How Big Would Ali Be Today? He’d DWARF Mayweather

Published

9 years ago

September 23, 2014

Well, the numbers are in and the Mayweather-Maidana rematch on September 13th did 925,000 pay per view buys.

No, that’s not great but it’s better than any other active fighter could bring if they were fighting a quasi-known entity like Marcos Maidana. Again proof that like him or loathe him, regardless of how many stupid things he does and says out of the ring, Mayweather is by far the biggest star and draw in combat sports. And Mayweather was able to produce those numbers fighting an opponent who he clearly defeated four months ago, one who was nearly an 8-1 underdog on the day of the fight. In fact nobody, at least anybody who has clue-one as to what they’re watching in the ring, gave Maidana a realistic shot to win the fight, yet it was still a successful promotion from start to finish.

The fact that Floyd Mayweather is such a huge star and draw led me to start thinking about how huge of a superstar Muhammad Ali would be today if he were in his prime and fighting the well-known and dangerous contemporaries of his era. Mayweather is a manufactured superstar who had to re-invent himself and needed to fight an empty package named Oscar De La Hoys before anyone really took notice of him and his career. Ali, conversely, was a dynamic personality with incredible magnetism.

Floyd has no natural charisma, none whatsoever. He had to adopt a villain persona a la a WWE heel. Mayweather has been a genius in how he has used social media to highlight his wealth and garish possessions to keep himself in the news. He also is not above commenting, usually stupidly, on things like domestic violence and other things that high profile athletes and celebrities find themselves in the news for.

Floyd’s fights usually aren’t the most thrilling or exciting. Part of that is because he’s so good and the other reason is because Mayweather is selective of who and when he fights certain opponents. Not to mention that he sometimes picks the venue, the referee and the judges along with the gloves the opponent wears. And because of the era that he blossomed during, he’s never once fought in a bout that was scheduled for 15-rounds.

Think about Ali. He was the biggest star in sports history, yet the only access to him for the fans were the newspaper and the wide world of sports and a few late night talk shows. Muhammad didn’t have the benefit of 24 hour cable TV sports stations the likes of ESPN and Fox Sports 1. And there has to be at least two or three 24 hour all-sports talk radio stations in every city in America today, something that wouldn’t emerge until 15 years after Ali’s last title bout. There was no Facebook or Twitter either. The only thing Ali had going for him back then was the coming age of television. He espoused natural charisma and was extremely telegenic. It was also known that Ali’s boastfulness was merely schtick, and even when he said derogatory things about his opponents, with the exception of Ernie Terrell, it was said with a twinkle in his eye.

Muhammad Ali inspired constructive debate on issues and topics such as race, religion, politics, war, sports and salaries among a plethora of other things. Ali stood by his convictions in and out of the ring. And he was also blessed to come along at a time when the heavyweight division was loaded with dangerous foes that were well known and viewed as a serious threat to his dominance, and he fought and defeated every one of them before he turned 36.

Ali was even stripped of his undisputed title for refusing military induction and at one time was viewed as a draft dodger and a bad guy.

However, after a 43 month exile he came back and changed hearts and minds while totally cleaning out the heavyweight division without really experiencing a physical prime. When Ali faced “Smokin” Joe Frazier in 1971 in his first attempt to regain the undisputed title he was stripped of, it was the most anticipated sporting event in history, something that still holds true in 2014. And when Ali went into the ring to confront Frazier, who was at his absolute peak, he also knew that the U.S. supreme court was about to rule on his draft conviction. If he lost the decision to the government, which he did win by an 8-0 vote, he would’ve gone to jail to serve out the five year jail sentence that was handed down to him in 1967. Ali lost a unanimous decision to Frazier that night, and it paved the way for him to solidify his all-time stature and greatness over the next five years.

The first Frazier vs. Ali fight was called “The Fight Of The Century.” It grossed nearly 30 million dollars in 1971 via the live gate of nearly 20,000 in attendance at Madison Square Garden and closed circuit revenues. At that time there were only three venues per state where you could go to see the fight on closed circuit TV. There was no HBO 24/7 or Showtime All-Access to promote and hype the fight. There wasn’t ESPN, who would’ve loved Ali because he was so accessible and willing to give a quote worthy of stirring the pot and providing SportsCenter with non-stop coverage and dialogue. If you think ESPN went over the top with their continuous coverage of Tim Tebow and LeBron James at one time, that would’ve looked like a cavity filling compared to way Ali and his upcoming bouts would’ve been covered by them.

