Against the Ropes
I ventured out to a sports bar Saturday night to watch the big Oscar De La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather fight. I don’t usually go to sports bars because they don’t have a wide selection of pinots and everyone drinks domestic. Luckily, they had Harp. (Yes, I know it was Cinco de Mayo and I was drinking Irish lager. I was also the only barfly that brought my own speed bag.)
Before the fight began, the camera panned the Vegas audience to point out celebrities: Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby Maguire, Jack Nicholson, Will Ferrell, John Cusack, Jim Carrey and… John McCain. Yes, Sen. McCain and his wife had ringside seats, third row. Now, I realize Cindy McCain has supposedly dealt with her addiction to prescription painkillers. But girl’s just GOTTA be on something. She just sat there, expressionless, as two men duked it out right in front of her face for 12 violent rounds.
I blame Sen. McCain for the fact that I missed some of the more critical moments of the fight. In almost every shot, there he was in the background, craning his octogenarian neck to get a better view with that disturbing frozen smile on his face. It was very distracting, not to mention creepy. It was like he was that ghost boy from ‘Three Men and a Baby.’
The fight was a good one even though no one got knocked out. I kept screaming all the boxing terms I know at the flat-panel screens: Jab! Hook! Undercut! Guard your face! Rocky!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t take my eyes off McCain. As far as I know, he was the only Republican candidate there. Although the other nine would have fit in perfectly with a bunch of rich white people watching two minority men beat each other up in the ring.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am
You watched the fight at Sugar’s?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:46 am
What’s with the black guy in the Cinco de Mayo colored trunks?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
who won? and why?
May 7th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Re: 2. treehugger
You missed the sombrero, and the T-shirts that his trainers were wearing that said “Mexico Loves Mayweather”.
That was actually the best part of the night.
Floyd came out with 50 Cent, and it might be the scotch remembering for me, but I’m pretty sure Oscar came out with Linda Ronstadt rapping.
Floyd won in a 2-1 decision. Apparently, only 1 judge got the memo that this was a Golden Boy Production.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Re: 4. FledTheAsylum
the sombrero was awesome. and by awesome, i mean totally insulting to Mexicans everywhere.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Re: 5. laura
I gotta call bull*shit.
a) It was on Cinco De Mayo, when we are encouraged, albeit largely by the Gambrinus Company, to celebrate Mexican culture. Drunken ass*holes allover America wore sombreros Saturday night, my guess is that few of them were thinking “this wacky hat will show them!”.
b) Despite what he may want you to believe, Oscar De La Hoya is not “Mexicans everywhere.” He’s one dude. If Floyd wore the hat to put it in Oscar’s face for, for example, wrapping himself in the Mexican flag, while he has lived a uniquely American life, that’s a dig at Oscar, not at “Mexicans everywhere.”
May 7th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Re: 3. Jesus B. Ochoa
Cockfighting and Bullfighting are illegal so they use humans instead.
Fortunately, Tom Russell (from somewhere out by El Paso) only writes songs about cockfighting.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Re: 6. FledTheAsylum
I thought Oscar De La Hoya was Cuban.
/not really
May 7th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
De La Hoya’s wife was 16.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I received this unsolicited, blank subject line email from PL on Saturday night at 9:
De la hoya or Mayweather?
Sent via BlackBerry
For some reason, I found this email unsettling. Why was PL suddenly asking for my opinion on boxing? It ruined my night.
/My high school was a few blocks away from Muhammad Ali Boulevard.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Re: 7. treehugger
The Pugilist at 59?
May 7th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Re: 10. Shriz-noat
Those blackberry messages are not to be disclosed, per your contract.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Re: 11. lush
Ok, ok. ISC. The guy’s written a ton of songs, I shouldn’t have assumed.
Jack Johnson, also.
May 7th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Re: 13. treehugger
I’m not sure I follow you on JJ–Mediocre Bad Guys?
Mark Knopfler has a great song about Sonny Liston though….
May 7th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Re: 14. lush
Jack Johnson, the TR song.
“Not every song connects, but those that do pack the punch of Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight champion who also lends his story (”Jack Johnson”) to Russell’s bleak take on the American landscape.”
From some review via google search. I’m not familiar with the song. The last time I saw TR he was happy to NOT have to play Gallo del Cielo for the Kerrville Folk Festival crowd. The upcoming train trip to Copper Canyon with him and Butch and Laurie Lewis looks interesting though. I took that train trip in 1977… and this could be the most random discourse hijack I’ve ever posted here.
You’re such an inspiration, lush.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Re: 15. treehugger
Right back at ya, tree. How sad that I thought of Jack Johnson the surfer-singer instead of Jack Johnson the fighter.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Re: 16. lush
Either way, keep it super casual.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2480224605402077458&q=JJ+Casuals+video
May 8th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Re: 6. FledTheAsylum
spoken like a true white man.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Re: 18. laura
Floyd’s not white.
/Prove that Mexico does *not* love Mayweather.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Re: 18. laura
Wait wait wait wait wait wait.
I thought I was a part of the PC police.
I thought I was the one who couldn’t take a joke.