Can Boxing Bring Forward World Peace? By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (July 27, 2012) Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
Earlier this month, I
sat down during a party to watch my fellow Puerto Rican, Danny
Garcia, fight the great British-Pakistani fighter, Amir Khan, in an
unification of the WBA and WBC world Junior Welterweight titles. It
was one of the great fights of 2012, and round four was perhaps the
main candidate for round of the year. But while most around us saw a
great battle between two of the game’s best fighters, I saw beyond
that. I saw a Puerto Rican-American, together in the ring, with a
British-Pakistani. Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the September
11th attacks and with war looming in the “Stan”
countries and the Middle East, who’d imagined that all those
citizenships could get together, so close, in such a comparatively
benevolent activity as a boxing fight?? Boxing may be violent,
sure…but during boxing fights, we do not see people being maimed
physically and emotionally, by gun and rifle shots, and by bombs. We
do not see children lose their parents, parents lose their children,
and nations lose their identity. What we do see is two boxers who
will get paid or awarded medals and trophies, fighting each other
after having reached a common agreement to do so.
With the 2012 London Olympics starting today, a message of togetherness and of fair competition
and of strengthening our relationships with our closest fellows will
flash across our screens for two weeks. And let’s face it, nobody a
fool will believe that there will be fair competition all around
during the Olympics. Do I need to remind you of a few cases? Ok, here
we go…..Roy Jones Jr….(robbed blindly during the 1988
Olympics)…Ben Johnson….all other athletes who have been accused
of “juicing”, including Americans, Germans and Russians…..but
still, the message will be there, and when you think about it, it is
a very good message to try to follow.
Meanwhile, I find that boxing, as a
sport, does have certain qualities that can help lead towards the
world being a better place. Most boxers are, by far, people of humble
beginnings and thus, humble human beings who have the slightest
intention of really acting out what they predicate during their
pre-fight press conferences. Most of the hate and rage they act out
during those conferences is actually prefabricated, written acting in
order to increase ticket and pay per view sales. You know, I have
lived for 21 years in Arizona, among Mexicans. Before that, I used to
meet Puerto Rican fighters such as Samuel Serrano, Ossie Ocasio (the
latter with my friend, Ramon Enrique Berrios), Wilfred Benitez,
Julian and Rafael Solis, Victor Callejas, etc. Over the last 20
years, I’ve met token non-Mexican fighters such as Muhammad Ali and
Wilfredo Gomez, but the majority have been Mexicans or
Mexican-American, like Yori Boy Campas, Jorge Paez Sr., Antonio
Margarito, Gabriel Ruelas, Tony Baltazar, Laura Serrano, Delia
Gonzalez, Carlos Palomino, Michael Carbajal, Oscar De La Hoya and
Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. With the notable exceptions of De La Hoya and
Chavez Sr., the great majority learned that I am Puerto Rican and had
no trouble about it. Far from that, in fact, they felt happy to know
they have Latin fans from other countries and were all accommodating
and gracious. Despite, like I said, knowing that I am Puerto
Rican…akin to Derek Jeter signing autographs to and hanging out for
a while with a Red Sox fan wearing a Red Sox jersey. Paez Sr. even
took time to get one of his clown’s noses and place it on top of
mine for a photo. Margarito, the most accommodating one of them, took
time to chat it up with me and my dad during his press conference for
his fight with Hercules Kyvelos, and Serrano told me she was dating a
Puerto Rican man! On the other hand, I witnessed as Gomez and Hector
Camacho Sr. took time to sign autographs and take photos with Mexican
fans!
So much for being on one side or the
other of the Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry
Boxing and other sports are among the
few activities where races and-or-nationalities can really mix it up
with each other, leading to a spiritual and cultural growth. I mean,
yeah, people on the stands get involved and sometimes we crack each
other’s heads (I never have, I prefer enjoying the fights to
spending a night at the hospital and then the jail room) but you
know, nothing is perfect. If I was perfect, I’d never needed
diapers as a baby in the first place. But what we need to take from
the upcoming Olympics, and yes, from boxing fights too, is that we
can all co-exist together, and get along with each other and
understand others and all that. We really can.
Those who think we can’t are part of
the reason we have groups like the morons Minutemen, the idiotic
Nazis, the retarded Black separatist groups and etc. When you realize
this, you realize that, ironically as it may sound, violence in the
ring can indeed help stop violence outside of it. Like I always said,
it would be better if the two leaders of a country would put on the
gloves and decide the outcome of wars inside a ring, to having all
those soldiers killed and maimed outside of it, for the politicians’
military gains. It would also be better if a man and his wife decided
on their differences by sitting down and arguing who will win the
boxing fight than have one of them (usually the husband but not
limited to the wives) beat the hell out of the other one in a
senseless attack.
And, as for the boxers in Saturday’s
brawl Garcia won and he has a bright future ahead if managed right.
He proved he has a solid chin, decent-but not great-power,
willingness and intelligence. I would like to see him against a
number of opponents, such as Timothy Bradley, Marcos Maidana, Lamont
Peterson, to name a few. There is a plethora of opponents in the
Junior Welterweight and Welterweight division that Garcia can go
against and which would all make great fights. However, I am not a
manager and so I just hope his career is guided the right way, then
he could be a major star in boxing and for boxing.
Amir Khan has nothing to be ashamed of.
He will always be remembered as a great fighter. Even through he was
probably headed for a horrible knockout defeat and referee Kenny
Bayless was correct in stopping the fight, he was still in shape in
which he could have gone a couple more minutes when he got stopped.
Amir is a warrior and he lost with his shield on. Instead of looking
down on him for his defeat, we should hold him in high esteem for his
courage. I don’t want to ask him to retire, even through maybe he
should given how he lost. It must be too hard for a fighter to read
shouts for him to retire. Only he knows if he really should, but if
he thinks it is time to do so, then it is. Amir Khan is a great
fighter, a great former world champion and a credit to boxing. Amir,
when you read this, be proud of yourself, you have accomplished more
than billion others.
Only in boxing.
Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.
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