Ring Magazine: Listen To This! By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (July 30, 2012) Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing. - I have long been a buyer of Ring Magazine, including it’s now bankrupted
Spanish version, although the last few years, due to the magazine’s
skyrocketing prize charges, I have had to buy it less and less. The
money charges are not entirely Ring Magazine’s fault: with terrorism and
the resulting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, oil prizes went up amd the
transportation businesses that carry Ring Magazine and everything else
to stores around the world had to spike up their own prize for usage,
resulting in everything costing a bit higher. And Ring Magazine, to our
enjoyment, is now all-color, and the techniques used to produce such
lavish layout cost more than what publishing black and white pictures
would.
But a few weeks ago, at the local Food City supermarket, I picked up the
latest version of Ring Magazine, the Olympic Games edition. Then, I got
mad. I got mad because of the way in which Ring Magazine addressed
Olympic Boxing. Reflecting on it, I should be glad that the publishers
of that magazine are not the Olympic boxing judges. If they were, the
same writers and publishers who criticized Roy Jones Jr.’s and Michael
Carbajal’s horribly unjustified decision losses at the finals of the
1988 Seoul Games, would do just the same thing and give American
fighters a win whenever any of their fights ended in decisions, no
matter how justified or unjustified. Hell with the opponent, right? The
American must always win!!
Here is my point: I sincerely hope that the best wins in every Olympic
event, no matter what their nationality. The 23 year old Marlen Esparza,
I hope that she wins her division to become one of Women’s Boxing first
Olympic Gold Medalists, then comes back home and marries me, as she
is…like Tiffany back in the late 80’s, my girlfriend but she does not
know it yet! Ring Magazine, however, was criticizing the way boxing
fights are currently scored, and they expressed satisfaction, if not
downright happiness, that Olympic Boxing will go back to the same system
they so roundly cried against 24 years ago, in the next Olympiad.
Remember, they only called the former and now future system because
Americans lost in those 1988 Games. Now, since they see that the current
system did not help American fighters any, they are rooting for it to
come back??? Give me a break!!
Ring Magazine points out that USA Boxing has only garnered six medals
since 1988, with 3 golds. They call that a failure. Wow, what a
failure!! Puerto Rico in our entire history as an Olympic country since
1948, has won only 5 medals, none gold! You know how many countries
still long for that first gold medal? I mean, right now, if a Puerto
Rican took gold in the walking race, he or she’d be a national hero! And
let’s look elsewhere: East Timor is taking 2 athletes to London. 2
athletes!! I bet they’d be happy with one finishing in 5th place. We
have more than 100 countries going for gold in about 40 sports. Many of
them will not earn a medal yet they will be proud of their
accomplishment because they still are dreaming of the day they can claim
their first gold medal win. Trust me, Ring Magazine, those six medals
in boxing in 24 years are a huge achievement.
Calling that a failure is a disrespect to Oscar De La Hoya (your own
owner!), David Reid, Andre Ward as well as to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Tim
Austin, Eric Griffith and all the great fighters who represented the
USA, gold medalists or not.
Besides, Ring Magazine being a worldwide magazine with millions of
readers, one would expect you to be over that level, and show neutrality
in your articles. Yet you demonstrated favoritism with the illogic of
defending a system that you helped disappear the first time around!
Unless we are talking basketball, the Olympics are not a USA powers
showcase, it is a worldwide showcase of athletics. Hopefully. The next
Americans who medal in boxing won’t do it because of one system of
scoring or the other, but because of their superiority to the opponent.
And hopefully also, when the system is reverted to the old type of
scoring and Americans lose by decision, you won’t cry again. Because
then it may not work the way it did between 1988 and 1992 (when people
rightfully protested Jones Jr’s and Carbajal’s “losses”).
You might tell me; “well if you don’t like what we write, just don’t
read us”. This would show how you disregard at least one reader. But
then you would not be getting the point. I still enjoy Ring Magazine,
But the point is that international magazines should show neutralism
when it comes to certain topics at least. And this time, Ring Magazine,
you failed.
I expected higher of you.
Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com. Visit the IMPROVED Doghouse Boxing Forums (Login with your Facebook or Twitter account - Now Mobile, Ipad, Blackberry, Android & YouTube Friendly) DogPound
