ARE SHANE MOSLEY AND BERNARD HOPKINS OVERRATED?

In the past years, a 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins dominated a 26-year-old middleweight champ in Kelly Pavlik. Also, a 37-year-old Shane Mosley destroyed a 30-year-old Antonio Margarito.

Are Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley that great, or is the competition just that bad?



Pavlik vs. Hopkins Revisited

Kelly Pavlik, though limited, is not as limited as his one-sided loss to Bernard Hopkins would suggest. The fact that Pavlik fought Hopkins at 10 pounds above his best weight should definitely be factored into Hopkins’ victory.

For those who say the weight had nothing to do with it, maybe Hopkins should have gone down 10 pounds back to middleweight to face Pavlik at his strongest weight and really prove something.

This game Hopkins is playing is really getting tired, and I’m surprised that more people don’t see through the sham. Bernard Hopkins biggest wins are against smaller guys than him fighting at Hopkins’ weight for only the first or second time in their career.

When Hopkins fought accomplished fighters his own size, he either struggled or lost. When Hopkins fought a green Jermain Taylor twice, he lost. When he fought Roy Jones, he lost.

He tried to play the “you come up in weight to fight me” game again with Joe Calzaghe and it backfired, as Calzaghe had been at 168 pounds so long it was naturally time for him to move up in weight anyway. Hopkins lost that fight too.

Hopkins did beat Antonio “One Hit Wonder” Tarver, but I am not sure how much credit Hopkins should get for that, in light of Tarver’s whole career being based on catching a faded Roy Jones at the right time.

So Hopkins beats the 160 pound champ, Pavlik, at 170 pounds and some ridiculously want to call him the next Ray Robinson or Archie Moore for this. This is the same thing that Hopkins did with 154 pounder Winky Wright.

When Wright was the 154-pound champ and Hopkins was at 160 pounds, Hopkins wanted no part of Wright. However, after Hopkins fled to the 175-pound division and got settled there, he called out Wright for a fight but only under the condition that they fight at 170 pounds.

Wright accepted the challenge and looked out of shape at the higher weight, as he lost a 12-round decision to Hopkins.

Verdict: The young champs don’t suck, Hopkins just knows how to pick fights to his advantage. Let’s see Hopkins dominate Chad Dawson, a true light heavyweight. However, in true Hopkins fashion, Hopkins has opted to fight the extremely faded Roy Jones Jr that was knocked out in one round in his very last fight. In spite of this, Jones may still be capable of winning giving Hopkins' overrated status.



Mosley vs. Margarito Revealed

“Sugar” Shane Mosley had a lot riding on his fight with Antonio Margarito as far as legacy, since he had been on the downslide in his last couple of fights and time was running out.

Up until his fight with Margarito, Mosley’s last truly significant win was his first win over Oscar de la Hoya back in 2000, eight years ago. In Mosley’s losses to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright, he failed to show the resourcefulness of the other “Sugars,” Ray Leonard and Ray Robinson.

So in January 2009, after many setbacks, Mosley destroyed the young and highly touted Antonio Margarito in one of the most destructive and dominant wins over a champion in a long time.

Much of the hype surrounding Mosley’s victory over Margarito is generated because of the man-eating aura that Margarito has…or had.

As most know by now, foreign substances were found in both of Margarito’s hand wraps before his fight with Mosley and he was subsequently forced to rewrap his hands without the foreign substances while under the watchful eye of Nazeem Richardson, Mosley’s trainer, and the commission.

Margarito went on to give a very lackluster performance from the very first round and did not seem confident throwing his hands. Margarito has little defense but the little defense he has is generated by his offense.

However, as Margarito seemed very hesitant about throwing his hands during the entire fight, Mosley virtually had nothing to worry about and just proceeded to beat on Margarito round after round until he finally cracked.

Why did Margarito fight so timidly after his hands were rewrapped? Could it be that Margarito’s hands are always wrapped with foreign substances and in them lay his confidence?

Is this why it seemed that Margarito was able to bust up and bloody Miguel Cotto with the very few head shots that he was able to land in a very short time once he landed them?

Although Mosley did a good job against Margarito, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Mosley just struggled against Ricardo Mayorga (of all people) in his last fight before facing Margarito.

Mayorga’s chin has been shot for years and it took Mosley until the very last round to drop Mayorga.

Furthermore, before getting stopped, the crude Mayorga was even outboxing Mosley according to one judge and the Associated Press. I find this very unimpressive. Mosley also lost a close fight to Miguel Cotto.

Verdict: Margarito always sucked but was probably cheating to get by. Mosley has lost to Miguel Cotto and will probably lose to Paul Williams or even Andre Berto. He should take a page out of Hopkins’ book and fight smaller guys like Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. Mosley's next matchup against Mayweather is a virtual toss up as Mayweather's true greatness is a mystery due to his matchups with dubious competition.

KASSIM OUMA: American Dream or African Nightmare

Much has been said about Kassim “The Dream” Ouma and his tragic kidnapping at the hands of the Ugandan army when he was only 7 years old. Every time he fights on HBO, the commentators feel the need to play sad music and go into this sad story about how this poor little guy from Africa was kidnapped by some bad guys and forced to fight in an army. At times the announcers will even go as far as to admit that Kassim Ouma has probably even killed people (gasp!). Ouma fought in this army for at least ten years. He was a foot soldier, he had a gun, and his job was to kill.

Although Ouma was forced into a life of war and all of the violence that comes with it, are we to assume that he was some type of morally charged super soldier that only took out the bad guys? Does Ouma really warrant being felt sorry for in light of the potential victims of his actions left behind in war torn Uganda?

Ouma's story is kind of a dark version of the proverbial “American dream”. At this point, we see him bouncing around the ring sometimes winning fights and sometimes losing them. He did achieve his dream in the process, by winning a version of the 154lb championship and marrying a hot blonde. According to sources, Ouma became obsessed with escaping to the United States after viewing a copy of Girls Gone Wild as a soldier in Uganda.

Extreme acts of rape?

Anyway, when you look at the actions of the Ugandan army and the many other little armies running around Uganda and the rest of Africa, it becomes obvious that if Ouma participated in what seems to be the general practice of the Ugandan army, he is probably fortunate to not be rotting in a prison somewhere for war crimes. For those unaware, the Ugandan army is notorious for committing atrocities against humanity, particularly against females. Killing, torture, and rape are all just part of the average day in the life of a Ugandan soldier.

In June of 2005, UNICEF indicated in a report that rape was the most common form of violence in the so-called “protected” villages set up by the Ugandan government. According to a Human Rights Watch report in September 2005 found that "soldiers prey upon women and girls they find traveling outside the camps out of necessity--to collect firewood or water or to sow, tend or harvest crops." Now just imagine your grandmother going out to the corner store for some beef jerky only to get beef jerkied by Kassim Ouma in the bushes. That is what these poor sisters in Africa have to go through every day. These African soldiers are notorious for busting into huts, gang raping everybody, forcing family members to rape each other, and then never getting punished. There are reports of more than 15 solders at a time raping 10-year-old girls and then firing off a rifle into their vaginas when they’re done. Unfortunately for the girls, they don’t die. They just walk around with their vaginas stinking and rotting because the wall dividing their intestines and wombs has been virtually destroyed leading to infection and total loss of control. Tyrone Jenkins, ebonics expert, put it this way: " In lay terms, these chicks can’t stop shitting and pissing on themselves after getting gang raped and then literally taking a bullet up the ass."


Using villagers for punching bags?

