Mark Kriegel On Mazatlan, Child Abuse & Gilberto Ramirez: Quote Spotlight

On last night's Top Rank card on ESPN, commentator Mark Kriegel did a somewhat awkward segment with Gilberto Ramirez where he made a human interest point of going through a list of Gilberto's childhood friends who've mostly been killed. Joe Tessitore complimented the segment and asked him a question for the audience's benefit. They had this exchange:


Joe Tessitore: What did his father give him as a present, when he turned fourteen?

Mark Kriegel: A loaded revolver. I guess by most standards that would constitutes a form of child abuse. In his neighborhood, in Mazatlan, it may indicate a concerned parent.

Joe Tessitore: Kill or be killed is the way he grew up and he has turned out to be a lovely guy, a gentleman, a sportsman, and now a world champion, and is providing for his family. 

Child abuse, he says. The NRA has yet to comment on this message.  


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Bob Arum On How Pacquiao & Mayweather Will Spend Their Giant Payday

In the lead-up to Mayweather VS Pacquiao, Bob Arum did an interview with ESPN's Joe Tessitore, on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, the 27th of February, 2015. He discussed the projected 300 million dollars the two superstars would share at a 60-40 split to Mayweather. This was Bob's musing about how each would spend their cut:

"Buys a lot, a lot of stuff. I mean, Floyd is-loves cars-will probably buy cars that satisfy every motor vehicle dealer in Las Vegas, and I know a great part of the money that Manny earns will go to support charities in the Philippines. Because, like I said, the Social Welfare System in the Philippines is called 'Manny Pacquiao'."


You know, Floyd does a little charity work too, Bob. Manny also has some very nice rides. I'm only saying! 


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Ahmed Elbiale VS Dustin Echard: A Mess of a Stoppage From Referee Bill Clancy

The Setup:

Two undefeated prospects with similarly and understandably soft opposition so far took to the stage as the opener for ESPN's Friday Night Fights. West Virginia's Dustin Craig Echard came in 10-0 with one No-Contest and all concentrated into West Virginia and the neighboring state Ohio. The hotter prospect, Ahmed Elbiale, from Egypt, having been on Friday Night Fights before and scoring a flashy KO at the time, came in 8-0 with all knockout victories. They meet just above the Light Heavyweight limit. It's technically at Cruiserweight but with a contracted catch-weight of 178 pounds. Echard reportedly had a little trouble making the weight and came in less than a pound over for this one and while Boxrec does not reflect it, he did hit the sauna and come in within the contracted limit, though Boxrec still currently lists the initial weigh-in. Echard contested his last couple fights at 10 and 14 pounds heavier than he was for tonight, and he looks to have a very top-heavy build. It might be significant. The bout is scheduled for six rounds and regardless of any issues with the weight, they both look in immaculate shape.

The Action:

With a likely-ill-fated nickname, Dustin "The Clean Coal Assassin" takes his first defeat via second-round TKO. He started well, and landed a handful of significant shots against Elbiale. The first round was highly competitive. It didn't begin with the appearance that they shouldn't be in the ring together. But Elbiale's killer instinct and power seem very considerable. It wasn't long before Elbiale put Echard down with a crushing overhand right to the jaw that initiated it and sent Echard sliding underneath the bottom rope and outside the ring.

This is where it gets dodgy. Echard looks confused and to be directed back into the ring by his corner, as Teddy Atlas points out. He doesn't look to have his feet or his wits. Upon replay, I think he seemed to think the fight was either over or they were on a break. Elbiale comes in with the anxiousness of a man who smells nothing but blood. He wades in behind a fury of punches and Echard is not able to defend himself. I think Echard even exclaimed "Hey!" as if to ask why he was getting attacked. Referee Bill Clancy steps in and I think it's over but then he lets it continue. I thought straight away that this would be a mistake. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas had talked about seeing Bill Clancy officiate several times before and how good of a referee he was. But this was, as I said, where it got dodgy.  He can't move anywhere and can only offer a rudimentary guard. He's close to helpless at this point.

