Boxing: Antonio’s Reliable Source on Charlize Theron, Patrick Swayze, Jessica Simpson, John Travolta and yes... Boxing!
By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (Sept 22, 2009)  
Hey people, what’s up? I hope you all are doing real good out there. Me? Just living, just living! There is nothing like being an anonymous face while pretending to be famous! Hah, yeah right! Who am I kidding? I want to be famous! Pretty soon, I might have a picture of myself here to accompany this column. If you look at “Eight Legged Freaks”, with David Arquette, you might just see me. I am “construction worker number 60” in that movie, after all! But you do need a photo of me t be able to know who you are looking for if you watch it.

I guess I can say I co-starred with David Arquette in a movie. Me and 1,000 others. If they were going to place me next to Arquette and Scarlett Johannson on the cover of that comedy’s DVD, they’d first have to ask 999 other people who were also in it and are much more recognizable than me!

I guess in our own way, we’re all looking to become famous, or noted. Take my late grand-aunt Dulin, for example. She was not a celebrity, but within our family, she is a legend, if by nothing else but remaining a virgin her entire life to take care of my great-grandmother. Don’t ask me how she did it, because I’m a man and I have never resisted any female temptation, but she did it. And Dulin, well, everybody still talks about her legacy in our family!!

I wanna be noted, well, because I want to be able to do something in this world, and to get as many women to be my sexual partners as anyone can within their time frame. I don’t want God to ask me :”son, I gave you xxx amount of years in that world, so what did you do with them?” and I certainly don’t want no other angels to ask me :”God gave you such a good-looking face, how come you didn’t score with 100 women?”…on the other hand, like I said, at least I ain’t no male version of aunt Dulin, and have never resisted to temptation!

And you? What do you want to be noted for? On whose life do you want to make a difference on? One thing we learned with the election of our President Barack Obama, is that never is too late (unless you die in which case then, it is!). We had to wait all the way to the 21st century to have our first Black President, exactly 23 decades since George Washington first sat in a Presidential desk. But we got there. And take Hugh Hefner….at the age of about 800, he is still raising his score numbers in bed! How about all these people who become famous and earn their way to a Wikipedia article by breaking the record for the oldest living person in the world? At age 112?

Like you see, it is never too late to turn your life around, and become noted for making a difference in other people’s lives. Whatever it is you do, if you are an actor or actress, a cake maker, a plumber or an athlete, you can become someone famous who inspires millions, or the person who inspires others in your family to be a good, solid human being.

Start making a difference in other’s lives, and start today!

Dang It!!

People fantasize. We fantasize about winning the lottery. Traveling to Tahiti. Winning a championship. Our neighbors (well, I can’t fantasize about my neighbors now, because they happen to be none other than my sister Nilda and my sister in law Heather, but I have fantasized about previous neighbors!). That hot person married to the ugly lawyer.

And we also fantasize of our favorite stars appearing on Playboy Magazine (or, if you’re a girl, Playgirl). But I guess some fantasies will never come true. Such as mine of seeing Kate Gosselin naked in that magazine. According to Usmagazine.com, the MILF is denying rumors that Hugh Hefner offered her an amount of $400,000 Dollars to pose.

Hugh, you have enough money! Do us poor, starving for Kate dudes a favor and ante up the offer! I guarantee you, that magazine would sell much better than one of Ring Magazine’s “Superfight specials”!

Travolta to Put The Gloves On

We have followed closely in the tragedy of Jett Travolta, John Travolta’s son. Like Jennifer Hudson’s, John Travolta’s life has been filled with family tragedy related trials this last year or so. And Travolta is getting ready for a new trial, figuratively speaking.

The legend and star of movies like “Grease”, “Saturday Night Fever” and “Pulp Fiction” apparently is headed to The Bahamas, where he is ready to testify in a trial against paramedic Tarino Lightbourn and former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater, who are acussed of trying to extort $25 million Dollars from John Travolta so they would not go public with information about medical treatment given to Jett on that fateful day, according to usmagazine.com.

If they did do what they are accused of doing, Travolta should bring Joe Frazier to the trial with him. They both would deserve a left hook like the ones “smokin’ Joe” delivered!

