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Las Vegas : Jones - Ruiz fight trip report : February 26 - March 4 ,
2003.....
Well...............EVERYBODY
is talking about the big fight this weekend and , as I sometimes do , I have
put together an on-the-spot report for all of you. Now, first let me give u the
cast of characters that made the trip to Las Vegas with me. We have Yo Rocky
Son , the UNDEFEATED Professional welterweight from Massachusetts that has
taken a little time off from the ring and is presently 17 weight classes above
his usual fighting weight. Rocky's official title on our regular trips is Vice
President ( I am the the PREZ :). We had OG , the little guy (
5' 5 and skinny, thinks he's 6' 0 and diesel ) from Connecticut. We had
Sammy GRINGO Suave .....we had Dave-DMK , the trip-Rookie out of
Rhode Island and we had Felix the Cat Cruz , fresh off his title winning
effort at the 2003 New England Golden Gloves. The only ones missing were Ross
Dynamite , Kirk BlackShoes and Psilo the TINMAN from Montreal. We got to
Vegas on the Wednesday before the fight and to make a long story short....we
began the trip in a 2 bedroom spot with a living room and a kitchen and we
ENDED the trip with 6 of us in a room at the Motel 6 ( calling on our
experiences from going on Amateur trips with J.O. teams, we took the mattress
off one of the beds and put it between the other bed and the remaining box
spring. Problem solved. ) The first thing we did was go to Laila Ali's Gym (
Absoloot Boxing ) where I reunited once again with my Amateur teammate Kevin
'The Flushing Flash' Kelley ( Kevin and I were on the Eastern Team at the
88 Olympic Trials ) Kev was obviously very excited , as usual about anything
that you care to discuss. His fight with Barerra that is upcoming, Roys fight ,
etc etc etc. Kevin , to this day, remains full of energy. Gladly took pictures
with all my guys. The thing I always liked about Kevin is that when he meets
someone for the first time, if they want to talk to him about Boxing , he will
talk to them and if you didnt know better you would think they were great
friends.
The second exciting event happened when we left the Gym and my Vegas AOL partner
Ron Hasbrouck brought us by Mike Tysons house . Mike lives in more
than a HOUSE, it is a COMPLEX. I had a couple pieces of Boxing literature from
when Mike was amateur back in the early 80's that I have been waiting to give
him for 6 years now. In 1996 I gave a him a bunch of other articles etc and
Stacy McKinley told me he REALLY loved reading them. I gave them to his guy at
the front gate , hopefully he did the right thing and passed them on. Wayne
Newton lives right next door to Mike and Newtons house and grounds are
HUGE. Mike has a big piece of land. Newtons is DOUBLE the size.
The THIRD exciting event happened at Roys weigh-in when Coach Merk
punched Ruiz' man Stoney in the mouth on Thursday. If you know Stoney ,
you know that he can be confrontational. Coach Merk wasnt there to only talk
though, either , so the Jones camp went up by a 1-0 score before the fight even
started. They had Roy and Ruiz weigh-in on Thursday and everybody else weighed
in on Friday. Other than Merks right hand, the weigh-in was pretty slow. The
real excitement came when my boys and I rented those Golf Cart-Go Kart like
rides they rent on the strip. A race from the area of the "Bellagio" down to
the end of the strip by "Johnny Toccos Gym" on W. Charleston saw the Iceman
overcome OG Cuyler for a first place finish. Sammy had to ride shotgun with
Felix the Cat cuz' Sammy is still 20, so he is ILLEGAL . Dave DMK was the only
one to cop put of the joy-ride but he did however get attention heaped on him as
we rolled up 4 deep in these little Golf Carts to the Main Entrance to Ceasars
Palace Valet. Some roll up in Stretch Limos , Range Rovers and BMW's. We have
style . We brought Dave in a HYPED UP GOLF CART. These Carts are pretty smooth
riding and as long as you pay attention to the brakes and dont tip the whole
thing when hitting corners then you should be ok. I learned it is very easy to
cut people off on the strip and zip around them. You are not allowed off the
strip but HEY this was the famous "Johnny Toccos Gym" so we risked it. Nobody
was there except for some maintentance guys but they let us in to check it out.