Imagine what kind of coverage sports-talk radio and TMZ would’ve given Muhammad Ali before and after all of his fights? How funny would Ali’s tweets be? And his Facebook page would’ve been a scream… Ali went toe-to-toe with conservative icon William F. Buckley for 90 minutes straight when he was 26 years old, and boxing wasn’t discussed at all. If Ali could hang with Buckley, he would’ve eaten up political commentators like Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, Wolf Blitzer of CNN and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC……..talking about the Vietnam war, Watergate, civil rights, abortion, and whatever else was going on during the years 1965-1975. Ali would be the most sought-after guest in the world in 2014 by all the big sports-talk show hosts in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami – and that’s when he wasn’t doing a publicity tour promoting an upcoming bout.

What about Ali the fighter?

Muhammad Ali never ducked a single fighter; he actually sought out the toughest contenders before they were his mandatory because they were a perceived threat. Not only that, he fought them when he had nothing to gain and on many occasions fought them more than once. Ali never made his opponents wear certain gloves or insisted on who worked the fight regarding the referee and judges.

Could you imagine Mayweather as a heavyweight fighting the undefeated George Foreman 40-0 (37), who Ali regained the title from, without making him submit to getting blood tested for performance enhancing drugs twice a day for six months before the fight? What about Mayweather as a heavyweight having to deal with Frazier’s unrelenting aggression and unending stamina for 15 rounds? Floyd would’ve made Joe run a marathon on the morning of the fight.

Not Muhammad Ali. He offered to let Frazier’s and Foreman’s relatives judge their fights against him. And if there were rumors out there that Foreman was using HGH or steroids, Ali would’ve said, “George, you better get extra shoot up on the day we fight – because I’m going to kick you’re a– and the a– of the guy who injects you!” And when Ali fought Foreman, he fought him in a phone booth disguised as a 16 foot ring. This as opposed to Mayweather, who would’ve demanded that the ring be as big as a shopping mall parking lot.

Muhammad Ali always delivered. He didn’t always participate in great fights but many of his high profile bouts were. He always fought the best of the best when the heavyweight division was littered with greats and near greats. And Muhammad never complained about how his opponents stretched the rules during their bout. With the exception of Chuck Wepner’s continuous rabbit punching, Ali never looked to the referee to bail him out of a difficult situation. Ali’s big bouts were also scheduled for 15-rounds and often it was during the final rounds that he pulled out a lot of tough and close fights because of his iron will and stamina.

Ali always had something substantive to say. He was funny and his quick wit had no equal. He never dictated the terms of his bouts and was a real fighter who was gracious in victory and defeat. If Muhammad Ali was around today his nickname wouldn’t be “Money,” it would be “TFR,” standing for “The Federal Reserve,” because only they could’ve cashed his checks after his bouts. If Ali was heavyweight champion in 2014, Floyd Mayweather would be an HBO fighter, fighting at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in front of a viewing audience of a million plus households, like he was before he re-invented himself during the build up to his fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

Mayweather can probably gross $50 million for fighting Manny Pacquiao in 2015 or 2016, and that might be a conservative estimate. And if Floyd can get that much for fighting Pacquiao, how much would Ali gross if he were fighting Frazier or Foreman with everything being the same? In actuality, $100 million is probably low balling it.

It’s hard to comprehend just how huge of a star and personality Muhammad Ali would be today if he were heavyweight champion.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com.

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Frank Lotierzo

The Murder of Samuel Teah Calls to Mind Other Boxers Who Were Homicide Victims

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2023

Arne K. Lang

The-Murder-of-Samuel-Teah-Calls-to-Mind-Other-Boxers-Who-Were-Homicide-Victims

There will be a boxing show this Friday at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena, a low-budget card featuring the return of former IBF 130-pound world title-holder Tevin Farmer. During the event, there will assuredly be a somber moment when those in attendance stand and silently pay homage to Samuel Teah as the timekeeper tolls the traditional 10-bell farewell. Teah passed away last week on Black Friday, Nov. 24, another victim of America’s epidemic of gun violence. He was 36 years old.

Teah was shot in the mid-afternoon during an altercation that spilled onto the sidewalk of a street in Wilmington, Delaware, and died at a Wilmington hospital. As of this writing, there’s been no arrest, but the shooting was apparently not random. A bus driver for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Teah was purportedly in Wilmington (roughly 35 miles from his home in Philadelphia) to visit the mother of his child.

