Emanuel Steward Protege Tony Harrison Can Still Hear Manny’s Call For KOs

Published

10 years ago

November 19, 2014

It was Oct. 25, 2012 when Emanuel Steward left us. He’d been sick, rumors abounded, but his family kept things quiet. The sad rumors turned true. A pied piper of decency and good humor was lost to us. It hit us hard, in the way it does when a special one leaves, a person who makes everyone they come in contact feel like they have a special bond with the charismatic one….

It hit middleweight prospect Tony Harrison harder than a George Foreman hook followed by an Earnie Shavers uppercut.

“He was one of the realest people I’ve ever seen, in the neighborhood, he was a Robin Hood. He’d give it to you if you needed it. He helped everybody. It was surreal when he passed. I was just with him, at camp for Wladimir Klitschko. It just seemed unreal. It didn’t hit me until I went back to Detroit. I was on a flight alone, and there was no Manny in first class. I was at the airport in Cologne (and it hit me). I cried for about three days straight. The one person who did believe in me was gone.”

The emotions didn’t subside quickly. He’d wake up, open his eyes, and a fresh batch of pain would wash over him. “It took months,” Harrison told me. “Jim Lampley helped me. I talked to him and his wife, they were friends with Emanuel. I flew there and stayed with them a couple days in California. They just helped me out, get a better outlook, in that you can lose someone, but there’s always another good person in your corner. In the end, I moved past the sorrow, and realized, ‘You gotta get back to work.’

Got to. Landlord don’t accept tears in lieu of rent check. So Harrison (18-0, with 15 KOs) looks to lay the smack down on TBA on Dec. 20, on a card topped by Jesus MA Cuellar (25-1) vs. Ruben Tamayo (25-4-2), with an interim feather belt up for grabs. After talking to the kid for an hour, I went into my calender on my phone and set a reminder to make sure I checked out his performance. He made an impression on me, as he did Steward…

***

Tony Harrison has three brothers and four sisters and he came in last place in birth order.

The Detroit-based boxer, the former Emanuel Steward protégé who signed on with Al Haymon and has the sort of rumbling style that makes him a no brainer for main event gigs in the very near future, gave me some insight into what formed his way of fighting.

“It made me tougher than I was supposed to be,” the boxer, age 24, told me in a phoner. “Everyone was experimenting on me. I was the lab rat of the family. Pro wrestling came on the TV, they’d see a move, and they couldn’t try it on each other so they’d try it on me. Figure four, all the effed up moves!” Through glass tables, tossed off rooftops, lil Tony was the indestructible rat, and he believes that experience has, yes, left a few dents in his skull, but also helped him toughen up, so the in-the-ring battles aren’t quite as taxing as they’d otherwise be.

Don’t want to make it sound like it was every man for himself over there; mom and dad, Ali and Eisha Salaam, “are still together, and that’s rare.” But Detroit, it was an adult dose, an adult portion, and you saw and see stuff that will make you question man’s inhumanity to man. Such as when utilities are cut off on people down on their luck, while the cruel capitalist crowd plays it off like it’s tough love, say that all these folks are grifters, are just trying to be sneaky takers, and actually aren’t so without options that is why they aren’t paying their gas and electric or water bill.

“I was born here, grew up here, earned and hustled here,” he told me. “Sure, often it’s about a dollar. That love of the dollar matters too much when it’s 20 degrees and you cut someones’ electricity off, it’s too much, especially in cases where you you have adults with kids.”

So, talk to me, man. Are you a future star, or what?

“Oh, you found one for sure,” he said, without an unpleasant cockiness. “And why is that? Because I have a different mentality. I’m going into the fight win lose or draw, I’m coming to entertain. It’s not must win…it’s knock you out or you knock me out. I got to feed my family, you got to feed yours. Win, lose or draw, Arturo Gatti made money. It’s about my family eating. And it’s my job to inspire people, the people that come after me.”

Love it, love, love it. Music to my ears, in this era of boxer/businessmen. Here’s a throwback who gets it, and know what, it makes that much more sense when you know this kid was under Manny Steward’s wing. Manny came across Harrison when an 18-year-old Tony fought a Kronk kid, and lost to him. Maybe he didn’t lose, but he didn’t get the decision, and after, Manny told him he liked his way, that he should keep at it.

