[sinclairfan]

Good evening, I'm Jim Lampley.  With the demise of the sport of boxing on HBO, after a long and storied run of over three decades, we decided to go back into our archives for some forgotten gems.  Tonight, we show you one of those bouts.

On the night of June 22, 1990, HBO tried a twist on Friday Night Fights.  Rather than featuring professional boxers, we decided to recruit two amateur single moms who were willing to test themselves against each other in the squared circle for cash.  Imagine our delight when we interviewed our stars of the show and discovered each had college aged daughters who were willing to try their luck in a preliminary match, the undercard, if you will, to kick off the evening.  We called it "Friday Night Fights--Family Edition."

Since each mother-daughter duo were amateurs who wished to keep their names and home addresses anonymous, we referred to them that night as Team California and Team Georgia.

Some other unusual stipulations for that night.  Since all 4 women were unlicensed fighters, HBO was unable to find referees willing to officiate the fights.  So all 4 women agreed to fight in a ring, unsupervised.  Secondly, all 4 women agreed to fight bareknuckled.  Finally, the setting was not a professional boxing ring, but the home basement of an anonymous wealthy fight patron.

Cable TV could get away with this sort of thing in 1990.

Because of the fight inexperience of all four of the women, HBO executives wanted to protect themselves against the risk of quick knockouts or stoppages in both fights.  They therefore arranged for pre-fight interviews with both "teams".  We replay those interviews now.  We apologize in advance for the grainy 1990 footage and sound.

We begin with the interview I held with Team California.

To be continued....

[sinclairfan]

INTERVIEW WITH TEAM CALIFORNIA

Lampley:  I'm here with the mother and daughter halves of Team California, who will be fighting Team Georgia later tonight.  For conversational simplicity, given the stipulation that the names of all four women on tonight's fight card will remain confidential, I will refer to them as Mrs and Miss Cali.  Let's start with you, Mrs Cali.  Our viewers can see you're obviously a very attractive woman.  Give us the tale of the tape:  height, weight, and how you ended up fighting on national TV tonight.

Mrs Cali:  Thank you for the compliment, Jim; and you're easy on the eyes, yourself.  So, I'm 5'8", 124 pounds.  I'm a runner--I've been jogging seriously for, I'd say, 8 years.  I've never been in an actual fight--all the times I came close in high school, or when I got divorced, it got broken up right away.  The idea of actually fighting, ....  like, a real fight like tonight, ... came to me about four years ago, I think it was, when I was watching "The Fall Guy" on TV ...  ya know, the Lee Majors show? ...  well, Heather Thomas plays this bounty hunter who tries to take in ...   like, ya know, arrest ....  this bail jumper, whose this pretty dark-haired girl .... and the dark-haired girl pretends to surrender ....  but then attacks Heather, and they start actually fistfighting on the grass .... I mean, it was ON between them ...  well, anyways, it got my blood flowing .... even now, just repeating the story gets my blood flowing, candidly .... so since then I've wanted to fight .... and wanted my daughter to fight ..... so, when HBO came to us, I said yes.

Lampley:  Fascinating story, and good segue, let's get you daughter in the conversation now.  Miss Cali, what's your reason for participating in YOUR fight tonight?

Miss Cali:  Thabk you, Jim.  Well, I attend the UC college system; I know we're not supposed to say which one .....

Mrs Cali:  ..... but it's not Berkeley and not UCLA, for all you stalkers out there ....

Lampley: ...  Let's ...  let's let her finish ....

Miss Cali:  ....yes, thank you, Mom, for ruling out the two most prestigious one's .....  Anyways .... where was I? ....  well, two things ...   first off, school just got out for the summer this week .... so I have all sumner to recover if I get bruises, or whatever, ....  and not miss classes, ya know? ....  but, second, the UC colleges are all raising tuition and fees next fall ....  the fees, especially are ridiculous ....  and we don't really have the funds .... and I have a goal of not taking on student debt .... so the prize money for tonight will really come in handy ....  HBO is paying the winning fighters more, so my opponent and I will both be motivated.

Lampley:  About your opponents ....  Mrs Cali, if I might, you've not met Team Georgia, but you've seen pictures and, I understand, footage of them in their home in Georgia .... Any impressions you'd like to share.

Mrs:  Well, since you ask, my FIRST impression was that they're both blonde, like my daughter and me.  When I heard Georgia, I thought they might be a black family from Atlanta ..   not that we wouldn't have fought them ....  is that ok for me to say?  I feel like you're looking at me funny ....

Lampley:  Not at all.  Please proceed.

Mrs:  Well, so whatever, they're white and blonde, like my daughter and me.  Oh, about our size ....  I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that.  They talked about Jesus a couple times in the video you showed me ..   this was before we know the daughters were going to be fighting, too .... so they must be religious.  Or maybe it was just HBO trying to stir the pot between the Georgia mom and me ...  like, get a rich woman vs poor woman, urban versus rural contrast going.  I mean, she's very pretty if that's what you're asking me.  But I'm taking this fight very seriously ...   my daughter and I both want the prize money.  Plus, if I win and put on a good show, you never know who might discover me.

