Styles Of Beyond's Ryu: "Everyone wants to see a good ass-beating; regardless of social status."

By Coyote Duran

When one hears the name 'Ryan Maginn', what comes to mind isn't exactly 'successful hip-hop star.' However, when 'Ryu' is mentioned, knowledgeable rap fans think Styles of Beyond; hard-hitting, underground hip-hop artists. Styles, composed of Ryu, Takbir 'Tak' Bashir, DJ Cheapshot and producer Vin Skully, have been recording since 1997 but have made a greater impact on the hip-hop world with their numerous collaborations (with Linkin Park, LP's Mike Shinoda, The Crystal Method, Demigodz, The RZA and Apathy) throughout the genre; on the strength of having released only two full albums (1999's '2000 Fold' and 2003's 'Megadef') and one EP (2007's 'Razor Tag' with DJ Green Lantern). As guest-members of Shinoda's act Fort Minor, Styles gained some of their most valuable exposure; as evident from singles and videos such as 'Remember The Name' and 'Believe Me.' In fact, as of this writing, Styles of Beyond are anticipating a new distribution deal for their upcoming album 'Reseda Beach'; since separating from Warner Brothers' imprint label Machine Shop recordings (helmed by Shinoda and LP guitarist Brad Delson).

So, imagine this writer's surprise when I found out Ryu was something of a fight fan himself. Being a huge fan of Styles and Fort Minor, I checked out Ryu's My Space photo gallery and found a photo of him alongside former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Zab Judah. I did some prying and found, underneath the talent and alliterative audacity, a casual fight fan. The one you can enjoy a huge event with some –or many- cold beers along the way.

And that's why if you're expecting a historian on the receiving end of these questions, stop reading now. Ryu, like many fans who get the privilege of taking in a super-fight or mega-event, just digs Our Sport just because he "wants to watch a good ass-beating"; which is something the Styles' music is wholly evocative of. At the least, you'll discover a fan who might be just like you. Read on, Howlers.

Coyote Duran: At what age did you start watching boxing?

Ryu: I think I started watching around five years old. My dad used to watch it a lot.

Coyote Duran: On a scale from one to ten, how would you grade yourself as a fight fan?

Ryu: Nowadays I would say about a five. Too much politics and not any good heavyweight fights anymore. The superstars are gone. Not to say that there aren't any new superstars on the horizon

Coyote Duran: Who are your favorite fighters; past and present?

Ryu: All time favorite, of course, is 'Iron' Mike Tyson. I used to like Gerry Cooney and (Brooklyn-based, Irish heavyweight) Seamus McDonagh because they were Irish. In recent years, I like Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton and Zab Judah.

Coyote Duran: As a celebrity, do you think it's wrong for celebrities who don't know anything about boxing to get really excellent, comped seats?

Ryu: Naw, not really. Everyone wants to see a good ass-beating; regardless of social status. It's not realistic to think that Jay-Z and Beyonce are gonna sit in the rowdy, cheaper seats. Just from a security standpoint, it's not possible. But I do think they should have to pay for them (good seats).

Coyote Duran: Why is there such a strong connection between hip-hop and boxing?   

Ryu: I think they both share a love of competition. I also think a lot of rappers grew up tough; having to fight a lot. Just my opinion.

Coyote Duran: Do you watch MMA and UFC as well?    

Ryu: Naw, I've seen like two fights. I'm not really into it. A lot of my friends are though.

Coyote Duran: How often do you watch boxing?

Ryu: Every once in a while. Pay-per-view kinda killed boxing for me; a little bit. I got sick of paying to watch wack fights. They need to bring it back to regular network TV.

Coyote Duran: As a hip-hop icon yourself, what goes through your mind when you see fighters like Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya cut albums or Floyd Mayweather Jr. put together a record label?

Ryu: I think they're just looking for cool ways to invest money. It usually fails because being a good artist takes the same time and dedication as a good boxer. Not everybody has what it takes.

Coyote Duran: Do you think these fighters understand what it takes to be a recording artist just because they have success in the sport? 

Ryu: I haven't seen any that I feel could become good artists. I guess anything is possible though

Coyote Duran: Are there any fights you're looking forward to?

Ryu: Ummm… I'm gonna watch the De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao fight and maybe (Wladimir) Kiltschko vs. Hasim Rahman. That's about it.

Coyote Duran: Are there any particular young fighters you're looking at to be stars in the future?

Ryu: I'm not sure. I usually start watching when they become stars to be honest. I saw some good fighters in the Olympics though.

Coyote Duran: What was the best fight you've ever seen? 

Ryu: Gerry Cooney vs. Larry Holmes. I still have the poster from that fight! Gerry Cooney was gettin' his ass beat but refused to fall down. I've never seen anything like it to date. And Larry hits hard!

Coyote Duran: You have a photo in your My Space gallery of you and former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Zab Judah hanging out together. Is Zab a Styles Of Beyond fan?    

Ryu: Yeah. I had done a song for Zab a while back when he was supposed to fight Shane Mosley. He would put the song on when he would train. He's a good dude and I appreciate the opportunity to work with him.

