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Jewish World Review Jan. 26, 1999 / 9 Shevat, 5759
DESPITE WINNING A WORLD BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP in his last fight, Dana
Rosenblatt’s next bout, on Friday night, a 10-round non-title match, may just be the
fight of his life.
Rosenblatt, the reigning IBA Middleweight Champion, is one of,
literally, a handful of Jewish boxers in the world today. He has won 33
of 34 fights in his career, 23 victories coming on knockouts. His only
loss came against wily veteran Vinnie Pazienza in Atlantic City, in
August of 1996.
Rosenblatt will square off against Aaron Davis of the Bronx, Jan. 29 at
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Ct. The fight will be shown on ESPN2.
Davis, 31, has compiled a 12-year career mark of 45 wins and six losses,
with 28 knockouts. He is ranked fifth on the IBF middleweight list.
While Davis’s record and the quality of the opponents he has faced pose
a serious test for Rosenblatt, it will be Rosenblatt’s stamina – the
ability to last a full 10 rounds, that will be under the microscope.
In his last two fights, Rosenblatt roared through his opponents for
eight rounds, building up insurmountable leads, but had to hang on to
survive the end of the bouts.
Rosenblatt, who turns 27 today, won his title, outpointing
former four-time welterweight and junior middleweight champion
"Terrible" Terry Norris in a 12-round unanimous decision, September 25.
Two of the three judges scored the fight 114-112 and the third widened
the margin to 116-112.
A junior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and a member of the
National Honor Society, "Dangerous Dana" carried the fight to Norris
from the start. He hit him at will with a cutting right jab that
bloodied Norris’s nose and mouth and scored heavily. Frequently, he
doubled the jab and followed with punishing rights to the chest and
abdomen. Most people at ringside thought they were watching an
impressive, lopsided victory for the kid with the Israeli blue and white
pants and a Magen David on the left leg.
But midway through the ninth round the chemistry of the match changed
drastically. Rosenblatt stopped boxing. His potent left hand went into
hibernation. Instead of punching, he began clutching and holding Norris.
It was more of the same over the next four rounds. He got in some jabs,
but never used his left. Despite repeated warnings from the referee, he
kept holding Norris rather than boxing. Even after the referee ordered
the two to break, Rosenblatt would keep holding as long as he could. The
failure of the official to deduct points from Rosenblatt, caused
Norris’s managers to protest the bout and to demand an immediate
rematch. Neither claim held up with IBA officials.
Later, at the post-fight press conference, Rosenblatt’s manager, Joe
Lake, sitting in for his fighter, said Dana had gone to the hospital for
a couple of stitches to close a cut above his left eye. The truth was
Dana had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance, suffering from
dehydration.
In Rosenblatt’s previous fight against Arthur Allen, he dominated the
first-nine rounds and then hung on as Allen mounted a desperate
offensive that had the exhausted and spent Rosenblatt hanging on to save
his victory. Everybody, including Rosenblatt, thought he let the fight
get away from him, trying for an early knockout. The effort, while
impressive, left nothing in reserve for the final round.
A Boston Globe report, immediately following the fight, expressed
concern about Rosenblatt’s sudden tendency to physically fade at the end
of the fight. It compared Rosenblatt’s situation to a similar event in
Evander Holyfield’s career, when the champion inexplicably lost to
Michael Moorer. It was first thought that Holyfield might have had an
undiscovered heart problem. Later it was determined that he dehydrated
himself in training and lost his stamina during the fight.
The highly competent Lake said minutes after the press conference, he
thought there might be a problem with Rosenblatt’s electrolytes.
Rosenblatt, who normally fights at 160, weighed in at 158 for the Norris
fight.
But weigh-ins are held one to two days before the fight and boxers
notoriously add weight in the interim. It is likely by fight time,
Rosenblatt weighed close to 168.
The IBA title Rosenblatt won is a recognized world title, but not of the
first tier. Boxers under promoter Don King’s control hold those titles.
King and Top Rank -- run by Bob Arum -- are more than competitors, they
are open enemies with a great deal of personal enmity. This dislike
makes it unlikely Rosenblatt will get a shot at any of the titles held
in higher esteem by boxing mavens.
To get around the problem, there has been some talk of moving Rosenblatt
down to junior middleweight -- 154 pounds -- an active division with
many attractive boxers. But if Rosenblatt dehydrates himself to get down
to 160, what would his condition be at 154 or less.
Even before the dehydration problem surfaced, Top Rank began shopping
Rosenblatt in Europe and possibly Israel, to fight the European
Will Jewish boxer’s defeat
come this Shabbat?
By Lenn Zonder
But if you had been at ringside or watching on television and walked out
after the eighth round thinking the outcome was no longer in doubt, the
result would have left you quizzical and curious as to what happened in
the final four rounds.
JWR sports columnist Lenn Zonder is managing editor of Chavura.
