Trump Plaza Could Be Next Noted Fight Site To Take 10-Count

Published

11 years ago

January 14, 2014

In 1986, two years after the May 26, 1984, grand opening of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., the new senior vice president of the gleaming gambling palace was asked by a reporter to talk about himself and what he hoped to bring to his job.

“Stephen Hyde is not exciting,” said a confident but unassuming Hyde. “This facility is exciting.”

For a while, the 39-story Trump Plaza was exactly that, especially on big fight nights headlined by the most important and electrifying boxer on the planet, heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Oh, sure, the last five of Tyson’s nine fights held in Atlantic City under the Trump organization’s banner were staged in the adjacent and more spacious Boardwalk Hall, but the sponsoring venue, whose substantial financial stake made it all possible, was Trump Plaza. When Iron Mike was blasting out opponents during the relatively brief AC phase of his career, the entire city was buzzing and, other than Boardwalk Hall itself, Trump Plaza was the most obvious beehive of activity.

And the boxing spotlight that was so frequently focused on Atlantic City during that halcyon era never shone brighter than the night of June 27, 1988, when Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks just 91 seconds into the very first round. One-sided as it was, the matchup of unbeatens might not have come close to living up to the unprecedented prefight hype, but it was and still is the most important attraction of any sort brought to the seashore resort town.

“It was the biggest event in the world at the time,” Spinks’ manager, Butch Lewis, who died on July 23, 2011, recalled in 2009. “I’m talking the whole bleepin’ world. If there was a Superdome in Atlantic City, we could have filled that sucker up twice over. The demand for tickets was just crazy. (The announced attendance was a sold-out 21,785)

“People who couldn’t get into Boardwalk Hall were milling around outside and offering hundreds of dollars for ticket stubs to the people who were coming out after the fight ended. They were willing to pay good money for stubs! I never saw or heard anything like that before. But, in a way, I understood. They wanted to be able to go back to wherever they came from and tell their friends and co-workers, `See, I was there.’”

In addition to Tyson, Atlantic City, whose city fathers and business leaders were once audacious enough to proclaim it the “capital of boxing,” has hosted fights involving such luminaries as Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr., Pernell Whitaker and, of course, the late and beloved Arturo Gatti. But the quantity and quality of fight nights has dipped precipitously, for any number of reasons. From an astounding high of 145 cards staged in Atlantic City in 1985, rock-bottom was reached in 2009, when only five shows took place.

There are still world championship fights that find their way into Boardwalk Hall – ageless wonder Hopkins retained his IBF light heavyweight title by outpointing Karo Murat on Oct. 26 – but, for the most part, what passes as main-event fare in AC these days in runs more along the lines of the eight-round heavyweight pairing of Derric Rossy (28-7, 14 KOs) and Joey Dawejeko (8-3-2, 3 KOs) Saturday night at the Golden Nugget. It might turn out to be an entertaining evening of fisticuffs, but Tyson-Spinks it ain’t.

Now, it seems, that once-gleaming representation of all the good things that were Atlantic City boxing could soon be relegated to the dusty pages of history, along with some of the big-name fighters who helped make that history. In a story that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan. 12, the continued downsizing of the town’s casino industry (the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel closed on Jan. 13) was detailed, with the next round of eliminations likely to include the shuttering of Trump Plaza and, at least temporarily, that of the $2.4 billion Revel, which opened on April 2, 2012, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just 10 months later.

“The only other casino (other than the Atlantic Club) that should close because it just adds no value is Trump Plaza,” Alan R. Woinski, chief executive of Gaming USA Corp., an industry consultant in Paramus, N.J., is quoted in the article. Woinski also said he believed the financially stricken Revel – which staged its first, and possibly last, fight card this past Aug. 17, when England’s Darren Barker wrested the IBF middleweight championship from Australia’s Daniel Geale on a split decision – should cease operations for a year, for renovations that would include a drastic cutback in the number of its slot machines.

Gambling revenue is the engine that powers the train in casino cities like Atlantic City and Las Vegas, but the economic downturn has hit AC even harder than its Nevada counterpart, given the rise of casino competitors in neighboring states, particularly Pennsylvania. Trump Plaza’s average win-per-day, per slot machine, was a feeble $84 in November, compared with an average of $213 for all Atlantic City casinos. The leader by a wide margin was the Borgata (which hasn’t hosted a boxing card since 2007), with an average of $374. The average for Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos was $238.