Samuel Teah fought as recently as this past May when he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of journeyman Andrew Rodgers at a show in Pennsylvania’s Newton Township, reducing his record to 19-5-1. Two months earlier he had spoiled the undefeated record of Enriko Gogokhia, an Egis Klimas fighter (think Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko) on a card in Ontario, California. This embellished his reputation as a spoiler. Earlier in his career, he had spoiled the undefeated record of O’Shaquie Foster, winning an 8-round unanimous decision over the man that currently reigns as the WBC world super featherweight champion.

What made Teah’s death more tragic, if that were possible, were all the tragedies that he had overcome. He was born in Liberia when that country was embroiled in a civil war. The family escaped to a refugee camp in Ghana and eventually reached the United States, settling first in New York and then Philadelphia. On the day after Christmas in 2008, when Teah was 21 and working at a Home Depot, he lost six members of his family in a fire that swept his mother’s West Philadelphia duplex after a kerosene heater exploded.

For some, Teah’s violent death may call to mind the murder of another Philadelphia boxer, Tyrone Everett.

That’s an awkward comparison.

Tyrone Everett was a world-class fighter. Six months before he was shot dead by his girlfriend in May of 1977, Everett, then 34-0, lost a 15-round split decision to Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Escalera in a failed bid to win Escalera’s WBC junior lightweight title, a decision so rancid that it stands among the worst decisions of all time. Moreover, the circumstances of Everett’s murder were sordid. His girlfriend, no stranger to the police, fatally shot him after finding him with a transvestite and there was heroin in the apartment they shared. (Editor’s note: For more on this incident, check out the new book by TSS contributor Sean Nam: “Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, Fixed Fights, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing” available on Amazon).

Samuel Teah was no Tyrone Everett. A man of deep faith, Sam’s positive attitude, despite all his tribulations, was infectious. “Everyone liked Teah,” said prominent Philadelphia sports journalist Joe Santoliquito who, upon hearing of Teah’s death, tweeted, “he will always have a special place in my heart.”

While the circumstances are different in every case, Teah joins a long list of boxers who met a violent death. If we limit the list to fighters who were still active at the time of their passing, here are four that jump immediately to mind.

Stanley Ketchel

The fabled Michigan Assassin, Ketchel met his maker on Oct. 15, 1910, at a ranch in Conway, Missouri. In the immortal words of John Lardner, “Stanley Ketchel was twenty-four years old when he was fatally shot in the back by the common-law husband of the lady who was cooking his breakfast.”

Battling Siki

Famed for knocking out Georges Carpentier when the “Orchid Man” held the world light heavyweight title, Siki was only 28 years old when he was gunned down in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on Dec. 15, 1925, but by then the Senegal-born Frenchman had already degenerated into a trial horse. Siki’s body was found in the middle of the street with two bullets in his back fired at close range by an assailant, never identified, who was thought to be avenging a beating he suffered at one of the speakeasies that Siki was known to frequent.

Oscar Bonavena

At age 33, Oscar Bonavena was still an active boxer when he was gunned down on May 22, 1976, on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada, at the front gate of the infamous Mustang Ranch, a legal brothel. Bonavena had come up short in his biggest fights, losing a 15-round decision to Joe Frazier and losing by TKO in the 15^th round to Muhammad Ali, but the rugged Argentine was still a major player in the heavyweight division.

The shooter was a bodyguard for the brothel’s owner Joe Conforte, and rumor has that Conforte was the de facto triggerman, having Bonavena assassinated because the boxer was having an affair with Conforte’s 59-year-old wife Sally who was also Bonavena’s manager of record at this point in the boxer’s career. The story about it spawned “Love Shack,” a 2010 movie that despite a seemingly can’t-miss storyline and a formidable cast (Joe Pesci played Joe and Helen Mirren played Sally) proved to be a box-office dud.

Vernon Forrest

While all homicides are tragic, some are more distressing than others and the death of Vernon Forrest on July 25, 2009, was particularly gut-wrenching. Forrest was shot twice in the back by would-be robbers with whom he exchanged gunfire on July 25, 2009 at a gas station in Atlanta.

Forget the fact that Forrest was a two-division title-holder who had regained the WBC world super welterweight title in his most recent fight with a lopsided decision over Sergio Mora. Few in the sport were as widely admired. His philanthropic work included establishing group homes in Atlanta for the mentally disabled. His death came just two weeks after the death of Arturo Gatti who left the sport following a loss by TKO to Alfonso Gomez in July of 2007 and died under suspicious circumstances at age 37 at a hotel in Brazil.

