TalkingBoxing Articles
Poor Jeremy (No Respect)
MON October 10, BUSTER PARIS - Confusion and controversy – these are not words new to Las Vegas and a strange night of boxing is not a new concept for Las Vegas.
Saturday – October 8th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas a strange night of boxing was had by all and confusion and controversy had ringside seats.
The most exciting fight wasn’t the one everyone expected it to be – it wasn’t Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo II which ended in an anticlimactic 4th round KO by Castillo, it wasn’t even the highly anticipated and my personal must see rematch of Jorge Arce vs. Hussein Hussein II, which ended in a bizarre throwing in of the towel for a 2nd round TKO win for Arce.
The most exciting fight was actually Bobby Pacquiao vs. Carlos Alberto Hernandez. It was a great battle between speed and power. It was a fun and fast paced slugfest that kicked off the televised portion of the evening’s controversies with Bobby being given the split decision - even though on most scorecards it was Carlos who won.
You’ll also hear and read about how Castillo couldn’t make the 135 lb weight and the fight became a non-title affair. It was never really about titles for us anyway – it was about these two men and this fight. The disappointment of Jose Luis not making weight however did cast a shadow on the night and took something away from the honor and glory of this fight. It was also totally confusing as to why for the biggest fight of Castillo’s life he couldn’t make weight.
Then in the wake of the anger and confusion came the Oliver Stone like speculations as to why Jose Luis couldn’t make weight and this added even more drama to the fight at hand as well as adding to the narrative of the last fight and the potential for a third.
Round 1 was like a carryover of their original bout to create round 11, but as rounds 2, 3 and 4 went by Castillo was clearly landing the bigger and more damaging punches that eventually sent Chico down to the canvas. Was it the extra weight? Was it that Chico, who played by the rules, suffered because he had to make weight? Did Castillo have that pressure? Why did Jose Luiz weigh 137, then an hour or two later for the next weigh in come in at 138.5? And more importantly why did I have that extra slice of pizza when I was full?
OK – you get the point.
Post fight - Diego was a complete gentleman, a true professional and a down right stand up guy – even with Showtime’s annoying Jim Grey trying to bait him to say anything bad about Jose Luiz.
Diego remained respectful and made no excuses. I kept waiting for Grey to say something like:
‘…you know Diego, Castillo said that you smell, that you dress funny and he said something really mean about yo mama…’
To be honest though after all was said and done I want to see a third fight.
At this point we’re left with three victims of this strange night, but forgetting for the moment all the controversy of the night – let’s put the talk of Hernandez’s robbery aside, all the controversy and confusion of Hussein’s team throwing in the towel, let’s put that aside and all the controversy, confusion and drama from Corrales v Castillo, let’s put that aside too. The real victim of the night is poor Jeremy Stiers.
Poor Jeremy, he was boxing’s answer to a question Rodney Dangerfield didn’t ask…no respect. At 29 years old with 9 wins and 5 loses he is offered up as a sacrifice to the boxing Gods and is given to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as a living, breathing punching bag play thing.
Poor Jeremy - during the ring introductions he is introduced as Jeremy Steers from Missouri – Jimmy Lennon mispronounced his last name (it’s Stiers – pronounced Stye-Yers) and he’s from Kansas not Missouri.
Just like Rodney Dangerfield himself would say: “No respect”
Poor Jeremy – the bell rings for round 1 and he has to tell referee Richard Steele that he has no mouthpiece, what was his corner thinking?
“No respect I tell ya”
Poor Jeremy – he raises his hands to guard his head and he takes brutal blows to his body. He lowers his arms to protect his body and his head gets pummeled.
“No respect at all – oh boy!”
I will say one thing for Jeremy, add a mullet and he’d be perfect for the show Cops – hey - he’s got the 1970’s porno goofy mustache, he’s shirtless and all he needs is a target to drunkenly go after.
Hey, I think I heard Jim Grey telling Diego Corrales that Jeremy was so ugly that when he was a kid his mother wouldn’t breast him; she said she just wanted to be friends. I think I also heard Grey telling Castillo that Stiers was such an ugly kid that his mother used to feed him with a slingshot.
“What can I tell ya - no respect – no respect at all”
Couldn’t resist the Dangerfield/Rickles type ending – sorry Jeremy.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions – don’t forget to tip your waitresses.
Forum
