December 4, 1998, Friday
BOXING; Hard Knocks, And Then Some
By TIMOTHY W. SMITH
Source: The New York Times
Section: Sports Desk
841 words
Abstract
Profile of Johnny Tapia, bantamweight boxer who is meeting Nana Yaw
Konadu in World Boxing Assn championship bout at new Atlantic City
Convention Center; photo (M) Lead Paragraph
Mi Vida Loca my crazy life -- is embroidered on his ring robe. Somehow,
that does not begin to describe the troubles that the bantamweight
Johnny Tapia has endured. In fact, it is amazing Tapia is still boxing.
...
November 12, 1998, Thursday
Harry Markson, 92, Colorful Boxing Director
By GERALD ESKENAZI
Source: The New York Times
Section: Sports Desk
779 words Abstract
Harry Markson, soft-spoken and scholarly person who spent 40 years in
Madison Square Garden's boxing world, presiding over it for a
quarter-century, dies at age 92; photo (L) Lead Paragraph
Harry Markson, a soft-spoken and scholarly type who spent 40 years in
Madison Square Garden's often garish and turbulent boxing world,
presiding over it for a quarter-century, died on Tuesday night at
Riverview Hospital in Red Bank, N.J. He was 92. W...
Jury rejects Frazier claim of excessive force in 1998 arrest
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier's
claims of malicious prosecution and excessive force in a 1998 arrest
were rejected Monday by a federal court jury.
Frazier had told the eight-member U.S. District Court jury his
reputation was damaged by his drunken-driving arrest by Philadelphia
police about 3 a.m. on April 7, 1998, as he returned from an appearance
at a police benefit function in Hudson County, N.J. Frazier, 56,
was acquitted of driving under the influence in a nonjury Municipal
Court trial five months later. But he testified tearfully last week in
the civil proceeding in federal court that that "my reputation is
already tarnished" and that he has endured public humiliation. Frazier's
lawsuit had sought unspecified damages, contending officers used
excessive force in handcuffing him, despite pleas of pain from a "frozen
shoulder" -- a condition restricting shoulder motion -- and a bad back.
Police witnesses, including Commissioner John F. Timoney, testified that
police had probable cause to stop Frazier's car after he allegedly was
seen driving erratically about 3 a.m. An officer said he ran a red light
and stopped at a green light, and after being stopped, had slurred
speech and was staggering. Frazier testified that he does not drink
because he has diabetes and high blood pressure. He had been driving
home after an evening of signing autographs and shaking hands at a
law-enforcement banquet in Hudson County in northern New Jersey. Police
said the arrest and handcuffing was handled properly and that there was
nothing to make arresting officers deviate from their usual policy of
cuffing a suspect's hands behind the back.