We here at The Sweet Science send our condolences to Samuel Teah’s family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.

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Benavidez Dismantles Andrade: Will Canelo Be Next?

Published

4 days ago

November 25, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Benavidez-Dismantles-Andrade-Will-Canelo-Be-Next?

SHOWTIME aired its final pay-per-view event tonight with a show that aired from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The four-fight PPV card included world title fights in the 140 and 130-pound divisions, plus an interim title fight at 168 and the return of former two-division title-holder Jarmall Charlo. The interim title fight was a battle of unbeatens between David Benavidez and Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade and that was the featured attraction.

Benavidez, 26, is big for the weight class and lived up to his new nickname, “El Monstro.” He had too much firepower for the 35-year-old Andrade, a 2008 Beijing Olympian who began his pro career at 154 and had won world titles in two lower weight classes. His big moment came in the waning seconds of round four when he knocked Andrade to his knees with a sweeping right hand. The fight turned brutally one-sided at that point although one of the judges had Benavidez ahead by only one point when the sixth round ended. But there would be no seventh round. Andrade’s corner wisely stopped the fight.

A consensus 7/2 favorite in man-to-man betting, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) began his pro career in Mexico at age 16. In his post-fight interview, he called out Canelo Alvarez while brashly predicting that he would be a legend before he left the sport (and you’ll get no argument from this corner). It was the first pro loss for Andrade (32-1).

Co-Feature

Jermall Charlo returned to the ring after a 29-month absence and scored a lopsided 10-round decision over Jose Benavidez Jr. The judges had it 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This bout was slated for the catch-weight of 163 pounds. Charlo came in overweight (166.4) but the match went ahead. Benavides Jr, a world title challenger during his days as a welterweight, had his moments, but was outclassed by Charlo who advanced his record to 33-0 (22). Benavidez falls to 28-3-1.

Matias-Ergashev

In what shaped up as the most action-packed fight of the night, 31-year-old Puerto Rican Subriel Matias retained his IBF 140-pound title, battering Shohjahon Ergashev into submission in a match that was halted by Ergashev’s corner two seconds into the sixth round. The heavy-handed Ergashev, who was undefeated heading in, dominated the first round-and-a-half, but Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) gradually wore him down.

Matias, who avenged his lone defeat to Petros Ananyan with a dominant showing in the rematch, had become something of a forgotten man in the talent-rich 140-pound weight class, but tonight he showed that he belongs among the elite in the division. It was the first pro loss for Egrashev (23-1, 20 KOs), a southpaw from Uzbekistan who fights out of Detroit and had SugarHill Steward (formally Javan “Sugar” Hill) in his corner.

Garcia-Roach

In the pay-per-view opener, Lamont Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs) wrested the WBA 130-pound title from Hector Garcia (16-2) with a well-earned split decision. The judges had it 116-111 and 144-113 for Roach with the dissenter favoring Garcia 114-113.

A 32-year-old Dominican southpaw, Garcia was making the first defense of the title he won from Roger Gutierrez, a belt he was allowed to keep after moving up to lightweight to challenge Gervonta Davis, a bout he lost on a ninth-round stoppage. Roach, an underdog in the betting making his first start in 16 months, had come up short in a previous world title fight, losing a decision to Jamel Herring in 2019.

Roach was trailing on two of the scorecards through 10 rounds in what had been a ho-hum fight. But he cranked up the juice in the homestretch, rocking Garcia in the 11^th and flooring him with a right hook in the final stanza. Take away that knockdown (an illegal punch as it landed behind Roach’s head), and Garcia would have retained his belt with a draw.

Non-PPV

In his first start at 140 pounds, Puerto Rico’s Michel Rivera rebounded from his first pro loss (a wide decision at the hands of Frank Martin) with a unanimous 10-round decision over Sergey Lipinets. The judges had it 96-94 and 97-93 twice. Rivera, who improved to 25-1 (14) patterns his style and his persona after Muhammad Ali with whom he bears a strong facial resemblance.

It was the first fight in 16 months for the 34-year-old Lipinets (17-3-1), from SoCal via Kazakhstan. He rarely took a backward step but it wasn’t effective aggression.

