The Truth Hurts, Especially If You Have Your Wits About You

Carl (the Truth) Williams apparently couldn’t make himself understood by the referee Friday night, but Willie Pastrano had no such problem when he fought Jose Torres for the light-heavyweight title in 1965.

After getting knocked down, Pastrano was asked, “Do you know where you are?”

“You’re damned right I know where I am,” Pastrano said. “I’m in Madison Square Garden getting beaten up.”

Add fight: Mike Tyson appears to be too much for the current heavyweights, but how would he have fared against the fighters of old?

Tyson, a boxing historian who has watched hundreds of films of old fights, told the New York Times: “I’ve imagined myself returning to the teens and the ‘20s, to when Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey were the champions. I could let them know that they could never forget about me. They could say, ‘I fought Mike Tyson, who was one tough guy.’

“I’m not saying I could’ve beaten ‘em but they would’ve known I was in there with ‘em. But if I could only fight one guy, it’d be Muhammad Ali. If I beat him, I’d know I beat the best.”

Add Tyson: Of Joe Frazier, he said, “In the ring Joe was a no-nonsense fighter. But he once told me he used to stay out until 4 o’clock in the morning, then get up to run and train, and I thought, “Yeah, all right, that’s my kind of fighter.’ ”

Trivia time: Nick Faldo and Fred Couples, playing partners in the British Open, have what in common? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Jack Nicklaus told USA Today that the only time he bet on himself was in the 1960 U.S. Open, when he was a 20-year-old amateur.

Nicklaus: “They had me at 35-1, and my dad said he was going to put a bet on me. I said, ‘Put me down for 20.’ Coming down the stretch the last day, I was more nervous about getting $700 than winning the U.S. Open.”

Nicklaus finished second. The winner was Arnold Palmer.

Here we go again: Vito Stellino of the Baltimore Sun said that Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Wes Hopkins, after being chewed out by Coach Buddy Ryan for his performance in a running drill, said: “I get out there and you give me 40 yards and a running back or a wide receiver and I’m going to do that. If you want me to run a great 880, train me for that.”

Stellino: “Look for Hopkins to be departing soon.”

Out of touch: Fifty years ago, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of baseball, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y., from which Rich Gigler of the Pittsburgh Press quotes this segment: “Baseball has become not only a great national sport but also the symbol of America as a melting pot. The players embrace all nations and national origins, and the fans, equally cosmopolitan, make only one demand on them--can they play the game.”

Gigler: “This was eight years before Jackie Robinson became the first black major league player.”

Trivia answer: Both attended the University of Houston.

Quotebook: Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post, on Mike Tyson’s 93-second win Friday night: “The introductions of Donald Trump’s family took longer.”