AROTO on PPV

By Bernie McCoy

The only movie I ever paid to watch more than once was "Cool Hand Luke," the 1967 "loner against the system" film starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy. The second time I saw it, I already knew that "Luke" was going to get it at the end, shot dead by the "man with no eyes" (Morgan Woodward) and that "Dragline" (Kennedy) would exact a revenge, of sorts. Despite that, I enjoyed the repeat because of the performers: Harry Dean Stanton, Strother Martin ("what we have ' heah ' is a failure to communicate"), Dennis Hopper and the wonderful, venerable actress, Jo Van Fleet.

Last Friday night, I plunked down some money, electronically of course, to watch the IN Demand PPV telecast of Rock and Sock Production's "A Ring of Their Own" female boxing card which had been staged "live" on November 4 in Edmonton , Alberta , Canada . I already knew how the bouts had gone, but I still enjoyed the PPV telecast because of the performers: six very good women boxers: Ann Marie Saccurato, Jelena Mrdjenovich, Melissa Hernandez, Lisa Brown, Jeannine Garside and the wonderful, venerable fighter, Laura Serrano. I knew, before the telecast, that Saccurato, Hernandez and Garside had come out as winners, but over two hours, I was once again reminded that, at it's essence, boxing is all about the boxers.

The fact that the bouts were not broadcast "live" might be considered a drawback in attracting viewers, since the majority of potential customers, fans of Women's boxing, already know the results. This is overcome, to a large degree, by the opportunity, for those same fans, to watch each of these three ten round bouts in their entirety.

From a production standpoint, however, if this delayed broadcast format is to continue, the producers should give thought to excising a large portion of the between round "action". It's a fact that two fighters sitting on their stools, in between rounds, does not qualify as "must see TV." Since the program is taped, there is ample opportunity for editing some of this less than compelling "action". Currently the production choice is to fill the one minute time periods with "highlights" of the previous round, which, at times, can be a bit tedious if, indeed, there are no particular "highlights" (big punches, knockdowns etc.) to show. And as every fight fan knows, not every round is loaded with highlights. Thus, if action in a previous round does not warrant an re-showing, going right to the next round would make for a faster moving telecast. In my most unofficial of estimates, I thought that close to half the between-round "action" from the telecast might benefit from landing on the cutting room floor.

The in-round action is an entirely different case; the three bouts made for an excellent night at the fights. The viewer is treated to the speed of a Melissa Hernandez, the true grit of a Lisa Brown, the punching power of a Jeannine Garside, the courage of a Laura Serrano and the fierce competitiveness of both Ann Marie Saccurato and Jelena Mrdjenovich. Hernandez seemed, to me, to control the first bout even as Brown had her moments over the ten rounds. I made it Hernandez six rounds to four, maybe even seven to three. The second bout was all Jeannine Garside, all the time. She dominated from bell to bell, scoring two knockdowns and had Serrano on the verge of a stoppage several times during the bout. Indeed, it could be argued, as the announcer did, that the bout should have been halted, but, throughout, it was clear that Serrano, one of the pathfinders of the sport of Women's boxing, was determined to walk back to her corner after the final bell, and she did. It was subsequently confirmed that Serrano was. also walking, proudly, away from an outstanding career in the ring. The main event was the least artistic bout of the night, due primarily to the styles of the boxers. Ann Marie Saccurato is a bore-in, straight ahead fighter, while Jelena Mrdjenovich prefers mid-ring action to provide punching room for her lethal left hooks. The fight did not make for an aesthetically pleasing ten rounds as there was an abundance of clinching, clutching and rabbit punching as both fighters hit the ring mat several times during the bout, losing their balance during their frequent clinches. While the fighters' styles contributed to this circumstance, the main culprit was the referee, Len Koivisto, who never took or had control of the bout. That said, Saccurato and Mrdjenovich provided ten rounds of sheer will-to-win determination. It was a contentious fight from the bell to bell and the unadorned desire to win that both fighters sustained for twenty minutes was, in it's own way, the highlight of the night. That the judges awarded Saccurato a very close, yet deserved, win over the hometown favorite, Mrdjenovich, is testament to the fairness of the ringside officials in Edmonton  and a welcome antidote to the referee.

