Articles of 2002
A NEW WEBB OF DECEIT IN KENTUCKY – ABC'S V.P. RUNS THE OTHER WAY WHILE FIGHTE
Travis Simms stopped Anton Robinson in the eighth round last Friday night to win the North American Boxing Association's 154-pound title.
But the next morning, it was Simms who actually suffered the stoppage.
When the fighter showed up at the First Third Bank in Louisville, Kentucky in an attempt to cash the paycheck for his evening's work, he was told that the account it was drawn against – that which belonged to the promoter, Chris Webb Properties Inc. – was completely devoid of cash.
Not that Simms should ever have had to go through that exercise anyway.
“Our contract specified that Travis be paid in cash,” says Kurt Emhoff, attorney and advisor to Simms. “After all, this is Kentucky.”
The problem is that no one was on hand to protect the fighters – a perplexing situation that unfortunately exists in far too many ABC-member state boxing commissions these days.
Webb, who purportedly is in the real estate business in the Louisville area, could not be reached for comment. Nor could he be reached Saturday morning by George Martinez, president of the NABA, who was written a check for his sanctioning fee. Martinez had never done any business with Webb, and was understandably worried that his check wasn't any good.
Instead, “I got a message that he (Webb) had a problem with his child,” Martinez. “So I didn't get to talk to him.”
As of Monday, Webb was telling people, through intermediaries, that the purses would be paid by Wednesday, because the venue the fight was being held at (Louisville Gardens) was holding his money. However, he never informed the fighters of that on Friday night.
Standard procedure on a card such as the one in Louisville is to write checks to the participants as per the terms of the contracts they signed, in addition to any expenses that were agreed upon, and have the participant sign the check over in exchange for cash. The money is generally taken out of the evening's receipts, or is taken out of the bank beforehand so that there will be funds to pay the fighters, many of whom had to travel to the event and leave the next morning.
In Kentucky, the promoter posts a bond to secure the tax money due the commission, but there is no assurance that the purses will be paid.
When Martinez asked the “Minister of Maim”, Jack Kerns – chairman of the Kentucky Athletic Commission who also doubles as First Vice-President of the Association of Boxing Commissions – whether there were any measures taken by the commission to ensure that checks wouldn't bounce, and that fighters wouldn't get ripped off, Kerns told him, “No, there isn't anything like that. But maybe it's something we'll have to bring up at the next meeting,” then pointed out that the commission itself was protected through its rules and regulations.
In other words, Kerns' posture – and seemingly the prevailing attitude not only at his commission, but the majority of commissions in this country – is that the foremost concern is getting their own money, with the welfare of the fighters strictly an afterthought..
Perhaps foreseeing that his neglect in this matter might lead to some trouble, Kerns, the ABC Vice-President and executive board member, grabbed his fellow Kentucky commissioners and fled the arena immediately after the show concluded. Fighters were in a state of uncertainty as to how or when they were going to get paid, since Webb had long since left as well. Finally, at 1:30 AM, an hour and a half after the last bell had rung, someone named Nicholas Clark showed up and started writing checks, though he had no cash in his possession.
No one was very happy. A number of fighters, including Robinson, said they were under the impression that their checks were going to be endorsed in exchange for a cash payment. Simms was able to reach Webb on his cell phone shortly after receiving his check, and the promoter promised to rectify the situation when Simms got back to the hotel (Caesars Indiana). But even though their rooms were right next to each other, “We never heard from him (Webb) again,” according to Simms' wife, Sandra.
The contract Simms signed with the promoter, which included the “cash clause” Emhoff demanded, was required, according to Kentucky Athletic Commission rules and regulations, to be “submitted to the commission for approval not less than five (5) calendar days prior to the date of the proposed show.”
But what does it say about the state of boxing regulation in this country if the very agency (the commission) that is empowered by such rules and regulations does not do anything to enforce them?
“One thing is for sure,” said Emhoff. “I'll never send a fighter into Kentucky again.”
Who could possibly blame him?
Of course, this is a direct reflection on Kerns, whose negligence in the critical area of fighter safety nearly led to the death of Greg Page last March, but evidently produced enough political support to get him elected First Vice-President of the ABC four months later. And this past July, Kerns was retained in his position with the ABC, in order to protect him in a lawsuit that has been filed by Page against him. Not only that, he has been given additional responsibilities by the organization.
To be fair, not every commission runs as slipshod an operation as Kentucky. In Nevada, for example, the commission requires new promoters, who don't have a track record with them, to post all of the purse money with a third party – usually in a casino cashier's cage – and will customarily hold all the checks to be paid to fighters until it is time to issue them.
Of course, as you may have guessed, Webb had done promotions before in Kentucky, and Kerns admitted that everything had not gone smoothly in the past.
