The unadulterated truth and the personal account of Meldrick Taylor:  Twenty years later and the controversy continues.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 18, 2009 [Simi Valley, CA] -- The Retired Boxers Foundation is an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that exists to assist retired professional boxers in the transition from their glorious days in the ring to a dignified retirement.  In the spirit of our mission, the Retired Boxers Foundation is proud to assist Meldrick Taylor, a former Olympic gold medalist and world boxing champion in two weight classes, in promoting his personal autobiography, “2 Seconds From Glory.”    The book is clearly controversial, but we respect the right of any retired fighter to make a living, and Meldrick is entitled to write his own autobiography, from what ever perspective he feels in his heart,” says Retired Boxers Foundation founder, Alex “The Bronx Bomber” Ramos, whose organization has helped Meldrick and continues to help him by announcing the release of this book.

Taylor, one of many boxing champions hailing from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, learned his craft in the gyms of his hometown and posted a 99-4 record as an amateur fighter. In 1984, Taylor earned a spot on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team at the age of 17, and claimed the gold medal in the featherweight division. Following his victory, he joined the professional ranks. 

On March 17, 1990 the boxing world was shocked when the Lightening and Thunder roared for 12 rounds in the ring and one man changed the course of history, by making history himself, with a decision that until today it is still known as “The Most Controversial Fight Stoppage in Boxing History.”   The fight was billed as a unification bout between Meldrick Taylor and WBC world junior welterweight champion, Julio César Chávez, in Las Vegas. This fight drew huge media attention, as both men came in unbeaten (Taylor at 24-0-1 and Chávez at 66-0), and were regarded as two of the best boxers in the world, regardless of weight class. Their fight was one of the most famous and controversial bouts in boxing history.

Meldrick Taylor the Two Time World Champ, Youngest Olympic God Medalist, and the man known as “Lightning Hands” was winning on every card. It was just a matter of seconds before a new champ would be declared.  The controversy began when referee Richard Steele, with only two seconds left on the clock of the 12^th  and final round, stopped the bout.  According to Steele, in the post fight interview, he said that he asked Taylor twice, if he was OK and claims that Taylor did not respond.  By Meldrick Taylor’s account, he was floored momentary in the final round quickly getting up. He was asked if he was ok.  Taylor claims he was distracted by Lou Duva, being Lou Duva, and that he nodded his heads indicating that he was ok.  Taylor said that the nod was not enough for the referee, judge, and ruler Richard Steele who stopped the fight with only two seconds remaining.  That two seconds and Steele’s decision, forever changed things for Meldrick Taylor’s career, and lost him the championship belt that he felt was well earned.

An eight count would have been sufficient. Richard Steele said after the fight that “He does not want to see a fighter hurt” but a 20 year veteran at that time had to know that the red flashing light meant final seconds of the last round.  Many felt that a veteran referee should of known that since it was a last round, and with only two seconds left, there was no way that any of the fighters would have received any more blows. So why did he stop the fight?

By Ellarry Prentice
First appeared in Paynesville Press on April 29, 2009

In addition to working full time for the Ventura County District Attorney, Paynesville native Jacquie Richardson has come to know almost all of the most prominent professional boxers and has worked with many legends of boxing, assisting them once their careers in boxing are over.

Richardson, a 1969 Paynesville High School graduate and a resident of Simi Valley, Calif., will be inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame for her volunteer work as the executive director for the Retired Boxers Foundation on Saturday, Sept. 26.

The Retired Boxers Foundation (RBF) was started in 1998 by Alex “The Bronx Bomber” Ramos, a former world champion boxer who won the USBA middleweight crown in 1984. The foundation assists retired professional boxers, especially those who suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse, homelessness, and medical problems. The goal of the Retired Boxers Foundation is to identify and build resources for boxers and their families who are in need, including rehabilitation, housing, financial assistance, financial planning, and job training.

