Q & A with Showtime’s Steve Farhood: Thoughts on Barclays Fights

Published

12 years ago

October 19, 2012

Here are the heavy hitters set to open up boxing at the Barclays. (Hogan Photos)

Steve Farhood is a ubiquitous figure in the New York boxing scene. From an insignificant club show in the Bronx to a major event at The Garden, he’s certain to be there observing from ringside. Most often he’s wearing a headset and commentating, or taking notes for a future article. On the rare night he’s not working, he’s still working—his brain didn’t come with an off switch. The former “Ring” editor knows too much not to be perpetually observing, cataloging, ruminating, and, lucky for us, sharing it rather well over the airwaves or in print. No surprise, then, that he sprinkled our conversation with various tidbits that were news to me; that John L. Sullivan had fought in Brooklyn or the last world championship fight in the borough was in 1931. “That’s a long time ago. Anything that happened in boxing before I got started was a long time ago,” joked the 55-year-old, who became a member of the boxing media around 1980.

Along with his ShoBox co-host Barry Tompkins, Steve will be doing ShoExtreme’s coverage (7PM ET/PT), which will precede the Showtime Championship Boxing tripleheader. 25-year-old Brownsville-bred middleweight Danny Jacobs will be the featured attraction that Steve will be covering (with highlights of Bronx junior middleweight prospect Eddie Gomez possibly included). One of the most ballyhooed prospect/contenders to come out of these parts in years, Jacobs hasn’t been in the ring in over 19 months because he has been facing more lethal opposition outside of it: cancer. A large malignant tumor had wrapped itself around his spinal cord and eventually left him paralyzed. When it was removed, 25 radiation treatments followed. And yet he made it back and will be slinging leather Saturday….

SF: I think this is going to be an extremely difficult moment for Danny. I won’t say extremely difficult fight because, predictably, he’s in with someone he should be able to beat. [Josh Luteran, 13-1 (9 KOs)] But the emotion is going to be so tremendous for him that he’s gonna have to keep that in check. I’ve already read a quote of his where he said he was worried he was going to cry. And I would cry! Heck, I mean this guy beat cancer and his first fight back is going to be in Brooklyn!? In the biggest card this borough—his home borough—has had in 10 years since that KeySpan Park fight. I just think there’s a lot of emotional pressure on him.

ZL: He was paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair. He was on death’s door.

SF: This is one of the most remarkable boxing stories you’ll ever see. And I’m just glad that we’re going to show Danny on this card. Obviously, because he has been off for a long time, you can’t expect him to be in a super competitive fight. That would be ridiculous. Yet we are putting him on Extreme and there will be a feature run on him. I just can’t imagine what the emotion is going to be like when he comes out. We’ve all felt emotion in big fights, whatever that emotion is, but this is kind of a unique story. And Danny Jacobs is a winner the minute he climbs through those reports. I mean, he’s already a winner. He was told by doctors that he would never fight again. Fortunately, he didn’t listen to them. And…I don’t really care how far Danny Jacobs goes as a fighter. The fact he’s gone this far is just remarkable. It’d a great human interest story.

ZL: Let’s talk about the main event, Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales. In November 2006, Morales got blasted in three rounds by Pacquiao. This incredible warrior sat on the canvas and let himself be counted out. He appeared done in every sense. Yet six years later he’s headlining this historic card on Showtime. Pretty crazy, huh?

SF: Erik Morales is such a warrior that even with the result of the first Garcia fight [On 3/24/12 Garcia won a wide UD 12], even with that classic formula of young up-and-comer meeting the future hall of famer, there was enough call for a rematch. He didn’t do it convincingly enough to eliminate at least some call for a rematch. And that’s totally to Erik Morales’ credit. I mean, the guy is just gonna keep fighting. Now did Garcia beat him? Yes. Did Garcia beat him fairly clearly? Yes. He went down late in the fight and it sealed the deal. But, it’s not in my mind as one-sided as a lot of the passing-of-the-torch type fights.

