Boxing Atlanta

FanHouse's Ryan Wilson noted today that letters were written to Judge Henry Hudson on behalf of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick by, among others, George Foreman.

But let's dig into some of the details of Foreman's letter, which can be read as a PDF on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution web site. Specifically, check out the way Foreman opens his letter:

Dear Judge Hudson:

I'm a fulltime minister at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston, Texas, former two-time Heavyweight Champion of the world, and known all over the world as the king of the grills because of the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine.

Seriously, George? You feel the need to tell the judge about your grill?

The rest of the brief letter is actually an interesting account of Foreman's youth, and although I doubt it had any bearing on Hudson's sentencing decision, it's worth reading for boxing fans who are interested in Foreman's early life. But I just think maybe Foreman didn't need to make a plug for his grill there. Seems like not quite the right time for it. Sorry, No Photos

When it comes to Michael Vick, boxer Roy Jones takes the Stephon Marbury approach.

On an ESPN Radio interview this morning, Jones reiterated his previous comments that he doesn't see what the big deal is with Vick, the Falcons quarterback who will plead guilty next week to federal conspiracy charges related to the dog fighting ring he operated.

"I don't understand why they're making it such a big issue," Jones said. "Do you have to take it that far? ... He ain't murdered nobody. ... Let's move on."

Jones has made similar comments in the past about how he doesn't get why people are so upset about what Vick did. But if he doesn't think what Vick did is wrong, is he lobbying his Congressman to repeal the laws Vick violated? And if Jones thinks Vick did nothing wrong, does he therefore think Vick was lying when he released a statement, through his lawyer, in which he said he was sorry? If Vick did nothing wrong, he has nothing to be sorry for, and he's therefore a liar and a hypocrite for allowing his lawyer to release an apology under his name.

Jones also said, "I'd really hate to see his whole career get ruined over a mistake he made."

I hate to see his career get ruined, too, but I wouldn't call what Vick has done "a mistake." I'd call it devoting a large portion of his adult life to financing an illegal enterprise. The Virginia property where the pit bulls from the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting ring were housed was one of the first big purchases Vick made after he got his first big professional paycheck. For as long as Vick has been a professional athlete, he's devoted the money he earned to financing a criminal operation. As King Kaufman wrote at Salon.com, what Vick did wasn't a mistake. It was a way of life.

Previously on FanHouse:
Roy Jones Defends Michael Vick

After the Michael Vick indictment, we can expect to see a lot of public service announcements in which athletes speak out against dog fighting and animal cruelty. Boxer Lamon Brewster is first up:


The NFL is desperate not to allow Vick to taint the entire league, and as a result, I can guarantee that we'll see a lot of NFL players making similar PSAs.

Boxer Roy Jones Jr. knows what it's like to be criticized for being involved in animal fighting. Jones has, in the past, been tied to cockfighting, but he now says he raises chickens just because he likes them, not because he wants to see them fight.

So Jones was a logical person to ask about the allegations that Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is involved in dog fighting, and Robert Cassidy of Newsday did just that:

People tend to talk so hard against people. They make it such a bad thing, like dog fighting is worse than killing someone. I'm not a dog fighter. I've never been to a dog fight. But just because they have the animals doesn't mean they are fighting the animals. Michael Vick doesn't have that kind of time to train and raise dogs... I like bulldogs and I like their mentally. They are making this so bad, but really two dogs fighting can happen in anyone's backyard or on the street. It happened in my backyard, two of my dogs fought and one died.

Three follow-ups I wish Cassidy had asked Jones:
1. Can you name even one person who has said dog fighting is worse than killing someone, or even said anything like that?
2. How do you know Vick's schedule so well that you can be certain that Vick doesn't have time to raise dogs?
3. Do you really think what happened in your backyard is the same as organizing events in which two dogs are forced to fight each other to the death?

Evander Holyfield was one of the athletes whose names appeared among the list of customers of a pharmacy that was busted for distributing performance-enhancing drugs. Now Holyfield admits to taking a drug from the pharmacy, but says it was for a "hormonal problem" and that he took it only briefly. And he says he never used steroids but was encouraged to do so in the 1980s and told Mike Tyson was doing it.

"Somebody high up in boxing mentioned to me that there was this other fighter who did steroids and I should too because it wasn't illegal in boxing yet," he said. "I said, 'I'm not going to do that. I ain't no cheater.' I was the undisputed cruiserweight champion and I was in the Olympics. If I started taking steroids, people would say, 'He cheated at everything.' But this guy told me, 'Well, [Mike] Tyson is doing it, you should, too. I said, 'I don't care if Tyson is doing it, I'm not.' "

Holyfield said he is not accusing Tyson of taking steroids; he was just relating the story. He also declined to say who addressed the subject with him, adding, "The person is still in boxing. People sue people. I don't need to get into that.

As I've said before, I've always been a Holyfield fan, but I don't think there's much doubt that Holyfield used steroids. The human body just doesn't change in adulthood the way Holyfield's changed from the time he was a cruiserweight to the time he was a heavyweight. Tyson's body looks like that of a steroid user, too, although Tyson was a freak of nature as a teenager, not a guy who kept getting bigger like Holyfield or Barry Bonds. I think Max Kellerman is probably about right in his estimate of how many heavyweights are using steroids.