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TALKIN BOXIN
May 11, 2003
by Howie Reed
"You can’t kick a dead horse to death", Chick Reed.
NOW before you all get excited
and start yelling, "What’s he on about?" "Just take a chill pill, go with
the flow and wait for a second." I’m not about to kick a dead horse,
although a few to the sides of Indian Express, Most Wanted and Ten Cents a
Shine would darn sure make me happier. Heck I ought to get some pleasure for
my $200.00. That aside in last weeks rambling about the De La Hoyas-Campas
fight I forgot to mention a couple of things. In discussing promoters I
forgot to mention that they are the "strip miners" of
boxing. They go into a area (Like Las Vegas) take out everything they can
and then move on. They have no obligation to the sport, the community or the
fighters. They are in it for the money. That’s the bottom line. With that in
mind it’s not hard to figure out why we have so many lousy fights that are
promoted a "BFD’s". Please notice that NO PPV figures have been ballyhooed
to a "fawning lap dog press." One local venue for PPV was almost empty.
For once I wasn’t alone in stating the oblivious. Here’s some comments from
around the country on the fight. Michael Rosenthal is the highly respected
Assistant Sports Editor of the LA Daily News. " It was one of the great
workouts of Oscar De La Hoya's career. His title defense against Yory Boy
Campas wasn't much of a fight, as the junior middleweight champion rendered
a plodding Campas helpless with his much-superior speed and skills before
the fight was mercifully stopped with six seconds remaining in the seventh
round Saturday night." Tim Smith of the NY Daily News was of a similar
mind.. " It went about as expected, which is a good thing for Oscar De La
Hoya. The Golden Boy toyed with Luis (Yory Boy) Campas, boxing circles
around him until Campas' corner had seen enough and stopped it in the
seventh round. Though it was the most humane act of the night, Campas'
corner shouldn't have let him get in the ring against De La Hoya in the
first place. But De La Hoya and his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing,
gave them 650,000 reasons to make Campas a human punching bag." I heard that
it was 500,000 reasons but whose to quibble over a lousy 150,000 pictures of
dead presidents. Not I
From the Miami Herald. "Somehow, the Saturday night's fight with Ramon ''Yory
Boy'' Campas at Las Vegas was a pay-per-view event. The mismatch
against Campas easily could have been tagged a glorified tuneup to De La
Hoyas fight against Shane Mosley ." I spoke with a gentleman that attended
the fight (I’m persa non grata at the hosting facility) who said, "The crowd
loved it. They wanted blood. They didn’t care about competition they wanted
to see blood." I reminded the gentleman that the crowd was made up of the
same folks that love bull fights.
On the other hand every once in a great while a promoter is on the ropes
with a good chance of the referee stopping the fight. Gary Shaw is a
promoter who use to work for Main Events. They parted company. He set up his
own company by picking up the mostly castoff fighters from other promoters.
There’s a reason that these fighters were adrift and available to be signed
up. One of the fighters that Shaw has the rights to promote here in the USA
is Lennox Lewis the WBO heavyweight champion. Shaw got a idea that he’d
match Lewis against a warm body and Tyson on the same card and then match
the two.
Good idea. As Irene Maude Reed use to say, "There’s many a slip between the
cup and lip." Shaw gets HBO to put up "X" amount for PPV, then he gets the
Stapels Center in LA to come up with 7 million for the promotion then finds
a warm body( Kirk Johnson) to find Lewis. Tiny problem. Tyson is MIA "No
problem" say HBO and Staples. HBO takes the show off PPV and Staples lowers
the amount of money it’ll toss in to 3 point something million. Then a "lightbulb"
(Like the one that pops up in the funny papers to designate an
idea) appear above Shaw’s head. "I’ll add a fighter, make him into the next
coming and save the day." Not nearly as good as "Let’s put on a show and
save the University" but no bad either.
Who’s available ? Good young Vitali Klitchko about who Shaw says, "Vitali
Klitschko is one of the top heavyweights in the world and we are thrilled to
have him fight in the city he now calls home." What Shaw doesn’t say is that
Klitschko just got knocked sidewise by Corrie Sanders in loosing his dubious
title. It’s interesting that Shaw now is going to market Klitschko as a
"home town guy fighting at home". Interesting in that Klitachko was born in
Mother Russia , fights in Germany and lives in Beverly Hills.. But
what the heck you got to play the hand you’re dealt." I’m excited to be
fighting in Los Angeles and on HBO," said Klitschko. "The best thing for me
is to fight Lennox Lewis, the second best thing is to fight on one of his
cards. I am confident that this will bring me closer to a fight with Lennox.
I am sure I will convince the American fans with my performance." Rumor has
it that he’s convinced at least the females of very tony Beverly Hills of
his ability as a performer. Unlike the winner of the Kentucky Derby (Funny
Cid had the ultimate equipment change for a male) when Vitali retires he has
a future in the breeding shed. Gotta love the heavyweight division.
