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Memories From The Park: When The Pacman Attacked Early And Often

In case you haven’t been paying attention, this weekend will mark the fifth-straight Saturday in which a highly-anticipated boxing match(es) will be contested. First came, Pavlik-Taylor II on 2/16, then Klitschko-Ibragimov on 2/23, followed by Marquez-Vazquez III on 3/1 and, finally, Haye-Maccarinelli/Maskaev-Peter on 3/8. We can also throw in Carlos Quintana’s shocking victory over Paul Williams on 2/9 which would then make this Saturday’s Manny Pacquaio vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight the sixth entry in a most memorable 42 day span.

Nowadays, it isn’t common to see two fighters have a rematch several years after meeting for the first time but that will be the scenario when these two Super Featherweights clash four years after their infamous draw.

Today’s Memory takes us back to May 8, 2004 and, more specifically, the first round of Pacquaio-Marquez I. Watching this frenetic round, it’s a wonder how this even ended up a draw but you know how that goes.

Posted in Boxing, Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Memories | 2 Comments »

Behold The Resurrection Of The Thugjitsu Master

On Monday we invited Elite XC’s 160-pound champion, KJ Noons, to Jarry Park to discuss his upcoming title defense against Yves Edwards on 4/26.

And, as promised, here is our chat with Edwards as he nears one of the most important fights of his illustrious career. Important because it was less than a year ago that Edwards had lost five of his last six bouts and, needless to say, some were wondering if he should call it quits.

Three victories later, though, the Yves Edwards bandwagon is back in full force and he now finds himself one win away from full redemption.

Other topics he touched on included:

* The Elite XC/CBS deal

* Will this fight be televised on CBS (I’m going to keep asking until I get answers damn it!)

* The amazing Edson Berto knockout

* His Bahamian brother – Kimbo Slice

* The evolution of KJ Noons as an MMA fighter

* The second coming of Yves Edwards

Yves Edwards – 03/12/08

Posted in Elite XC, Interview, MMA, Yves Edwards | No Comments »

Memories From The Park: When Muhammad Met Gorilla

Let’s forget about everything that happened on the RAW following No Way Out up until last night, ok? None of it occurred, it was all just a dream.

Last night’s Mayweather-Show segment – while not as good as the one that started it all – got me excited all over again for Wrestlemania. By now you know the gist: They pulled the double-turn, they gave Show some backup, Mayweather “injured” his arm and Shane’O Mac fell (which has to be a work simply because Leonard Ellerbe was the man who pushed him. Sure, he could have eased up a bit I have no doubt that it was part of the plan).

Every single person – from the huge guy wearing a cut-off t-shirt in PBF’s posse to Trevor Murdoch – did a tremendous job except for maybe Floyd. Once again, his delivery seemed a little too scripted but, at this point, I’m expecting nothing less so it doesn’t bother me anymore.

On that note, today’s inaugural edition of Memories From The Park takes us back to June 2, 1976, when the former Cassius Clay got physical with Gorilla Monsoon in Philly. It’s certainly interesting to watch the similarities between the way this angle was planned compared to Show-Mayweather. To the footage we go…

Posted in Gorilla Monsoon, Memories, Muhammad Ali, Wrestling, WWE | No Comments »

Tito Ortiz Plans To Fight For Respect

First came Fight Network Radio, then The Howard Stern Show followed by HollyScoop.com. So, naturally, it only made sense for Tito Ortiz to hit the final stop of “the big four” and make his debut at JarryPark.com.

I tried my best not to ask him the usual stuff we’ve been hearing and while some of it was inevitable you’ll definitely find some interesting nuggets in there.

First off, Ortiz discussed the highly-anticipated release of Zombie Strippers. I had to ask.

Then, we spoke about whether his fight against Lyoto Machida on 5/24 will, in fact, be his last for the UFC (while all signs point to yes he did seem to leave some hope). We later talked about the demise of Ken Shamrock and whether he believes the 44-year-old threw the Buzz Berry fight (completely ludicrous if you ask me).

