“Judge, if we may, with the court’s indulgence, we have three witnesses that we would like the court to hear,” he said.
他说：“法官大人，承蒙您的宽恕，我方有三位证人希望当庭陈述。”
“Briefly,” Nowlin replied.
“简要些，”诺林回答道。(右图为法官诺林)
Oscar De La Hoya, the legendary boxer-turned-promoter, was among the three witnesses coming to Kirkland’s aid. The trio was prepared to testify about the special bond Kirkland had with young boxers, about how Kirkland stood to lose not only millions of dollars but a chance to positively impact troubled youth, and why severe punishment would indirectly punish others.
传奇拳手兼推广人奥斯卡.徳拉霍亚，是专程援助科克兰德的三位证人之一。这个三人组合，试图证明科克兰德与年轻拳手们的特殊纽带关系----倘若科克兰德判决不利，不仅给他自己带来数百万美元的损失，而且也失去了给挣扎中的年轻人带来积极影响的机会；也就是说，过重的判罚无异于间接伤害他人。
But they would have to work fast.
但陈述必须简明扼要。
Nowlin was in no mood to dawdle, and so the defense team swiftly called the first of the three – Kirkland’s manager, Michael Miller.
诺林可不想拖拖拉拉，所以，辩方随即唤上首位证人----科克兰德的经纪人迈克尔.米勒。
The tall man with salt-and-pepper hair made his way to the witness stand, placed his right hand on the bible and took the oath.
这位头发泛白的高个儿男人站到证人席上，将右手放在圣经上发誓。
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”
“你能发誓说出所有真相吗？”
“I do.”
“我发誓。”
The truth was, Miller and others should have seen this coming, but also had seen a side of Kirkland they hoped would soften the judge and help save the boxer’s career.
其实，米勒等人早该预见到会有这么一天；而此刻，他们只希望软化法官，以求挽救科克兰德的职业生涯。
It was September 2005 when Michael Miller picked up the phone in his San Antonio office where he works as a commercial litigator and part-time boxing manager.
2005年9月的一天，身为商业律师兼拳击经纪人的米勒，在圣安东尼奥他的办公室接到一个电话。
“You don’t know me,” the woman on the other end of the line told him. “But I’ve got a fighter who just got out of prison.”
“你不认识我，”有个女的在电话中告诉他，“但我这儿有个刚出狱的拳手。”
The woman was Ann Wolfe, a boxer-turned-trainer, and the fighter was James Kirkland.
那女的就是拳手兼教练安.乌尔芙，而她提到的出狱拳手就是詹姆斯.科克兰德。
[blockquote]
Michael Miller is James Kirkland’s co-manager and testified on behalf of Kirkland.
(Photo courtesy Michael Miller)
[/blockquote]
Kirkland had finished serving his prison sentence for second-degree felony robbery and wanted to get out of his contract with promoter Lou Duva. More than anything, Kirkland wanted to fight and he thought his career was languishing under Duva.
当时，科克兰德因抢劫二级重罪服刑期满释放，正想解除与推广人杜瓦的合同关系。科克兰德认为在杜瓦旗下毫无生气，他一心只想上拳台。
Miller had a track record of getting boxers out of unfavorable contracts. Intrigued by the phone call, Miller in turn called Richard Lord, a longtime boxing trainer in Austin, in hopes of learning more.
在帮助身负不利协约的拳手走出泥潭方面，米勒颇有口碑。接到电话的他感到好奇，随即致电奥斯汀资深教练罗德，以期获得进一步讯息。
“He’s a tough kid but he’s not going anywhere,” Miller recalled Lord telling him. “He’ll stay in trouble and he’s got no direction.
“这孩子很强悍，但成不了什么大器，”记得罗德当时就是这么告诉他的，“他少不了麻烦，不知何去何从。”(右上图：詹姆斯.米勒)
“If you want to waste your time, get involved. If you don’t want to waste your time, don’t get involved.”
“如果你不怕浪费时间的话，就去搅这潭浑水吧；否则，就别费这个劲儿了。”
Trouble or not, Kirkland was a southpaw with an 11-0 record. Miller decided to meet the boxer and Kirkland’s two co-trainers, Wolfe and Donald “Pops” Billingsley. Soon after, he decided to get involved.
撇开麻不麻烦的话题，科克兰德可是个11战全胜的左撇子拳手。于是，米勒决定会一会这位拳手、以及他的两位教练----乌尔芙和“爆破手”彼林斯雷。之后不久，米勒就决定去搅一搅这潭浑水了。
Within a matter of weeks, Miller had extricated Kirkland from the contract with Duva. He helped find a new promoter, and soon Kirkland returned to the ring and returned to form.
仅过了几周，米勒就让科克兰德从杜瓦的合同中脱身出来，还帮忙重新找了推广人。之后，科克兰德重上拳台，回到了正常轨道。
He scored one knockout after another, and by May 2008 he was 22-0.
