TOP RANK BOXING

by John Mastalir jmastalir@yahoo.com

BOXING THURSDAY AT THE HARD ROCK IN LAS VEGAS FOR VERSUS TV...... CHANNEL 67 HERE

Club boxing, whatever that is ? I guess it is lower priced tickets where promoters are happy to credential internet writers. That is now the definition of club boxing.

So very happy to attend and see my fellow scribes from the old days, boxing referees, boxing judges and some familiar old faces.

Just like the super bowl ....you have to play the game ! Who will win, could be either guy most times...... and in a still often scenario in the main event, everyone on press row has Ben Tackies winning a ten rounder over Kendall Holt ! Not the 3 judges, who have it 98-92 twice for Holt and 95-95. Not much of a fight with both over cautious and not much fighting, so what , you still have to play the game. Lots of us bullshitting in the crowd do not seeing the same fight Nevada judges do!

Got to see 3 rounds of what was a great looking young super welterweight (155) Vanes Martinosyan (18-0) , he had a dominating 10 minutes over Jorge Munoz (20-2). Try and look for this guy the next two years, lovely standup boxer with a personality and he speaks english.

Reached a point now in high profile events where the 3 piece suits and promoters now have elminated most credentials....its sad but it is their game.

Kevin Iole the worlds top boxing writer WAS easily available in the Las Vegas paper which I read daily, now he is lost in space and a special effort has to made to find him just like your writer here. Steve Carp now writing for the Las Vegas paper I have already read this morning because he is in the paper, who reads what ? Point is all writers are equally available.

Thanks to TOP RANK publicist Lee Samuel for this credential, to Michael GilMartin for Saturdays credentials at the New Aquarius in Laughlin and to Frank Luca for his credentials March 7 at the Orleans boxing card in Las Vegas. The only way we can write is if we are there.

Top Rank card A+ 97 for their management alone.