Post by Boxing World Online on Mar 31, 2019 7:51:37 GMT -6
Our reporter and his blonde companion sit in the Man In The Hat's office at The Manor, the former on a large, overstuffed chair, the latter on a large, overstuffed sofa next to Beth Harnois. The ladies are sipping designer coffees. Behind his massive desk, the Man In The Hat is sipping a morning PBR.
Beth: "Everything ready at Asylum, Wizziepooh?"
Man In The Hat: "We're all ready to go. Going to be a heck of a card tonight, no doubt."
Reporter: "Speaking of great cards, let's talk about the pay-per-view. What jumped out at you, other than Kristen, of course."
Man In The Hat: "Well. I know a lot of people didn't see Ambrosio is a future champion when she signed to Girls Friday three years ago. Obviously, the talent was there, but, she was goin' on 35. Lot of folks figured she'd be a nice model to match-make with, but not more than that. But. She proved all those folks wrong and grabbed gold on both sides of the Atlantic."
Beth: "Mary is going to get those belts BACK."
Man In The Hat: "I have little doubt, Beth. Little doubt. Speaking of models, DiDonato's win was HUGE."
Tess: "You came close to signing her."
Man In The Hat: "We did. She's got the goods. And, that was a signature win for her over J-Law."
Reporter: "Speaking of big wins over a top welter, Palicki beating Kloss..."
Man In The Hat: "Adrianne couldn't quite get the lightweight belts. But. Maybe she can get the WELTERWEIGHT belts. She's big enough. She walks around well above 130. She's beaten Law, Lawrence, Hendricks, Brook. If I had those belts, I might be giving her a call and seein' what she's gonna be doin' next month."
Tess: "Bonzo just might decide to give KOSTEK that chance. You could argue she's earned it."
Man In The Hat: "You could. Division's just gettin' tougher up there. Chimera's got Baldwin, who looks like a comer, and Woll, who's got all the tools. Prinsloo looked great again. Upton's back on track. Ferguson was fantastic."
Reporter: "Prinsloo and Kostek keep winning. Has to make you feel better about losing to them..."
Man In The Hat: "Look, there was never a question those girls could fight. That's not the point. The point is, these were fights we needed to win and didn't. As Cael Sanderson says, the key to winning championships is not losing matches you DON'T NEED TO LOSE. But, that whole thing is a subject for another day. Other PPV things. Lilly. If I had the bantam belts, she'd get the shot in April. If I had the lightweight belts, LIMA would, after what she did against Sagra. And, only because Jenner had a shot in October. Gibbs continues to impress. Agdal is in danger of turning into what people thought Ambrosio was gonna be. Mid-2017, she looked like a champion in waiting. Then, she lost that fight to Decker, and she's never gotten it back. Yustman's gonna get another shot at that gold at some point. Cuoco still has it. Mitchell's a tough out. Troi came up big, as she usually does. Lovato may just have gotten locked back in. Gillies is underrated, and showed it again. I'd pay to watch Lowndes fight anyone, but especially ScarJo. Portman is far from done, as she just proved. That was a HUGE win for Benson. And, Michalka remains a threat to win bantam gold."
Tess: "A little bird told me there might be something going on with Bazz and Ridley."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "That's a question for a huge former rugby player I know."
Reporter: "Let's talk about K-Stew. You got her those belts..."
Man In The Hat (shaking his head): "We did NOT. KRISTEN won the belts. 'WE' had nothing to do with it. What 'WE' did was get her the OPPORTUNITY. See, I've learned a lot about this job over the past nine-plus years, and I've learned a lot of it from other managers who were here before me. Folks like Hawkeye, Lookout, Bonzo, and Sceej. And, Sceej taught me one of the most important lessons...that the only thing a manager can do is get his fighter OPPORTUNITIES. The FIGHTER is the only one who can WIN fights. But, when it comes to title fights, there's another piece to that. The fighter has to EARN the opportunity. Well. We GOT Kristen opportunities to fight girls like Watson and Portman. And, KRISTEN won the fights. SHE earned the opportunity to fight Williams. And then SHE won the fight. So, what happened last night was all about KRIS."
Tess: "And, speaking of Bonzo, he pointed out that your persistence with Stewart paid off."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "Here's the thing. We've never doubted Kristen COULD win the titles. She's got all the tools. What you HAD to doubt was if she WOULD. It gets harder and harder to win belts around here, harder and harder to get opportunities. K-Stew was always going to win fights, but the question was, WOULD she earn that opportunity to win the belts and CASH it. And, now we know."
Reporter: "Dollhouse gave you a nice congratulations, too..."
Man In The Hat: "Well, Carmen's always had her eye on K-Stew. She'd grab her in a minute if we let her go. But, of course, we won't DO that, so..."
Tess (smiling): "And, I suspect your flyweight division is going to be around when the Tenth Anniversary hits next February."
Man In The Hat: "I suspect it IS, yes."
Tess: "Bonzo's talking about PERSISTENCE could have double meaning, you know..."
Man In The Hat: "Again, we aren't gettin' into Front Street and welterweight today."
