A Strike and No Boxing Fans

Several days ago, 94% of Chicago Park District employees voted to go on strike.  If negotiations between the labor union and the park district don't improve within the next couple of weeks, employees will be encouraged to walk off of their jobs.  I was part of the percentage that voted against it.  Most of my co-workers at LaFollette Park think a 'yes' vote will protect their jobs.  I've worked at enough places - most of whom were not covered by a labor union - to know that management will dig their heels in to keep situations the way they currently are. 

"I can't be fired for just anything," park district employees think in their defense of the union.  I laugh derisively because management has always found a way to show employees the door regardless.  I also shake my head because the presence of the union often allows employees who should have been let go to stay on.  Why do people think, especially in this time when technology is king, that so many are looking at working for themselves?  When I began working over 40 years ago, employers had more loyalty towards employees.  Now it's everybody for themselves, and having a union involved doesn't make much difference in my opinion. 

I don't have time to sit around twiddling my thumbs in the event of a strike.  Nor can I or the scores of other park district employees who don't have extra jobs and/or side gigs to supplement their income afford to miss paychecks during a strike. 

From conversations I've had with participants in the boxing classes, I've come to the conclusion that most are not boxing fans.  The youths who play football, basketball, and baseball in the park district follow those sports.  Very few in the boxing classes, youths or adults, watch any matches.  Most know about Muhammad Ali.  Some mention Floyd Mayweather Jr or Mike Tyson.  But that's the extent of the knowledge about boxing.  The result is a lack of connection to the sport which doesn't bode well especially for people who talk about wanting to compete.  I'm always getting a lot of odd questions about what goes on in boxing matches that wouldn't come up if people were actually fans of the sport.

The lack of boxing fans contributes heavily to the fact that LaFollette Park's boxing program is not where it needs to be and should be. 

Difficult Recent Days

The past several days haven't been so pleasant.  Let me first get my thoughts out about the Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Manny Pacquiao "Fight of the Century".  Pacquiao seemed to take too long to feel Mayweather out.  By the time some fire was shown, four to five rounds had gone by, and Mayweather had won all of them.  But then Mayweather was doing his usual running and bouncing around the ring, with a heavy dose of clinching and holding Pacquiao's head down.

Jose, a guy in the group I was watching the fight with, correctly noted that since Pacquiao wasn't ahead on the cards by the end of the eighth round, that Mayweather would win.  I still believe that Mayweather can be taken down, but since Pacquiao wasn't able to get the job done, who can?  It wasn't a bad fight per se, nor a boring one, but it did not live up to all of the hype.

I attempted to pay another visit to my stepmother, who is in the hospital.  She's not doing very well at all; she's unresponsive after having taken a fall in her home several days ago.  Good thing I was able to see her last week, because I wasn't allowed to see her today.  One of her sisters decided that only my stepmom's immediate family should be allowed to visit.  However, they all live out of state, and I'm here.  I understand their concern, but I live close enough to check on her, communicate with the doctors, and rely news back to her relatives. I was in no mood to debate the issue, so I let it go for the time being.

Then I ran into a friend from the church where I used to be a member.  She told me another good friend of ours from that church passed away from heart failure several days ago.  I'm sorry I missed his funeral.

My left knee is better, enough that I can move around in the gym.  But still, the majority of the kids have went AWOL.  I did get two new teens, Shanita, and her quiet brother, Julius.  Between the two, Shanita is the more aggressive.  She told me she wants to be a professional boxer.  They both came in on Saturday, and it was a good session.  But the rest of the time, I sat around, twiddling my thumbs.  I'd rather not have to deal with a mostly empty gym for the rest of the spring and throughout the summer.  Right now, however, the situation is not looking up.

Some Sunday Boxing Thoughts

There have always been reports about fighters ducking and dodging opponents.  When Laila Ali was still competing, she was often accused of avoiding certain boxers like Lucia Rijker, Christy Martin, and Ann Wolfe.  Ali did fight Martin.  I remember a press conference where Martin got up in Ali's face, and Ali referred to her as "little mama" and asked what did Martin think she was going to do to her.

I also remember watching an interview with Lucia Rijker where she was showed some fight footage of Ali.  Rijker was asked something about if she saw some skills in Ali.  "I see nothing in her style," Rijker quickly replied.  I would have loved to see that fight, but unfortunately, it never took place.