I had trained at 'Toccos' twice in the past and had sparred with Mike
McCallum there but since Mr Tocco passed away they have new owners and the
place is MUCH difdferent than when Johnny had it. It was cool though to be
there when it was closed so that I could look around and soak up the atmosphere
of the place that Sonny Liston often trained. Tyson always trained there
too when he was in his prime . Out in the back parking lot they have huge
painted murals on the building of Ali, Gomez, Duran, Chavez, Marciano and a few
others. If you go to Vegas you really should check it out. The weight-in for
the undercard fights on Friday was real cool. EVERYBODY was there. I ran across
my old Amateur buddy and present Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd. Chris
Byrd deserves respect for THREE reasons. 1 - He moved up from a
139 pound Amateur in 1988 to become the slickest Heavyweight in the game since
Cassius Clay 2 - He remains a real cool guy despite all his
success and 3- He said that I look as young now as I did when we
were Amateurs. Chris is the man :)
One thing I love about going to these trips is the fact that I get the chance to
reunite with guys I came up with as an Amateur back in the 1980's . It is cool
to see these guys after all these years. Al Cole was there ( Al and I
almost fought eachother a few times when we both fought at 165. Since
becomiong pros we have run across eachother often , usually at Roys fights ).
Chris , Al and I took a nice "Class of 88" pic. Iran The Blade Barkley
was there too. Iran and I have run across each other maybe 12 times in the last
10 years and I always notice that Iran really seems to just like people and
talking to them, taking pictures and signing autographs. He LOOKS very mean just
like he did when he was fighting but if you ever see him in person dont hesitate
to approach him....The Blade is real cool people . Vince Phillips was
there. Mo Harris , Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter , Zab Judah , Herbie Hide and
Emmanuel Steward were there too.
VEGAS SECURITY IS LACKING.
I have to say , my trips to Vegas usually unveil lax security. Last year I
spent a couple days with OG and my boy Psilo from Montreal eating at the
"Flamingo employee dining room" with no trouble and , a few months later, I
spent a WEEK at the "Caesars Employee dining room" untouched and
undetected. 3 squares a day. Now this one trip alone.........not only did my boy
Suave and I both come away with BEAUTIFUL 2 millimeter thick cardboard
Jones-Ruiz posters straight out of the frame on display at Caesars Palace but my
whole 6 man crew turned our nose bleed $200 dollar seats into $1000 dollar
seats up not far from the ring, 10 rows behind SHAQ. Add that to later in
the night when we were leaving the Thomas and Mack Center and several of Las
Vegas Youths were seen running across the Parking lot , passing by our car with
several bags of Jones-Ruiz T-shirts that the vendor up by the arena front door
left unattended. The vendor gave it a good try but he ran out of breath about
half way across the parking lot as cries of "They..could..go
...ALL...THE....WAY" were heard from within passing cars.
At the fight, I ran across my old amateur buddy Michael Moorer. I first
saw Michael when he was only 156 pounds. We almost fought twice in 1987 at 165
pounds. Once at a show in Rhode Island and once later on at the Ohio State Fair
in Columbus. Michael ended up coming in way over the 165 pound limit. I fought 3
other guys and won the Open division title and Michael decided to turn pro soon
after on the way to becoming a DEADLY Lightheavy in the late 80's and early
90's. I hadn't seen Michael in about 10 years and when I yelled to him from
about 40 feet away he didnt seem to recognize me right away . But when I got
closer he smiled , mouthed my name and came right over. Nice reunion after all
these years. Michael is another one that is still REAL cool, just like he was
when we were teenagers. He seems like he mellowed a lot for the better. He had a
period when he was getting into a little trouble here and there a few years ago
but he seemed real when he said he was cooling out and growing up. One thing I
regret is that I was not able to hook up with my man Cornelius Boza-Edwards
while I was out there. Boza was away for a couple days and when he was there I
was heading out. I really wanted my boys to meet the WARRIOR that is Boza-Edwards.
