New to Boxing Hall: Tyson, Chavez ... and Rocky?

Two of boxing's biggest stars of the 1990s are going into the Boxing Hall of Fame. It was no surprise that Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez, who combined for 157 wins, got the nod. Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champ while Chavez was a title winner in three divisions.

The day's shocker, though, was that the name Sylvester Stallone appeared alongside the boxing legends.

That's right, Stallone is going into the BHOF for his contributions to the sport through film. Stallone gained worldwide fame between 1976-2006, playing the fictional character "Rocky Balboa" in six movies.

[Photos: More of Stallone's greatest 'Rambo' moments]

Some critics like Larry Brown Sports are upset over Stallone's inclusion:

Stallone is an actor. He played a boxer in a fictitious movie. Sure, he played in a series of movies, and they were great, but none of it was actually real. It’s an insult to guys like Tyson, Chavez, and [Kostya] Tsyzu who all actually were beat up on the ring and administered beatings, that someone who did nothing gets in.

Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly's Jeff Labrecque called Stallone's Oscar-winning movie "Rocky" and the lead character "great ambassadors for the sport."

I have to ask, What took them so long? Rocky Balboa has been an American hero since he went the distance with Apollo Creed in 1976; he went on to win the Cold War in 1985 when he chopped down the big Russian, Ivan Drago. Do you really think the stogie-wielding Boxing Writers Association of America voters were on the fence about Stallone until the fifth Rocky sequel pushed him over the top?

Inductees were voted on by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

[Video: Stallone recruits athletes for movie roles]

Also going into the Hall, which is located in Canastota, N.Y., are Tszyu, trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Berastain and referee Joe Cortez.  

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Froch's girlfriend likes her men tall, wants the 'Midget King' KO'd

Let's pull for the little guy is taking on new meaning after Carl Froch's gal pal dumped all over Arthur Abraham. Rachael Cordingley, a British model and Froch's girlfriend, said she wants a knockout when then the two fighters meet in Helsinki on Saturday.

"Carl's always confident and he knows he can bring the WBA championship belt back to its rightful place," Cordingley said. "Abraham is only a midget — Carl's going to dethrone the Midget King!"

Froch is 6-foot-1. Apparently, the 5-10 Abraham is sort of stumpy. His girlfriend isn't the one stepping in with the guy who's scored 25 knockouts in 32 fights, so Froch is showing shorty a little more respect.

"Abraham and I are fighting for a world title and we both believe we're going to win," Froch said. "Nothing will be left outside the ring and everything will be thrown inside it. I've got to stick and move — keep out of his way and out-box him. But you know what I'm like, there will come a stage when I decide to have a good old scrap on the cobbles instead!"

Froch and Abraham have already secured their spots in the Super Six semifinals. The WBA 168-pound strap is the motivator along with a chance to avoid tourney favorite Andre Ward until the finals.

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Chris Arreola Talks About his First-Round KO

Filed under: WBC, Boxing Video, Boxing Rumors, FanHouse Exclusive

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola (30-2) of Riverside, Calif., came up with his second straight win and his 26th career knockout with Friday night's first-round stoppage of hard-hitting Joey Abell (27-5, 26 KOs) of Coon Rapids, Mich., at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.

Arreola's last loss was April's majority decision to former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiser weight (200 pounds) champion Tomasz Adamek (43-1, 28 knockouts).

Stopped, himself, by Vitali Klitschko (41-2, 38 KOs) during the 10th round of his failed bid to earn the WBC belt in September of 2009, Arreola was coming off of August's unanimous decision over Goossen Tutor Promotions' stablemate Manuel Quezada.

Abell's came into the fight riding a seven-fight winning streak, all of which were had come by knockout.

FanHouse spoke to Arreola concerning his victory.

 

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Catch-weight nonsense continues with Williams-Martinez fight

Two of the major 160-pound titles are up for grabs this weekend when Sergio Martinez defends against Paul Williams. There's one little hitch. Neither fighter will be allowed to actually weigh 160 when they step on the scale in Atlantic City today at 5 p.m. ET.

The same ridiculousness went down last week before Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito waged war for a 154-title. Margarito was not allowed to weigh above 150.

