CLAP FOR THE PAZMAN...
There are times when a young, promising boxer comes along that you make
a decision to jump on the bandwagon or just end up disliking him. You might
think he's the next Benny Leonard or that he is an over hyped average
fighter at best.
When Vinny Pazienza burst on the scene I was not on the bandwagon. He
was loud, boastful and to a point abrasive. He did work his way up the
lightweight ladder toward a title shot. He beat one of my favorites, ex IBF
lightweight champion Harry Arroyo. He then defeated Greg Haugen to win the
title. The rugged Haugen regained the title from Vinny and Pazienza moved
into the 140 lb. class. He was defeated by Roger Mayweather, Hector Camacho
and Loreto Garcia in attempts at the junior welterweight title.
Enter Phase II of Vinny's career. Vinny suffered serious injuries in
car accident. It was not certain if Vinny would ever fight again. To see
Vinny training diligently with a halo screwed to his head just blew me away.
Then he came back. He jumped a weight class and defeated Gilbert Dele for
the junior middleweight title. That's when I became a Paz fan !
In 1994 he met my idol Roberto Duran. As much as I respected Vinny I
rooted against him. To this day I think Roberto deserved the decision in
that fight. Vinny got it. Vinny deservedly won their return bout. Now Vinny
was matched with a prime Roy Jones Jr. This was a suicide mission at best.
Vinny was outclassed by one of the era's best fighters but he went out on
his shield like a true warrior.
Next came the fight he was supposed to lose. He met the highly touted
Dana Rosenblatt who was 28-0. Dana was a good boxer with decent power who
appeared to be going places. He did well for three rounds but in the fourth
a determined Pazienza rocked him. His follow up barrage prompted referee
Tony Orlando to intervene but Vinny wasn't finished and his onslaught even
felled the referee. Sportsman like ? No...But that was the warrior in Vinny.
He was caught up in the moment.
In his next match Vinny would lose to the smooth boxing Herol Graham.
He would lose a decision in a rematch to Rosenblatt. He was then stopped by
former welterweight king Aaron Davis.
Vinny had one more shot at glory. It came in 2002 when he lost to WBC
super middleweight champion Eric Lucas.Two years lars later Vinny would win
a decision over Tocker Pudwill in his last fight.
Vinny won 50 of 60 fights. He scored 30 knockouts. He was one of the
most entertaining boxers of his time. He feared no one. He was great for the
sport. I wish there were more like him around today.
