Hick Towns & the Mid West . . .raylawpc wrote:Actually, bennie, you are only half right. Hammond is a suburb and part of the metropolitan Chicago area. It has a population of nearly 100,000 and is one of the largest cities in Indiana. It is not a "hick town." Muskogee, Oklahoma, however, is very much a "hick town."bennie wrote:Andy Lee, the man with a limited plan, continues to feast on pathetic American Midwest opposition over in the States as he builds to an all-Ireland middleweight slop-out with John Duddy (according to Mickey Mouse sources), but he will gain absolutely nothing from his 10-rounder with hicktowner Troy Lowry in a hicktown called Hammond, Indiana, on Saturday night.
Frankly, this match stinks. While Lee’s Limerick compatriot, the 10-fight Willie Casey, takes a 'real' fight in November against Spanish threat Kiko Martinez, while the glass-jawed Amir Khan takes a real fight in December against Argentine threat Marcos Maidana, southpaw Lee faces a 40-year-old "Okie from Muskogee" who has been stopped in his last four contests and who everyone in the world knows is going to lose this weekend. What kind of a boxing contest is that? The frightening thing is Lowry could also get hurt, and Lee’s increasingly out-of-touch mentor Manny Steward should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. Boxing really does make it easy for the abolitionists at times.
The big, heavy handed Lee, 23-1 (17), has won his last eight fights since he was stopped in seven glaring rounds by Texan Brian Vera in 2008 and is the greatest 'on top' fighter in the business but he scrambles for boxing instinct against anyone with the gall to hit back. Why else are they picking an opponent for him like Lowry (and before Lowry the equally dire likes of James Cook and Michael Walker)?
You know, Lee would get a better fight if he spilt somebody's pint in Fitzgerald’s in Limerick than he will fighting Lowry. It won't be competitive and it won't be pretty.
Bennie . . . I understand your frustration. Today's boxers are protected. They'll run up winning streaks against bums so the cable geniuses can showcase unbeaten contenders. The boxers do not improve because they cannot learn anything from sub-par competition. Competitive boxing is a rare these days.
As for the Mid West United States, I'd hate to have to list all of the great boxers that have come from this part of the country, because it would take me a very long time. As for "hick towns", there was this guy named Basileo who came from Canestoga, N.Y. He was just an "Onion Farmer" who could fight a bit. However, I understand what you were trying to say, you are disappointed in the choices being made for the boxers you named.
We in L.A. are proud of a great history when it comes to legendary boxers, but we have our share of bums too. We also have our share of protected talent so that talent never is developed, it never matures to it's fullest. If there are any 155 pounders in the UK in need of an opponent from a hick town, there is this kid from a Mexican version of a hick town in the hills of Jalisco, Mexico. His name is Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. However, if they step into the ring with this hick, they best plan on losing.
Ill pm you his E-mail Rick 
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