What about the Ugandan military’s occupation of the Congo? According to a U.N report, “on average, some 40 women were raped every day between October 2002 and February 2003 in and around the town of Uvira,” a town with a population of between 200,000 and 300,000. Do you know what it means to have 40 women raped in your neighborhood EVERY DAY!? Why are these soldiers so horny? When did Kassim Ouma find time to even practice boxing? Is it true that Kassim Ouma, while a soldier, once tied an 88-year-old man up to a plantain tree and practiced his jab on him for several days only feeding him 2 live crickets a day before he finally died? Is this why Kassim Ouma has such an excellent jab? Is boxing equipment really that scarce in Uganda that boxers have to go to these extremes in order to train?

Innocent or guilty?

This is the type of organization that Kassim Ouma belonged to for at least a decade. Are we supposed to believe that he was the only angel in the Ugandan army and that he never did anything bad? If Kassim Ouma is so innocent, why doesn’t he use his popularity to speak out about these horrible atrocities in Africa? Even if he is not innocent, shouldn’t he say something?

Sadly for Ouma, his father was beaten to death by members of the Ugandan army because of Ouma's defection. Nevertheless, Ouma's story should be used in order to shed light on the civilian population of Uganda that bear the brunt of the violence and not to convince viewers to feel sorry for the perpetrators.

BOXING'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL TRAINING TACTIC: THE GREASE DOWN

The full nude body grease down is an old school warm up technique that was generally discarded in the late 60´s. Though taboo because of homophobia, the grease down technique seems to be making a comeback and is taking the international boxing scene by storm.


FIGHTING SLAVES WERE ABUSED

Most fight fans are familiar with most traditional tools of boxing training like the heavy bag, the speed bag, the jump rope, etc. However, there is one technique that was left out of the Rocky movies and only the most hardcore boxing fans or practitioners are aware of it. Several of today’s elite boxing trainers still practice the pre-fight grease down or what was simply known as “Getting slick” or “Getting Greasy”. Many fighters have attested to the calming effect of the grease down.


The origins of the full body nude grease down go back to the very beginnings of humans fighting for sport in the United States. It is well documented that white slave owners would train their slaves to fight and then have them compete in small town tournaments. In most cases, the fights were to the death. The slaves would often endure inhuman two-hour battles and were never correctly paid for their sacrifices.

The fighting slave was not given gloves, a mouthpiece, jockstrap, groin protector, or any of the other perks that modern day boxers are used to. There was no standing eight count and even the surviving victor of a fight would in many cases come out maimed. This has been depicted in modern day cinema in movies like the 1975 film, “Mandingo”.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE GREASE DOWN

The full body nude grease down was actually introduced to boxing by a Catholic priest named Father Francisco Hidalgo. For a time, he was stationed in New Orleans in the late 1700’s. Hidalgo saw the incredible amount of slave fighting tournaments held there and the relentless betting activities of the slave owners.

Hidalgo saw the opportunity to make some money and began to promote himself as being able to bless slaves and give them luck while in battle. Slave owners were very superstitious back then and began to take their slaves to the priest by the herd.

Hidalgo would receive the slaves at the St. Louis Cathedral. It was preferred that the slave not be bathed for a week when arriving for the rub down. The slave was accompanied by his master and would be made to remove any clothing and lay down on an altar. Hidalgo would then rub salt, vinegar, and holy water all over the nude body of the slave. Hidalgo stressed that it was important to reach all crevices and even massage the genitalia, as the fighting slaves would commonly bite each other in the groin.

A special combination of salt, vinegar, holy water, and turpentine were used exclusively for the massage of the genitalia in order to toughen the skin there.
Hidalgo coined his new blessing technique “Manos En Culis”. According to Hidalgo, this procedure created a spiritual bond between the fighter, the master, and the priest. Hidalgo made a fortune from his services and passed the grease down technique to other local priests and several slave masters.

This business became very lucrative for catholic priests in New Orleans and other states and many times they were paid in both money and sexual favors. When some slave masters did not have money to pay for the “blessing”, they would offer the priest an effeminate male slave for a weekend of pleasure.

Eventually, some slave owners began to avoid the cost of hiring a priest and started greasing down their slaves by themselves. Initially, it was simple for a master to go to a local Catholic church and buy some holy water from a priest. Eventually the price of holy water rose as the Catholic priests realized that they were being cut out of the equation since the slave owners were rubbing down the fighters themselves.

MODERN DAY GREASE DOWN ACTIVITIES

Nowadays, the full body nude grease down has changed and no longer occurs exclusively in the Catholic Church or by Catholic officials. The pre-fight grease down is simply a time for the trainer and the boxer to cement their bond and for the fighter to achieve total mental awareness and concentration. The boxer is totally nude accept for socks, boxing gloves, and something to cover the head. Some boxers use executioner masks. The trainer usually makes sure the door is closed and not even the boxer’s wife is allowed to be in the dressing room. The trainer then takes a mix of petroleum jelly and vinegar and begins to rub it all over the nude body of the boxer with his bare hands. The entire body is massaged and greased down except the boxer’s genitalia. However, the areas surrounding the genitalia are massaged and it is common for the trainer to accidentally slip and touch something by accident since he is greasy. During this process, the trainer goes over fight strategy and reminds the fighter of the terrific condition that he is in as each muscle is being massaged. After the massage, the fighter puts on his underwear, protective cup, shorts, and any other attire. The fighter than finishes warming up and is ready to fight.


TRAINERS AND FIGHTERS COMMENT

For this piece, I visited a few boxing gyms and spoke to a few trainers.
Trainer, Carlton Jenkins, of Philadelphia states, “All the great old time fighters use to get greasy before a fight. I used to get greasy when I was a fighter. I got greasy in the dressing room with my trainer before I won the Philadelphia Golden Gloves in 1965. I still grease down my fighters. I tell them all. If they want to train with me, they have to be willing to be old school. Back then, there wasn’t all this homophobia or whatever they call it. It wasn’t nothing for a man to massage the surrounding area of another man’s balls if it was for boxing purposes. The fighter knew that his trainer would do anything for him and it was vice versa.”

Trainer, Sammy Garcia, of New Jersey states, “I know about the naked slick down. We used to do that back in the day all the time. It originated in the prison boxing system. Sometimes the boxers even used to do it to the trainers. I think people stopped doing it because of the taboo and yes there was even some times when boxers would get a hard on and it would make things uncomfortable. I don’t know if it is true, but I heard that ex champ Demarcus Corley once fired a trainer for refusing to touch his genitalia during the rub down. That shows you how good the technique is. I don’t do it anymore, but if you are a trainer, you can’t be shy about it or else the fighter won’t respect you, especially if he is from the streets. Also, you should ask the fighter to take a shower first because even the ass crack must be greased. I think trainers should get paid extra money to do this but some trainers will do it for free.”

Lou Mota, amateur boxing sensation, “At first I was hesitant about my trainer putting his hands all over my naked body but I saw the results and stuck with it. I never get aroused during the grease down and I usually get knockouts. I recommend all fighters to have their trainers rub them down before a fight.”

RELIGION STILL A FACTOR

The former heavyweight champion, George Foreman, retired from boxing for ten years before returning to the ring and knocking out Michael Moorer for the heavyweight championship at the historic age of 45. During Foreman’s ten-year vacation from the ring, he became a minister and often preached in his own church. Sources close to George Foreman have indicated that after he returned to the ring, he insisted on having holy water used on him during his full nude body grease down just like in the old days.



