Lou Dibella Playing It Safe With Jermain Taylor

Published

11 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 320: Boots Ennis and Stanionis

Published

8 hours ago

April 11, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-320:-Boots-Ennis-and-Stanionis.jpg

Jaron “Boots Ennis and Eimantis Stanionus are in the wrong era.

If they had fought in the late 70s and early 80s the boxing world would have seen them regularly on televised fight cards.

Instead, with the world’s attention span diluted by thousands of available programming, this richly talented pair of undefeated welterweights Ennis (33-0, 29 Kos) and Stanionis (15-0, 9 Kos) will battle in the smaller confines of Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday April 12.

Thankfully, DAZN will stream the WBA and IBF welterweight world title fight on the Matchroom Boxing card.

If not for DAZN these two elite fighters and the sport of pro boxing might be completely invisible to the sports entertainment world.

These welterweights are special.

Ennis, a lean whip-quick fighter out of Philadelphia, stylistically reminds me of a Tommy Hearns but not as tall or long-armed as the Detroit fighter of the past.

“Win on Saturday and I’m the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine champion, and then we’ll see what’s next. But I am zoned in on Stanionis,” said Ennis the IBF titlist.

Lithuania’s Stanionis and his pressure style liken to a Marvelous Marvin Hagler who would walk through fire to reach striking distance of a foes chin or abdomen.

“Ennis is slick, explosive, and they say he’s the future of the division. That’s why I signed the contract. I don’t duck anyone—I run toward the fire,” Stanionis said.

When Hagler and Hearns met in Las Vegas on April 1985, their reputations had been built on television with millions watching against common foes like Roberto Duran and Juan Roldan. Both had different styles just like Stanionis and Ennis and both could punch.

One difference was their ability to take a punch.

Hagler had a chin of steel, Hearns did not.

When Ennis and Stanionis meet in the boxing ring this Saturday, each is facing the most dangerous fighter of his career. Whose chin will hold up is the true question?

“This isn’t gonna be a chess match. This is going to be a war,” said Stanionis who holds the WBA title. “I’m stepping into that ring to test him, break him, and beat him. Let’s see how he handles real pressure.”

Ennis just wants to win.

“I’m at the point right now where I don’t care what people say,” said Ennis. “I’m here to do one thing and that’s put hands on you, that’s it.”

Golden Boy in Oceanside, CA

Next week budding star Charles Conway (21-0, 16 Kos) meets Mexico’s Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 Kos) in the semi-main event at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California on Saturday April 19.

The two super welterweights are both ranked in the top 10 and the winner moves up to the elite level of the very stacked super welterweight division.

Conwell, who trains in Cleveland, Ohio, has been one of boxing’s best kept secrets and someone few champions and contenders want to face. Take my word for it, this kid can fight.

On the main event is undisputed female flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 Kos) defending all her titles against Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 Kos).

Fundora is quickly becoming the most feared champion in boxing.

360 Promotions

Super welter prospect Sadridden Akhmedov (15-0, 13 Kos) meets Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 Kos) in the main event on Saturday April 19, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif. The 360 Promotions event will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Also, Roxy Verduzco (3-0) meets Jessica Radtke (1-1-1) in a six rounds featherweight battle.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Jarron Ennis (33-0) vs Eamantis Stanionis (15-0).

Photo credit: Mark Robinson

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Dzmitry Asanau Flummoxes Francesco Patera on a Ho-Hum Card in Montreal

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Dzmitry-Asanau-Flummoxes-Franesco-Patera-on-a-Ho-Hum-Card-in-Montreal

Dzmitry Asanau Flummoxes Francesco Patera on a Ho-Hum Card in Montreal

Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Promotions was at its regular pop stand at the Montreal Casino tonight. Upsets on Estephan’s cards are as rare as snow on the Sahara Desert and tonight was no exception.

The main event was a 10-round lightweight contest between Dzmitry “The Wasp” Asanau and Francesco Patera.

A second-generation prizefighter – his father was reportedly an amateur champion in Russia – Asanau, 28, had a wealth of international amateur experience and represented Belarus in the Tokyo Olympics. His punches didn’t sting like a wasp, but he had too much class for Belgium’s Patera whose claim to fame was that he went 10 rounds with current WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis.

Two of the judges scored every round for the Wasp (10-0, 4 KOs) with the other seeing it 98-92. Patera falls to 30-6.

Co-Feature

Fast-rising Mexican-Canadian welterweight Christopher Guerrero was credited with three knockdowns en route to a one-sided 10-round decision over Oliver Quintana. A two-time Canadian amateur champion, Guererro improved to 14-0 (8).

The fight wasn’t quite as lopsided as what the scorecards read (99-88 and 98-89 twice). None of the knockdowns were particularly harsh and the middle one was a dubious call by the referee.

It was a quick turnaround for Guerrero who scored the best win of his career 8 weeks ago in this ring. The spunky but out-gunned Quintana, whose ledger declined to 22-4, was making his first start outside Mexico.

After his victory, Guerrero was congratulated by ringsider Terence “Bud” Crawford who has a date with Canelo Alvarez in September, purportedly in Las Vegas at the home of the NFL’s Raiders. Canelo has an intervening fight with William Scull on May 4 (May 3 in the U.S.) in Saudi Arabia.

Other Bouts of Note

In a fight without an indelible moment, Mary Spencer improved to 10-2 (6) with a lopsided decision over Ogleidis Suarez (31-6-1). The scores were 99-91 and 100-90 twice. Spencer was making the first defense of her WBA super welterweight title. (She was bumped up from an interim champion to a full champion when Terri Harper vacated the belt.)

