PROLOGUE
Gentlepersons, I give you 1951's St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Before I do humsover, lemme just light real quick, this greasy perfecto. Whilst I do, here's what the Indianapolis News had to say about the bout: "A crime in the name of sport... a sickening tribute to brutality!" The Matanzas lights willingly off a quick tiny foot-toasting of a coffee bean and leather aroma. First hot tug is that and smooth black pepper.
THE CIGAR
Bahia Matanzas
6 1/4 x 54 Perfecto
Ecuadorian Habano Sun Grown wrapper
Nicaragua binder
Honduran & Nicaraguan fillers
THE FIGHT
By Patrick Kehoe: "There was no love lost that Valentine's Day. And all the bantering questions were going to be answered in Chicago and on Valentine's Day, 1951 when welterweight champ Sugar Ray Robinson from Detroit moved up to take on his arch enemy Jake LaMotta, the reigning world middleweight kingpin, one last time. Even though the two had slugged it out five times before, with Robinson leading the series 4-1, all the cards were on the table as Robinson took his astounding 122-1 (78) record in against The Bronx Bull. LaMotta was tired of hearing about "the great Sugar Man" promising "that welterweight a night of absolute pain! "I've beat him before and I'll finish it up tonight."" - Seconds Out
RD. 1
Draw is a good tick tight on the Matanzas, and in an attempt at loosening, I Xikar Xi2 more off the cap than is per usual. Remains tight. Lacking in smoke to smoke-hole. An atypical charcoal note hits the familiar espresso lead. Yes, I've smoked these a bunch. LaMotta comes in hard under Robinson's jabs and heads straight to his body. Draw loosens, charcoal ebbs, espresso flows and leather comes up. LaMotta scores some decent body shots off some in-fighting. Robinson gets on his bake, but the darn thing shifts gears so quick, that he's throwing leather at you and I gotta think you could swear he was moving away still. LaMotta gets lower and lower. Robinson stays tall and flicks. Then suddenly, Jake is the one who shifts -- moving from low-slung near lumbering stalker to jabbing from two angles at once and setting up a short left hook that puts Sugar Ray on notice. Draw on the Matanzas is smooth as silk now, as are its notes. Espresso, leather, warm spices led by nutmeg and cinnamon. Under-notes of rich soil and barnyard. Ding - ding.
RD. 2
LaMotta plods ahead employing deceptively skillful feints. Robinson looks like he dips into a different zip code, then back again with jab, jab, jab. Always circling left in a beautiful just-outta-reach glide. Sugar hits The Bronx Bull in the labanza just as LaMotta gets in and you expect damage going the other way. Dark roasted nuts soar from the Bahia now on pillowy clouds of dark roasted cream.
RD. 3
Starts in a frenzy of mid-ring leather throwing. The Matanzas's own leather stiffens to lay across the earthy backing. Jabs from Ray are crisper yet, and find Jake's brow with a greater frequency. LaMotta begins to look more plodding than advancing after being ribbed in the previous round once getting inside. LaMotta gets his own jabs in from underneath, working more severe angles. Jake opens to throw a left hook and Ray beats him with his own right, scores a few more. Jake grabs him and eats another bit of glove. LaMotta is sticking to the stalking, and it ain't making with dividends. Sugar is doing some good work to his ribs and putting moolah in the bank thattaway. Smoke out-put soars and flavor notes rise to medium+ boundary testings, yet remain clean.
RD. 4
Slower start -- similar theme. A feeling out round, a lull before the transition, in cigarcentric lingo. The Matanza, too. Charcoal has fallen off. Mouth-feel is smooth as Sugar gliding to his left. Sugar, yes... caramelized alongside an approaching molasses. Happy Valentine's is wished to the fairer sex, alone in the original blow-by-blow of the match.
RD. 5
LaMotta switches to a right hand lead off Robinson's jab. Robinson sets a bit more often to fire rapid combos of varying scoring. LaMotta keeps eating body shots, yet no effect is seen. LaMotta starts varying the heights of his left hooks -- looks to be a tad more open and loose. He begins to start making it harder for Sugar to go left, and instead, he bikes straight back, allowing the Bronx Bull to steam straight ahead with a tick more reckless abandon. Ash builds on beautifully off a near dead-even -medium thick burn. Strength is on a tick. Seam loosens some at char. Toasted notes flow on black bread. LaMotta eats some more gut shots and drops his left enough to allow a right to clock his button. Ray follows up with another and then another to the kisser to end the round.
