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Paul Brown, the legendary football coach, out of Massillon, OH, began his
career in the 1930s and finished in the ' 70s. He watched the game change
from leather helmets and two-way football players to an era when players saw
fit to perform end zone celebrations after scoring a touchdown. Needless to
say, Brown found such celebrations uncalled-for and characterized his
reaction by telling his players "If you get into the end zone, act like
you've been there before."
I thought of Paul Brown while watching the tape of the Ann Wolfe/Vonda Ward
lightheavyweight championship bout, held May 8 in Biloxi, MS. and finally
televised last week. The fight and its sudden ending established Wolfe as
one of the hardest punchers in the sport of Women's boxing as she knocked
out Ward with one punch halfway through the first round. And, in this
instance, "knocked out" is no euphemism. The 6' 6'' Ward, slowly loading up
on a right hand, was beaten to the punch by Wolfe's looping right hand that
landed flush on Ward's chin rendering her unconscious before she hit the
canvas. She remained unconscious for at least a minute and stayed supine for
nearly ten minutes before being removed from the ring on a stretcher. From a
boxing standpoint, that was the good news.
The bad news came as Ward was being attended to by referee Elmo Adolph. Ann
Wolfe, no doubt, still pumped up with adrenaline, having won the biggest
bout of her career in sensational fashion, danced around the ring
celebrating her KO and then, inexplicably, hovered over the concussed Ward
and gyrated with moves generally found only on stages in "gentlemen's clubs"
or in music videos. It was a sophomoric way to celebrate a great win by a
very good fighter.
I don't know Ann Wolfe. I have been told by people who do know her that she
is a good person. I do know that she is a wonderful fighter. Additionally,
I'm aware she has overcome many difficulties in her personal life and has
risen to the status of one of the top fighters in the sport, compiling a
17-1 record with 12 KOs. She is, clearly, one of the hardest punchers in the
sport, and it is understandable that she would demonstrably celebrate the
biggest win of her career, a win that unquestionably positions her close to
her long sought matchup with Laila Ali. All that is true: good person, great
fighter, devastating puncher, great win, but none of that excuses her post
fight histrionics in the ring on May 8.
Boxing is the most brutal of sports. It is the only sport in which the
primary purpose is to do grievous bodily harm to your opponent. Ann Wolfe
did grievous bodily harm to Vonda Ward in less than one round. What Wolfe
did in slightly over a minute in Biloxi is what boxing is all about; what
Wolfe did, following her win, has no place in any sport, even one as
primeval as boxing. Is this the first time it has happened in the ring? Of
course not. Christy Martin famously parodied Bethany Payne "legless" state
after stopping the completely overmatched fighter on a PPV telecast in
November ' 96. Fredia Gibbs taunted Hannah Fox after knocking her down in a
match on ESPN in January ' 99 (Drawing the on-air ire of Teddy Atlas).
Neither Martin or Gibbs did such taunting on a regular basis and probably,
in retrospect, regretted doing so in these isolated instances. Additionally,
both Martin and Gibbs are among the most talented and respected fighters in
the sport of Women's boxing. Hopefully, the same will be said, in the
future, about Ann Wolfe. However, she got off to a slow start in her post
fight interview in Biloxi.
As unfortunate as Wolfe's post fight actions were, there remained an
opportunity, talking with Sean O'Grady in the ring on TV, to make amends, of
sorts. To her credit, Ann began the interview by addressing the issue of "my
dancing around the ring" and then, incredibly,stated, that "Vonda would have
done the same thing [If she had won]." Not only was this a childish excuse
("all the other kids did it") but it is patently absurd. Ann Wolfe has no
idea how Vonda Ward would have celebrated a victory in the unlikely event
she had won and to speculate is ludicrous. Thus, Wolfe bypassed a chance to
put a reasonable "spin" on her actions. One can only question why her
"people" in her corner didn't, prior to the O'Grady interview, prompt Ann to
say something along the lines of:"I meant no disrespect to Ward [with my
actions], I just got caught up in the victory, in the heat of battle and got
carried away." From what I have heard about Ann Wolfe, the person, when she
has time to reflect on the situation, that sentiment will probably come
close to her thinking. The question still remains: Why didn't someone with
"Ann Wolfe" printed on the back of their silk shirt think to advise her
before she talked to O'Grady? Isn't that why they're called "managers"?
According to reports, Vonda Ward suffered a concussion and is recovering and
probably should be considering her options after boxing. Wolfe, on the other
hand, is now the only logical opponent for Laila Ali, who is scheduled to
fight Nikki Eplion on July 17 in Bowie, MD. Eplion, coming off a one-sided
loss to Leatitia Robinson, should provide slight opposition for Ali. Ann
Wolfe will certainly be a different story and represents Ali's toughest
opponent and the hardest puncher Ali will have faced in her career. Can
Wolfe beat Ali? Of course. Will Wolfe beat Ali? I don't know but she has, at
the very least, a "puncher's chance" and probably a good bit more. Ann Wolfe
handed Vonda Ward her first loss in sensational fashion. If she does the
same thing to Laila Ali, in whatever fashion, here's hoping she remembers
Paul Brown's advice, "Act like you've been there, before," because, in Ann
Wolfe's case, she has, indeed, gotten to the end zone before.
Bernie McCoy |
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