一系列KO获胜之后，2008年5月，科克兰德的战绩已提升至22战全胜。
Enjoying his winnings and an advance from Miller, Kirkland bought cars the way some people buy shoes. His fleet included a tricked-out Cadillac El Dorado, as flashy as the cross that dangled around his neck on a gold rope chain. He gave a car to Billingsley, the trainer who discovered Kirkland in a homeless shelter when Kirkland was 6, and gave one to Vanessa Walls, the mother of two of Kirkland’s three children.
得到米勒的提携，胜利一场接一场。陶醉中的科克兰德买起车子来，就像别人买鞋子。他的车阵中有一辆豪华的凯迪拉克“梦想宝藏”，炫人的还有脖子上那条纯金的十字架挂索。他送给彼林斯雷一辆车，当初，正是这位教练把六岁的科克兰德从流民窟中发掘出来；他送给瓦妮莎一辆车，科克兰德的三个孩子中，有两个都是瓦妮莎所生。
He continued to train in a modest gym that served as home to juvenile delinquents who, like Kirkland, saw boxing as a way to escape poverty.
他继续在简陋的训练营打拳，将这个训练营当做家的还有一群少年犯。和科克兰德一样，他们也将拳击视为摆脱贫困的方剂。
“It’s almost surreal,” Miller said. “You know, the world sees him as a big, tough fighter but when he’s outside the ring, he’s the most playful young man that I can remember.
“真难让人相信，”米勒说，“人们视他为一个粗壮而强悍的拳手；可下了拳台，他却是个十足的开心果。”
“… Of all the fighters that I’ve been involved with, James to me is the most special fighter that I’ve ever had. The reason being, he’s the one that’s really come from the bottom up.”
“...在我经纪的拳手中，詹姆斯是最特别的。这可能因为他是完完全全从最底层冒上来的。”
Few understand that path as well as the next witness Kirkland’s attorney called.
科克兰德的律师说，很少有人能像下一位证人----乌尔芙那样理解他的成长之路。
“Ann Wolfe, your Honor.”
“安.乌尔芙，到你了。”
Her thin dreadlocks pulled back, Wolfe took the witness stand.
乌尔芙站在证人席上，她稀薄的串串小辫子向脑后梳着。
“I was bad in the streets when Pops got me,” she said. “I went to the gym and I hate to say it, but James was the stinkiest little boy I had ever met, and it just seemed like he came from such horror that it was just like I was.”
“当年，‘爆破手’找到我的时候，我还是个街头小泰妹，”她说，“在训练营中，我讨厌提到这些，在这儿我就直说了。当时，詹姆斯是我所见过的最邋遢的小男孩，就像刚从染缸中走出来似的，这和我的童年如出一辙。”
[blockquote]
Donald “Pops” Billingsley, who co-trains Kirkland, found the boxer in a homeless shelter when Kirkland was only 6.
(Josh Peter/Yahoo! Sports)
[/blockquote]
Wolfe was homeless and 25 when she joined the gym and went on to win eight world titles. She became a hero in Austin and she took note of the young, hard-punching southpaw who showed so much promise.
无家可归的乌尔芙直到25岁才开始练拳，之后8获拳王头衔。她成了奥斯汀的英雄人物，而且将颇有潜质的左撇子重拳手科克兰德带出名声来。
Kirkland turned pro at 17, mostly because Billingsley thought it might help keep the boxer out of trouble. That proved difficult.
科克兰德17岁转为职业拳手，这大都由于彼林斯雷想帮他摆脱困境，结果并不如意。
He was 11-0 when he was charged for forgery in 2003 after police found him in possession of six counterfeit $100 bills. Later that year, he was arrested for armed robbery after a store manager who’d been held at gunpoint picked Kirkland out of a police lineup. All of which made Wolfe even more inclined to help the troubled boxer.
2003年，他因持有六张100美元假币被捕，进而被诉以伪造罪，当时他保有11战全胜的战绩。（右上图：“爆破手”彼林斯雷）
During Wolfe’s teen years, she served prison time in Florida for drug dealing. Kirkland reminded Wolfe so much of herself.
少年时代，乌尔芙曾因毒品交易入狱，因此科克兰德常勾起她对往昔的回忆。
“James, like me, when we in the ring, we’re going to fight to the death,” she said.
“在拳台上，詹姆斯和我一样，都会不要命地打，”她说道。
She was more than willing to help Kirkland when he got out of prison in 2005 but had doubts about her role. Ailing after his third stroke, Billingsley decided it was time to hand over the majority of his duties to another trainer. He selected Wolfe.
2005年，科克兰德出狱，她特想帮助他，但怀疑自己能否胜任。在彼林斯雷第三次中风之后，他决定交出大部分的训练工作，于是他选择了乌尔芙。
“I can’t coach,” she protested.