“My thinking was, eff Kronk. They had these nice jackets. It was before I really knew who Manny was. He told me I won the fight, against a guy with like 120 fights, and I had like 30. He invited me to his house, and asked if I wanted to turn pro.” Harrison wasn’t ready for that, and it took a few years for him to come back into the Steward orbit. He was sparring some guys at the Wild Card, like Paul Malignaggi, and promoters were sniffing around. Manny saw him at the WC, told him he’d call him, he did. Harrison was thinking about trying for the Olympics, but Manny set him straight about how far our amateur program had fallen. You might not even get the decision if you win, he said. It’s hard to be a minority and win at the Olympics, he said he told him. Turn pro on a Klitschko card, he promised. He got a passport, jetted to Hamburg and the rest was history. Of course, history took a turn when Manny got sick. The sting of his loss hurts worse than a million Micky Ward liver shots…

****

He’d have maybe been a bit sharper right now if he’d gone to camp with Wlad, as he usually does, Harrison tells me; he hops in with Wlad, shows speed, helps the big guy work on cutting off the ring, but a mouth issue kept him away from Germany this time around. Harrison said he’ll be in fine form on Dec. 20, though, and will again have his dad in his corner.

And check this out…you got to love this kid’s outlook. This is how he said he approaches his fights. “I’m coming out quick, it’s kill or be killed, it’s the only motto I have, I have always stressed it. Nobody wants to see ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ as Emanuel used to say.”

Me and Harrison share a chuckle as we fondly recall Steward’s penchant for profanity. I told Tony that I often find myself Tweeting out WWMD, ‘what would Manny do,’ during Wlad fights, and Tony laughed and said he could hear, in his head, Manny saying, “Emeffer, nobody wanna see this s—t, knock this emeffer out, you losing this crowd!”

“And so that’s me, in my fights, taking risks, trying to knock this emeffer out! When I miss, you feel the wind, in the crowd they see that and say, ‘that boy trying to knock him out, that’s what it’s about.’ People love to see Mike Tyson do his thing, no matter if it’s against an alley cat.”

Signing with Haymon was good, he said, because options were presented to him, work picked up, after the deal got signed. He told me he relies on a small circle of friends, among them fight photog Suzan Classen, who is married to the son of the late fighter Willie Classen, and offers Harrison her insight on how to negotiate life’s twists and turns. “She’s my home girl, that’s my homegirl till the end of the world. We met at an open workout at a gym in Manhattan last year and stayed in touch.”

Real people, and decency, is important to Harrison. He needed to find those people when his family was evicted from their residence when he was 16. “I lost everything, my clothes, shoes, everything. And my cousin, Graham Hester, he was 24, he said, ‘Stay with us.’ He had kids, and that stayed with me. And my mom, she’d be walking to work in the snow, sub zero, and the heat was turned off in the house. That’s when I decided, no more partying, no more clubbing. I grew up faster. Then my cousin, his landlord wasn’t paying the taxes, so he had to move, and we were staying at my other cousins. So, so many people have played a big part in my life, that’s why I am who I am. Money don’t make or break me. Loyalty is worth more than a hundred million dollars. My cousin believed, and I believe, I never lost faith, I’m never giving up on God. I know everything going to be alright, and that it was time to lose the itty bitty Spidey drawers and put the big boy boxers on.”

I can hear Manny chuckle, make a crack about the drawers, and I sense that he’d like if we kept eyeballs glued on this kid, because I think Steward saw something in him, something more than boxing skills, and I think I owe that to Steward, such an asset to the sport, to comply.

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Michael Woods

Results from the Chumash Casino where Akhmedov Gave a GGG-like Performance

Published

3 hours ago

December 13, 2024

David A. Avila

Results-from-the-Chumash-Casino-where-Akhmedov-Gave-a-GGG-like-Performance

Shades of Triple G.

Kazakhstan has another middleweight killer as Sadriddin Akhmedov overran veteran Raphael Igbokwe to win by knockout on Friday evening.

“He’s a tough guy, but I’m a tough guy too,” said Akhmedov of his Texas foe.

Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) excited the crowd at Chumash Casino with a strong performance against a gritty Igbokwe (17-6, 7 Kos). The Kazakh fighter has Gennady Golovkin’s old trainer Abel Sanchez at his side.

