Lou Dibella Playing It Safe With Jermain Taylor

Published

8 years ago

October 6, 2014

There are, of course, promoters, managers and trainers who regard the declining fighters with whom they are sometimes associated as nothing more than meal tickets, a means of squeezing out another paycheck or two before the fast-emptying well from which they are drawing runs totally dry.

Lou DiBella, the former HBO Sports senior vice president-turned-boxing-promoter, can never be lumped with those who deservedly fall into the category of the uncaring. If anything, he cares too deeply, assuming almost a parental-type responsibility for the health and welfare of his fighters.

This is the guy who, while with HBO, summarily rejected a proposal to pair Roy Jones Jr., then still at the top of his game, with the remains of the once-great Thomas Hearns, which would have been a mismatch of epic proportions, the potential for high ratings be damned. There are other examples, if you study DiBella’s history closely enough, of his walking away from marketable fighters whom he perceived as entering a danger zone – and, admittedly, every fighter lives in a world of risk – that simply had become excessively dangerous.

All of which makes DiBella’s renewed participation as the promoter of former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (32-4-1, 20 KOs) — who challenges IBF 160-pound titlist Sam “King” Soliman (44-11, 18 KOs) in the ESPN-televised main event Wednesday night at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss. – especially curious. DiBella will be promoting this, the fourth fight in five outings on the 36-year-old Taylor’s comeback tour, but he’s remembered as the same concerned individual who cut ties with Taylor after the Little Rock, Ark., native was stopped with less than 10 seconds remaining in the 12^th round of his Super Six Boxing Classic bout with Arthur Abraham on Oct. 17, 2009, in Berlin, Germany. It marked Taylor’s fourth loss in a five-fight stretch, three coming inside the distance. Taylor was hospitalized with a concussion and short-term memory loss, a set of circumstances which prompted DiBella to voluntarily remove himself from the equation.

“To me, a lot of these fights go beyond just not being attractive,” he announced in January 2010, when it became evident Taylor would continue his career with or without DiBella’s participation. “They go into the realm of dangerous. And by the way, I think I’m entitled to say that because I have put my money where my mouth is. I’m not coming at it as a hypocrite. I’m not trying to sell (fans) a death match.”

DiBella hasn’t changed; he remains a staunch advocate for staging competitive bouts involving fighters who have not started down the slippery slope that, should they stay too long at the fair, sometimes results in slurred speech and irreversible brain damage. But Jermain Taylor has been given a clean bill of health by neurological experts at two highly reputable hospitals, as well as being licensed by boxing commissions in Nevada and California. That’s a pile of evidence that suggests that denying the man known as “Bad Intentions” a means to make a living at what he knows best would be as wrong as throwing an obviously damaged fighter into a veritable wolf pit.

Then there is the matter of this latest title shot for Taylor, who is not being asked to jump into deep, shark-infested waters with an anchor tied around one foot and a cement block around the other. Soliman is a good fighter, to be sure, but he turns 41 on Nov. 13, he’s lost 11 times and his knockout percentage suggests that, well, he isn’t exactly a puncher on a par with WBA middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) or WBO champ Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), either of whom would pose a far more substantial threat to Taylor’s face and internal organs than the Aussie. The guess here is that DiBella, being DiBella, would never consent to pairing Taylor with as devastating a knockout artist as Golovkin in a unification bout should JT reclaim a share of the middleweight throne by getting past Soliman.

“I’ve been with Jermain Taylor since he was a kid,” noted DiBella, taking care not to give away too much of his future plans for this latest stage of Taylor’s career. “We go way, way back, through a lot of stuff. I care deeply about the guy. But I didn’t want Jermain to be licensed and fight King Kong. I believed that if I was involved, along with Al (Taylor’s adviser, Al Haymon), we offered a checks-and-balances system for Jermain, even though he had been given a clean bill of health. We didn’t want to see him thrown in with a really tenacious puncher.

“If you look at Jermain’s record on this comeback, he’s had four fights. I promoted his fights with Jessie Nicklow, Caleb Truax and Raul Munoz. His last one (a seventh-round stoppage of Juan Carlos Candelo, on Dec. 14, 2013, was promoted by Golden Boy), wasn’t our show, but this one (a co-promotion with Warriors Boxing, in association with Soliman Stanley Promotions) is. You have to remember he’s fighting a 42-year-old man (sic) with no punching power for a world title.

