Matthysse Dominates Peterson, called “Next Manny Pacquiao”

Via Sports Illustrated

Lucas Matthysse became the brightest star in the Jr. welterweight (140 pound) division on Saturday night, knocking out the talented Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KOs) in just three rounds.

After a honeymoon first round, Matthysse stepped on the gas to score a knockdown with a fierce left hook in the second round. While Peterson was up and fighting in the third, the Argentine landed a compact, devastating left hook to Peterson’s chin, flattening him out on the canvas. Peterson tumbled on the floor and propped himself back up to beat the ten count—clearly dazed—only to be sent to the canvas within seconds from yet another left hook.

Matthysse is now 34-2, with 32 victories coming by way of knockout. His KO percentage alone makes him the most fearsome 140-pounder in boxing right now, and potentially the most marketable. While no belt was on the line, it was a closely watched fight, with current The Ring Magazine 140 pound champ Danny Garcia in attendance.

The victory has earned him comparisons to Manny Pacquiao, who also savagely fought his way to stardom in wars with Erik Morrales and Juan Manuel Lopez, eventually winning lopsided victories over stars Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya. While the initial comparison came from Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer, a professional hype man, many writers can’t help but see the resemblance, including ESPN’s Dan Rafael and Bleacher Report’s Matt Fitzgerald. Both fighters have power in each hand, are offensive minded, and can even look a bit sloppy or undisciplined when they fight. And like a younger Pacquiao, Matthysse seems to function at an elite athletic level that makes up for his vulnerabilities.

While a string of dominant victories are certainly in his future, it’s also possible for Matthysse to rise to a similar level of commercial success, as Pacquiao broke cultural and language barriers to become the most popular boxer around.

Accordng to Chris Mannix, Matthysse would rather fight Pac-Man than hear the comparisons:

Matthysse says he is happy people are comparing him to @mannypacquiao, but what he really wants is to fight him.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) May 19, 2013

Pacquiao (54-5-2) may be on the decline after being knocked out by longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth match, but he’s still in Matthysse’s weight range, scheduled to fight Junior Welterweight Brandon Rios. Should Pacquiao beat the young slugger (coming off a loss in his exciting rematch with Mike Alvarado) he’ll have his choice of opponents in the 140- to 154-pound range.

Lucas Matthysse will be watching Pacquiao’s career, and his spotlight, closely.

A Response to “A Struggle of Not Struggling”

I didn’t even know this existed ’til today.

Huffington Post College recently ran an article by Taylor Cotter called “A Struggle of Not Struggling.” In it, Cotter defines herself as one of the few 22 year olds who already has a stable job, an apartment, car and 401K. That’s great news for English majors around the country—if you gain experience with internships, student leadership and part-time jobs during your college years like Cotter did, you’ll be successful after graduation. As a freelancer, I both envy and admire her success.

However, Cotter decides to twist quarter-life success into a quarter-life crisis:

But what about that 10-cents-a-word life that I always wanted? What about New York City? What about freelancing, penning newspaper columns and urban adventures? What about the struggles that I see on Girls and the tales of credit card debt and ramen noodle dinners? Aren’t these the things that really make you 22?

I can understand her sentiments a little bit; success can be uncomfortable around the less-fortunate.

As a kid, my family was middle-class living in a poor city. I had it better than most friends and classmates growing up, especially in grammar school. I was also a good student—I could never relate to complaints about bad grades and hard tests when I took home A’s and B’s. I was never comfortable with this and wouldn’t raise my hand enough and tried to use more slang. When I went to a private high school I adopted baggy clothes in an awkward attempt to look more “street” and further separate myself from the rich kids (which was unnecessary for reasons both cultural and financial).

Eventually I realized I was an idiot and then appreciated my gifts. I advise Cotter to do the same.

This post would end there, but I have to address Cotter’s conflicting attitude. Three paragraphs before romanticizing 10-cents-a-word articles and ramen noodles, she writes:

When I started college, I figured out that the 10-cents-a-word life wasn’t really going to pay apartment rents and student loans that were plaguing my future. I saw job prospects decline drastically over my first year of college and professors discourage students from pursuing careers in journalism. After years and years of being told it was the ultimate way to achieve my dreams, I realized that pursuing a volatile degree from private university was possibly one of the worst decisions I could have made.

Many in the Twitterverse have lashed out at Cotter, saying she’s “lamenting success” or “wants to struggle.” Cotter defends herself, tweeting “I don’t think I said I wanted to suffer – I just wanted to pursue my dream.”

