I WISHED THEY"D ALL DONE GOOD

By Roger Esty

Everybody wants to make it to the big time. Big time means big money. This big time fight coming up between Pacman and Hatton. I know it's in Vegas somewhere. Haven't been following it too close,but I know it's the big time. Big money for everyone. With a fight like this,I don't feel sorry for the loser. For big time money like that,nobody loses.

But I'm for the fighters. All of them. What the hell. Tough way to make a living. They asked Carmen Basilio not too long ago how he felt about the fighters today.
"What the hell. I hope they all do good,"he answered grauwchily.
Sometimes I think some of these old timers would rather talk about their grandchildren than fighting.
"What was Sugar Ray like?"
"Who was the toughest guy you fought?"
All I know is Basilio could have fought a thousand fights and not made half as much money as Manny or Ricky are going to put into the bank after Saturday.

So what I'm trying to say is the road to the top is what interests me. These future champions that paid their dues at arenas like the Hollywood Legion,the San Diego Coliseum,and the Tijuana Auditorium. Fighting 4 round pre lims and crowd chasers. Fighting against pugs that were on a ticket to nowhere.

Too bad those guys that rode that train didn't do good. They deserved better.