Boxing: Antonio’s Reliable Source on Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan and yes, Boxing!
By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (July 7, 2009)  
It’s been a whirlwind of news over the last few days. Particularly, regarding the deaths of many famous people. Five of them in particular, three of which left us without us expecting them to. One of those three, Billy Mays, was more or less of a new celebrity, but the other two, Michael Jackson and Alexis Arguello, were icons of my own youth. It’s still hard for me to think that both Jackson and Arguello are dead. I am still shocked by it.

With those deaths and the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Paquito Cordero, I have learned that we
really don’t have anything guaranteed. Tomorrow is but an attainable dream that is a day away, but will we attain that dream, that tomorrow? I don’t know, and neither do you, or anybody else except God.

But because we do not know if tomorrow will be there-and because death is certainly the only thing you cannot buy away-we have to make sure that we do our best so that people remember us for what we did in life today. Jackson, Fawcett, Arguello, Cordero and Mays already did in their provided lifespan, what they wanted us to remember them for. It is my turn, your turn and everybody else’s turn then to do what we want people to remember us for, and hopefully, what we do will be remembered for changing another person’s life in a positive way.

Because in the end, my friends, that’s the only way to separate winners from losers. If you managed to change just one life in a positive way, you rest assured, when the time comes where you cannot cheat death anymore, you will go out a winner.

Jackson Family News

Obviously, with that said, our condolences must go to the family of Michael Jackson, which not only lost a son, brother, uncle and father, but which now faces many uphill battles. One of them is for the custody of Michael Jackson’s three sons, 12 year old Prince Jackson, 11 year old Paris Jackson and 7 year old Prince Michael II, who in my opinion are the ones we should worry about because they must be going through a very tumultuous period.

Well, the battle for the three boys-and their estate-has begun, with Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael, getting temporary custody of her grandsons. According to US Magazine, Judge Mitchell Beckloff of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Ms. Jackson temporary custody of the kids, but denied her full custody. According to another website, TMZ.com, her petition to the court indicated that the mother of two of Jackson’s boys, Debbie Rowe, has no relationship with the kids. The youngest kid’s mother’s identity was never revealed.

Joe Jackson is also named in the petition to have Katherine Jackson as keeper of the Jackson kids’ estate. Shall Katherine Jackson not be able to perform her duties as guardian of the kids, the still hot as a knockout Diana Ross will be the children’s caregiver as written by Jackson in his will.

In other Michael Jackson news, it was revealed recently that his son Prince was going to join him onstage during Jackson’s fifty planned London, England concerts. Stuart Backerman told US Magazine that Michael Jackson wanted to have his children see him perform-and in Prince’s case, actually act with him-so that they could grasp Michael Jackson mania.

It was also revealed that Michael Jackson’s dermatologist, Arnold Klein, is the three boys’ biological father.

Brad Pitt and The Photographer

You’re a superstar. You are known around the world by billions and you have men follow you around with cameras, taking photos of you as you go to the bathroom on a plane or join your friends for a 5 on 5 hoops game or your girlfriends for coffee and gossip at Starbucks. So what do you do with these photographers who hound you all over the world so they can sell your images and get some green “feria” for it? Well, if you can’t beat them, join them! That’s what Brad Pitt did recently anyways!

US Magazine says that Pitt apparently had problems with his motorcycle on Thursday, June 25th at the Franklin Village in Los Angeles, so when his bike did not want to run no more, he took a ride with one of the paparazzi that always follow him. A photo of the “incident” was provided by Bauer-Griffin.com.

Sounds like Marvelous Marvin Hagler and all his famous foes when they meet at Hall of Fame induction weekend. Rivals at one moment, friends at the other!!

Guilty Pleasure?……No More!!

Parkay butter. McDonald’s Big Macs. Playboy Magazine (and for our female readers out there, Playgirl). Lindsay Lohan. Guilty pleasures of life that we love but that could be dangerous to us!

Lindsay Lohan was, when she was younger, that one girl we all knew we could not dream of having but who we still dreamt we could have. Well, not anymore! You see, Lohan just turned 23 years old! And she is looking mighty fine at that!

The starlet, whose troubled life and relationship with ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson have been tabloid paper news fodder, had a photo collage of her over the years published by US Magazine, and should I say, she looks as delicious as those lusty KFC friend chicken wings or a bag full of Hot Jalapeno Doritos. She looks very, very good, and I myself wish I was her next lucky date!

Like a Thomas Hearns right hook, she’s got KO written all over the place!

Ooray for Marcelo!!