Perhaps Trump Plaza – whose physical plant has not aged well, despite having been in existence less than 30 years – would now be facing the axe in any case, but its quarter-century slide from the top of the fight game was speeded along by a tragic accident that ripped the heart out of Donald J. Trump’s Atlantic City operation on several fronts.

The Trump boxing machine was still in nearly full throttle when three high-level executives – Hyde, Trump Taj Mahal president Mark Grossinger Etess and Trump Plaza senior vice president Jonathan Benanav – were among five persons killed in the crash of a company helicopter on Oct. 16, 1989, in the pine woodlands near Forked River, N.J. Of Etess and Hyde especially, Trump once had said that “Those two guys are my experts. With them, I don’t need anybody else.”

Without Etess, Hyde and Benanav, the bottom line for the Trump organization turned from black to red and The Donald appeared to lose interest in luring big-ticket fighters to the boardwalk with hefty site fees. The Trump Taj Mahal retained most of the diminishing boxing business done by the company in Atlantic City, but the last fight of any real consequence there took place on June 29, 2002, when WBO heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko stopped Ray Mercer in six rounds.

One veteran of the Trump boxing machine, Bernie Dillon, served as Trump Plaza’s director of special projects until April 1991, when he left to become vice president of programming and administration for TVKO (which later was renamed HBO Pay-Per-View). At the time Dillon stressed that his departure should not be construed as a sign that Donald Trump, as many had speculated, was about to cut back on his commitment to world-class boxing. But by then the writing was already on the wall. A South Jersey native, Dillon has returned to his roots in various incarnations as a promoter (he co-promoted the Vinny Pazienza-Roberto Duran rematch in Boardwalk Hall on Jan. 14, 1995) and, most recently, as entertainment consultant at Revel. An optimistic Dillon said he envisioned Revel’s 3,800-seat Ovation Hall as a frequent venue for boxing cards, but the arena was less than half-full for Geale-Barker, and there hasn’t been another fight staged there before or since Dillon left his position.

What’s curious is that, in the midst of so much apparent negativity, boxing enjoyed an impressive uptick in 2013. Showtime’s deep-pocketed affiliation with Golden Boy has resulted in more and better fights on the premium-cable network, obliging industry leader HBO and its principal supplier of talent, Top Rank, to step up their game as well. Fans can, and should, feel good about that, even if some hoped-for matchups, like Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, continue to be off the board because of those internecine squabbles.

Most buildings, and all fighters, aren’t designed to last forever. Why should Trump Plaza, if indeed it has hosted its final fight and is soon to bid farewell to its slot machines and blackjack tables, be any different from other structures so many of us had come to consider as permanent staples of our memories? The Astrodome, hailed at its 1965 opening as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and the site of the Muhammad Ali-Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams heavyweight championship fight of Nov. 11, 1966, is set for the wrecking ball. The Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles is still there, but not in name as the property was purchased by a Korean-American church in June 2005. Philadelphia’s venerable Blue Horizon hasn’t staged a boxing match since super bantamweight Coy Evans’ six-round decision over Barbaro Zepeda on June 4, 2010, and probably never will again now that the building –completed in 1865, and home to countless memorable ring wars since 1969 – is being converted into something that will be known as Hotel Blue. The Kronk Recreation Center in Detroit, where the late Emanuel Steward developed 30 world champions, has been vacant since its closing in 2006, and even in the best of times Manny correctly noted that it was “plain, stinky and funky,” with tattered equipment, no showers and no locker rooms.

All of those places, though, were repositories of some of our favorite images of fights and fighters. But when something is gone, it’s gone, and the passage of time has a way of scrubbing clean most vestiges of what used to be. Thirty or 40 years from now, fewer and fewer boxing buffs will readily recall the particulars of Tyson-Spinks, and fewer still will remember that officials at Trump Plaza – if it’s still standing — ponied up the then-record $10 million site fee to make it happen where and when it did.

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Bernard Fernandez

Bivol Evens the Score with Beterbiev; Parker and Stevenson Win Handily

Published

14 hours ago

February 22, 2025

David A. Avila

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It was labeled the best boxing card in history.

That’s up for debate.

