Connect with us

Articles of 2002

WITH THE KENTUCKY COMMISSION, HIS NAME IS MUDD

Published

on

A former athletic commissioner from the state of Kentucky has revealed to us that he was threatened with discipline, and later dismissed, for having the temerity to be forthcoming with reporters in the aftermath of the injuries suffered by ex-heavyweight champ Greg Page in a Kentucky ring last March 9; a tragic incident that was most likely caused by the commission's refusal to insist on adequate medical and safety provisions for the fight, as was required by Federal law.

Ironically, Michael Mudd, the commissioner in question, was not even on hand that evening in Erlanger, Ky., when Page lapsed into a coma following his loss to Dale Crowe. But the ex-fighter, who had only been with the commission a matter of months, spoke freely about Page when questioned by an Associated Press reporter shortly after the fight.

When asked what would have prompted the 42-year-old to enter the ring for just $1500 that night, and whether Page's advanced age may have had anything to do with the injury, Mudd replied, “Look, your brain sits in liquid in your brain pan — so your brain is constantly being crashed against one side of the cranium or the other during a fight. But some of these guys love boxing and they can't give it up.” Mudd also spoke to representatives of other media outlets, including the Cincinnati Post and Cincinnati Enquirer, and did not appear to be laying the blame at the feet of anyone.

Nonetheless, this brought the wrath of Nancy Black, a shadowy figure who had never attended a professional fight before, and whose appointment to an administrative post as director of the Kentucky Athletic Commission was under dubious circumstances at best.

“Nancy Black called me, and honestly, I didn't even know who she was,” says Mudd. “She told me , 'Well, I'm with the athletic commission, and I don't want you to talk to the press'. I told her, 'I'm going to talk to whoever I want to. This is still America.

“Then she said, 'I'm telling you right now – I don't want you talking to ANYBODY'. And I said, 'Nancy Black, fuck you'. It was as simple as that.”

Shortly thereafter, Mudd was informed that he had been removed from the commission.

He wasn't altogether disappointed, considering the level of respect he had developed for his colleagues.

“They're just the biggest bunch of jerks,” Mudd says. “Having them on the boxing commission is equal to having a guy refereeing a high school football game who had never been to a game before in his life.”

With regard to the main culprit in the Page mess – Jack Kerns – Mudd is even more explicit. “Look, this guy never goes to a boxing gym; he only knows fighters by name, or if someone points it out to him. I don't know what the other boxing commissions are like, but this guy Jack Kerns is the biggest idiot that ever was.”

Mudd asserts that, in terms of boxing, the other people involved with the commission were just as smart as Kerns. He uses Black as a perfect example.

“This woman had never been to a fight in her life before the Page fight, and here she was after that, in the dressing rooms, insisting that she sign on the wrapped hands,” he says. “But she had never wrapped hands before. What the hell did she know? A trainer would tell her he wrapped his fighter's hands right, and she would sign off on it.”

Mudd did not bad-mouth the commission in any public statements before, but he explains that it was only because “they didn't ask me the right questions.”

“A guy from a local TV station (Mudd is from Louisville) came to interview me, and I was telling him before we went on the air that these people (his fellow commissioners) weren't qualified at all for their job,” recounts Mudd. “But during the whole interview, this guy never bothered to ask me exactly what qualified someone to be a commissioner. I would have told him.”

One thing Mudd didn't have any personal knowledge of were the events that unfolded last March 9, so he couldn't comment on the lack of oxygen at ringside. But he is among several sources who have told us that there has never been oxygen, or even a stretcher, on-site at any card the Kentucky Athletic Commission presided over before the Page-Crowe fight, even subsequent to the passage of Federal law that would require it.

“You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what's wrong with the commission,” Mudd says. “You've got a bunch of people who never had anything to do with boxing.”

Mudd is a named defendant in a lawsuit filed by Page and his family this past March, since the defendants include not only the commission but each member of that commission individually; however, since he was not present at the time, it's likely he will be dropped somewhere along the way.

Not that he wouldn't want to get in a courtroom speech about Kerns, who he thinks concerned himself more with matchmaking than regulation.

“This is really a bad guy,” he says. “The lowest of the low.”

(Naturally, members of the Kentucky Athletic Commission could not be reached for comment)

fightpage@totalaction.com

Copyright 2002 Total Action Inc.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Results-and-Recaps-from-New-York-Where-Taylor-edged-Serrano-Once-Again
Featured Articles15 hours ago

Results and Recaps from New York Where Taylor Edged Serrano Once Again

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

From-a-Sympathetic-Figure-to-a-Pariah-The Travails-of-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr
Featured Articles5 days ago

From a Sympathetic Figure to a Pariah: The Travails of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

More-Medals-for-Hawaii's-Patricio-Family-at-USA-Boxing's-Summer-Festival
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

More Medals for Hawaii’s Patricio Family at the USA Boxing Summer Festival

Catterall-vs-Eubank-Ends-Prematurely-Catterall-Wins-a-Technical-Decision
Featured Articles7 days ago

Catterall vs Eubank Ends Prematurely; Catterall Wins a Technical Decision

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Callum-Walsh-Umar-Dzambekov-and-Cain-Sandoval-Remain-Unbeaten-at-Santa-Ynez
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Callum Walsh, Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Remain Unbeaten at Santa Ynez

