This Saturday, the NYPD and FDNY are occupying (ha!) Madison Square Garden for a good cause. The NYPD Fighting Finest will fight the FDNY Bravest in the Battle of the Badges, a boxing match for charity. The boxing match is happening just a week after Veterans Day and benefits former soldiers. The proceeds will go to Long Island's Lt. James Byler, who lost both of his legs fighting in Afghanistan.
Joe Frazier's death on Monday from liver cancer was overshadowed by the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Wasn't that always the way with Joe? Something or somebody always seemed to steal his thunder. 
He was one of the greatest heavyweight champions who ever lived, losing fights only to Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Yet, he was perpetually in someone's shadow. Some sportswriters went so far as to refer to him as "a second banana." His great trainer, the late Eddie Futch -- the man whom Frazier never forgave for throwing in the towel in the 14th round of the Ali-Frazier Thrilla in Manilla -- once told me, "Remember this about Joe: he ain't no one's second banana."
On Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather stepped in and administered a lethal left-right combination to Victor Ortiz that produced the most stunning knockout of Mayweather's professional career. That he would have punched a guy who simply wanted to hug him seems to have offended millions of viewers around the world, including longtime HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
They can all go to hell.
Let me be clear, I'm not a Mayweather fan. I think he's an obnoxious, spoiled brat. But that has nothing to do with his actions in the ring Saturday night.
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President Obama will announce his proposal for a rewrite of the U.S. tax code Monday. The major change Obama plans to make will target the wealthiest 0.3% of the country. He is reportedly calling it the "Buffett Rule" after billionaire Warren Buffett's Op-Ed in the New York Times complaining that he receives tax breaks normal Americans do not. The Washington Post says it "will be the centerpiece of Obama's recommendations to a special congressional committee working to craft a bipartisan debt-reduction plan before Thanksgiving." [Washington Post]
If you've been wondering why Floyd Mayweather has, for the past two years, been unable to come to terms with Manny Pacquiao for a fight which could gross $100 million — or is that $150 million? — then take a look at this bit from HBO's pre-fight publicity series, Mayweather vs. Ortiz 24/7, as part of the buildup for his September 17 match with Victor Ortiz.
Ask yourself what a man who could be on the verge of the biggest payday in boxing history is doing sitting around with 50 Cent making frat boy humor.
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The NYPD arrested two of their own Monday for allegedly kicking and punching a Bronx teen last February 18 after issuing him a summons on East 181st Street, across the street from the 46th Precinct house. Officers Joseph Murphy, 26, and Jose Ocasio, 28, were charged with assault, official misconduct, and harassment, and the NYPD also suspended them.
NYPD boxer Jose Ocasio
The NYPD's announcement was terse, but the Voice has learned that there is a cop in the 46th Precinct named Jose Ocasio who is a member of the Fighting Finest, the NYPD's boxing team, which is set to travel to Budapest this fall. Team officials couldn't be reached for comment on whether this is the same cop.
WPIX/11 says the 17-year-old victim was beaten and kicked and suffered bruises and cuts to his head. So basically, the two cops allegedly stomped him.
In a new book, Boxing Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard reveals a long-held secret: that he was sexually abused as a young fighter by an Olympic boxing coach. He also mentions infidelity, cocaine, and alcohol abuse, and growing up in a home with afflicted with alcohol and domestic violence, the New York Times' Harvey Araton reports.
Have you seen a man in a panda costume getting punched and kicked in Brooklyn? Have you, perhaps, kicked and punched this very panda yourself? And did you enjoy it? The Wall Street Journal investigates. In other news, Friday often has the flavor of watermelon Jolly Ranchers.
via WSJ/Rob Bennett
WNYC has this rather awesome video of fifth-graders from P.S.41 in Greenwich Village reacting to heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali unexpectedly joining them in their classrooms for a taping of Candid Camera in 1974. In the skit, Ali sneaks into their class as a janitor and then strips down to his boxing shorts to surprise the kids while they're writing essays about what they'd say if they ever met him. (That stripping part, of course, would never fly these days.)
Some things go down in history because they're remarkable: Baby scales Mount Everest, by accident! Some things go down in history because of what they are, whether anyone cares or not: The third summit meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia is happening right now, as a matter of fact. More rarely, an event that's going into the history books by default finds itself blessed with some measure of remarkability. And those are the things that people actually remember.
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