Weekend wrap-up…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(Vic Darchinyan: such a big beast in such a little man)
Big chance for some local fighters to make a huge splash in their respective field but didn’t quite happen.
Let’s start Friday with Oklahoma City welterweight Carson Jones. From all reports, sounded like he fought as good as he could. That makes any loss easier to deal with.
Jones lost a unanimous decision to Jesus Soto-Karass in Maywood, Calif. Jones was dropped twice in the third round but fought bravely and actually three of the middle rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Fatigued, Jones was fighting hard despite being pressured by Soto-Karass in the final round.
Very interesting to see how Jones interprets what happened and what’s next for him.
***
Former Oklahoma State wrestler Jake Rosholt also got humbled, losing to Dan Miller via guillotine choke 1:03 into the first round at UFC Fight Night 17 in Tampa.
Rosholt took him down once, but when he went for it again, Miller applied the choke for the submission victory.
Maybe us writers know what we’re talking about. Rosholt’s original opponent, Alessio Sakara, would have been a much better fit for Rosholt.
Miller is gritty and been through the wars. It was the biggest non-upset upset of the year according to some of the forum members on Sherdog.com.
Rosholt is so young and so talented that this shouldn’t really hurt him too bad. He’s now 5-1-0 and where he goes after his first loss will say more about him than those first five wins.
Norman’s Matt Grice was involved in an entertaining one-round war with Matt Veach before losing via TKO 4:34 into the first.
I’ll be honest, that was the first time I’ve seen Grice. I liked what I saw, but Veach has got some ticker, huh?
As for the main card, not disappointing as much as there wasn’t much to get pumped about. There was no Affliction card so it wasn’t like we were going to see Anderson Silva or anything.
Joe Lauzon did what he needed to do vs. Jeremy Stephens and Cain Velasquez continues to be one of my favorite “hey, I remember covering him in college” fighters.
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Sad to hear Joe Calzaghe retired, glad to see Vic Darchinyan’s destruction of Jorge Arce. Arce gave much better than I ever thought he would, but the Armenian destroyer is so much fun to watch, if not a little too cocky for my tastes.
Darchinyan won via 11th-round TKO. After dominating the first two rounds, Arce got right back in the fight with some left hooks in the third.
From there, Darchinyan won it with two things: the uppercut and body punching. Arce could never put any pressure and was being depleted by those shots downstairs. Fine outing from Darchinyan. He chased Arce for nearly three years to get this fight and didn’t disappoint when he got it.
Hope it’s really over for Calzaghe. As much as I wanted him to fight Glen Johnson and Chad Dawson, if he wants out, that’s fine. I just don’t want him to come back in the next year or so.
I was late in jumping on the bandwagon of the Welsh star, but Calzaghe definitely has a spot reserved for him in the IBHOF.
***
Not much to say about Strikeforce signing the deal with CBS/Showtime. UFC doesn’t view Strikeforce as competition and Strikeforce for its intelligence doesn’t, either. Strikeforce will find a nice niche audience, and it plays to smaller crowds, which is fine. Hope it does well and finds a home on TV.
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What to look for this week: Just about done with the book Four Kings (Leonoard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran) so expect a good review on that, time to start the Danny Hodge story. Previewing the Remington Park card Friday night and a chronological diary of my day with Oklahoma lightweight champion Noah Zuhdi. And if there’s time, a plug to my Danny Hodge video I shot this weekend.
The Shooter still lives…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(Danny Hodge on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a mere 52 years ago)
Legendary Oklahoma wrestler Danny Hodge’s book signing at JR’s Family Bar-B-Q restaurant in Moore was supposed to end at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Not even close.
As fans kept pouring in, Hodge had no issues staying there and signing things until nearly 5 o’clock.
Hodge was signing copies of his new book Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story, written by long time friend Mike Chapman.
Chapman has followed amateur wrestling for a long time and started WIN Magazine.
I had a chance to speak at length with Chapman, Hodge and Jim Ross about what Hodge has meant to the sport of wrestling, both amateur and professional.
While college football has the Heisman Trophy, amateur wrestling has the Danny Hodge Award.
The corresponding video will be on NewsOK TV here hopefully in the next day or so.
Every now and then, you know, you have to put down the pen and pad and just soak it in. And that’s mostly what I decided to do Saturday (besides the video).
While Hodge enjoyed trading old war stories with some of the older customers who remember him wrestling all those years ago, his biggest thrill may have been when the young kids came through.
Hodge gave the kids tips and told them about all the hard work needed to be successful. One look at Hodge doing a one-handed handstand (a photo in the book), is all you need to know about his work ethic.
The book is not available in stores but can be ordered and purchased on amazon.com. And Chapman estimated well over 100 books were bought during the signing time as well.
Hodge will be on hand today for the Oklahoma wrestling dual against Nebraska. No doubt in my mind Hodge will once again come out and crush that apple with one hand, his trademark.
It’s easy in talking to Chapman and Ross and customers how much Hodge means to the sport. But it’s even more glaring to hear the testimonies of youngsters like Jake Hager.
Hager, also from Perry like Hodge, said he did whatever he could to soak in Hodge’s knowledge, becoming a sponge.
Hodge is still working with kids, even some of the current Perry boys like three-time state champion Ladd Rupp.
The book has 67 photos, most of them rare from Hodge’s personal collection. Hey, once I get a chance to hunker down and read it, expect a review up here on the blog.
I also got a chance earlier this week to speak at length with Hodge for a future Collected Wisdom piece. More than three pages of notes and nearly two hours of conversation, but all worth it.
Everyone knows about Hodge’s credentials as a boxer and wrestler (most pins, never taken down, only wrestler on cover of Sports Illustrated), but it was a treat to see him just as sharp as ever and still shootin’ all these many years later.
