TOP RING ENTRY SONGS

TOP RING ENTRY SONGS II

I started Bryguy Boxing exactly three years ago to the day! Thank you, thank you. In that time I have written some good stuff(I predicted Hatton-Mayweather to the round), I have written some horrible stuff(I've gotten just about every other prediction dead wrong), and I have written one entry that appears at the top of Google if you are looking. Ring entry songs! Yes, my blog entry about my top five picks for great ring entry songs has been Googled more times than I can count on my hands and feet! Who knew the Bryguy would be the go to guy for such a thing? I guess I know my stuff, that or I could be the only human being strange enough to write about what songs should be played just before you get into a ring to bash someones face in. In honor of Bryguy Boxing's third anniversary I have decided to make another list, because more music has been released, I've been to a few more fights and......I sure would like a few more hits from Google.


I will just repeat what I feel a good entrance song should be all about.  It should be something to pump up fans, while at same time getting the fighter amped up.  The song should also be something that could intimidate the the other fighter, realistically if you get the fans going, that should be enough to intimidate the other fighter.  Also, I like something that has a solid beat, can get my head bobbing, and keep the fighter moving to the ring, something almost militaristic.  Well, there you have it, my criteria for which this list is based. Without further ado, here are my suggestions for some good ring entrance songs.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Believe it or not, I am a big fan of score music.  It is some of the best stuff on the planet, and some of it is downright tough.  Think about it, when you go to the movies, what makes you scared?  What makes you sad?  What fills you with pride for a character that you don't know?  What would Rocky's training scenes be without his theme?  Therefore I think some of this score music could be used for entering the ring.  Last of the Mohican's is filled with uplifting, tough, militaristic type music.  So is Backdraft, Gettysburg, Gladiator, and Braveheart.  Here are a few tracks that stand out to me:

PROMENTORY - Last of the Mohican's - Trever Jones


On the surface this is a nice beautiful song, but if you really listen to it, the strings and the light drum in the back ground keep quite a kick ass beat. It never looses it's rhythm and can get people feeling pretty good about their fighter. The NFL didn't put it in their TV adds because it was pretty!

THE BATTLE - Gladiator - Hans Zimmer



This music is from the same guy who brought you The Contender theme. I personally feel this one packs a bit more of a kick than the Contender stuff does. You just need to skip in about two minutes and you've got a great ring entrance. If that doesn't get your pulse going, I don't know what would.

5.   IT'S TIME FOR WAR - LL COOL J

Seeing as how my last ring entry song list was topped by LL's "Mama Said Knock You Out", I thought it was fitting that my new list would start off with an LL track. This one is off his latest album, Exit 13, in fact it's the 1st track, and gets his album off to a thumping start. The bells ring and choir sings right off, it sounds as if you are going to someones funeral. It would be a perfect song for Bernard Hopkins to enter the ring to, because LL is mostly rapping about being disrespected do to his age. The chorus just echoes over and over "It's time for war!", the beat stays heavy through out, and the choir never stops. This is no doubt the type of track that would get me amped up while my favorite boxer made his way to the ring.

4.   HELLS BELLS - AC/DC

You can hear it now, can't you? The bells slowly ringing, one at a time, a sign that something bad is going to happen, or perhaps someone bad ass is on his way? Sometimes, a good ring entry song will let you know it's time, but then let you wait, for a slow boil. Hells Bells is the perfect song for that. When the guitars kick in that's when the walk begins. It isn't the type of song to make you jump up and down uncontrollably, but it will make you turn to your friend a let him know, "someones getting knocked out tonight!".

3.   REMEMBER THE NAME - FORT MINOR

With a catchy hook, heavy beat, and a tough attitude this track is just begging to lead someone to the ring. It also obviously states that after this night you will, "remember the name". It's all about trying to make it big by having a big heart, and a will that won't quit.  Remind you of anything? I know that this song has been used for everything from NBA commercials to TV shows like Friday Night Lights, but that's because it's that good.  This is type of song that makes me drive faster when I hear on the radio, and I can guarantee you, it would make me stand up and bob my head at a boxers entrance.

2.  EYE OF A SOLDIER - YOUNG BUCK

As I said in the beginning I like as song that is somewhat militant.  Most every Young Buck track is Militant, but this has a little more to it.  I think it's due to the background of Trey Songz.  The chorus starts up first thing and boasts "I've got the heart of a soldier, got the soul of Tiger, if you ever said I'm scared, then you a mothef****** liar."  Thems fighting words if I've ever heard them!  The beat is tough throughout, the pace is not too fast, but not too slow either.  It could be just enough to let people know, your here for business.