Finally, we spoke about which promotions he may be interested in fighting for as well his run in TNA Wrestling. I always thought TNA could have done a hell of a lot more with Ortiz but he seemed to disagree.

As everyone knows by now, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” pulls no punches in his interviews and this one was no different.

Tito Ortiz – 03/11/08

Posted in Interview, MMA, Tito Ortiz, UFC | 13 Comments »

Pollock’s POV: The Elite XC On CBS Casting Call

One of the first thoughts that popped into my mind upon hearing the news that CBS would soon be televising Elite XC events was: Which play-by-play announcer will call the fights?

Would it remain Mauro Ranallo or would the network look to bring in new talent? This might be the chance Gus Johnson has been waiting for.

Well, it’s been a couple of weeks since the announcement and still no word on who will get the mic. So, The Fight Network‘s John Pollock decided to hold an open casting call for any broadcaster in the business hoping to throw his (or her) name in the hat.

Not surprisingly, the call was a success as the likes of Larry Merchant, Don West and Michael Buffer showed up. A solid crew, indeed.

Will one of these men get the nod? Who knows but, yo yo yo, do you get the feeling that the CBS executives in charge of making this decision may be searching for someone that can be found right under their collective noses?

Pollock’s POV – 03/10/08

You can hear much more from John Pollock weekdays at 3 p.m. ET on Fight Network Radio on Sirius channel 186 or via Hardcoresportsradio.com not to mention every Sunday evening at 11 p.m. ET on Live Audio Wrestling.

Posted in Elite XC, John Pollock, MMA, The Fight Network | 1 Comment »

King KJ Prepares To Defend His Crown

Obviously, KJ Noons is our kind of fighter. While he has enjoyed considerable more success in MMA he does dabble in boxing and we dig that.

For the time being, though, his boxing career has been put on hold. Makes sense considering Noons shocked the MMA world in November by defeating Nick Diaz and capturing the first-ever Elite XC 160-pound title. He’s kind of like a big fish in a small MMA pond and a small fish in a big boxing lake.

His first title defense comes on 4/26 against veteran Yves Edwards in Hawaii and, today, we catch up with Noons while later in the week we’ll feature a discussion with Edwards on the upcoming bout.

Some of the topics we spoke to Noons about were:

* Will this fight air on CBS?

* His thoughts on the CBS deal

* The revival of Yves Edwards’ career

* His ever-improving ground game

* Nick Diaz’s negative comments following their bout in November

* When he plans on boxing again

All that and much more. Check, ch-check, check ‘er out.

KJ Noons – 03/10/08

Posted in Elite XC, Interview, KJ Noons, MMA | 2 Comments »

Mornin’ Muesli: Hayemaker, Shamrock, Peter, Diaz…

A few thoughts from, once again, a great night of fighting. This time, though, boxing gets the unanimous victory over MMA…

1. Just in case you weren’t convinced, David Haye has finally arrived…and now he hopes to arrive in the heavyweight division. I had a feeling this fight wouldn’t go the full twelve but I surely didn’t expect a second round stoppage. Maccarinelli did seem to take a couple more shots than needed at the end but a brilliant performance by the Hayemaker.

2. Highlight of the night part I: Haye’s post-fight interview. Amazing promo. I loved that he called out Klitschko and the rest of the “Heavyweight bums” (his words not mine). This man has “it.” He talked in third person, called out everyone and even plugged Cage Rage!

3. Highlight of the night part II: Tom Watson’s knockout of Pierre Guillet via up-kick at Cage Rage 25. I guess that kick was the perfect kryptonite to neutralize the superman punch. (I actually wrote that line before Mauro used it in the Grove-Broughton fight so I guess great Canadian minds do think alike).