Elbiale comes in again, just as furious, and after eating some more shots, Echard, if I'm not mistaken, actually shouted "What are you doing?" I could be wrong, but if he did, he seems completely confused and unable to even know why the fight is continuing at this point. It's like he thinks they're on a break and Elbiale is attacking him for no reason. As he tries to ask what's going on, as best as I can here, Elbiale's assault is finally ended by Bill Clancy and the fight is called. This was probably about three spots too late to stop it. I was very puzzled by Clancy letting it continue where he did. Ahmed Elbiale wins, and by very messy TKO2, over a brave but confused Dustin Echard.


What it means to me:

For Echard, little can be said. He got his shot, started well, then got blown out. For Elbiale, some of the punches he was caught with, even with his big finish, were a concern. But with such little fight against such an unknown name, little can be said for him either. Only that he's a fun fighter with power and a genuine killer instinct. We have to wait to know anything more than that. I look forward to his next appearance. This was a good choice by ESPN, if not so much by Referee Bill Clancy.



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Issouf Kinda VS Jeremy Bryan - Second Slagged Fight Of The Night

This is contested just breaking into the welterweight division, though they're both presumably light welterweights.They're only one pound over the light welterweight limit. Early in the fight it's obvious the skill level has had a big increase with these two by a significant margin from the opening match of newbies. There's a lot more veteran guile and authority on display from both fighters, though it quickly becomes evident that it's no more or less crowd-pleasing.

In round two, Kinda is warned for a low blow and Bryan takes a very short allowed break. There's a caution by the ref to watch their heads after a clash in round three. Teddy says Bryan was cut in a head clash two fights ago and that Kinda has both won and lost via technical decisions after head clashes stopped the fights early. Kinda is cut tonight after the head clash, it seems and the ref makes note to the commission that it wasn't via punch.

Joe Tessitore says there's a small cut above the left eye of Jeremy Bryan in the fourth round. Teddy narrates a replay of several head clashes and explains why their tendency to fall in with punches leads to it. Teddy says Bryan wants to be aggressive but he doesn't know how. It has been somewhat ugly. Mostly, I feel the fight reflects that these guys are on the same overall level. But I have no problem with the scores. Jeremy Bryan gets a close UD and it's clear it means a great deal to him. Congratulations to Bryan on the win. It was a tough night and it won't be nice to hear the commentary they received when they see it back, and they both got a little bit banged up and kept doing their best.

During the match Teddy Atlas makes a specific point of saying that the main event will be good in hopes that disgruntled fans will stay tuned. Not a good sign for these fighters. They're giving it their best. It's not a good clash of styles. They can only do what they can do. Joe Tessitore goes so far as to put down the co-feature as "under-delivering". That's too bad. Not really wrong but too bad. It seems like a big shame for the fact that all four fighters on the card so far seemed to have done the best with what they had. It's just one of those nights. But without better management and a bigger budget from ESPN, this is what we get. They just don't treat boxing with enough attention or financial support at ESPN. That's the bottom line there. There's a reason why we get this on ESPN2.

America treats boxing like number two, compared to the way it used to. Some say it's a result of all the talent from other countries taking away public interest in the money country. With Floyd Mayweather Junior, Andre Ward and Tim Bradley out there, I think that's pure bunk. It's promoted badly and regulated horribly. And treated like it's managed-just as badly. We can get better cards on ESPN(2), guys. Come on. Your own commentators know you're not getting the best, even by your own minor league standards. You don't have to be HBO or Showtime to do better than this. And you don't have to have super stars to pick more entertaining or higher level matches either.


Teddy Atlas' unofficial scorecard:

Total score: 77-75, for Bryan

Bryan Rounds: 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8
Kinda Rounds: 3, 5 &6




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Seahawks Dominate Boxing On ESPN: Referee Bobby Howard & Audience Have Their Priorities!

In an amusing aside to the boxing news this Friday night on ESPN, in Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, USA, the Seattle Seahawks were more on the minds of the crowd than the boxing! Former major world titlist Rico Ramos was fighting and the audience only had eyes for American football. The referee helped. Bobby Howard gave his pre-fight referee spiel with the added flare: "You talk about honour, fight that way. Shake 'em up and get it on. Go hawks." and a big cheer erupts from the audience. This amuses and animates Joe Tessitore. Teddy Atlas seems to write it off as an attention hound moment, unimpressed. The announcer behind Howard had a very large smile on his face. During the fight, the audience's enthusiasm did not die down as they chanted "Sea-hawks! Sea-hawks! Sea-hawks!" to the California native fighters in the ring.