And there was some debate as Dmitry Bivol avenged his loss to Artur Beterbiev to become the new undisputed light heavyweight world champion on Saturday by majority decision in a tactical battle.

“He gave me this chance and I appreciate it,” said Bivol of Beterbiev.

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) rallied from behind to give Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) his first pro loss in their rematch at a sold out crowd in the Venue Riyadh Season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Like their first encounter the rematch was also very close.

Four months ago, these two faced each other as undefeated light heavyweights. Now, after two furious engagements, both have losses.

Beterbiev was making his first defense as undisputed light heavyweight champion and made adjustments from their first match. This time the Russian fighter who trains in Canada concentrated on a body attack and immediately saw dividends.

For most of the first six rounds it seemed Beterbiev would slowly grind down Bivol until he reached an unsurmountable lead. But despite the momentum he never could truly hurt Bivol or gain separation.

Things turned around in the seventh round as Bivol opened up with combinations to the head and body while slipping Beterbiev’s blows. It was a sudden swing of momentum. But how long could it last?

“It was hard to keep him at the distance. I had to be smarter and punch more clean punches,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev attempted to regain the momentum but Bivol was not allowing it to happen. In the final 10 seconds he opened up with a machine gun combination. Though few of the punches connected it became clear he was not going to allow unclarity.

Using strategic movement Bivol laced quick combinations and immediately departed. Betebiev seemed determined to counter the fleet fighter but was unsuccessful for much of the second half of the fight.

Around the 10^th round Beterbiev stepped on the gas with the same formula of working the body and head. It gave Bivol pause but he still unleashed quick combos to keep from being overrun.

Bivol connected with combinations and Beterbiev connected with single body and head shots. It was going to be tough for the referees to decide which attack they preferred. After 12 rounds with no knockdowns one judge saw it a draw at 114-114. But two others saw Bivol the winner 116-112, 115-113.

“I was better. I was pushing myself more, I was lighter. I just wanted to win so much today,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev was gracious in defeat.

“Congratulations to Bivol’s team” said Beterbiev. “I think this fight was better than the first fight.”

After the match it was discussed that an effort to make a third fight is a strong possibility.

Heavyweight KO by Parker

Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) once again proved he could be the best heavyweight without a world title in knocking out the feared Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) to retain his WBO interim title. It was quick and decisive.

“Catch him when he is coming in,” said Parker, 33, about his plan.

After original foe IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw due to illness, Bakole willingly accepted the match with only two days’ notice. Many experts and fans around the world were surprised and excited Parker accepted the match.

Ever since Parker lost to Joe Joyce in 2022, the New Zealander has proven to be vastly improved with wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Now you can add Bakole to the list of conquests.

Bakole, 33, was coming off an impressive knockout win last July and posed a serious threat if he connected with a punch. The quick-handed Bakole at 310 pounds and a two-inch height advantage is always dangerous.

In the first round Parker was wary of the fighter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He kept his range and moved around the ring looking to poke a jab and move. Bakole caught him twice with blows and Parker retaliated.

It proved to be a very important test.

Parker refrained from moving and instead moved inside range of the big African fighter. Both exchanged liberally with Bakole connecting with an uppercut and Parker an overhand right.

Bakole shook his head at the blow he absorbed.

Both re-engaged and fired simultaneously. Parker’s right connected to the top of the head of Bakole who shuddered and stumbled and down he went and could not beat the count. The referee stopped the heavyweight fight at 2:17 of the second round. Parker retains his interim title by knockout.

“I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m sharp,” said Parker. “I had to be patient.”

Shakur Wins

Despite an injured left hand southpaw WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) won by stoppage over late replacement Josh Padley (15-1, 6 KOs). It was an impressive accomplishment.

Often criticized for his lack of action and safety-first style, Stevenson was supposed to fight undefeated Floyd Schofield who pulled out due to illness. In stepped British lightweight Padley who had nothing to lose.

Padley was never hesitant to engage with the super-quick Stevenson and despite the lightning-quick combos by the champion, the British challenger exchanged liberally. It just wasn’t enough.

Even when Stevenson injured his left hand during an exchange in the sixth round, Padley just couldn’t take advantage. The speedy southpaw kept shooting the right jabs and ripping off right hooks. At the end of the sixth Stevenson briefly switched to a right-handed fighting style.