“I am not going to sit here and defend my record on health and safety. Jermain was going to fight anyway, OK? In my heart I firmly believe that he has been safer on this comeback because I got involved again. People also want to dump on Al, but he got this kid a shot at a world title against an old guy who isn’t exactly King Kong.”

So Jermain Taylor, part of DiBella’s big haul of talented prospects following the 2000 Sydney Olympics, is back on that high wire, albeit with a fairly wide safety net under him. Can he reclaim at least a portion of his past glories? It’s not unreasonable to believe it’s a possibility. He does, after all, have a penchant for faring well against old guys with moderate power, having twice defeated future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins on close decisions. Taylor remains the only man ever to have twice put smudges on Hopkins’ record.

Despite the slump that rendered Taylor as almost an afterthought in the boxing community, DiBella correctly notes that there is a marked difference between being on the wrong end of a quick, emphatic knockout as opposed to a sustained beatdown, the kind that can swiftly suck the prime right out even the most gifted of fighters. Taylor has been kayoed, but his losses inside the distance – to Kelly Pavlik, Carl Froch and Abraham – were more of the lightning-strike variety.

“Jermain took some time off from boxing (after the loss to Abraham in the Super Six, from which he then withdrew),” DiBella noted. “He then went to the neurological units at both the Cleveland and Mayo Clinics. He probably underwent more extensive testing than any fighter in recent years, and he was cleared by both hospitals to continue fighting.

“After those tests, he gave me permission to speak to the doctor directly. I asked the doctor, `If Jermain were your son, would you let him fight?’ The doctor said, `Well, you’re not asking me the right question. I wouldn’t let my son fight, period, because it’s an inherently dangerous sport. But if you’re asking me, based upon a completely sophisticated and extensive battery of tests whether I believe Jermain is at greater risk than any other fighter, I don’t believe he is.’”

Perhaps remembering the incredible success Main Events had in procuring high-potential fighters from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics (Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Mark Breland, Virgil Hill and Tyrell Biggs), DiBella signed JT, a bronze medalist, as part of the 2000 Olympic class that included Americans Ricardo Williams Jr. (the junior welterweight silver medal), Clarence Vinson (bantamweight bronze medalist), heavyweight Michael Bennett and flyweight Jose Navarro, as well as Paolo Vidoz (the super heavyweight bronze medalist from Italy) and middleweight Jerson Ravelo (Dominican Republic). Williams was pegged as the most likely candidate for superstardom from that group, but he flamed out, as did most of the others, leaving Taylor as the fastest riser and foremost hope for sustained success for DiBella’s fledgling company. Along the way, DiBella and his protégé became as tight as it ever gets between promoter and fighter, making Taylor’s plummet from elite status a matter of personal as well as professional concern for Sweet Lou.

Now we are here again, with Taylor toting not only the baggage of what occurred inside the ropes during that 1-4 descent, but also from an incident at Taylor’s suburban Little Rock home on Aug. 27, in which the boxer shot his cousin, Tyrone Hinton, “multiple times,” according to the police report. Taylor was charged with two felonies, domestic battery and aggravated assault. He entered a plea of non-guilty and subsequently was freed on $25,000 bond and granted permission by District Judge Wayne Gruber to travel out of state for the title bout with Solomon.

Given the spate of NFL-related news of suspensions handed out to star players for domestic violence against wives/girlfriends and children, it might appear that Taylor has been given something of a pass due to his celebrity status in his home state. The situation no doubt will at least be mentioned during the ESPN telecast. But DiBella said there is more to the story than what appears at first glance, which will come to light when the case finally goes before a court of law.

“Did I have concerns? Yes,” he said. “But I made some phone calls. The judge set a very low bail, and he made it clear Jermain was free to go ahead with this fight. There is such a thing in this country as innocent until proven guilty.”

The ring is not a court of law, but certain truths are always revealed on fight night. It will be interesting to see which verdict is rendered when Jermain Taylor states his case against Soliman.

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Bernard Fernandez

Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas

Published

1 day ago

March 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas

If you know the history of Las Vegas, it’s endured a number of phases since its first major growth spurt when the Hoover Dam project brought thousands to the desert region in the 1930s.

