Getting your motivation on.

Pawel Wolak v. Delvin Rodriguez, Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images

I’m often the first to complain about the mamby-pamby state of so-called “elite” boxing lately especially on PPV, HBO and Showtime … but I’ll also give credit we’re it’s due and must give a huge shout-out to Pawel “Raging bull” Wolak (29-1, 19 KO’s) and Delvin Rodriguez (25-5-2, 14 KO’s) for the gutsy, end-to-end display of superlative boxing skills, motivation and heart they showed last night in their ten-round “barn-burner” as the Main Event broadcast on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.

To quote my young one, OMG!  Wolak was a mac-truck that wouldn’t stop coming and Rodriguez, having come off a self-imposed year + out of the ring, eased into the fight with poise, toughness and an agility that allowed him to fight a taller man’s tactics by gaining the distance he needed to land his very effective and repeated rights that eventuated in Wolak’s cro-magnum sized brow by the seventh round of the bout.

The fight was called a majority draw with one judge scoring it 97-93 Rodriguez and the other two 95-95. Rodriguez no doubt will feel a bit robbed as in my scoring, he had the slightest edge, but in terms of the fight itself — much as I’ve written before about the first meeting of Jackie Nava and Ana Maria Torres — the draw is also very satisfying because when both boxers put their hearts and souls into it we all win. Yes, we love the notion of titles and champions and have a gazillion belts out their to honor our winners, at the end of it, the timelessness of the sport of boxing wins when fighters are well-matched, referees smart and intelligent, judges honest and the fans 100% behind both fighters from start to finish.

Another step in the right direction for the sport of boxing — men’s and women’s — was the New Jersey Boxing Commission’s decision to suspend all three judges over the controversal scoring in last week’s Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara fight which had two judges scoring the win for Williams who so obviously lost the bout, and one judge scoring it a draw.  This is a tremendous win for boxing — as men’s and women’s efforts are misjudged with far too often for the good of the sport.

Tenth Round Action