I have mentioned before that The Legendary 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach has recently re-opened and I plan to be there soon. My father, Michael John Mason VI, used to take me there as a young pup and that was where I first met Muhammad Ali (among others). I can’t wait to go back. It’s already locked in stone on my schedule. Congratulations to Angelo Dundee, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, Tom Tsatas, Matt Baiamonte and Dino Spencer for making it happen. This is a huge one in the win column and a true sign that The Apocalypse is Not coming. At least not yet anyway.
The History of 5th St. Gym, Miami Beach
Muhammed Ali:5th Street Gym
The Fight Years (documentary trailer) 5th Street Gym
Since I have been back in The States, I have been putting a bunch of international biz deals together. The downside of this is I have to hang out with a bunch of corporate heads as I am trying to tap into some of that corporate long money with distance.
So, earlier, I am rolling with this corporate cat and this track comes on the radio:
Corporate cat then say to me, “You know, I have always loved that song, but I have no idea what the rappers are saying. Especially that last guy rapping”. (The Notorious B.I.G.)
I respond, “You are kidding right.”
“No, am I being serious. What are they talking about?” says Corporate cat.
This completely blew my mind. I never knew people like this existed but I guess they do.
I started to explain a little of it to him, but I couldn’t stop laughing as I explained each part.
So for the others out there in this same predicament as that corporate cat, here is the translation below (my translation for corporate heads in bold).
Uhh, uhhh
B.I.G., P-O, P-P-A
No info, for the, D-E-A
Federal agents mad cause I’m flagrant
Tap my cell, and the phone in the basement
Translation:
Here he is introducing himself to the listener by name and what he is all about.
For instance, he is letting you know that if the Drug Enforcement Agency contacts him, he is not going to give them any information about his potential involvement in illegal drug sales.
Which is a distinct possibility since he regularly breaks the law, and does it with style, so the Feds have already have made him a target and knows who he is.
The Feds have even gone as far as putting him under surveillance.
My team supreme, stay clean
Triple beam lyrical dream, I be that
Cat you see at all events bent
Gats in holsters girls on shoulders
Translation:
However, thus far, his co-workers have not been apprehended. The reason they have not been apprehended is they are the best in their chosen line of work.
Regardless, he is the epitome of a poet that is also a top notch character in the drug game
You might have even seen him before, if you are invited to big social events and he was probably the guy at the party who was inebriated on Marijuana and/or alcohol
He is ready for action at all times, and has no problem with the opposite sex.
Playboy, I told ya, bein mice to me
Bruise too much, I lose, too much
Step on stage the girls boo too much
I guess it’s cause you run with lame dudes too much
Translation:
Now he is talking about someone else who is not as cool as him and who’s co-workers and friends are not as smooth as him and his associates.
Me lose my touch, never that
If I did, ain’t no problem to get the gat
Where the true players at?
Throw your rollys in the sky
Wave em side to side and keep their hands high
While I give your girl the eye, player please
Translation:
Here he is saying he could never be like that other guy who is not as cool as him.
But if he ever fell off his lofty perch, he would have no problem fighting his way back on top. Even using violence if necessary.
He is asking other successful people to celebrate the fact that they are sinister and successful by displaying material wealth, in this case, waving their Rolex watches in the air and from left to right.
He is also saying that he could take your girlfriend from you if he so desired.
Lyrically, niggaz see, B.I.G.
be flossin jig on the cover of Fortune
Five double oh, get the phone number
your name, I got to know, I got to go
Got the flow down pizat, platinum plus
Like thizat, dangerous
on trizack, leave your ass blizzack
Translation:
Here he is saying that he is living a life of luxury and it’s easy for other people to notice.
His lifestyle and wealth are akin to a corporate CEO that is on the annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations
Now he is saying again that he gets girls phone numbers but he is busy (presumably with other girls) so he can’t stick around and chit-chat
He finishes up by saying that he is an expert in poetry, selling multiple millions of copies of his records, displays his skill on every song he puts out and he will also shoot you if he has to.
