On June 26th of this year several boxing matches were staged on the Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier moored on the Hudson River. The evening of fisticuffs was televised by ESPN 2, and I happened to catch what was expected to be a routine roundup of Tuesday night fights. Instead, I witnessed a tragedy of the sort that no dramatized screenplay or reality television program can truly replicate.
Light heavyweight George Khalid Jones had been scheduled to do battle against David Telesco. When Telesco was forced to pull out due to a broken nose suffered during training camp, the search for a replacement opponent turned up 26 year old Beethavean Scottland. Scottland had been in training to fight Glen Burnie on June 21, but Burnie was injured three days before he was to step into the ring. And so it came to be that George Jones faced off against Beethavean Scottland. Jones weighed in the day before at four pounds heavier than his opponent, but the weight disparity appeared more like ten pounds on fight night according ringside observers. Being the bigger and stronger man, Jones dominated the action in a brutal contest. Referee Arthur Mercante seemed on the verge of stopping the contest on two or three occasions, but whenever it looked like Jones was doing little more than pounding away on a barely animated punching bag, Scottland would retaliate with a flurry of his own to show that he was still a game competitor with a puncher's chance to turn the tide of the fight. Each round mirrored its predecessor, with the undefeated Jones demonstrating his superior ring skills in a merciless manner, the 20-6-1 Scottland showing if nothing else, his great will, pride, and heart. Unfortunately, the attributes displayed by Scottland can sometimes result in far more harm than good. An overmatched warrior subjects himself to considerable harm where a more cowardly nature will caution one to run away in order to fight another day.
Scottland's tenacity enabled him to have his best moments towards the end of the fight. By continuing to come forward in the face of Jones' barrages, Beethaeven managed to win the eighth and ninth rounds on the scorecards of all three judges. His chances at victory were quite obviously slim to none, but no one would dare say that this was due to lack of effort. Then in the tenth and final round with a scant 37 seconds left to fight, Jones caught Scottland flush with a vicious, short right. Scottland crumpled and dropped to the mat. By the time he reached a count of three, Mercante saw that there was no need to continue. The courageous Scottland would not be rising to finish on his feet.
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