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Here's your underdog trifecta and here are the winners, with and without mezuzahs, and the losers after Oleg Maskaev scored his second KO over Hasim Rahman and went home to Staten Island (memo to HBO: that is a borough of New York City, not part of the former USSR):
WINNER: DENNIS RAPPAPORT. Remember the Broadway play, "I'm Not Rappaport"? Dennis "The Menace Rappaport, who was Whacko Twin #1 with sidekick Mike Jones 24 years ago when they co-managed Gerry Cooney, IS Dennis Rappaport Productions.
He is the one and only promoter of the new WBC champeen because it was a mandatory defense for Rahman. Rappaport
is going to bust the you know what of the entire Boxing
Establishment. Free and clear, free and clear, Dennis is
shouting from the rooftops at Caesars Palace (where
Cooney was so game but was outskilled by champ Larry Holmes).
I know Rappaport and he won't dance to HBO's tune, to the WBC's tune, or to another promoter's tune. The only marching orders the eccentric but so clever Rappaport will follow are the ones he writes the script for.
All of Kery Davis' horses and all of his microphone men may try to lure Rappaport into tossing the mentally and physically drained, new 37-year-old champ into facing IBF king Wlad Klitschko on November 11 at the Garden but it ain't going to happen.
Gen. Rappaport won't be following directives, he will be issuing them. Look for Maskaev to maybe chill for the rest of the year, take his various victory laps and come back in 2007 with a handpicked
optional defense.
Already Jose Sulaiman is pushing the September 2 James Toney-Samuel Peter winner on Maskaev but Rappaport has moves and plots he has been waiting to put into effect for 24 count' em 24, long years. Give the man credit, although Dennis prefers cash, how many people follow a dream for 24 years after such a disappointment?
Obsession, thy name is Rappaport.
Yes, he was a Whacko Twin but, last night, Rappaport looked like an Everlast Einstein. Congrats, Rapstar, and may I ask what you were buzzing Nevada commission chief Keith Kizer about so earnestly at ringside during the Humberto Soto bout?
WINNER: VICTOR VALLE JR. Trainer Victor Valle Jr. can drop the junior from his name. He came into his own withn his cool and calm demeanor in the corner.
He was even rapping a bit, that "fire and desire" stuff. I thought maybe Vixctor was reading from Chairman Cus D'Amato's Book Of Inspirational Phrases. I don' recall his father being so poetic. It's a long
way from handling flash-in-the-fistic pan Emmanuel Lucero to Maskaev copping the green and gold
heavyweight title belt but Valle completed the trip. I bet Rappaport is smart enough to buy Maskaev, Valle, manager Fred Kesh and the whole team first class plane fares back to NYC...Among Oleg's numerous former trainers were Bob Jackson and Tommy Gallagher.
WINNER: OLEG MASKAEV. Maskaev is as nice a young man (hey, when you're 50ish, 37 is young) as you can meet in a boxing gym. In The Ring Up There, Whacko #2, Mike Jones, is smiling, cutman Al Gavin is beaming and proup Pop, Victor Valle, is grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Maybe Maksaev will wind up fighting Shannon Briggs, the contender who HBO seems to be afraid
of, at Shea or Yankee Stadium with the IBF and WBC belts on the line in the summer of 2007.
Back on earth, Gleason's owner Bruce Silverglade can add yet another world champion to his honor roll list. Let me tell you this also, Maskaev was a gentlemen when I first met him, back when he got whacked out in one round by Oliver McCall in Roanoke, Va., and that's not Atomic Bull. Enjoy it, you Staten Islander and come out bedecked in red, white and blue for your first defense as "America's First Line Of Offense."
If I know Rappaport, he will look for a Kate Smith lookalike to sing "God Bless America" before that first title defense.
WINNER: FRED KESH. Until Oleg undressed Rahman again, the Top Rank crew viewed handpicked (by his then brotther-in-law Rappaport) manager Kesh an annoying nebbish. Ok, so maybe he's a nebbish but now he stands right next to Dennis in the Big Heavyqweight
Casino and each roll is yo,. seven or 11, winner on the front line! Kesh will continue to play the good cop to Rappaport's insane cop as they move ahead.
Along the way he and Rappaport had some real doozies, fakers pretending to be fighters. Rappaport gave them great nicknames but they couldn't cut
it in the ring.
WINNER: LARRY MERCHANT. For one, perfectly-timed verbal jab thrown while ref Jay Nady (my Nevada-Reno fraternity brother was awful in this one) was hounding Maskaev for supposed holding. "No, Jay," merchant screamed into his mike, "you cut it out!" There were bellylaughs and "right ons" heard in living rooms throughout America.