ZL: What astonishes me about Morales is I think he’s kind of a shot fighter—physically. Yet he is transcending the physical somehow. That Maidana fight shocked me. His legs looked stiff and old. His body looked soft. He looks downright decrepit. But he can hang with these guys.

SF: Well, he is remarkable. His career is remarkable. Here’s a guy whose prime was at 122. We’re now 18 pounds higher. But the one thing I’m going to look for in the Garcia fight…the one thing more than any other when I think of Erik Morales: he always was the last guy to punch in an exchange. And he wasn’t any defensive wiz in his prime—he got hit plenty. But anytime you hit him, he always answered. IF you hurt him, he answered. Barrera punched him, he hit Barrera back. He always was the last to punch. In some of the exchanges with Danny Garcia, that wasn’t the case. And that leads me to believe that Garcia will likely win again. Because that was to me what distinguished Morales. So is he shot? Well, I don’t know if he’s shot. He’s obviously competitive. He beat [Pablo] Cano, who’s a young kid. He managed to beat him to win that title, for what it’s worth. That’s what I’m gonna look for; does he punch last?

ZL: Apropos of Age versus Youth, what are your thoughts on Randall Bailey-Devon Alexander?

SF: It’s a weird fight Randall Bailey-Devon Alexander because it’s the type of fight where Alexander could dominate 2:59 of each round and still lose the fight. For my mind, Bailey is the hardest single punch hitter in all of boxing.

ZL: And at 38, another wildly well-preserved fighter.

SF: Yeah, you know, Bailey’s been down a bunch of times. He’s lost a bunch of fights. He’s obviously up there in years. But maybe it’s just time that we reconsider fighter’s ages. Because 38 isn’t what 38 was when I started covering this stuff.

ZL: Why is that, Steve?

SF: I think the biggest reason for it—and as I’m looking at Bailey’s record I’m trying to see if this justifies what I’m about to say. Randall Bailey has had 50 fights. Needless to say, a ton of them were first and second round knockouts. A 38-year-old fighter fifty years ago wouldn’t have had 50 fights; he would’ve had 90 fights, he would’ve had 110 fights. I always use Antonio Tarver as the best example. Antonio is 44 now…and how many fights has he had? 35. Granted, he turned pro late. He was 27, 28 when he turned pro. But I think that’s the reason why a Tarver at 44 could still be competitive with the division’s best. That’s why a Bailey at 38…. The number of fights and the amount of wear and tear isn’t the way it used to be.

ZL: Another unlikely survivor and Brooklynite will be on the televised portion of the card, Paul “The Magic Man” Malignaggi.

SF: Remarkable career. Remarkable. Sunday night I just saw his fight with [Vyacheslav] Senchenko. For any fighter to go into Ukraine and win a world championship [WBA welterweight title] is absolutely remarkable.

ZL: I thought he was a lamb to the slaughter. I wasn’t giving him any chance before that fight.

SF: I agree. Because what is that old saying about fighting on the road? You need a knockout to get a draw. The only trouble is Paulie doesn’t knock anyone out. He has the lowest knockout percentage of any world champion in boxing. How is he going to beat the incumbent champion on the road? And yet he did it. He fought well, he fought smart. His toughness, certainly mental and physical, came into play. Anyone who saw the Cotto fight learned exactly how tough he was. Paulie’s story is as good as anyone’s. And I don’t think he’s fought in Brooklyn since his pro debut, that night in KeySpan park. That makes this an event and a full-circle story.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

6 mins ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

6 hours ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More

Published

1 day ago

January 23, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-310-Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-and-More

Many proclaim super bantamweight world champ Naoya Inoue to be the best fighter in the world today. It’s a serious debate among boxing pundits.

Is he Japan’s best fighter ever?

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) takes another step toward immortality when he meets Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Friday Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions card.