Next time. I did stop by the TOP RANK Gym though and introduced everybody to
Richie Sandoval. Remember when Richie STOPPED Jeff Chandler for the title so
many years ago ??? If you make it to Vegas you can catch Richie most days at TOP
RANK.
Floyd Mayweather was at the fight and at the after-party. Floyd is real
cool, a fun kid who lives a fast life and is brash and all that but I have to
say that every time I have seen him and asked him to take pictures with OG or
with the kids etc. he is always real anxious to cooperate . It seems almost
like he likes taking pics with fans as much or more than even they do . At the "Alladin"
after the fight, like 3 in the morning , a bunch of us were out in front of the
valet parking and Floyd put on his show. Taking pictures with everybody, revving
the engine real loud of his Ferrari, dancing , laughing, shadow boxing. Cole
and Vince Phillips were there too. Vince made pled his case to me very
convincingly that he does deserve a big fight. Its true what he says.......Kostya,
as Great as he may be, is suspect until he gives Vince a rematch. To me, I dont
think you can be the Champion of Champions when there is a guy out there still
active and competitive that holds a CONVINCING K.O. victory over you.
As far as others at the fight......Denzel was there and got the loudest
ovation of the whole night. Tommy Hearns got the biggest ovation of all
the fighters that were introduced. Sugar Shane probably got the second
loudest. What was kind of odd was that Vernon Forrest got almost NO
reaction from the crowd. SHAQ got a big reaction. Lil Bow-Bow got a
pretty loud one too. Cuba Gooding came in second to Denzel. I got a pic
with Michael Spinks...he didnt seem so pleased to have to take the pic but I got
him anyway.
In regards to Roys fight.....this man treated Ruiz almost like he treated every
other opponent in his whole career. You could see that Roy was a little bit more
careful and aware.......he didnt let Ruiz corner like he did with Clinton Woods
and Telesco and a few others. The things that stood out to me was that Roy
looked much bigger than ever. His body looked slightly puffy. He wasnt as cut up
as usual , but he was thicker and fuller. He looked less cut but stronger
than at any time in his career. It is amazing to imagine how dominant this guy
could be at Cruiserweight. His mental strength, from the time we were amateurs ,
has always been ROCK SOLID. He was as calm and cool against 225 pound John Ruiz
as he was all those years ago against 152 pound Stephon Johnson. Ruiz came out
pretty good but once Roy started letting go with the ' check hook' it was all
but OVER. ( The check - hook is what they call the Left Hook that Big Roy
taught all the fighters that he worked with over the years. Watch Smoke Gainer
and you will see it. Watch old tapes of Lamar Parks and you will see it. The
opponent throws his right hand and a Roy Jones Sr. trained Boxer will lean back
away from the right hand and as he is leaning away he will let a strong , short
and sharp left go as the guy leans in. He caught Ruiz with some blistering
check hooks early on and that , to me, is what set the to me of the fight. Also
, in the 4th Roy landed a BIG right hand that really wobbled Ruiz. It looked
good on TV because I saw the replay but in person it was even more graphic. Ruiz
was clearly staggered. There is one thing in this fight that tells a big part of
this story. Roy took a very hard shot that had visible effects from Ruiz in the
first round and he reacted in the manner that he did. Ruiz took those shots and
reacted in the manner that HE did. Roy knew Ruiz could shake him but only if he
could land. He was confident he wouldnt have to take many shots. Ruiz also
realized that Roy could shake him but I think it occured to him very quickly
that RJ was countering so fast that there was just no way to deal with it . He
reportedly sparred with numerous fast light heavies and all but it just shows
you that there are NO Roy Jones' clones out there to duplicate him in the Gym.