1.   STAND UP (LET'S GET MURDERED) - P.O.S.

This is one of my favorite artists right now, and this track from his album Audition stands out above all the rest. The horns kick in right away, and soon after the chorus is yelling at you to "Stand Up". The beat keeps moving and P.O.S. raps with a frantic angry, yet somehow thoughtful pace that sounds like a combo of Eminem, and Common. Two minutes in to the track, the horns really pick up and you are told, "hands up if your broke, go find a way to stand up, give it up if you're hoping to never give it up, hands up so we know who's here, who wants to open up the machine and rage against the gears, STAND UP!". According to my Ipod, I have listened to that song 625 times, and I can tell you, yes, I still want to rage against the gears(whatever that means). This one gets an added bonus, because I'm sure not many people have heard it, and it could be the type you will try to find after the fight.

There you have it, my suggestions for some ring entrance songs.  Let me know what you think, or if you have a few suggestions, let me know.  

Big Weekend

It's a big weekend for fight fans, no matter if you're rich or poor. If your rich, you may be purchasing the Jaun Manuel Marquez vs. Joel Casamayor fight on HBO PPV, while at the same time, DVRing the Showtime double-header of Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman and Timothy Bradley vs. Edner Cherry. Those poor fight fans like me, will no doubt catch the Showtime card and patiently wait for the HBO replay a week later. I think both cards are strong, with the Showtime card being the more exciting of the two, and the HBO card while being an intriguing match up, not exactly PPV worthy. Well, I don't want to get into another blog entry about what is wrong with this sport, I just want to give a few predictions.

HBO

Jaun Manuel Marquez vs. Joel Casamayor

Ok, since I'm running late, I will make these short and sweet. I think JMM outpoints Casamayor fairly easily. When you are as talented as JMM, I don't think moving up in weight makes that big a deal. I also feel Casamayor has gotten away with his last two fights. He should have lost against Santa Cruz, and Katsidis got caught. Jaun Manuel Marquez UD

Vernon Forrest vs. Sergio Mora II

I don't really care about this fight, and I think it's really sad that it is kind of a co-main event. They should of had something better for a PPV show. That being said, I thought Vernon looked over the hill in his last fight, and the reason he lost was because he couldn't let his hands go. I don't see that changing, and I think he should consider retiring. Mora UD

SHOWTIME

Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman

This could be the toughest fight to call out of them all. Guzman is slick and undefeated, but Campbell is battle tested veteran. Guzman came in overweight, but does that mean he's out of shape, or just doesn't care about the belt. We remember what happened the first time Castillo came in overweight against Corrales! I still have to go with the seemingly tougher, grittier champion. Campbell seems like the type of guy who busted his butt to get the title, and isn't going to let some undefeated slickster take away from him. I think he'll pressure Guzman till the youngster crumbles. Campbell TKO 12

Edner Cherry vs. Timothy Bradley

I have really enjoyed watching Edner Cherry over the years, and for that reason, I'm giving him the win. I think he will surprise everybody and pull off the upset, just because I like him! Cherry SD

PREDICTION

MIGUEL COTTO vs. ANTONIO MARGARITTO

I have an idea, the winner of this should fight Manny Pacquiao for the number one pound for pound fighter in the world........I'm just kidding that would be as stupid as Pacman fighting Oscar Delahoya!!! Anyway, both of this weekends combatants are tough, talented, and getting ready for the toughest fight of their careers. Miguel Cotto is an undefeated fighter, who has been able to break down every opponent methodically like the Terminator searching for John Conner. Antonio Margarito has made a career of beating solid opponents and being avoided by the most solid of opponents. This will by far be the best fighter each has faced in their respective careers, and both seem to be ready for the task. How is gonna go down? I thought you would never ask!! I personally have never been all that impressed with Antonio Margarito. Although I do think he is a solid fighter with the guts to match any pro in the biz, I think his best quality is being awkward. Every punch he has seems to loop whether it's supposed to or not, and somehow it works for him. I suppose I should also mention that Antonio has a granite chin, too bad he's facing a fighter who loves to go to the body. I can see a few scary moments early on, kinda like the Cotto-Judah fight. Cotto does take some nice uppercuts and Margarito sure know how throw them! I think Cotto will weather the storm and break down Antonio the same way he has the rest, by ripping to the body. I think Margarito's corner or the ref will stop the fight late, say 11 or 12. PREDICTION COTTO TKO 12

GLEASON'S GYM

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted.  I've been in the midst of a job change.  I will no longer be working for CN8: The Comcast Network.  I am now a Videographer for NESN.  I will be covering mostly Red Sox and Bruins, I will miss covering as much boxing as I have in the past, but the move overall is a good one.  Since I won't be covering boxing as a photog anymore I decided before I left to put together one last boxing piece that had been siting idle for about 8 months.  