CONCLUSION

Some have said that trainers like Buddy McGirt and Teddy Atlas practice the nude grease down but they have still not returned calls regarding this. One thing is for sure; the nude grease down is not practiced as often as it once was but this seems to be changing. Is it true that Oscar de la Hoya changed trainers so much because they kept refusing to perform the nude grease down on him? Floyd Mayweather Sr is purported to be the king of old school methods. Is this why Oscar de la Hoya has looked better than usual with Floyd Mayweather Sr and previously stated that he would never train with anyone else? Many noticed the extremely calm and almost trancelike way Lennox Lewis would enter the ring after hooking up with old school trainer, Emmanuel Steward. Just a coincidence? Can a Parkinson’s disease afflicted trainer really perform the full body nude grease down technique effectively with his hands shaking like they do.

Could the lack of trainers willing to perform the grease down be the reason for the decline in quality and boxing fundamentals rampant in the sport today?

INCARCERATED FELONS CHOOSE MMA OVER BOXING

I had just arrived from Puerto Rico to Las Vegas, after monitoring Oscar De La Hoya’s controversial training camp for his fight against “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather.

I was traveling to Las Vegas to cover Mayweather’s training camp when I became ill and subsequently hospitalized.

As some of you already know, I frequently participate in adult films. To make a long story short, while I was in Las Vegas, I mistakenly decided to borrow a rusty cock ring from a friend. After using it, I got a horrible infection. I was in danger of amputation and boxing was the furthest thing from my mind.

Fortunately, the doctors treated me with a heavy, consistent dose of antibiotics. I was just released from the hospital about two weeks ago and I am currently in recuperation. I would like to thank the staff of the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada for their expertise and kindness.


FLOYD AND OSCAR NAIL BOXING’S COFFIN



I won’t touch too deep on the so-called “Fight of the Century” between De La Hoya and Mayweather because the fight was so incredibly forgettable.

Neither guy impressed and the fight made Mayweather look bad because after all the smack talking he did, he couldn't knock De La Hoya out in spectacular fashion.

Shane Mosley’s first win over an undefeated "Golden Boy" was a more exciting fight in my opinion. Furthermore, Mosley beat a prime and undefeated De La Hoya convincingly. While Mayweather had to potshot and run from an old De La Hoya.

Bottom line is, De La Hoya always comes up short when fighting young, undefeated boxers, so what Mayweather did wasn’t special.

When fighting an opponent that has already been beaten a couple of times, you need to do something unique to make your win stand out. Mayweather did nothing extraordinary which made for a boring fight. The fight could be a catalyst for a massive migration of boxing fans to join the UFC craze.


CONVICTS LOVE UFC

I am currently investigating some leads that suggest that there is a current UFC craze among incarcerated and ex-convicts. If this is true, I believe that the UFC should be banned from all television.

There have already been reports of incarcerated mix martial arts practitioners using their training to unfairly hold other inmates down using leg locks. They are also violating their manhood while maintaining them in head locks.

Inmates from prisons all across the nation are talking about an underground UFC craze. Rumors suggests that mixed martial arts is replacing boxing in the prison system.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY GET OUT

Is the United States of America ready for the kind of mayhem to be wreaked by the soon to be released rapists, pedophiles, and murderers that are watching the UFC in prison and honing their martial arts skills?

Eighty percent of a “successful” rape depends on the pure physicality of the rapist over their victim.

Imagine BJ Penn or Royce Gracie grabbing some woman in one of those weird Jew Jitsu locks that they do. No woman would ever be able to escape. Even if you are the boyfriend and you happen to be there, once an ex-convict gets your girl in a lock or choke, you won't be able to pry him off even if you're name was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

You’d have to go running all over the house looking for a weapon to hit him over the head with, meanwhile he’s got your girlfriend in some weird figure four leg lock and boning the crap out of her.

This is serious stuff. Do we really need serial rapists that are trained in mixed martial arts? Do we really need the UFC?

GEORGE FOREMAN POSSIBLY SABOTAGED BY MUHAMMAD ALI

For those that don’t know, George Foreman was not always the cuddly, hamburger pushing, old man that smiles a lot and makes millions of dollars.

As a young boxer in the seventies, George Foreman was a marauding figure that walked around with a snarl and an insatiable lust for women.

According to several individuals present for the “Rumble In the Jungle," Foreman’s fight with Muhammed Ali that was held in Africa, Foreman lost the fight to Ali in the hotel room before the fight.

It has been said that on the night before the fight, Ali arranged for seven African prostitutes to be sent to Foreman’s hotel suite after his late afternoon practice.


For the purposes of this article, I contacted many inside sources and old time veteran trainers. I received the following email from renowned veteran trainer, George Letrick:

“Yeah, Ali got him good that time. Peoples always be talking about the wisdom and mind knowledge of Mr. Ali but they don’t know he was on a whole other level. George always had a trouble with women folk and Ali knew this because he had run into Foreman at a popular whorehouse in Cincinatti and seen Big George run through about 12 womens in 1 hour. I was there in Africa and I remembers it clearly. George had just got back from training and we had been discussing the strategy of the fight and deciding on what time he get his full body grease down. We was outside George’s suite and heard some noise inside like womens giggling. George was real tense and paranoid and kicked open the door. There was, approximately I would say, about 7 womens butt nekked and drinking all kinds a vodka. Dick told George not to go in but George went in and locked the door from the inside. After that, all you could hear was all kinds of a screaming and moaning for about two hours. Just a hearing those womens hollering about would put chills up any man´s backside. Big George had a fear of knocking up these womens and getting thems pregnant so he was always going through the back door on these chicks as the young people would say nowadays. Foreman was barely able to wake up in the morning for the fight and I was told that those hookers could barely walk and some even had to get their assholes sewn up. People needs to understand that this is why Foreman lost to Ali. It wasn’t nothing about Ali being no master boxer. Ali was getting the shit beaten out of him on the ropes the whole fight. Foreman lost cause he was f*cking the whole last night before the fight and when he got to the ring, he aint had nothing in him.”

Foreman was profoundly affected by the loss and many have speculated foul play as a cause of the result. After retiring for about ten years, Foreman came back in the late 80's with a totally reinvented persona that now talked about God, kept a smile, and said nice things about his opponents.

In a special moment, Foreman was able to re-gain the world title by knocking out Michael Moorer to become the oldest man ever to win a heavyweight title.

REVOLUTIONARY GROIN WRAPS CAUSE CONTROVERSY

Low blows have proven to be detrimental to fighters both inside and outside of the ring. However, some have argued that low blows should not even be deemed fouls.

Those in support of low blows have cited fight winning low blows such as Roberto Duran’s over Ken Buchanan in 1972. Nevertheless, the support against the decriminalization of low blows is overwhelming with some fighters alleging temporary impotence after repeated low blows.

Injuries like these have sparked interest in new more effective ways for groin protection. For decades, the conventional practice was to protect a fighter’s groin using some type of shield that basically just fits around the area to be protected.

However, during my recent trip to Central America I visited several gyms and discovered a new trend.

The new trend is referred to as “Bendada de Verga” and can be translated as “Cock Wrappings.” Apparently, in a manner similar to hand wrapping, the trainer wraps the groin of the fighter immediately after performing the well-known nude grease down technique for focus and relaxation.

For this piece I interviewed two trainers, Nivaldo Carrizo and Olmedo Saenz, whom both claim to have invented “Cock Wrapping” and are currently in a patent dispute:





Nivaldo Carrizo: “I have been training fighters for 23 years and have been wrapping the fighters groin areas for the past 13 years. I invented this because my country, the Republic of Nicaragua, does not invest money in sports programs and especially not boxing.

"I have many young boys that wish to train but we do not have all necessary equipment. Because of the lack of the resources, I have my boys share things like the mouthpiece, the jockstrap, and other things.

"When you have a lack of resources, you have to be inventive. About 13 years ago, I had a fighter named Dionisio Prado. He was a very poor boy from Managua and he wanted to train. One day he wanted to spar even though he was only 13 years old and didn’t have a groin cup.