The thing is, Cotter never really defines this “dream” of the hard life in her article. Just a dream of adventure, which everyone has growing up. As soon as she realized adventure didn’t pay bills, she willingly abandoned it.

Maybe Cotter is saying she never wanted to be a “suit” or “boring adult”—she wanted to be a starving artist, at least for a little while. But  the fact she went to lengths to avoid this life—and lamenting over this supposed loss is rather condescending to those living in hard times, like a rich politician calling struggling factory workers “the real heroes.”

But I understand the apprehension to enter the freelance field. Writers aren’t paid well and you have to look out for those damn content farms. You find a steady, well-paying gig, you keep it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to make it. I’m happy with the direction my freelance career seems to be headed, despite the slow start.

And a personal note to Ms. Cotter, from struggling-22-year-old writer to successful-22-year-old writer, I say this: go for it. Write as much as you can when you’re not working. Early success isn’t a dead end; it’s evidence you can find achieve more.

What I’ve Been Up To

The site’s been quiet for a while, but with good reason.

I’ve been busy at Dig Boston (aka Boston’s Weekly Dig). Check out the articles I’ve written, specifically those regarding the MBTA hearings or my surprisingly popular piece on Occupy Lent.

Balancing a busy internship with senior year of college means me being too lazy to blog. No big deal I’m sure, because I probably only have one loyal follower/stalker anyways.

I’ve also gotten some creative writing published so be sure to click the links and read!

“Crossing the River” is about a boy who wants to prove he’s as tough as his badass big brother. It was published in Issue 10 of the online journal Imitation Fruit.

“It’s Complicated” is an essay about ethnicity and perception of self and others. It was published by online journal Solstice Magazine.

I look forward to writing a lot more in the future and hope to get more readers who for some reason care about what I have to say. Stay tuned!

Uncharted 3: Almost Perfect

It may seem unlikely, but the desert is one of the most beautiful and impressive set pieces in the Uncharted series.

Uncharted 3 is an awesome interactive experience. The graphics are superb, the gameplay is fun, and the cutscenes amazing.

The game is a fine piece of storytelling, at times feeling like an interactive movie – and that’s a good thing. You’ll escape the crumbling roof of a burning cathedral, scale abandoned ships during shootouts with pirates and crawl through a sprawling desert, each moment trying to be more epic than the last.

At only about 10 hours, the game is much shorter than it’s predecessor, but that’s not a bad thing. It never feels like it’s dragging on too long and it’s truly some of the most enthralling ten hours in gaming.

The story is great and the voice acting is top-notch. Drake undergoes a bit more character development in this story, including an awesome flashback to his early teen years and some tension between him and Sully. There’s even a few trippy moments towards the end, something different and very welcome in the series.

London, the French jungle, the ocean, the desert - no matter where Drake goes, people want to kill him.

Multiplayer is also back and as fun as ever, with more customization and bigger maps. It’s no Halo or Gears of War, but it’s not trying to be; it’s pure, simple fun. Customizing your character and guns, leveling up, the constant rewards and a few different game modes will keep you hooked for hours at a time. (Yes, needing a online pass blows, but that’s a much bigger discussion.)

Unfortunately, the game is held back a bit by it’s shooting mechanics. I still don’t understand why headshots don’t count with most guns, something that should have been corrected at this point in the series. And while the stealth missions aren’t as annoying, they still feel unnecessarily difficult and somewhat clumsy.

That the said, the best gun fights in the game don’t take place in the closed rooms you’re forced into, but the active, moving battles that have you running and climbing while baddies try to take you out. There’s even an epic battle on horseback, worthy of any summer blockbuster and the final boss fight this time around is much better than the last game’s.

After you’ve beaten the game and some time has passed, you may feel Uncharted 2 is still the (slightly) better game. But once you’re sucked into Uncharted 3, you’ll never notice.

Marquez robbed, Pacquiao still champ

Marquez countered Pacquiao with great timing all night.

I started the night thinking Juan Manuel Marquez didn’t have a chance. I finished the night believing he was robbed.

Marquez was absolutely brilliant in last night’s fight against Manny Pacquiao. He avoided and countered Pacquiao’s punches to the point the champ was completely frustrated by the eighth round. He even seemed to be the more powerful of the two and certainly had the better timing.

Marquez proved why he’s still one of the best boxers at age 38, while Pacquiao turned in a performance that was less-than-worthy of the pound for pound champ. Pacman kept the fight competitive, a charging bull throughout the fight, but Marquez played the role of matador perfectly, his counter punches giving him an edge every round.

When the fight ended, most believed Marquez had finally beaten Pacquiao. Then the judges’ scores were announced.

