If you've ever wondered what it was like to get punched in the head — really hard
— fortunately, you don't have to climb into the ring and find out
yourself. Photographer Tim Shaffer gives you a pretty good idea of what
it is like with his photo of Lavarn Harvell's knockout of Tony
Pietrantonio in Atlantic City, N.J., on Saturday.Fighting on the undercard of the HBO-televised Bernard Hopkins-Chad
Dawson light heavyweight title fight, Harvell knocked out Pietrantonio
in a bout that got scant attention.
It was scary at the time, though, because when Pietrantonio went
down, he slammed his head violently against the mat. He landed right in
front of press row and his head hitting the mat was easily audible to
reporters in the first several rows.
Immediately, officials signaled for a stretcher to be brought in,
but Pietrantonio was fine and left the ring under his own power a few
minutes later.
Shaffer's incredible photo caught the moment of impact perfectly. If
you wanted to know what it feels like, look at Shaffer's picture.
Pietrantonio's entire face is distorted as Harvell's punch lands
squarely in the middle of his face.
What's scary is, the left hand that is cocked in the photo followed seconds later and Pietrantonio went down and out.
The good news is that Pietrantonio is fine.
And if there is a competition for boxing Photo of the Year, now we know
the leader in the clubhouse. Boxing has been blessed to have had some
legendary photographers, such as Neil Leifer, recording its history
over the years. And guys like Chris Farina, Tom Casino, Ed Mulholland
and Will Hart are giants in the field today.
But it's hard to imagine any of them shot a picture that is more
dramatic than Shaffer's. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for
the photo of Muhammad Ali standing over a downed Sonny Liston in
Lewiston, Maine, urging him to get up.