"I have a rule against letting my fighters fight without the groin protection, so I just started to wrap his hands and think of what I could do. At that point I had the idea and took Prado to the back room. I started wrapping his groin in the very professional manner and used several layers of gauze until the protection was adequate.

"Ever since then, I do this with all my fighters and I have noticed great results. I do not practice the nude grease down technique because I find it a bit taboo and somewhat disturbing. The groin wrap technique should not be considered taboo because the fighter should be standing up and you must be at eye level with the fighter’s groin.

"Also, you must wrap around the hips and buttocks areas while also passing the wrapping through the buttocks crack like a thong. It is almost like you are a doctor but in reality I guess it’s just like wrapping the hands. I don’t know, at least I’m not massaging the buttocks and the private areas; I’m just wrapping them. I understand that Saenz says he invented this first but this is impossible for reasons that my lawyer says I can’t state right now.”



Olmedo Saenz: “I was an amateur boxer in Honduras for seven years and I have been training both boxers and MMA fighters for the last five. I highly recommend groin wrapping to fighters of any discipline. All of my MMA fighters are into it and they have great results in tournaments. Here in Honduras, MMA really got popular in the jails and it used to be practiced in the nude.

"It was very brutal and there were all types of injuries. I learned MMA during my brief incarceration and was left partially impotent after being bitten in the groin. After this happened, I started making wrappings out of bed sheets and started wrapping my groin.

"The other inmates caught on and I started training guys and wrapping the groins of most of them as well. Groin wrapping allows more flexibility especially when wrestling on the ground instead of having this big bulky cup in your pants.

"The groin wrapping gives you the protection as well as a more natural feel allowing for more agility. After I was released, I started working in this gym where I train both boxers and MMA guys.

"I have implemented the groin wrapping technique with all of my fighters and I recommend that it be done immediately after you perform the nude grease down on your fighter.”


Revolutionary protection or weapon?

This new form of groin protection seems to be spreading quickly and it will be interesting to see how the sanctioning bodies and rules committees will adapt. Although this new technique seems like the perfect solution to low blows, there have already been reports of foul play.

In February of 2009, a Guatemalan MMA fighter was accused of loading his groin wraps with a plaster like substance very similar to the way Mexican boxer Antonio Margarito had in his recent fight against Sugar Shane Mosley. The opponent of the Guatemalan suffered a broken nose and a dislocated jaw after having his face repeatedly rammed into the groin area of his attacker.

Guatemalan officials are currently determining whether someone from the commission will be appointed to supervise groin wrappings and possibly the full nude body grease down as well.

BOXEADORES MEJICANOS AFIRMAN QUE TOMAR ORINE LES MEJORA LA PEGADA

Los televidentes del programa de HBO 24/7 se sorprendieron al ver el ex campeón ligero Juan Manuel Marquez tomar orine como paso preparatorio para su pelea ante Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Una cultura sumamente Mejicana?

Sin embargo, tomar orine ha sido una practica de atletas y gente pobre alrededor del mundo por siglos. En los lugares de Mejico donde hay escasez de agua y comida, la gente del pueblo acostumbra a tomar su orine.

Hay hasta días festivos donde la gente toma el orine de su vecino como muestra de buena fe. En Puebla, hay un festival llamado El Chango Santo donde todos los hombres del pueblo mayores de 65 años orinan dentro de una paila inmensa llena de cebolla y hojas de cilantro. La orina se hierbe con la cebolla y el cilantro y luego se le agrega vinagre. Luego de enfriarse el brebaje, se reparte en vasos plasticos para el buen provecho de toda la gente del pueblo.

Supuestamente, esta práctica simboliza la celebración de la vida y asegura una larga existencia. Lo interesante es que la gente de Puebla tiende a tener vidas más largas que la gente de otras partes de Mejico, según las estadísticas.

Sin embargo, esta práctica no se limita a Puebla ya que hay personas por todo Mejico consumiendo orine. Durante mi ausencia de los Estados Unidos, tuve el privilegio de visitar a algunos gimnasios de Mejico y hablé con algunos boxeadores sobre el tema.

Hay peleadores por todo Mexico tomando orine y el procedimiento para variar según el pueblo. Algunos peleadores insisten que la orina debería ser pura y de un sujeto humano mientras que otros indican que se debería mezclada con vinagre, sangre o hasta esperma.

Aunque la mayoría de la gente decía que la orina debería venir de un humano, un boxeador me dijo que Julio Cesar Chavez se beneficiaba al tomar orina de caballo. Según el boxeador, la orina de caballo se considera pura sólamente si es tomada directamente del caballo en el momento de orinar y sin el uso de un enváse o objeto alguno.

Supuestamente, al tomar la orina de un caballo de esa forma, el boxeador puede aumentar su pegada.

Las siguientes declaraciones son de dos prospectos del boxeo Mejicano:



Pablo Montero, strawweight

“Yo soy de Puebla y puedo asegurar que es una costumbre muy practicada. Yo creo que tomar orina es bueno para la salud y estoy consciente que el gran campeón Marquez tomó la orina antes de su pelea con el morenito Mayweather. Marquez no es de Puebla y él no sabía que cuando se trata de una pelea así uno como boxeador debería tomarse la orina de su entrenador también para mejorar el rendimiento y la concentración.”



Maximino Gomez, lightweight

“Yo soy de Culiacan y la verdad es que algunas personas dicen que tomar orina no funciona. En realidad, si funciona pero hay que combinar la orina con esperma que sea de uno mismo o de otra persona. Siempre si me masturbo, recogo mi leche y me la tomo de una vez. Lo que complica el asunto a veces es que uno no debería masturbarse cuando entrena para una pelea. Por eso, cuando no estoy entrenando siempre guardo mi espera en un vaso y lo dejo al sol todos los días. Usualmente, termino guardando como cinco vasos de leche antes de entrenar y tengo suficiente para tomar. La única otra alternativa es pedirle al entrenador de uno que le de esperma pero a veces quieren cobrar más por eso. Cuando no se mezcla la orina con esperma, no da buen resultado porque la orina es como un ácido y te quema la pansa. Hay que suavizar la quemazón con esperma. Así hacen la mayoría de los boxeadores en Mejico.”

FEMALE BOXERS STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY

Slowly but surely, women’s boxing is climbing up out of the shadows, earning a new respectability. It is now even being considered as an Olympic event. Women’s boxing never flourished for a number of reasons, but that is beginning to change.

And if taken in the right direction, it could rival men’s boxing as an attraction.

Female fighters suck?

In the past, women’s boxing didn’t flourish for cultural reasons, as the general public was not used to seeing women punching each other, getting swollen up, etc.

Once people got used to the idea of women doing something as unladylike as boxing, the next reason female boxing didn’t flourish was because the female boxers had horrible skills and many looked like ugly men.

In the 1990s, the sport took a turn for the better as Christy Martin appeared on the scene and became its biggest name at the time. Martin was successful because, although she was not very pretty, she wasn't horrible either, and she looked like a woman.

She also had decent boxing skills and was able to produce exciting knockouts for the cameras. Nevertheless, Martin was the lone decent looking female boxer wading in a pool of sea boors. Further, she had no legitimate challengers.

Next, along came Laila Ali, arguably the hottest woman to ever put on a pair of boxing gloves. But she was too big for Martin, although they eventually did fight in a mismatch.

Currently, women’s boxing has somewhat slowed down again on the professional level. But there is a lot of potential.


Female individuality suppressed?

What this sport needs in order to truly go mainstream is something to take it over the top. The feminists and the cynics need to put their money where their mouths are and stop holding women back. Female boxers have been forced to wear tops while fighting.

Why?

In order to have the same success as their male counterparts, female boxers should be allowed to fight topless just as the men do. Women should also be allowed to fight in sexy attire or only in a thong if that is their choice.

In this modern age, it is a travesty for women to be held back by the sexist society that promotes this false idea that women’s breasts should be covered in the ring, whereas a man’s should not be.

Potential, sexiest bout of the century?

However, in order for the cynics not to transform this female expression into some sort of warped sexually voyeuristic event, it would be important to maintain the skill level of the participants. If anyone has seen amateur superstar Christina Cruz, they know what I mean.

Cruz has displayed the boxing ability of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the body of a porn star. Cruz was on display recently in the 2009 Golden Gloves Tournament, along with Julie Ann Kelley, another hot winner (albeit in a different weight class).

Kelley has that blonde cheerleader look, is very sexy, and has great skills, whereas Cruz is the typical Puerto Rican with pale skin, black hair. However, she does not have those big J-Lo type buttocks that could result in more fans.

The potential for Kelly and Cruz, if moved correctly, is unlimited. If both of these women are given the necessary exposure at the professional level, we could see a potential super fight between them in the future.

Imagine these two highly skilled female boxers trading punches topless with breasts flopping violently during furious exchanges as they tussle in their skimpy thong bottom wear, with buttocks contorting for the visual delight of the fans.

It would be like going from regular television to HD. The effect this would have on the boxing world would be monumental and pay-per-view records would be broken.

Hypothetically, Laila Ali would then come out of retirement in true Floyd Mayweather Jr. fashion and claim to be pound-for-pound the best, even though years had gone by and she hadn’t fought anyone.

However, Ali would be taken seriously because, like Mayweather Jr., she had skills.

Furthermore, after giving birth, Ali’s breasts are likely to be slightly larger and she always had a spectacular buttocks. She would be motivated to train harder and arrive in better shape since she would be fighting topless and in a thong.

I personally would prefer to see a matchup between Ali and Kelly because the whole black-white thing would draw so much attention and it would be interesting to see if Ali could take the body shots after having given birth.

In order for women’s boxing to be revolutionized, these steps need to be taken to empower women to be able to use their natural gifts to earn money just as men do.

MEXICAN BOXERS DRINK URINE FOR PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT

Many spectators of HBO’s 24/7 program were shocked when Juan Manuel Marquez proceeded to drink his own urine in preparation for his bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Epitome of Mexican culture?
However, urine drinking has actually been practiced for centuries by both athletes and poor people around the world. In parts of Mexico where food and water is scarce, villagers are accustomed to drinking their own urine.

On certain holidays they drink the urine of their neighbors in a show of good will. In Puebla, there is actually a local festival named El Chango Santo, in which all the men in the town that are over 65 years old urinate in a big pot full of onion and cilantro leaves. The urine is boiled and vinegar is later added. The brew is then allowed to cool off and is subsequently poured into plastic cups for everyone in the town to enjoy.

Supposedly, this practice signifies a celebration of life and ensures a long existence. Interestingly, people in Puebla do tend to live longer than people in other parts of Mexico, according to statistics.

Nevertheless, this practice is not restricted to Puebla, as people all over Mexico practice urine drinking in all parts of the country. During my absence from the United States, I had the privilege to visit some of the more respected boxing gyms of Mexico and spoke to some fighters regarding their thoughts on urine drinking.

Fighters from all over Mexico are drinking urine, with the procedure varying from town to town. Some fighters insist that the urine must be pure and from a human, while others indicate that it should be mixed with vinegar, blood, or even sperm.

Although most people state that the urine must come from a human source, one boxer told me that Julio Cesar Chavez actually benefited from drinking horse urine. According to this boxer, horse urine is only considered pure for drinking if received directly from the horse at the time of urination and without the use of a container or any recipient. Supposedly urine drunken directly from the horse is great for increasing punching power.


What do Mexican boxers say?
The following are statements from two up-and-coming Mexican boxers regarding urine drinking:



Pablo Montero, strawweight

“Yo soy de Puebla y puedo asegurar que es una costumbre muy practicada. Yo creo que tomar orina es bueno para la salud y estoy consciente que el gran campeón Marquez tomó la orina antes de su pelea con el morenito Mayweather. Marquez no es de Puebla y él no sabía que cuando se trata de una pelea así uno como boxeador debería tomarse la orina de su entrenador también para mejorar el rendimiento y la concentración.”

Translation: "I am from Puebla and I can attest that this is a very common practice. I believe that drinking urine is great for health and I am aware that the great champ Marquez drank urine before his fight with that black guy, Mayweather. Marquez is not from Puebla and he did not know that when you have a big fight like that, you have to drink your trainer's urine too if you want to have better performance and concentration."



Maximino Gomez, lightweight

“Yo soy de Culiacan y la verdad es que algunas personas dicen que tomar orina no funciona. En realidad, si funciona pero hay que combinar la orina con esperma que sea de uno mismo o de otra persona. Siempre si me masturbo, recogo mi leche y me la tomo de una vez. Lo que complica el asunto a veces es que uno no debería masturbarse cuando entrena para una pelea. Por eso, cuando no estoy entrenando siempre guardo mi espera en un vaso y lo dejo al sol todos los días. Usualmente, termino guardando como cinco vasos de leche antes de entrenar y tengo suficiente para tomar. La única otra alternativa es pedirle al entrenador de uno que le de esperma pero a veces quieren cobrar más por eso. Cuando no se mezcla la orina con esperma, no da buen resultado porque la orina es como un ácido y te quema la pansa. Hay que suavizar la quemazón con esperma. Así hacen la mayoría de los boxeadores en Mejico.”

Translation: I am from Culiacan and the truth is that some people say drinking urine doesn't work. In reality, it works but you have to mix it with sperm from either yourself or someone else. I always masturbate, collect my sperm, and then I immediately drink it. The complicate part is that sometimes you're not supposed to masturbate before a fight. That's why, when I am not training, I keep my sperm in a cup and leave it in the sun for a few days. Usually, I keep about five cups of sperm during training and have enough to drink. The only other alternative is to ask your trainer to give you some sperm but sometimes they charge extra for that. When you don't mix the sperm with the urine, you don't get the same result because urine is an acid and can burn your stomach. You have to alleviate the burning with sperm. That's what most of the boxers in Mexico do."

MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO KILLED BY UNFOUNDED DRUG CLAIMS

Much has been said about Manny Pacquiao’s alleged drug use and his shocking wins that came as a result. According to Pacquiao’s main accusers, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Floyd Mayweather Sr, Oscar De La Hoya, and Richard Schaefer, these drugs gave Pacquiao superhuman strength and even allowed him to take the punches of bigger men.

The proposed fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather has been unofficially declared dead as Pacquiao has opted to sue Mayweather and his ilk for defamation. For the majority of fans, Mayweather effectively killed potentially one of the greatest fights ever by baselessly and publically accusing Pacquiao of being a cheater.

Other fans feel that Mayweather has made a reasonable request and that the Mayweathers and De La Hoya are correct in their suggestions that Pacquiao used performance-enhancing drugs to get ahead. Is this all much ado about nothing? Was a great fight killed because of a non-issue?

The true effects of performance-enhancing drugs on boxers need to be revealed and discussed based on real examples and not simple speculation.

Interestingly, fighters that have actually been caught using steroids or other performance enhancers are usually fighters with very mediocre careers and/or several knockout losses to their names. Nevertheless, to be fair, it should be noted that high profile fighters like Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley were also caught using steroids or other performance enhancers.

Vargas looked physically better than he ever has in his life and even in the prefight interview with Larry Merchant before he faced Oscar De La Hoya, Vargas stated, “A Mexican is not supposed to look like this.” The over-hyped De La Hoya later knocked Vargas out that night.