Special thanks to Hodge, Chapman, JR and the restaurant for all their hospitality.
Be back Monday to talk about the losses of both Carson Jones and Jake Rosholt as well as the destruction of Jorge Arce by Vic Darchinyan.
(and Hodge now, courtesy KSBI TV)
Reminder central…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Hey, getting toward the end of the week and what better way to spend it than engrossing yourself in some fine fight-related stuff.
Tonight on TV Azteca (check local listings), Oklahoma City welterweight Carson Jones takes on Jesus Soto-Karass in the main event from Maywood, Calif.
Jones has all the tools, and this is his stage to put it all together. Want to know more about his opponent? MaxBoxing’s Steve Kim has this profile on Soto-Karass.
Saturday afternoon legendary Oklahoma wrestler Danny Hodge will have a book signing from noon to 3 p.m. at JR’s Family Bar-B-Q restaurant in Moore. It is your chance to see The Boneman live and in living color.
Hodge’s unbelievable tale has finally been told by Mike Chapman, who has known the Hodge family for more than 30 years.
I recently had a chance to speak at length with Hodge, and what an absolute treat that was for me. I cannot believe how vividly he remembers everything.
After all these years, Hodge is still in Perry and still its favorite son. Hodge will also be in attendance Sunday when the OU wrestling team takes on No. 3-ranked Nebraska at the McCasland Field House at 2 p.m.
Hodge had a huge impact on professional wrestler Jake Hager, now known as “The All-American American Jack Swagger” in the WWE. Hager was an all-American at Oklahoma.
Nice segue to look for a piece Saturday on the career move former Oklahoma State wrestler Jake Rosholt. Rosholt makes his UFC debut Saturday night.
When Rosholt’s opponent changed to Dan Miller, most experts actually thought Rosholt went a step up in competition.
After his one and only fight in WEC, scribes have blasted Rosholt for being nervous and for gassing himself in 30 seconds.
Rosholt ended up winning via second-round KO but many were not impressed.
Everyone thought he would just wrestle, but instead, he stood his ground and traded. Miller has a great wrestling background but is nowhere near the wrestler Rosholt, a three-time national champion at OSU, is.
It will be very interesting to see if Rosholt can contain his nerves and perform like I’ve seen him do so many times on big college wrestling stages.
UFC Fight Night is on Spike at 8 p.m. Saturday. Rosholt’s bout most likely won’t be televised. There would have to be a string of very early KOs that would give Spike the airtime to show the bout.
Special thanks to Rosholt for talking to me this late in the game about the fight. Appreciate the courtesy.
Hey, I’ve been updated with the rest of the NewsOK blogosphere. I like the new look, if only because now you can see my “dashing” good looks. No, seriously though, nice new design.
Midweek thoughts…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Not much major breaking news in the fight game but definitely some stuff worth mentioning. So let’s roll…
- Like I said, didn’t get a chance to see UFC 94. Early reports say a lot of frustrating decisions. That’s interesting. Wonder if the decisions were frustrating or just the mere fact it went to a decision upset people? The last couple of UFC PPVs have featured your fair share of KOs.
- In the main event, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defeated lightweight champion B.J. Penn via TKO in the fourth round. All reports say St. Pierre dominated this fight in every way possible…
- Until the Penn camp has filed a complaint to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They’re claiming St. Pierre used some type of “greasing agent” between rounds. St. Pierre would get the vaseline wiped on his face and then they would rub his shoulders and back without wiping off their hands.
- Not buying it. The result would be he’s too slippery to grab and stuff like that, but I think Penn is looking for anything to try to explain to himself what happened. Some writers think it was St. Pierre’s finest hour, so you can understand how bewildered Penn must feel right now.
- Bad news for the fight game though to have back-to-back big time events marred in controversy. Boxer Antonio Margarito may never have his reputation back after the hand-wrapping incident against Shane Mosley. And now former St. Pierre opponents are accusing GSP of doing the same thing against them.
- Showtime Championship Boxing returns this weekend with an intriguing bout of Vic Darchinyan (Boneman’s 2008 Comeback Fighter of the Year) against Jorge Arce. I think Darchinyan gives ‘em a beatdown.
- Very intrigued by how Oklahoma City welterweight Carson Jones does against Jesus Soto Karass. Since I’ve known Jones, he’s been a super welter. See if he can come down comfortably and not have it take away from his performance.
This is Jones’ moment. This is the right time for a bout like this. I don’t know if I have TV Azteca, but I’ll definitely do some searching to see if I do Friday night.
- On the local beat, also anxious for the UFC debut of former Oklahoma State wrestler Jake Rosholt. He’ll fight Saturday night on Ultimate Fight Night on Spike. Watched many Rosholt wrestling matches when he was a three-time national champion. Gonna have to put my pom-pons away when he fights though.
- Sad to report again another great champion has died. Former heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson died this weekend. Johansson, of course, is defined by his bouts with Floyd Patterson. He knocked down Patterson seven times in winning a third-round KO. Patterson would beat him twice. Johansson finished with a 26-2 record with 17 KOs and was inducted into the IBHOF in 2002.
- Less than two weeks away from another boxing card at Remington Park. The usual cast of characters (Oklahoma lightweight champion Noah Zuhdi, Kyle Sherman, George Tahdooahnippah and Ron Aubrey) will be on the card. More info, visit the site.
- Brandon Shelton won another first-round KO at the C3 Fights event last weekend. Still looking for pictures of that EventTent. Shelton has a real future in MMA.
- Local fight week review. Friday is boxer Carson Jones and Saturday is the UFC debut of Jake Rosholt.