Then came the New York phase when the Flamingo Hotel was built in the 1940s and was followed by numerous other major casino hotels like the Sands, the Dunes and the Aladdin. Of course, boxing was always a way to entice people to the desert.

This Saturday, four star boxing returns to Las Vegas. But it be competing against the western regional finals of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Prepare for crowds.

Las Vegas is packed.

Undefeated David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) meets once-beaten Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 25. The TGB Promotions card will be televised on Showtime pay-per-view.

The winner gets a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. And that means big money.

It’s all happening in Las Vegas and so will the NCAA tournament. Expect an extremely crowded Strip as fans of boxing and basketball convene on the strip by the thousands. Its also a gambler’s paradise for betting so make sure you allow yourself time because the lines will be long at the sportsbooks.

When I first visited Las Vegas in the early 1970s sports betting was done outside of the casinos. The state law back then prohibited sportsbooks inside hotel-casinos. My favorite sportsbook, for sentimental reasons, is the Westgate Hotel, formerly the Hilton International. It’s has a huge sports betting area.

I’m not a betting type of guy but sports betting to me is the center of everything and adds luster to the atmosphere of Las Vegas. You won’t find a sports book in California.

Boxing has always been a sport made for betting, probably since the stone age.

When Benavidez steps into the prize ring he will be the big favorite but if you truly know boxing, Plant does have a chance. Anything can happen in boxing. Anything.

A man can parachute from the sky and land in the middle of the fight as happened back in 1993 when Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe were combatting for the heavyweight title at Caesars Palace. Of course, this won’t happen on Saturday because the fight is indoors at the MGM Hotel.

One major lesson about pro boxing is that nothing is a sure thing.

Though Benavidez has power and has never been defeated, he could tear an Achilles tendon right during the fight. Or he could break a wrist delivering a punch. I’ve also seen a great fighter like Pernell Whitaker get his clavicle broken from a single punch and be unable to continue.

Don’t bet your house on the outcome.

What you will see on Saturday is two very talented super middleweights with completely different fighting styles engage. They do not seem to care for each other but that doesn’t matter. It’s a fight, not a marble contest.

Words have been exchanged all through the promotion. But words don’t mean a thing once the first bell rings.

Plant has speed, agility and solid defensive skills. His only loss came to Canelo Alvarez. That’s more a medal of honor than an embarrassment.

“I feel I’m the better boxer, I have the better IQ and I have more experience,” said Plant. “I have the better pedigree and its going to show on Saturday night.”

Benavidez has power, speed and a very solid chin. He seems to intimidate foes with a come forward style that reminds me of a young George Foreman.

“We’re going to see what that chin is like on Saturday,” said Benavidez.

Supporting fights

Cody Crowley meets Abel Ramos in an welterweight elimination fight for the WBC title held by Errol Spence Jr.

Both of these guys are rough and tough. It’s the ram versus the bull.

The other Ramos, Abel’s brother Jesus, is fighting Joey Spencer in a super welterweight clash.

Six other fights are planned at the MGM Grand.

Top Rank

Fresno’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) gets a hometown crowd when he meets Richard Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) on Saturday March 25. The former super lightweight titlist needs a win to get back in the hunt. ESPN will televise the Top Rank card.

“All of a sudden after one loss people started walking away,” said Ramirez. “We’re focused on Richard Commey.”

Commey wants what Ramirez wants too, a title.

“I really want to become a two-time world champion, so I’m coming strong,” said Commey.

Also on the same Fresno card will be WBA titlist Seniesa Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) seeking to unify the minimumweight titles against Germany’s WBC titlist Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs).

“This is the moment that Ive dreamed of since I was seven years old,” said Estrada. “Its crazy to think how far I’ve come in this sport.”

Rupprecht is also excited.

It’s a big honor to fight for both titles,” Rupprecht said. “This is always what I wanted.”

Fights to Watch

Sat. Showtime ppv 6 p.m David Benavidez (26-0) vs Caleb Plant (22-1); Cody Crowley (21-0) vs Abel Ramos (27-5-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1) vs Richard Commey (30-4-1); Seniesa Estrada (23-0) vs Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1).

Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions

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Mbilli Stays Unbeaten: Outpoints Gongora in a Bruising Tiff

Published

2 days ago

March 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Mbilli-Stays-Unbeaten-Outpoints-Gongora-in-a-Bruising-Tiff

Camille Estephan’s “Eye of the Tiger” promotions returned to the Montreal Casino tonight with an 8-bout card capped by an intriguing match between super middleweights Christian Mbilli and Carlos Gongora, both former Olympians.

The Cameroon-born Mbilli (pictured on the left) represented France in the 2016 Rio Games. He was undefeated (23-0, 16 KOs) coming in and ranked #2 by the WBA. The Massachusetts-based Gongora, a two-time Olympian for his native Ecuador, brought a 23-1 (16) record, his lone defeat coming on the road in Manchester, England, to currently undefeated Lerrone Richards.

When the smoke cleared, Mbilli won a unanimous decision, but the scores (99-91, 98-92, and 97-93) were misleading as this was an entertaining fight and the granite-chinned Gondora, a southpaw, was always a threat to turn the tide with his signature punch, a left uppercut. In fact, he may have landed the best punch of the fight when he hurt Mbilli in the opening minute of the eighth round. But the muscular Mbilli shook off the cobwebs and stormed back, dominating the final minute of the eighth and then finishing strong, nearly forcing a stoppage with a non-stop assault in the final frame.

Mbilli would love to fight the winner of Saturday’s tiff between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant, but that’s not likely to happen. A more likely scenario finds Mbilli opposing fellow unbeaten Vladimir Shishkin, the Detroit-based Russian.

Co-Feature

Simon Kean, a six-foot-five, 250-pound heavyweight from Three Rivers, Quebec, advanced to 23-1 (22 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of 40-year-old warhorse Eric Molina (29-9).

Both were tentative during most of the match. The end came rather suddenly when Kean knocked Molina down with an overhand right after landing a good left hook. The punch did not appear to land flush, but Molina was swaying as he made it to his feet and the referee called it off.

It was not a particularly impressive performance by Kean. Molina, a special education teacher in the Rio Grande Valley community of Edinburg, Texas, hinted before the bout that this would be his final fight. That would be a sensible idea. He has been stopped six times in his last 10 outings and nine times overall.

Also

In a 10-round bout contested at 140 pounds, Calgary veteran Steve Claggett improved to 34-7-2 (24) with a TKO over Mexican import Rafael Guzman Lugo (26-3-2) whose corner pulled him out after seven frames. This was a good action fight fought at close quarters, albeit Claggett was clearly in control when the bout was halted.

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A Conversation About Boxing with Author and Journalist Steve Marantz

Published

3 days ago

March 22, 2023

Rick Assad

A-Conversation-About-Boxing-with-Noted-Author-and-Journalist-Rick-Marantz

If you ask former sportswriter Steve Marantz when was boxing’s Golden Age, he’s quick with a response.

His answer just so happens to coincide with the period when he was on the beat as a boxing columnist for the Boston Globe (1979-1987).

“You could argue that boxing has had a few Golden Ages, but yes, that was an exciting and memorable era,” said Marantz, who sat ringside for many legendary matches. “The round-robin bouts amongst [Ray] Leonard, [Marvin] Hagler, [Thomas] Hearns and [Roberto] Duran, certainly was a major element.”

Those four legends are important but other weight division kings also played an integral role in boxing’s global popularity.

“Let’s not forget [Aaron] Pryor, [Alexis] Arguello, [Julio Cesar] Chavez, [Salvador] Sanchez, [Hector] Camacho, [Wilfredo] Gomez, Michael Spinks, [Dwight Muhammad] Qawi, [Donald] Curry, [Mike] Tyson and [Evander] Holyfield,” Marantz offered. “The key was competitive balance in most of the divisions.”

Marantz began his journalism career in 1973 at the Kansas City Star after graduating from the University of Missouri. After leaving the Globe, he worked for the Boston Herald (1999-2004) and ESPN (2004-2016). Nowadays, in addition to freelance writing for publications such as the Jewish Journal of Greater Boston, he produces the podcast “Championship Stories.”

Marantz recalled one particular moment that stood out while covering boxing and it happened at Aaron Pryor’s training camp.

“I have a vivid memory of his workout before he fought Arguello in Miami, November 1982. He had a hot funk song on the speakers, “You Dropped A Bomb On Me,” and as it played, loudly, he shadow-boxed to its beat and lyrics,” he recalled. “A rope was stretched across the gym, four feet off the floor, and Pryor moved along the rope, ducking under and back, gloves flashing. He was hypnotized by the music, in a trance. Hypnotized me, too. A moment that made boxing so cool to cover.”