Jessica Needs a Friend

Remember the Beatles song, “Eleanor Rigby”? That’s the one that starts with John, Paul, George and Ringo singing “ahh, look at all the lonely people!”. And it seems that Jessica Simpson has reason to feel like one of them these last few days. According to usmagazine.com, her dog Daisy has been lost since Monday, September 14th.

The news magazine says that Daisy got lost after being attacked by a coyote at the Simpson’s backyard, and a representant for findtoto.com, a webpage dedicated to finding lost animals, said that personnel from that agency have called off all searches.

I certainly hope that Daisy is found well and alive. But I also want to tell Jessica Simpson that even if that does happen, she can always come to me. I volunteer to be showered by all her “love and affection” as well!! Well, I guess that like Juan Manuel Marquez in his losing effort against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Saturday, September 19th, sometimes one can’t do anything else if not to keep on trying until the end!!

A Real Champion

Last week, I talked to you boxing fans out there about respecting our favorite boxers and boxing world Champions beyond their careers. I personally have my favorite Champions, like Wilfredo Gomez and Wilfred Benitez, Muhammad Ali, Bobby Chacon, Laila Ali and many, many others. For the most part, I admire most people who had the courage and the motivation to go all the way in boxing and make their dreams come true, but those, and a few others, are among the very top on my favorite fighters’ list.

Well, now I like another Champion. A different type of Champion. You see, Lauren Champion is a Champion no one who calls himself a “man” could avoid liking. The lingerie model, who is famous for having participated in the “Shirley of Hollywood Cover Model Search” contest, will be showcased in the famous store’s new catalog, according to thebachelorguy.com.

Now, guys, I’m sure that’s a Champion none of us would even think of criticizing!

Girl Power

One woman whose acting career is analog to the boxing career's of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Arturo Gatti is South African Charlize Theron. This is because Theron, much like Dakota Fanning and Nicholas Cage, is always in excellent, thrilling movies that make one’s imagination run wild. Examples of her great job are “Monster”, where she played the screen version of a real prostitute and (alleged) serial killer, and “North Country”, where she played a sexually harassed factory worker.

Talking about her new movie, “The Burning Project”, Theron was asked some questions by insidemovies.com. When asked whether all her characters wear her down emotionally, she responded that “No they don’t. I love what I do, and I am not a tortured artist. I didn’t necessarily start out that way, but I’ve kind of learned over the years the things that are important to me……It’s exhausting to be depressed and f(your favorite 7 letter word here)ng heavy, and I find that when I’m exhausted, my work suffers”. Talking about co-star Kim Basinger, she told the webpage that “She’s amazing. I met her on the set a couple of times”. And, the most interesting question to yours truly, if she has ever hesitated to do nudity on film, she said “I don’t really think about it that way….read it, and it makes sense, or it doesn’t. That’s the end of the story”. Which is good news to me then!

You gotta love Charlize Theron! A real fighter in the true sense of the word, she is!!

Swayze A Fighter to The Very End

Last week we received the very sad news, specially for those of us teens of the ‘80s, that Patrick Swayze had lost his fight with Cancer (more on the R.I.P. section). Well, but Swayze isn’t nearly half done yet, even if his existence on this world ended. His biography will be released sometime in 2010, co-written with his wife Lisa Niemi.

The book, titled “The Time of My Life”, like the song he famously sang to Jennifer Grey at the end of “Dirty Dancing”, will talk about Swayze’s brave fight against Cancer, the love he felt for his wife, and his refusal to use painkillers even as he battled the often deadly disease, according to Popeater.com.

Swayze was a fighter to the end. And for that, we shall remember him with admiration and respect.
Darwin Versus God

I am a fan of The Wall Street Journal. I believe that their insight on the world of business as well as international reporting is a good way for someone like me to become more global-culture wise, while at the same time keeping up with the economic developments across the planet. So, of course, I guess we boxing writers had to leave up to The Journal to create a super fight that could only take place upstairs, as in, in Heaven.

It published a caricature of Charles Darwin arguing with God about God’s existence.

Even as Darwin himself, considered to be one of the most intelligent and influencing humans in history, recognized that God does exist in his book, “Origin of Species”.