Tommy Morrison is another fighter that used steroids per his own admission and Riddick Bowe accused Andrew Golota of this back in 1996. In spite of claims that steroid use allows fighters to resist punches better, Golota and Morrison have both been knocked out many times in their careers.

Shane Mosley was arguably under the effects of performance enhancers during his razor thin win over Oscar de la Hoya in 2003 and his loss to Winky Wright in 2004. Mosley looked extremely mediocre in both fights and seemed to struggle to throw punches in combination.

Is it possible that weightlifting is negating any benefits that performance enhancers might give to a boxer? Most old school trainers frown upon weight lifting for boxers because it tends to stiffen them up. Even Shane Mosley’s father did not agree with Mosley lifting weights so much and they often clashed regarding this since before Mosley’s move to the junior middleweight division.

Mosley and Vargas both looked stiff and robotic in bouts during their steroid use. Mosley looked extremely lethargic and borderline shot in his losses to Wright. He looked physically a mess and even claimed to have a physical problem at the end of one of those fights stating he felt like he had a “monkey on his back”.

Although steroids and performance enhancers may aid a fighter in training, the fighters’ performance in the ring is not necessarily enhanced. Boxing is different from cycling and baseball. There are certain characteristics in boxing that a fighter can only be born with.

People go on and on about Pacquiao looking muscular, as if that was some indicator of steroid abuse. A nice body has never been an indicator of punching power in the sport of boxing. Rail thin fighters like Alexis Arguello, Michael Carbajal, Tommy Hearns, and Diego Corrales are some of the hardest punchers to ever grace a boxing ring.

All the steroids and performance enhancers in the world would not convert Paulie Malignaggi and Luis Collazo into big punchers.

The effectiveness of steroids and performance enhancers in boxing might possibly be exaggerated. Has there ever been a documented case of a boxer having an unprecedented sensational performance after using enhancers?

Perhaps one of the more revealing moments was when James Toney tested positive for steroids after beating John Ruiz. Toney looked like a fat slob during that match and basically won by out boxing the plodding Ruiz. Toney’s punching power was not a factor in the fight as he won on skill for a decision. When Toney beat Evander Holyfield by knockout, he was in sensational physical form.

Toney was muscular, in awesome shape, and showed great speed and power. Toney’s performance was widely lauded as sensational and amazing against a much larger Holyfield especially since Toney was a former middleweight. However, Toney did not test positive for any steroids after the Holyfield fight.

In other words, Toney performed better while not on steroids than when caught for steroids. Some will say that he was “probably” using steroids before but had never been caught. But if that’s the case, why do most of these boxers coincidentally get caught usually after a mediocre performance (usually a loss) and not after a sensational performance?

Interestingly, after the Balco scandal ended, and Mosley was supposedly no longer using performance-enhancing supplements, he seemed fresher in the ring, was throwing fluid combinations once again, and pulled off one of the more successful comebacks culminating in his demolition of Antonio Margarito in early 2009.

Mosley’s worst performances ironically occurred during his use of the Balco products for performance enhancement.

So, as non-politically correct as it may seem, one has to ask if these performance enhancers are really giving boxers an edge in the ring. The evidence would actually seem to indicate otherwise.

In baseball, one can analyze the performance of the players that used performance enhancers and easily observe a rise in performance. Why is this not the case with boxers?

GAY MMA CHAMP HITS BACK AT BERNARD HOPKINS AND FLOYD MAYWEATHER

Mixed martial arts (MMA) events are definitely on the rise, and fight fans all around the world are starting to take notice.

In spite of having decades of a head start over MMA, boxing has failed to reach all people quite like MMA has.

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community has often been ignored by the sport of boxing, although there is evidence suggesting that the very creators of the sport may have been LGBT.

In spite of changes early in the sport, such as the mandate for male fighters to remain topless in all professional competition, few strides have been made since to accommodate the needs of LGBT boxing fans around the world.

Faced with bigotry, gay boxers have been historically forced to remain in the closet while ironically practicing a sport created by members of the LGBT community.

Fortunately for these marginalized fighters, MMA has arrived and given the public what it craves. At many MMA events, many members of the LGBT community can be seen in the audience.

Although most MMA fighters usually don’t speak about their sexual preference, I was able to speak to a former MMA champion from one of the many fighting organizations. We will refer to him as “TD” because of his request to remain anonymous:



ZJ: People often speak of a rivalry between boxing and MMA. Would you like to comment on this?

TD: Well, as you know, I was champ back in the 90’s, and back then, MMA was quite small compared to boxing. I would say that there is no rivalry, just differences.

ZJ: Let’s get down to it. A few months ago, high profile boxers Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr. graphically and racially dismissed MMA in the following manner:

“Everybody is different. I don’t want to watch two grown men wrestling with panties on. I’m from the hood, we don’t play that. To me, I’m not buying a ticket to watch two grown men with panties on, sweating, nuts in their face. That’s not me. To compare that to boxing is ludicrous. It’s a porno. It’s an entertainment porno. I’m not wrestling a guy with panties on and his nuts in my face, and they call that a sport.”

Bernard Hopkins, quoted from www.boxingscene.com on October 15, 2009

“In boxing, we know who's dominating. Black fighters and Hispanic fighters is dominating in this sport,” Mayweather continued. “And this is not a racial statement, but there's no white fighters in boxing that's dominating, so they had to go to something else and start something new."

Floyd Mayweather Jr, quoted from the Las Vegas Sun on July 21, 2009

ZJ: What are your thoughts regarding these very incendiary comments?

TD: Well, I think those guys obviously have some serious personal complexes that they need to deal with. It’s not really about white guys not being able to make it in boxing. I mean, I’m a gay white fighter, and what turned me on to MMA was the grappling and the attire. It’s not that I couldn’t box. I mean, there’s nothing that turns me on more than to grapple with another man violently and try to force him into the position of my choice for full domination.

Even getting pinned down to the point of having to tap out is not so bad. It’s the beauty of the sport. It gets hot, it gets sweaty, and it gets bloody, just like those old Arturo Gatti fights. How can you not like it?

As for the white thing, I know plenty of black homosexuals that are boxers. For such a big bad gangster macho man, Hopkins always seems to be talking about gay sex. I clearly recall the comments he made about that [Antonio] Tarver guy when he said he would have made him his bitch or girlfriend back in jail or something like that. And that Mayweather guy, I even heard about some underground sex tape, where he’s doing some real questionable stuff with another boxer and some trannies. All this hate towards the MMA is ridiculous.

ZJ: According to some MMA fighters that I’ve spoken to, it is common for MMA fighters to take a pill before a fight in order to reduce involuntary sexual excitement during combat. Have you done this?

TD: Well, again, I started out during the early stages of MMA, and back then, we just had to wear really tight shorts as to prevent any arousal from getting visible. Now with all the modern stuff out there, guys are starting to buy stuff over the counter or even numbing creams to prevent this.

Some guys are stupid, naïve, or just don’t know anything about preparation for an MMA fight. I once saw a bout where two guys were wrestling on the ground for like 10 minutes and both of them were visibly aroused. The ref goes in to separate these two nuts, and when they get up off of the canvas, their Speedos are all soaked and let’s just say it didn’t look like sweat. Things like this happen because most fighters believe in refraining from sex before a fight. But once you have skin to skin contact with another person, biologically anything is capable of happening. They say this happens in jail too.

ZJ: Would you say that this is part of the reason why the LGBT community has flocked to MMA?

TD: I don’t think it’s really a sexual thing. LGBT people are very diverse and love all sports. Of course there are some LGBT that are attracted to MMA because of perceived sexual overtones, but I’m not sure I would say they are the majority.

