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-SO-Cymbrjgrf T\rrmlt; SOfviny, gctgtf 10, mtThe RingsideV By Tom J. WalbertCUMBERLAND HAS gotten some publicity in the Washington area, with a news item about Leo Saenz in the Washington Post.The item in Byron Rosen's Fan/are column related that Leo, currently the third-ranked U.S. middleweight contender, has started tough training to get ready for the U.S. Tournament of Champions scheduled early next year. According to the story, Saenz is now working at Colemans’ Gymnasium in Hyattsviile '’after a stint soaking up know-how in Cumberland.,.”The reference is to the weeks Leo spent here working at the Has-Beens training quarters in Central YMCA and getting both (he benefit of tutoring from Jimbo Evans, the former classy heavyweight battler who has been working with Herb Wilens for several months, and the chance to work with local fighters, especially Wilens.Leo has held his ranking even though he has been out of action nearly a year, doing some maturing and learning more about his trade. With an early start and the hunger for success the rest of the U.S. middles can look for some fierce competition when promoter Don King gets his tournament underway.WAYNESBORO, PA,, is the scene of the next nearby boxing match, with Dick Hess promoting forT „ 1___ ti -athe all-sports equipment fund of the Waynesboro Tigers football team.The bouts in Waynesboro are named in honor of Dutch Shaffer, former fighter and respected elder statesman of that Pennsylvania community. The upcoming card is scheduled for Saturday, October 23, in the East Junior High School gymnasium. It's an easy place to find. Enter the town from the west and follow the main street east until you see the school on the right side of the street.The top bouts on the card will feature Dick’s two brothers, Joe and Sam Hess against two Pennsylvania heavyweights. Joe Hess will box Tommy Thunder'’ Thomas of Uniontown, while Sam Hess will meet Reese Pitts, Harrisburg.Tommy Shaffer, who coaches Thomas, says he is an outstanding prospect and that he expects him to develop into a world class amateur within the next year.Several carloads of Has-Beens members will be going to Waynesboro and the more Maryland cars on the school parking lot that night the better. The action promises to be worth watching and the money goes to a good cause.ON FRIDAY, when light-middleweight champion Jose Duran had his crown lifted on a split decision by Miguel Angel Castellini the Spanish pressgenerally agreed that Castellini's slight edge was not enough to warrant giving him Duran's title.Sound familiar? Sure, that’s what some people Sa-a ?r ?? All-Norton fight. Some opinions said that, although Norton appeared to have a slight edge, he didn’t win big enough to warrant taking An s crown away from him.Others have a differenlopinion, and I believe, a more reasonable one.Boiled down,’ it goes something like this: If the best race horse in the world is entered in a race and, from out of the pack, some unknown surges up to nick him by a no6e at the finish line, it might be so close that it would be unreasonable to rely on the human eye for a decision. But even in a photo finish with a micrometer thin difference in the reach of their noses, the horse that’s in front is the winner.Whoever, ever, heard of someone saying, “Well that unknown did pretty good but he didn't win big enough to justify giving him the race over the champion. Any track judges whocameup with that kind of alibi for giving a bad decision would probably not make it off the premises without a hemp necktie.But, photo finish or not, the winner is the horse with the nose out front at the finish and in a boxing match the laurels must go to the fighter who wins thegreater number of rounds or who amasses the greatest number of total points. Anything less is a travesty on the sport, an insult to the people who support the business, a sad commentary on the honor as well as the intelligence of the officials involved and a lousy insult to the honorable people in the sport, whatever it may be.So, if Castellini drew the nod, by even a point,lt;L, the title rightfully belongs to him. After seeing the Ali-Norton bout on TV, if you think Norton had the edge as did sportswriters like Red Smith, Dick Young and Shirley Povich, then you must conclude that the title should rightfully be on Ken Norton’s head.And that’s the way to settle the issue, at least on a persona) basis. Watch the fight and draw your conclusions. Just one tip before you do, though. When a fan watches a fight he or she only sees about half the action. You must watch the way a judge does (is supposed to). The proper way to judge a fight is to focus your eyes on a point midway between the two fighters and keep them there during the action. That way you see, equally well, what each fighter does instead of having your attention focused on one and missing many of the moves made by his opponent.
Newspaper Details
Cumberland Times
Cumberland, Maryland, US
Sun, Oct 10, 1976
Page 25
Full Page
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Anonymous
MD, USA 29 Jul 2024
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