“He told me there had been a problem with this guy (Webb) before,” said Martinez, “but that he eventually straightened it out.”
Why fighters and other participants should have to go through a hassle like this in the first place is a question no one in Kentucky seemingly can answer.
” I mean, what the hell is the purpose of a commission if it can't make sure the fighters get paid?”, says matchmaker/agent Johnny Bos, who has been down this road before with people from the ABC.
I can think of one other primary reason – to create as safe an atmosphere as possible for the fighter.
Unfortunately, Kentucky – with ABC vice-president Kerns – fails on both counts.
fightpage@totalaction.com
Copyright 2002 Total Action Inc.
Articles of 2002
$*%@#!
Walk the dog, stroll through the park, have a picnic at the lake.
There are safer things for IBF cruiserweight champ Vassily Jirov to do this month than defend his title against James “Lights Out” Toney.
Barbecue, play softball, fish, visit the zoo. Thank his lucky stars.
Jirov, who lives in California, won’t be fighting Toney on HBO on Jan. 25.
Something to do with his insides.
Ask Toney why Jirov pulled out of their fight and he’ll tell you it was Jirov’s heart that let him down, his backbone that went soft, not his banged-up ribs. Ask Toney and he’ll tell you about heartbreak and lies and revenge and fighting anybody in the universe if it means another title. Jirov claims he suffered the damage while sparring. Maybe. But it’s the fourth time Jirov has found a reason not to fight Toney. How many times you got to be told to go home before you realize the guy doesn’t want to come outside and play? How many times you got to be bit by the same dog before you realize it wants to be left alone? Jirov has more excuses than a politician caught with a hooker on his lap.
In his own eloquent way, Toney recently described how disappointed he was in the cancellation of their title fight on the undercard of the Vernon Forrest – Ricardo Mayorga welterweight title fight.
“The @#%$%*&#@,’’ Toney said after learning of the postponement on Christmas Eve. “Jirov can @&%$#% and then he can @%$#@#$. He’s nothing but a #$%#@#.’’ That said, it doesn’t brighten up the New Year in the Toney household.
“I’m done with it,’’ said Toney, sounding like a guy who finally gets tried of being stood up by the same girl.
As of Dec. 30, there was still no word of an opponent for Toney, though he’s still making regular trips to the gym.
Merry Christmas, James. Have a Happy New Year.
“Bah, humbug,’’ said Toney’s promoter Dan Goossen. “We didn’t have much of a Christmas. I got the news on Christmas Eve. But you just have to bounce back.’’ Funny thing about fighters. Some make excuses, some fight through them. You get the feeling Toney could have cracked five ribs and his right tibia and still climbed into the ring against Jirov.
It raises a lot of questions. What’s Jirov got against fighting? After a busy 2001, he hasn’t fought since last February. How do you hold a title after you’ve gone into retirement? Just who is this guy and why does he like to hide? Is there really a Vassily Jirov out there, or is he a creation of the IBF, a shadowy figure who won the title and decided it was too big a risk to keep defending it? The bottom line is, Toney may be left with a lot of unexpected free time on his hands if they don’t find him another fight, though he knew better than to mark the date on his calendar in ink. There are no promises in boxing. When dealing with a guy like Jirov, all bets are off. But Toney can still hope. The name O’Neil Bell – the WBC’s No. 1 challenger – has been knocked around, and Toney said he doesn’t care what contender or champion he knocks out on Jan. 25. “#@#$%$#,’’ Toney said.
You can say that again.
Articles of 2002
New Year's Resolutions
A new year is upon us, which means it's time for new years resolutions. Yeah, never mind that most resolutions are broken, oh, around the third week of January; everybody still makes them.
Here are my resolutions that I'd make for some of the luminaries in the sport of boxing.
* Floyd Mayweather: No more excuses. Anyone else sick of listening to 'the Pretty Boy' whine about what ailments he came into the fight with? Whether it's his fragile hands, a bum shoulder or his squabbles with his promoter Bob Arum, he always has an alibi. Hey Floyd, nobody cares, you get paid plenty to perform and those that buy tickets don't care that you might have a hangnail; they want nothing but the best effort out of you.
Mayweather reminds me of former Los Angeles Dodger slugger Mike Marshall, who's second home seemed to be the disabled list. The bottom line is this guy is lucky to be a boxer where he only has to perform once every 6 months- he simply couldn't handle the rigors of an NBA, NFL or baseball season. Ask any athlete if they are ever 100-percent healthy after the first day of training camp or spring training and they'll laugh at you.
Injuries and ailments are a part of the job, overcoming them is what makes a true professional. Mayweather still hasn't grasped that concept.
