FLASHBACK 2003: ERIK MORALES’ FAKED FIGHT & ROY JONES-JOHNNY LOUISE
March 1st, 2010 By Pedro Fernandez
2003 FLASHBACK: SULAIMAN SHOOTING SELF & JONES-LOUISE
San Francisco, CA- And while most members of the boxing Media folks would like to use WBC president Jose Sulaiman as a “Pinata,” I’m in the minority on Jose-bashing! That being said, what in the puck was Sulaiman thinking by allowing Eddie Croft to partake in a featherweight title fight last week against WBC champ Erik Morales?
OBVIOUS RESULT AS EDDIE HAMMERED IN THREE!
Before I go any further, Croft, a San Mateo, CA native had NOT fought since January of 2000 & he got drilled by Fred Neil in Las Vegas. But the real slide began by being nearly shutout in an ill advised IBF 126 lb. title fight with the much bigger Tom Johnson for $30K in 1995 on CBS TV. From a toaster oven to the raging furnace, Marco Antonio Barrera would nearly behead Eddie the next time out (KO 3) a few months later.
THIS STUFF WILL BREED A FEDERAL COMMISSION!
Other than a decision over journeyman Frank Lizzaraga in 1998, Eddie Croft hasn’t won a fight since January 1995. And having been KO’d in three straight fights before the Morales fight, I repeat Sr. Sulaiman what the puck were you thinking? Was it cool to sanction a fight this life-threatening match up merely because it involved a revered Mexican champion?
ROY THREE DAYS AWAY FROM MAKIN’ HISTORY?
There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of middle ground when it comes to picking the winner of Saturday night’s main event on HBO PPV between ascending World light heavyweight (175 lbs) champion Roy Jones Jr. and WBA heavyweight title bearer John Ruiz. People such as writer Kevin Iole feel Ruiz wins this fight handily! “John is jus too big & Roy can’t run all night,” says the Las Vegas Review Journal columnist.
KEY WORDS HERE FOLKS ARE “SHOULD BE”
Iole must adhere to the saying, “A good big man beats a good little man!” When I threw that clique at Larry Merchant the other night on the radio, the “HBO Godfather” Larry Merchant scoffed. “But the big man here isn’t a good big man!” And there in lies the mystery of the fight. You see with his physical size and mass of Ruiz should be enough to enable him to run Roy out of the ring.
KRONK GOLDFATHER WEIGHS IN ON WEIGHT ISSUE
When the “Goldfather” of the Kronk Gym Emanuel Steward had weighed in on the matter earlier in the show, Emanuel Steward had this to offer. “Ruiz doesn’t have the mental toughness I don’t think. If he were to go out there and be a real heavyweight, the fight is his to win. But I don’t think he can or will and so I’m picking Roy to win the fight.”
FAVORED ROY TO REMOVE VITAL ORGAN?
From Roy’s point of view, I think the fight is right there for him to win. But in order to do so he will have to commit himself and throw combinations. The key I feel for Roy to win impressively is to go AT Ruiz from different angles with HARD-HARD shots. Because once Ruiz is even slightly rocked, his heart is so exposed that you can reach in and rip it right out of his chest!
Pedro Fernandez
Can you imagine if Roy Jones had retired after beating Ruiz? Boxing fans would have debated for decades to come, maybe longer, that he was possibly the greatest fighter of all time. Now, after losing several times, some will argue that he does not belong in the boxing hall of fame.
I highly highly doubt Roy Jones would have been ever considered the concensus p4p greatest at that point, (did I mention highly) but the fact remains. Had he retired when he was on top of his game, his stature in the sport wouldn’t be so severely tarnished as it is now. After winning the heavyweight title Roy had a host of oppurtunities awaiting him. He could have fought Tarver as he did or some other light heavy/ cruiserweight fighter, retired, Or he could have continued his career in the heavyweight division. Who he could have beat is a very debatable topic but one thing is certain; taking a loss as be did in the second fight with Tarver destroyed whatever notion we had that Jones was Mr. Untouchable.
Side note: Like Mayweather is now, the fans wanted to see Roy in a drag out, blood and guts fight to cement his legacy. In the first Tarver fight we had that. In that fight, Roy dug deep and showed the intangible we consider characteristic of a fighter: heart. Maybe asking him to do it twice was a little too much.
RJ should have stopped after Ruiz or at the very least after the first Tarver fight. What he is doing now with going ahead with the Hopkins fight after what just happened is sad. His legacy is already damaged, now he should be concerned for his health.
OK, if Roy can not take a punch from Danny Green, what does he have left. In his prime, I would not miss a fight BUT now, I will not turn it on.. Everyone must know when to walk away.. No, we could never do what Roy has done, but now, he can’t either.. Lightening in a bottle, I doubt it very much. Respect to Roy but please stick to promoting or something other than in the ring.
Morales-Croft was done well above their weight division at the time in the mid 130s because Morales was drunk on beer and not training. Croft was later put on the suspended list after failing a medicial test, possibly an MRI. I saw this on a CSAC document when he applied for a new license several years ago. But it was later removed so there was no lasting record.