Inoue defends the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO world titles.

This is Inoue’s third defense of the undisputed super bantamweight division that he won when he defeated Philippines’ Marlon Tapales in December 2023.

Japan has always been a fighting nation, a country derived from a warrior culture like Mexico, England, Russia, Germany and a few others. Professional boxing has always thrived in Japan.

My first encounter with Japanese fighters took place in March 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was my first visit to the famous boxing venue, though my father had performed there during the 1950s. I was too young to attend any of his fights and then he retired.

The main event featured featherweights Jose Pimentel of Mexico against Sho Saijo of Japan. Both had fought a month earlier with the Mexican from Jalisco winning by split decision.

Pimentel was a friend of my female cousin and gave my father tickets to the fight. My family loved boxing as most Latino families worldwide do, including those in the USA. It’s a fact that most sports editors for newspapers and magazines fail to realize. Latinos love boxing.

We arrived late at the boxing venue located on Grand Avenue and 18th street. My father was in construction and needed to pick me up in East L.A. near Garfield High School. Fights were already underway when we arrived at the Olympic Auditorium.

It was a packed arena and our seats were fairly close to the boxing ring. As the fighters were introduced and descended to the ring, respectful applause greeted Saijo. He had nearly defeated Pimentel in their first clash a month earlier in this same venue. Los Angeles fans respect warriors. Saijo was a warrior.

Both fighters fought aggressively with skill. Every round it seemed Saijo got stronger and Pimentel got weaker. After 10 strong rounds of back-and-forth action, Saijo was declared the winner this time. Some fans booed but most agreed that the Japanese fighter was stronger on this day. And he was stronger still when they met a third time in 1969 when Saijo knocked out Pimentel in the second round for the featherweight world title.

That was my first time witnessing Japan versus Mexico. Over the decades, I’ve seen many clashes between these same two countries and always expect riveting battles from Japanese fighters.

I was in the audience in Cancun, Mexico when then WBC super featherweight titlist Takashi Miura clashed with Sergio Thompson for 12 rounds in intense heat in a covered bull ring. After that fight that saw three knockdowns between them, the champion, though victorious, was taken out on a stretcher due to dehydration.

There are so many others going back to Fighting Harada in the 1960s that won championships. And what about all the other Japanese fighters who never got the opportunity to fight for a world title due to the distance from America and Europe?

Its impossible to determine if Inoue is the greatest Japanese fighter ever. But without a doubt, he is the most famous. Publications worldwide include him on lists of the top three fighters Pound for Pound.

Few experts are familiar with Korea’s Kim, but expect a battle nonetheless. These two countries are rivals in Asian boxing.

Golden Boy at Commerce Casino

Middleweights Eric Priest and Tyler Howard lead a Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA. DAZN will stream the boxing card.

All ticket money will go to the Los Angele Fire Department Foundation.

Kansas-based Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Tennessee’s Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) in the main event in a match set for 10 rounds.

Others on the card are super welterweights Jordan Panthen (10-0) and Grant Flores (7-0) in separate bouts and super lightweight Cayden Griffith seeking a third consecutive win. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Diego Pacheco at Las Vegas

Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) defends his regional titles against Steve Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 25. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

It’s not an easy fight for Pacheco.

“I’ve been fighting for six years as a professional and I’m 22-0 and I’m 23 years old. I feel I’m stepping into my prime now,” said Pacheco, who trains with Jose Benavidez.

Also on the card is Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz and Southern California’s dangerous super lightweight contender Ernesto Mercado in separate fights.

Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)

Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Eric Priest (14-0) vs Tyler Howard (20-2).

Fri. ESPN+ 1:15 a.m. Naoya Inoue (28-0) vs Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2).

Sat. DAZN 9:15 a.m. Dalton Smith (16-0) vs Walid Ouizza (19-2); Ellie Scotney (9-0) vs Mea Motu (20-0).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (22-0) vs Steve Nelson (20-0).

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