* Jim Gray: Respect. I guess this little weasel is whom Aretha Franklin was talking about in her song. Think about it, have you ever seen a guy be so disrespectful to fighters in post-fight interviews like this guy. Don't even mention HBO's Larry Merchant- he isn't afraid to ask the tough questions like a true journalist and he's consistent. Gray looks at boxing as a secondary gig and looks down on boxers in general.
Don't believe me? Just compare and contrast his softball interviews that he does for NBC and the hatchet jobs he does on Showtime.
* Max Kellerman: No more over-hyping New York boxers. Look, I get along and respect Max, but when you look up the term 'East Coast Bias' in Webster's, his picture may be used as the definition of it. From Zab Judah to James Butler and to Tokumbo Olajide, he'll have you enshrined in Canastota if you come out of the Big Apple.
What's worse are the excuses he'll come up with for his New Yorkers when they fall on their faces. Max is great for boxing but he's gotta realize New York hasn't been a player on the boxing scene for at least 20 years.
* Crocodile: A new catchphrase. You know Crocodile, right? He was Mike Tyson's hype-man for all these years…the guy with the menacing shades and the army fatigues who used to scream, “GUERILLA WARFARE” at the top of his lungs over and over again.
I've heard that enough and it's about as played out as 'Whoop, there it is' and it's time he came up with a new one. All the great ones can add to their repertoire.
* HBO: Admit they acknowledge the titles. Stop being the Hypocritical Boxing Organization and just stop saying that you don't recognize these organizations. The latest example of their double-talk? Well, for years they dogged John Ruiz and his WBA title, suddenly Roy Jones challenges Ruiz and HBO is hyping this up as some sort of historic challenge of a light heavyweight trying to capture a heavyweight title.
Yeah, the same title they had basically trashed for years.
* Joe Cortez: No more over-officiating. His line is that,' He's firm but he's fair'. I'd argue about that the last couple of years but my biggest gripe with him is that he seems to make himself waaaaay too visible during fights and gets too involved. Nobody is there to watch him and he should just let the fighters fight.
Too often I see these fights with Cortez lose their flow as Cortez continually interrupts the action with his admonishments and warnings. Joe, take a step back and let us watch what we came to see.
* Don Turner: Stop living off of Holyfield-Tyson I- If you ever talk to this guy, he'll talk as though he invented boxing. And his big coup was co-training Evander Holyfield against Mike Tyson. 'The Real Deal' upset Tyson and suddenly Turner was being hailed as the new Chappie Blackburn and he became a media darling.
My question is this, did he suddenly teach Holyfield how to fight 35 fights into his career? Also, I contend that my mother and I could work Holyfield's corner and he would whip Tyson everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. And ask yourself this, when was the last time he was in the winning corner for a big fight?
* Newspaper writers: Start crediting the Internet. Ok, this is a sore subject with me, but too many times I've seen stories from the major newspaper scribes who amazingly have stories that are eerily similar to stories that I've read on the internet (or that I've written myself) and use quotes that I got in one-on-one interviews and they don't attribute their sources- the internet.
When I take quotes or info from a story I make a point to give credit where it's due. Now, I just wish these guys would do the same.
* Roy Jones: no more hip-hop entrances. Roy, you're a magnificently gifted prizefighter, you can also play just a bit of hoops, but your rhyming skills are that of Shaquille O'Neal. In other words, you're doing street nursery rhymes not Nas.
Please, oh please, stop embarrassing yourself and the sport with your cheesy as nacho's attempt to become a hip-hop performer. His last entrance/performance reminded me of one of those really bad Sir-Mix-Alot videos of the early 90's.
* Panama Lewis: an exit out of the game. You remember Lewis right, the guy who gave Aaron Pryor the mysterious white bottle before the 14th round of his bout against Alexis Arguello, which seemed to give 'the Hawk' a sudden burst of energy that enabled Pryor to brutally KO Arguello. Afterwards, Pryor would skip out on his post-fight drug test.
Then there was the fight with Luis Resto, where he would tamper with his gloves between rounds, and bearing the brunt of this tomfoolery was Billy Collins who's faced was turned into a bloody mess. Collins, in the aftermath of this brutality committed suicide. For this, Lewis was banned permanently from working a corner. But that doesn't mean that he can't go into the gym and train fighters and even attend fights.
The bottom line is simple, this man has no place in the game of boxing and boxing shouldn't tolerate him in any way.
* Cedric Kushner: no more gimmicks. This guy has tried everything from the disastrous 'ThunderBox' to one-day $100,000 heavyweight tournaments- and all have failed miserably.
He can put on a boxing version of 'Survivor' or 'Real World' if he wants but the reality is, boxing fans want good fights and interesting fighters, nothing more, nothing less.
Stop with the shenanigans and stop with the junk.