Former two-division titlist Ricardo Mayorga, idle since Shane Mosley stopped him in the 12th round in September 2008, resurfaces May 15 when he moves to mixed martial arts. He faces Din Thomas (trained by 1976 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr.) in a three-round bout at 160 pounds in the main event of a pay-per-view card in Fayetteville, N.C. Mayorga’s boxing trash talk has come with him to MMA. “I conquered the world in the boxing ring all the while I was puffing cigarettes and drinking beer, “ Mayorga said. “I won three world title belts and I stood toe-to-toe with so many legends, beating some of them. Vernon Forrest, God rest his soul, was a great boxer yet I beat him back twice. I cannot be denied as I am a force of nature. Now I will shock the MMA fans and I know so many of my fans from boxing will follow me as I expand my repertoire. They can’t deny me in MMA and I will destroy Din Thomas. I am going to smash him. To me, a fight is a fight in a ring, in a cage or on the street. Fighting is my middle name.”
I guess this fight didn’t happen, but still great quotes from Mayorga as per usual.
Here is what he is saying now:
“I can beat the Filipino. If his preference is to fight me, I’m ready. Pacquiao gave and opportunity to to Fight Margarito, and he could do the same for me,” Mayorga commented during a media worked held yesterday at the 5th St. Gym in Miami, Florida.
And:
“Cotto, Pacquiao, any of them will do. Everybody knows Cotto is from Puerto Rico. Cotto is nobody for me. I’m not afraid of anyone. I’ll go to Puerto Rico and fight Cotto there.”
I would pay to see either fight although the Cotto fight would actually make some sense and is guaranteed to be entertaining.
Side Note: The Legendary 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach has recently re-opened and I plan to be there soon. My father, Michael John Mason VI, used to take me there as a young pup and that was where I first met Muhammad Ali (among others). I can’t wait to go back. It’s already locked in stone on my schedule. Congratulations to Angelo Dundee, Ferdie Pacheco, Tom Tsatas, Matt Baiamonte and Dino Spencer for making it happen. This is a huge one in the win column and a true sign that The Apocalypse is Not coming. At least not yet anyway.
If you have never seen it (or even if you have), watch the Modern Day Classic of Ricardo Mayorga VS Felix Trinidad:
“Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the Attack.” – Sun Tsu
“I’ma a bubble-head, I never listen to nothing my mother said
Ayo, I hold n*ggas ransom for money like Johhny Handsome
been sonnin’ n*ggas for so long, I think I got a grandson.” – Big Pun
Here are a couple of notes from my recent trip to Riga, Latvia:
Riga also has this weird vibe about it. It seems like the place could use some more people. I mentioned before that during the Occupation, something like 550,000 people died, were murdered or disappeared. About 1/3 of the population. It seems like Riga could use about 33% additional heads on the streets. All girls would be nice.
Riga, Latvia is not really a “cheap” place to roll around. Especially, in the old city, unless you know where to roll. Or where not to roll. Refer to my Riga, Latvia: Nightclub Data Sheets.
Riga does party pretty heavy, but really only goes off on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. However, compared to a decent or good city in America (with its draconian smoking laws and early closing times), it rages pretty hard.
There are not a lot of prostitutes. I heard this would be pretty prevalent, but I think I was solicited only once.
Drug use isn’t very prominent. I was offered drugs once on the street during the day. The guy had no teeth and when I told him I wasn’t interested, he asked me for money. So I kind of doubt the guy had the Manchurian Connection to the Afghan Opium pipeline. Or had Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix on speed dial.
Things I would do different
Next time I go to Riga, Latvia, I would go when it was warm. The cold weather really threw me off. Keep in mind that I am someone who’s coldest night in the last few years has been a summer night in San Diego. I also failed to listen to my MOM’s advice she gave me as a young pup and went out at night with wet hair. That, coupled with all the raging and swooping girls, almost gave me a cold (my first one in almost 5 years) by the end of my stay. But my rugged constitution staved it off.
I would also try not to rage too much early in the week especially before you have the place wired. Raging early in the week makes you more susceptible to scams. Next time, I would Street Game heavy early in the week and save your bullets for the weekend.
I have literally made a career out of Going for Dolo, however in Riga, Latvia, it would have been smooth to have some backup (even just one homeboy with heavy hands will do). I wrote about my Judo Throw and a Karate Chop I received from a Russian cat earlier, but I actually ended up in one more fight before I made my exit.
Here is how it went down:
I was outside a night spot spitting some ill Game, mad melodic like Mandolins and Violins, at a fly Russian girl that was digging my moves cause she smooth while I was smoking a grit. A big Russian cat rolls up to me says something I don’t understand then, breaks my cigarette.
Unreal.
I had no intentions of fighting, but after two earlier altercations, I am more than ready. I try to calm him down but Russian cat swings on me.
I am a little faded from boozing, but my reactions are still sharp and I “catch and throw” on his mug trying to rock his face and stab his brain with his nose bone.