RD. 6
Burn wonks a tick and ash lilts. LaMotta gets a few lefts in, in and off a clinch. More pressure now, and Ray seems to have less luck holding him off. Raging Bull rages more. Ash gets rolled off and a light re-touch. LaMotta eats a few to give one. More leather lands.
RD. 7
LaMotta's foot work becomes a bit more of the energy-saving variety, legs look great. Pace slows on the Matanzas burn, evens in a slight ribbon. Hickory, seasoned, comes on-board. Robinson lands a quick combo, throws it in reverse, circles left. The Bull takes a more direct and economical route in plodding ahead to him. Each land. Repeat.
RD. 8
LaMotta starts getting his right in more. Still, his face starts looking like the proverbial catcher's mitt. Faster feet from the Raging Bull, more head feints. More black pepper on the retro-hale in particular.
RD. 9
Charcoal comes back in and stays on the finish. Chocolate balances. Cream dials down a tick. Slight and mainly preemptive re-touch. LaMotta chooses to protect his rib with his left elbow and offers up his face. Big combination center ring by Robinson. LaMotta keeps coming, but this is Robinson's round. Big rights now. Peppery notes continue and mouth-feel is a tick of drool. Leather gives oils. Espresso starts to rise even heightier heights.
RD. 10
LaMotta starts to wear down a bit. Tough couple rounds for the Bull. Robinson begins to unload. LaMotta is an Eye-talian tank. Sugar falls back to jab LaMotta's messed up mug. More sugar on the draw, too. LaMotta's footwork slows and not purposefully so this time. Burn comes up on secondary band, and I slide it off over-top. Strength is a half up-ticked. Earth backing soars and leather with its oils, falls into it.
RD. 11
More uppercuts from Robinson. A couple hooks from LaMotta. Series ends with Sugar in the corner and LaMotta raging ahead. Robinson counters out from the turnbuckle, but has eaten a buffet of shots. Leather is swapped center-stage. Pumpernickel loaves are charred in a wooden stove. Licorice vibes in. Hey, there's a ref in there! He separates 'em and they go back at it, teeing off in turns. Ray lunges, Jake stumbles. Maybe one of the greatest rounds you'll see, ends with Robinson in command after beginning with him on a near wobble. Ash browns a tick. Smoke is white and creamy.
 |
| This may or may not be the same photo as the previous photo. Who knows? |
RD. 12
Right crosses to LaMotta's ear. Left hooks to the ribcage follow. His third hand paws at LaMotta's beat mug. Raging Bull has a drooping left. Sugar Ray comes in looser and at will. Flinging left hooks and following with stiff rights. LaMotta is hurt..wincingly so. Ray now wraps his man up at will. Fires in close, separates, barrages from afar. Burn is a ribbon but evening at the taper. Lips are smacking. Body is -full; flavors aren't far from there. Finish cleans in a new floral herbal thing bordering on a mint vibe. Ash pales. Moss vibe.
RD. 13
Draw firms a notch. Robinson fires at will. Back to success at the labanza! Then up top. Robinson looks a tick tired from throwing glove. Breathes a big one in a gulp as he leans on Jake against the ropes. Woods brace and red spices delineate to cleanse even further on the back of herbal dalliances with minty vibings. Licorice too, but always high espresso notes that occasional include a cocoa from the middling. Big right off that slight rest opens up the Bronx Bull to a firing of combos and the ref steps in. New World Middleweight champ.
"If the referee had held up another 30 more seconds, Sugar Ray would have collapsed from hitting me."
"If the referee had held up another 30 more seconds, Sugar Ray would have collapsed from hitting me."
K A P L O W I T Z SCALE
Appearance TConstruction W
Combustion I
Flavors/Body I
Strength L
FINAL GRADE
****B+****
Typically an A-, but this one had an inconsistent draw.
EPILOGUE
I don't need an epilogue just because I done a prologue, right?
Right.