11.09.07 – By Ted Sares: Controversy and Inconsistency – You have to love Emanuel Augustus! …and I always have. He makes no excuses for his losses, even when he is robbed in plain sight as he was in Michigan against Courtney Burton in July 2004 where he was inexplicitly penalized one point for spinning himself out of a clinch. Or when controversial referee Laurence Cole disqualified him in a fight against hometown fighter Tomas Barrientes in a boxing fight in Texas (of course) in which Augustus was ahead at the time of DQ..
He also was DQd in Germany when he fought tough Englishman Stephen Smith. These were gut churners. Tellingly, he also has six draws on his slate. Most could easily have gone in his favor.
One was against Texan Arturo Ramos in Texas (where else) and one was against Dane Soren “Mr. Perfect” Sondergaard (in Denmark).
Now at 35-29-6, I believe I could make a reasonable case for a far more accurate record but to what avail. It is what it is.
Now there is something special about Emanuel that makes people embrace him. Maybe it has to do with his being so hard core, having fought incredibly tough opposition and usually on his opponent’s home turf. Perhaps it’s because the mainstream and politically correct element of boxing doesn’t seem to much care for him (as demonstrated by some pretty terrible decisions that have gone against him). Or maybe it’s simply because he his own man. Whatever the reason, the fans want him to succeed.
When this quintessential road warrior is on, he is nothing less than super entertaining; when he is off, as he was against tough Kid Diamond (Almazbek Raiymkulov), he is something far less. And that’s the rub. His career has been marked by short streaks of wins ands short streak of losses. Inconsistency has marked his career from the get-go.
Case in point, He beat Marteze Logan and avenged his “loss” to Burton by icing him in brutal fashion. Poised to once again step up, he suffered an uncharacteristic beat down at the hands of Kid.Diamond in January 2007 in a fight he took on short notice.
This past April, he beat Logan again, and then, road warrior that he is, traveled to Russia and lost to tough Sergey Sorokin, 26-1 on August 31. The scores were 109-119, 110-118 and 109-119. The Russian’s only loss has been at the hands of Juan Urango in a close 6 rounder.
Tough opposition
Sorokin is typical of the kind of boxers Augustus is willing to fight. He fought Carlos Wilfredo Vilches, Leavander Johnson, Omar Gabriel Weis, Michael Warrick, Kelson Pinto and David Diaz in just one stretch between 2002 and 2004. Fighting Micky Ward and Leonard Dorin back to back as he did in 2001 will take it toll. Throw in Herman Ngoudjo, Alex Trujillo, Antonio Diaz, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Teddy Reid, John John Molina, Soren “Mr. Perfect” Sondergaard, Diosbelys Hurtado, David Toledo, Ivan Robinson, Pete Taliaferro, Lupe Miranda, and you have the ingredients for one of the toughest list of opponents imaginable.
In 1999, he was KOd by undefeated Dane Allan Vester in Aarhus, Denmark in the twelfth round (one of the few times he has been stopped in his long career). A month later, he met undefeated Terrell Finger, 21-0-1, at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and in typical roller coaster fashion, iced Finger in the eighth. Prior to the Vester loss, he had gone ten without a defeat. And prior to that, he had lost four in a row. That’s inconsistency!
Along the way, he has given us thrills and chills. From his gutsy performance against Pretty Boy Floyd to his 2001 Fight of the Year with Micky Ward to the uncommon sportsmanship displayed when he fought Ray “Sucra” Oliveira. His redemptive KO against Courtney Burton was sweet and his TKO over the heavily favored Vilches was perhaps his career best if not pleasantly shocking. As well, his draw with future champion Leavander Johnson showcased his technical skills. But as I wrote last year, all good things must come to an end.
Time is running out
Its gut check time and Augustus must once again suck it up and win; at this point, he simply cannot afford losing two in a row. He has fought in well over 500 rounds and has had 70 fights. That’s too many when you fight like he fights.
Father Time now lurks, and he is not much concerned with the melodramatic or such things as dignity and happy endings. Maybe he will fight one or two more times and go out a winner. Let’s hope so. He deserves nothing less.