Dougie’s Monday Mailbag

May

by The Ring |

POOR KERMIT

He won the rounds, he wanted to fight, and he got jobbed.

Thanks, boxing. We should have expected it. — JRT

I sure as hell didn’t see that coming.

I don’t want to say Cintron was “jobbed,” which suggests that the official judges mis-scored the fight — I thought each of the three completed rounds could have gone either way and I don’t think half a minute of the fourth was enough time to score that round at all — but I agree that he was an unfortunate victim of California rules, as were the fans in attendance and watching on TV.

Hey, we wanted to see a fight. Cintron wanted to continue, but in California the ringside physician has the authority to unilaterally end any fight he sees fit. It’s hard to argue with Dr. Paul Wallace because he’s only looking out for the health and safety of the fallen fighter and Cintron struck the ringside table and the ground right in front of him. However, the way the fight ended sucked for Cintron, Williams and the fans.

The fact that the abbreviated fight went to the scorecards is where you can say Cintron was “jobbed.” I think a 12-round bout between two former titleholders should be governed by the Association of Boxing Commission’s unified rules.

The unified rules of boxing were created to bring uniformity to title bouts that take place in the U.S. By the late 1980s there were four “major” sanctioning organization and each had its own quirky rules for certain situations. The WBC has its silly point-deduction rule for accidental headbutts where the fighter who wasn’t cut was penalized. The WBO had a three knockdown rule which stipulated that a fighter dropped three times in the same round was automatically stopped, regardless of the nature or severity of the knockdowns. And so on. The state jurisdictions gladly abandoned the sanctioning body rules for 12-round title fights and took on the unified rules when they were created. (This is the reason the scorecards of WBC title bouts aren’t announced to the audience after the fourth and eighth rounds in the U.S. That open scoring crap is a newly created WBC rule, not a unified rule.)

Now, I know Williams and Cintron weren’t fighting for a belt, but both are world-class championship caliber fighters and they shouldn’t have been fighting under the same rules the four-round preliminary kids were governed by. Seasoned pros typically use the first two or three rounds to “feel-out” their opponent’s style, gauge their speed, establish distance and look for openings. That’s what happened on Saturday. The fighters didn’t start throwing down until the fourth, and there was only about 35-40 seconds of action in that round. That’s not enough time to determine who the better man was that night.

That’s just my humble opinion. I think the bout should have been declared a No Contest/No Decision.

THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF

What's up Doug,
Didn't bother to write in about the Mayweather-Mosley fight, the fight itself said it all.

But I have to comment about this. Cintron got tossed out the ring? Cintron got thrown? That's not what I saw.

Regarding the CA rules, yeah, they suck, but both cats were fighting under the same rules.

Anyway, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” Cintron, always finds a way out, so it’s difficult to feel sorry for him. This is just karma for the gift he got vs. Sergio Martinez. — Steve

Yes, Cintron tripped over P-Will’s big feet and wasn’t literally “thrown” WWE-style from the ring, but it was the momentum he had from getting tied up by Williams as the gangly giant fell to the canvas that carried him out of the ring.

Anyway, karma, as you and many fight fans see it, will be played out. Cintron will not receive much sympathy from the boxing world. You can be certain of that.

I don’t even have to browse through the various message boards and boxing forums to know that fans are describing him as a “faker,” “actor,” “quitter,” “coward,” “b__ch,” “p__sy,” and “loser.” For the record, I don’t agree with any of these labels.

I FEEL BAD FOR P-WILL

Hey Dougie,
Look man, I was at the Home Depot Center and saw Kermit Cintron b__ch up live and in person. As soon as P-Will figured him out he quit. “The Punisher” landed a nasty 1-2 and Kermit b__ched up, plain and simple. I feel bad for Paul because he doesn't get the recognition he deserves, and that's your fault Dougie! If Fraud and Manny doesn't happen you and your media colleagues should demand a Williams-Fraud fight! What does he have to do? He beat Winky, Margarito, and Martinez. Who did Mayweather recently beat? Mosley? Winky beat him twice! OK, let Fraud fight Barrera right? I know a Williams-Martinez rematch would be great, but a Mayweather-Williams bout would humble lots of people. What do you think Dougie? — Miguel

If there was a decisive winner in the Williams-Cintron fight, I — and I think many of my media peers — would have beat the drums for that fighter to be considered a worthy fill-in for Mayweather if the Pacquiao fight can’t be made this year.

