Nightlife

(Bill Moore photos)

Mayor Eric Adams placed 10 red roses for the 10 murdered, in a vase

On Monday, May 16, 2022, Bethel Gospel Assembly - Destiny Worship Pavilion held a vigil for the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting. On Saturday, May 14, 2022, white supremacist terrorist Payton Gendron shot and murdered 10 Black people, and injured three more at Tops supermarket. At the interfaith memorial event there were speakers such as New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who wore a T-shirt remembering the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. There Dylann Roof, another white racist, gunned down nine churchgoers on June 17, 2015.

Other speakers were Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; great singer the Rev. Donnie McClurkin; and Mayor Eric Adams, who placed 10 red roses for the 10 dead in a vase.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams

Boxing glory undisputed

Wow, he said that, was what came to mind when I heard it two years ago. It was not that what he said was inconsequential it was just when he said it. There was a lot more things pressing to concern ourselves with, we kept it in the mental rolodex though and when life has a semblance of normalcy and levity is invited, we were gonna spin the block and address the situation. So, the quote was stated on the YouTube channel iFL TV, by a former-world-titlistturned-Showtime-boxing-analyst Paulie Malignaggi was asked by the journalist to respond to what was said by Devin Haney, a young boy, a talent on a quest for greatness who said he would never lose to a white boy.

“Boxing has had its course in history with certain demographics dominating more than others, right?” Malignaggi said in the video. “Maybe like 100 years ago, Irish fighters were better. And then the Jews and the Italians came in. The African American fighter became the most dominant in the sport in the ’70s, ’80s, and even ’90s, you know? It’s not great to have the race discussion because it’s going to coordinate division, I don’t know if Devin got the memo, it’s no longer the time of the African American anymore in boxing. It’s [the Eastern Europeans] that has become the dominant species in boxing. I think stating something like [Haney’s statement] that could be very dangerous.”

In boxing parlance this would be when the referee would step in to administer a standing eight count for the fighter to gather his faculties and decide if he wishes to continue. Paulie chose to keep his momentum when he quipped further, “I try not to join in the race conversations. This is one of the exact examples of why I don’t believe there is racial oppression in 2020 or in this century. I believe there has been, sure, but I don’t believe there is racial oppression today. I believe it’s all made up and I believe that it is exaggerated. This is exactly one of the reasons why. The fact that a Black fighter can say that and not pay any price financially. But if a white fighter said that about any Black fighters at all, he’d probably lose his TV contract and probably TV networks wouldn’t touch him, you know. I won’t tell you that it’s a double standard but I’ll tell you that it does prove that the entire whole hypothesis of racial oppression is exaggerated in this century, you know?”

Nahh Paulie, we didn’t know. Contrary the kid you were initially addressing, 23-year-old, WBC Lightweight Champion Devin “The Dream” Haney is on a crash course with history as he clashes with George Kambosos Jr., in a match billed as Fight for Undisputed, WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight champion, held by Kambosos Jr. The bout is set for June 5, 2022, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with the winner set to become the first undisputed lightweight champion since the late great Pernell Whitaker in 1990, and the first in the four-belt era. If he pulls this off, he will join the company of Jermell Charlo who managed the feat this past Saturday. A well-timed left hook to the temple floored WBO light middleweight Brian Castano before a left to the body by Charlo ended matters in a thrilling nip and tuck battle to become undisputed 154-pound champion Saturday in Carson, California. “I made history tonight. Nobody has ever been the Undisputed Champion at 154, plus I’m African American. I represent my people!” Charlo stated emphatically at the post fight press conference.

Ohh, there’s one more, Errol Spence stamped his ticket in history when he concluded three fourths of the Welterweight edition of Strap Season when he knocked out Yordenis Ugas for his WBA Welterweight crown. The one title that eludes him sets up the biggest fight in boxing with WBO Welterweight champion Terrence Crawford with the winner reigning supreme as the UNDISPUTED CHAMPION.

With Jaron Ennis and Shakur Stevenson on deck for dominance I might start to think we still got hands!

Over and out. Holla next week. Til then, enjoy the nightlife.