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kenyan_cheena · 11-13-2009, 06:15 AM

TheSweetScience.com

FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2006

Latest "24/7" instalment
provides more intrigue

Story by Steve Bruce

Last night's second episode of the HBO documentary seriers "Norton-Haynes 24/7" added even more interest to what is already going to be one of the most anticipated bouts of the last twenty years. During an intriguing thirty minutes we were given some insight into Terone Haynes' childhood and Ken Norton's fears, and also found out that all is not entirely well in the Roy Jones camp. It was at Jones' Pensacola home where the episode started, HBO's cameras catching a heated argument between Jones and assistant trainer Montel Howard that took place last Saturday. The subject of the spat was Jones' junior-heavyweight boxer Elmer Ray, who had suffered his second professional defeat two days earlier in San Diego. With Jones dedicated 100% to preparing Haynes for the Norton bout Howard had worked the corner for Ray's fight, which the Olympic bronze medallist had lost by a slim majority decision verdict after being floored twice in the final round.

Clearly frustrated by the result Jones appeared to be placing the blame for it on Howard, at one point asking him "what the f%ck" he said to Ray before the final round. Ray has struggled through his first four International Boxing League bouts, losing two while only recording a single win and also a draw. He was not there in Pensacola to face his trainer, having flown back to his home in Hastings, St Johns County to recuperate. Howard had also been in Ray's corner for his first defeat and Jones appeared to be on the verge of dismissing him from his staff before turning his attention back to Haynes. Viewers were then given another example of Haynes' awesome power when he gave sparring partner Jamal Close an absolute beating, the intensity of the Miami native's assault something to behold. Jones praised him afterwards, saying he'll need to "maintain the rage" all the way up to fight night.

Later in the episode Haynes sat down with the HBO crew and reflected on growing up poor in the Miami ghetto of Liberty City, his mother raising him and his three sisters pretty much by herself from the time Terone, the oldest of the four, was only ten. His father was an alcoholic and a womaniser but in '91 things became even worse when he fell victim to heroin. His addiction almost destroyed the family. Eventually deserting them he turned up dead on a sidewalk in March '92, shot in the head during an apparent drug deal gone wrong. Terone had to become a man "ahead o' schedule", as he put it. His uncles and aunties were not especially helpful and government benefits only went so far, so Terone worked in order to assist his mother in raising the children. After being absent through most of the '92 school year Terone dropped out entirely in '93 and did whatever he could to bring money into the family.

Working at Burger King, cleaning the local video game arcade and selling pirated hip hop cassettes for local artists were just some of the things he'd done before his 14th birthday. It wasn't long before the temptation to join a gang and become involved in the drug trade was right there in front of him. But Terone resisted, the path his father had taken a constant reminder to steer clear of anything drug-related. Only in his mid-teens Terone was big for his age, standing almost six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. He soon came to the attention of a man named Leroy Ellis. He ran a Miami nightclub called "Heatwave". Despite being underage Terone started working for Ellis as one of the club's security personnel, his mature appearance alleviating any suspicion. It was a job that he ended up keeping for more than five years, until that fateful meeting with Roy Jones in February 2002.

While he doesn't see him as often as he'd like to Haynes is still good friends with Ellis and credits him with helping him through some of the most difficult years of his life. Haynes also met his wife Lisa while working at Heatwave, something he's forever grateful to Ellis for. The episode featured an almost continuous fifteen-minute look-in on Norton's preparations, which sat in the middle of the two Haynes segments. Viewers were given an in-depth look at the former WBC champion's "cross-armed" defense, which his trainer Ernie Bennett believes will play a vital role in blunting Haynes' fierce punching power. Speaking during an interview with the HBO crew Norton revealed that his biggest fear as far as his boxing career is concerned is that he won't achieve his primary goal, which is to be regarded as the greatest heavyweight of his era.

"I feel like I kind o' wasted the last year or two," Norton said. "My management put me in against some guys who weren't able to push me or extend me and while that allowed me to keep my title it didn't do anything for my legacy, you know? It wasn't something I thought I could control, but looking back now I wish I'd been more pro-active in controlling my career. The way I look at, I've got two guys out there right now who I have to defeat to solidify my status. That's Haynes and Anyukov. All these younger fellas like Johnson, Lewis and Bowe, those guys are the future. Whether I fight them or not ain't gonna matter 'cause they're gonna have their own time to shine. They're gonna produce some great rivalries amongst themselves. All that matters to me right now is getting past those two guys. When I do that I'll be able to retire a happy man."

During the week Norton's heavyweight protege Sam McVey paid a visit from Los Angeles. McVey will be involved in an important fight of his own on December 26 when he takes on Haynes' fellow stablemate Romy Alvarez in a ten-round IBL Americas Championship eliminator in Miami. Much has been made of the perceived rivalry between the Californian and Florida camps and the fact that two members from each of them will be squaring off come late December. While Norton understands it from an entertainment perspective he said during last night's episode that it's not something he's interested in investing his time in. The episode ended with a series of clips of Norton and Haynes socialising with their fellow stablemates and trainers, narrator Liev Schreiber speaking of the importance that allies play in warfare, and finishing by telling us that "the fight is 15 days away."

