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TALKIN BOXIN
by Howie Reed
January 11, 2004
It didn’t take long for the sport of boxing to take
its’ first three direct hits of the New Year. Irene M.
Reed (“M” for Maude which she hated with a passion
usually reserved for the university of spoiled
children and notre dame), dam of your humble typist,
use to say “Things always come in threes.” Granted
she wasn’t the first to ever utter those words in that
order but the first time Little Howard was introduced
to that logic. As usual Mom’s are something always
right. The boxing assault was lead by the FBI probe
of “racketeering in boxing.” This story captured
national attention when the offices of Top Rank (In
Las Vegas on Howard Hughes Parkway) were raided by the FBI last Tuesday.
Should take the time here to
“splain” that FBI stands for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and not the Fat Boys Institute of which
I was a card carrying member. Plus I have no idea why
it’s not the FBI.
During the raid the FBI using a “sealed search
warrant” took computer and “stuff.” Stuff being
besides computers, financial documents, boxers'
contracts, medical records and videotapes of
professional fights. The Vegas papers carried the
story initially in a “oh by the way” manner. Then the
New York Daily News and its’ Police Bureau chief
Michele McPhee played the Paul Harvey role by telling
the rest of the story on Friday. Since then stories
have abounded, “Look out Maude here come one of them abounding theories”, on
an almost hourly basis. We do know that the basic probe is said to center on
“fixing the Mosley-de La Hoya fight last September”. We know that because a
“law enforcement source” said, "We have information that the De La Hoya
fight was fixed."
That reason while headline grabbing might not be the
most serious charge. The same law enforcement sources also contend, “there
also is evidence that scales may have been tampered with to allow boxers of
different weight classes to fight each other, and that medical documents
were forged. “
How this transpired is best told by Ms. McPhee
for the
New York Daily News so of course I’ll let her pick up
the story from here. (Swell guy that I am.” “ The
probe was spearheaded by an NYPD detective posing as a wise guy from New
York trying to sell stolen booty in Vegas. The FBI's Vegas office had asked
the NYPD for assistance, and with the blessing of Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the former New York State boxing commissioner,
the detective packed his bags for Vegas. The detective teamed with an FBI
special agent pretending to be his enforcer/driver, and they began moving
among Las Vegas underworld figures. They cemented their reputation as
goodfellas from New York, accumulating evidence through wiretaps and their
own observations. "These guys were solid in Las Vegas, flashing cash and
acting like tough guys. It was all smoke and mirrors, but it worked," said
another source familiar with the operation. The detective began ingratiating
himself with sports figures at hot spots such as Charlie Palmer's steakhouse
at the Four Seasons and the ultra-exclusive private Foundation Room
nightclub atop
He became a regular at Nine at the Palms and
A.J.'s in the Hard Rock.” Tis a good tale but one that cries out for
some “fair and balanced” reporting. And I’m just the guy for the job.
There are no “wise or mob guys” in Las Vegas. We know that cause
our mayor, The Honorable Oscar Goodman, said “There is no mob in Las Vegas”.
He should know as one of the most famous of mob lawyers from the “other” Las
Vegas Era. Secondly how the heck do you “steal booty”. Booty can
only be rented. On top of that if you’ve stolen it how the heck do you sell
it unless you use the regular sales agents in Las Vegas which are
“gentleman’s club”, massage parlors, outcall escort services or keno writers
on their lunch break? Now that the record has been set straight we can move
on.
At the time of the raid, last Tuesday, the major domo
for Top Rank Bob Arum was said to be “vacationing in
Europe”. Top Rank senior Executive Lee Samuels said, “We have been
cooperating with the FBI and have done nothing wrong.”
Later in the week (Friday) Arum returned from
his European vacation which he took in South Africa. The Review-Journal
reported “Top Rank Inc. chairman and boxing promoter Bob Arum went into
seclusion Friday, declining to answer questions about the FBI raid carried
out at his office Tuesday. “ Arum did hire PR Guru Sig Rogich and top
notch criminal attorney Richard Wright. They huddled and came up with
“Top Rank has done nothing wrong” That’s what Lee Samuels said in the first
place. Rogich did a little better when he said Arum was “incredulous” about
the raid. He should have been “incredulous” about South Africa being in
Europe.
Two theories have emerged as to what was the
motivating factor for the probe. One, according to the
review Journal, was the fight last April in California
between Joey Torres and Perry Williams. ESPN’s Teddy Atlas says his sources
tell him the probe was
initiated by the September 2001 fight in Mexican
between Verdell Smith and Jorge’ Paez.
The fact is that something is going on. That’s about
all that’s fact at this time aside from the FBI raid.
."There are some guys whose fighting records are going to be tarnished, and
there are some guys who are going to go to jail," said one law enforcement
source with knowledge of the case. "This case is going to be a huge blow to
the boxing industry and how it conducts its business."
One charge that has been “kinda” swept under the
carpet is that the “official scales and medical records” were altered. The
Nevada State Athletic Commission and its’ Executive Director Marc Ratner
were quick to speak to the “allegations”. "It was a close fight, and
it was one of those fights that could have gone either way," Ratner said.
"It was really a hard fight to score. As I watched it go round by round, I
felt it was a close fight, and I knew we had good judges. I saw nothing
inappropriate, and I absolutely don't believe that fight was fixed." The
scales charge, “I knew of no instances in Nevada in which the scales were
tampered with to allow fighters from different weight classes to fight each
other. The scales are calibrated the morning of a weigh-in, and no one has
access to the scales until the weigh-in.”
Those inside boxing know that if a fighter is a couple
of pounds over weight it’s a simple matter to re-write
the contract while the offending boxer pays a fine.
Now for a little Inside Las Vegas. After the Mosley-De
La Hoya fight you might remember that the 72 year old
Bob Arum accused the Nevada Athletic Commission, the fight judges, Athletic
commissioner Dr. Flip Homansky and assorted “others” of skullduggery. “I
will never promote in Nevada again.” The commission called a meeting to deal
with the “dastardly comments which impugned the integrity of the politically
appointed commission, the great state Nevada and boxing.” What happened?
Nada, Zero, Zip. Now for the rest of the story. (I love being Paul Harvey.)
Could it be at all possible that nothing was
done because Mr. Arum had hired “public relations consultant” Sig Rogich?
Mr. Rogich, for those outside the great state of Nevada, runs the state with
an iron hand. Not only does he have the ear of “every elected pol ” but also
other reproductive parts as well. They “serve the people” only so long
as they serve Mr. Rogich and the gaming interests. One former member of the
commission was working for Mr. Rogich while collecting money from those that
she regulated. Executive Director Ratner is a former employee of Mr. Rogich
and some say still has a desk in that office. Small world but even smaller
Las Vegas. Our state motto? “Inbreeding is good,” Two other story’s
that may have been knocked off public attention by the “Mosley-De La Hoya”
flap. (Excerpt of Article)
(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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