10 bell salute to 2 boxing legends...Alexis Arguello and Arturo "Thunder" Gatti.
Alexis Arguello (April 19, 1952 - July 1, 2009) known in the fight world as El Flaco Explosivo - "The Explosive Thin Man", was a native of the Central American country of Nicaragua where in 2008 he was elected mayor of the capital city, Managua. He was a 3 times world champion and his fights with Aaron Pryor.
With a professional records of 82-8-0 with 65 Ko's, Arguello was a warrior in and out of the ring. Made his professional debut with a loss, (a first round TKO) and went on to win 36 of the next 38 fights, leading to his first title shot in the Featherweight division. (He lost to Marcel who later retired) He would later win the championship with a knockout of Ruben Olivares. He transitioned to the Super Featherweight and later to the Lightweight divisions, winning titles in both. His most memorable fights were with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and future boxing Hall of Famer Aaron Pryor. In the first fight with Pryor he was stopped in the 14th round, there was a contraversy surrounding a water bottle used by Pryor's corner and due to the carelessness of the Miami Boxing Commission, who didnt perform a post fight urinalysis, a rematch was ordered. This fight took place in Las Vegas and Arguello was KO'd in the tenth. He retired, but you know boxers, they always come back and he did...He needed the money. He and Pryor would remain friends and see each other several times a year until this month when he (Arguello) died.
He became active in politics when he returned to his native Nicaragua and was elected Mayor in 2007. He passed away on July 1, 2009 from an apparent suicide, but the authorities are suspicious, and investigating foul play...
Arturo "Thunder" Gatti also known as the "Ultimate Blood and Guts Warrior" and the "Human Highlight Film" was born April 15, 1972 in Italy, his family moved to Montral, Canada and he lived there until he turned pro in 1991, then moved to New Jersey. Thunder was in Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year" 4 times, (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003), but was best known for his epic battles with nemesis Micky Ward. Trust me these two cats refused to lose and fought like their momma's said "Don't come back in the house unless you win". Gatti was a member of the Canadian National Boxing team and was scheduled to participate in the 1992 Olympics, but turned pro instead. He has had fights that were called no less than "Legendary". The list is a mile long...Tracy Harris Patterson where he won the IBF Super Featherweight belt and scored a sweet deal with HBO Boxing (where most of his fights were televised). Wilson Rodriguez, 2 fights with Ivan Robinson, Reyes Munoz and Joey Gamache (who Arturo knocked out and was in a coma for a day), Oscar de la Hoya, Jesse James Leija, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, and Micky Ward.
The fights with Ward were so good, I want them to be released in a special dvd set, now that he has died maybe HBO will do that. They split the first two fights, Ward winning the first and Gatti winning the second. The third fight which was undoubtedly the best of the three. Gatti broke his hand (AGAIN) in the 4th round throwing an upper cut that landed on Ward's hip. He pretty much fought one handed the rest of the fight. Took an overhead right to the the head and was down with a second left in the round. He got up and continued the fight, and won by unanimous decision 96-93, 96-93 and 97-92 on the judge's scorecards. This was Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year.
After Ward he beat Leija, got demolished by Mayweather, knocked out by Carlos Baldomir, and his last fight was against Alfonso Gomez (which he lost). In the dressing room after the fight, Gatti announced his retirement saying that he was coming back, just to watch. Gatti was found dead today in a rented house in Brazil, by his wife. He, his wife, and child were in Brazil on their honeymoon. Authorities said that he was victim of a head injury and are investigating now.
Arguello and Gatti are both boxing legends and will truly be missed...The fight game was revolutionized by them and their careers are gonna be immortalized.
Posted from a neutral corner by the Insomniaq...8,9,10 and I'm OWT
Good morning World! I just wanted to speak on the Michael Jackson Memorial "Concert" Service for a minute. First of all AEG did the damn thing with the stage layout , and then proceeded to really stick it to "the man", with their ONE FEED. I understand that they wanted some sort of media integrity, not have a gang of cameras and reporters from around the world "golf talkin'" through the service. I watched it on an ABC affiliate here in Atlanta and shoulda watched it on CNN, I just knew that they would have better announcers and "analyst", but I got stuck with Charlie Gibson and his wavering vocals and seemingly limited Michael knowledge. At anyrate the line up was phenominal. J-Hud to Usher to Jermaine Jackson and even the lil kid from England.