Articles of 2002
Dream Fights of 2003
Hey, we can all dream, right? Isn't it our God-given right as boxing fans to think about fights that should happen – but often times don't?
And not just fights that have the highest profile or the biggest names – because sometimes those fights, like Lewis vs. Tyson – are nothing more than high-profile mismatches. I'm talking about fights that are evenly matched between the game's best and are the most intriguing inside the ring.
Here are some fights I'd pay to see in the upcoming year; full well knowing that most of these fights are pipe dreams as the business end of the sport would bog these fights down quickly. But hey, we can dream right?
* Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Erik Morales or Marco Antonio Barrera: Name me another fighter that has never won a world title belt that is better than Marquez? You can't and this guys been ducked and dodged long enough. On February 1st he takes on Manuel Medina for the vacant IBF featherweight title and it says here that he should face one of the game's best known 126-pounders, either Morales or Barrera. Marquez is a master boxer with great counter-punching skills and his hand-speed would give either one of his Mexican compatriots fits. There are some in the industry who have been saying for a while that Marquez is already the game's premiere featherweight; I'm not inclined to disagree that strongly.
CHANCES OF HAPPENING?: With Barrera, not good, as Ricardo Maldonado sees no real upside in this match-up and would most likely take an easier fight on HBO for about the same amount of money he could make facing Marquez.
With Morales, the logistics are much less complicated. Both of them are promoted by Bob Arum and there is some talk that they could face each other in May if a Morales-Barrera III isn't made.
* Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones: Not only because it's a match-up of two of the very premiere fighters in the world, but Hopkins needs to resume his career with some meaningful fights and Jones should be fighting guys like 'the Executioner' instead of participating in novelty acts like his proposed bout with John Ruiz.
And don't think for one minute that this would be a blowout. Jones couldn't blowout a green Hopkins in 1993 and won't be able to do it now. Hopkins, unlike most of Jones' opponents, isn't in total awe of Pensacola's finest.
CHANCES OF HAPPENING?: Not good, Sharon and Arafat will find a common ground regarding the Middle East before these two proud and stubborn men find one in contract negotiations.
* Oscar De La Hoya vs. Vernon Forrest: For fans of pure boxing and strategy this is a fight that can't be missed. Both men have strong jabs and match-up well physically. 'The Golden Boy' has the better left hook and 'The Viper' has a more effective right hand. Between these two well-schooled boxers you can expect a tense and tight boxing match with subtle momentum swings round by round.
CHANCES OF HAPPENING?: For 2003, not very good because it looks like Oscar will be fighting once in the upcoming year – a September rematch against Shane Mosley – and Bob Arum has stated that Forrest simply brings nothing to the table promotionally. This can be interpreted as another way of saying that he's not Latin, too dangerous or just another black fighter who can't sell a ticket. The bottom line seems to be that unless Forrest raises his profile in the upcoming years, De La Hoya will be facing guys that make economic sense.
* Floyd Mayweather vs. Kostya Tszyu: This would be a face off of the sport's premier lightweight against the game's best jr. welterweight. 'The Pretty Boy' would bring speed, quickness and boxing ability to the dance. While Tszyu would bring a decided edge in strength, size and punching power. They say styles make fights and you have two contrasting ones here.
CHANCES OF HAPPENING?: Not likely. This is for a couple of reasons. First, Vlad Wharton who promotes Tszyu, is seemingly deathly afraid to take any risks with Tszyu, who's basically his cash cow. Secondly, Mayweather got a reality check from his two bouts with Jose Luis Castillo, who at 135 pounds was able to muscle him throughout their 24 rounds they fought in 2002. And Tszyu is faster, sharper and just as strong as Castillo. I'm not sure Mayweather is in any rush to make the move up to 140-pounds.
* Lennox Lewis vs. Wladimir Klitschko: The industry is always better off when there is action in the heavyweight division. So why even mess around by having Lewis take on 'the other' Klitschko or knock out Tyson again; getting right in there with the man most pundits are claiming is the heir to his throne in Wlad Klitschko?
The time is now, Lewis is getting up there in age and really doesn't have that much left in his gas tank anyway and it would be prudent for him to face Klitschko now before he gets any better. Remember, that's the tact they took in facing Michael Grant when they did – but it has to be noted that Klitschko is much better than Grant.
Lewis would have the advantages in experience and savvy, but for one of the few times in his career he would be facing a disadvantage in size and perhaps power. The two best big men on the planet squaring off, what else could you ask for?
CHANCES OF HAPPENING: Actually pretty good, since Lewis himself has stated his plans to take on both Klitschkos in between his rematch with Tyson. But with Don King now making a full court press to garner the services of Lewis, who knows what direction he goes to now.
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