Every time I sat down to watch boxing I would hear about famous gyms through the United States, Kronk, Gleason's, and more recently the Wild Card.  The one gym that is mentioned in nearly every boxing broadcast was Gleason's Gym, and it was always prefixed with the likes of, historic, famous, one and only.  I wanted to know what was so special about Gleason's( ya, I know they had a bunch of champs) what I wanted to was, why.  So Jeb Fisher and I, along with our trusted sidekick Dan"the animal" Cordella, took a trip to the famous gym and were truly inspired by what we saw.  So much so that I put this piece together with no intention of it seeing TV time, Dan is know boxing, and Jeb still has dream about Zab Judah.

Thanks to everyone at Gleason's for helping us out Bob Jackson, Hector Roca, Yoel Judah, Zab Judah, John Duddy, and Bruce Silverglade.

I hope you enjoy it.  Please let me know what you think.

PREDICTION IN THE FORM OF POETRY

Twas' three days to go for the fight,

and there are 30,000 Brits stirring all through the Vegas night.

The gloves are hung in the locker rooms with care,

just waiting for fists to fly through the air.

Boxing fans are not sleeping too well,

they're waiting anxiously for the ring of the opening bell.

My mom's not a boxing fan but even she has asked,

what is my prediction in who will be standing last.

24/7 has made my mouth water for weeks,

I just wish I had never seen Ricky Hatton's cheeks.

Even though it came and went in a flash,

I will repeat, I really didn't need to see his pale white ash.

Before you know it, they'll juke and they'll jive,

I don't think there's any way it ends inside of five.

Hatton will go to the body Mayweather to the head,

I'm so excited after the fight I could probably drop dead.

Mayweather is slick, Hatton is tough,

Ricky's best chance is to make this one rough.

Mayweather will use all his speed and skill,

to stay on the outside and try to break Ricky's will.

I don't think this will go the distance at all,

I just want it to end in a brawl.

I don't see Hatton's hand being raised,

What I do see is poor Ricky going down in a blaze.

Mayweather doesn't take fights he thinks he could lose,

he picked the hitman, someone he thinks he can abuse.

Hatton will fall around eight or even nine,

he is not suited for the 140 to 147lb. incline.

The loser should not be ashamed of the outcome,

just risking their records is more than most have done.

All in all I just want to see a good fight,

holy good gosh, I wish they could square off tonight!

SHEER ENTERTAINMENT

The only thing dumber than these two guys flexing

at each other is the fact that this fight is on PPV.

Over the past few months I've been reading and watching interviews with Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. I will say that I have learned a few things:

1. They are both very funny.

2. They are both very stupid.

3. They are not getting my money.

I truly feel that the best part of this fight has been the lead up to it. I'm not sure what i laugh at more, Mayorga's completely original insults towards Vargas “You see this fat girl in this photo?(showing a picture of Vargas) This is the fat girl I am going to knock out. I would like to introduce her to you today. She is Fernando Vargas." or perhaps I find more humor in watching Fernando take his shirt off every two seconds to show off his flabby physique.(I say that only because he is supposed to be an elite athlete, he is still in far better shape than I have ever been in.) Watching the two of them at their final presser had me laughing out loud at times and crying a little on the inside. With these two idiots standing on opposite sides of a piece of plexi glass, shouting at each other as if they were at recess comparing your mama's fat jokes, I can't help but laugh. Yet, it's sad to think that boxing has crossed that line that separated it from the world of professional wrestling. I hope people don't pay for this fight. This is exactly what's wrong with boxing. Trying to hype up two has been fighters by having outrageous pressers and making it seem like these two guys have genuine dislike for each other. I don't care if they like each other or not, they are getting paid to fight so that's what they're gonna do! I wouldn't be surprised to hear on Saturday that someone got hit over the head with a steel chair and the ref didn't see it. This could be a fun fight, but that doesn't make it worth paying for. In the end just remember it can't be more fun than the pressers have been, and that's because those were free. I will also give you my prediction for free. I think Vargas has been shot for a while and was exposed by Mosley. PREDICTION: Mayorga TKO 8

A LETTER TO BOXING

With most things jobs, sports, families, there is someone in charge, someone you can bring your problems to. If you have a problem with the NFL, you can write a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell. If you have a problem with the rules at your house, you can bring it up to Mom or Dad(if your living at home, your landlord if your not). If you have a problem with boxing, you have to just bitch and moan about it, like the no good whinny cry-baby you are. Well, I have many problems with boxing, and thanks to my friend Coach, I have decided to write a letter.