NOT too long ago a pro football player retired from the game. In his
retirement announcement he said, "I’m going to do a book." Asked in a radio
interview, "So, you’re going to write a book ?" "No read one." Unlike hat
pro footballer I on occasion have read a book or two. That’s especially true
since I discovered that almost city or town has a building where your can go
in and they’ll allow you to read their books and even take them home with
the promise to return on time. Now this discovery about this "book Building"
came about only ten or so year’s ago when I found myself "on the shorts" as
it were. Before some start accusing me of telling porkey’s, I didn’t find
out about this Book Building, called a Lie Berry, until long after my
college career if you can call partying for 6 years a career. Now I heard
rumors about the place but can’t remember ever going in or knowing many that
did. The Café’ , pronounced Calf, was more my cup of coffee between class’s.
Class’s that delayed my trips to Lenny’s , the Three Star, Cinnebar or the
Awful-Awful..
What prompted this little trip back to the "Lie Berry" was a book called
"Shadow Boxer" by Eddie Muller. Growing up in Oakland California in the
middle of last century was a delightful experience. It was a small town that
got almost big after the influx of people during and shortly after World War
II or WW II as it’s known to some. One of may dear friends, the late Gilbert
Travers, said, "I got discharged from the Army in Oakland. The sun was
shining. I knew back in Massachusetts they were shoveling snow. Having
survived the Army I knew that you didn’t have to shovel sun. I wrote my wife
Jean. A letter. "No snow. Meet me in Martinez." (Martinez is a town about 30
miles from Oakland where the train stopped. It was also the birthplace of
Joe DiMaggio but that’s another story for another time.)
Existentialist Writer Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, "There is no
there…there". With no respect Ms. Stein was full of it." Oakland had two
newspapers (Oakland Tribune and Post-Inquirer), a number of radio stations
(one which spawned Rod McQuen and Phillis Dillar although whether that’s a
plus or a minus I’ll leave to others), professional baseball (Oakland Oaks
of the PCL), Cal football, the Oakland Speedway (155th and East 14th where
Father and Son Reed spent Tuesday evening in the summer watching the "Mighty
Midgets of the BCRA" and listening to the voice of "Speed" Reilly who also
wrote a boxing column for Referee) for auto racing, horse racing (Golden
Gate Fields), a Burlesque Theatre (The El Ray where I saw Tempest Storm,
Patti Waggon, Lillie St. Cyre and Ineda Mann.), a hockey team (Oakland
Oaks), The first Swanson TV Dinner, a summer baseball program where I got to
play along side future big league stars Vida Pinson and Curt Flood and
boxing. How dare Ms. Stein say , "There is no there there." There was lots
of there, there.
Live boxing was held at the Oakland Auditorium on a somewhat regular basis.
With no TV local fighters were stars. Their records didn't seem as important
as the fact that they were local. "The Earl" of Richmond was one of my early
favorites. Earl Turner to me was the greatest fighter in the world. When not
fighting on a particular a card he was always introduce by ring announcer
Pesty Ryan, "Appearing here in two week at the top of another great boxing
card…from Richmond California The Earl of Richmond……Earl
Turner." He would come into the ring in a sharp suit and snap brim hat which
he would "doff" to the cheering crowd. Checking his record in Boxing
Archives the computer screen read 13-17-3. "Can’t be", says I. Maybe it’s
true and he was an "Opponent". He did fight the likes of Henry Armstrony (a
win), Sugar Ray twice(both loss’s) and the names that have faded from
memory.
It was always a added bonus with Al "Clown" Moore was on the bill. Moore was
a Oakland native who when the war ended said the heck with it, "I’ll stay
in". If memory serves me correct, and what the heck are the chances of that,
he was in the Air Force (a new branch of the service then) and station at
Travis AFB in nearby Fairfield. Now Al didn’t fight main events. He fought 4
or 6 rounds and put on one hell of a show. His most popular bunch was the
"windmill" where he would swing an arm as if trying to take off and fly. He
would mugg, dance, prance but he could fight. He fought from 1949 - 1963
with a one won over 500 ( 33-32-1.) those darn draws will get you every
time.
By far the most popular fighter was Johnny Gonsalves from 78 Avenue and East
14th. He was from the neighborhood . He was a guy that was a professional
fighter. His career spanned almost 20 years with a record of 56 (KOs 8) -21
D-3. Something should jump out straight away. From 80 fights he had 8 KO’s.
"he couldn’t break an egg with a sledgehammer", in the words of boxing great
Hedgmond Lewis. "Oh Nelly" could he box. He was a lightweight who made
other’s in the division look bad. Getting a shot on him was like trying to
corner your date on a Hayride with the 7th Grade Class from Elmhurst Jr.
