MICHAEL MARLEY SUNDAY BOXING BLOG:
WINNERS HARRIS, CLOTTEY ROLL ON BUT LOSERS DON'T 'WHINE' IN THE 'SIDEWAYS' VINO CAPITAL OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA SANTA YNEZ, CALIF. --Assorted notes, quotes, personal observations and anecdotes while hitting the speed bag in order to get ready for another day of unlimited wine tasting in this gorgeous slice of heaven in between LA and San Francisco.  And, no, I had no Merlot, strictly the complex pinot noir so, as in the movie "Sidweways," I could describe the vino like Miles did in the flick: "... a little citrus...maybe some strawberry...passion fruit...and there's even a hint of like asparagus...or even a nutty Edam cheese..."
Tip your glass of claret to the Saturday night winners. Here's a toast to Roy Jones, Jr. who gave the little people of Boise the chance to see "the living legend" (RJJ's modest self-description) in person. I will take a guess that it was Silverhawk matchmaker Big Jeff Grmoja who picked Prince Badi Ajamu, no ring royalty he, as Jones Idaho opponent. If you bet the Prince against Good King Roy and someone gave you 12 points on the scorecards, you lose, sucker. RJJ came home 119-106 winner on all three scorecards. Far more interesting will be the PPV numbers which are likely to be anemic...
Take a sip of chardonnay and toast the twin winners from Guyana, first Vicious Vivian Harris who gave courageous but over-the-Sierra Madre Mountains (biggest hill nearby) Stevie Johnston. Silverhawk won in Boise but "Lil But Bad' took a pounding from a refocused Harris.  The Caribbean country's big ring winner was Gairy St. Clair who went into South Africa and took the IBF junior lightweight title by decision from homeboy Cassius "I'm no Cassius Clay" Baloyi. St. Clairr, now based in the land Down Under, won by verdicts of four, two and one point and let's salute those fair-minded judges. They will never get any plum assignments in Germany, that is for sure. The big newspaper in Guyana, the Stabroek News, and boxing scribe Steve Ninvalle must be relishing all this. To top it all off, how about a sip of petit syrah in honor of Harris' trainer and former top pro fighter, Lennox Blackmoore. Blackmoore had his fellow countryman and longtime protege Harris rested and ready for substitute foe Johnston. Ain't nothing but a boxing party in Georgetown (no not the section of DC) right about now.  Got to mention Harris manager, the soft-spoken but astute Jose "We Want Ricky Hatton Now" Nunez who also directs top junior lightweight gun Joan Guzman...HBO guru Harold Lederman, who is a pharmacist by night and pugilistic pundit by night. says Guzman beats WBO king Jorge "La Hiena" Barrios "easy" on September 16 Barerra-Juarez II show in Vegas if a) Guzman's hands are okay and b) Guzman does not have trouble making 130 pounds.  Manager Nunez likes Lederman's prognostication but says the fight will be a very difficult one and that is how the Dominican Dandy is approaching it also. Barrios cornerman and proud Argentinian Miguel "Opera Singer" Diaz swears his man will "squash Guzman like a little bug."... Curious item: ring announcer Michael Buffer introduced Joshua Clottey, who outpointed young prospect Richard Gutierrez in co-feature, as being "29-0 with 29 knockouts." THe packed house of about 1,300 oohed and aahed at that but the reality is Clottey was 29-1 (DQ loss to King Carlos Baldomir) and still has 18 KOs after using his experience to tame Colombian Gutierrez.  Put Gutierrez in your future book because he can't be written off based on this loss...Btw, props to the Chumash tribe, They have a perfect size venue for boxing. It is not too big or too small and every ticket-buyer also got a free tee-shirt. Look for this casino to keep growing and growing. The buffet comes highly-recommended by champion nosher and Harris and Guzman cornerman Delen "I Thought It Was All You Can Eat' Parsley, aka in boxing gyms as "The Blimp." Why Parsley does not have an endorsement deal with Blimpie's sandwich shops I will never know... I see where Sultan Ibragimov's camp is complaining about the draw decision with Ray Austin. What's the beef, that the judges favored multimillionaire Don King's guy, Austin, over billionaire Suleiman Kerimov's guy, Iggy? Put it this way, Forbes magazine rtanks Kerimov as 72nd richest person on planet Earth while Mr. King is unranked. King was not at the fight in South Florida because of minor health problem. Someone asked DK where he went for medical assistance and he did not hesitate, "Lennox Lewis Hospital," DK said. Told you the man is always thinking boxing. Naturally, he meant excellent Lenox Hill on East Side of Manhattan... Is it me or does Freeman Barr make a ring comeback twice a year? And what does he do when he is launching his ring returns? The people want to know...Billionaire Kerimov is said to be no cheapskate. Sources say he once invited cornerman Mario Costa to gamble with him in a casino.  To get the Jersey guy going, Kerimov tossed him a $5,000 gaming chip. Mr. Kerimov, operators are standing by for your call to your new adviser, the Marley man... Referee Eddie Cotton, long-ball hitter, says DKP's Bobby Goodman takes too many mulligans on the course. Cotton once threatened to DQ Goodman for using his Gucci golf shoes to kick his ball out of woods and on to fairway. Best boxing golfer this dedicated hacker has seen to date. no question, is Ron "Rockabye" Katz, Northeast Promotion's matchmaker. Katz can shoot low 80s without getting out of bed.  Let's put it this way, Katz treats the awesome Bethpage Black course on Long Island, where he lives, like just another six-rounder...Good to see former world champ who I co-managed with Scott "Yankee Pinstripes" Woodworth, estimable Roberto "Granpa" Garcia, thriving as a manager-trainer with his Oxnard stable. Like him, Garcia's guy come to fight, no dancing permitted. Garcia was rolling through the 130-pounders until he got him by a freight train out Cali capital Sacramento. Name of that train was/is Diego 'Chico" Corrales. And wouldn't it be great if 'Chico' had brothers named Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo... Have I mentioned that the hardest-working fight publicist around is Bob "The Brighton Flash" Trieger? A lot of flacks write bios about fighters battling their way out of housing projects but Trieger is only one publicist I know who did the same.  We became pals in the seventh grade hwen Trieger was surviving a Boston urban jungle known as Fidelis Way. Ask him and Trieger can relate some scary stories from "around the Way" back in the day. We had a high school buddy named Eric Winbush who later fought some guy named Evander Holyfield. Trieger was a baseball and basketball star and usually the "white spot" on his hoop teams. Very decent shooting guard except that he started shooting from the locker room...Sagacious, all-around boxing guy Akbar Muhammad was in the house and lives up the Cali coast.  Some promoter or network would be wise to give this walking ring encyclopedia a gig. Btw, I call him Akbar Muhammad the Younger so as not to be confused with the sam e named former Top Rank VP. Last I heard Akbar The Elder was operating out of Charlotte and importing products from Africa...Muhammad reports that former champ Mike "Body Snatcher" McCallum is recovering nicely from auto accident and that the Jamaican ring hero has prospered with real estate interests in his homeland. Opponents knew, when fighting McCallum, body shots soon come, mon, and plenty of them. Only body puncher of recent vintage who I think compares was the Mexican kid from Culiacan, JC Chavez... See ya later, fight fans. A bottle of Sea Smoke pinot noir is calling my name. It thinks my name is 'wonderful wino.' ...And I'm just warning you local hackers. You saw 'Sideways," do not, repeat, do not drive into my foursome at the River Course at Alisal. I will counterpunch with my Cleveland Launcher and you don't want that...
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