2007 ends with Mayweather vs. Hatton and 2008 gets off to a great start with Wiliams vs. Cintron.
Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto just finished raising welts on their respective noggins and now I'm off to a media workout for Fernando Vargas in Valencia CA. It must be Christmas.
Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga are going to try to whack one another unconscious on November 23 and I'll be there in press row watching the sweat fly. I might even get a little blood splattered on my notes--it happens. Then it's time for me to prepare for Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton on December 8--review the undercard, interview fighters, write previews and profiles, then watch the fight and try to take notes that I can actually understand later.
Sure, my wife has to arrange family gatherings, cook the holiday meals, do the Christmas shopping, and decorate the house, but I get the sights, sounds, and smells of boxing.
She gets the scent of a pine forest as she decorates the tree--I get the musky smell of sweat spraying under The Staples Center lights.
She gets the joy of picking out just the right gift--I get a trainer cursing at his fighter, trying to get the kid's exhausted muscles to fight one more round.
She gets to sort through the year's family photos for the calendar she makes and gives to family every year-- I get to drive home after the fight and post fight press conference, sit bleary-eyed in front of my computer and write a coherent, coffee-charged fight report for a midnight deadline.
2008 gets going with Roy Jones vs. Felix Trinidad on January 29, then Paul Williams vs. Kermit Cintron on February 2.
Those are just the big names, almost every weekend has another good fight. Yeah, the holidays are a lot of work, but at least I don't have to do the cooking.