Nady is as honest as an August day in 100 degree Vehgas heat is long but he could've worn a Team Rahman jersey. Perhaps he is still upset about ballplayer newphew, X Nady, being traded from the first-place Mets to the lowly Pirates...
WINNER: THELL TORRANCE. Class always tells and this former student of Gentleman Eddie Futch is no sewer mouth like a Kevin Cunningham (who calls every MFer the son of an MFer). At the post-fight press conference, Torrance praised Maskaev and made no excuses for his man losing. "He did a good job," Torrance said. "I got nothing ngative to say about about him (Maskaev). That's a mixture of good manners and good sportsmanship.
WINNER: JIM STRICKLAND. Better known heretofore as a cutman, trainer told David Diaz he needed to go and knock opponent Jose Armando Santa Cruz, the WBC interim lightweight champ, down twice to have a chance to win the undercard bout.
Diaz went out and dropped Cruz twice and scored a come-from-behind KO. Now that is an attentive fighter. Professor Strickland can be proud of this pupil. For the record, Diaz was behind by five points on two cards and by three on the third before the 10th round KO. I guess Strickland is a mathematics and pugilism professor.
WINNERS: JUDGES GLEN TROWBRIDGE and JERRY ROTH: I seem to disagree with Mr. Roth about once every decade. He is the best judge in Nevada and about 48 or 49 other states.
He showed that once again with his 106-103 Maskaev tally through 11 rounds. Trowbridge was on the winning side although his 105-104 Maskaev ledger seems a bit shaky. Not as shaky as Rahman was in the final round. Two Nevada judges had it right and, as for the arbiter from Thailand, see below under "L" for Loser.
LOSER: ROBERT ARUM. So much for Uncle Bob's latest foray into the heavyweight division and kiss good-bye the heavyweight title bout featuring Rahman that Bobster planned to deliver to bosom buddy Steve Wynn's new Chinese hotel-casino project.
Arum and Wynn both seem to have a reverse Midas Touch when it comes to heavyweights. If you recall, Wynn inked James 'Buster" Douglas to a mind-boggling deal after Douglas upset Mike Tyson in Tokyo. Douglas then turned into a Goodyear blimp and was easily flattened by Evander Holyfield in a title bout at Wynn's then-new Mirage.
Now if Arum can only locate a half-Chinese, half-Mexican fighter in lower weights. Which reminds me of former contender Tough Tony Licata, a New Orleans battler who was half Chinese and half Italian. He's about 55 or so I don't see Licata launching a comeback although I hear there is an open spot of Lester Bedord's August 19 Holyfield-Jeremy "Motel" Bates card in Dallas.
Next part of China that Rahman sees will be the entrance to Johnny Wong's China Sails Restaurant in scenic Baltimore. Go with the General Tsao Szechuan special, Rock.
LOSER: STEVE NELSON. Rock's manager is
probably looking for a place to hide but remember, bearded one, you can't do the fighting for them. Nelson can go look for the next Oscar de la Hoya if there is one to be discovered.
LOSER: JOEY BISHOP. Some people watching the PPV where I was (hint: Kennedy Compound, Hyannisport) thought Rappaport was Joey Bishop. On the other hand, since
Rat Packer Bishop is 88 years young and Dennis is at least 24
years (there is Dennis' magic number again) let's make Bishop a WINNER, not a LOSER.
LOSER: JUDGE ANEK HONGTONGKRAM. Win, lose or Thai? This guy should be left in the bleachers in Bangkok. He gets it wrong quite often and this time Anek The Meek had Rahman up by three points going into fatal 12th round.
Let him judge Thai-style boxing or Singha Beer tastings but not boxing. How to explain how old reliable Roth having it by three points to Maskaev and thus a six-point differential between the two?
WBC bossman Jose Sulaiman needs to find another Thai judge because thiis guy is incompetent. Btw, the Marley Scorecard had Maksaev up by five points at the finish, 107-102
LOSER: HASIM RAHMAN. Perhaps Rahman thought he was getting ready to do standup in one of Wynn's high-priced lounges. HBO's heavyweight chia pet thought it was cute to say,
"What time do we start?" as Nady finished the pre-fight instructions in the dressing room.
Not to be cruel, Rock, but I think construction jobs in Maryland start at daylight. I know you didn't realize how witty and wonderful Jim Lampley and Merchant thought you are, I mean, were. Lampley did view you as Oscar Levant in boxing gloves, I guess. But report to the job site bright and early. You will dig it.
As I look out on to the heavyweight seas, I see whitecaps. If you like Captain Queeg, you will love Admiral Rappaport.
My spies at Caesars report: 5 am, Sunday, they saw Rappaport, ballbearings in one hand, muttering something about "strawberries,.
the strawberries."
Maskaev and Rappaport will get their bounty. Their mutiny has just begun.
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