“You
created this monster,” former Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley, Jr.
reminded his father, the stoic Timothy Bradley, Sr., following his near
calamitous encounter with the formidable Ruslan Provodnikov. The fight, although
entertaining for HBO and fight fans, was panned as reckless by Bradley’s
corner, not least of all the man who reared him for this most taxing of
professions, his father.By his own
admission, Bradley entered the ring versus Provodnikov with war on his mind.
Despite possessing the capability to box the powerful Russian, which he proved
during the course of the match, Bradley believed he needed to make a statement
that would silence the legions of insiders and fight fans who viewed his
victory over Manny Pacquiao as anything but legitimate; and silence them he did
or at least quiet them down. Perhaps, Bradley was on to something as nothing
exacts respect as one brought to the brink of destruction only to will oneself
back to life.
This was the monster the younger Bradley was referring to when answering the
concerns of the father whose truck he had to out run as a boy, lest he have his
“…little ass run over.” This was the monster
the Champion so effortlessly accessed, even to his own peril. This was the monster whose boyish frame and will were
transformed through severe means only champions can appreciate, into what Max
Kellerman excitingly referred to as, “…steel,” all under the watchful eye of
his father. So it should not have come as a surprise to Sr. that his charge who
he meticulously groomed for this life of pain was merely “about his father’s
business.”
The world of sport is littered with
tales of manipulative patriarchs living vicariously through their spawn,
building them up not to stand firmly on their own, but to be gifted puppets for
father’s bidding. However, there are those successful examples of fathers who
though just as demanding have clearly made men, not just champions. Prizefighting
the most exacting and unforgiving of all sports arguably yields the most
intriguing study of this partnership between father and son. The father,who births and nurtures the boy, breaks
him and rebuilds a man of war. It’s a spiritual and psychological high wire act
that puts the entire relationship at risk. One or few false moves by the father
can cripple the vulnerable boy whose sole dependence is upon him even into manhood,
making even those well honed gifts and earned successes burdensome, leaving a
wounded man-child who torments himself seeking to break free of the man who is
nothing more than a Svengali, yet, pining away for the blessing, the approval,
the validation all desire from their fathers.
Such is the trepidation of
fatherhood. Thus spake the fictional Don Vito Corleone, “women and children can
afford to be careless, but not men.” Can you observe the state of our homes and
our society as a whole and disagree? Contrary to all we’ve been told, manhood,
like the maturation of a champion requires the utmost care.Thus, the intent of every, would be builder
of champions must be of the purest stuff. Not a father frozen in the bygone
days of his own failures or unfulfilled hopes attempting to redeem himself via
his child, but a man who seeks to erect one greater than himself, the true end
of fatherhood.
Barely a year ago the sentiment surrounding the career of
Miguel Angel Cotto was rather pessimistic to say the least. Having suffered two
consecutive losses coupled with daunting distractions outside the ropes, the
overwhelming consensus was that we were watching the end of an era. The quiet
man of Puerto Rico was spent, and would simply fade into memory. However, much
like Juan Manuel Marquez, Cotto has a stubborn case of resilience. From the car accident that nearly claimed his
career to the contentious break with trainer and uncle Evangilista Cotto, to the
many breathtaking battles that saw him bounce back from the brink of defeat as
he did against the hard hitting Ricardo Torres or switch gears mid fight to
completely and unexpectedly outbox the legendary Shane Mosley, Miguel Angel
Cotto has found a way, time and again to endure. But, endurance is not enough. There’s a
science to sticking it out and that fine art is called resilience. The stoic,
poker faced champion possesses a particularly high and underrated boxing IQ
which has made him one of boxing’s most fluid boxer-punchers, yet, there
resides within the inner workings of the man, something that cannot be taught,
a capacity to overcome. This resilience has bade him well in the face of
encounters so violent they would exact the career of most fighters, even among
the elite, as was the case when he fell to the loaded gloved-hands of the
disgraced Antonio Margarito. Yet, not very long ago few could have imagined
Miguel Cotto, Middleweight Champion of the World.
Though his victory over Delvin Rodriquez was expected, the
vicious manner in which he went about it clearly signaled the dawn of a renewed
fighter. In a performance reminiscent in dominance to that of the iconic and
recent Hall of Famer, Felix “Tito” Trinidad’s bludgeoning of William Joppy in
his Middleweight debut, Miguel Cotto soundly overwhelmed Argentina’s gallant,
yet worn Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez; and make no mistake, even if
this fight happened a few years ago, Miguel Cotto would still be the better
fighter. Sergio Martinez, the gentleman sportsman, with fast hands and true
grit, is of the fold of great athletes who just so happen to box rather well,
which is to say, his natural gifts allowed him to get away with many a
pugilistic iniquity for a time, against good, but, lesser competition.
Unfortunately, those well-cultivated habits have an inconvenient way of
sprouting versus a boxer of the caliber of Miguel Cotto, who is not merely a
gifted athlete, but a pugilist in the very marrow of his bones.
The resurrection of Miguel Angel Cotto corroborates the
stubborn reality that boxing is alive and well. This historic victory affords
Cotto a much-coveted place within the mix of some very intriguing possibilities
from 160 to 147. Cotto has never looked more powerful and comfortable than he
does at Middleweight. However, this is prize fighting and no one can deny the
mega paydays reside closer to the Welterweight division where the sport’s
biggest draws rule. Yet, Cotto is no slouch when it comes to drawing the
masses, as is evidenced every time he sets foot in Madison Square Garden, and
thus, needn’t chase the likes of Mayweather or Pacquiao to eat. A match up
versus Peter Quillan or Gennady Golovkin would no doubt stir the public’s
interest, but a showdown with Mexico’s Saul Alvarez would send fight fans into a
frenzy of epic proportions, assuming Canelo gets past the very formidable
Erislandy Lara. Stay tuned there are some very delicious options on the table
for the Puerto Rican strongman.