While working as a grant writer and fund developer, Richardson met Ramos in 1998 at an opening of a boxing gym for which she had written a grant to get kids off the street and into gyms. Richardson said Ramos’ passion and stories hooked her right away.

Ramos fought for 22 years and was very successful until he began to lose. According to the Retired Boxers Foundation website, after Ramos moved from the spotlight to the streetlight, he began battling alcohol and drugs. With many former boxers battling the same problems, Ramos started the RBF to help others find the support they need for regaining self respect and dignity.

Since her encounter with Ramos over a decade ago, Richardson has donated office space and her skills to get the Retired Boxers Association up and running and her time to assisting retired boxers.

According to Richardson, in many states, boxing is the only professional sport which does not have a pension plan for its retirees. Though many believe boxers make a lot of money, many lose their personal finances, since they have many pay-outs to their managers and trainers during their career, she explained. Many retired boxers also have a difficult time finding work after their boxing career, since they had dropped out of high school to start boxing and know no other profession than boxing. Additionally, many experience health problems in retirement, including brain damage, she added.

When she first began volunteering as executive director, Richardson created brochures, business cards, letterheads, etc., for the Retired Boxers Foundation. From the start, it was easy to get caught up in her volunteer work, since the people she assisted were so sweet, she said.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on Mar. 13, 2009 on Joe Sixpack

'DRUNK BY NOON?" read the headline in the Houston Chronicle last week. "Perfectly acceptable in Philly."

It was an Associated Press story about the number of morning tavern events spicing up Philly Beer Week. "In many places," said the report, "drinking before noon is something to hide. Not in Philadelphia."

More than a couple of local readers sent me the link, outraged that we'd been disparaged as a town of reeling winos, clutching soggy brown paper bags while the rest of America wakes up to Starbucks.

Yet another example of fascist, Bible-thumping neo-Prohibitionism that demonizes even responsible consumption as the equivalent of getting drunk, whined one.Breakfast of champions

"Enjoying a morning beer doesn't make us alcoholics," said another.

Of course not, but like Sheryl Crow sang, there are times when "I like a good beer buzz early in the morning." And I've got a feeling I'm not the only one.

Gives the whole day a different, vital perspective. A crisp, bracing glass of a.m. beer sharpens the focus, brightens the gloom and puts a smile on my face. Even "The Today's Show's" Matt Lauer can't ruin a day that begins with a frothy glass.

Foreclosure? No job? Who cares?

Maybe I'm just numbing reality, but don't wag your finger - not when Americans spend $12 billion a year on antidepressants. I guarantee, my lager tastes a lot better than your Zoloft.

And here's something else: Maybe if those greedy bastards on Wall Street had suds in their mugs instead of caffeine, we wouldn't be in this fix right now. I never met a beer drinker who put money before people.

Which leads me to the point of this column: What makes a good breakfast beer?

By Ken "Vikeman" Knight

When you take a closer look at the 2008 NFL season, it is clear to see this is the season which can be described with one word - parity. I don't feel that is necessarily a bad thing for unlike many people, I felt just about every NFL team had a chance coming into this season. I love that. Of course, there were just a couple of exceptions.

With the manner in which the New England Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII after completing a perfect 16-0 regular season, I believed there was a definite possibility of a let down coming into 2008. I had no idea Tom Brady would be lost for the season, but there has to be a reason why six of the previous seven Super Bowl losers did not qualify for the playoffs the following season. Now it is seven of the last eight.

Parity was clearly defined in many division races, and this was the polar opposite of last season with the Detroit Lions posting the very first 0-16 NFL record. Look at it this way Lions fans, it can never possibly get worse for you. I truly feel for you all.

The AFC East Posted a Collective 38-26 Record

Of course the odds on favorites to win this division coming into the 2008 NFL season were the Patriots. Their season began on an ominous note with not only the injury to their star quarterback on the second offensive series , many forget that they fumbled the ball away on that play as well as on the first offensive series in the home opener versus the Chiefs. First two offensive series of the 2008 season - two turnovers.

