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It’s a seminal moment in a classroom.
A student has the right answers to questions, but, when asked to explain the mechanics of how he arrived at those answers, he freezes and can’t produce more than a scribble.
Not showing work is an invite for suggestion that he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about.
And it’s not limited to the elementary school setting.
The internet is stacked to the rafters with commenting geniuses quick to claim intellectual muscle but sorely lacking when it comes to facts, analysis or anything of real worth – because, as modern society proves daily, it is far easier to say you’re something than it is to be something.
So, to sidestep being lumped with such flotsam and jetsam, I’ll go ahead and open the notebook.
If you recall, last week’s column included the five names on this year’s International Boxing Hall of Fame “modern” ballot that I believed called for a check mark and consideration for induction.
Among them were candidates I’d passed over in the past, alongside others I’d previously thought were worthy of inclusion but who didn’t get the required amount of love from the voters.
As I’d suggested, it’s a balloting class void of slam dunks – sort of like choosing an All-Star pitching staff from a collection of No. 2 starters – which means there are guys who’ll get more consideration this year than they would have gotten when competing with the automatic likes of Mayweather and Ward.
Case in point: Timothy Bradley.
For those unaware, the fighter-turned-ESPN analyst was a hot property in his day, going 32-0-1 against guys not named Manny Pacquiao from 2004-2016 in a run that included belts at 140 and 147.
No less an authority than Ring Magazine had him in its annual pound-for-pound top 10 six straight times from 2010-2015, peaking in 2013 when he placed third behind, whaddya know, Mayweather and Ward.
Given my primary criteria that a fighter needs to be among the world’s best for a prolonged stretch of time, “Desert Storm” is a more than worthy candidate.
The same criteria hold with my second and third selections – Ricky Hatton and Rafael Marquez.
Both the popular Englishman and the rugged Mexican were champions in two weight classes and had roles in some of the biggest fights of their era – Hatton with Kostya Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao, and Marquez with IBHOF inductee Mark Johnson and trilogy rival Israel Vazquez.
Each also passes The Ring’s litmus test thanks to four straight P4P inclusions from 2005-2008.
As for the fourth and fifth picks, let’s add a little more context.
Sometimes a guy simply passes the “eye test.” And whether he carried greatness over a significant stretch of time or burned undeniably bright for a lesser time, he needs to be included.
Meldrick Taylor is that guy.
While I won’t argue that his career as a truly elite fighter was shorter than others on the ballot, it’s be hard to deny that he was on the short list of the world’s truly great fighters for a time.
Three years – 1989 (sixth), 1990 (fifth) and 1991 (fifth) – according to The Ring.
He stopped IBHOF inductee Buddy McGirt to win a world title in his 21st fight and won four more times to get to 25-0 before a TKO loss to Julio Cesar Chavez in the most controversial fight of a generation.
Lest anyone forget, he had a wide lead on two scorecards against a 68-0 foe and subsequent Hall of Famer in that fight, before being dropped in the final round and pulled from the fray by Richard Steele with two seconds remaining in the 140-pound unification showdown.
Neither fighter was the same afterward, and though Taylor went on to add a title at 147 he was essentially finished as an elite commodity by the time Chavez dominated a rematch four years later.
Two more seconds and he’s a no-brainer. But he belongs anyway.
Lastly, when it comes to No. 5, I’ll concede to leaning a bit on back story.
Without full context, Vinny Pazienza’s ring career was the envy of 99 percent of the guys who’ve ever laced a pair of gloves, but not quite on the level deserving a permanent place in Canastota.
But when you flesh out the script, he’s certainly worthy of a nod in 2022.
The Rhode Island native acquitted himself well against a sturdy class of fighters throughout his career, defeating former IBF lightweight champ Harry Arroyo in 10 rounds before going the full 15 to beat Greg Haugen in the first of their trilogy in 1987. He later lost to Roger Mayweather and Hector Camacho at 140, beat ex-welterweight champ Lloyd Honeyghan at 160, and handed Roberto Duran a pair of losses when they met at 168 in 1994 and 1995.