Pastor Ray Comfort, he of the television show that includes former teen-idol turned Christian evangelist Kirk Cameron, had an interesting view on the comic, saying that “The problem was that they were both pro-atheistic evolution”, according to livingwaters.com. He goes on to say “It was a farce in the guise of ’Man vs. God’.

I just wonder if The Wall Street Journal, promoters of said mismatch, paid Darwin enough for the whipping he’d take from “The Dude Upstairs”!

Danger Ahead!

When driving in California, always make sure to look out thru your windows, on your side mirrors, and thru both your front and rear glass. You want to make sure Caroline

Pochy is not driving near you. With a car, that woman is more dangerous than facing a prime Mike Tyson with his left hook!

Pochy was, according to CBS13.com, arrested after a fiery crash in Folsom, California. She was not injured but she had a blood-alcohol level five times higher than that allowed by the state. And she got her second DUI ticket in one week!

Makes you wonder if the state of California hands out driving licenses the way some states hand out boxing ones!

Boeing!!

To many of you, it’s no secret that aviation is one of my passions, the other ones being my nieces, boxing and women. I just love visiting an airport and staring at the runway for hours to catch a glimpse of as many airline jets as I can, or to look up at the skies and see the plane flying by, or to scour every store I know about in search of airline collectibles and airplane models.

So it should come as no surprise to you that I was thinking of the Boeing 737 jet today. And as some of you might know, that airplane is used both by airlines worldwide and by private people or non-airline companies. In which case, the 737 is actually called Boeing BBJ, as in “business jet”.

Well, it occurred to me that the BBJ in the plane’s private designation could also be interpreted in another way…as in Big, Black and Juicy….or…well, I’d rather not mention the other thing I thought about, but BBJ, you figure it out!!

Sometimes, letter games are even more exciting that boxing!!

Seen and On The Sceen

Two formidable boxers were present during ESPN2’s special dedication to Hispanic Heritage Month, which included a fight by Guillermo Rigondeaux: former world Junior Welterweight and two time world Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto, who took time off training for his fight with Manny Pacquiao, was interviewed by ESPN en Espanol, which was also carrying the fights. The Puerto Rican slugger seemed relaxed and was able to express himself with dignity. Meanwhile, up and comer Yuriorkis Gamboa was at the fights to back up his fellow Cuban fighters who were showcased that night.

ESPN Classic once again continued showing their classic fights on Monday night, this time dedicating the night to trilogies. Among the ones shown were the three fights between world Heavyweight Champions Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe, and the three between world Featherweight Champions, Mexicans Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.

Our Hearts Are With

Frank Maloney. The British boxing promoter, England’s version of Bob Arum to Frank Warren’s Don King (or is that vice versa?) suffered a heart attack after entering boxer Darren Sutherland’s flat (apartment) and finding the rising star’s lifeless body (more on that at the R.I.P. section). According to the Belfast Telegraph, Maloney remained hospitalized on Thursday night.

Kathryn Joosten. The American television actress, 69, announced she is battling lung Cancer, according to huffingtonpost.com.

R.I.P.

Darren Sutherland, 27. The Irish boxer, bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing, China Olympic Games, and who, as a professional had a record of 4-0, 4 knockouts, was found hanged by his promoter Frank Maloney, on September 14th, according to Wikipedia.org. Authorities do not suspect foul play was involved.

Patrick Swayze, 57. The famous American actor, dancer and singer made significant contributions to Hollywood film by acting in such classics as “The Outsiders”, “Red Dawn“, “Dirty Dancing”, “The Road House”, “Ghost” and “Donnie Darko“. He also had a cameo in “Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights”, and he starred in a television series named “The Beast”. Swayze debuted on West End Theatre in 2006, acting in the famous “Guys and Dolls” play. As a singer, he belted out the hit song “She’s Like The Wind”. According to Wikipedia.org, he died on September 14th, of Cancer.

Leah Santiago, 29. Santiago was not famous, but she was my former sister in law and the mother of my first niece. She died on September 17th. No cause has been given by the coroner. Those of us who knew her will miss her deeply.

May they all rest in peace.

Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.


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