11-13-2009, 06:15 AM	#632 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 7,599 Thanks: 83 Thanked 143x in 125 posts	TheSweetScience.com FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2006 Latest "24/7" instalment provides more intrigue Story by Steve Bruce Last night's second episode of the HBO documentary seriers "Norton-Haynes 24/7" added even more interest to what is already going to be one of the most anticipated bouts of the last twenty years. During an intriguing thirty minutes we were given some insight into Terone Haynes' childhood and Ken Norton's fears, and also found out that all is not entirely well in the Roy Jones camp. It was at Jones' Pensacola home where the episode started, HBO's cameras catching a heated argument between Jones and assistant trainer Montel Howard that took place last Saturday. The subject of the spat was Jones' junior-heavyweight boxer Elmer Ray, who had suffered his second professional defeat two days earlier in San Diego. With Jones dedicated 100% to preparing Haynes for the Norton bout Howard had worked the corner for Ray's fight, which the Olympic bronze medallist had lost by a slim majority decision verdict after being floored twice in the final round. Clearly frustrated by the result Jones appeared to be placing the blame for it on Howard, at one point asking him "what the f%ck" he said to Ray before the final round. Ray has struggled through his first four International Boxing League bouts, losing two while only recording a single win and also a draw. He was not there in Pensacola to face his trainer, having flown back to his home in Hastings, St Johns County to recuperate. Howard had also been in Ray's corner for his first defeat and Jones appeared to be on the verge of dismissing him from his staff before turning his attention back to Haynes. Viewers were then given another example of Haynes' awesome power when he gave sparring partner Jamal Close an absolute beating, the intensity of the Miami native's assault something to behold. Jones praised him afterwards, saying he'll need to "maintain the rage" all the way up to fight night. Later in the episode Haynes sat down with the HBO crew and reflected on growing up poor in the Miami ghetto of Liberty City, his mother raising him and his three sisters pretty much by herself from the time Terone, the oldest of the four, was only ten. His father was an alcoholic and a womaniser but in '91 things became even worse when he fell victim to heroin. His addiction almost destroyed the family. Eventually deserting them he turned up dead on a sidewalk in March '92, shot in the head during an apparent drug deal gone wrong. Terone had to become a man "ahead o' schedule", as he put it. His uncles and aunties were not especially helpful and government benefits only went so far, so Terone worked in order to assist his mother in raising the children. After being absent through most of the '92 school year Terone dropped out entirely in '93 and did whatever he could to bring money into the family. Working at Burger King, cleaning the local video game arcade and selling pirated hip hop cassettes for local artists were just some of the things he'd done before his 14th birthday. It wasn't long before the temptation to join a gang and become involved in the drug trade was right there in front of him. But Terone resisted, the path his father had taken a constant reminder to steer clear of anything drug-related. Only in his mid-teens Terone was big for his age, standing almost six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. He soon came to the attention of a man named Leroy Ellis. He ran a Miami nightclub called "Heatwave". Despite being underage Terone started working for Ellis as one of the club's security personnel, his mature appearance alleviating any suspicion. It was a job that he ended up keeping for more than five years, until that fateful meeting with Roy Jones in February 2002. While he doesn't see him as often as he'd like to Haynes is still good friends with Ellis and credits him with helping him through some of the most difficult years of his life. Haynes also met his wife Lisa while working at Heatwave, something he's forever grateful to Ellis for. The episode featured an almost continuous fifteen-minute look-in on Norton's preparations, which sat in the middle of the two Haynes segments. Viewers were given an in-depth look at the former WBC champion's "cross-armed" defense, which his trainer Ernie Bennett believes will play a vital role in blunting Haynes' fierce punching power. Speaking during an interview with the HBO crew Norton revealed that his biggest fear as far as his boxing career is concerned is that he won't achieve his primary goal, which is to be regarded as the greatest heavyweight of his era. "I feel like I kind o' wasted the last year or two," Norton said. "My management put me in against some guys who weren't able to push me or extend me and while that allowed me to keep my title it didn't do anything for my legacy, you know? It wasn't something I thought I could control, but looking back now I wish I'd been more pro-active in controlling my career. The way I look at, I've got two guys out there right now who I have to defeat to solidify my status. That's Haynes and Anyukov. All these younger fellas like Johnson, Lewis and Bowe, those guys are the future. Whether I fight them or not ain't gonna matter 'cause they're gonna have their own time to shine. They're gonna produce some great rivalries amongst themselves. All that matters to me right now is getting past those two guys. When I do that I'll be able to retire a happy man." During the week Norton's heavyweight protege Sam McVey paid a visit from Los Angeles. McVey will be involved in an important fight of his own on December 26 when he takes on Haynes' fellow stablemate Romy Alvarez in a ten-round IBL Americas Championship eliminator in Miami. Much has been made of the perceived rivalry between the Californian and Florida camps and the fact that two members from each of them will be squaring off come late December. While Norton understands it from an entertainment perspective he said during last night's episode that it's not something he's interested in investing his time in. The episode ended with a series of clips of Norton and Haynes socialising with their fellow stablemates and trainers, narrator Liev Schreiber speaking of the importance that allies play in warfare, and finishing by telling us that "the fight is 15 days away." __________________ The Greatest Prize in Sports (a TBCB Dynasty) The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac kenyan_cheena's NBA 2K11 Off Topic Dynasty Major League Baseball: 1990 and Beyond... (an OOTP11 Dynasty) Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 11-16-2009 at 09:21 PM.