Coyote Duran: As a Judah fan and friend, do you think he'll ever gain substantial success since his loss to IBF welterweight titlist Joshua Clottey?

Ryu: I hope so. I think he has it in him. I would start by getting out of Vegas, buckle down and train in Big Bear or something. We will see. I wish him the best.

Coyote Duran: What flaws do you think the sport suffers from?

Ryu: I think pay-per-view's responsible for a lot of the sport's problems. A lot of people don't want to pay to watch these fighters develop into just contenders. They need to make it free again.

Coyote Duran: Ever go to a boxing gym to try sparring or training?

Ryu: Yeah… I failed. I'm too lazy and I smoke two packs a day. One of these days, I'm gonna make a change and commit to training hard. 

Coyote Duran: Ever get together with the rest of S.O.B., Celph Titled, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, Vin Skully or DJs Cheapshot and Green Lantern to catch the fights?

Ryu: Naw, we've never watched a fight together; mostly because we all live in different locations, other than me and Mike. But I don't know if mike likes boxing…

Coyote Duran: Do you believe that any sanctioning body/alphabet group (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, etc.) has a legitimate claim to calling any of their representatives a 'world champion'?

Ryu: I don't know. Unless they've (each titlist) fought every contender in the world, I would say not.

Coyote Duran: Do you think there are too many weight divisions?

Ryu: Yep. There should be three. Lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight and that's it. It's just less confusing for the average person and I think the title fights would mean a lot more. That's just my uneducated opinion. I think the sport needs to be streamlined for the mainstream. Go back to the old days.

Coyote Duran: As a white rapper, do you see parallels with white fighters in having to go above and beyond to beat the stereotype and prosper?

Ryu: Naw, you definitely have to prove yourself at first as a white rapper; but when people see that you're good, I think they want to work with you even more because they are surprised. White rappers still get the surprise factor but I think the playing field is pretty level in hip-hop. If you're dope, you'll do well on some level regardless of race.

You want more 'Fandom Howlings'?
e-mail Coyote at: artofthepaw@yahoo.com
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One Mo', Joe?

By Coyote Duran

After Saturday night's World Light Heavyweight Championship bout between still-undefeated and former champs Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr., respectively, new attitudes surfaced like dead fish after 'South Park's' Uncle Jimbo and Ned threw grenades in the lake.

Many were revelations about Calzaghe himself if you can rely on the viewpoints of message board traffic.

Most feel Calzaghe has the most choices of any fighter his age and age is a viable point of argument. Like Jones, Calzaghe is 'up there' if you consider age vs. occupation. Remember when HBO's Larry Merchant referred to Bernard Hopkins as a 'geriatric' during the Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad Undisputed Middleweight Championship bout in 2001? Like Calzaghe is now, Hopkins was the ripe old age of 36. If you choose to compare Hopkins' career at that point to Calzaghe's now, you might be hard-pressed to believe that it's any less accomplished than the 2001 'Executioner's.' It might even be more.

In looking at Hopkins' career in 2008, you'll find a mish-mash of circumstance culminating in the 'Just when you think he's finally done...' category that never holds water. It's frustrating because of the fighter he's been and has become. Fans of 'B-Hop' couldn't have the best of him from pre- and post-Trinidad because of the evolution he needed to age with His Sport. Once Hopkins beat Trinidad, he slipped into safe mode knowing that every middleweight mandatory (and that's what they were. Let's be honest) worth his salt would be gunning for his black-hooded skull, turning it up only when fans were well past 'write-off' mode. These instances could be best summed up in Hopkins' wins over Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik. Despite Hopkins' age, at the time, Calzaghe's win over the former Light Heavyweight Champ was still the stuff of boxing lore. That's even without the wins over then-two-belted Mikkel Kessler and Jones.

That's right. Jones. You shouldn't make yourself believe that Roy Jones Jr. was the 'throwaway' farewell opponent Calzaghe was waiting for. At the same time, Calzaghe might just hang 'em up tomorrow. We don't know for sure although, sometimes, we think we can call a fighter's every move. We tend to live vicariously through our favorite fighters so it becomes a latent second nature to think we know what's best for our careers. Half the time, we're right.

Jones wasn't the 'throwaway' because he wasn't going anywhere unless he wanted to. Yes, that category pretty much includes 99% of fighters; past, present and future. But Jones, for losing against Calzaghe, did it his way. In that way, his comeback was a success. Perhaps if he went the same, cautious route right after being knocked out by Tarver in their second fight...well, it doesn't have to be illustrated but reality offered different. Maybe he thought he could turn back time by being wiser. Unlike Hopkins, it was too wise, too late.

But consider what was done with the time spent coming back. The practice was good. Good enough to make one a lot more than a 'throwaway.'

Yes, Jones is past his prime but attention always falls on those suffering from such a malady; especially when the infirmed is as accomplished as Jones. But no fighter, no matter how past his best he may be, loses everything that made him special. There will always be a little flicker where the flame used to be and with what he's got left, Roy Jones Jr. has nothing to be ashamed about. Can there be another slow-roasted comeback for the one-time Pound-For-Pound best? No. A farewell fight against another light heavyweight fringe contender? If Jones wants. Hopefully, it's the furthest he wants to go.