High.. No chance. In 80 fights he was never KO’d. The roster of fighters he
faced is like a 50’s-60’s Hall of Fame.
He fought Gaspar Ortega (L PTS 10) Bobby Scanlon twice both W’s in 10, Paolo
Rosi twice both L’s in 10, Len Matthews ( L PTS 10), Paddy DeMarco wins
twice both decisions, Paul Armstead twice W and L, Cisco Andrade ( W PTS 10)
Kenny Lane two L’s, Lulu Perez (W PTS 10), Wallace "Bud" Smith twice getting
a draw and a win, Orlando Zulueta twice a win and a loss,
Ralph Dupas (L PTS 8) Virgil "Honey Bear" Akins (W PTS 10), George Araujo a
win and a draw and finally the most crushing defeat for those of us from
Northern California to Los Angeles Art Aragon on points. Living in Oakland
the only thing we agreed with San Francisco on was the hatred of anything
from Los Angeles.
So thanks to Eddie Muller’s book I can say to the long departed but not
lamented Ms. G.. Stein there was so a "There, there in Oakland." Muller is
the son of long time boxing writer from San Francisco Eddie Muller. His
book, a fictional murder mystery with real characters, portrays those days
of my youth, or UTE as Joe Pesi would say., with a fondness that I had
forgotten. He left something’s out but then he wasn’t an Oakland guy..
Missing were the summer bike rides to the San Leandro High School Pool. The
winter early morning trips before school to hunt ducks where now the Oakland
A’s and the Raiders now play. The aroma wafting from the two Cannery’s on
the other side if East 14th which filled the air with the statement, "We’re
here." Like the spur railroad tracks that ran behind our house we became
immune to their presents. Visitors would asked, "What is that smell and that
darn train ?" Never notice.
VISITED a Cannery of another sort last week. Irene Maude use to say,
"Confession is good for the soul.". What she failed to mention was that
following said "confession" I usually got the spanking I deserved. Still a
little confused on the confession thing but I’ll try once more. Asked Bill
Bennett said about confession. "Bet on it". So here goes. I really don’t
live in Las Vegas. I live in North Las Vegas. The newest Casino to open in
NLV is the Cannery which I had never visited until last week. The visit
coincided with the initial boxing card at this new happening place. It was
also the debut of Richard Steele as a promoter. First the best thing ,
besides a new venue, was the price. $15.00 with $2.50 Beers. Had a great
crowd of about 2,000 for a card headlined by Baira Kim and Ramaz Paliani.
Now if this names are unfamiliar join the crowd. Both had long amateur
careers. Paliani had over 300 amateur fights in Mother Russia. One look at
his face and no one would have questioned his time in the ring. His face
told the story. He hit Genaro Mellado (5-6) from Mexico so hard his eyes
looked like the machine hitting the Mega Bucks. That took all of two
minutes.
Baira Kim was 12-1 from Mongolia. He came into the ring wearing what looked
like road kill on his head. Now I have no issue with that. If they can make
road kill a delicacy for dinner in Louisiana then I’m not going to be the
one that tells a member of the Mongolian Horde that he can’t wear dinner on
his head. "NO sir re bob". Kim was matched against Eduardo Cota (10-2). Cota
had height and reach. He jabbed and Kim just flat walked through the punches
and put the gentleman from Los Mochias to sleep. Now I gotta write something
nice about the Cannery. Neat place. The boxing venue, called "The Club" is
an indoor/outdoor affair. The ring was indoors with one wall open to the
great outside where folks could drink and smoke. That’s boxing. Note to
Cannery. Move the ring 20 feet closer to the open wall to bring more good
seats into play. Friendly, reasonable priced libations and good food. Little
off the beaten track but then so am I. Note to PR folks at the Cannery,
"payola gratefully accepted."
Got a note from one of the good guys in boxing. He pointed out to "Moi" that
I might have left the impression that Yori Boy Campas was "chopped liver".
If that was the impression my ramblings took, I apologize. As Mr. J points
out, "in defense of campus.....his six losses to trinidadad 23-0 lopez
37-3-1 vargas 14-0 carr 49-3-1 santos 24=2=1 oscar 35-2 ….182-10-3 (all at
the time of campus fight recortds) thats 30-2-1 average for guys that beat
him altho campus not competitive,...he lost to three undefeated guys (oscar
is undefeated) ." The last may cause some to fall all over themselves to get
to the computor to correct Mr. J about "oscar is undefeated". Anyone that
knows boxing knows dam well that no one has beaten Oscar. He lost two
decision that stunk to high heaven and low hell. How about that ?
WANT to know why the heavyweight divsion is a shadow of what it use to be?
