Terri “The Boss” Moss on How to Build a Boxing Life

Published

10 years ago

February 12, 2015

“I was meant to be a champion when I walked into Doc Keppner’s gym. I just didn’t know it.”—Terri Moss

There is a cost to living a life in boxing. You can’t be great and be a part-timer. The sport simply asks too much of you in terms of time and commitment. You have to be willing to pay the cost, a fact Terri “The Boss” Moss knows all too well.

Moss probably shouldn’t be here. That’s something she might just tell you herself. Where is here? It’s the Buckhead Fightclub Gym in Atlanta, GA. How she got there was anything but an ordinary route.

Terri was a 34-year-old narcotics investigator when she got bitten by the bug. On a lark, Terri went with a friend to check out a boxing lesson on the way to an aerobics class and I guess you could say she never really left. Despite having no boxing experience whatsoever, Terri had found her passion. She was such a novice that even getting through three minutes with a heavy bag was a test.

“It took a lot of courage and maybe just some insanity to walk away like that.”

Making the decision to leave law enforcement was not an easy one. Between going to school part time to gain a bachelor’s degree and working as an investigator, time was already tight. Not to mention that Terri was facing legal age requirements for certain jobs she was interested in. After discovering boxing, Terri felt she had lost “that push” to beat the clock for her career goals in law enforcement. So of course, she did the sensible thing and left behind the stability of her position to enter into the not all that lucrative endeavor of near middle-aged pugilism. I suppose a regular person might question the wisdom of that choice, but as you may have guessed, Terri Moss is not regular

Due to suffering from Hepatitis C, Terri wasn’t even able to get into the ring right away. However, she indulged her boxing jones by working with Doc Keppner and becoming a cut “man” and the 2^nd in the corner for male boxers. Being a woman in a man’s corner was a true rarity, but Terri found little resistance from the fighters. In fact, many took pleasure in the novelty.

“As soon as I’m off this, I’ll be cured. I can fight.”

While Terri soon proved herself to be first rate in a supporting role, she still wanted to become a fighter herself. That’s when Terri learned of interferon therapy, which is a painful and difficult remedy for Hepatitis C that can “in rare circumstances” eradicate the affliction from the host’s body. Once Terri learned this could perhaps cure her of her condition, she jumped into the treatment without much reflection. If it worked, she could box. There was little else to consider.

As good fortune would have it, the therapy did work. Terri was cured–no longer potentially infectious–and therefore able to fight. She was in the ring five days later. With no amateur background, only three sparring sessions to her credit, and at the grand age of 36, you might think Terri would have started slow and attempt to find fighters on her level. Instead, Terri’s first three fights were against WIBA Intercontinental Champion Wendy Sprowl, future IFBA & WIBA World Champion, Maribel Zurita, and #1 ranked contender, Patricia Martinez. A veritable murderer’s row for even an experienced fighter, an even more brutal gauntlet for a novice. As Terri put it, “You would think an average human would be smarter than that.” Not surprisingly, she lost all three fights. In fact, after her first fight with Sprowl, Terri thought she would never go back into the ring. That lasted a week.

“The hard ride didn’t scare me.”

Terri knew if she wanted to be more competitive she would have to step up her training, which led her to the gym of Xavier Biggs (the brother of former Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist, Tyrell Biggs). With Biggs, Moss learned she was a boxer-puncher and began to put to use her natural athleticism and timing with a true game plan for the first time.

The results were immediate. An upset victory over #1 ranked minimumweight contender Nina Ahlin served notice. The result of her hard work and dedication culminated with a victory over WIBF Strawweight Champion Stephanie Dobbs, in September of 2007. At the time, Moss was 41 years old, 13 years the senior of her opponent. As she told me, “I wish I could have been sponsored by AARP.” Her victory entered her into the record books as the oldest female world champion in boxing history.

“I never had any idea people weren’t going to see it my way.”