That would have been a heck of a fight if Ali and Ann Wolfe ever had stepped into the ring.  Personally, I would have had second, third, and forth thoughts about taking a bout with Wolfe.  It's been reported that Wolfe was so rough that she was knocking out men during sparring.  Alas, both Ali and Wolfe are now retired, so that's another fight that will never be seen.

Speaking of missed fight opportunities, the hype around the upcoming Mayweather and Alvarez match seems to be muting any more talk about a battle between Mayweather and Pacquiao.  I was watching an episode of Showtime's "All Access" on the internet earlier.  As usual, Mayweather was arrogant.  Alvarez was shown as a young, hungry fighter with focus.  Very little footage of Mayweather training was shown, but viewers were there were scenes of women hanging around "Money", who each had some job they were doing in his camp.  "We tend to hire attractive people because they make things happen," Mayweather explained as I rolled my eyes.

I don't think it's going to be business as usual for Mayweather.  I hope it's not.

"Money" Schools Guerrero

I found out late last night that a nearby fast food place had brought the PPV of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Robert Guerrero fight.  They were charging five bucks to get in.  That was way less expensive than the $20 that Alan told me Rivers Casino out by O'Hare Airport was charging to see it.  I really didn't want to go all the way out to that casino via public transportation.  Neither did I want to go to the fast food place which is in walking distance from my house.  By that time of day, I was worn out from having to deal with my extremely sore left knee.  Something had went "pop" in that knee shortly after I woke up Thursday morning.  I had errands to run on Saturday, and I struggled to shuffle down streets and on and off buses and trains.  Enough was enough.

A buddy of mine on Facebook posted a link to where people could watch the fight online.  The picture could have been a little clearer, and an ad blocked part of the screen.  Sometimes, the audio and visual went in and out.  But I could see enough to view the action.  When it was all over, I was glad I hadn't paid for it.  It was another of Mayweather's usual shutouts against someone.

But say what you will about Mayweather's personality and past run-ins with the law -- the fight was an excellent boxing lesson.  Unfortunately, Guerrero didn't pass the final exam.  There was the anticipation that something might jump off.  Remember, Manny Pacquiao got knocked out during a fight by Juan Manuel Marquez back in December.  It's not that Pacquiao hadn't lost fights before, but people had gotten used to him not having lost a fight in a long, long time.  Pacquiao was thought to be practically unbeatable, then we all discovered there was a dent in the armor.  Mayweather had been rocked in a previous fight he had with "Sugar" Shane Mosley.  Mosley had "Money" stumbling, but could not capitalize on that punch for the rest of the fight.

Robert Guerrero came out of his corner at the beginning of the fight looking as if he was all about business.  Perhaps the recent battle he and his wife fought against her leukemia had given Guerrero an extra boost that would translate into some real power against Mayweather.  Indeed, Guerrero looked good in the first round, popping "Money" with head and body shots that riled the crowd up.  He won that round.

But now knowing what Guerrero was about, Mayweather fully committed to his own game plan.  Guerrero fought the way Mayweather wanted him to for the rest of the match.  It was painful to watch Guerrero hitting air most of the time, as Mayweather deftly darted out of the way after giving out hits.  Many times, it seemed that Guerrero had ample opportunities to jump Mayweather whenever the undefeated champ had been backed into corners.  But there was too much waiting to see how Mayweather was going to react.  By the time Guerrero thought to throw more than one punch at a time, Mayweather easily slipped out of the corners and sped away.  Guerrero kept getting tied up with Mayweather, punching on the inside and to the sides.  But referee Robert Byrd foiled Guerrero's efforts to stay in the pocket each time.

As Guerrero walked back to his corner for the rest period in-between the sixth and seventh round, there was a beaten look on his face.  The boxer's frustration with trying to catch Mayweather became even more apparent in the later rounds.  Guerrero never made any adjustments to what he was doing.  Meanwhile, Mayweather kept ducking, dodging, turning, and getting off clean shots.  Guerrero raised his hand after the 12th round, but it was unclear as to why.  Mayweather had shown no ring rust, and despite being in his mid-30's, the reflexes and movements were just as sharp as fighters a decade younger than he.