One judge somehow had it 16-112 for Pacquiao, another  115-113 for Pacman, and the third had it an even 114-114.

Compare this to the crowd’s cheers for Marquez, overwhelming boos at the decision and, according to The Ring’s website, the fact many “ringside observers saw Marquez winning 116-112 and as much as 117-112.”

It wasn’t necessarily a corrupt decision – in fact, that’s a very inflammatory and reactionary statement to make. But it could be a sign that Pacquiao’s celebrity, once the sport’s greatest asset, has become something negative, a force that blinds judges, making them side with the star and not the winner.

Marquez, understandably frustrated, is now considering retirement after what should have been the highlight of his career. Unless a fourth fight is made, he will never have officially beaten his rival. But at least he gave fight fans one of the greatest trilogies in recent history.

Pacquiao-Marquez prediction

Manny Pacquiao will win tonight.

Yes, Juan Manuel Marquez may be the more skilled of the two, and certainly the more experienced, but Pacman’s grown a  lot since their last fight – in terms of size and skill. This is important.

Pacquiao’s managed to move up in weight and keep his athleticism, speed and power. Furthermore, he’s a much better fighter since he last saw Marquez. It was close fight that many (myself included) thought JMM won, and fans wanted a rematch immediately.

It didn’t happen. Over three years have passed and since then Pacquiao’s become the current pound for pound champ (rating may change after midnight). Marquez has stayed within the top five for the most part, with two great victories over Juan Diaz and one over Michael Katsidis, both much younger than Dinamita, but his loss to Floyd Mayweather at welterweight was telling.

Marquez didn’t carry the weight well, and while he’ll be fighting above 140 again, he promises things will be different this fight.

If that’s true, this fight may turn out to be competitive. Marquez certainly knows how to fight Pacquiao after two extremely close fights and his age hasn’t shown as much as one would expect.

But like Mayweather , Pacquiao will be the bigger and faster man in the ring, and that’s a bad combination for Marquez.

Knockout predictions are bold statements, but I’m making a very safe one here: Pacquaio by KO in round 10.

I’ll know if I’m wrong soon enough.

Bossypants Review

This cover kills me.

Tina Fey is one of my heroes as a writer. She’s funny, smart, and I’ve been a fan since her Saturday Night Live days. So I was excited to read her new book Bossypants.

The book isn’t exactly an autobiography or memoir; it’s too light and breezy for one. It’s also hilarious and hard to put down. The chapters are quick, interesting and funny, and some fast readers could probably finish it in a day.

Fey has plenty to write about, especially when it comes to show business, but she never flings dirt or reveals secrets. It’s not a book of gossip, just good stories.

While Fey touches on topics like marriage, motherhood, gender equality and politics, she never delves particularly deep into these. It’s not a bad thing, as it keeps the book moving at a quick pace, but it would be nice to see a bit more weight when it comes to these subjects.

My biggest complaint is that it’s too short. I wanted to read more about her time at SNL or 30 Rock besides the fact she’d write until 3 in the morning.

Fey’s full of stories, so hopefully this won’t be her last book. Even if it is, it’s a must-read for any of her fans or anyone who wants a good laugh.

Soma and Video Games

In Brave New World, soma is a pill that satiates the masses.

Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World is often best remembered for showing the dark side of genetic engineering. What seems to get less publicity is the novel’s study of rigid socialization and using pleasure to control the masses. The latter is what interests me as a gamer.

In the novel, the hallucinogenic drug soma is distrubeted to all citizens by the government. The drug takes users on a vacation without ever having to leave their rooms. If reality’s hard, they can take soma and enjoy a week at the nicest hotels in the sunniest locations, and still show up to work the next day. It’s more than a recreational drug; it’s a literal opiate of the masses.

Now, I’m not suggesting that video games will come to become a government tool to suppress dissidence and promote mindlessness. But I am suggesting that can become an eerily similar escape, one that people may turn to rather than take action or initiative. I’m also not the first to notice this connection. It’s one of the reasons video game company Soma chose it’s name.

Video games are constantly evolving. Graphics constantly improve and become more realistic. Story-telling is improving, unfortunately not as fast as the visuals, but enough to add another layer past the graphics to emerge you further. The scope of games is also much bigger; open-world games are more common than ever, and if the graphics and story are excellent you will find yourself emerged in a huge world full of possibilities, drama and rewards.

First, we need to establish that most video games are designed to be addictive (Yeah, it’s from Cracked. So?). They draw on the model of the Skinner box, making games that behaviorally condition gamers, getting them used tot he fact that certain conditions need to be met for their rewards. And people love these virtual rewards. It’s most readily seen in MMORPGs and psychologists have confirmed video game addiction is real.

