We know the foe

Posted by Sid

In one corner… the challenger, pinealoblastoma, cancer of the pineal gland in the brain.  It is a rare cancer; it is considered aggressive.  It is capable of spreading, but for some reason it usually does not.  You can Google it, and you’ll find that some call it pineoblastoma—it appears to be the same thing.  You’ll also find lots of outdated or just wrong information.

In the other corner… the defender, Sidney L. Gaskins, III, also aggressive in his own way, and ready for a fight.  In pre-match interviews, he has said he’s not just fighting for himself; he’s fighting for lots of other things and other people… he has a lot to fight for.

The date of the bout has not yet been scheduled.  It will be at least a month away.  For one thing, Sidney has been reduced to featherweight class, and needs some time to bulk back up to middleweight.  Also, the venue has not been announced; it’s possible he’ll have to travel to fight.

Scouting reports are that the challenger has been known to fight dirty, and this is of no small concern.  Expect Sidney to come out strong with a series of very hard (and tiring) punches at the beginning, though the exact game plan has not yet been decided.

Sidney, on the other hand, has his own advantages.  He is a personal friend of the Referee, and has a tremendous network of others applying pressure.  The Referee ultimately will decide, and He is known for His wise and fair decisions, but He has a history of taking into account the “heart” of the fighter.  For this reason, Sidney and his team are strangely confident.

For those of you unfamiliar with boxing, this probably makes no sense whatsoever—you might have to ask someone.  Sorry.