While Moss wanted to continue fighting, her age, trainer indifference, and the general difficulty of booking women’s matches worked against her. With all these challenges and frustrations road-blocking her career in the ring, Terri decided to continue her boxing career outside of it. Terri found herself “in mourning for three years”, but she always knew her time as a fighter would be short. That did not mean she could not have a boxing life. So she set about doing just that, this time as a trainer, a promoter and eventually, the owner operator of her own spot.

She first began training women to fight out of Xavier’s Decatur, GA gym. While there were not many women to work with early on, and Biggs was a bit old-fashioned about her training men, it did provide a start. It kept her in the game and helped her sharpen her skills as a trainer and grow her contacts as a fledgling businesswoman. Eventually, Terri would have to leave out from under Xavier’s wing and make her own path.

“I have never failed yet.”

Terri’s first major success was her creation of ‘Corporate Fight Night’ in Atlanta. The novel idea pits amateur boxers from the business community against each other. The inaugural Corporate Fight Night was held in 2010 on a shoestring budget. An instant success, the white collar charity has gone on to become a regular event and has delivered thousands of dollars to multiple beneficiaries, including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Wounded Warrior Project. Corporate Fight Night 9 will be held on February 19 and includes the participation of Evan Holyfield, Evander’s son. With the continued success of the event, Terri says the next step is “to take it national.” I would not bet against her.

Beyond Corporate Fight Night, Terri’s benevolence extends into other areas as well. She serves as the chairman for the Champions of Dignity Association (CODA), which funds the Retired Boxer’s Foundation (RBF). A true passion for Terri, the RBF assists boxers who may be suffering from physical, mental, and financial struggles after their ring career ends. Terri pointed out, “Greyhound dogs in the country have a retirement program, but professional prize fighters don’t.” One of the surprising challenges Terri lamented over that affects her work with the RBF is the lack of participation from former fighters. She believes that too many want to have their own foundation, which dilutes the overall ability to get assistance to retired boxers in need.

Terri is also a coordinator for the Women’s International Boxing Federation and the Global Boxing Union, where she helps sanction and supervise title fights for both men and women.

“It’s a ballsy way to do business.”

Ever ambitious, Terri has been training fighters since 2004, and nine years later, she opened her own gym in Atlanta–The Buckhead Fight Club. A nearly 15,000 square foot facility, Terri’s gym caters to both men and women fighters and is one of the very few female owned and operated boxing gyms in the nation. Terri’s career as a fighter had not been lucrative. In fact, it cost Terri money to box. As well, she had limited hours she could train other fighters in Xavier’s gym and she was only training women at the time, so that lessened her potential to grow a client stable. She was maxing out at a low level, so her earning potential was very weak while operating under the roof of another. I asked Terri how she found financing for the gym and in typical Boss fashion, she replied, “Where’s the lease? Let’s sign it, we’ll get the money.”

Late last year, Terri received an unexpected phone call. Along with seven other women (including Laila Ali and Ann Wolfe), Terri learned she would be inducted into the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame this July. Terri told me while she is “thrilled and humbled”, when she picked up the phone, she thought “they had called the wrong number.” While Terri’s achievements are numerous, she finds them modest. I suspect she’s been too busy blazing her trail to take inventory of her accomplishments.

Also, Terri and her Buckhead Fight Club will be the subject of a documentary to be released later this month called “Boxing Chicks.” The film follows Terri and a select group of female fighters from her gym as they attempt to make their mark in the sport. “Well behaved women rarely make history” says Buckhead fighter Jackie Breitenstein in the trailer. Something tells me she knows from whence she speaks. I also suspect she’s seen that in the actions of her “Boss.” Directed by Frederick Taylor of Tomorrow Pictures, Boxing Chicks has been making the rounds at festivals and is looking at a multi-platform release (theater and VOD).

The main thing that has changed the game is the Olympic process.”

I asked Terri where she thought women’s boxing is right now. She pointed out that those who think it’s a dying sport are wrong. While she admitted the novelty has worn off from the early years, the depth of talent has steadily—if quietly—increased since the days of Christy Martin and Bonnie Canino. While Terri states “there are great pro fighters”, she feels the growth of women’s amateur boxing is setting the sport up for long term success. One of the knocks on women’s boxing has been the low quality of the fights, particularly in the earlier years. There just weren’t enough good fighters to make quality match ups on a consistent basis.