Stevenson used his right jabs and hooks to perfection. Double right hooks to the head and body seemed to affect the British challenger. A clean left to the body of Padley sent him to the floor for the count in the ninth round. It was a surprising knockdown due to his injured left. Padley got up and the fight resumed. Stevenson unloaded with right hooks to the body and down went the British fighter once again. He got up and tried to fight his way out but was met with another left to the body and down he went a third time. Padley’s corner tossed in a white towel to signify surrender. The referee stopped the fight at the end of the round. Stevenson scored his 11^th knockout win.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Early Results from Riyadh where Hamzah Sheeraz was Awarded a Gift Draw

Published

17 hours ago

February 22, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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After two 6-round appetizers, British light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith got the show rolling with a lusty 12-round skirmish. Things went south in the middle of the seven-fight main card when WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames locked horns with challenger Hamzah Sheeraz. This was a drab fight owing to a milquetoast performance by the favored Sheeraz.

Heading in, the lanky six-foot-three Sheeraz, whose physique is mindful of a young Thomas Hearns, was undefeated in 21 fights. Having stopped five of his last six opponents in two rounds or less, the 25-year-old Englishman was touted as the next big thing in the middleweight division. However, he fought off his back foot the entire contest, reluctant to let his hands go, and Adames kept his title when the bout was scored a draw.

Sheeraz had the crowd in his corner and two of the judges scored the match with their ears. Their tallies were 115-114 for Sheeraz and 114-114. The third judge had it 118-110 for Adames, the 30-year old Dominican, now 24-1-1, who had Ismael Salas in his corner.

Ortiz-Madrimov

Super welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr, knocked out his first 21 opponents, begging the question of how he would react when he finally faced adversity. He showed his mettle in August of last year when he went a sizzling 12 rounds with fellow knockout artist Serhii Bohachuk, winning a hard-fought decision. Tonight he added another feather in his cap with a 12-round unanimous decision over Ismail Madrimov, prevailing on scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice.

Ortiz won by adhering tight to Robert Garcia’s game plan. The elusive Madrimov, who bounces around the ring like the energizer bunny, won the early rounds. But eventually Ortiz was able to cut the ring off and turned the tide in his favor by landing the harder punches. It was the second straight loss for Madrimov (10-2-1), a decorated amateur who had lost a close but unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his previous bout.

Kabayel-Zhang

No heavyweight has made greater gains in the last 15 months than Agit Kabayel. The German of Kurdish descent, whose specialty is body punching, made his third straight appearance in Riyadh tonight and, like in the previous two, fashioned a knockout. Today, although out-weighed by more than 40 pounds, he did away with Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang in the sixth round.

It didn’t start out well for Kabayel. The New Jersey-based, six-foot-six Zhang, a two-time Olympian for China, started fast and plainly won the opening round. Kabayel beat him to the punch from that point on, save for one moment when Zhang put him on the canvas with a straight left hand.

That happened in the fifth round, but by the end of the frame, the 41-year-old Zhang was conspicuously gassed. The end for the big fellow came at the 2:29 mark of round six when he couldn’t beat the count after crumbling to the canvas in a delayed reaction after taking a hard punch to his flabby midsection.

Kabayel remains undefeated at 26-0 (18 KOs). Zhang (27-3-1) hadn’t previously been stopped.

Smith-Buatsi

The all-British showdown between light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith was a grueling, fan-friendly affair. A former 168-pound world title-holder, Smith, 34, won hard-earned unanimous decision, prevailing on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and a ludicrous 119-110.

There were no knockdowns, but Liverpool’s Smith, who advanced to 31-2 (22) finished the contest with a bad gash in the corner of his right eye. It was the first pro loss for Buatsi (19-1), an Olympic bronze medalist who entered the contest a small favorite and was the defending “interim” title-holder.

This contest was also a battle of wits between two of America’s most prominent trainers, Buddy McGirt (Smith) and Virgil Hunter (Buatsi).

Check back shortly for David Avila’s wrap-up of the last three fights.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez

Published

1 day ago

February 21, 2025

David A. Avila

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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.

Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.

Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.

Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.

In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.

“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.

Other Bouts

Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.

Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.

Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.

Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.

A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.

It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.

In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.

Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.

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