Samson Sor Siriporn is in prison for selling methamphetamines but that didn’t stop her from becoming the WBC light-flyweight champion. Not only that, by winning the fight, the Thai corrections department will begin early parole procedures.
Fighting in a makeshift ring in the grounds of the infamous Klong Prem prison with the Thai crowd chanting “fight, fight,” Siriporn was on the attack from the start and repeatedly forced Miyano on to the ropes with a barrage of punches.
Siriporn’s sparring partners also watched the fight, while transvestites in high heels and skimpy outfits were allowed out of their cells to parade around the ring with placards at the beginning of each round.
This sounds like something straight out of a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. The only thing missing is some broken glass.
We wonder what would have become of Mike Tyson’s career if he’d been allowed to fight while in prison. Would he have made enough money not to be broke now, or would Don King have stolen those funds too?
Links:
[Reuters]: Thai prisoner wins women’s world title at Bangkok Hilton
[Sportscolumn is running down the ten most gruesome sports injuries. Here’s #10.]
Back in 2003, Evander Holyfield beat on Hasim Rahman until this baseball sized knot developed over his left eye. Of course, in typical Holyfield fashion, the lump wasn’t brought about by a baragae of fists alone; no, Holyfield used a pair of head butts to help create the nasty bump. The fight would eventually be ended on the ring doctor’s recommendation at the 1:40 mark in the eighth round.
After the match, Rahman said that he should have expected the head butts from Holyfield and then he spit out one of the greatest quotes in sports history.
I have a cut in the middle of my forehead, and an extra head on my head.
Well, at least you walked out of the ring with your ears intact.
Perhaps this is the end of times — Don King will have an audience with the Pope on March 21. The meeting was set up by a boxer King promoted named Luca Messi. Messi has a boxer who is a priest, and apparently with enough pull to get him in front of the pope.
Remember, this is Don King, the guy who probably pushed Mike Tyson over the edge of insanity. The guy who killed two people (for real) when he was a bookmaker in Cleveland. The guy who takes juries on nice vacations when he’s on trial for something. The guy who shortchanges his own boxers and robs some others blind. The guy who Mike Tyson claims owes him $100M. (Well, we’ll throw that one out since Mike Tyson can’t even count to 100.) The guy who dangled Vanilla Ice off the balcony of a hotel.
In any case, Don King is a bad bad man and yet he gets an audience with the pope? Something doesn’t seem right here. Only two good things can come of this. The Pope sends Don King to hell…. or Don King starts breakdancing for the Pope.
Johnny Tapia has been through hell in his life. His five world championship titles might seem like a blessing, but they are outnumbered by the amount of times that he has been declared clinically dead (6). Now, Tapia faces death once again as he lies in an Albuquerque hospital bed in critical condition after apparently overdosing on cocaine. Just two weeks ago, Tapia won a majority decision in what many believed would be his last fight. But it was clear then that the fighter had not gotten over his past demons.
Every day, I’m doing good. But if I want to go drink right now, I can,” Tapia said. “Nobody tells me what I can do or what I want to do. I’m trying to do for my family and myself, but if I want to go party, I’ll party.’
You would think that Tapia would have been scared straight by this point, but if six brushes with death won’t do the trick then number seven will probably prove to be fruitless as well. Should Tapia pull through his life threatening ordeal, he will still have to face being charged with possession of a controlled substance. But getting processed on drug charges is as routine to him as getting his hands taped up. It’s just time consuming.
Links:
[ABQJournal.com]: 5-TIME WORLD CHAMPION JOHNNY TAPIA APPARENTLY OVERDOSES ON COCAINE
In 1971: Joe Frazier handed Muhammed Ali his first professional defeat in a 15 round decision at Madison Square Garden. It was the first of three classic matches between the rivals, and it was the first time in history that a fight featured two undefeated champs (Ali was stripped of his title for refusing to go to Vietnam). It was simply dubbed “The Fight of the Century.” It lived up to its billing, as the two battled into the fifteenth round. Referee Al Mercante later claimed that Ali (who predicted he would knock Frazier out in the sixth) gave away many rounds. Most who watched, however, found that it was hard for Ali to “give away” rounds when he was being mercilessly pounded in the corner by Frazier, who sent Ali to the canvas in the fifteenth. Ali survived the knockout, but Frazier won comfortably on all three cards. The fight was one of the most hyped events in sports history, with over 700 press credentials awarded (and another 500 turned down). There were even some celebrities who couldn’t get good seats, but Frank Sinatra smartly got the best seat in the house, snapping pictures on the ringside apron as a photographer for Life Magazine.
In 2004: The National Hockey League officially erased any doubts about its “The U.S. media only talks about hockey when something bad happens” status with one of its ugliest incidents in years. Wanting revenge for a hit by the Colorado Avalanche’s Steve Moore which knocked out star player Markus Naslund three weeks before, Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi came up to Moore from behind and punched him on the side of the head. Moore was knocked out immediately, and he fell face first to the ice. It didn’t help that all 245 lbs. of Bertuzzi fell right on top of him. It didn’t help any more when three other players piled on top of them. Moore suffered a broken neck, a concussion and severe lacerations on his face. Three days later, Bertuzzi was suspended for the rest of the season (including the playoffs) and would not be reinstated until after the lockout in 2005. The atmosphere in Vancouver’s GM Place was ugly that night, as the Canucks vowed to get even with Moore (who did fight earlier in the game). But, as Rogers Sportsnet announcer Jim Hughson said, “the score settling has gone too far.” Bertuzzi later plead guilty to assault and received probation. Moore has also attempted to sue Bertuzzi for over $15 million in lost wages and damages and has still not played a game since.
[Sportscolumn is running down the ten dumbest in-game injuries in sports. Here’s #9.]
This one is more bizarre than dumb and it might have injured Mike Tyson’s career more than Holyfield but it certainly belongs on this list. Mike Tyson took insanity to a whole other level during a fight with Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997. In front of a sold out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Iron Mike took a page from the Iron Chef and gruesomely bit the ear of Holyfield. After some commotion, the fight was resumed and in Tyson-esque lunacy he again bites and removes a chunk from the left ear of Holyfield. Bedlam takes over the ring and the chaos quickly spreads into the crowd before moving to the hotel lobby and eventually to the streets outside. Tyson was suspended from boxing and his purse was withheld. Tyson’s life has continued to spiral downward to the point where he is now considering a new career in porn. Ear nibbling is off limits though.
In 1973: Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career when he was knocked out by George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica. It was also the first fight ever televised by a fledgling cable network called HBO. The fight is mostly remembered for commentator Howard Cosell’s stunned call, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” Frazier went down six times at the hands of Foreman in two rounds. Some boxing experts believe that Cosell’s famous call is what Frazier is unfortunately most remembered for. Frazier, it should be known, handed Muhammad Ali his first career defeat in 1971 and would go on to a career record of 32-4-1 with 27 knockouts.
You can watch the entire fight below but unfortunately the announcing is in German.
In 1984: In what had to be the lamest Super Bowl ever played, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9 in XVIII. It sucked on so many levels. First, the game was held in the party stronghold of Tampa, Florida at the old Sombrero. Second, Barry Manilow sang the national anthem. And of course, the game was awful, as the Raiders ran to a 21-3 halftime lead on a blocked punt for a touchdown. Then, the Redskins’ Joe Theismann threw the worst pass in NFL history. He tossed a little swing pass only to realize in horror that the closest receiver, Jack Squirek, was wearing silver and black. Squirek was so alone he could’ve done the Worm into the end zone. In the second half, Marcus Allen ran roughshod over the ‘Skins on the way to a then-record 191 yard performance, including a signature 74-yarder in which he changed direction about 236 times. No word if he celebrated by nailing another famous player’s wife.
In 2006: Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second-highest total ever scored in an NBA game behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 in 1962. Bryant had 26 in the first half, then exploded for 27 in the third and 28 in the fourth quarter. He “only” took 46 shots (he was also 18-20 from the foul line). Bryant’s performance did help the “lethargic” (his words) Lakers rally from an 18-point deficit to win the game 122-104. While it never touched Wilt’s performance 44 years ago (Chamberlain wasn’t able to chuck up threes every 5 seconds), it should be noted that Bryant scored 1.9 points per minute played to Wilt’s 1.6 because Bryant spent six minutes on the bench.
The Smoking Gun released the transcript of Mike Tyson’s police interview after he was pulled over and arrested for DUI and coke possession. Iron Mike told police in a taped interview, “I am fucked up”. Other not as obvious highligts:
Tyson has someone roll his joints for him
He uses cocaine “whenever [he] can get [his] hands on it”
“I’m an addict”
If Tyson isn’t taking Zoloft, he gets a little crazy
He smokes cocaine in his Marlboro cigarettes
“Fuck You, I hate you, fuck you, dead beat, fuck you”. (Tyson talking to the ground/himself)
Well, if it wasn’t already clear, Mike Tyson has got some serious problems. His next pay per view might be a date with Britney Spears. Although, seriously… who wouldn’t pay to see that? That’s $39.95 well spent. Hook it up Don King!
It seems a shame that we have to publish a story about Mike Tyson getting arrested for the holidays but what else kind of story did you expect from Mike Tyson these days? (Tyson trains in front of a vegas buffet? Tyson fights a kangaroo?)
Mike Tyson was arrested for DUI and possession of cocaine after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub last night. We suspect that since he wasn’t raping anyone, the judge/DA will look at his sad sad life and just give him some community service and probation. Unless of course, Tyson threatens to eat his children.
Just for nostalgia’s sake, here’s video of Tyson just destroying people in his prime.
Links:
[Fox Sports]: Tyson arrested after leaving nightclub Friday
In 1908: Jack Johnson became the first black world heavyweight champion in boxing by knocking out Tommy Burns (who had to be paid $30,000 because he initially refused to fight a black man) in Sidney, Australia. Accounts from the fight say that Johnson literally knocked the much lighter Burns out while Burns was still on his feet and the fight had to be stopped. Johnson had a career record of 79-8 with 46 knockouts, 12 draws and 14 no decisions (which some believed were attributed to biased judges). Interestingly, he would become a fugitive for several years (while still champion) for transporting a white woman across state lines “for immoral purposes.” He was charged in court by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the future first commissioner of baseball. His story is documented on a PBS special called “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson”.
In 1988: The Miami Heat, much like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, set a standard for expansion futility when they lost their first 17 games in the NBA. The got off the schneid by beating the equally pathetic Los Angeles Clippers 89-88. The Heat were built to suck that year, as they featured a starting lineup anchored by Rony Seikaly and Pat Cummings; and no player made more than $650,000. They finished 15-67. A little trivia: which division did the Heat play in that first year?
In 1984: ABC’s “Monday Night Football” became a lot less controversial, but also a lot less interesting as commentator Howard Cosell retired. Whether fans loved him or hated the former New York lawyer, they always tuned in to watch him. Many believe that MNF went downhill after Cosell left because a good replacement was never found (simply because there was only one Cosell). Cosell always had to “tell it like it is“, whether raging about the “jockocracy,” or calling a player an idiot. His most memorable moments during MNF were suddenly announcing the murder of John Lennon during a game and calling Redskins receiver Alvin Garrett a “little monkey.” Cosell died in 1995. A few other interesting facts about Cosell: he never announced a Super Bowl and he once hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