“我教不来，”她拒绝到。
“Yes, you can,” Billingsley said. “Before it’s over you’ll be better than me.”
“不，你能，”彼林斯雷说，“我最后再说一次----你比我胜任！”
Wolfe put herself through brutal training sessions, and she demanded the same from Kirkland. They flipped tractor tires through a field. They worked the mitts while wearing plastic sauna suits in the overheated gym. They did roadwork while pounding a heavy bag hanging from Billingsley’s rundown truck.
于是，乌尔芙投身魔鬼训练，她也以同样的方式要求科克兰德。他们在操场上翻转拖拉机轮胎；他们在酷热的训练馆中穿着塑料桑拿衣进行分指拳靶练习；他们边跑步边击打挂在彼林斯雷那老掉牙卡车上的沙袋...
“Whatever I asked him to do, he did,” Wolfe said. “… He spoke to every single kid that was in that gym, and he made all of those kids feel like they was somebody.
“我要他怎么练，他就怎么练，”乌尔芙说道，“...他和馆内的每个孩子交谈，使得他们都自以为自己是个菜。”
“You know, it’s like they missing out on a lot by him not being there. Last night they were like, ‘What’s gonna happen to James?’ ”
“如今，他不在训练馆，那帮孩子好似没人理睬。昨晚，他们的表情好似在问‘詹姆斯会怎样呢？’”
They weren’t the only ones worried. So was De La Hoya, the last of the witnesses called.
和这帮孩子一样忧心忡忡的还有徳拉霍亚，他是被唤到的最后一位证人。
Two years ago, Kirkland’s camp got an unexpected call from De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Promotions. They were looking for rising stars and signed Kirkland to a five-year deal that guarantees him three fights a year for no less than $150,000 a fight, according to Kirkland’s manager.
两年前，科克兰德的团队意外接到金童推广的电话。当时金童正在寻找希望之星，与科克兰德签了5年合作协议。据科克兰德的经纪人说，该协议承诺每年为科克兰德安排三场比赛，每场酬金不低于15万美元。
In his two fights after joining Golden Boy, Kirkland scored technical knockouts. HBO expressed interest in a lucrative multi-fight deal.
加盟金童之后的两场比赛，科克兰德均以TKO胜出。HBO表示了与其签订高酬金一揽子比赛协议的兴趣。
“The prime years for a boxer are between the ages of 19 and 30 years of age,” De La Hoya said. “I had an opportunity to do so much in that time frame, impact so many people, and be successful at it.
“拳手的全盛时期介于19至30岁之间，”徳拉霍亚说，“我有幸在此时间段做了这么多事情，影响了这么多人，并由此取得成功。”
[blockquote]
(Left to right): Oscar De La Hoya; Michael Miller, co-manager; James Kirkland; Cameron Dunkin, co-manager; and Ann Wolfe, co trainer. De La Hoya, Miller and Wolfe testified on behalf of Kirkland at the boxer’s sentencing hearing.
(Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions)
[/blockquote]
“James Kirkland, yes, he is in that time right now.”
“詹姆斯.科克兰德，他现在正好处于上述时段。”
De La Hoya said Kirkland had an opportunity to make millions of dollars and impact millions of people before a federal agent staking out a gun show in April found a loaded .40-caliber Glock in the center console of Kirkland’s car.
徳拉霍亚说，科克兰德本来有机会挣上几百万美元，并且影响数百万人。可是，今年4月，联邦探员通过一个枪展线索圈出了科克兰德，并在他的车子中控台下方搜出一支.40口径的克拉克手枪。（右上图：从左到右分别为霍亚、米勒、科克兰德、助教邓金、教练乌尔芙）
“I’m very disappointed in him,” De La Hoya said. “It hurt me because we do believe in him and we want to create something big. …
“我对他感到非常失望，”霍亚说，“我们真的信任他，我们正想撮合些大赛...，因此，这伤害了我。”
“I have to say that I put some of the blame on myself. I was too late to talk to Kirkland and take him under my wing because we just recently signed him, and we had to deal with other fighters. I want to take that responsibility.”
“我必须说明，我也有一些责任。我们不久前才签下他，而且我们还得打理其他拳手，所以没能早些与他谈话，没能早些将他庇护于我的羽翼之下。我应该担当这部分责任。”
With De La Hoya excused from the stand, the judge listened to final arguments.
随着霍亚离开证人席，法官开始听取最后辩词。
The defense said Kirkland had been robbed earlier this year and bought the gun for self-protection.
辩方说，科克兰德在年初遭抢劫，所以买枪自卫。
Prosecutors did not dispute those claims, but said showing lenience just because Kirkland was an athlete would send a dangerous message to the community.