Lampley:  And how about you, Miss Cali?  First impressions of your opponent tonight?

Miss Cali:  She seemed very .... wholesome in the video.  I wasn't sure she'd agree to fight when the idea first got floated.  But, I mean, she did .... so I'm going to take that seriously.  Fighting first and all, her and I are going to set the tone for the evening.  If one of us totally beats the other's ass, thst will affect our mom's in a bad way in their fight.  So her and I owe it to our mom's to give a good account of ourselves.  So ...  it could get pretty rowdy out there.

Lampley:  And that's ok with each of you, I assume?

Miss Cali:  Yeppers.  Eyes on the prize.
Mrs Cali:  I concur.

Lampley:  When we return, after this commercial break, we'll speak with Team Georgia.

To be continued.....

[sinclairfan]

INTERVIEW WITH TEAM GEORGIA

Lampley:  Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, we're back live with Team Georgia, who have both watched my interview with Team California, and Mrs Georgia, you're loaded for bear and have a few things you want to say.

Mrs Georgia:  That's right, Jim, I just wanna tell y'all ....  now, ok, first let me say that until tonight, I had just seen still photos of California Single Mom ....  ya know, just enough to know she was about my size and build and all and that I wasn't runnin' into a buzz-saw fightin' her and all .... which, she was, and is ....  she's my size, and her daughter is a coupla inches taller but still my daughter's size and all ....  whew, slow down [bleeped out] ...  I'm hyperventilatin' here .....

Lampley: Yes, slow down, we have plenty of time here.  And, I might remind you:  no names please.

Miss Georgia:  Ya, no names, Mom.

Mrs Georgia:  Aww, sh[bleeped out] ...  did I saw my name?

Lampley:  Don't worry, Mrs Georgia, we're on a delay.  We bleeped out your name.  As well as your colorful language--no cussin', please.  Mrs Georgia, your blood seems to be boiling over something.

Mrs Georgia:  Awww, shucks, Jim.  It is.  It's so many things.  Jim, ok, California Single Mom--ok, listen, Jim, I'm here tonight ta fight.  And so is my daughter.  But California Single Mom--we got a word in Georgia for why she's here tanight.  Jim, it's so obvious--she's here to be discovered.  Jim, did ya see the stars in her eyes.

Lampley:  Explain, if you would.

Mrs Georgia:  Ok, ta start, .... ok, right, she has ta make clear ta everyone .... that her daughter goes to a "U .... C" system school, amiright?  Like, no "Dominguez Hills State" for her lil' girl.  Oh, oh, and Jim ....  Heather Thomas?? Really?? She thinks she looks like Heather Thomas??  Jim, I'm blonde, but I know I don't look nuttin like Heather Thomas.  Oh, and Jim, I saw that "Fall Guy" fight that she's talkin' 'bout ... aired in around 1985 just like she said ... but, and this makes me madder n a hornet, Jim, that episode happened in damn Georgia .  ... and it made us in Georgia look like dang hicks .... she dropped that in on purpose for my benefit, Jim ...  lemme tell ya that .... and, oh, Jim, when she heard we wuz from Georgia, she assumed we wuz two colored women from Atlanta .... oh, really.  Jim, she's a piece of work, sayin' that crap sbout me and my daughter.

Lampley:  [winks at camera] All righty, then, I think I followed some of that.  Thank you for your perspective, Mrs Georgia.  How about you, Miss Georgia?  Any predictions about tonight's fights.

Miss Georgia:  Just two.  One, Miss California WILL be taking on student debt after she fights me.  I'M gettin' the winner's share, not her.  And, two, my mom will send Mrs California back to Hollywood with shattered dreams .... like all aspiring actresses.

Lampley:  So you're predicting a sweep by Team Georgia.

Miss Georgia:  [holds up fists]  By knockout.

Lampley:  If I might ask:  do you and your mom fight a lot?

Miss Georgia:  Naw, most of Georgia knows not ta mess with us.  After tonight, all of America will as well.

Lampley:  Well, we certainly will be entertained, I'm guessing.  Why don't you both go back to the locker room so that without further ado, we can get started?

To be continued.....

[WriteThisWay]

To quote Bill Hader from the James Franco roast, “You’re like the Daniel Day Lewis of only doing one thing.”

[slidin79]

Looks like a good fight night

[sinclairfan]

ROUND 1:  MISS GEORGIA VS MISS CALIFORNIA

Jim Lampley:  Good evening, fight fans.  I'm joined this evening by very special guest Sugar Ray Leonard, for what promises to be a unique, and, if all goes well, a groundbreaking evening of fighting.  Ray, you saw my ..... interesting interviews with our four combatants tonight.  Two from California, two from Georgia; two college students, two single moms.  Any thoughts?