A decorated amateur, the 40-year-old Spencer has likely reached her ceiling as a pro. A well-known sports personality in Venezuela, Suarez, 37, returned to the ring in January after a 26-month hiatus. An 18-year pro, she began her career as a junior featherweight.

In a monotonously one-sided fight, Jhon Orobio, a 21-year-old Montreal-based Colombian, advanced to 13-0 (11) with an 8-round shutout over Argentine campaigner Sebastian Aguirre (19-7). Orobio threw the kitchen sink at his rugged Argentine opponent who was never off his feet.

Wyatt Sanford

The pro debut of Nova Scotia’s Wyatt Sanford, a bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, fell out when Sanford’s opponent was unable to make weight. The opponent, 37-year-old slug Shawn Archer, was reportedly so dehydrated that he had to be hospitalized.

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Remembering Hall of Fame Boxing Trainer Kenny Adams

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Remembering-Hall--Fame-Boxing-Trainer-Kenny-Adams

The flags at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, are flying at half-staff in honor of boxing trainer Kenny Adams who passed away Monday (April 7) at age 84 at a hospice in Las Vegas. Adams was formally inducted into the Hall in June of last year but was too ill to attend the ceremony.

A native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Adams was a retired Army master sergeant who was part of an elite squadron that conducted many harrowing missions behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. A two-time All-Service boxing champion, his name became more generally known in 1984 when he served as the assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic boxing team that won 11 medals, eight gold, at the Los Angeles Summer Games. In 1988, he was the head coach of the squad that won eight medals, three gold, at the Olympiad in Seoul.

Adams’ work caught the eye of Top Rank honcho Bob Arum who induced Adams to move to Las Vegas and coach a team of fledgling pros that he had recently signed. Bantamweight Eddie Cook and junior featherweight Kennedy McKinney, Adams’ first two champions, bubbled out of that pod. Both represented the U.S. Army as amateurs. McKinney was an Olympic gold medalist. Adams would eventually play an instrumental role in the development of more than two dozen world title-holders including such notables as Diego Corrales, Edwin Valero, Freddie Norwood, and Terence Crawford.

When Eddie Cook won his title from Venezuela’s 36-1 Israel Contreras, it was a big upset. Adams, the subject of a 2023 profile in these pages, was subsequently on the winning side of two upsets of far greater magnitude. He prepared French journeyman Rene Jacquot for Jacquot’s date with Donald Curry on Feb. 11 1989 and prepared Vincent Phillips for his engagement with Kostya Tszyu on May 31, 1997.

Jacquot won a unanimous decision over Curry. Phillips stopped Tszyu in the 10^th frame. Both fights were named Upset of the Year by The Ring magazine.

Adams’ home-away-from-home in his final years as a boxing coach was the DLX boxing gym which opened in the summer of 2020 in a former dry cleaning establishment on the west-central side of the city. It was fortuitous to the gym’s owner Trudy Nevins that Adams happened to live a few short blocks away.

“He helped me get the place up and running,” notes Nevins who endowed a chair, as it were, in honor of her esteemed helpmate.

No one in the Las Vegas boxing community was closer to Kenny Adams than Brandon Woods. “He was a mentor to me in boxing and in life in general, a father figure,” says Woods, who currently trains Trevor McCumby and Rocky Hernandez, among others.

Akin to Adams, Woods is a Missourian. His connection to Adams comes through his amateur coach Frank Flores, a former teammate of Adams on an all-Service boxing team and an assistant under Adams with the 1988 U.S. Olympic squad.

Woods was working with Nonito Donaire when he learned that he had cancer (now in remission). He cajoled Kenny Adams out of retirement to assist with the training of the Las Vegas-based Filipino and they were subsequently in the corner of Woods’ fighter DeeJay Kriel when the South African challenged IBF 105-pound title-holder Carlos Licona at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Feb. 16, 2019.

This would be the last time they worked together in the corner and it proved to be a joyous occasion.

After 11 rounds, the heavily favored Licona, a local fighter trained by Robert Garcia, had a seemingly insurmountable lead. He was ahead by seven points on two of the scorecards. In the final round, Kriel knocked him down three times and won by TKO.

“I will always remember the pep talk that Kenny gave DeeJay before that final round,” says Woods. “He said ‘You mean to tell me that you came all the way from across the pond to get to this point and not win a title?’ but in language more colorful than that; I’m paraphrasing.”

“After the fight, Kenny said to me, ‘In all my years of training guys, I never saw that.’”

The fight attracted little attention before or after (it wasn’t the main event), but it would enter the history books. Boxing writer Eric Raskin, citing research by Steve Farhood, notes that there have been only 16 instances of a boxer winning a world title fight by way of a last-round stoppage of a bout he was losing. The most famous example is the first fight between Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor. Kriel vs. Licona now appears on the same list.

Brandon Woods notes that the Veterans Administration moved Adams around quite a bit in his final months, shuffling him to hospitals in North Las Vegas, Kingman, Arizona, and then Boulder City (NV) before he was placed in a hospice.

When Woods visited Adams last week, Adams could not speak. “If you can hear me, I would say to him, please blink your eyes. He blinked.

“There are a couple of people in my life I thought would never leave us and Kenny is one,” said Woods with a lump in his throat.

Photo credit: Supreme Boxing

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