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

Rolly Romero Upsets Ryan Garcia in the Finale of a Times Square Tripleheader

Published

15 minutes ago

May 2, 2025

David A. Avila

Rolly-Romero-Upsets-Ryan-Garcia-in-the-Finale-of-a-Times-Square-Tripleheader

Disappointment.

Those bright lights on Times Square proved too much for some but not for Rolly Romero who soaked it up, floored Ryan Garcia early, then cruised to victory on the public streets of Manhattan on Friday.

Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) rode into the prize ring in a vintage Chevy Impala against Garcia (24-2, 23 KOs) and his flashy Batmobile on the streets of Manhattan and walked away victorious.

Simple as one-two-three.

Though both fighters pack tremendous power it was the lightning speed of Garcia that transfixed most and many felt that speed would prevail. It did not.

Instead, Romero caught Garcia inside with his own left hook followed quickly with another hook and down went the Southern Californian in the second round. But just like in previous instances Garcia quickly got up.

Romero tried to end the fight but was caught with a Garcia left hook and you could visibly see the changes in attitude. Romero re-thought his strategy and took the safer approach of making it a slow-moving exchange of feints, jabs and touches from distance.

For the next 10 rounds the crowd first sat on the edge of their seat then slowly sank back realizing that self-preservation had overtaken both fighters.

Though there were moments of possible shock, awe and explosion, it never came. After 12 rounds two judges scored it 115-112, and another 118-109 for Romero.

“Knockdowns always help the fighter,” said Romero.

Garcia was gracious in defeat.

“Rolly fought a good fight and did a good job,” said Garcia. “Hats off to Rolly.”

Haney Wins

Las Vegas fighter Devin Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) defeated Central California’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs) in a fight with few punches exchanged but plenty of side-to-side movement to win by unanimous decision.

For most fans, watching dirt turn to mud is more exciting.

If Haney’s goal was to win the fight and remain undefeated, he succeeded. If he was seeking to entertain fans and prove he is one of the best welterweights in the world?

It was a failure.

Still, Haney evaded exchanges for more than two minutes out of every round. Ramirez, knowing that chasing with abandon could lead to traps could not close the distance.

Haney did get caught a few times and proved any shock residual from his last fight against Ryan Garcia a year ago was a none-issue. Ramirez was also caught by a few uppercuts and survived.

Though very little meaningful punches were landed by either fighter the judges chose Haney 119-109 twice and 118-110.

Teofimo Wins

Fighting in front of hometown fans Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) gave Arnold Barboza (32-1) his first defeat.

But it was never easy.

It was like watching a magician at work as Lopez led viewers, commentators and TV judges to think he was overwhelming Barboza with his left hand. Meanwhile the actual fight was happening in a far different dimension.

Jim Lampley, the golden voice of TV commentating for decades, returned but he needs a crack group to lead him toward the proper direction. In this instance he was told Lopez was winning every round.

He was not.

Every time Lopez tried to bamboozle his foe, he was met with a body shot, jab or some other deterrent. Every round was contested scientifically with precise steps, counter steps and touches.

Lopez was quickly swollen by the blows landed by Barboza, yet the Californian did not show as much. Yet, Lopez was indeed connecting too.

It was a brilliant display of scientific boxing that the commentating crew failed to convey to the viewers. At one point, I simply turned off the sound.

Few blows landed flush. A right cross that beat Lopez to the punch in the sixth round was perhaps the best. A slick three-punch combination by Lopez in the seventh round was poetry.

Neither fighter was able to take over the fight.

Lopez moved around every round never staying in the same spot. Barboza maintained his balance and composure and seldom gave Lopez easy pickings. After 12 rounds of scientific boxing all three judges scored in favor of Lopez 116-112 twice and 118-109.

“Never quit in anything you want to do,” said Lopez.

On another note, the new commentating team for DAZN needs better side support for Lampley.

Overall, the Ring Magazine fight card was all razzle but no dazzle.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles

They’re fighting on the streets of New York again.

Times Square.

Ryan “King Ry” Garcia leads six of the best crack shots in boxing under 30 in New York City on Friday, May 2. It begins a three-day event that moves to Saudi Arabia on Saturday then Las Vegas on Sunday. Three targets.

A number of the best promoters in the sport of boxing are combining forces for “Ring Magazine’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.”

Time Square is target one.

Fresh off a one-year suspension, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) brings his brand of speed and power against Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs), who is no shrinking petunia when it comes to power. They meet in the main event.