ZJ: Thank you for the interview.

TD: Anytime.

BOXEADORES RECIBEN MASAJES ACEITOSOS AL DESNUDO

El masaje aceitoso al desnudo es una técnica vieja que fue descartada en los años sesenta. Aunque considerado algo tabú por los homofóbicos, la técnica del masaje aceitoso ha vuelto como una fiebre y está siendo implementado a nivel internacional.

PELEADORES ESCLAVOS FUERON ABUSADOS

La mayoría de los fanáticos de boxeo conocen las herramientas de entrenamiento clásicas como el saco, la pera, la soga, etcétera. Sin embargo, hubo una técnica que no salió en las películas de Rocky y solamente los practicantes del boxeo más enterados la conocen. Muchos de los mejores entrenadores de boxeo actuales todavía practican el masaje aceitoso al desnudo antes de una pelea. La técnica también se conoce como ”Sobada Grasosa” o “Conseguir su lubricado”. Muchos peleadores han confirmado el efecto calmante del masaje aceitoso.



El masaje aceitoso al desnudo tiene sus orígenes en la esclavitud humana practicada en Estados Unidos. Según la historia bien documentada, los amos de los esclavos entrenaban sus esclavos para pelear y los ponían a competir en pequeños torneos. En la mayoría de los casos, las peleas duraban hasta la muerte de uno de los peleadores y por lo tanto los esclavos muchas veces peleaban hasta por dos horas sin parar y nunca recibían pago por sus sacrificios.



Al peleador esclavo, no se le daba guantes, protector bucal, huevera ni protección alguna que ahora usan los boxeadores modernos. No había conteo de ocho parado y hasta el ganador de la pelea muchas veces acababa lesiones permanentes y discapacitado. Esto se documentó en la película del 1975 llamada “Mandingo”.

LA IGLESIA CATOLICA Y EL MASAJE ACEITOSO

El masaje aceitoso al desnudo en realidad fue introducido al boxeo por el sacerdote Católico, Padre Francisco Hidalgo. Por un tiempo, él estuvo radicado en Nuevo Orleans a final de los años mil setecientos.

Hidalgo vio la cantidad increíble de torneos de peleas de esclavos que se realizaban ahí y el negocio activo de las apuestas sobre dichas peleas.

Hidalgo vio la oportunidad de ganar dinero y empezó a publicarse como un sacerdote con el poder de bendecir a los esclavos y darles suerte para ganar sus peleas. Los dueños de los esclavos eran muy supersticiosos en aquellos tiempos y empezaban a llevar a sus esclavos donde el sacerdote para recibir su bendición.

Hidalgo recibía los esclavos en el Catedral de St Louis y era su preferencia que el esclavo no se bañara por una semana antes de llegar para su masaje aceitoso. El esclavo llegaba acompañado por su dueño y era obligado a desnudarse y acostarse en un altar.

Según Hidalgo, era importante alcanzar todos los rincones del cuerpo y masajear hasta los genitales ya que los esclavos muchas veces se mordían por ahí durante sus peleas.

Hidalgo usaba una combinación especial de sal, vinagre, agua bendita, y aceite de turpentina exclusivamente para masajear a los genitales para así endurecer la piel. Hidalgo llamó esa técnica “Manus En Culis”.

Según Hidalgo, ese procedimiento creaba un lazo espiritual entre el peleador, el amo, y el sacerdote. Hidalgo hizo una fortuna con estos servicios y enseñó el masaje aceitoso a otros sacerdotes locales y a muchos dueños de esclavos.

El negocio llegó a ser muy lucrativo para los sacerdotes Católicos en Nuevo Orleans y otros estados también. Esos sacerdotes recibían su pago en dinero y también en favores sexuales. Cuando el dueño de un esclavo no tenía dinero para pagar la bendición, le ofrecía al sacerdote un esclavo afeminado para un fin de semana de placeres.

Eventualmente, algunos dueños de esclavos empezaron a evitar el costo de contratar a un sacerdote y simplemente aplicaban el masaje aceitoso ellos mismos. Al inicio, era fácil simplemente ir a alguna iglesia Católica y comprar agua bendita de algún sacerdote. Sin embargo, el precio del agua bendita subió ya que los sacerdotes Católicos se dieron cuenta que estaban siendo sacados del negocio por los dueños de los esclavos ya que estos se encargaban ellos mismos de sobar a los peleadores.



EL MASAJE ACEITOSO MODERNO

Hoy día, el masaje aceitoso al desnudo ha cambiado y no ocurre exclusivamente en la iglesia Católica hecho por oficiales Católicos. La sobadera aceitosa es simplemente un tiempo en el cual el peleador y su entrenador pueden cementar su unión y lograr una concentración mental máxima. El boxeador está casi desnudo ya que solamente carga puestas sus medias, guantes de boxeo, y algo para cubrirse la cabeza.

Algunos boxeadores usan mascaras tipo verdugo durante el proceso. Usualmente, el entrenador cierra la puerta y ni siquiera a la esposa o novia del boxeador se le permite la entrada al camerino donde se realiza el proceso de la sobadera aceitosa.

Luego de todas las preparaciones, el entrenador toma una mezcla de vaselina con vinagre y empieza a sobarla por todo el cuerpo desnudo del boxeador con sus manos. El cuerpo entero se cubre y se engrasa; con excepción de los genitales del boxeador. Sin embargo, el área alrededor de los genitales si se masajea y es común para el entrenador deslizarse por accidente y tocar los genitales ya que se trata de un cuerpo grasoso y resbaloso.

Durante la sobadera, el entrenador comenta sobre la estrategia de la pelea y le recuerda al peleador sobre sus condiciones físicas a medida que soba cada músculo.

Luego del masaje, el peleador se viste poniéndose calzoncillos y la ropa que le falta. El entrenador termina su calentamiento y se alista para pelear.

LOS ENTRENADORES Y PELEADORES COMENTAN

Pude visitar varios gimnasios de boxeo y hablé con algunos entrenadores.

Según el entrenador, Carlton Jenkins, de Philadelphia: “Todos los peleadores de los viejos tiempos se engrasaban antes de una pelea. Yo también lo hacía cuando era peleador. Yo me engrasé con mi entrenador antes de ganarme el torneo de Guantes de Oro de Filadelfia del 1965. Todavía engraso a mis peleadores. Yo les digo a todos ellos que si quieren entrenar conmigo, tienen que estar dispuestos a entrenar al estilo de antes. Antes, no existía eso de ser homofóbico o lo que sea que lo llaman. No era gran cosa para un hombre masajear el alrededor de los testículos de otro hombre si los fines eran boxísticos. El peleador sabía que su entrenador era capaz de hacer cualquier cosa por él y vice versa..”

Según el entrenador, Sammy Garcia, de New Jersey: “Yo conozco mucho sobre la sobadera al desnudo con aceite. Nosotros siempre solíamos hacer eso. Esa práctica originó en las ligas de boxeo de la cárcel. A veces, hasta los boxeadores se lo hacían a los entrenadores. Yo pienso que mucha gente dejó de hacerlo por ser una cosa tabú y a veces los boxeadores tenían erecciones y como que las situaciones eran algo incómodas. No sé si es verdad, pero oí que el ex campeón Demarcus Corley despidió a un entrenador por rehusar tocar sus genitales durante la sobadera. Eso muestra que la técnica es Buena. Yo ya no la practico pero si eres entrenador, no te debe dar pena o el peleador no te va a respetar especialmente si es uno que viene de las calles. Hay que recordar también pedirle al peleador que se de un buen baño antes de la sobadera porque hay que aplicar la técnica hasta por dentro de las nalgas del peleador. Yo pienso que al entrenador se le debe pagar extra por aplicar esa técnica pero algunos entrenadores ni cobran por hacer eso.”