In 2012, the Olympic Committee introduced women’s boxing to the London games, effectively legitimizing the sport in a way the first women fighters could have only dreamed. If anything, the United States is behind other countries like Mexico, Argentina and many parts of Europe where women headline fights and fill 30,000 seat arenas. Terri believes the key is to get the women’s fights on television and then create a star. To that end, Terri even has someone in mind, recent Olympic champion from Ireland, Katie Taylor. A dynamic and wildly popular fighter back home with charisma and skill to spare, Taylor could be the “Ronda Rousey” the sport needs to break through. When Freddie Roach saw Taylor fight in the 2012 games, he said he had never seen an arena “on fire” the way he did when Taylor did her ring walk, let alone when she entered the squared circle. Terri believes this “is just an example of what’s to come.”

Of course, Terri is doing her part to make that happen. Coming up in April, in conjunction with USA Boxing, Terri will be hosting a round robin tournament with female Olympic fighters from the USA and other countries in Atlanta. Five countries will be participating over four days of boxing. There has never been a women’s tournament on that level held in the United States. All stops will be pulled out. That’s the Terri Moss way.

“A champion never thinks they are going to lose.”

Terri Moss has made a boxing life for herself. She has done it the hard way. Not one step would you call “easy.” She started late, overcame prejudice, health issues, her opponents in and out of the ring. By going to a place almost no one believed she had any business going, she ended up right where she’s supposed to be. Terri told me she “has always been up against the clock.” People say Father Time is undefeated. I suppose that’s true, but right now, he’s up against Terri “The Boss” Moss, and he’s behind on points.

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David Phillips

Steven Navarro is the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year

Published

11 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Steven-Navarro-is-the-TSS-2024-Prospect-of-the-Year

“I get ‘Bam’ vibes when I watch this kid,” said ESPN ringside commentator Tim Bradley during the opening round of Steven Navarro’s most recent match. Bradley was referencing WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, a precociously brilliant technician whose name now appears on most pound-for-pound lists.

There are some common threads between Steven Navarro, the latest fighter to adopt the nickname “Kid Dynamite,” and Bam Rodriguez. Both are southpaws currently competing in the junior bantamweight division. But, of course, Bradley was alluding to something more when he made the comparison. And Navarro’s showing bore witness that Bradley was on to something.

It was the fifth pro fight for Navarro who was matched against a Puerto Rican with a 7-1 ledger. He ended the contest in the second frame, scoring three knockdowns, each the result of a different combination of punches, forcing the referee to stop it. It was the fourth win inside the distance for the 20-year-old phenom.

Isaias Estevan “Steven” Navarro turned pro after coming up short in last December’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Lafayette, Louisiana. The #1 seed in the 57 kg (featherweight) division, he was upset in the finals, losing a controversial split decision. Heading in, Navarro had won 13 national tournaments beginning at age 12.

A graduate of LA’s historic Fairfax High School, Steven made his pro debut this past April on a Matchroom Promotions card at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and then inked a long-term deal with Top Rank. He comes from a boxing family. His father Refugio had 10 pro fights and three of Refugio’s cousins were boxers, most notably Jose Navarro who represented the USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was a four-time world title challenger as a super flyweight. Jose was managed by Oscar De La Hoya for much of his pro career.

Nowadays, the line between a prospect and a rising contender has been blurred. Three years ago, in an effort to make matters less muddled, we operationally defined a prospect thusly: “A boxer with no more than a dozen fights, none yet of the 10-round variety.” To our way of thinking, a prospect by nature is still in the preliminary-bout phase of his career.

We may loosen these parameters in the future. For one thing, it eliminates a lot of talented female boxers who, like their Japanese male counterparts in the smallest weight classes, are often pushed into title fights when, from a historical perspective, they are just getting started.