4. Hightlight of the night part II: Oleg Maskaev walking into the ring wearing a sombrero.

5. I thought it was a huge mistake to have Ken Shamrock fight before a potential bout against Frank Shamrock and/or Kimbo Slice and I sincerely hope that last night was his final appearance in a cage or ring. In other words, I have absolutely no interest in seeing him fight Kimbo on CBS or anywhere else for that matter. If 2007 taught us one thing it’s that if there’s a money fight to be made…MAKE IT. This sport is way too unpredictable to have tune-up fights before the big money ones.

6. Looks like we’re getting Klitschko-Peter next however it seems unclear as to which Klitschko that fight will be against. Here’s hoping it’s Wladi. Peter made strongest case to get a rematch against Wladi and no one can argue that it’s the most intriguing Heavyweight fight out there.

7. Hey MMA broadcasters, want to know how to get a fighter over? Watch last night’s profile on Juan Diaz. What a breathe of fresh air. I am so sick of all these black-backdrop pre-fight packages where two fighters talk about how this is their destiny and blah blah blah. Sure, the formula worked for the UFC but it’s time to think outside the box a little. Unfortunately, the fighter has to win for all that to matter.

8. That was one ginormous ring in Cancun.

9. One note from Friday night’s Ring of Combat event: What’s up with Krzysztof Soszynski and all his fights ending in controversy? Here’s what he wrote to me after the bout:

“How did you like the 6 nut shots? I was not a big fan. I thought at 1 point I was going to throw up my right nut.”

A little too much info but I feel your pain Krzysztof.

Posted in Muesli | 6 Comments »

Saturday In The Park: ADIDAC

Yesterday was a pretty tough day.

In short, I visited a doctor in New York City and while I won’t go into too much detail about my problems I will simply state that a couple of years ago I severely fractured my ankle and have been experiencing a whole host of problems since then.

So, yesterday I went to get a couple of shots to relieve some of the pain. I was surprised to hear that I was going to be put under a general anesthesia before receiving the shots. I have never had surgery before in my life so this was a pretty big deal for me. (Before I proceed let me just state that I am not the type to think that just because I write for a blog means you give a damn about my problems. I know you don’t and I don’t expect you to care. I feel strange even writing this kind of post but, trust me,there is a point to all of this.)

After the whole procedure, the doctor came to check up on me. I was a little out of it but he told me to hang in there.

However, before leaving the room he said to me:

“Oh, so you’re a fan of this Ultimate Fighting stuff?”

I was confused. Was he a JarryPark.com reader or had someone else told him I enjoyed covering the world of MMA? And, if so, who?

Actually, it was none of the above. As it turns out, throughout the entire procedure I wouldn’t shut up about MMA. Pretty wild, eh? Here I am completely out of it and all I can think of (supposedly) is combat sports.

Clearly, the doctor had no clue as to what I was talking about but these were some of his follow-up questions:

“So, what’s the deal, is Randy Couture going to fight in Montreal?”

Apparently, I feel strongly about The Natural returning to the Octagon on April 19th.

Next up, he asked:

“What’s up with this guy Kimbo Slice and are his YouTube videos that crazy?”

Hey, Kimbo is clearly on everyone’s mind these days – drugged up or not.

Finally, he said:

“So, you really follow this stuff?”

“Yes, doctor, I do. ” I replied with a smile.

Actually, I think its officially safe for me steal the famous Adidas tag line and state that All Day I Dream About Sports Combat.

Enjoy the fights tonight. I know I will.

Posted in MMA | 8 Comments »

Jarry Park’s Top 24 Wrestlemania Moments

We continue our look back at the 24 most memorable moments in Wrestlemania history. If you’re joining us in progress, click here for moments #24-21 and here for #20-17.