Are fighters legitimately winning titles in multiple weight classes when these stipulations are put on the title fights? It's a hot button issue for some fans around boxing, but Williams says it's bunch of bunk.

"All this talk about the catch-weight really doesn't matter," Williams said. "We wanted the catch-weight because I didn't want to bloat myself (by putting on too many pounds). But both of us will be weighing more than 160 on Saturday night, anyway. When we get into the ring, all that other stuff doesn't matter."

Williams didn't have to bloat himself at all. Why couldn't he just come in at 158 if he wants to and allow the middleweight champ to come in at the limit? Martinez isn't happy but without Williams there wasn't a major fight on the horizon.

"It's ridiculous," said Martinez. "I had to accept it for this one or otherwise there wouldn't have been a fight. But I don't believe in it."

Martinez wouldn't feel comfortable asking the champ for the special conditions.

"Personally, I'd be ashamed to ask for a catchweight. I would never do it. If you want to challenge someone for their title, be a man and fight at the right weight."

Whether you like it or not, two of the middleweight strap will be up for grabs in this 158-pound fight. We can do our own mini-protest by refusing to speak of the belt as anything significant. Can you really brag about winning titles in multiple weight classes and set records under these circumstances?

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Wladimir Klitschko sets Chisora date sparking row with David Haye camp

? Haye may never fight Klitschko, says manager Bernd Boente
? 'Wladimir didn't want this fight' says Haye's agent

David Haye may never fight Wladimir Klitschko after the Ukrainian's manager, Bernd Boente, claimed the WBA heavyweight champion is refusing to meet his client, who holds four versions of the title, on 2 July.

Haye and Klitschko were in negotiations to clash early in 2011 but the 34-year-old announced he will now fight Dereck Chisora on 30 April, a rearrangement of the match-up the Ukrainian pulled out of before Christmas due to a pulled stomach muscle.

While this caused Haye's manager, Adam Booth, to say "Wladimir should feel ashamed of himself", Boente claimed that negotiations had broken down due to a clash over television dates.

"[German TV] RTL and Sky could not find a date as Sky did not want a second pay-per-view date in April because they already have the Amir Khan fight then. Wladimir was not prepared to wait nine months [he last fought in September] until a fight in July so he [meets] Dereck Chisora. Our door is open for David Haye to fight Wladimir on 2 July. But from what I hear Adam Booth is not accepting that Wladimir will have a fight before then and so at the moment it will not happen."

While a Sky spokesman declined to comment and Booth could not be contacted, he did say earlier in the day: "There were lots of people that know Wladimir really didn't want this fight yet. It's a shame. It's embarrassing for boxing that the unification fight isn't going to happen now because David's bent over backwards. We've conceded to every single ridiculous demand they made.

"From the start they said 50-50. David said fine, even though potentially we're putting in the pot three or four times more than they're putting into the pot because of pay-per-view Sky Box Office. David still said: 'Let's get the fight done 50-50.'

"They said the fight had to be on their German broadcaster even though our German broadcaster was prepared to pay more. We said fine. They said: 'We're not coming to England for the fight.' David said: 'Fine, I'll go to Germany.' They said: 'Wladimir has to be in the red corner, Wladimir has to come in second, Wladimir's name has to be first on the poster,' and all these other ridiculous, egotistical things. And David said: 'Fine, have it, just get him in the ring with me.'

"The last thing was, here is the date we now have, we said yes, Sky have approved that date and they turn round and said: 'We're now doing Chisora.'"

Haye claimed last night that he will not now share a ring with either of the Klitschkos though given the confused history of his attempts to fight them it remains moot what will occur.

"If the fight doesn't happen now, it never will. I'm done with the Klitschkos. I know I can retire later this year with my head held high, knowing I did everything in my power to make these fights happen. I've had defining fights and beaten the best in the world as a cruiserweight but without me Wladimir can never say he's done the same as a heavyweight.

"He claims he'll fight both me and Chisora but it's nonsense. Are we expected to believe that a fighter who competed only once in the whole of 2009 and twice in 2010 is now going to box twice in a matter of nine weeks?"

