By George Willis, New York Post
History will remember Yuri Foreman for his courage and Miguel Cotto for his accomplishment. Thirty-four years after Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton at the old Yankee Stadium, the Jewish kid from Israel and the determined Puerto Rican did themselves proud in the new ballpark in The Bronx. Too bad I can't say that for everyone else involved in Cotto's ninth-round TKO victory.
The mess of an eighth round when Foreman's corner threw a towel of surrender into the ring only to be ignored by referee Arthur Mercante Jr., was a showcase of bad decision making that could have gotten someone hurt.
Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs) is now a four-time world champion in three weight divisions with another big fight on the horizon, while Foreman (28-1, 8 KOs) has earned tons of respect from the 20,272 in attendance after injuring his right knee in an awkward fall in the seventh round. Robbed of his mobility, the Brooklyn-based Foreman stood and fought on one leg earning more fans than when he started. But just about everyone else with a role needs to make sure the mistakes made in the eighth round aren't repeated.
Let's start with Mercante. Selected to work the fight as a tribute to his late father, who worked Ali-Norton, Mercante was having a good night until the eighth round, when Foreman's trainer Joe Grier threw in the towel with 1:13 left. Cotto raised his hand in triumph, and Grier entered the ring. The fight should have been stopped there.
But with promoters, corner men and cameras all in the ring thinking the bout was over, Mercante ushered everyone out, and asked Foreman if he wanted to continue. Since when does a fighter decide how much punishment he should take? A fighter's will to continue should never supersede the desires of his trainer. Mercante even told Foreman: "You're fighting hard. I don't want to see you lose like that."
Mercante would later defend his action by saying: "There was no need to stop the fight. They were in the middle of a great fight. The people came to see the fight. I thought I did the right thing to let it continue."
I don't. Foreman wasn't going to win the fight on one leg. He was only going to take more punishment.
Grier didn't distinguish himself either. At the post- fight press conference, he admitted he threw the towel into the ring be cause he was trying to stop the fight. He also took a swipe at the New York State Athletic Commission.
"Prior to me throwing the towel in I realized that it was a violation," Grier said, "but before I threw that towel in, there were three [NYSAC] inspectors in that corner and I asked them, 'How do I go about getting the fight stopped?' They said, 'Well, let me get the referee's attention.' They couldn't get the referee's attention. I said, 'I've got to get it stopped because he's really starting to get banged up.' They said, 'Go ahead.' So I threw it in. I don't know what else I was expected to do.' "
He should have been expected to stand by his decision. Instead, he wasn't emphatic enough with Mercante and allowed the fight to continue into the ninth. And how does a trainer for a world champion not know how to "go about getting a fight stopped?"
The inspectors failed, too. They were supposed to get Mercante's attention when Grier said he wanted the fight stopped. They yelled at Mercante to stop the fight, but the referee didn't acknowledge them. All this was happening while Foreman's wife Leyla Leidecker was screaming at Foreman's corner to "Stop the fight."
Said Grier: "I wanted [Foreman] to leave with dignity."
Foreman didn't need the ninth round for that.
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
No comments:
Post a Comment