Think about how addicting games are now, and how much escape they provide. Technology may soon evolve to the point where they provide virtual fantasies on the same level of Huxley’s soma. Again, I’m not suggesting games will be used for sinister, authoritarian purposes, but imagine video game addiction on a larger scale, as common as nicotine or alcohol addiction. More families torn apart and more dreams and lives ruined by video games. Fewer people taking the initiative to improve their lives and more people complacently going home and gaming.

Lantigua’s Campaign Against Recall Is Getting Ugly

Time to recall Mayor Lantigua.

Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua is employing an ugly tactic to fight the recall effort: he’s turning the Latino community against itself. The mayor’s already alienated non-Hispanic citizens, as all recent ads against the recall effort are in Spanish.

Not satisfied with making this a “Latinos versus others” issue, he (or at least his supporters) decided to turn Dominicans against Puerto Ricans, an old rivalry Lawrence really should’ve outgrown by now.

Details can be found in this Eagle Tribune article, which comments on the recall movement (It’s Your Right), Lantigua’s ads, and other related tension. The article explains that a Dominican website (translated in the article) blames Puerto Ricans who wanted Isabel Melendez as mayor are heading the movement. In all actuality, the core group is made up of three Dominicans, three Puerto Ricans and an Anglo.

The group needs to collect 5,232 signatures by August 8, and a fair number of those will come from Dominicans like Johnny Castillo.

“Lawrence is an immigrant city and we come to Lawrence to get a better future,” says Castillo. “As a Dominican, I’m proud of my heritage and because of that, it’s discouraging to see what (Lantigua) has done and how he has embarrassed us.”

It’s terrible that Lantigua would tear apart the united Latino base that helped elect him to remain in power. He’s disillusioned many, and betrayed all that Isabel Melendez has worked for, setting the Hispanic community back with his corruption and incompetence.

If you’ve seen my earlier posts, you may have guessed I’m not Lantigua’s biggest fan. I oppose him as a Lawrence citizen and a Latino. He’s shown no interest in the city, which has been struggling since the industrial decline of the 1950s. He’s turned his back on the Latino’s who have been through a lot since coming here, including riots and being unfairly blamed for the city’s urban crisis.

Lantigua has disgraced this city, my home, and should resign before things get worse.

Batman and Robin: Batman vs. Robin Review

Batman and Robin, bonding.

The next installment of Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin series sees the duo trying to revive Bruce Wayne and fighting a bat-worshiping cult.

The story starts with Dick Grayson, the new Batman, searching for a Lazarus Pit in London. Assisting him are Knight and Squire, England’s equivalent of Batman and Robin, and, later, Batwoman. They discover it after facing off against eccentric British gangsters who are also mining for it.

They throw what they believe is Bruce’s body into the Lazarus Pit, but instead of resurrecting Batman they reanimate an insane clone created by Darkseid. This results in a good Batman versus Batman fight scene, but the clone manages to escape, steal the Batwing, and make it to Gotham.

Damian Wayne, the new Robin, was left paralyzed at the end of Batman Reborn. His mother, Talia, managed to get a new spine created for him, but he’s stuck in a wheelchair for the time being. The Bat-clone finds him alone in Wayne manor and hurls him off a roof. Luckily, Batman shows up (via suborbital, of course) and manages to defeat the clone.

Dick realizes this means Tim Drake, the last Robin, was right about Bruce: he’s not dead, but trapped in the past. Batman and Robin, now fully-recovered, search for clues in the caves beneath Wayne Manor.

Soon Robin begins to lose control of his body and attacks Batman. It turns out his new spine has some weird, comic book technology that lets his mother control him remotely. I’ll stop discussing the plot here to avoid more spoilers, but a bat-crazed cult, Oberon Sexton, and Deathstroke also show up.

Dick Grayson (right) fights a crazed Bruce Wayne clone (left)

The art in the first half of the book is a more cartoony than the last collection, but it’s also clearer and better-looking. I prefer it to the art in the second half, which emulates the grainy style from the last book and isn’t as nice.

The collection ends on an unfulfilling cliffhanger and the British villains aren’t as good as the last collection’s, but its still a good follow-up.

I like the direction the story is taking, but it seems Morrison’s rushing to bring Bruce Wayne back before Dick can really shine. I like his run as Batman and Damian’s more likable this time around.

It’s good to see Batman doing detective work and Robin developing as a character. I wouldn’t say Dick and Damian are bonding, but they are growing on each other, and that’s another positive. Morrison is easily two for two with this run of Batman collections.