The Good , the Bad, and the Ridiculous:
The GOOD
Rev. Al Sharpton (anyone that knows me, knows I really can't stand Al, IMO he's one of them leach kinda cats that waits for a photo op and a soapbox so he can scream and holler about whatever it is and then try to spin said subject to fit the ":Black Plight"). Even though I knew he would talk about how Mike did this, that and the other to further African Americans, he was very articulate about Mike, being the "man in the mirror", a trendsetter, a man that made everyone stop and pause and show respect
Martin Luther King III and Bernice King: They gave comfort to the fact that Jackson was the best at what he did and that his number one spot in the hearts, minds, and souls of everyone that was touched by his greatness. Quoting their father on several occasions, especially the "street sweeper" (which is now my personal favorite. When MLK3 reminissed about Mike calling Coretta when she was sick really touched me, because you dont hear things like that from a MEGASTAR. It showed that he was really compassionate. I was really glad that they got a chance to let eryone know that he was truly not a weirdo, but a human with a caring heart.
Motown founder Berry Gordy spoke directly from the heart and at times seems like he was quoting scenes from The Jackson's: An American Dream movie. I did think that the line about Michael being a son to him was a lil uneasy especially to Joe Jackson. If you saw the movie, you know what I'm talkin about.
Queen Latifah, Magic Johnson,(sometimes I really wish he wouldnt speak in public) and Smokey Robinson also brought a laugh or two to the celebration of his life... especially Magic..."Michael, you eat Kentucky Fried Chicken?? (shameless plug from a compensated spokesperson)Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine, and John Mayer were all awesome, but what else would you expect.J-Hud's rendition of "Will You Be There" was outstanding. Even though she was big pregnant she was classy and her vocals were on point. When the intro to the song started playing my homie Chris was like "Alright, who is gonna sing this and do it right?" we all were happy to see Jen and knew that it was gonna be right. Michael's dancers performed a routine that we figured was part of his show cause it was also on point.Stevie Wonder sang "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" a very fitting song. Stevie did allude to never wanting to be in that position, where he was funeralizing Michael. He said "This is a moment I wish I never had to see come". Now even though we knew what he meant, seemed a tad bit awkward, if you ask me
Lionel Richie, fresh off a Commodore reunion at the Essence Music Festival sang Jesus is Love and erybody was deeply moved (except maybe Charlie Gibson who again was the most clueless person on television at the time. He could only reference that Richie and Jackson co-wrote We Are the World and then said it was written in 1995...are you serious Charlie - Reading is fundamental.)
Usher was emotional, while singing, "Gone Too Soon". It was evident that Jackson was an inspiration to Usher, who's dance moves have been described as "Michaelesque". He held it together for the most part and afterwards had a word with Katherine and her grandkids. Definetly a class act on Usher's part. For some strange reason, I was expecting him to do something that was a little more upbeat since it was a tribute. Nonetheless I wasnt disappointed.
John Mayer, who didnt sing, but played a stirring rendition of "Human Nature", and went OFF! I love that dude's music and his skill with the guitar. He was very passionate with it and felt to me like he actually played on the original record. (Once again, Gibson, went dumb saying this was actually the soundtrack to "Human Nature". Damn, how much prep time did he actually have to get it together? Now mind you it was late in the telecast when seemingly all media got hold of the program...)
