1/30/06 - In Rusty's Corner
In Rusty's Corner
By Rusty Rubin, editor-in-chief of the Ringsports.com publication, and author of "Off the Canvas",
a view of American history and the social problems of the times, as witnessed by an 80-year old
ex-champion. "Off the Canvas" takes you from the time of the Great Depression till the World
Trade Center disaster and is a book that has been getting rave reviews. Copies are $15.00 each
available at Ringsports.com and on-line major book retailers. For a list of the reviews please
contact Rusty. Remember the holidays are rapidly approaching. Here's a great gift.
It's here! Just in time for this years Christmas basket! We're taking orders for autographed copies
of "Billy Soose, the Champion Time Forgot" co-authored by Tom Donelson. Since Tom and I live in
different parts of the USA, it would be hard to co-ordinate a joint signing, both Tom or I will
be available. The book is available now at Authorhouse.com (book id #31809) and other fine on-line
outlets. Early sales appear strong.
Soose was a former middleweight champion of the world, and in one three week period defeated Ken
Overlin and Tony Zale, giving him ample credentials to be inducted into the International Boxing
Hall of Fame.
Buy both books and the recipient will really appreciate your caring, and this writer won't complain
one little bit.
The even better news is that my next book, "Woozel, Boxing and Me", a compilation of
funny boxing stories, oddities and quotes, will be out within the next four months.
The early demand has been strong.***
Arturo Gatti fought through the pain of a damaged right hand again to take on and beat
previously undefeated Thomas Damgaard of Denmark, stopping Damgaard in round eleven after
handing out a substantial beating.
Gatti is one of those guys that you have to love. He may not be in the same class as a
Floyd Mayweather Jr., but who is? No matter who Arturo fights, you can be sure he'll
make every effort to give as good as he gets.***
A few interesting fights this upcoming weekend, with Thomas Hearn's fights a who gives
a damn fight against Shannon Landberg. Tommy, we want to remember our heroes as they
were, not as shells of their former great selves.***
Same to be said about former cruiserweight champ Kenny Keene, who also doesn't know when
to stay retired.***
Look for Juan Manuel Marquez to KO Chris John to overcome his hometown (Indonesia) advantage.
Jose Luis Castillo, should have little trouble with Rolando Reyes, and John Duddy and Yuri
Foreman have to step up sooner or later or their undefeated records will remain pretty much
worthless. You don't learn much from fighting stiffs, and although their competition on Feb.
4, in Boston, is a bit of a step up, it's far from the class opponents they should be
fighting. Both will win by knockout.
Agree or disagree, we'd like to hear from you. (Rngsportsr@aol.com).
Glove2Glove:
Prayers for ring announcer Mark Beiro who will be undergoing eye surgery in early February.***
Let's say a prayer for the father of Eva Futch, a great friend, and the widow of legendary
trainer Eddie, who passed away in 2001. Eva's father's cancer has returned and needs all the
support we can give him, and please pray that Eva has the strength to cope with this
difficult challenge she faces at so close to her having lost her esteemed husband.
Prayers needed for Elise Brown, grand daughter of Ringside Products head honcho and good
boxing guy John Brown. Young Elise has heart problems.
Prayers have also helped but continue to be needed for Dennis Wilcox, brother of boxing
scribe David Wilcox, who is in an Oregon hospital suffering from Leukemia. The family
and everyone at Glove2Glove ask for your prayers for his total recovery.
Prayers for the return to health of Audrey Talmo, wife of Ed, a long-time boxing fan who
cares about our sport.
Prayers needed for the return to health of Alfonso Luna, father of our outstanding photographer
Ray Luna, who has taken ill in Southern California.
Please say prayers for the return to health of Helen Wambolt, wife of our East Coast World
Boxing Hall of Fame writer Danny Wambolt. Cards will also be most welcome.***
Please say prayers for the return to health of Orazio Esposito, father of our photographer
Richard Esposito.***
Prayers for the return to health of Don Donelson, father of writer Tom, and Gene Sebastian,
brother of former middleweight champ Billy Soose. Both are suffering from congestive heart disease.
Please say prayers for Phill Grazide of Santa Rosa, CA. a big supporter of amateur boxing, who is
suffering the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis.***
Needless to say we need prayers for the return to health of both former champs Greg Page
and Gerald McClellan, both confined to wheelchairs.***
Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their
relatives in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and only contact our members
when someone is in need. It's free to join. Simply send us your e-mail address. And even
if you're not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.***
Touching on politics briefly: It is written that 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions'.
America seemed to have nothing but good intentions in trying to create freedom and democracy
in the Middle East, a part of the world that rarely has experienced it before. In Iraq and
now in Palestine, democracy now flourishes, only it's not the type of democracy that most
people in Washington had expected.
With the free elections in Iraq and Palestine (with American encouragement), we have
experienced two potential threats to peace and security in the region, and perhaps
ultimately the entire world.
And we thought that Sadaam and his ilk were evil! We clearly would have been much better
off leaving Sadaam in power, but that's ancient history now. We're there, and it's
looking more and more like we'll be staying there a long time.
An Iranian backed government has been elected to power in Iraq, and with a crazed President
leading the armies of Mesopotamia, with the backing of the Mullahs, not only is the first
democracy in the region, Israel threatened, but now the terrorist group Hamas has been
elected to govern the Gaza Strip, which was given to Palestine by a war wearied Israel,
in the interest of peace.
The sad truth is that by offering democracy in the region, we have created more of a
threat to world peace than existed before, and at the cost of a lot of lives. And that
number will continue to grow.
Let's hope the situation improves and plays out far better than it seems to be doing now.
It's hard to be optimistic at this point in time, but the truth is that the Middle East
has long been in a state of flux, and things can change for the better in a hurry.
Two other quotes quickly come to mind here. 'What hath God wrought'? And 'Fools rush in
where wise men fear to tread'.
Pick the quote you feel works best, folks. All work, but either way, it's one hell of a
mess we've gotten ourselves into.
Agree or disagree, I'd like to hear from you. I respect everyone's opinion.
(Rusty@ringsports.com)
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