It was evident in the first round that Akhmedov wields power, but it was also evident that Igbokwe was not going to quit. Blow after blow was absorbed by the Texas-trained fighter and he continued to press forward.

Akhmedov telegraphed his overhand rights but fired quick and accurate left hooks. Igbokwe withstood the power for round after round.

At the end of the fifth round both fighters continued to fire punches after the bell rang. It angered the two middleweights.

Akhmedov must have still been angry when the sixth round began as he erupted with a 12-punch barrage. Several big blows connected and the Texas fighter was in trouble. Though Igbokwe escaped the first barrage he was unable to avoid the second and the fight was stopped by referee Rudy Barragan at 56 seconds of the sixth round.

The Kazakhstan fighter thanked his fan support and his new trainer Sanchez.

“Every morning at 7 a.m. he wants to kill me,” Akhmedov said of Sanchez.

Other Bouts

A battle between Olympians saw Carlos Balderas (15-2, 13 KOs) knock out Cesar Villarraga (11-11-1) in the sixth round for the win at super lightweight.

A one-two combination found the mark for Balderas at 56 seconds of the sixth round. Villarraga beat the count but once the fight resumed the referee stopped the fight after Balderas connected with another right.

“My coaches told me it was there,” said Balderas of the right cross that finished the fight.

Balderas fought for Team USA in the Olympics and Villarraga for Team Colombia.

Super welterweights Jorge Maravillo (10-0-1, 8 KOs) and Damoni Cato-Cain (8-1-2) fought to a split draw after eight back-and- forth rounds.

Cain-Cato sprinted ahead for the first three rounds behind subtle pressure and focusing on the body then the head against the taller Maravillo. Then, it stopped.

Maravillo stopped retreating and used his long stiff left jabs as a probe and counter punch and became the stalker instead of the prey. It turned the fight around. But Cain-Cato was reluctant to give up too much territory and fought through a damaged left eye to keep the match tight. After eight rounds one judge saw Maravillo the winner, another saw Cato-Cain, and a third saw it even for a split draw.

It was a fitting score.

Angel Carrillo (4-0-1) out-pointed Joshua Torres (0-2-2) with combination punching and in-and-out maneuvers to win by decision. Though 14 years younger, Carrillo wore a protector near his chest. Twice he placed it far above his belly button and was never warned.

Fidencio Hernandez (3-0) was the more polished fighter and used straighter punches and a tighter defense to shut out Laguna Beach’s Josaphat Navarro (1-3-1) and won by unanimous decision.

In her pro debut Perla Bazaldua (1-0) won by knockout over Mollie Backowski (0-4) in a super flyweight contest. Bazaldua fights out of Los Angeles and has long been touted as a one of that city’s best amateur prospects. Now she is a pro.

Photo credit: Lina Baker / 360 Promotions

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More

Published

15 hours ago

December 13, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More

Decades ago, battles between regional warriors were as common as freeway traffic in Los Angeles during rush hour.

Bobby Chacon repped San Fernando Valley, Mando Ramos came from the docks of San Pedro, Danny “Little Red” Lopez lived in Alhambra and Ruben “Maravilla Kid” Navarro hailed from East L.A. And they rumbled repeatedly with each other.

The boxing sphere in California has grown much larger despite the closure of boxing palaces such as the Olympic Auditorium, Hollywood Legion Stadium, Great Western Forum, the L.A. Coliseum and Wrigley Field.

Those were classic venues.

Today in the 21^st century boxing continues to grow.

Golden Boy Promotions presents SoCal regional rivals Santa Ana’s Alexis Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) facing Hollywood’s Raul Curiel (15-0,13 KOs) in a welterweight clash on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. DAZN will stream the main card and YouTube.com the remainder.

Ontario is located in the Inland Empire known as the I.E.

Rocha, 27, has grown into a crowd favorite with a crowd-pleasing style developed by Orange County boxing trainer Hector Lopez. I remember his pro debut at Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. He obliterated his foe in three rounds and the small venue erupted with applause.

Wherever Rocha goes to fight, his fans follow.

“Anyone I face is trying to take food away from my family,” said Rocha.

Curiel, 29, has traveled a different road. As a former Mexican Olympian he took the slower road toward adapting to the professional style. Freddie Roach has refined the Mexican fighter’s style and so far, he remains unbeaten with a 10-fight knockout streak.