However, despite the bizarre technical split-decision that Williams was awarded I don’t believe there was a decisive winner in Saturday’s bout. Yeah, Williams brought it in the fourth but he was hurt the worst out of the two fighters in that round.

I’m not going to call Cintron a “b__ch” or a “quitter” because he wanted to continue fighting. I know this was hard to see from the arena, where it appeared that he was staying down on the ground on his own but in actuality he was being told to stay where he was by members of the commission and the doctor, who had their hands on his back, holding him in position while the stretcher was brought in. They did this as a precautionary measure in case he suffered a concussion or a serious injury to his neck or spine.

Don’t feel bad for Williams. He got the ‘W’ and a nice payday for only three rounds and about 36 seconds of “work.”

CINTRON, MASTER THESPIAN

Why do we even waste our time with this clown? Time after time, fight after fight, Kermit Cintron invents new ways to end boxing matches.

It really is amazing…..the broken hands and pulled groin against Feliciano….the imaginary headbutt against Martinez….and now a Michael Phelps Olympic dive out of the ring?

The guy is nothing if not creative.

How may times is this guy gonna get away with this crap?

I mean this guy would demolish Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn at the Academy Awards.

He just might be the greatest living actor of our times. — JP

You’re mean, JP, but your rants make me laugh out loud more than my two favorite comedians, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. (their married with children humor gets me every time).

I think the word that best describes Cintron in a lot of his shaky fights and near meltdowns is “emotional.” He gets caught up in the moment at times and he can become very demonstrative in the way he expresses those swirling emotions (breaking down and crying after his win over Teddy Reid and his first loss to Antonio Margarito, collapsing and writhing on the canvas after stopping Jesse Feliciano, etc.).

I think at the time he was cracked by that Martinez left he really thought he had been head butted. I don’t believe that was an act (although he did overreact to it).

I know Cintron’s antics can be irritating and I’d be lying if I said he didn’t get on my nerves at times but I respect him as a fighter. Look who he’s been willing to get in the ring with: Margarito (twice), Martinez, Williams, Alfredo Angulo. Those guys are monsters. Even David Estrada and Mark Suarez were dangerous dudes when he fought them.

DEAR PAUL…

A message for Paul Williams:

Yes, we know what you're saying.

Sincerely. — The Human Race

Williams is rather found of that particular idiom (“Know what I'm sayin'?”), isn't he?

MARGARITO & THE CONTROVERSY

Hi Doug,
Antonio Margarito is back with expected results but questions remain. I haven't seen any serious discussion on the following point:

After the Dempsey vs. Willard loaded gloves controversy, there was a test in the May 1964 issue of Boxing Illustrated whether it was possible to use plaster of paris successfully under fighting conditions. Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams applied plaster on his handwraps and hit a heavy bag five times. The plaster cracked and crumbled. Williams himself said “This stuff wouldn't do anybody any good.” Also, the producer of the plaster issued a statement that it is impossible to use their product without breaking all the bones in the fighter's hands.

If there hasn't been any development in plaster technology during the last 45 years, it would suggest that somebody just made a desperate and very stupid (and totally unjustifiable) decision and Margarito didn't wear loaded gloves in his previous fights.

Could you comment on this, or could The Ring carry out some experiments? — Jorma, Finland

THE RING is a boxing publication, Jorma, not a laboratory that specializes in the breakdown of “plaster technology” (LOL).

Javier Capetillo didn’t soak Margarito’s wraps in plaster. He attempted to insert folded gauze made heavy from being wet/ soaked in (among other things, such as blood) a plaster-like substance under Margarito’s wraps. It’s against the rules to pour water on a fighter’s hand wraps. Doing what Capetillo did was flat-out illegal and wrong.

Both guys are lucky they caught before the fight instead of after it. They could be rotting in jail right now instead of making a living in the sport.

Margarito’s victory over Robert Garcia (which was impressive given his inactivity and the fact that he was coming off a brutal KO loss) may have set up an eventual multi-million-dollar payday against Manny Pacquiao. If Margarito doesn’t get the Pacquiao fight there are lucrative rematch options with Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams, and even Miguel Cotto (if he beats Yuri Foreman). So don’t worry about his reputation. Uncle Bob is looking out for him.

Don’t cry for Capetillo, either. He’s doing fine. He may not be able to work corners in the U.S. but he trains a dozen pro fighters (at the Azteca Boxing Club in Bell, Calif.), including junior flyweight titleholder Giovani Segura, and trust me, he’s getting his 10 percent.