Leonard:  Well, Jim, I guess first .... Mrs California, I guess we're calling her .... I mean, she, she ....

Lampley:  Careful, Ray.  We're on live television.

Leonard:  Oh, I know.  I'm being careful.  Mrs California is fffiiine ...  she fine .... and Mrs Grorgia ....  wow, Jim, she feisty, huh? ...  now ...  don't get me wrong.....  Jim ....  right before every fight I ever had ....  I run my mouth ..... just say the first thing that pops into my head ....  without even thinkin' ....  that I fon't pay no mind to, Mrs Georgia ....  completely, natural, pre-fight reaction ....  Mrs California, tho, ....  she fine, she fine ....  you can't script fine, Jim ....  you either fine or you not ....  and Mrs California, she fine.

Lampley:  Ok, Ray ....  so ..... we'll have morr opportunity later to get into our single mom matchup ....  but the daughters are up first this evening .....  tslk yo me a little bit about what you expect we csn see from Miss California and Miss Georgia.

Leonard:  Ok, Jim, the way I see it is this.  Miss California ...  she hungry ....  collrge girl and all .....  tuition and room and board bills ta pay .... Jim, they talk about tuition all the time, but room and board is just as much  ya know? ....  'Sspecially in California .... textbooks .... lab fees .... cetera .... Jim, when I beat Roberto Duran .... ya know .... 'No mas!  No mas!" ....  that's California college students these days ....  with the fees ...  'No mas!  No mas!' .....  Anyways ...  by the way, Jim .....  didn't ya think Mrs California ....  Miss California's mom, by the way ....  isn't that crazy ....  doesn't she look like her sister or sum'thin'? ....  Dang, she fine, Mrs California ....  she fine

Lampley:  Ok .... while you were talking, Ray, providing cogent analysis as always .... the two daughters have entered the ring ...  well, the fight area ... Ray, not much time ...  who ya got in the first bout of the evening?  ....  Quickly, please .....

Ray:  If the apple don't fall far from the tree? ....  which, it usually don't? ....  Miss California ... Dang, she fine, too ....

Lampley:  ... aaannd, we may find out quickly, Ray ....  the two daughters are wasting no time laying into each other .... Goodness, they do realize you're allowed to move their heads, don't they?? ....

To be continued.....

[sinclairfan]

ROUND 1, CONTINUED

Lampley:  Ladies and gentlemen, Sugar Ray; skeptics of tonight's HBO event, especially the daughters' bout, had expressed concern that the Miss California versus Miss Georgia fight would be [air quotes] "just a catfight".  But these two girls .... correction, young ladies .... young women ....  are putting the lie to that analysis.  Ray Leonard, just LOOK at the punishment these two blondes are absorbing on their faces ...  Their flesh is already swollen; their cheeks, their temples, even ...

Leonard: But that's why, Jim ...  That's what I talkin' 'bout ...  in a standup fight, you gotz ta move your head ....  you gotz to bob 'n weave .... head movement, Jim, head movement, I sayin' .....

Lampley:  I agree, Ray ....  The reason prize fighting has sanctioning bodies ... one of the reasons ... has nothing to do with gambling, or fight being fixed, or anything .... there are fundamental basics of self-defense .... that's why martial arts in general, exist, correct, Ray? .... is to prevent injury from an aggressor .... and, well, there you go, right there ....  Miss California just completely walked into a right cross .... a telegraphed one, I might add ...

Leonard:  Yeah, she sho' didn't disguise it at all ....

Lampley: ....  from Miss Georgia.  An all-out telegraphed right to the jaw.  Miss California, practically daring Miss Georgia to hit her square in the jaw.  I'll give Miss Cali credit, tho, Ray ....  Miss Georgia, too, for that matter ...  neither fighter has flinched at ... from .... a single blow thus far this evening ...

Leonard:  That's right, Jim.  ...  lottsa times you see amateur fighters turn they heads ... they backs ....  that don't get you no where .... neither fighter here doin' that ...

Lampley:  Ray, the bell has rung for the first round .... we, of course, have no referee tonight ....  I guess part of me is amazed this fight went a whole round ...  but, I guess we're on, for lack of a better term, 'the honor system' for this first round ending .... Ray, at this pace .... this Hagler-Hearns like pace, dare I say ... how many more rounds can these fighters possibly go??

Leonard:  Jim, I hope not long ....  Missus California, she fine ...  I wanna see her scrsp like this ....

Lampley:  Ah, yes ...  Mrs California ....  Duly noted, is Ray's ...  fandom ... of the tall blonde.

Leonard:  Thank ya, Jim.

Lampley:  No, no ...  thank you, Ray ...  thank YOU.

To be continued.....