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He gave us thrills and chills. From his gutsy performance against Pretty Boy Floyd to his 2001 Fight of the Year with Micky Ward to the uncommon sportsmanship displayed when he fought Ray "Sucra" Oliveira . His redemption KO win against Courtney Burton was sweet and his TKO over heavily favored Carlos Wilfredo Vilches was pleasantly shocking. He was his own man...even when referees attempted to make him stop doing what he does best. He was too hard core and different for the mainstream and politically correct element of boxing. Maybe that's why we all liked him so much. He was his own man; he did it his way. We all want to tell our boss to "go to hell." He did it for us.
Sadly, however, he finally met the undisputed, undefeated champion of all time, Father Time. Over 500 rounds and 68 fights is more than Ali fought. It's too many when you fights the way Emanuel fights. On Thursday, January 11, his ring age (he is only 32 chronologically) had finally caught up with him. Every tough round he had fought caught up with him.
Kid Diamond (Almazbek Raiymkulov) , 23-1-1, gave Emanuel, 34-28-6, a righteous beat down and it was painful to watch this warrior with such a big heart grow old overnight.
What happens now is anyone's guess. Maybe, he will fight one or two more times and go out a winner. Let's hope so. The problem is when Father Time collects his dues, he is not concerned with endings.
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