But for the time being, we will adhere to our operational definition. And within the window that we have created, Steven Navarro stood out. In his first year as a pro, “Kid Dynamite” left us yearning to see more of him.

Honorable mention: Australian heavyweight Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs)

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The Challenge of Playing Muhammad Ali

Published

20 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Thomas Hauser

There have been countless dramatizations of Muhammad Ali’s life and more will follow in the years ahead. The most heavily marketed of these so far have been the 1977 movie titled The Greatest starring Ali himself and the 2001 biopic Ali starring Will Smith.

The Greatest was fictionalized. Its saving grace apart from Ali’s presence on screen was the song “The Greatest Love of All” which was written for the film and later popularized by Whitney Houston. Beyond that, the movie was mediocre. “Of all our sports heroes,” Frank Deford wrote, “Ali needs least to be sanitized. But The Greatest is just a big vapid valentine. It took a dive.”

The 2001 film was equally bland but without the saving grace of Ali on camera. “I hated that film,” Spike Lee said. “It wasn’t Ali.” Jerry Izenberg was in accord, complaining, “Will Smith playing Ali was an impersonation, not a performance.”

The latest entry in the Ali registry is a play running this week off-Broadway at the AMT Theater (354 West 45th Street) in Manhattan.

The One: The Life of Muhammad Ali was written by David Serero, who has produced and directed the show in addition to playing the role of Angelo Dundee in the three-man drama. Serero, age 43, was born in Paris, is of Moroccan-French-Jewish heritage, and has excelled professionally as an opera singer (baritone) and actor (stage and screen).

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. The play is flawed. There are glaring factual inaccuracies in the script that add nothing to the dramatic arc and detract from its credibility.

On the plus side; Zack Bazile (pictured) is exceptionally good as Ali. And Serero (wearing his director’s hat) brings the most out of him.

Growing up, Bazile (now 28) excelled in multiple sports. In 2018, while attending Ohio State, he won the NCAA Long Jump Championship and was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year. He also dabbled in boxing, competed in two amateur fights in 2022, and won both by knockout. He began acting three years ago.

Serero received roughly one thousand resumes when he published notices for a casting call in search of an actor to play Ali. One-hundred-twenty respondents were invited to audition.

“I had people who looked like Ali and were accomplished actors,” Serero recalls. “But when they were in the room, I didn’t feel Ali in front of me. You have to remember; we’re dealing with someone who really existed and there’s video of him, so it’s not like asking someone to play George Washington.”

And Ali was Ali. That’s a hard act to follow.

Bazile is a near-perfect fit. At 6-feet-2-inches tall, 195 pounds, he conveys Ali’s physicality. His body is sculpted in the manner of the young Ali. He moves like an athlete because he is an athlete. His face resembles Ali’s and his expressions are very much on the mark in the way he transmits emotion to the audience. He uses his voice the way Ali did. He moves his eyes the way Ali did. He has THE LOOK.

Zack was born the year that Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, so he has no first-hand memory of the young Ali who set the world ablaze. “But as an actor,” he says, “I’m representing Ali. That’s a responsibility I take very seriously. Everyone has an essence about them. I had to find the right balance – not too over the top – and capture that.”

Sitting in the audience watching Bazile, I felt at times as though it was Ali onstage in front of me. Zack has the pre-exile Ali down perfectly. The magic dissipates a bit as the stage Ali grows older. Bazile still has to add the weight of aging to his craft. But I couldn’t help but think, “Muhammad would have loved watching Zack play him.”

****

Twenty-four hours after the premiere of The One, David Serero left the stage for a night to shine brightly in a real boxing ring., The occasion was the tenth fight card that Larry Goldberg has promoted at Sony Hall in New York, a run that began with Goldberg’s first pro show ever on October 13, 2022.

Most of the fights on the six-bout card played out as expected. But two were tougher for the favorites than anticipated. Jacob Riley Solis was held to a draw by Daniel Jefferson. And Andy Dominguez was knocked down hard by Angel Meza in round three before rallying to claim a one-point split-decision triumph.