Dear Boxing,

I am writing you because I feel as if I am in a one way relationship. I am not completely unhappy, I just feel that I give so much more to you, than you give back to me. There are times I feel as if I am being stood up on a date. Remember the time you had the pound for pound champ take on the most popular fighter in the game, tota l let down. Maybe you remember the time you had two of the games pound for pound best tacticians square off in a boxing chess match of sorts, then charged me 50 bucks to see it. How about when you dare ask me to give 50 dollars for match-ups that are even less interesting? You have been trying lately, but it seems as if these things you've done for me this fall will be taken away by spring time. Taylor-Pavlick II will be on PPV, Joe Calzaghe's next fight will probably land there as well. That's just more money down the drain.

I have a few suggestions for you that would change our relationship. I know that I can't ask you to be a different sport, it's too late for that. You'll never be the NFL, or MLB, or even the National Beer pong League for that matter. I'm asking for little things, just enough change to make me feel as if you care. To start, you need to fix the heavyweight division. It's the one division that no n-boxing fans pay attention to. This is easier than you think, are ready for the simple fix.......change the heavies to the Super Heavyweight division. You can then change the name of Cruiserweight to Heavyweight. Think about it, it's just a name, all people will know is that these are big athletic guys who put on good fights and can knock fellas out with one punch. The Supers will be fat and out of shape, like they have been for years. You could even extend the limit to 205 or maybe 210 if you needed to.

Idea number two, stop charging me for good fights. It's been nice this fall with the Pavlick-Tayor and Kessler-Calzaghe fights, but with that you throw at me Pay-Per-Views like Cotto-Mosley, and Mayweather-Hatton. I'm not saying thaose are bad fights, I'm just asking why can't you find advertisement money instead of taking my hard earned cash? Those are good fights, but along with those you try and get me to buy Shannon Briggs vs. Sultan Ibragimov and Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo Mayorga. I understand that the sport is always going to have PPV's, but if you keep having these lame ones you're not promoting yourself. How do you expect to get new fans involved in the sport? No one is going to fork over 50 bucks for something they don't know anything about. That goes for cheap tickets to the events themselves too. Recently I went to the Contender Finale at The Banknorth Garden, the cheapest tickets were 45 bucks! The Garden is huge, you're telling me that selling 10 or even 20 dollar tickets would have broken the bank? On top of that you didn't even advertise it very well, I talked to at least ten people(most of whom work in the sports industry) and they had no idea there was a big fight happening in Boston. If you sold cheap tickets you would have packed the place and maybe walked away with a few extra boxing fans.

I would l ike to have more good fights televised. I don't think this is too much to ask. Why is it that Spike TV shows every UFC worth watching. ESPN Classic picked up Holyfield vs. Ibragimov, who the heck wants to see that fight? Yet I have to find David Haye vs. Jean Marc Mormeck, and Lucian Bute vs. Alejandro Berrio on youtube after the fact. Or the time you made me watch Wlad Klitschko destroy Ray Austin within seconds. Just air good fights, people will begin to watch if you do that. Along that same line, is it too much to ask to have a PPV event be shown at a bar? The way you charge a bar for PPV's is by their max capacity number. That's forcing bars to not order the fights, that means regular sports loving people are being turned away from the sport. I don't know about anybody else but if it's a sport and it's at the bar, I'll watch it. Once again, your just sucking old fans dry, and not introducing yourself to new ones. Why not just charge a flat rate to the bar, something affordable, you'll benefit in the end, I promise.

One last thing, just make some effort. You have made some real progress this fall. You put together some great fights, now don't turn back. Get the winner of Mayweather-Hatton to fight Miguel Cotto. Heck you could even have the loser fight Mosley. I will also say for the first time in a while I am happy with a PPV undercard(Mayweather-Hatton). You usually stiff on the entertainment for the prefights, but this time you're doing it right, good for you. I know you're not perfect, I don't expect you to be, just give me some effort. I'm gonna love you no matter what, I just don't want other people to say I'm in an abusive relationship, that's all. So work on a few of these things and I think we'll be alright.

Love,
The Bryguy