I got a job as a boxing writer at DogHouseBoxing.com, check out my article they just posted up! http://www.doghouseboxing.com/dhb/birring_100606.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1995, Kevin ‘The Flushing Flash’ Kelley was a brash young champion out of New York City. He won the WBC featherweight championship in June of 1994 against Gregorio Vargas. Kelley made two defenses before he met his first conqueror, Alejandro Gonzales, in San Antonio. Gonzales stopped Kelley in the tenth round of a brutal, violent fight. “That night, I understood what it was like to be blind,” says Kelley. That was eleven years ago. Kelley is now thirty-nine years of age, with one knockout for each year of his life. He is well past his prime, but fighting on nonetheless two divisions higher than his championship weight. But why? Perhaps he loves the adoration of the crowd, the adults and children staying after fight cards simply to shake his hand. Or perhaps the adrenaline rush of knocking out an opponent in front of a raucous crowd. (It is said that the roar of the crowd rings in a fighter’s ears far past the end of his career.) Or more simply, maybe he just needs the money. As fellow New Yorker Mike Tyson says, “I’m looking to make a buck like anyone else.” Carlos ‘El Famoso’ Hernandez is a study in persistence. The first champion from El Salvador, at one time he fought simply for meal money. His saving grace is his wife, Veronica Hernandez, who always stuck by his side and now manages him. His story has been made into a documentary, ‘More Than Famous’, which won the Grand Festival Award in the 2003 Berkeley Video and Film Festival. Now, Hernandez headlines local cards, but his dream is to become champion once again and fight the big names in Sin City. He has not had a belt since a vicious battle resulting in a loss to Erik Morales two years ago. Since then, he was robbed against Bobby Pacquiao, and lost a questionable decision to Jesus Chavez. Hernandez’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory in San Antonio over an unknown fighter named Sean Plessis in a bullring in front of five hundred fans. A fall from grace indeed. After an undercard of mismatches, the Municipal Auditorium crowd of approximately one thousand fans was anxious for an evenly-matched main event. Suddenly, the speakers blared “New York, I’m from New York”. Ja Rule’s song was the one Kelley, 59-7-2 (39), had chosen for his return to San Antonio. He walked confidently, all the haunting memories of his last fight in the city erased, at least temporarily. Hernandez, 42-7-1 (24), then entered the arena, walking to slow, tortuous drum beats. Michael Buffer entered the ring, looking as young as ever, and first announced Kelley. The crowd politely applauded, the memories of his war against Garcia still in their minds. Then Hernandez’s name was announced, and the crowd gave a hearty round of applause. The hero of El Salvador was now the adopted son of San Antonio. The opening rounds were closely contested, and the strategies of each fighter soon became apparent. Hernandez wanted to bull Kelley around the ring, using his natural strength to his advantage. Kelley wanted to stay on the outside and pop with slick combinations. The rounds were quite even, as Hernandez would corner Kelley and bang to the body, only to have Kelley push him away and use crisp combinations to the head. Everything changed in the fourth round. Kelley began to hold Hernandez, perhaps tiring from Hernandez’s bruising attack. Then, suddenly, Kelley unleashed a thunderous right hand. Hernandez’s legs buckled, and he fell to the canvas. He made it up, but looked to be in terrible shape. Hernandez attempted valiantly to make it up. The crowd was in a state of shock; it is not often that Hernandez’s eyes see the house lights from that angle. He made it up in time, and Kelley went on the attack. Now the question was whether Kelley could close the show in the fourth round. Kelley unleashed fists of fury, but somehow Hernandez survived the round with legs of rubber. At ringside, his wife had the look of a worried mother. In the fifth, Hernandez returned with newfound strength, and the fight was once again like the earlier rounds, each man trying to impose his will on the other, as if the fourth round never happened. The fight followed the same pattern until the closing bell. Now, the bout was in the hand of the judges. What did they like, the punishing attack of Hernandez, or the slick boxing of Kelley? The crowd was buzzing; “I don’t know who won” was heard from many mouths in the crowd. Perhaps Kelley should have attempted to finish the fight when he could. What are the chances he would get a decision in San Antonio, a Spanish speaking town in the south, 1500 miles away from home? Buffer entered the ring with the scores