“I want to fight the best in the division,” said Curiel who is originally from Guadalajara.

Super welter hitters

Another top-notch fighter on the card is super welterweight Charles Conwell from Cleveland, Ohio. Conwell (20-0, 15 KOs) faces Argentina’s undefeated Gerardo Vergara (20-0, 13 KOs) in the co-main event.

Conwell may be the best kept secret in boxing and has been dominating foes for the past several years. He has solid defense, good power and is very strong for this weight class. Very Strong.

“I got to go out there and dominate,” said Conwell. “This is a fight that can lead me to a world championship fight.”

Golden Boy Promotions got lucky in picking up this fighter who could compete with any super welterweight out there. Anyone.

Vergara, 30, is another Argentine product and if you know anything about that South American country, they groom strong fighters with power. Think Marcos Maidana. This will be his first true test.

“I really hope he (Conwell) backs what he is saying,” said Vergara.

Marlen Esparza vs Arely Mucino

Former flyweight world titlists finally meet, but at super flyweight.

Olympic bronze medalist Marlen Esparza fights Mexico’s Arely Mucino in a fight that should have taken place years ago. Both are both coming off losses in title fights.

Esparza has the “fast hands” as she said and Mucino the “aggressive style” as she mentioned at the press conference on Thursday in Ontario.

It’s a 10-round affair and could mark the end for the loser.

Friday Night Fights

Undefeated middleweight Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0, 12 KOs) headlines a 360 Promotions and faces Raphael Igbokwe (17-5, 7 KOs) in the main event on Friday, Dec. 13, at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. UFC Fight Pass will stream the event.

Akhmedov hails from Kazakhstan and if you remember legendary Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin also hails from that region. Tom Loeffler the head of 360 Promotions worked with GGG too among other legends.

Is Akhmedov the real deal?

Former American Olympian Carlos Balderas (14-2) is also on the card and fights veteran Cesar Villarraga (11-10-1) who has been known to upset favorites in the past.

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0) vs Raphael Igbokwe (17-5).

Sat. DAZN 10:30 a.m. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1) vs Ricardo Espinoza (30-4).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Alexis Rocha (25-2) vs Raul Curiel (15-0); Charles Conwell (20-0) vs Gerardo Vergara (20-0); Marlen Esparza (14-2) vs Arely Mucino (32-4-2).

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Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City

Published

2 days ago

December 11, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City

The final ShoBox event of 2025 played out tonight at the company’s regular staging ground in Plant City, Florida. When the smoke cleared, the “A-side” fighters in the featured bouts were 3-0 in step-up fights vs. battle-tested veterans, two of whom were former world title challengers. However, the victors in none of the three fights, with the arguable exception of lanky bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi, made any great gain in public esteem.

In the main event, a lightweight affair, Jonhatan Cardoso, a 25-year-old Brazilian, earned a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Los Mochis, Mexico southpaw Eduardo Ramirez. The decision would have been acceptable to most neutral observers if it had been deemed a draw, but the Brazilian won by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.

Cardoso, now 18-1 (15), had the crowd in his corner., This was his fourth straight appearance in Plant City. Ramirez, disadvantaged by being the smaller man with a shorter reach, declined to 28-5-3.

Co-Feature

In a 10-round featherweight fight that had no indelible moments, Luis Reynaldo Nunez advanced to 20-0 (13) with a workmanlike 10-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Leonardo Baez. The judges had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

Nunez, from the Dominican Republic, is an economical fighter who fights behind a tight guard. Reputedly 85-5 as an amateur, he is managed by Sampson Lewkowicz who handles David Benavidez among others and trained by Bob Santos. Baez (22-5) was returning to the ring after a two-year hiatus.

Also

In a contest slated for “10,” ever-improving bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi improved to 12-0 (3 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of Filipino import Aston Palicte (28-7-1). Akitsugi caught Palicte against the ropes and unleashed a flurry of punches climaxed by a right hook. Palicte went down and was unable to beat the count. The official time was 1:07 of round six.

This was the third straight win by stoppage for Akitsugi, a 27-year-old southpaw who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in LA under Roach’s assistant Eddie Hernandez. Palicte, who had been out of the ring for 16 months, is a former two-time world title challenger at superflyweight (115).

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