Last Friday, as I was watching Ken Shamrock - the fighter formerly known as "The World's Most Dangerous Man" - getting the living sh-t kicked out of him by Tito Ortiz - aptly labeled "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" - I flashed back to Kingston, Jamaica; January of 1973 and Heavyweight Boxing Champion Smokin' Joe Frazier getting knocked down by challenger George Foreman six times before the fight was stopped in Round 2.
Frazier always had a lot of guts. In September of 1966, at the Garden, he got floored twice in one round by Oscar Bonavena, but came off the deck to win a ten-round unanimous decision over the Argentinian tough guy. Frazier knocked out contenders Doug Jones and George Chuvalo before winning the WBA title in an elimination tournament in 1968, defeating Buster Mathis, a bigger, heavier fighter who had beaten Frazier by decision in the 1964 Olympic trials.
Joe Frazier successfully defended his WBA title six times over the next two years, including a fifth-round TKO of WBC Champ Jimmy Ellis to unify the belts. Then, on March 8, 1971, he fought Muhammad Ali in a fifteen-round classic at the Garden, and won a unanimous decision. It was one of the greatest heavyweight boxing matches ever, but it took a lot out of Frazier, who didn't fight again for the rest of 1971. In 1972, he only fought twice, against weak competition. In January of 1973, Foreman quickly and decisively ended his championship reign. It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was downright scary.
And so it goes with Shamrock. His Octagon battles with such fighters as Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Oleg Taktarov, and Kimo may be remembered fondly by some (like me), but what will always stand out is the way his face looked after three rounds with Ortiz - like it had gone through a meat grinder. Ortiz, by comparison, looked untouched. What will also stand out is how Shamrock seemed to get "gassed" (or, "blown up," in pro-wrestling parlance) so quickly into the bout. Prior to the fight, Joe Rogan questioned Shamrock's "cardio," and the Fear Factor host was proven right.
Tito Ortiz is state-of-the-art, no question. From his training regimen to his self-promotion, he defines the modern-day UFC. Is he, as he claims, "pound for pound, the best fighter in the world?" Perhaps. Chuck Liddell may have something to say about that in the near future. Liddell's impressive - and explosive - win over Renato Sobral at UFC 40 almost guarantees that he and Ortiz will "get it on" somewhere down the road if the money's right, and if the UFC honchos don't screw things up
|