Oftentimes,
when you talk to fighters and their camps in the wake of losses or
disappointing outings, some of the things you'll often hear about are lack of
focus or various distractions. Yeah, when you hear such alibis, you sometimes
have to just roll your eyes and chalk it up to another session of “Excuse-making
101.” That said, there are times when the reasons for a subpar performance are
legitimate. That may have been the case with Teon Kennedy, who seemed to be in
a bit of a daze when he listlessly chased around Alejandro Lopez in an upset
loss in Atlantic City, New Jersey in August.
Turns
out that Kennedy, who faces Christopher Martin from the Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino on this week’s edition of “Friday Night Fights” on ESPN2- had a lot on
his mind: an attempted murder charge. (philly.com/kennedy-multiple-gunshot).
That's
not your garden variety diversion.
“I was very, very distracted going into that fight because that was still on my
mind,” admitted Kennedy, a man of few words. “That's a hard thing to get off
your mind.” He knew early on it was more than Lopez he was fighting and that he
wasn't coming out victorious on either front. “After like the first two rounds,
I knew it wasn't going to be my night.”
The
lesson here is that boxing is every bit as mental as it is physical. Kennedy
may have been there in body but he was vacant in spirit.
The
question is with all this hanging over his head, should this bout have been
scrapped altogether?
His
promoter, J. Russell Peltz, answered, “Well, the charges didn't get dropped till
like a good month, month-and-a-half after the fight. So it was a question of
fighting or staying idle and there was no guarantee they would be dropped. I
mean, we knew they were going to be dropped. We just didn't know when, so it's a
tough call.”
Both
Peltz and Kennedy’s manager, Doc Nowicki, had spoken in the past of Kennedy's
association with the street life. Neither of them are necessarily shocked that
Kennedy would get caught up in this manner. “I've been around too long to be
shocked about anything, really, although you'd think that most athletes would
be smart enough to run in better company. Yeah, you're shocked but when you think
about it, you shouldn't be,” said Peltz, bluntly.
Nowicki
says, “Was I surprised? I know that Teon hung around with some guys that
weren't probably the nicest guys around but I never believed Teon to be a
person like that. Even though you’re in the playground shooting hoops with a
guy, that doesn't mean that the guy you're shooting hoops with deals drugs that
you do it also, even though you're having a pick-up game with him. I think that
what happened was Teon had a little disagreement with one of the guys that they
were hanging out with. It escalated a little bit and Teon actually had nothing
to do with the actual shooting and the guy had mentioned Teon's name.
“But
like I said, Teon had nothing to do with the shooting. He was exonerated from
all the charges. I spoke with his attorney quite a few times. He went to the courtroom;
everything was dropped.”
Asked
what he recalled of the whole ordeal, Kennedy said, “Ah, man, the only thing I
really remember is the scary feeling because what I was charged for could put
you down for a long time. So it was a scary feeling.”
For
young men like Kennedy, the allure of the street is almost irresistible. Oftentimes,
it's all they know.
“It's
hard, real hard,” he says, “because there's a lot of temptations, lot of people
telling you to do fast stuff. You know your mom and your parents tell you, ‘Don't
do it,’ but when everybody is in your ear about it, it's kinda hard, the peer
pressure.”
The
25-year-old Kennedy spent approximately three weeks in prison- and, no, nothing
“Oz”-like happened to him behind bars.
“It
was bad but I mean, it wasn't too bad because when I was in jail, I just stayed
to myself and a couple of people knew me in there too and people knew me from
boxing also,” he said. Kennedy admitted, “I felt like I was in there for six
months.” Of being cleared of the charges, he adds, “It was a great relief but
at the same time, they still tried to get me for another charge, so it was like
some relief but I was still up for trial.”
As
for the first thing he did after his release, like a true Philadelphian,
Kennedy says, “I got me a cheesesteak.”
So
is “The Technician” a changed man? Has his incarceration altered anything in
his life?
“Well,
you hope it does,” said Peltz, who pointed out, “The problem is Teon's never
really had a full-time job and he's got a lot of time on his hands. It's not
like being a black super bantamweight living on the East Coast, that he can
support himself on his ring earnings. So he's had about a half-a-dozen jobs
since he turned pro in '07 but he's never really kept any of them. But you
would hope he could learn from it, that's for sure.”
Nowicki,
who also manages top-rated welterweight Mike Jones, is a bit more optimistic, “I
think he has [changed]. I know he moved in with his trainer, Wade [Hinnant],
and was living with him. Wasn't going to the same areas that he was before.
Since then, he moved out of that area in Philly, has his own apartment outside
of Philly but not too far away. And, yes, he's made changes in his life.”
To
the manager, Kennedy is a decent guy stuck in a bad environment, largely a
product of said environment and circumstances. “I would say that Teon's a good
guy, a great guy, a terrific fighter. ‘The Technician’ is a perfect name for
him and when you're growing up in North Philadelphia, there's all kinds of
things that can test you and you've got to be strong enough not to give in to
those things and so far in his life, he hasn't. It's just some of the people
that are around him do bad things and he's got to eliminate [that] himself and
move out of that. I think he's come to that point in his mind where he knows
what decisions he has to make.”