Jake-Paul-Outpoints-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr-plus-Other-Results-from-Anaheim
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Jake Paul Outpoints Julio Cesar Chavez Jr plus Other Results from Anaheim

A-Fight-Fan-and-Teremoana-Samson-Junior-Leon-Teremoana
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

Paro
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Liam Paro Returns with a Flourish on Wednesday’s ‘No Limit’ Card in Queensland

A-Boxing-Card-in-Alabama-Goes-Pfft-A-True-Tale-from-the-Underbelly-of-the-Sweet-Science
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Boxing Card in Alabama Goes Pfft: A True Tale from the Underbelly of The Sweet Science

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Avila-Perspective-Chap-333-Jake-Paul-JC-Chavez-Jr-Zurdo-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 333: Jake Paul, JC Chavez Jr, Zurdo and More

A-Closer-Look-at-Mario-Barrios-Poised-to-Wreck-the-Comeback-of-a-Legend
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Closer Look at Mario Barrios, Poised to Wreck the Comeback of a Legend

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

When-Boxing-Was-Big-on-the-Fourth-of-July-A-TSS-Classic
Featured Articles1 week ago

When Boxing was Big on the Fourth of July: A TSS Classic

Avila-Perspecrive-Chap-334-Back-to-Back-Boxing-Cards-in-the-Big-Apple
Featured Articles2 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 334: Back-to-Back Boxing Cards in the Big Apple

Mbilli-Blasts-Out-Sulecki-in-Quebec-Wilder-TKOs-Herndon-in-Wichita
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Mbilli Blasts Out Sulecki in Quebec; Wilder TKOs Herndon in Wichita

Results-and-Recaps-from-New-York-Where-Taylor-edged-Serrano-Once-Again
Featured Articles15 hours ago

Results and Recaps from New York Where Taylor Edged Serrano Once Again

Philadelphia-Welterweight-Gil-Turner-a-Phenom-Now-Rests-in-an-Unmarked-Grave
Featured Articles1 day ago

Philadelphia Welterweight Gil Turner, a Phenom, Now Rests in an Unmarked Grave

Avila-Perspecrive-Chap-334-Back-to-Back-Boxing-Cards-in-the-Big-Apple
Featured Articles2 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 334: Back-to-Back Boxing Cards in the Big Apple

From-a-Sympathetic-Figure-to-a-Pariah-The Travails-of-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr
Featured Articles5 days ago

From a Sympathetic Figure to a Pariah: The Travails of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

Catterall-vs-Eubank-Ends-Prematurely-Catterall-Wins-a-Technical-Decision
Featured Articles7 days ago

Catterall vs Eubank Ends Prematurely; Catterall Wins a Technical Decision

Avila-Perspective-Chap-333-Jake-Paul-JC-Chavez-Jr-Zurdo-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 333: Jake Paul, JC Chavez Jr, Zurdo and More

When-Boxing-Was-Big-on-the-Fourth-of-July-A-TSS-Classic
Featured Articles1 week ago

When Boxing was Big on the Fourth of July: A TSS Classic

A-Boxing-Card-in-Alabama-Goes-Pfft-A-True-Tale-from-the-Underbelly-of-the-Sweet-Science
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Boxing Card in Alabama Goes Pfft: A True Tale from the Underbelly of The Sweet Science

Mexico's-Francisco-Rodriguez-Jr-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-June
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Mexico’s Francisco Rodriguez Jr is the TSS Fighter of the Month for June

Jake-Paul-Outpoints-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr-plus-Other-Results-from-Anaheim
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Jake Paul Outpoints Julio Cesar Chavez Jr plus Other Results from Anaheim

Holly-Holm-Joshua-Edwards-and-Rene-Alvarado-Sparkle-on-the-Paul-Chavez-Undercard
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Holly Holm, Joshua Edwards, and Rene Alvarado Sparkle on the Paul-Chavez Undercard

Mbilli-Blasts-Out-Sulecki-in-Quebec-Wilder-TKOs-Herndon-in-Wichita
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Mbilli Blasts Out Sulecki in Quebec; Wilder TKOs Herndon in Wichita

Avila-Perspective-Chap-332-Jake-Paul-vs-Chavez-Jr-plus-Mbilli-Deontay-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 332: Jake Paul vs Chavez Jr., plus Mbilli, Deontay and More

A-Closer-Look-at-Mario-Barrios-Poised-to-Wreck-the-Comeback-of-a-Legend
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Closer Look at Mario Barrios, Poised to Wreck the Comeback of a Legend

Paro
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Liam Paro Returns with a Flourish on Wednesday’s ‘No Limit’ Card in Queensland

More-Medals-for-Hawaii's-Patricio-Family-at-USA-Boxing's-Summer-Festival
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

More Medals for Hawaii’s Patricio Family at the USA Boxing Summer Festival

Callum-Walsh-Umar-Dzambekov-and-Cain-Sandoval-Remain-Unbeaten-at-Santa-Ynez
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Callum Walsh, Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Remain Unbeaten at Santa Ynez

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending