Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the “Operation Cleanup” books. In undertaking that project, my goal was to put something together covering the kind of ground that had to date been unexplored in boxing. And to that degree, it was successful; there was never anything like it before and will never be anything like it again, since by definition anything that resembled it would have to be derivative of it.

Though not something for a mass market, the electronic books, which rolled out on a chapter-by-chapter basis in serial form on my Total Action website, were incredibly well-received by ardent fans, as well as “insiders” in the boxing community.

And no one seems to have forgotten them. I can’t begin to tell you how many people approach me, whether it be in person, by phone or email, asking, “When are you going to do another Operation Cleanup?”

Well, friends and fans, that day may be close at hand.

I am expecting that by December or January, there will be the unveiling of OPERATION CLEANUP III: BASTARD PEOPLE - once again, coming down the pike in serial form, story by story, “bullet by bullet.” I honestly couldn’t tell you how long it’s going to be, but I can guarantee I wouldn’t be writing another Operation Cleanup book just for the sake of getting some exercise.

Anyone who knows me understands that I am basically a very nice, friendly, agreeable person. Of course, there’s another side as well. When it came to the dishonest, disreputable, scurrilous, incompetent characters in boxing, the side of me that is a little mean, nasty and ruthless surfaced in Operation Cleanup and Operation Cleanup 2, as well as the latest book, Body Shots . We put a lot of pressure on a lot of people – successful in putting some of them in their place and blasting others OUT of their place.

But even those who know me best may not be aware of precisely how intense, surgical, mean, nasty, ruthless, fierce, brutal, savage, ferocious, fervent, dogged, unflinching and unyielding I can possibly be.

With OPERATION CLEANUP III: BASTARD PEOPLE, everyone’s about to find out – some at a distance, others at dangerously close range.

Sure, I’ll revisit a few of our old “pals” from the previous Operation Cleanup books, but in OPERATION CLEANUP III: BASTARD PEOPLE I’ll be introducing a whole new cast of characters – all nefarious, dastardly or megalomaniacal in their own way, previously untouched and untraversed. How appetizing is THAT?

If you’re the type of person who goes in for this kind of thing (and you know who you are), OPERATION CLEANUP III: BASTARD PEOPLE will probably be the most entertaining boxing book you’ll ever read.

So get set to go on another thrill ride.

And pray real hard that you won’t be staring down the business end of my pen.

(If you would like to be apprised of updates on OPERATION CLEANUP III: BASTARD PEOPLE, as well as previews before the stories are posted, please write to me at charlesjay99@gmail.com and I’ll put you on the mailing list. Also, continue to check with my column here on the blog for updates)

In February of 1961, a fighter named Jim Robinson, allegedly out of Kansas City, climbed into a Miami Beach ring with 19-year-old Cassius Clay as a last-minute substitute and was summarily dismissed inside of one round. By virtue of that bout, Robinson became a footnote in history, but in a bizarre way, he has become much more significant. As the Ali legend became firmly established and the “industry” surrounding him grew and grew, collectors and those in the literary world sought out each of The Greatest’s opponents for commercial purposes. The only one they could not find was Jim Robinson. To this day, his fate is not known, despite the efforts of autograph dealers, historians, even private investigators, to the point where his disappearance has become a cult legend of sorts, in and of itself.

Hank Kaplan, the world’s foremost boxing historian and archivist, is one of those people who has looked for any trace of Robinson, to no avail. He discusses the story with Charles Jay of Boxing Channel Radio.

To listen to the podcast, please click the icon below. And please, allow a moment or two for it to download.

By way of a press release, John Ruiz (or whoever wrote this for him) piled on Vitali Klitschko, who pulled out of his WBC heavyweight title fight with Hasim Rahman with a knee injury.

“I’m not surprised and I don’t think too many people in boxing are really surprised. First it was his hamstring injury from jogging, then it spread to his back, and now it’s his knee. It’s always something with this guy. They should really check his heart. HBO, Ring and anybody else that supports this guy as the so-called real heavyweight champion of the world should be ashamed of themselves. They have their own agendas. Klitschko doesn’t want to fight anybody he can’t handpick. Who has he ever beaten? World champions have to defend their title against the best opponents in the world. The WBC should strip him of the belt and award it to Rahman. Klitschko should pay Rahman for all of the time he’s wasted training. They had to force him to fight Rahman and he still pulled out. What does Klitschko mean in Russian, chicken? He quit on the stool with a shoulder injury against (Chris) Byrd in the 10th round of a 12-round fight that he was leading big. A doctor gave him approval to fight Rahman, but he chose not to fight. He’s tall, big and may look like a heavyweight champion. But he doesn’t have the heart and soul of a world champ. It’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts.

Also…………

“I’ve never ducked anybody. Nobody ever had to force me to fight a mandatory. I’m going halfway around the world to fight a giant – one-foot taller and 100-pounds heavier than me – in his backyard because I’m a true world champion. Valuev is my mandatory and after I take care of that fight, I’m pushing hard once again for a tournament so the public will have one heavyweight champion. Klitschko’s the reason we haven’t had a tournament because he wants to pick and choose his opponents like (Danny) Williams, (Oleg) Maskaev or (Calvin) Brock), instead of putting his belt on the line against one of the other champions. If the WBC does the right thing and makes Rahman the new champion like he deserves, boxing will be able to have a tournament next year and the public will know who the real man is in the heavyweight division, John Ruiz. Compare my record to any of the other heavyweight champions.”

What do you think of that statement?

– Has Klitschko beaten only “handpicked” opponents?
– Should the WBC strip Klitschko of the belt and give it to Rahman?
– Does Ruiz’s record actually stack up favorably to the other heavyweight champions, as he contends?

Let us know.

Here is the material being put out by Don King Productions in reaction to Vitali Klitschko pulling out of Saturday’s previously scheduled fight with Hasim Rahman due to inujury:

(FROM PRESS RELEASE)

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.—To make an informed conclusion on whether Vitali Klitschko should be stripped of the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship for failing, on four separate occasions this year, to face his mandatory challenger Hasim “The Rock� Rahman, the following chronology of events should be considered:

• Vitali Klitschko has never made a mandatory defense of a world title (WBC or WBO).

• Vitali Klitschko defeats Corrie Sanders by technical knockout in round eight on April 24, 2004, at Staples Center in Los Angeles to win the vacant WBC heavyweight title (vacated by Lennox Lewis).

• Pursuant to “WBC Rule 1.25 Vacant Title,� Klitschko was able to petition the WBC “to approve one voluntary defense, with the condition that the winner must meet his official challenger next.� The WBC granted the exception paving the way for Klitschko to meet Danny Williams on Dec. 11, 2004.

• Hasim Rahman defeats Kali “Checkmate� Meehan in New York in a WBC heavyweight championship elimination bout on Nov. 13, 2004, to become the WBC mandatory challenger.

• Vitali Klitschko makes an optional defense against Danny Williams in Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2004, winning by technical knockout in round eight.

• Tom Loeffler, Klitschko’s promoter at K2 Promotions, states on Dec. 24, 2004, that Vitali’s hands “were badly swollen but not broken� after his fight with Williams and that the timetable for future bouts “depends on Vitali’s hands.�

• Klitschko agrees in February 2005 to make a mandatory defense against Rahman on April 30, 2005, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

• The April 30, 2005, meeting is rescheduled to June 18, 2005, after Vitali suffers what is called a “thigh injury� while jogging.

• Klitschko re-schedules this mandatory defense to July 23, 2005, claiming his thigh did not respond to treatment.

• The July 23, 2005, re-scheduling is postponed yet again after Klitschko claims his thigh injury has spread to his back.

• Klitschko undergoes what his handlers refer to as “minor back surgery,� on April 19, 2005.

• “WBC Rule 1.27 Inactivity of a Champion� states: “When a world champion is:

a) inactive for more than six (6) months but less than one (1) year, for certified medical reasons, or

b) for whatever legal impediment or other reason beyond his control is unable to defend his championship within the time periods prescribed by the Rules and Regulations, the WBC may determine an interim champion pursuant to Rule 1.25 hereof.�

• Don King Productions successfully petitions the WBC in May 2005 to sanction for its interim heavyweight championship on Aug. 13, 2005, the match between WBC No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger Hasim Rahman and WBC No. 2-ranked, and No. 2 mandatory challenger Monte “Two Gunz� Barrett pursuant to WBC Rule 1.27.

• Don King implores Klitschko to face Rahman on Aug. 13, avoiding the necessity of the interim championship bout. Klitschko claims he cannot be ready to fight by Aug. 13. After Rahman and Barrett sign to fight each other, it is leaked to the media that Klitschko suddenly recovers to the extent that he is fit to fight on HBO Sept. 24. Klitschko’s hand-picked
opponent, Oleg Maskaev, is subsequently rejected by HBO as a suitable opponent according to media reports.

• Klitschko subsequently petitions the WBC to allow him a second voluntary defense against Calvin Brock on Sept. 24, 2005. The WBC rejects Klitschko’s bid on July 15, 2005, and orders Vitali to face the winner of Rahman vs. Barrett.

• The WBC announces on Aug. 17, 2005, that Klitschko will make his thrice-delayed mandatory defense against Rahman on Nov. 12, 2005, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

• Klitschko is reportedly “knocked down� and “banged up� by sparring partners during the first week in November to the extent he claims a knee injury. Two doctors fit Vitali with two different knee braces, but it was never reported that either physician determined that Klitschko’s apparent knee injury would prevent him from fighting on Nov. 12.

• Vitali Klitschko himself makes the decision to pull out of the Rahman fight on Nov. 5, 2005.

• “WBC Rule 1.28 Penalty on Inactivity by Champion (or Interim Champion)� states: “A champion (or an interim champion) not defending his title within one (1) year will lose his title.� Therefore, if Klitschko is not able to face Rahman by Dec. 11, 2005, (one year since Klitschko last defended his title against Danny Williams), the WBC must, by its own Rules and
Regulations strip him of his title. Furthermore:

• “WBC Rule 1.29 Penalty on Refusal to Fight� states: “If any of both, the WBC Champion [Klitschko] and the interim champion [Rahman] , is not willing to participate in a contest to have one sole undisputed champion in the division, he [Klitschko] will lose his portion of the title, with the willing champion [Rahman] becoming automatically, the undisputed WBC
Champion of the division.� Therefore, the WBC must declare Rahman its heavyweight champion by Dec. 10, 2005, pursuant to rules 1.28 and 1.29, if it follows its own Rules and Regulations. Any deviation from the aforementioned Rules and Regulations would certainly leave the WBC open to needless and unnecessary lawsuits for obvious violations of its own Rules and Regulations.

• “WBC Rule 1.21 Championship Defense Obligations� states: “b) Mandatory Defense Obligations. All WBC recognized champions are obligated to make at least one yearly mandatory defense against the designated official challenger [Rahman].� It further states: “Mandatory Defenses. A WBC champion is obligated to make at least one yearly mandatory defense against the designated official challenger [Rahman].�

What do YOU think? Let us know.