Boneman the Cornerman…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The expected timeline of my day with Noah Zuhdi didn’t take place because Zuhdi had not been feeling well all week.
But he joked afterward that I could have come over and watch him sleep the entire day before heading to Remington Park.
Instead, I was part of the Zuhdi corner, and here are some of my thoughts and observations from the night that was. For the record, Zuhdi scored a first-round knockout of Jason Jones.
- Meet up with Zuhdi around 5:45 just in time for Oklahoma State Athletic Commisioner Joe Miller to go over the rules. Nothing unusual, except for the whole no energy drink thing. Didn’t know about that one. Gatorade = OK. Red Bull = No wings tonight.
- Remington has changed it up. It used to be all the guys were together in one room, which could make it pretty awkward. Now it’s still one room, but there are a bunch of curtain dividers. That’s good. I wouldn’t want to be looking at my opponent or let him get a look at me.
- Zuhdi goes over his game plan and how even though Jones is a straight-forward wild brawler, that won’t change Zuhdi’s approach. It’s going to be like two triceratops colliding in the middle of the ring, thinking to myself.
- Zuhdi is not really into the trash talk. He introduced himself to Jones and Zuhdi said he had no problem with the guy. In fact, he has no issue at all with being nice and cordial to his opponents before and after the fight.
- Referees Gerald and Gary Ritter bring all the fighters together to go over what they expect. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
- Zuhdi busts out his black Jordan (or is it Jumpman now? shoes). These don’t look like the normal boxing shoes. Zuhdi explains “these are extremely heavy shoes, a puncher’s shoes.” He shows me his backup pair, and that’s kind I’m used to, the boxer’s shoes. Zuhdi says he doesn’t plan on boxing and moving around the ring. He’s coming straight forward.
- Zuhdi’s got a craving for chocolate and eats a Snickers. Huh? As someone who is so disciplined during his training, thought it was odd. He said he can’t even taste the chocolate because he’s so nervous/excited.
- First fight is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. It’s about 7:10, so not too bad. Watch his chief second Pete Ramirez tape up Zuhdi. To tape his hands took 20 minutes. To tape the gloves added another 10. By 7:45, he’s ready to rock and still wearing the same black trunks he had for his first fight.
- Zuhdi was lucky to have his own gloves. Some fighters had to wait until an early fight completed before they could put them on. He says he rather have them and be ready too early than too late.
- As he’s getting his hands taped, trainer Eddie Maese finally gets to take out the gloves and work ‘em in. No one is allowed to take the gloves out of their packaging until someone with the Athletic Commission is there to supervise it.
- Maese says the gloves are pretty easy to break in. “Some take a long time. You know, it just depends on the brand. These, these aren’t giving me any trouble.”
- Also speak to Ramirez about the intricacies of taping hands. He’s been doing it for 30 years now. “Every fighter is different. Some don’t want much padding, some want as much as is legally allowed. Some like it tight, some like it loose.
“With Noah, it’s actually been different just about every fight. His right hand has been bothering him, so we have to tape up differently.”
- While taping his hands, one of the women with the Athletic Commission says the tape needs to be thinner and not cover the knuckles. Ramirez explains “the tape can’t be over the knuckles. When he makes a fist, you see how the tape isn’t on the knuckle? But when it’s flat, it’s right on the side. And if they want it to be thinner, then it needs to be.” Ramirez and Zuhdi have no issues with the request.
- It’s interesting being in the dressing room for other fights. All you hear are the cheers from the crowd. You don’t know why and you don’t for who it’s for. In this case, it’s heavyweight Ty Cobb winning by KO in the third round.
- Some fighters’ cups ride up on them, and it can become annoying. Zuhdi’s mother placed velcro on both his cup and his trunks, so that has never been an issue. “Gotta give the credit to my mom on that one.”
- Zuhdi finds a good place to begin his initial warmup. Strictly shadowboxing. I use the time to speak with Zuhdi’s wife, Sara, for some background on this story.
- Get back, and we’re one fight away from Zuhdi coming out. He’s been hitting the mitts with Maese and said from this point on, “it’s all about breaking a sweat without over-exerting myself.” He’s doing this right by a door, so it’s naturally cold.
- Ron Aubrey is fighting next, so Zuhdi knows it’s time to get the vaseline put on his face. Aubrey’s fights don’t typically last long, and this one was no exception: Aubrey wins via first-round KO.
- Zuhdi gets told at 8:30, it’s showtime. Right before he’s about to head out, a strange almost disturbing request is made for a photo. I seriously couldn’t believe it. If I’m a couple of minutes away from a fight, I don’t want any of that stuff. I’ve done it before with stories to some of my best friends. Hey, got deadline, leave me alone.
- As soon as Aubrey is done fighting, I don’t speak with Zuhdi again. He’s given me enough of his time and insight, but it’s fight time.
- Music hits, and we walk out. A couple of people actually tap me like I’m part of the entourage (see, I flirted with fame).
- As Zuhdi heads to the ring, I head to my seat to shoot video of the fight. There’s a bad light glare in my shots, but nothing I can do about that.
- Zuhdi drops him once with a right to the ribs, followed by a right upstairs. Jones rises at the count of eight. Zuhdi chases him around before crippling him with a left hook to the body. Jones takes the count, and Zuhdi does some sort of celebration. He said at that point, it’s about releasing that pent up energy.
- Zuhdi leaves the ring, sees his wife and mother and that concludes his night as a fighter.
- Speak with Sara, who says “He’s going to be happy tonight because he finished him with a body punch. He loves going to the body.”
- Sara doesn’t pretend to know everything about the sport, but she doesn’t detest it, either. Her nerves are slowly going away (wouldn’t know with her still shaking minutes after the fight). It helps, she said, when she knows what to expect and that’s why she likes knowing about his opponent.
- Funny anecdote about Sara, and I’m out. Noah was telling me that after his first fight against Rafael Torres, Sara felt bad that no one was cheering Rafael, so she did. Yep, you can’t make up stuff like that. Noah didn’t get upset, actually thought it was kind of funny. “That’s just how good of a person, how nice of a person she is,” he said.
- And from there, Boneman the Cornerman turns into Boneman the Writer.
Official results
Brad Hill TKO 7 Kyle Sherman
George Tahdooahnippah TKO 1 Tyrone Dowdy
Noah Zuhdi TKO 1 Jason Jones
Ron Aubrey TKO 1 Mark Bier
Shadi Hamsho TKO 3 Chris Hill
Mike Dobbs UD 4 Jason McClure (40-36, 39-37 twice)
Ty Cobb KO 3 Zackary McMillan
Special thanks: catBOX Entertainment, the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission, Noah and Sara Zuhdi and the rest of the Zuhdi family, Pete Ramirez, Eddie Maese and Kyle Sherman.
Coming up: Video of Zuhdi’s fight and a postfight video interview with Noah.
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