Joe Calzaghe's always going to have critics 'til the day he hangs 'em up. Even afterward, not unlike any fighter someone thinks might suck. He never took on the best. He didn't step up quickly enough. He retired too soon. Add whatever you want to the litany because it's all been said anyway. The aforementioned message boards had it all; post-fight. And there was also the good that came from the fight and its potential end to a solid Hall Of Fame career. Calzaghes' most significant fights were title wins and defenses against Jones and Hopkins at light heavy and Kessler and Jeff Lacy at super middle; all within less than the last three years. The last fighter who did so much in the last stage of his career (despite being victimized by near-obscurity) was Winky Wright. Where Wright is now, however, is entirely contingent on his own decisions. Just like Calzaghe; but seemingly backwards. By the same token, just like Hopkins; but with obviously different degrees of success. Though, is it wrong to call them kindred spirits for their respective accolades as well as their steadfast criticisms? Nope. It's our make-up to make the distinction. Remember, we know what's best.

Let's say Calzaghe doesn't retire. There are obvious conclusions to come to when you've got only so much time left in your own career view. None of us will agree 100% but if I had my druthers, Calzaghe's last fight would be against IBF titlist Chad Dawson. If I thought I was alone in that assessment, I would certainly be deluded so let's see why:

1. Dawson's the last name challenge to face. For what it's worth, 'Bad Chad's' the only titlist who has enough mustard to warrant that real shot at a World Championship. Before you wind up the hamsters to start e-mailing and accusing me of hypocrisy due to my Ring Magazine leanings, I'm giving props to the titleholder, not the title. Dawson just happens to hold the IBF belt. He doesn't need it. If he did, Dawson would've defended the WBC belt against undefeated Adrian Diaconu when Diaconu was finally ready instead of vacating it for the October shot at then-IBF titlist Tarver. But the belts, admittedly, get one paid and Dawson's no different. This isn't to say Dawson's not smart. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have taken the chance. Like a slick gigolo who bounces from woman to woman like a tawdry neighborhood rumor, Dawson wouldn't think twice about dropping the red belt for a chance at Calzaghe. Calzaghe answered the question on who's the best in his dual division so, realistically, who's left for Dawson to face? And it isn't like Calzaghe doesn't like a nice, shiny alphabet strap every once in a while. How long did he hold the WBO 168-pound belt? 11 years?  65 years? What difference does it make? He held it for a long time and that means even he thinks alphabets have their merits...

2. There's no point in entertaining the thought of rematches against Jones and Hopkins. Why? Whatever Calzaghe feels he needs to get done, he can do himself and not do 'by way of.' Sure, Glen Johnson's name has come up more often than not because of his less-than-convincing loss to Dawson in April but everyone knows that beating The Man who beat The Man isn't going to make you The Man. That turd has never been sufficiently flushed (or to be specific, statistically substantiated). It really serves little here at this juncture. Beating Bernard Hopkins isn't going to make Calzaghe the automatic winner over Kelly Pavlik; regardless of the fact that Calzaghe beat Hopkins before the latter defeated Pavlik. And if this is really 'Super Joe's' last hurrah, facing and defeating Johnson would accomplish little more than gaining more doubt in the haters' eyes. And there will be the fan's who believe Dawson did enough to beat Johnson. Tarver-Johnson IV? Why not. If Tarver's got one last gallon in the tank, post-Dawson, then maybe he should match it again against Johnson who's got at least twice that much and call it an IBF eliminator. In fact, Johnson, the perennial tough-as-nails workhorse just beat Aaron Norwood Tuesday night. When you keep that busy, at the age of 39, with better results than most, you're in damn good position for anything. Johnson, of course, is one of those 'better late than never' fighters (like Calzaghe and Winky) and his stretch can be reasonably compared to Bernard Hopkins' based solely on late-career accomplishments; not all-encompassing facets. It's kind of a subtle no-brainer; if there is such a thing. Could be worse. It could be Johnson-Clinton Woods IV…

3. If you host at Millennium Stadium, Dawson will come. Half the battle in organization and promotion is done if you believe Dawson's comments the day after Calzaghe-Jones. Dawson's reference to Calzaghe "drawing the curtain on his great career in front of his family and friends and 70,000 fans" has got to get Joe's senses burning. This would be the one goodbye gift that those who knew what Calzaghe was made of in the beginning truly deserve. Hey, Madison Square Garden is great. So great, there's been four of 'em! But let's be honest here, do you REALLY think Calzaghe calls it quits in NYC?  Win or lose, there's no place like home, Dorothy.

Unfortunately, Joe Calzaghe won't ascend to the Canastota's pantheon without a little name-callin', under-the-breath talkin' (Thank you, Fort Minor). Neither will Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya or Bernard Hopkins. We're used to it. But if the World Super Middleweight/Light Heavyweight Champion wants to pack it up and go home, he has every right to. We rather he didn't, of course. We want Calzaghe-Dawson whenever you cats can get around to it because, remember, we know what's best.