The Chiefs had a legitimate shot at pulling this game out. A hustling play by recent acquisition Deltha O'Neal when he chased down a rookie receiver inside the five-yard line following a sixty-five yard catch-and-run saved the day.

I had felt if any team would contend with them this year it would be the Buffalo Bills. They finished second in this division last year with a 7-9 record. This just wasn't in the cards.

Nobody saw the Miami Dolphins turning the 1-15 worst record in the NFL in 2007 into an 11-5 division championship in just one season. It is amazing what great leadership at the top and key free agent signings can do for a team in this era of the NFL.

The Pats finished with an identical 11-5 record, and both teams posted identical 4-2 division records. The Dolphins were crowned champions due to the next tie-breaker which is conference records. They went 8-4 in the conference while the Pats fell just short at 7-5.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on Feb. 20, 2009 on Joe Sixpack

YOU KNOW WHAT'S wrong with winter? The dearth of decent beer-drinking sports.

Golf, softball, bicycling, rowing - these are all perfectly fine summertime activities that easily accommodate beer consumption. All can be performed quite adequately with a beer no farther away than the distance between your last chip shot and the golf cart.

But when the grass freezes, what do you do?

You can't play ice hockey with a beer in your hand, you can't drink while downhill skiing, and figure skating with a buzz is a recipe for instant barf.

Friends, allow me to introduce you to . . . curling.

Here is a sport that combines the physical exertion of bowling with the high-paced excitement of chess. It's a game in which one player slides a 42-pound stone down a sheet of ice while seven other players stand around and wait for it to arrive at its target 20 minutes later.

The sport moves with all the speed of a SEPTA bus climbing Green Lane in Manayunk.

Now, I concede that classifying curling as a "sport" is a bit of a stretch. It's a sport in the same sense that sweeping your front steps is a sport.

But, no matter. It's in the Olympics, so a sport it is.

And, more to the point of this column, if you ever catch a glimpse of the sidelines at Philadelphia Curling Club, in Paoli - the region's only curling facility - you'll find several neatly stacked cases of Yuengling and Labatt's Blue, chilled and ready to go.

Aside from a pair of 150-foot-long ice sheets, the facility's main feature is a cozy clubhouse with a well-stocked bar.

"Curling," said Sandi Macan, one of the club's enthusiastic members who invited me to watch an evening of stone-chucking, "is a sport that was made for beer-drinking."

And, vice versa.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on May 22, 2009 on Joe Sixpack

SO, YOU THINK you know a lot about beer? Here's a quiz:

A) What is the name of the device attached to a keg to allow for the input of gas and the output of beer?

B) What trait in beer do measurements in degrees of SRM represent?

C) What Munich style of beer is known for the flavor of 4-vinyl guaiacol?

Stumped? Those are just three of more than 140 questions on what may be the world's toughest beer test, the final exam for the Craft Beer Institute's Cicerone Certification Program.

So far, just 23 people have passed the test; twice that many have failed.

Me? I had to Google the definition of "cicerone."

That's the term (pronounced sis-uh-rohn) that the institute's president, Ray Daniels, has adopted to describe what might otherwise be called a "beer sommelier," a professional who helps you select the proper beer for your meal.

It's an old word for a museum guide - an appropriate choice, said Daniels, because "a Cicerone will possess the knowledge and skills to guide those interested in beer culture, including its historic and artistic aspects."

If all that sounds a bit snooty for the Everyman's drink, well, you haven't shopped for beer lately. It's not just the daunting variety of labels that can confound you: As brewers continually crank out new riffs on traditional styles, it's almost impossible to predict what's inside that corked $20 bottle.

"That's one of the reactions I got initially: 'Don't make beer snobby, we don't want to be like the wine guys,' " Daniels said of his year-old program. "I don't think we're in much danger of that. I don't think beer people are snobby at all."

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on Apr. 3, 2009 on Joe Sixpack

THREE THOUSAND fifty six malt beverage brands are registered for sale in Pennsylvania. (Make that 3,057, now that Oskar Blues Brewing of Colorado has managed to sneak its Mama's Little Yella Pils past the anti-drug beer label censors.)