The name Marcelo Dalto may not mean anything to most of you. Unless you’re Uruguayan, or, in my case, a Latino who follows news from all Latino countries.

In any case, Marcelo Dalto has become a famous kid because of his trials, which have been documented on Uruguayan website Redota.com. The eight year old is battling Prune Belly Syndrome and he has faced a fight that’s more uphill than any of us meeting the Klitschko brothers inside a ring. But Marcelito, the “Little Gaucho” (with a big heart, shall I add to his nickname), has pulled through at least one more round, after accepting a kidney from his mother at Jackson Hospital in Miami, Florida. His story should inspire all of us because he has shown that when you want something badly, you can reach it no matter what.

Go Marcelo!! Keep being the great Champion you are to all of us!! (if you want to contribute to his cause and help him in his still ongoing helth battle, contact webmaster Charlie at Redota.com).

The Main Event: Bay Vs. Fox!

Well, you know that many times, we do not know the people who actually make the movies we love. Only a few times we do find out about Steven Spielberg, or Spike Lee, or Irwin Winkler. One new kid on their block who is making a name for himself is Michael Bay, the producer of the “Transformer” movies.

And one of the stars in “Transformers” is Megan Fox, who has seen her fame skyrocket after the two movies where she acts alongside Shia Le Bouf. So, of course, this being “Holly-cow-kiss-my-wood” we are talking about, Fox went on and bashed the man who put her there!

According to Popeater.com, the producer is enraged about the actress’ comments on The Wall Street Journal that Bay’s movies rely too much on special effects and don’t allow the actors to do their job, which is, well, acting! Bay reacted by saying “Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think ‘Ok, Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.”

Hey Megan, if it is true that I would say something, but in this case I cannot. Because you are too beautiful to remind me of Mike Tyson, the man who bit the man who gave him a chance at regaining the Heavyweight title!

We Can’t Believe it Either

Kendra Wilkinson is a newlywed. Yep, you heard the news right! The Playboy Magazine model, who once dated that lucky fella Hugh Hefner, got married to Hank Baskett. I should say, huge “Baskett” this Hank scored!!

Breaking our dreams of being the man in her life, Wilkinson took off for St. Lucia with her hubby. She told US Magazine they will be there for nine days. I wish I could go to St. Lucia for one day! Great beaches, great looking women, great looking sights, heck, even their national airline, LIAT, has great looking airplanes!!

Ok, enough daydreaming for me. Back to the Baskett-Wilkinson wedding, she got married wearing an estimated $100,000 dollars worth of diamonds and other jewels designed by famed designer Michael Barin. Supposedly, Hugh Hefner was going to be the man who walked her to the altar but she decided for her brother to do the honors instead. Maybe her ex Hugh could not, err, get up to do it?

Wilkinson said on her website that “I can’t believe I’m a married woman!” We can’t believe it either, Kendra. Kinda like when Gerry Coney was dreaming he could beat George Foreman, all us guys out here were dreaming we could marry you too!

You May Like That Billboard!

Next time you look up, make sure that you remember to be careful and not run into somebody else. Because what you may see, could really make you keep on looking. The fashion world, known for it’s wild advertising ideas, has to thank the Giorgio Armani brand for yet another wild and crazy ad stunt. It involves the Beckham’s, David and Victoria.

The goal scorer for the L.A. Galaxy of the Major League Soccer, and his wife, the former Posh Spice with the Spice Girls, are posing in very revealing clothing in a series of billboards that will be shown across the United States. Giorgio Armani himself declared that Victoria Beckham in particular will promote his “Emporio Armani” underwear brand. The ads are supposed to entice women to buy the Armani products, but I suspect that it will get the attention of a lot more of us guys than they actually intend to. Like they say, you can’t take the fight out of the fighter, well, you can’t take the man out of the man either!

Like Pacquiao-Cotto, this one is one I can’t wait to see!

Our Condolences To

Just less than a month after the Air France flight 447 tragedy in Brazil, another air tragedy has struck another pair of countries, causing the sudden deaths of 100’s of citizens. This time, it was Yemenia flight 626, from Sana’a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros. The flight crashed on June 30th, exactly 29 days after the Air France tragedy.

152 people , many of French or Comorian descent but also Canadians, Philippines, Palestinians and Yemeni perished in the air crash, only a 15 year old French girl being a survivor. The girl is currently recuperating at a French hospital.

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A310, marking the second time also in 29 days that a large range Airbus aircraft has been involved in a tragic accident. The Air France airplane that crashed in Brazil was an Airbus A330. However, investigations for both accidents are still underway, and it is too early to blame the European airplane maker. All indications so far lead to the conclusion that Airbus jetliners are perfectly safe to fly on and many of the world’s major airlines, including American, Delta and United, rely on them because of their great safety record.