Of course, Mayweather can be beaten; I believe that based on the punch that Mosley gave him that one time. Unless he retires -- again -- undefeated, sooner or later someone is going to figure out how to get around him.  But Guerrero didn't figure it out last night.

Chasing Something That Can't Be Caught

"One of these things don't belong. . ." -- did that song come from "Sesame Street"?  Well, it applies to the photo above.  Alan was wearing two different shoes on his feet.  "The right foot looks like a club foot, doesn't it?" he grinned.  He pulled a pair of shoes from home to wear, but didn't notice that the shoes didn't match each other until later.

"Wasn't that fight terrible?" Alan said, speaking of the fight Saturday night between Demetrius Andrade and a former fighter of Alan's, Rudy Cisneros.  Cisneros was knocked down and out with a one-two combination at the very end of the first round.  That was a rough scene to watch. The man had to be carried out on a stretcher.  I didn't see the other fight of the past weekend -- between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto -- but it was just as well.  I knew "Money" was going to win, just like I predicted that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez would win over "Sugar" Shane Mosley on the undercard. 

A lot of sparring went on Monday night.  Alan jumped into the ring with Andre Two.  Before he stepped through the ropes, he told me, "If something happens, come in with a baseball bat."  I laughed, knowing he was referring to the sparring war that Andre Two had with Jake awhile ago.  Andre Two wasn't connecting many punches in the first round, and when the bell rang, Alan told him that he could hit harder.  I watched carefully from the sidelines, just in case I had to call an ambulance for Alan.  Alan did hit the ground once, and he tumbled over.

Before Jake got in the ring with Andre Two, Alan told the both of them to "be nice".  The two men worked together as they traded punches. 

Andre One and I sparred for two rounds.  I kept thinking, "Don't chase him," because I knew I wouldn't catch him.  Alan must have been reading my mind because he told me not to chase him as the action went on.  Afterwards, Andre One told me that I nearly gave him a low blow.  I apologized.  I don't like when I do that to guys during sparring.  Honestly, I'm not trying to hit any guy there (without a good reason, anyway), but sometimes, my hands are too low. 

My third round was with Paul, Alan's boss at his day job.  Paul is taller and bigger than Andre One, but I managed to catch him with several hooks.  "See, doesn't she hit hard?" Alan smiled at his boss afterwards.  Paul was laughing that I was going for blood.  "I have my father's hands," I said in explanation. 

Jake and Paul had a good session when they were in the ring.  In fact, Paul kept jabbing Jake, and he got some good shots in.  They were pretty evenly matched up. 

I was highly irritated before I reached the gym.  Earlier in the day, I called Simons Park and casually asked if I could speak to the boxing coach.  "Oh, he's not in yet," I was told.  Further questions revealed that the guy just started there -- the person who answered the phone looked on the payroll list for his name -- and he had previously trained at another field house boxing gym.  I hadn't received a phone call or a reject letter from the Chicago Park District.  Really?

The good news is that I can continue to be at Loyola Park.  But the very bad news is that I've been pushed all the way back to square one of the game.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00, or any other money, for that matter.  I needed that job to make up for the gaping hole in my finances that's getting bigger by the second.  It never fails.  Jobs that I really want, the ones that I would enjoy going to every day, I chase them but never catch them.  But I always attract the jobs with difficult bosses, annoying co-workers and irritating customers and clients, and salaries that don't reflect what I'm worth.  I've had too many of those bad jobs (my current part-time day job is one of extremely few exceptions) since 1977, and I'm damned tired of it. 

"Think outside of the box," a social worker at a neighborhood community center told me concerning looking for a job.  The coach's job was representative of that sort of thinking on my part, but that didn't pan out.  I'm stalled at this point.  I'm fighting an ongoing match with a dismal job market where computers banish resumes to cyberspace hell if they don't find the right keywords, where "pounding the pavement" doesn't exist anymore, and I'm feeling the sting of age discrimination.  The score cards are not in my favor, and the referee -- who looks suspiciously like my dwindling bank account -- is about to stop the fight on me. 

After all that, I have to end this entry on a positive note.  The photo above features myself on the left, and my stepmother on the right.  The young lady in the middle is my niece Jalissa, a former Miss Black Illinois, who graduated last week with a masters degree in Integrated Marketing.  I'm very proud of her.