The overall visual production value of the show, as it comes across on the TV screen, is superior. The camera provides close frames of the ring action and when and where there are highlights worthy of repeat, these are shown in excellent "slo-mo" detail. The announcing team, Arnie Rosenthal, cofounder of  "A Ring of Their Own" and a veteran boxing announcer, is paired with Jill Emery, an unbeaten New York welterweight, making her debut as a color commentator on "A Ring of Their Own."  While both Rosenthal and Emery do more than credible jobs behind the mic, their best attribute, by far, is that they thoroughly understand the sport of Women's boxing: Rosenthal as a manager and announcer, Emery as a boxer, and they both have the ability to transmit their knowledge in concise terms that do nothing to overshadow with the action in the ring.

Jill Emery is, in my view, the best that Rock and Sock has had in the ringside commentary spot, by a considerable margin. She doesn't waste words for the sake of simply filling airtime, but, when she talks, it's a good idea to listen. Emery noted early in the second bout that Garside's power would eventually be a telling factor, despite the early success that Serrano had in slipping punches; she noted, in the first bout, referring to Melissa Hernandez, that "a good punch often wakes you up" and later noted that Hernandez, who had been standing between rounds, couldn't "afford" to sit down between the latter rounds as that might be taken as an indication that she was getting tired and provide an incentive for her opponent. Emery, who fought Saccurato three times in amateur competition, was also prescient in noting that Saccurato was far more comfortable in a brawling type bout, a technique that the boxer applied effectively as the fight with Mrdjenovich continued. Emery, likewise, felt entirely comfortable in disagreeing with Rosenthal as to how the first bout was progressing. Arnie had Lisa Brown winning, while Jill, correctly, maintained that Hernandez was in control.

Emery also conducted the post fight interviews, with increasingly better results as the night progressed. After the first bout, the interview with Melissa Hernandez bordered on the incomprehensible, as the fighter seemed more intent on celebrating in the ring than answering questions. Following the second bout, an equally exultant Jeannine Garside seemed to be going in the same celebratory direction, until Emery gained control of the conversation and elicited some interesting observations from Garside about the bout along with some gracious comments about the courage of Laura Serrano. Emery saved her best interviewing technique for the final bout when she got both Ann Marie Saccurato and Jelena Mrdjenovich together for a dual interview. Both fighters were mutually complimentary of the other and Mrdjenovich spoke convincingly of the necessity for the sport of Women's boxing to continue to promote bouts that match the best fighters with each other. It was the longest interview of the night and, appropriately, the best non-boxing segment of the telecast.

Around the time "A Ring of Their Own" was being launched by Arnie Rosenthal and Ken Weiss and their Rock and Sock Productions, almost two years ago, I asked Rosenthal whether he would take a spot behind the mic. Arnie replied that he probably wouldn't because, "I'm too close to the event." After about a year of watching from the background, Rosenthal decided to sit at ringside and do what he does well, describe boxing matches. It's a step up in the announcing talent for "A Ring of Their Own," since Rosenthal's long experience, both in the sport and behind a mic, results in a style of describing the ring action that misses nothing important while coloring the action with most of the incidental background details. It's a style that puts Arnie Rosenthal in any discussion of "best boxing announcers."

However, given Rosenthal's management position with Rock and Sock it might be prudent if, in the future, Arnie stipulated to that association on the air and at the same time made transparent any out-of-the-ring marketing relationships that Rock and Sock may have with any fighters competing on "A Ring of Their Own" programs. It's a journalistic tenet known as  "full disclosure" and it's an element that every good journalist integrates into his or her coverage of an event, either on the air or in print.

The PPV telecast on In Demand TV will continue, at least, throughout the month and I'd recommend it to any fan of the sport of Women's boxing, if only for the most obvious of reasons; there continues to be a dearth of compelling female boxing bouts on the air and the three bouts that took place in Edmonton and that are featured on this PPV telecast are, each in their own way, compelling bouts. It's like a good movie, even when you know the ending, it's worth watching good performers do what they do best.

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