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#16: Chris Benoit Wins The Title
Wrestlemania XX – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
March 14, 2004

The Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit vs. HHH (c)

The Moment: For obvious reasons, I struggled a lot with this one. Given last summer’s murders, I wasn’t sure whether to celebrate Chris Benoit’s crowning achievement or not. In the end, I felt that we shouldn’t deny that this was a great ‘Mania moment. So, I kept it in.

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#15: Family Feud
Wrestlemania X7 – Astrodome, Houston, TX
April 1, 2001

The Match: Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon

The Moment: The McMahons, the first family of wrestling, have had their share of infamous moments inside the ring but none more entertaining (or disturbing) than when Vince McMahon faced his only son, Shane, in a brutal match at WM X7. In the end, youth won out as Shane, who had just “purchased” WCW less than a week prior to their bout, reigned victorious over his old man with a devastating rendition of the Van Terminator.

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#14: To the Employed Go the Spoils
Wrestlemania VII – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
March 24, 1991

The Match: The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy “Macho King” Savage in a Retirement Match

The Moment: There’s really nothing like a good ol’ fashioned retirement match– especially on the grandest stage of ‘em all. What made this one so intriguing was the uncertainty of who would have to call it quits. Would it be the babyface Ultimate Warrior or the now-heel Randy “Macho King” Savage? (Obviously, this is wrestling so we all knew the loser would return in six months but nevertheless it was squared circle drama at its best).

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#13: The Ultimate Challenge
Wrestlemania VI – Skydome, Toronto, ON
April 1, 1990

The Match: Ultimate Warrior (I-C Champion) vs. Hulk Hogan (WWE Champion)

The Moment: This was Pepsi vs, Coke, Nike vs. Reebok, Jordan vs. Bird all rolled in one. In the early 1990s you were either an Ultimate Warrior fan or a Hulk Hogan fan. You just couldn’t be both. More importantly, Vince McMahon felt that Hulkamania was on its last legs and it was time to crown a new champion. Thus, he pitted the Intercontinental Champion, Ultimate Warrior, against the WWF champ, Hulk Hogan, in one of the most anticipated matches in WWF/E history. In hindsight, it was kind of fitting that this match took place on April’s Fools Day because clearly the joke was on anyone who thought Warrior would be a bigger star than Hogan ever was.

Posted in Wrestlemania, Wrestling, WWE | 2 Comments »

Krzysztof Soszynski Helps Kick Off The Weekend

What am I doing this weekend? Oh, just watching 15 hours of combat sports. I think I still might have girlfriend but I haven’t been able to confirm that for the last two months or so.

Don’t ge me wrong, though, I’m not complaining. It’s certainly a great time to be a fan of this wacky world (I feel like I say that every weekend).

For the uninformed, here’s what’s on tap:

Tonight: HDNet Fights presents Ring of Combat XVIII (HDNet, 9 p.m. EST)

Saturday: Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter/Juan Diaz vs. Nate Campbell (HBO Sports, 9:30 p.m. EST)

Enzo Maccarinelli vs. David Haye/ Cage Rage 25 (Showtime & The Fight Network, 9 p.m. EST)

Sunday: TNA Destination X (PPV, 8 p.m.)

Sheesh. That’s a lot of programming.

One of the star competitors of this weekend’s bonanza is Krzysztof Soszynski. The Team Quest fighter faces Alex Andrade in the main event of tonight’s ROC show and before the battle he was kind enough to stop by JarryPark.com.

I always enjoy talking to pro wrestlers turned MMA fighters like Soszynski. Take a listen as we discuss tonight’s fight, his strange debut for HDNet Fights in December, learning the art of jiu jitsu from Bad News Allen, when he’ll be fighting again for TKO and much more.

Krzysztof Soszynski – 03/07/08

Looks like I forgot about Ring of Honor‘s PPV premiering tonight. It’s called “Rising Above” and I hear it’s solid so my apologies to the ROH fans out there. I think it slipped my mind because it’s tape. My mistake.

Posted in Interview, Krzysztof Soszynski, MMA | No Comments »