A TKO loss to Roy Jones Jr. five months after the second Duran fight was perhaps his highest-profile bout, but Pazienza’s in-ring candidacy is augmented by the fact that the defeats of Honeyghan and Duran – not to mention former 154-pound champ Luis Santana and a 28-0 Dana Rosenblatt – came after he suffered two fractured neck vertebrae in a car accident and spent more than a year on the shelf.
In fact, he fought 24 times across 13 years after crash, going a respectable 19-5 with six KOs to finish his career with 50 wins against 10 losses and top-tier championships at 135 and 154 pounds.
An all-time great fighter? Maybe not. But an all-time great comeback story? No question.
Class dismissed.
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This week’s title-fight schedule:
TUESDAY
WBA/WBC light flyweight title – Saitama, Japan
Hiroto Kyoguchi (WBA champion/No. 2 IWBR) vs. Kenshiro Teraji (WBC champion/No. 1 IWBR)
Kyoguchi (16-0, 11 KO): Fourth title defense; Held IBF title at 105 (2017-18, two defenses)
Teraji (19-1, 11 KO): First title defense; Held WBC title at 108 (2017-21, eight defenses)
Fitzbitz says: A compelling 50/50 fight between a pair of high-quality operators at 108 pounds. There’s little to separate them, but I think Teraji’s quality of opposition does it. Teraji by decision (55/45)
WBO junior flyweight title – Saitama, Japan
Jonathan Gonzalez (champion/No. 5 IWBR) vs. Shokichi Iwata (No. 2 WBO/No. 37 IWBR)
Gonzalez (26-3-1, 14 KO): Second title defense; Lost WBO title shot at 112 (2019, TKO 7)
Iwata (9-0, 6 KO): First title fight; One fight past nine rounds (1-0, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Gonzalez is a world-class commodity at 108 and 112 pounds and a worthy champion, but Iwata may be the latest in a line of fighters to be title-ready right away. Iwata by decision (75/25)
SATURDAY
Vacant IBF junior lightweight title – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (No. 1 IBF/No. 3 IWBR) vs. Zelfa Barrett (No. 2 IBF/No. 25 IWBR)
Rakhimov (16-0-1, 13 KO): Second title fight (0-0-1); Held IBO belt at 130 (2017-19, three defenses)
Barrett (28-1, 16 KO): First title fight; First fight outside the United Kingdom
Fitzbitz says: Barrett is taking a leap onto the world stage and may look the part early, but the guess here is that Rakhimov gradually takes things over and gets the job done late. Rakhimov in 9 (90/10)
WBA light heavyweight title – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Dmitry Bivol (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Gilberto Ramirez (No. 1 WBA/No. 3 IWBR)
Bivol (20-0, 11 KO): Tenth title defense; Fighting in fifth country (Russia, U.S., Monte Carlo, U.K.)
Ramirez (44-0, 30 KO): Seventh title fight (6-0); Held WBO title at 168 (2016-18, five defenses)
Fitzbitz says: Bivol proved his worth as a champion and a world-class talent with his win over Canelo, so a pick against him isn’t an indictment. I just think Ramirez is that good, too. Ramirez by decision (60/40)
This week’s trash title-fight schedule:
SATURDAY
WBA “world” super middleweight title – Minneapolis, Minnesota
David Morrell (“champion”/No. 21 IWBR) vs. Aidos Yerbossynuly (No. 1 WBA/No. 40 IWBR)
Why it’s trash: Same old song and dance when it comes to Morrell, who’s a good prospect but has toted worthless WBA bling around for better than a year while beating the murderers’ row of Mario Cazares, Alantez Fox and Kalvin Henderson. Worthwhile fighter? Sure. Legitimate champion? Not so much.
Last week’s picks: None
2022 picks record: 31-12 (72.1 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,240-404 (75.4 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body’s full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA “world championships” are only included if no “super champion” exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.