So
has Kennedy been scared straight?
“I guess you can say that,” he answered while laughing, also admitting he has
reevaluated things. “Yes, I have. I spend more time with my kids and my family.”
Before
the loss to Lopez, Kennedy was on a roll. He beat then-undefeated Jorge Diaz in
an exciting back-and-forth affair for the USBA super bantamweight title. He had
cracked the IBF top five and was mentioned for future bouts against the likes
of Juan Manuel Lopez and Nonito Donaire. Now, Kennedy is in a must-win situation
against Martin, himself coming off an upset loss to Jose Angel Beranza last October.
A lot is on the line Friday night.
“Of
course,” said Kennedy, who realizes the importance of this fight, “because I
just lost. You don't want to keep losing because you really go down in the
rankings.”
HUNTER
Barry
Hunter, trainer/manager of Lamont Peterson, was compelled to put out this
statement on Wednesday in response to all the allegations and statements made
by Amir Khan and Golden Boy Promotions in the wake of their fight on December
10th in Washington DC:
Unfortunately, we are in this process of
dealing with these unfounded protests. It would be an understatement to
characterize Lamont as being disappointed in the unprofessional manner in which
Khan is attempting to discredit his performance in the ring and victory. We
were raised to conduct ourselves where Champions display professionalism, both
in victory and defeat. Lamont previously tasted defeat and handled it the way
it should be handled - - he worked harder on areas that needed improvement to
maximize his performance in the ring. Now, he is World Champion.
Khan blames everyone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to
make adjustments in the ring for his loss. He claims that the Ring Announcer
privately stated he won, then that the referee’s discretionary actions should
be overruled, then a mystery man in a black hat with no association to the
Peterson Camp somehow affected the outcome of the bout, and also that the judges
did not score the Bout correctly. Each claim is boldly false, but because
Golden Boy and Khan have the financial resources to file protests and lawyers
to create questionable accusations we are forced to address these issues. .We
will not let these foul tactics take away from Lamont's hard work, dedication
and monumental victory. Furthermore, since Khan continues to focus on a man at
ringside I want to be very clear-- Mustafa Ameen is in no way, nor has he ever
been affiliated or associated with anyone within Team Peterson. That includes
myself, Lamont and Anthony Peterson.
If the media reports are true, the WBA President personally believes there
should be a direct rematch of the fight. This was oddly stated before an
official review had taken place, as well as an official response or decision
from the WBA review committee had been presented regarding the various protests
and our formal submission. That makes me wonder what procedures were actually
followed before the WBA President made these public statements? The Rules
should be followed by everyone.
Khan complains that the referee’s decisions should be overturned even though he
continued to push Lamont throughout the fight. We believe the knockdown against
Lamont was questionable but the rules give the referee that discretion on that
call and we respect it.
BAM
BAM
There
seems to be a bit of a stalemate regarding who Brandon Rios will face March 3rd on HBO. I'm told the network has turned down more than a few names, focusing in
on the heavy-handed John Molina. Molina makes sense, given his Southern California
roots and that this card is going to be staged at the Home Depot Center in
Carson, California.
However,
Rios and his team are resisting that fight for now.
It's
not clear what's going to happen with that date as HBO and Top Rank look to
find a middle ground that will satisfy both parties (and most of all, the
subscribers of the network). So it looks like we're between a rock and a hard
place here. Certainly, Rios’ brain trust, led by manager Cameron Dunkin, will
make decisions they believe are in the best interest of their fighter, which is
their job. The network has their own standards that they theoretically have to
meet regarding their programming, which is their obligation. Rios-Molina could
be an interesting fight, given that despite being technically raw, he has
natural power (of course, it would've helped Molina's cause if he would've
have fought since June and stayed in the public eye)
Francisco
Salazar of Fightnews.com reported on Wednesday that Molina will face Marvin
Quintero on February 17th in Arlington, Texas.
As
for “Bam Bam,” well, that still has to be worked out...
HUMP
DAY FLURRIES
Gary
Gittelsohn, manager of WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria, made it very clear
that they are ready, willing and able to face either Roman Gonzalez or Hernan
Marquez in Viloria’s next outing in 2012…That Sergio Martinez-HBO divorce sure
didn't last long, did it? It was shorter than some of Britney Spears’
marriages...I guess the shine is off the Big Apple for Mark Sanchez and the
Jets, huh?...So much for stability with the Raiders, post-Al Davis...The March
10th rematch between WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido
and the man he took the crown from last April, Juan Manuel Lopez, will take
place at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico...Did Victor
Ortiz really have to explain his headbutt against Floyd Mayweather to the NSAC?
I mean, when you launch a flying, battering ram assault like that, isn't it
naturally implied that you're trying to intentionally and illegally maim
someone inside that ring?...