Reporter: "Then, let's talk flyweight and who might be getting the next title shot..."
Man In The Hat: "I've got two names. One won't surprise you. The other might. Now. Let's finish our drinks so we can get our day going."
Beth: "Everything ready at Asylum, Wizziepooh?"
Man In The Hat: "We're all ready to go. Going to be a heck of a card tonight, no doubt."
Reporter: "Speaking of great cards, let's talk about the pay-per-view. What jumped out at you, other than Kristen, of course."
Man In The Hat: "Well. I know a lot of people didn't see Ambrosio is a future champion when she signed to Girls Friday three years ago. Obviously, the talent was there, but, she was goin' on 35. Lot of folks figured she'd be a nice model to match-make with, but not more than that. But. She proved all those folks wrong and grabbed gold on both sides of the Atlantic."
Beth: "Mary is going to get those belts BACK."
Man In The Hat: "I have little doubt, Beth. Little doubt. Speaking of models, DiDonato's win was HUGE."
Tess: "You came close to signing her."
Man In The Hat: "We did. She's got the goods. And, that was a signature win for her over J-Law."
Reporter: "Speaking of big wins over a top welter, Palicki beating Kloss..."
Man In The Hat: "Adrianne couldn't quite get the lightweight belts. But. Maybe she can get the WELTERWEIGHT belts. She's big enough. She walks around well above 130. She's beaten Law, Lawrence, Hendricks, Brook. If I had those belts, I might be giving her a call and seein' what she's gonna be doin' next month."
Tess: "Bonzo just might decide to give KOSTEK that chance. You could argue she's earned it."
Man In The Hat: "You could. Division's just gettin' tougher up there. Chimera's got Baldwin, who looks like a comer, and Woll, who's got all the tools. Prinsloo looked great again. Upton's back on track. Ferguson was fantastic."
Reporter: "Prinsloo and Kostek keep winning. Has to make you feel better about losing to them..."
Man In The Hat: "Look, there was never a question those girls could fight. That's not the point. The point is, these were fights we needed to win and didn't. As Cael Sanderson says, the key to winning championships is not losing matches you DON'T NEED TO LOSE. But, that whole thing is a subject for another day. Other PPV things. Lilly. If I had the bantam belts, she'd get the shot in April. If I had the lightweight belts, LIMA would, after what she did against Sagra. And, only because Jenner had a shot in October. Gibbs continues to impress. Agdal is in danger of turning into what people thought Ambrosio was gonna be. Mid-2017, she looked like a champion in waiting. Then, she lost that fight to Decker, and she's never gotten it back. Yustman's gonna get another shot at that gold at some point. Cuoco still has it. Mitchell's a tough out. Troi came up big, as she usually does. Lovato may just have gotten locked back in. Gillies is underrated, and showed it again. I'd pay to watch Lowndes fight anyone, but especially ScarJo. Portman is far from done, as she just proved. That was a HUGE win for Benson. And, Michalka remains a threat to win bantam gold."
Tess: "A little bird told me there might be something going on with Bazz and Ridley."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "That's a question for a huge former rugby player I know."
Reporter: "Let's talk about K-Stew. You got her those belts..."
Man In The Hat (shaking his head): "We did NOT. KRISTEN won the belts. 'WE' had nothing to do with it. What 'WE' did was get her the OPPORTUNITY. See, I've learned a lot about this job over the past nine-plus years, and I've learned a lot of it from other managers who were here before me. Folks like Hawkeye, Lookout, Bonzo, and Sceej. And, Sceej taught me one of the most important lessons...that the only thing a manager can do is get his fighter OPPORTUNITIES. The FIGHTER is the only one who can WIN fights. But, when it comes to title fights, there's another piece to that. The fighter has to EARN the opportunity. Well. We GOT Kristen opportunities to fight girls like Watson and Portman. And, KRISTEN won the fights. SHE earned the opportunity to fight Williams. And then SHE won the fight. So, what happened last night was all about KRIS."
Tess: "And, speaking of Bonzo, he pointed out that your persistence with Stewart paid off."
Man In The Hat (smiling): "Here's the thing. We've never doubted Kristen COULD win the titles. She's got all the tools. What you HAD to doubt was if she WOULD. It gets harder and harder to win belts around here, harder and harder to get opportunities. K-Stew was always going to win fights, but the question was, WOULD she earn that opportunity to win the belts and CASH it. And, now we know."
Reporter: "Dollhouse gave you a nice congratulations, too..."
Man In The Hat: "Well, Carmen's always had her eye on K-Stew. She'd grab her in a minute if we let her go. But, of course, we won't DO that, so..."
Tess (smiling): "And, I suspect your flyweight division is going to be around when the Tenth Anniversary hits next February."
Man In The Hat: "I suspect it IS, yes."
Tess: "Bonzo's talking about PERSISTENCE could have double meaning, you know..."
Man In The Hat: "Again, we aren't gettin' into Front Street and welterweight today."
Reporter: "Then, let's talk flyweight and who might be getting the next title shot..."
Man In The Hat: "I've got two names. One won't surprise you. The other might. Now. Let's finish our drinks so we can get our day going."