Según Lou Mota, sensación del boxeo aficionado: “Al inicio, me sentí incómodo al tener las manos de mi entrenador sobre mi cuerpo desnudo pero vi los resultados y no me he arrepentido de hacerlo. Nunca quedo excitado o con erecciones durante la sobadera y casi siempre gano por nocaut. Yo recomiendo que todos los boxeadores les exijan a sus entrenadores para que les hagan la sobadera antes de una pelea.”

LA RELIGION SIGUE SIENDO UN FACTOR

El ex campeón de los pesos pesados, George Foreman, se retiró del boxeo por diez años antes de volver al cuadrilátero y noquear al campeón Michael Moorer a pesar de ser un anciano boxístico de 45 años. Durante su vacación de diez años, Foreman llegó a ser un pastor y predicaba en su propia iglesia. Personas cercanas a Foreman han indicado que luego de volver al boxeo, insistió que le sobaran su cuerpo desnudo con agua bendita como en los viejos tiempos.

CONCLUSION

Algunos han dicho que entrenadores como Buddy McGirt y Teddy Atlas practican el masaje aceitoso al desnudo pero no han dado declaraciones con respecto a eso. Lo que sí es seguro es que el masaje ya no se practica como antes pero que está volviendo a surgir. Es verdad que Oscar de la Hoya se cambio de entrenador tantas veces porque rehusaban aplicarle el masaje aceitoso al desnudo? Supuestamente, el entrenador Floyd Mayweather Sr es el rey de los métodos viejos de entrenamiento. Será por eso que De La Hoya se vio mejor con ese entrenador y por eso también que el mismo De La Hoya ha declarado que nunca volvería a entrenar con otro?

Muchos han notado la calma con que Lennox Lewis subía al cuadrilátero luego de enlazarse con el entrenador de la vieja escuela, Emmanuel Steward. Fue solamente una casualidad?

Será que la calidad de los boxeadores modernos ha disminuido por falta de entrenadores capacitados para aplicar técnicas antiguas como el masaje aceitoso al desnudo?

DOMINICAN BASEBALL LINKED TO SEXUAL ABUSE

During my recent trip to Haiti, I was able to witness the damage done to the country by the earthquake first hand. As we all know, Chile was recently the victim of another catastrophic earthquake. I would like to express my sympathy for the people of Haiti that are being exploited by some of these so-called missionaries. I attended a party and personally witnessed the drinking and the cocaine-laden orgies that these people engage in when they are supposed to be helping the people of Haiti. I found it interesting that no Haitians were allowed to go to the party except for one of the strippers. I remained there as I was in awe of the debauchery, arrogance and racism of these so called missionaries. Many of these foreign groups appear to treat their visit to the stricken country as some sort of spring break festival. I agree that all should not be sadness and pity but there is a time and a place for everything.

In spite of what has happened, the children of these countries have been able to play and laugh while enjoying some of the oldest toys in history, the stick and the ball. After helping the villagers in the Haitian town of Jacmel, I decided to take a trip over to Dominican Republic, a baseball haven and Haiti’s only neighbor.

The Dominican Republic has a long history of dominance in the sport of baseball and their national leagues are some of the most competitive in the nation. The baseball talent in the Dominican Republic has been historically prevalent from Ozzie Virgil to Sammy Sosa. Major League Baseball officials frequently send scouts to sign future stars. Apparently, the people of the Dominican Republic have an innate ability to hit a ball with a stick better than people from other countries but skeptics have long wondered if the Dominican players have had an unfair edge.

The steroid use of stars like Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa has been documented and use of performance enhancing drugs is known to be widespread. However, little has been said about the baseball camps that are used to farm these athletes that are sometimes as young as 15 years old.

While in the Barahona region, I spoke to 17-year-old Major League hopeful Domingo Rodriguez whom provided insight regarding discipline, training, and family:

On motivation:

“I started training here under the coach about two years ago when I was fifteen. My father brought me here because we are very poor and he said I could grow up to be a big star like Sammy Sosa. “

On diet:

“Here the training is very hard. The coach says we must remain fast and strong to be a star. If you gain too much weight, the coach will not give you food and your family is not allowed to visit you until you lose the weight. It is normal to see players escape the compound at night to get to the main road in hopes of finding some road kill. The most popular road kill you can find is possum or monkey. Sometimes one can get sick but after a while the body gets used to it. Actually, some have said that monkey meat is high in protein and good for fat loss. However, when we are not too fat, the coach allows us to drink milk and have rice, chicken, and vegetables, the regular food.“

On family:“My mom and sisters feel very sad that I am away at the camp but they know that it is for a great purpose. I do what I do for them. I am ashamed to say, but my sister is a prostitute. I blame this on the government because they don’t help the poor people. Prostitution is very common here and most women do it at some time in their life because there are few jobs. Even my mother would do it sometimes when my dad did not have a job. Here we have the democracy but for what? We are just free to be poor forever like the Haitians. We don’t deserve to be like them because most Dominicans do not practice voodoo and things like that. People think these things are not important but not too many Haitians are good at baseball. I feel that if I can become a big star, I can make a lot of the money and my family will never have to work again.”

Training Camps:“My training camp is new and the coach is trying for us to be better than the players in the other camps. It is very hard because the competition in my country is very tough and the other camps do very hard things to the player. There was the case of the player Macario Sanchez that nearly died. His trainer said that his stance did not have the correct width. Sanchez kept repeating the mistake and after a while the trainer forced him to insert the bat into his rectum every day for twenty minutes in order to widen his stance. This happened for like two weeks. All the guys laughed at Sanchez but it was not funny because he later tried to commit suicide. Actually, the technique with the bat is a very old technique that used to be practiced many years ago but the government banned it. Some of the Dominican players in the United States even still do this because when surrounded by other good players, you must do things to be the best. The government suspended Sanchez’s trainer for two-months and many people thought this was wrong for the trainer because his intentions were not bad. Even Sanchez thought the suspension was wrong because he knew the trainer just wanted him to be a better player. It was in the newspapers and everything.”

On intimacy: “If we have a really good performance in a game. The coach will bring us a sexy woman for the night. This is a great reward for us because during training we do no have sex with women. The uncomfortable part is that we must all share this one woman at one time and because of this sometimes there is a loss of intimacy with all the women in general. The coach says this is for us to think like a team at all times because teamwork is essential in this sport. I heard something that is funny about Sammy Sosa and some say it is true. They say that he would wear ankle weights on his wrists when he would give pleasure to his own self in order to increase grip strength for the bat and for more power. A lot of guys believe this and do it for more power to hit homeruns. I think it is possible that it may work.”

On discipline: “Depending on the position you play, the coach can be very hard on you. My position is reliever and it can be very stressful because the coach tries to make you have a very good concentration. This is necessary because as a reliever you cannot make mistakes. Like most of the camps, we have a hypnotist and I have to see him every night from 11pm to 5am after the rest of the players have gone to bed. It is very calming and helps the concentration because everything is very quiet and he gives me the massage over my body with hot oil as he hypnotizes me. I usually fall asleep without even realizing it. I believe this is similar to the training for the wrestlers and the boxers that receive the nude massage only I don’t believe they go to sleep.”

After speaking with Rodriguez, the renowned and currently retired trainer, Pablo Beitia commented the following: “Dominican baseball is the best baseball in the world. Part of what makes us the best is the willingness to do all that it takes to win. All this stuff about steroids is nonsense because I always believe that the baseball is 100% mental. We take the sport very seriously and that is why we hire hypnotists, we make the baseball camps and we make sure the boys have the proper training.”