When the going gets tough, talk tough

Way back when, when a pro boxing outcome seemed grim, the real champs followed a simple rule: When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

So old school.

November 2008 gave us a poseur from Chicago and his posse of pimps who pranced into town with new school rules. Now, when the going gets tough, they talk tough and tell you what they're gonna do.

Well, Mr. Sugar-Pants, don't tell us what you're gonna do, just do it! Blowing smoke and telegraphing punches never won a prize fight.

Bluster won't out-gun live ammo. Nobody became champ with fake moves and silvery prose unless they were Muhammed Ali, the world's greatest heavyweight.

Not only did Ali announce how he was gonna whup a fighter's ass, he delivered his message with poetry and flair. And followed up with lethal weaponry that set his opponents' clocks back to the Jurassic era.

Mr. Sugar-Pants, you punch with delts made of Jello. We've watched you flailing at air and we've watched Muhammed Ali. Mr. Sugar-Pants, you ain't no "The Greatest."