After the fight OG , who is famous for being
THE PARTYMAN
, found his way to a post-fight party where he hung out with Lennox Lewis and
Ashanti ( Leave it to Offy-Greg ) The night before the fight at the other
club where Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah were hanging out , OG
exposed yet ANOTHER flaw in Las Vegas Security as he found a back door to
smuggle Sammy "I am Under-age and I cant do anything on this trip" Vega into
the club. Floyd was on the dance floor with Body Guards and that was
understandable seeing as how he has a Platinum Medallion on that was NO LESS
than 10 inches high !! After getting checked out by the Bodyguard, OG ended up
hanging out with Floyd and Floyd even took his phone number and offered to maybe
check him out down the road ( Floyd manages a few bright up and comers , good
young boxers like Gerald Tucker from Cinnci. )
Sunday Night I went to
Mandalay Bay
and met up with my main man, the "Russian Rapper" from Brooklyn , Dmitriy
Salita , a 10-0 Jr Welter that fights for Bob Arum. Dmitriy has been my
boy since he was just a kid Boxing in the JO's. I believe that if you havent
heard about him yet, be patient.....You WILL. We went to a Kosher Restaurant
off the strip and apparently the Rapper eats there regularly. My man was a STAR
there !!! Dmitriy is on the 'Latin Fury' show on February 22 on PPV. Check my
boy out !!!
Saturday Night turned into early Sunday morning and I dropped my crew off at
the airport at 6 a.m. Sunday was a big rest day for me and on Monday I had some
serious sexiness with me in the form of
K.W. aka FOXY BROWN :)
as we headed to San Diego and then to Tijijuana , Mexico. Let me tell you now
. Tijiuana is real cool if you go either during the day or on a weekend night
with the boys. But if you go and arent running deep then I get the feeling you
want to be on your way out by night fall. Either way, Keep your eyes on your
wallet and be advised that EVERYBODY down there is hustling something.
EVERYBODY. It was cool , though. I have pic of me in front of an Erik Morales
fight poster that was PAINTED on to a wall downtown . At the restaurant , if you
want to call it that, some guy with a tequila bottle tried to pull my head back
and POUR Tequila down my throat !! I do not EVER drink alcohol though so I had
to cut old boy off but my Girl Foxy handled her business LOL. Apparently it is
some kid of regular thing there for people to do that. Why couldnt some Hott
Girl with some Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough try that with me ?????
ANYWAY.......I ended up driving back to Vegas and catching a Wednesday flight
back home. Overall, the Trip was a success. I saw Mexico for the first time and
came back WITH my wallet. I hung out with Super Sexy, Cool and Fun Kimberleigh
( Foxy B :) Sammy got into a Vegas nightclub AND heisted a rare Jones-Ruiz
poster. Dave got out of Rhode Island. Rocky cleaned out the ' Stratosphere
Buffet' and made a very good contact at Denny's ( thats another story :) . OG
proved his capabilities by hooking up with a Female 21 YEARS older than him (
twice his age ). Felix the Cat finally got a picture with Floyd Mayweather 10
years after first meeting him at the 1993 National Golden Gloves and, oh yeah,
Roy Jones proved he is without a doubt ONE of the Greatest fighters of All
Time. People will STILL debate Roys career but the fact of the matter is that
he easily, convincingly, cleanly and clearly beat a SOLID TOP 10 Heavyweight
that was a recognized belt holder. A man that Beat Holyfield and Kirk Johnson
and outweighed Roy by more pounds than most any fighter in the World would ever
give up. Many people didnt think Roy would even go through with the fight and
many that thought he would figured he would get knocked out. You could HATE the
man, despise him , not ever want to put a dime of your money in his pocket but
the guy has done everything he said he would do. I dont see any Lightheavy in
his
FIRST FIGHT AS A HEAVYWEIGHT
turning in
that
kind of performance. EVER. And.....................as an added
bonus..................I have GREAT pics from the Trip if u want to see them.
JUST ASK . Until the next post trip report.........Keep
Cool
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