Ever since Garcia took off the amateur head gear, he’s shown almost inhuman explosive power and speed. Though his destruction of Devin Haney last year was overturned by the New York Athletic Commission, what viewers saw cannot be erased.

“His dad likes to talk a lot,” said Garcia of Haney. “that’s what got his son beat the first time.”

Now he faces Romero, whose years ago sparring superiority caused a furor when it happened. But sparring and fighting are distinctly different. Now there will be millions watching and future earnings at stake.

“This fight was destined to happen. I called it. I knew it was gonna be at 147 pounds and be one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” said Romero, a two-division champion.

Then, you have Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) who got his loss in the ring removed by the commission but now faces former two-time champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight showdown. It’s a compelling match.

“Styles make fights. He does a lot of good things and a lot of bad things in there. It’s my job to go in there and handicap him of the good things he does and exploit the bad things,” said Haney of Ramirez.

Ramirez recently lost his last match and has a history of problems making weight. This fight will not be at 140 pounds, but five pounds heavier.

“I owe it to myself to show up and move up into a bigger weight class. I think that’s going to do wonders for me,” Ramirez said. ““I’m preparing for the best Devin Haney. That’s the guy I want to beat. I want that challenge.”

A super lightweight battle between New York’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) and California’s Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) might be a Rubik’s Cube battle or a blast of nitro. Both are highly skilled and master craftsmen in a prize ring.

“We’re going to go out there and do what I have to do. I’m going to have fun and beat the brick out of this boy,” said Lopez, one of the local fighters who now lives and trains on the West Coast.

Barboza, a Los Angeles native, has knocked off several top contenders in remaining undefeated.

“This is the toughest opponent of my career,” said Barboza, who bested England’s Jack Catterall and fellow Californian Jose Carlos Ramirez. “I’m gonna punch him in the mouth and see what happens.”

Six of the best American fighters under 30 are slugging it out on Times Square. It probably hasn’t been done since Boss Tweed.

Day Two: Riyadh

Super middleweight champions Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) meet on Saturday, May 3, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s an extension of Ring Magazine’s event on Friday and presented by Riyadh Season. DAZN will stream the event on pay-per-view.

Another world title match pits Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) versus Norair Mikaeljan (27-2 12 KOs) for the WBC cruiser world title.

Also, a return match between Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) and France’s Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight.

Day Three: Las Vegas

Immensely talented Naoya “Monster” Inoue of Japan returns to Las Vegas to showcase his fighting skills to an American audience.

It’s been nearly four years since Inoue appeared in Las Vegas and demonstrated why many experts and fans call him the best fighter pound for pound on the planet. The best.

“I’m excited about everything,” said Inoue about the opportunity to fight in front of an American audience once again.

Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defends the undisputed super bantamweight championship against a little-known banger from San Antonio, Texas named Ramon “Dinamita” Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs). ESPN will televise the Top Rank and Teiken Promotions fight card.

Don’t dismiss Cardenas casually. He is co-promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz who knows a thing or two about signing little known sluggers such as Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana and female undisputed champ Gabriela Fundora.

Cardenas trains with brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio, California and rumor has it has been cracking on the Uzbeks who are pretty rough and tumble.

Of course, the Monster is another matter.

Inoue has fought many of the best smaller weight fighters such as Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton and the great Nonito Donaire and swept them aside with his combination of speed, power and skill.

“I’m always going for the knockout,” Inoue said.

Cardenas always goes for the knockout too.

Two bangers in Las Vegas. That’s what prizefighting is all about.

“I hope to enjoy the whole atmosphere and the fight,” said Inoue. Also, it’s my first time fighting in the T-Mobile Arena.”

Co-Feature

WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) of Mexico defends against Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) of Texas. This will be Espinoza’s third defense of the world title.

Espinoza could be Inoue’s next opponent if the Japanese legend decides to move up another weight division.

Also on the fight card will be Emiliano Vargas, Ra’eese Aleem and others.

Fights to Watch (all times Pacific Time)

Fri. DAZN ppv 2 p.m. Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs Rolando Romero (16-2); Devin Haney (31-1) vs Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2); Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs Arnold Barboza (32-0).

Sat. DAZN ppv 2:45 p.m. Saul Alvarez (62-2-2) vs William Scull (23-0); Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs Norair Mikeljan (27-2); Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs Bruno Surace (26-0-2).

Sun. ESPN 7 p.m. Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs Ramon Cardenas (26-1); Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs Edward Vazquez (17-2); Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs Rudy Garcia (13-1-1).

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

4 days ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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