• David Haye
• Wladimir Klitschko
• Boxing

Jamie Jackson

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Tim Bradley Wins 10-Round, Technical Decison Over Devon Alexander

Filed under: WBC, WBO, Boxing Rumors, HBO, FanHouse Exclusive

DETROIT -- WBO king, Tim Bradley, won an anti-climactic, 10-round technical decision over WBC champ, Devon Alexander, in Saturday night's HBO televised, junior welterweight (140 pounds) championship bout when referee Frank Garza, acting on the advice of ringside doctor, Peter Samet, stopped the fight as a result of Alexander's complaining that he could not see out of a bleeding right eye as the result of an accidental head butt.

Nevada's Duane Ford 97-93, Mexico's Omar Mintun 98-93, and Ohio's Tim Miller, 96-95, all for Bradley. FanHouse had it for Bradley, 98-93 in a bout that was contested at the Pontiac Silverdome, in Pontiac Mich.

The bout was stopped at 10:59 of the 10th.

"I ruled them as accidental head butts," said Garza. "The second one was a completely different head-butt than the previous one in the fight. I stopped the match after consultation with the ringside physician."

Alexander was initially butted and cut over his right eye in the third round, and bled from the cut throughout, even as the 27-year-old Bradley continued to pressure and land right hands to the heads and body that held his 23-year-old rival at bay.

 

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Boxing proves a hit for French sociologist

The experience of being a novice boxer in a gym in Chicago encouraged a French sociologist to punch out a book

Loic Wacquant, perhaps the only French sociologist who spent at least three years in the Woodlawn Gym in Chicago, Illinois, boxing with both amateurs and professionals, emerged from the experience strong, spry and of a mind to punch out some books and papers.

Wacquant is now a researcher at the Centre de Sociologie Europ�enne in Paris, and a professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley.

His book, Body Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer, published in 2003 by Oxford University Press, serves up more than 200 pages of detail. Wacquant writes that, prior to entering "a boxing gym in a neighbourhood of Chicago's black ghetto, I had never practised that sport or even considered trying it. I thus found myself in the situation of the perfect novice". That was in 1988.

Three to six sessions a week he trained ? shadowboxing, working the speed bag, sparring ? and eventually fought in a Golden Gloves tournament. "I even thought for a while of aborting my academic career to 'turn pro'," he writes, "and thereby remain with my friends from the gym and its coach, DeeDee Armour, who had become a second father for me."

The book grew in part from a paper Wacquant scribbled during his first summer there, "when getting my nose broken during a sparring session had forced me into a period of inactivity propicious to a reflexive return on my novitiate in progress".

We get analysis, but best of all we get a fist/hand account of the action: "Jabs from me, blocked by his fists, versus jabs from him, blocked by my nose. I'm better able to see his punches coming, but I still don't move fast enough. He lands another punch on my face, a right that makes my headgear turn sideways. DeeDee growls 'Move yo' head, Louie!' I'm trying!"

A second book, to be called The Passion of the Pugilist, will, Wacquant says, address "the dialectic of desire and domination in the social genesis of the boxer's vocation", "the work of the trainer as virile mothering", "confrontation in the ring as a homoerotic ritual of masculinisation", and other topics that did not fit or had not matured in time to go into Body Soul.

But one needn't entirely wait. Waquant has published monographs galore. The titles, like the text, are sweaty admixtures of sociologicalese and pulp non-fiction. Among his more hard-hitting papers one finds A Fleshpeddler at Work: Power, Pain, and Profit in the Prizefighting Economy and Pugs at Work: Bodily Capital and Bodily Labour Among Professional Boxers.

A paper called Whores, Slaves, And Stallions ? Languages Of Exploitation And Accommodation Among Prizefighters, in the journal Body and Society, hard-boils down to this:

"The boxer's experience of corporeal exploitation is expressed in three kindred idioms ... The first likens the fighter-manager combo to the prostitute-pimp duet; the second depicts the ring as a plantation and promoters as latter-day slave masters; the third intimates that boxers are used in the manner of livestock".

? Marc Abrahams is editor of the bimonthly Annals of Improbable Research and organiser of the Ig Nobel prize
? The original picture used to illustrate this article was removed on 12 January as it had been captioned wrongly and was not relevant.

• Sociology
• Boxing
• Higher education

Marc Abrahams

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