0-1, 14 KO’s).

Leonard Dorin (21-0-1, 7 KO’s) of Romania learned that there is no such thing as a victory over Paul Spadafora when he is in the friendly confines of Pittsburgh.

The final scorecards read: 115-113 Dorin, 115-114 Spadafora and 114-114 making the fight a draw.

Isn’t this only supposed to happen in a DON KING PRODUCTION? Did DON KING PROMOTIONS have anything to do with this fight?

The official INSIDE BOXING scorecard had the fight a convincing unanimous decision 116-113 in favor of the Romanian, Leonard Dorin.

The former “Pittsburgh Kid” made matters worse in a post-fight interview where he seemed upset at the judges’ decision declaring the fight a draw.

COMPU-BOX punch stats had Spadafora out-slugged in both number of punches thrown and number of punches landed.

The ever-present resident cheerleading HBO analyst Larry Merchant, in his infinite wisdom, scored the fight a draw.

Larry Merchant should consider retiring from being a boxing analyst. He has become a source of embarrassment not only for himself, but for HBO as well.

The fully supportive Pittsburgh fans were seen exiting the arena in droves with some 30 seconds left in round 12.

Hearing the ring announcer declare their hometown hero victorious either by decision or KO is what they live for! Their early exit clearly showed their own sense of reality.

They seemed more in touch with that reality than did either Paul Spadafora or his buddy, Larry Merchant.

“When I lose it’s bad for boxing” is what Oscar de la Hoya said following his defeat at the hands of Felix “Titio” Trinidad.

This is what I was expecting Paul Spadafora to give as HIS initial reaction to the decision. Instead, we were forced to listen to this pitiful banter between Merchant and Spadafora:

“Who do you think won, Larry?” asked Spadafora.
“I had the fight scored a draw, Paul” soothed Merchant.

The only thing these two didn’t do (on camera) was KISS!

The love affair the city of Pittsburgh has with Paul Spadafora is a beautiful thing. Every city in America, and around the world, has their “favorite son”.

But for the fight fan who appreciates the endless hours of hard work and sacrifice that EVERY professional boxer puts into his craft…decisions such as we had tonight are hard to understand.

Leonard Dorin worked very hard in preparation for this fight. He was visibly in tremendous shape for what was the biggest opportunity of his life.

Paul Spadafora claimed to be just as prepared for this fight.

What was obvious was that Spadafora was out-punched and out-worked for 9 rounds of a 12 round Lightweight Championship of the World title match.

Spadafora immediately started the “let’s do it again” talk.

He was quick to say he was so upset at the decision…he was unsure of just what he was saying in the post-fight interview!

Oh, he knew EXACTLY what he was saying! Paul Spadafora has clearly become so accustomed to winning in Pittsburgh the idea of anything but victory there…is devastating! That’s what a step up in competition usually does.

Since this first fight was held in Spadafora’s hometown, should they “do it again”, the only FAIR thing would be for the re-match to be held in Dorin’s hometown.

Am I too far off base in this assessment?

Could there be any hesitancy on the part of the Spadafora camp to see this as the “right thing to do”?

You can bet the Spadafora people will NEVER agree to go fight Leonard Dorin in Romania!

We ALL know Paul Spadafora has no interest in leaving that comfort zone known as Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to fight.

That is no longer a dirty little secret.

The Leonard Dorin camp would serve itself well by telling the Spadafora camp to “take a hike, you need us we don’t need you!”

They DON’T need Paul Spadafora. Truth be known, Paul Spadafora now NEEDS Leonard Dorin!

TRUE champions take their show on the road when fighting other champions. It’s a badge of honor.

Leonard Dorin has shown he fits in the category of TRUE CHAMPION.

Can Paul Spadafora do the same and step up to the plate?

Will Paul Spadafora make his anticipated jump to the 140 pound division? Life there gets no easier.

There will be the usual hand picked “tomato cans” that are in every division, but like tonight there are even MORE fighters in the 140 pound division who are unafraid to “take their show on the road”.

That is the position Paul Spadafora is now in.

Going either to Las Vegas or Romania are the only two choices Paul Spadafora has in a rematch with Leonard Dorin.

His real problem is that whenever he pays and he’s gonna’ pay…it’s gonna’ HURT!

BAAAAD!

Never again will Paul Spadafora be referred to as “The Pittsburgh Kid”. Although that name is correct in the sense that he ONLY fights in Pittsburgh. That moniker reflects that he can ONLY win in Pittsburgh.

He now MUST be referred to as “The Hometown Kid”.

36 wins, 1 loss and 14 KO’s is my official record for Paul Spadafora.

22 wins, 0 losses and 7 KO’s is my official record for Leonard Dorin.

These records will stand until Paul Spadafora fights Leonard Dorin in either a neutral place (Las Vegas) or Romania.

That’s my own version of a HOMETOWN DECISION.