Sure you do. Two words Lennox Lewis. Prior to the second fight with Hashim
Rahman , Lewis was babbling on about suing someone. Rahman said, "That’s a
gay thing." Of course Prince Lennox objected. Well’s it’s Prince Lewis
constant whining and suing that have turned people off. He’s at it again
using Attorney Judd Burstein to file suit against Don King and Mike Tyson.
The suit is for 35 Million in damages and 350 million in punitive damages. I
won’t bore you with the details but the bottom line is that Prince Lennox is
mad at Mike cause Mike won’t fight on his June 21 fight card and won’t fight
him. What a sad case of the heavyweight champion of the world suing to get
someone to fight him so he can make a buck.
Judd Burstein recently filed a suit on behalf of Cory Sanders against the
WBO. He made some inflammatory remarks about the WBO and it’s President. A
Judge tossed the case and told Mr. Burstein to "Shut UP." He’s at it again.
"What happened was disgraceful. Don King should be hanging his head in
shame. This case typifies the sad state of boxing today - a sport populated
by athletes who refuse to honor their contractual commitments and corrupt
promoters, such as Don King, who will stop at nothing - including even death
threats, tax evasion and bribery - to advance their own causes." I didn’t
know Don King was a lawyer cause that’s what Mr. Burstein was describing.
THE WBC is getting it from all sides. The latest a "threat" (it should be
called blackmail) from WBC #1 ranked 140Lb contender Gianluca Branco (
32-0). Seems he ‘s got his pasta all twisted up cause the WBC mandated a
fight with Kostya Tszyu (30-1) except no one wants to put up the money.
Kosty’s manager won the rights to promote the fight following a purse bid.
Shopping the fight around he found no interest. That prompted a "Thanks but
no thanks." Branco’s manager then got the rights for $1,333,000. He sent
Tszyu a contract which the likable Ruskie ignored. Branco has now warned
that unless the WBC do "something" he’ll file suit on May 15, with a request
to the European High Court of Justice in Strasbourg, France, asking for a
restraining order to ban any WBC-backed fight in every European
country, until the Tszyu situation is solved. A similar lawsuit will follow
in the next days in a New York City court, trying to stop the WBC activity
in the USA."
Like the Rocchigiani situation the WBC made their bed and now has to sleep
in it. Rocchigiani got them for 30million USD’s maybe. What is surprising is
that the WBC would be so stupid as to rank Branco in their top 10 let alone
number one. He’s a fighter that being called bad should be a compliment. His
record of 32-0 might look good but it’s total rubbish. 27 of his wins have
come against fighters with a combined record of 136-151. He’s never fought
outside of Italy and most of his fights, including recently, are 6
rounders. If the WBC wants a easy way out all they have to do is take the
belt from Tszyu and sanction a fight between Branco and a warm body. Of
course their 140LB belt would then become a joke but sowhat ? One reputable
organization ranks Branco at 27. As Chick Reed use to say, "Sue on McDuff".
The aforementioned Mr. Rocchigiani (41-6-1) came to the end of the boxing
road Saturday night when he lost to WBO #4 light heavyweight Thomas Ulrich
(24-1). The UD(119-109, 118-110, 118-111) was somewhat one-sided to say the
least. "It doesn't matter whether it's one point or ten points." Rocky got
that right. A "L" is "L" is a "L". Close to G. Stein’s a "Rose is a Rose is
a Rose".
AND finally. Many of those that don’t or haven’t lived in Las Vegas view it
as a place of wonder. It is although I would guess not the kind of wonder
one from the outside would expect. From inside some of us wonder how so many
stupid people could reach so high to the executive level in gaming. As the
partying went into the "wee" hours of the morning following the DeLaHoya
workout the Rumjungle night club was packed like a Tokyo subway. How better
to celebrate a hero’s 11 million dollar workout then to drink and dance. The
NightClub in the hosting casino was doing a booming business. Small problem.
On Monday morning (the story wasn’t reported in the local "lapdog press"
until Saturday) when accounting personal open the bags of "money" from the
Rumjungle they found strips of plain white paper and play money. Gone was
$94,875," and Rumjungle’s manager Thomas Murray
"Police have obtained a warrant charging rumjungle manager Thomas Murray".
Mr. Murray shouldn’t be hard to spot as he’s 6 ‘6" and weights 300 pounds.
One other item about Mr. Murray. He has a background of criminal activity
that includes a conviction in Colorado for robbery. When asked if Mr. Murray
had been subjected to a background check or his criminal past was known
General manager Keleey Jones said,"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," I
would guess not. Vegas is Vegas is Vegas.
(Opinions and editorials of
HotBoxingNews.com is the opinion of those writers and may not be the
opinion of HotBoxingNews.com)
Want to make contact or comments to Howie Reed
Go Here! mailto:reed@hotboxingnews.com
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