THE BADYou know I wasnt gonna let Mariah Carey off the hook easy...She butchered Jackson 5 classic, "I'll Be There"...yeah she remade the song and I thought that was an insult to begin with. From the gate she was crackin and missing notes. Some may attribute that to the emotion of the event, but I aint givin her a pass on that one. Even with Trey "whats his face" Lorenz it was not good, I'da rather heard Lorenz Tate singing the song O-Dog dookie plats and all. There was just something about this performance that said to me..."WHY IS SHE OPENING THE SHOW???" I would have peferred Whitney Houston or Beyonce, but I guess AEG is doin her tour also and wanted to give her some face time. I know the family didnt reach out to Carey and asked her to piss people off.Brooke Shields spoke. Started out alright, but then seemed to just ramble on and on....and on. This is the one woman that I could actually see dating Mike, but for that same reason, I really think it was some bull. She started reminissing about the time when she and Michael stole away to see Elizabeth Taylor's wedding dress and to find out she was sleeping in the room with it. Then saying that she and Jackson were the "Parents of the Bride" (WOW how corny). Then joking about how he was a slacker because he started in "the business" far later than she, "I was 11 months old"...SO WHAT! All this foolishness from the same woman that said Michael was "asexual"...GTFOH!
The attention paid to the processional from the cemetary to the Staples Center, was totally unneccesary. There was mention that the Jackson's called a Range Rover dealership and asked for the use of 10 Rovers...then calling a Rolls Royce dealership and requested a couple of their vehicles. Then in the same conversation...what would the resale value of these cars be, especially since they were now used. What kind of selling points are the dealers gonna make? "Did you know that this particular Range Rover was used to carry Michael Jackson's family to his memorial?" (another I cant believe you said that moment...I really shoulda watched this on CNN) The attention to the casket was just as bad... We joked in the house about soundin like old Baptist church women, "That casket is just BREWTEEFUR!" and the like, but these cats talked about everything from the bronze, to the solid gold handles, to the velvet he was laying on....Jesus H Christ could you just stick to the script and stop tryin to adlib during the lulls...to the $25,000 price tag, you know someone is still screaming about they gonna put that thing in the ground...shit the man inside the box probably had more than $25,000 on him (im talkin clothes and what nots...hell Leroy Crump got buried with a brand new pair of Mori gators on, so why Michael Jackson couldnt be decked out to the nines) Chris and I were jokingly saying they prolly aint gonna bury it anyhow, they might set it off into orbit somewhere...LOL
THE RIDICULOUS.
NO SHOWS...where was Oprah, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Manelli, Emmanual Lewis, the kid from Home Alone, Bubbles? And where in the hell was Diana Ross? ....It was her fault that Mike went through all that damn surgery in the first place tryin to look like her ass....[/mini rant] TMZ was on some bull too cause they followed Whitney Houston all over LAX askin her if she was gonna be at the service and yet she was a no show. What about Quincy Jones and Paul McCartney? Two very obvious omissions. Chris Brown was supposedly there but was not asked to perform....Where they do that at? This whole "beat Rihanna" thing has gone too far, he is gonna have to do some Thriller type thing to get back in the good graces of the masses. How you get shut out of two big media events in about a weeks time? BET and Mike's Service? Wow...just wow! LaToya Jackson and that damn hat...what the hell was she thinkin about???? Please tell me.All and all it was without a doubt the most watched "funeral" in the history of funerals, the best put together memorial (performancewise with few mistakes). The brothers, Jermaine with a great performance of "Smile" from a Charlie Chaplin movie, which was his brother's favorite song. The cameraman catching Blanket holding the Michael Jackson doll and kissing the program during "Uncle Jermaine's" song were classic and Im surprised it isnt on every website home page, but I guess aint nobody really pay attention to that. I guess thats just the artist in me talkin. Marlon spoke from the heart especially when he recounted the time he saw Mike in a record store in disguise...and even gave instructions like a big brother should, clearly emotional, you can see where he is gonna miss Michael. Finally Paris Michael Katherine Jackson professing her love for her daddy. I thought it was cute how she started off with, "Ever since I was born..." the family and the organizers of the tribute have both said that her farewell to the King was totally unrehearsed, unscheduled, and unplanned. I thought Blanket was gonna be the "heir to the throne", but Paris is puttin her bid in early. I'm just glad they aint do Mike, the way James Brown's daughter did and take him on a tour around the country before they lay him to rest. Well there's always NASA...5,4,3,2,1We will miss you Michael! All Hail the KingHERE ARE SOME PHOTOS FROM THE MEMORIAL:
Janet, Latoya (the Hat) and Rebe
The Jacksons
Paris Michael Katherine Jackson's Emotional Farewell
The King Rest
Paris, mother Katherine Jackson, and Blanket
As the world gets ready to say farewell to the King of Pop Michael Jackson, I want to give my M.J. experiences. Ever since I was young (like age 5 or so)I was a fan. I used to watch the opening credits of Soul Train to see the Jackson 5, even if they weren't gonna be on the show. Wherever there was a Ebony or Jet magazine with Michael or the Jacksons on the cover, I was reading it to find out what was new.
