“Some got heart, some got talent, some got both. Take Rocky Marciano. Everybody that ever fought him, beat him. But he retired undefeated, right?” Eugene didn’t answer. He didn’t say anything much all afternoon, except for an occasional grunt or yes or no. But that seemed enough for Budd. “Marciano would take five punches to land one. But Jesus, what a hitter. Archie Moore was the only guy to ever take him off his feet. He hit Marciano with everything but the ring post. But he got off the canvas and whipped the shit out of Moore. All on heart. There was no quit to him.
“And Willie Pastrano, light-heavyweight champion of the world. Couldn’t hit for shit. All points, no punch. But a win’s a win, that’s what they say.
“Then there’s guys like Scott LaDoux. He’d maul you, brawl you, butt you till you bled, step on your feet, and thumb you blind. But he only wanted to win. And he was only doing what the referee let him do. It’s up to the referee to control the fight. But he would have used his teeth if he could’ve got away with it. I never saw a referee that could control LaDoux. Last I heard he was refereeing wrestling matches. Jesus, wrestling matches, after being in with some of the best fighters in the world. Well, what the hell, we all gotta do something.”
No comments:
Post a Comment