We end up in a “leather jacket tangle” and I have some leverage so I continue to torque uppercuts into his mug. At this point things are working out pretty well, until he gets his weight behind him and slams me, like Onyx, into a 600 year old stone wall, which wouldn’t have been so bad except there is like some 600 year old stone protruding from the wall which spears my back and almost knocks the wind out of me.
I am in pretty phenomenal shape right now and my senses are heightened since I feel real danger, so I recover pretty quick and keep on drilling him in the mug until his face looks like a plate of Latvian food with some spilled Claret.
Luckily, two big bouncers from the club separate us and I am thankful that they don’t take his side and play it straight up.
I bone out of there as soon as I get a moment. Girl vanished.
The next day, I was in Major Payne like Damon Wayans. Primarily my back. But you never know. It could have been from all the Beans I had consumed as a youth.
(Keep in mind, I am not writing these fight stories to make it seem like I am the second coming of Muhammad Ali, and Bruce Lee mixed with a healthy dose of Jack Dempsey. I have written The G Manifesto for 5 or so years and I have never mentioned Street Fighting before and I really avoid it at all costs.)
Another thing I would have done different is roll to some of the smaller cities like Jelgava. The first girl I swooped in Riga was actually from Jelgava and I would bet my last 1oz Silver Eagle coin that she wasn’t the only one from there that was mad fly.
Update: In my haste of writing this Data Sheet, I forgot another great tip that I have written about before: Language Lessons. I would definitely bone up (so to speak) on some Russian and Latvian Language Lessons with some fly tutor girls before rolling to Riga. I hate when I don’t follow my own advice.
Side note of sorts: African American G’s, from everything I saw there would clean up in Riga. I would just make sure I got some rounds in before going.
“The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is of all things most shameful and vile.” – Plato
So how did I finish up in Riga?
After all the trials and tribs, I ended up swooping two more insanely fly girls in addition to the fly 19 year old from Jelgeva. I really started wiring the place like copper. Every day, I continually stuffed the pipe with new fresh leads. In fact, on my last night there, I had two different girls that were mindblowingly fly both calling me and texting me to meet them out. I was pretty tweaked by then and ended up shutting off my phone as I had an early flight.
Now that I am back in America, I really wish I could have that night back. But that is how it goes sometimes in The Life of a G.
“Flawless victory, you n*ggaz can’t do shit to me
Physically, lyrically, hypothetically, realistically
I’m the epitome of catching wreck
catch you when you cash your check
Smash you when you pass then jack you for your f*cking Lex.” – Big Pun
Juan Manuel Marquez retained his WBA and WBO lightweight titles with a bruising ninth-round technical knockout of Michael Katsidis on Saturday night.
Marquez bided his time in the decisive round before hitting Katsidis with a flurry of punches — a series of uppercuts and straight rights that had the challenger backing away.
Finally, referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2 minutes and 14 seconds, giving Marquez (52-5-1, 37 KO) a TKO over the rugged Katsidis.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult bout. It was so difficult he even surprised me,” Marquez said afterward through a translator.
The surprise? Katsidis (27-3) knocked Marquez to the mat with a left hook in the third round after the champ left himself wide-open.
Both Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis are always worth the price of admission. (Michael Katsidis is the world’s best answer to the tragic passing of G Manifesto Hall of Fame Member Arturo Gatti, Click Here to watch Arturo “Thunder Gatti VS Irish” Micky Ward Trilogy Fight Video) Putting them together in the same ring was a no-brainer all action fight, like I said it would be.
Katsidis dropped Marquez with such a classic left hook it was unbelievable. Katsidis also has one of the strangest short right hands on the inside I have ever seen. Not that effective.
Juan Manuel Marquez is an incredibly accurate puncher. Especially on the inside or while backing up under pressure. It makes it all the more amazing that Mayweather was able to make him miss so much during their fight.
Marquez’s left hook to the body is a thing of violent beauty. Puro Mexicano.
HBO Boxing: Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis Highlights (HBO)
However, the best thing Marquez does is he stays so calm when he is under tremendous pressure. He actually loves it and is at his best in this position. This is the reason he arguably beat Manny Pacquiao both times. And the reason he was shut out by Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
If we can’t get Floyd Mayweather, Jr. VS Manny Pacquiao, I would be certainly happy with Juan Manuel Marquez VS Manny Pacquiao III.
Top 4 Pound for Pound Fighters in The World
1. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao (tie)
3. Sergio Martinez
4. Juan Manuel Marquez