The very first concert I ever went to was the Jackson 5 at the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans. My moms took me. I have forgotten the opening act and it really didnt matter, cause all i wanted to see was Michael. When they finally hit the stage, I stood on my seat and there was a woman (a very heavy woman to be exact) in front of me who decided to stand in her seat and block my view... Moms tapped her and tried to get her to move so I could see, but you know how people are, she aint wanna move. Suddenly there was a crash and the woman fell to the ground, now I dont know what happened but she hit the ground and didnt get back up. (Secretly I think my moms snatched her ass down, but I dare not say it... even to this day)
They went through their playlist...ABC, Got To Be There, Skywriter, and so on. The song that got me really hyped was Dancing Machine! That boy broke down and did the Robot during the bridge and set it off. Moms said my eyes were as big as saucers. I wanted to do the robot bad as hell.
As time went on I was outta the wanna be like Michael phase and he dropped "Off the Wall" and it damn near started all over again. The he released Thriller. By this time MTV was floodin us with Billie Jean and Beat It and my lil brother even had a Beat It jacket...you know with all the zippers and shit. Every time the videos came on, he'd run in front of the TV with that damn jacket on. I used to try to play it off, but I was in front of it too. Then the Thriller video came out and I had to learn that routine. OLA RAY with her used to be fine ass was in the video and I had a crush on her from that Charles Bronson movie she was in (and they showed her naked breasts). So you know it was goin down.
Then the greatest live performance program, Motown 25 was coming on television, and I scrambled to find a blank VHS tape so I could tape it, cause Mike and his brothers were reuniting and I just knew that was gonna be a special moment in this history of the world. It was...his Billie Jean performance was that crack. That moonwalk, spin, and toe freeze was bananas. My homie Bartley had that shit down pat.
Then one summer I was visiting my cousins in Cleveland and we were goin to an amusement park when the Victory tour was being announced and State of Shock was played on the radio. Talk about fire! Bout this time I was hard on Prince cause he had them broads mesmorized, but MJ was still the man. I bought the Victory album and fell off the wagon, and once again was in full "you cant tell me shit bout Michael Jackson" mode. Then Bad was released and with hit after hit, he solidified his King of Pop status... Bad, Dirty Diana, Remember the Time and so on. I was mad that he had Eddie Murphy in the video, especially after all the shit he was saying bout Mike in his routines, but I got over it, when they did a song together. You know you was diggin, "What's Up with You" . Then dude dropped Dangerous, History, Invincible, and the legacy was there... and these are gonna be classic and played for the rest of time....
He is gone but will never be forgotten...R.I.P.
10 bell salute to 2 boxing legends...Alexis Arguello and Arturo "Thunder" Gatti.
Arturo "Thunder" Gatti also known as the "Ultimate Blood and Guts Warrior" and the "Human Highlight Film" was born April 15, 1972 in Italy, his family moved to Montral, Canada and he lived there until he turned pro in 1991, then moved to New Jersey. Thunder was in Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year" 4 times, (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003), but was best known for his epic battles with nemesis Micky Ward. Trust me these two cats refused to lose and fought like their momma's said "Don't come back in the house unless you win". Gatti was a member of the Canadian National Boxing team and was scheduled to participate in the 1992 Olympics, but turned pro instead. He has had fights that were called no less than "Legendary". The list is a mile long...Tracy Harris Patterson where he won the IBF Super Featherweight belt and scored a sweet deal with HBO Boxing (where most of his fights were televised). Wilson Rodriguez, 2 fights with Ivan Robinson, Reyes Munoz and Joey Gamache (who Arturo knocked out and was in a coma for a day), Oscar de la Hoya, Jesse James Leija, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, and Micky Ward.
