A Tragic End to Boxing Legend Valero
Alone in a jail and potentially facing life for his wife?s murder, Valero ended his career in tatters leaving many to wonder what went wrong and why this happened. The tale reads like a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. The burial was quick but the details of the squalid lifestyle began to emerge to put a marker on all the boxing achievements. The story was full of the usual culprits of drug abuse and alcoholism. It brings an end to what might have been a great career. The emotional and psychological problems that plagued Valero were best completed by suicide. Perhaps he could not take any more.
The ceremony was poetic in its silent reminder of what might have been. The coffin went to his Birthplace in Venezuela accompanied by hundreds of fans who had come to pay their last respects. At just twenty eight years old, this seems like a cruel waste of a young life that should have delivered so much more from the abundance of talent it possessed. Having been arrested and charged, he confessed to the crime according to the police reports. Ironically it was in the same place that his twenty four year old wife had been laid to rest.
Understandably the families of the wife were very distressed at the whole situation. They felt that the police had been guilty of ignoring a pattern of domestic abuse. Having pulled himself from so far he ended up hanged within a prison cell almost as if to return to the place that he was born into. He fought poverty and a limited opportunity to make a name within the boxing world but of recent has faced a number of personal problems that have ended in this tragedy. As the regrets and spurious tabloid headlines take hold, we the boxing fans can only mourn the life of what could have been a remarkable boxer. There are not too many like him and the boxing world has lost someone of value, regardless of his personal challenges. May his soul rest in peace and our prayers are with both the families.
Mickleson Makes a Golf Return
Phil Mickelson will make a comeback to the Scottish Open after missing the event last year. At the time that the event happened in 2009 the American left hander was helping his wife to recover from cancer bouts. The return to the field must be tinged with memories of the illness that afflicted his wife. However he has also done very well in this event in the past and there is nothing to suggest that he will not be able to achieve the same or similar results on this occasion. Certainly his presence in the field significantly increases the pedigree of players in the field and will lead some to wonder whether he can continue his unbeaten run on that particular course since his last finals triumph here.
The Scottish Open seems to agree very well with Mickelson and he has had some notable winning runs here with four championships to his name. Therefore he will be playing in familiar territory in an event that he has been very good and could even be better. He is quite aware of the significance of his return as evidence by his reference to his wife during the interviews but it will primarily be about the golf. He has expressed an ambition to continue winning at this event and it would not be too surprising if he ended up holding the trophy again.
However it must also be said that the competition is quite strong and he should prepare for a significant fight. There are many youngsters who are coming up in golf and they will challenge all the legendary players at the big championships in order to make a name. There are few reputation building upsets than the great Mickelson in his empire at the Scottish Open. Many young players will be relishing the prospects for glory. Some of us will also be looking forward to the post match interviews and the discussion about a certain great player who is just returning after some family issues. Mickleson does not shy away from controversy so the sparks might fly.