In the opener on Showtime’s YouTube channel. 21-year-old super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr, now trained by Ronnie Shields, scored the best win of his career, advancing to 16-1 (11 KOs). The pride of Vineland, NJ, Mielnicki had Alexis Salazar on the canvas three times before the match was halted at the 2:27 mark of the opening stanza. Guadalajara’s Salazar (25-6) had been stopped only once previously.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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Katie Taylor Turns the Tables on Chantelle Cameron in a Dublin Blockbuster

Published

4 days ago

November 25, 2023

David A. Avila

Katie Taylor Turns the Tables on Chantelle Cameron in a Dublin Blockbuster

Underdogs win too.

Katie Taylor changed tactics and changed the outcome to defeat her conqueror Chantelle Cameron by majority decision and become undisputed super lightweight champion on Saturday.

“Two weight undisputed champion, that sounds great,” said Taylor.

It took six months but the sold-out crowd in Dublin, Ireland saw Taylor (23-1) avenge a loss to Cameron (18-1) and re-assume her position as one of the leaders of the female fight world.

It was a different Taylor who returned to Ireland and this time she brought changes against the younger, stronger Cameron that proved effective.

At first it looked grim for Taylor who resumed her style of speed combinations and was met with jolting left jabs from Cameron. One jab actually delivered Taylor to the canvas but a slip of the foot was caught by the referee.

In the second round Taylor showed her cards.

Using her speed and agility, Taylor used her own jabs and movement to score and then would suddenly clinch both arms. And in between clinches, quick uppercuts and rights scored.

It was the recipe used by the Irish fighter for the remainder of the fight.

The change in tactics by Taylor took away Cameron’s most effective weapon, her strong left jab. Unable to use that weapon, she dove in looking to use her strength and was butted by Taylor in the third round. A deep bloody gash on the forehead of Cameron formed quickly.

Cameron never quit attacking and finally found success in the fourth and fifth rounds with pounding body shots. It seemed to slow her opponent down, who had been busier until the body attack slowed her volume.

Both tried their best to control the rounds. Taylor used her hit-and-clinch recipe while Cameron pounded the body and used her strength inside. The best round erupted in the seventh as both unleashed wicked combinations and uppercuts.

The crowd roared its approval.

All that furious action seemed to drain Taylor and allowed Cameron to overpower her with body shots in the eighth. It also forced Taylor to grab Cameron every time she got close. It became so obvious that the referee warned Taylor to stop holding.

A tired Taylor seemed ready to be taken over, but somehow she mustered enough energy to sling quick combos and clinch. Cameron tried avoiding the clinches but was not able to find a solution.

Taylor closed out the fight with speed combinations as Cameron looked to end the fight with one big blow that never arrived. A spent Taylor looked relieved at the final bell as Cameron could not land the big one.

After 10 rounds one judge scored it 95-95 while two others saw it 98-92 and 96-94 for Taylor who becomes undisputed super lightweight champion.

“Whoever wrote me off you don’t know me very well,” said Taylor. “Tonight, you saw the real me. When I’m boxing no one can beat me.”

The win by Taylor sets up a trilogy with Cameron.

“I don’t think there has ever been a trilogy in women’s boxing. This would be the first,” said Taylor.

2024 look out.

Nicolson Wins

Australia’s Skye Nicolson (9-0) controlled every round over Sweden’s Lucy Wildheart (10-3) by hitting and moving against the slow-moving fighter and eventually won by stoppage in the ninth round to retain an interim featherweight title.

Nicolson proved too fast and agile for Wildheart who seemed a second slower and was punished by counter shots. Eventually a bloody nose forced Wildheart’s corner to stop the fight at 1:11 of the ninth round.

The speedy featherweight Nicolson is the number one contender for undisputed champion Amanda Serrano.

Other Bouts

Ireland’s Gary Cully (17-1, 10 KOs) won by split decision over Reece Mould (18-2, 6 KOs) to return to the victory column after suffering a knockout loss six months ago in the same arena.

Cully, a tall lightweight, started slowly but soon found his rhythm and used uppercuts and movement to offset the hard-charging Mould. There were no knockdowns in the back-and-forth battle with two judges favoring Cully 97-93, 96-93 and one for Mould 97-93.

“I’m back baby and it feels good,” said Cully who was stopped by Mexico’s Jose Felix six months ago.

Speed southpaw Paddy Donovan (12-0, 9 KOs) knocked out Danny Ball (13-2-1) in their welterweight clash with a left to the body in the fourth round. He first dropped Ball with an overhand left during an exchange.

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