To all of those who lost loved ones, our condolences and prayers that God give you power in these hard times.

R.I.P.

Alexis Arguello, 57. The three time world boxing Champion was found dead in rather suspicious circumstances at his Managua, Nicaragua, home. Arguello lost to Ernesto Marcel in 1974 for the WBA world Featherweight title, but then beat Ruben Olivares for that first title, by a thirteenth round knockout that same year.

After defending that title several times, he went up in weight and defeated Alfredo Escalera in a sensational fight in 1978 to win his second world title, the WBC Junior Lightweight title. He defended that belt several time, including an equally sensational rematch with Escalera in 1979, before winning his third world title by out pointing Jim Watt for the WBC world Lightweight title in 1981.

Arguello defended the title four times, including a 14th round stoppage of Ray Mancini before going up in weight again, Attempting to become boxing’s first four time world Champion, Arguello faced Aaron Pryor in a pair of brutal fights, the first in particular being one of boxing’s greatest wars. Arguello lost to Pryor by a knockout in 14 on November 12, 1982, and then by a tenth round knockout on September 9th, 1983. The first Pryor-Arguello fight was marred by controversy, a bottle with an unknown item being introduced into Pryor’s corner several times during it. That bottle became the focal argument for which a rematch was needed.

Alexis Arguello retired and fought alongside the Contras against Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua. In asylum at the United States, Arguello was a noted critic of the President. Upon returning to his country, Arguello and Ortega became friends again, and Ortega regained Nicaragua’s Presidency, while Arguello became major of Managua in 2008.

According to Wikipedia.org, Arguello was found dead of a gunshot to his chest on July 1. Initial cause reported was a suicide, but there are, however, rumors of foul play being involved now.

Michael Jackson, 50. The pop superstar, a native of Gary, Indiana, first became famous in 1968 as a member of “The Jackson 5”. In the late 1970’s, he dabbed in Disco music, where he got his first hits as a soloist. In 1982, Jackson released the “Thriller” album, which went on to break worldwide album sales records. Jackson’s video of “Billie Jean”, another hit song from the “Thriller” album, arguably opened the doors for African American singers on MTV. In 1987, Jackson released the “Bad” album, in which he scored another major hit with the title song, “Bad”. In 1988, Michael Jackson’s song “Smooth Criminal” became another major hit, and his “moon walking” dance style was a sensation.

Jackson also co-wrote the “We Are The World” song along with Lionel Richie. In 1996, he released his “HIStory” album, which was a compilation of Jackson’s greatest hits.
Known also for his wide public scandals, Jackson passed away on June 25th of a cardiac arrest at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Hospital in Los Angeles, California, according to Wikipedia.org.

Farrah Fawcett, 62. Farrah Fawcett was an American actress who became worldwide famous with the hit television series “Charlie’s Angels”. Fawcett was an icon of the 1970’s, her 1976 poster on Life Magazine becoming the widest sold poster in history, over 12 million copies of it sold around the world. Fawcett was also a successful actress off-Broadway, and she participated in “The Burning Bed”, a television movie that is noted for being the first show to offer a toll free help number to crime victims. Fawcett also acted in “Nazi Hunter”, “Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story”, “Small Sacrifices” and many others.

Miss Fawcett had been fighting anal Cancer since 2006. She passed away from the disease on Thursday, June 25th., according to Wikipedia.org

Billy Mays, 50. Mays was an infomercial salesman turned celebrity who started his television career in 1993 with the Home Shopping Network. By 2009, he had grown into appearing at several other television channels and also he did a spot spoofing himself on ESPN. Mays sold, among others, Orange-Glo, Mighty Putty and OxiClean. According to Wikipedia.org, Mays died of a heart attack at home on June 28th.

Paquito Cordero, 77. Cordero was a Puerto Rican actor and television producer who was one of the very first personalities to be seen on Puerto Rican television when it began in 1954. Cordero worked for a bit more than 50 years for Puerto Rican television channel Telemundo Puerto Rico, first as a comedian, then as a producer. Cordero influenced many Puerto Rican celebrities and helped them into stardom. He was the top producer of local shows for Telemundo Puerto Rico and in 1980, he dabbed into Salsa music producing, being the producer of Juan Manuel Lebron’s OTI Festival winning album of that year. Cordero passed away of respiratory disease, on June 30th, according to Wikipedia.org.

May they all rest in peace.

Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.


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