Serero sang the national anthem between the second and third fights and stilled the crowd with a virtuoso performance. Fans at sports events are usually restless during the singing of the anthem. This time, the crowd was captivated. Serero turned a flat ritual into an inspirational moment. People were turning to each other and saying “Wow!”

****

The unexpected happened in Tijuana last Saturday night when 25-to-1 underdog Bruno Surace climbed off the canvas after a second-round knockdown to score a shocking, one-punch, sixth-round stoppage of Jaime Munguia. There has been a lot of commentary since then about what happened that night. The best explanation I’ve heard came from a fan named John who wrote, “The fight was not over in the second round although Munguia thought it was because, if he caught him once, he would naturally catch him again. Plus he looked at this little four KO guy [Surace had scored 4 knockouts in 27 fights] the way all the fans did, like he had no punch. That is what a fan can afford to do. But a fighter should know better. The ref reminds you, ‘Protect yourself at all times.’ Somebody forgot that.”

photo (c) David Serero

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and me – is a personal memoir available at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5C0TEN4M9ZAH&keywords=thomas+hauser&qid=1707662513&sprefix=thomas+hauser%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1

In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

If asked to name a prominent boxing trainer who operates out of a gym in Los Angeles, the name Freddie Roach would jump immediately to mind. Best known for his work with Manny Pacquaio, Roach has been named the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record seven times.

A mere seven miles from Roach’s iconic Wild Card Gym is the gym that Rudy Hernandez now calls home. Situated in the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Boxing Gym – a relatively new addition to the SoCal boxing landscape — is as nondescript as its name. From the outside, one would not guess that two reigning world champions, Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga, were forged there.

As Freddie Roach will be forever linked with Manny Pacquiao, so will Rudy Hernandez be linked with Nakatani. The Japanese boxer was only 15 years old when his parents packed him off to the United States to be tutored by Hernandez. With Hernandez in his corner, the lanky southpaw won titles at 112 and 115 and currently holds the WBO bantamweight (118) belt. In his last start, he knocked out his Thai opponent, a 77-fight veteran who had never been stopped, advancing his record to 29-0 (22 KOs).

Nakatani’s name now appears on several pound-for-pound lists. A match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is brewing. When that match comes to fruition, it will be the grandest domestic showdown in Japanese boxing history.

“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day and nothing interfered with that dream,” Hernandez told sports journalist Manouk Akopyan writing for Boxing Scene.

Akin to Nakatani, Rudy Hernandez built Anthony Olascuaga from scratch. The LA native was rucked out of obscurity in April of 2023 when Jonathan Gonzalez contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw from his date in Tokyo with lineal light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. Olascuaga, with only five pro fights under his belt, filled the breach on 10 days’ notice and although he lost (TKO by 9), he earned kudos for his gritty performance against the man recognized as the best fighter in his weight class.

Two fights later, back in Tokyo, Olascuaga copped the WBO world flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Riku Kano. His first defense came in October, again in Japan, and Olascuaga retained his belt with a first-round stoppage of the aforementioned Gonzalez. (This bout was originally ruled a no-contest as it ended after Gonzalez suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. But the referee ruled that Gonzalez was fit to continue before the Puerto Rican said “no mas,” alleging his vision was impaired, and the WBO upheld a protest from the Olascuaga camp and changed the result to a TKO. Regardless, Rudy Hernandez’s fighter would have kept his title.)

Hernandez, 62, is the brother of the late Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez. A two-time world title-holder at 130 pounds who fought the likes of Azumah Nelson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chicanito passed away in 2011, a cancer victim at age 45.

Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez was one of the most popular fighters in the Hispanic communities of Southern California. Rudy Hernandez, a late bloomer of sorts – at least in terms of public recognition — has kept his brother’s flame alive with own achievements. He is a worthy honoree for the 2024 Trainer of the Year.

Note: This is the first in our series of annual awards. The others will arrive sporadically over the next two weeks.

Photo credit: Steve Kim

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