in hand. He read the scores, 95-94, 96-93, and 97-92. And then, a pleasant surprise: “To the winner, the Flushing Flash, Kevin Kelley!” It is not often the judges do the right thing in boxing, especially in Texas, but it is refreshing to see the deserving man win. (However, what does it say about the state of boxing when it is a surprise when the judges give the proper decision?) After the fight, Hernandez tearfully retired. Perhaps tired of the politics and lifestyle of boxing, he stated: “If I’m going to get knocked down back-to-back, it’s time to call it a career. I don’t want to get hurt in this business; I have beautiful children. I feel bad that I couldn’t win, but you know, I think that everyone who saw me knows I won’t get knocked out or I won’t go down, I’ll keep coming, I’m relentless, I persevere. That’s my motto, ‘perseverance pays off’. I think I’ll just persevere in another career.” Hernandez is a proud man, and a man of such discipline with his work ethic will do fine in any career he puts his mind to. Boxing will miss the Salvadoran gentleman. Before the fight, Top Rank's matchmaker had made a prophetic statement: “Both guys are on the downside of their careers. So there's a lot on the line. The loser knows it's pretty much over.” Congratulations to the Flushing Flash, farewell to ‘El Famoso’. Undercard Notes: Local star Raul Martinez, 16-0 (12) tortured rugged Ilio Julio, 33-9-1 (29), in front of a frenzied crowd for ten rounds until the fight was stopped. However, it was a fight which presented Martinez to a new experience in his career – going down to the canvas. Early in the first, Martinez put Julio down with a lightning quick right hand to the body. Julio immediately jumped up, and stared furiously at Martinez. A moment later, Julio unleashed a straight left that put Martinez down. This moment shows the difference between a journeyman and a great fighter – would Martinez get up or stay down? Would he fight cautiously, or attack out of fury? Martinez got up and smiled, usually the sign of a hurt fighter. But both fighters survived the round. Julio should have gone for the kill; his tank of success was now empty. For the rest of the fight, Martinez essentially shadowboxed, in and out, in and out, beating up Julio with hand picked shots. As the fight wore on, Julio’s face became more and more deformed. By the tenth, he did not look like the same man who walked into the ring half an hour before. His face was swollen, one eye was shut, but he stubbornly wanted to finish the fight. For many rounds, Julio’s punches lacked the steam he had early, but now he was not even punching back. Referee Roy Ovalle stopped the fight at sixty-one seconds of the tenth round. Martinez is a great prospect, perhaps after Calvin Brock the shiniest diamond on Main Events’ promotional banner. But if he is serious about becoming a champion, he will throw combinations instead of single power punches or an occasional double jab. These are the tools the great ones have, but Martinez is still a young twenty four-years of age; he has time to improve. Notes from the crowd: In attendance were former world champions Jesus ‘El Matador’ Chavez, Mike Ayala, Jesse James Leija, and Genaro Hernandez. After the fight Kelley graciously stayed and took pictures with fans, who were not allowed to shake his right hand: “I was just in a fight.” In which other sport do participants continue with broken hands? Boxers are studies in discipline and heart, the equivalent of modern day gladiators.
I take it that's your first article? Or something? I'm not going to lie....I didn't read the article. too long, for something I don't even watch/follow. Congrats...give up on basketball?
Second article. I didn't give up on basketball, I just got an opportunity to do boxing so I took it. I would write on any sport, I live/breathe sports.
Very nice, man. Don't forget to have someone read your article before posting it. It always works for me.
Congrats, can't be worse than any of the so-called 'sports writers' already employed by major publications. Just take lots of pics, and post some of them here from your ringside seat (if you get one).
rockHEAD, you know he will, or at least get a better view than most of us. tigermission1, I am thinking that writers are not photographers, meaning slickvick will be writing notes instead of looking for a good shot, even if he had the nicest camera. Most reporters have their photographers sitting closer to the action, if anywhere near ringside. They don't take the photos themselves.
I've been told you have to contact the promotional firm and fill out an application for press credentials, it's up to the discretion of the promotor who is throwing the fight to give you them or not. I believe press row is very close to the ring, 2nd row or something like that!
