When Kermit Cintron was catapulted out of the ring on Saturday night against Paul Williams, it sparked the usual mindless drivel about heart and courage.
The Cruelest Sport has been accused of being harsh, incendiary, and angry, but it is one of the few sites where a fighter is not immediately called a “dog” or a “coward” when something unforeseen happens. TCS has come out in defense of Robert Guerrero, Andre Dirrell, and Nate Campbell after they were excoriated for actions some folks–whose critical acumen, or lack thereof, can be measured in the forums of several “high traffic” websites, just make sure to have an airsickness bag ready–deemed craven. Like much that takes place in boxing, whatever happened while Cintron was on the arena floor will probably never truly be known. The doctor, Paul Wallace, told The Los Angles Times that Cintron said “no” when he was asked if he could continue and that Cintron changed his mind when he realized the fight would be stopped. Cintron claims that he wanted to continue after recovering from having the wind knocked out of him.
Under the strange circumstances, the possibility of miscommunication seems fairly high (naturally, the HBO broadcast team thought it wise to talk over what transpired at ringside instead of trying to catch the drama of the moment) but not to some of the unforgiving few watching from La-Z-Boys. As usual, everyone outside of the ring is an expert (for this case, forum barkers and semi-literate bloggers woke up with doctorates in kinesiology, inverse dynamics, physics, psychology, and Method acting), while the actual participants are all fools.
Kermit Cintron, for some reason, really brings out the cyber-odium. But what has Cintron done to earn lasting enmity? And does he deserve it? Like most undeserved reputations, the answer is no. The Anti-Cintron campaign began with his loss to Antonio Margarito in 2005. Cintron did not just lose to Margarito, he was annihilated, suffering four knockdowns and a cut on the way to a fifth-round blowout loss. Much has been made of the fact that Cintron wept in the ring after his loss to Margarito, but numberless fighters–including tough guys like Jake LaMotta and Tony Ayala Jr–have shed tears after a bout. Juan Diaz wept almost uncontrollably in a post-fight interview and Chris Arreola went on the kind of crying jag usually seen on daytime soap operas and at funerals.
After racking up a few wins, what does this “coward” do? Three years after his first loss, Cintron asks for and receives a rematch with Margarito. Not many fighters would ever get back in the ring with someone who obliterated them, but Cintron did. Of course, he lost the rematch, too, and that only added strange fuel to the fire. Even when Cintron beat hyped favorite Alfredo Angulo last summer, one could hear about how he ran or got lucky.
Then came the absurd Martinez fight where Cintron was basically counted out, but allowed to continue by referee Frank Santore Jr. in one of the most dunderheaded moves ever perpetrated in a boxing ring. Somehow, Cintron was excoriated for this as well by the countless clueless. But think about it: Cintron is such a “coward” that he successfully talked his way back INTO a fight against an opponent who had just knocked him out. Boy, that Cintron sure is a dog.
Against Williams, Cintron was boxing well, picking his shots, and a only a few moments before the shambolic finish, staggered “The Punisher” with a hard right hand that left Williams unsteady on his feet for the remainder of the abbreviated round. The particulars of the ringside stagedive are rendered practically irrelevant due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding them, but the responses to these unforeseen and haphazard incidents are typical. Incredibly, Cintron is seen in some quarters as having orchestrated the entire event for his own benefit. So, Cintron somehow got Williams to pull him forward, hurled himself out of the ring, and got the ringside physician to halt the bout, all in a dastardly plan to avoid practicing his chosen profession in a fight he was doing well in and that could have, if he won, led him to the biggest paycheck of his career. Maybe Cintron should give up his boxing career, as he has threatened, and join the Secret Society of Super Villains because this dude has serious dark powers.
In the end, Cintron, who has rarely had luck on his side during his career, is probably just a victim of circumstances. That, of course, will never satisfy teeth grinders across the globe.
*****
Read about the strange career and tragic life of Al Palzer, one of the first White Hopes.
Tags: Kermit Cintron, Kinesiology, PAUL WILLIAMS
FanSided
Cage Pages
That should read: "5 minutes of recovery time before he can make the call as to whether he wants to continue".
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like