公诉人并未对此提出异议，只是说，宽大处理的原因是：科克兰德是个运动员，过重的刑罚将会给公众传递危险的信息。
Speaking on his own behalf, Kirkland said he wanted a chance to make amends not only to his family but to the people who remained in his corner.
轮到科克兰德陈述，他说，他希望有机会去补偿他的家人、以及仍然等着他的教练们。
“There’s no more slips,” he said. “I don’t have no more second chances and third chances. This is it.”
“不会再出差错了，”他说，“我已经没有第二次、第三次机会了。说完了。”
Finally, it was in the hands of the judge.
最后，一切都将决定于法官了。
Throughout the hearing, Nowlin kept courtroom observers off balance.
听证期间，诺林一直让旁听者心绪起伏。
“It’s more difficult for this court to be as generous and as trusting of people like you,” he said.
“对你这样的人，要法院相信你，并且对你宽大，很难，”他说。
But he also remarked, “I want to do what I can to assist you …”
但他还是表示：“我想尽我所能帮助你。”
And then, “All right. Mr. Kirkland, the Court has reviewed the record in your case, including the information contained in this pre-sentence investigation report about your background, together with the information that you have presented to me through your statements and comments, and your lawyers and government lawyers that presented the case.”
他接着说道：“科克兰德先生，本院已经审阅了你的卷宗，包括有关你背景的判决前调查报告、你本人的陈述、你的律师的陈述、以及政府律师的陈述。”
[blockquote]
“… what you do with your life to a large extent has an effect on what I do in the future with regard to other people.”
– Judge James Nowlin speaking to James Kirkland during sentencing
[/blockquote]
Kirkland stood still, ramrod straight.
科克兰德静静地站着，笔直而肃穆。
A nervous energy filled the courtroom
庭内弥漫着紧张的气氛。
Nowlin continued.“… the Court is going to depart below the guideline range, and instead find that the appropriate sentence in your case, considering all of the factors that Court is required to consider, is a sentence of 24 months.”
诺林接着道：“...本院撇开指导条款，酝酿适合你的判决，综合各种必须考虑之因素，判你入狱24个月。”
The mother of Kirkland’s two youngest children turned to her aunt.
科克兰德最小的两个孩子的母亲转向她姨妈。
“Thank you, Jesus,” she said.
“感谢基督，”她是。
One of the family’s attorneys threw a celebratory uppercut.
一位家族律师出了一记上勾拳以示庆祝。
Nowlin said he was impressed with the outpouring of support for Kirkland, and the three witnesses – Miller, Wolfe and De La Hoya – looked relieved.
诺林说，科克兰德所得到的热切支持让他印象深刻。至此，三位证人----米勒、乌尔芙和霍亚如释重负。
The six months Kirkland had spent in jail reduced the sentence to 18 months. Good behavior could cut the sentence by another three months, and Texas law allowed the final six months of a sentence to be served in a halfway house. Kirkland could be out of prison and ready to fight in 10 months despite committing a crime that carried a maximum sentence of 10 years.
除去判决前的6个月拘押，科克兰德剩余刑期18个月。良好的表现可获另外3个月减刑，而德克萨斯州的法律还允许最后六个月刑期于监外过渡房执行。这样，犯了法、最高可判至10年监禁的科克兰德，可在10个月之内出狱备战。
“I have taken a chance with regard to reduction of the sentence in your case, Mr. Kirkland,” the judge said. “I am impressed by what you have done and what you can do with regard to young people who have had problems and difficulties growing up as you had.
“科克兰德先生，关于你案件的减刑因素，我已经考虑在内，”法官诺林说道，“你的表现，以及你能给予和你一样----有着同样成长问题和困难的年轻人的影响，都令我印象深刻。”
“… what you do with your life to a large extent has an effect on what I do in the future with regard to other people. So, if you foul up out there, you’re going to hurt somebody else who comes before me and gives me this same story. Do you understand?”
“...你将来的所作所为，将在很大程度上影响我对其他人的判决。因此，倘若你再次步入歧途，那么，与你有着相似经历而站在我面前的其他人----将受到你的伤害。”
“Yes, sir.”
“是的，先生。”
“OK. Good luck to you.”
“好吧，祝你好运。”
“Thank you, sir.”
“谢谢，先生。”
And so a judge who could have all but ended Kirkland’s career gave the boxer a chance to fulfill his promise – inside and outside the ring.
诺林法官本可以终结科克兰德的职业生涯，现在，他却给予这位拳手履行诺言的机会----无论拳台之内抑或拳台之外。
http://hi.baidu.com/%8F%D4%C0%AD%BB%F4%D1%C7/blog/item/f996fcfa9e5007284f4aeaa4.html德拉霍亚的博客。
IP卡
狗仔卡
发表于 2009-10-24 13:20:41
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
抢沙发
千斤顶
显身卡
发表于 2009-10-24 14:45:14
楼主