Here's what else I found this week as I went foraging through local beer stacks for new bottles and taps.

Twin Lakes Brewing has been chugging along in virtual anonymity on a historic 252-acre farm in Greenville, Del., for three years, but its beer was never available anywhere other than in its own back yard.

Until now.

This week, it began shipping kegs to Pennsylvania. Look for master brewer Jack Wick's Greenville Pale Ale, a Northwest-style ale in which whole flower hops are added throughout the brewing process, a la fellow Delawarean Dogfish Head.

Twin Lakes uses well water from the Brandywine aquifer - "The same water that George Washington drank during the Revolutionary War," said the brewery's Matt Day.

Grab the brewery's springtime seasonal, Winterthur Wheat, a citrusy ale they break out for the famous Winterthur Point-to-Point Steeplechase.

Sixpoint Craft Ales, the tiny, 5-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., brewery with an aggressive plan to stretch its legs throughout the East, is finally making its way to Philly.

Head brewer Shane Welch has been getting rave reviews up in New York with a line of fresh, small-batch ales, including Bengali Tiger, an India pale ale.

Hi, boys and girls.

Long time no talk to. Just wanted to say hi and share some new stuff.

In June I'll be joining Dan Piraro ("Bizarro") for The Cartoonists of Comedy, a week of standup in Manhattan. Matt Diffee from The New Yorker will round out the bill.

The show is being produced by the illustrious Jeff Dineen of Shanbridge Media, Inc. We need to fill a bezillion seats, so if you're in the area, call me.

I haven't been YouTube-ing standup videos, or I'd share them now. Below are a few upcoming dates. Would love to see you if you're in the neighborhood.

Friday, April 24, 9:00 p.m. JR's Comedy Club, 27630 The Old Road, Valencia, CA (661) 259-2291.

Tuesday, April 28, 9:00 p.m. Old Dublin Pub and Grill, 1900 Victoria Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93035. (805) 985-6750.

Thursday, April 30, 8:00 p.m. The Hollywood Improv, 8162 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046 (323) 651-2583. Event Flyer

Saturday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Ventura Harbor Comedy Club, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, # 205, Ventura, CA 93001. (805) 644-1500.

Wednesday, May 13, 8:00 p.m. The Ice House, 24 N. Mentor Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91106. (626) 577-1894. This one is a contest, so see me for a bribe.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on Feb. 27, 2009 on Joe Sixpack

A NEW BEER from Yuengling - can you believe it? After 180 years, it's about time.

It's Yuengling Bock, the Pottsville brewery's first seasonal, and it'll be released in town next week.

Brewery boss Dick Yuengling told me he was reluctant to brew the springtime brand because "I hate running out of things."

But he acknowledged that, thanks to the likes of Boston Beer, seasonal releases are a hot trend. Yuengling's retailers and wholesalers told him he had to jump into the game, especially this year as America's oldest brewery celebrates the big one-eight-oh.

The dark beer is a dry-hopped blend of Porter and Chesterfield Ale, with the addition of malt ingredients to improve the body, according to brewer Jim Helmke.

Yuengling isn't the only one debuting new beers during the 10-day beer romp. I count more than a dozen virgins that will pop the cap next month, including:

Cantillon Monk's Café Cuvee Gueuze: A blend of lambics overseen by Monk's Café owner Tom Peters at the Cantillon brewery in Brussels. It'll debut at a dinner at Monk's on March 11 featuring American-made wild yeast ales.

Dock Street Hop Garden Double IPA: Ben Potts is the new brewer at West Philly's Dock Street; this is an award-winning recipe from his homebrewing days, featuring 14 different hop varieties. Try it first at Opening Tap.

Duvel Green: This actually had a sneak preview in town last September at Monk's. The lighter (6.8 percent alcohol), younger draft version of the famous Duvel strong golden ale will pour at numerous events throughout the week.

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