That classic matchup at the famed Orange Bowl was halted in the 14th round with Pryor winning by technical knockout.

Anyone at Caesars Palace on April 15, 1985, knows what happened over roughly eight minutes of hot action when Hagler and Hearns tangled. It was nonstop punches from both participants.

“Hagler and Hearns fought as if possessed,” recalled Marantz of that showdown. “The stark final image [for me] was that of Hearns, now helpless, semiconscious, looking very like a black Christ taken from the cross, in the arms of a solemn aide.

“Hagler’s pent-up bitterness found release in a violent attack, even as each crack of Hearns’ gloves reinforced a lifetime of slights. In the end, Hearns was martyred to absolve Hagler of victimization. The first round is legendary, among the most vicious and splendid ever fought on the big fight stage. Action accelerated so quickly that spectators were left breathless. Punches windmilled into a blur, though the actual count was 82 punches for Hagler and 83 for Hearns, about three times that of a typical round.”

While that fight has blended into boxing folklore, a 1976 Olympic gold medal winner from Palmer Park, Maryland, was the epitome of true greatness for Steve Marantz.

“The way Sugar Ray Leonard maneuvered [Roberto] Duran to ‘No Mas’ in their rematch was brilliant. His grit and toughness beat Hearns, one of the great fights of the 1980s. And he beat Hagler with brains and psychology. Not to overlook his win over [Wilfred] Benitez in 1979. He was gorgeous to watch, stylish and rhythmic. His combinations were a blur. And he strategized like a chess master. Smooth and cooperative in interviews, always aware of the marketing and promotional necessities. Leonard was the gold standard.”

Marantz re-visited the Hagler-Leonard fight and the drama that surrounded it in “Sorcery at Caesars: Sugar Ray’s Marvelous Fight,” first released in 2008 and now available as an eBook.

Boxing’s been called the cruelest and the most unforgiving sport, but it’s also filled with high drama.

“It’s a test of athleticism, intelligence, grit and character. At its best, it’s dramatic and unpredictable, exciting,” Marantz said of the fight game. “A rich history of iconic personalities and events. Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, for example. A window into history bigger than just sport, a window into popular culture and politics.”

Marantz fondly recalls some of the characters he met while covering the sweet science: “Promoters Don King and Bob Arum, both conniving quotable snakes. Trainer Ray Arcel, in his 80s, a pillar of honesty and integrity. Emanuel Steward and Prentiss Byrd, running the Kronk Gym as a beacon of light and hope in Detroit’s blighted inner city. In Brockton, Massachusetts, two Italian-American brothers, Goody and Pat Petronelli, formed a sacred trust with an African- American boxer, Marvin Hagler.”

Marantz went on: “On my first newspaper job with the Kansas City Times/Star, I met a kindly trainer, Peyton Sher, who welcomed me into his gym and taught me the basics,” he said. “Never will forget Daeshik Seo, the Korean therapist for Larry Holmes who two weeks before the Holmes-[Gerry] Cooney fight in June 1982, tipped me to a story that a member of Holmes’ entourage pulled a pistol on Cooney’s entourage at Caesars Palace. Caesars top brass had to call Holmes on the carpet to get his people under control. Holmes was incensed at the story. In his media session after he won, he said I wrote it because I was [expletive] … and that I worked in a racist city, Boston.”

Marantz has never been put off by the seedy elements of the sport. “I don’t feel polarized by it.,” he says. “Nobody is forced to box. Nobody is forced to watch it. The world has bigger problems than boxing.”

Marantz has fond memories of the people he met and the friendships he made while covering boxing. Does he miss not being rinigside? “Not really,” he says. “My time came and went. Journalism and life took me in other directions. I do have some nostalgia for that era, and for the people who were part of it.”

Having been around the sweet science for a spell, Marantz offered sage advice to anyone inclined to mix it up: “Be disciplined, work hard, find a good trainer, learn the subtleties, read the tea leaves and don’t be pig-headed.”

Actually, all of those traits are always handy, even if one doesn’t step into the ring.

You can read more about Steve Marantz at his website: www.stevemarantz.com

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