Broner-Theophane: April Fools Day in Washington DC

Published

8 years ago

April 3, 2016

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By Thomas Hauser

It’s hard to believe that Washington DC could become more dysfunctional than it already is in this bizarre election year. But Adrien Broner and the DC Boxing and Wrestling Commission are doing their best to achieve that end.

On April 1 (a/k/a April Fools Day), Broner (now 32-2, 24 KOs) entered the ring to face Ashley Theophane (39-7-1, 11 KOs). Broner is well known to fight fans. Theophane is a limited boxer with zero notable wins on his ledger. Each time Ashley has stepped up to the world-class level, he has lost.

Broner brands himself as “AB” and says that the initials stand for “about billions.” A recent video posted online shows him throwing his change (bills, not coins) in the air as he leaves a Walmart check-out counter and declaring of the cashier, “He must not know. I’m AB. I don’t need no change.”

This was one of Broner’s more socially-acceptable postings. Previous postings include inter alia (1) Broner having intercourse with two women and no condom, and (2) Broner, half-dressed while purportedly defecating into a toilet in Popeye’s and then wiping himself with United States currency. The video was posted on YouTube with the title “Adrien Broner takes a **** in Popeye’s.”

But back to those “AB” initials. At the moment, “aggravated battery” seems more accurate than “about billions.”

As first reported by TMZ, Broner has been indicted on charges of felony assault and aggravated robbery in conjunction with an incident that occurred in his hometown of Cincinnati in the early morning hours of January 21. More specifically, it’s alleged that Broner and an acquaintance named Christopher Carson were engaged in a series of high-stakes bowling games during which Broner lost $14,000 ($8,000 in cash and $6,000 in credit). As the bowling alley was readying to close, Broner asked Carson for one last bet, this one for $6,000 in the hope of clearing his credit. Carson refused and, as he left the alley at 3:00 AM, was confronted by Broner.

Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com reported what is alleged to have happened next: “Broner was accompanied by eight unnamed individuals. A violent argument ensued with the boxer demanding that his acquaintance give him back the $8,000 in cash. Carson claims that his refusal to do so prompted Broner to punch him in the neck/chin area, splitting Carson’s chin as well as a tooth. From there, Broner went to a vehicle and retrieved a 9mm handgun, at which point the gathered crowd in the parking lot scattered. Carson attempted to plea his way out of the incident, raising his arms in surrender mode, only to allegedly have been struck a second time by Broner, knocking him unconscious. The existing lawsuit alleges that Broner then reached into Carson’s pockets, extracting $10,000 in cash – the $8,000 he lost plus another $2,000 in the victim’s possession. Upon regaining consciousness, Carson discovered he had been robbed and injured, opting to head to the emergency room for treatment of such injuries in lieu of reporting the incident to the local authorities. The matter made its way to law enforcement – thus presenting grounds for an arrest warrant – once proof was allegedly offered in the form of video evidence as well as what the warrant described as a detailed account of events provided by credible witnesses.”

On February 6, Carson filed a civil lawsuit against Broner. Meanwhile, Adrien had relocated to Washington DC, where he was training in preparation for the Theophane fight. The warrant issued for his arrest had not yet been acted upon by the authorities. Then, strangely, the warrant was downgraded from being subject to nationwide service to being actionable only in Ohio. The downgrade was confirmed to Mitch Abramson of “The Ring” by Julie Wilson (chief assistant prosecutor and public information officer for the Hamilton County, Ohio, prosecutor’s office).

Chris Finney (Carson’s attorney) told Abramson, “I think it’s interesting that locally, who amended the arrest warrant and why? Why did this rich guy get special treatment? Somebody pulled the plug and screwed things up.”

Then, to further complicate matters, Broner weighed in for the Theophane fight four-tenths of a pound over the 140-pound “championship” limit, refused to shed the extra ounces, and surrendered his bogus WBA belt on the scales. The incident was reminiscent of a June 21, 2012, bout against Vicente Escobedo, when Adrien weighed in for a 130-pound WBO title fight at 133.5 pounds and was stripped of his bauble.

Broner-Theophane was televised by Spike as part of a three-bout telecast. Dana Jacobson served as host. Scott Hanson, Jimmy Smith, and two-time PED-loser Antonio Tarver provided commentary. Hanson distinguished himself early in the going by advising viewers, “President Obama and his wife [are] obviously watching live on Spike Sports.” One assumes the remark was intended as a joke. But it’s hard to know with certainty since Floyd Mayweather once assured a national television audience that Barack Obama would carry his belt to the ring if Floyd fought Manny Pacquiao.

As for the fight itself; referee Luis Pabon stopped the contest in round nine with Theophane still on his feet but taking too many punches, the most noteworthy of which was a clearly-low blow. Kudos to the Spike production team for its post-fight highlighting of the low blow, which all three Spike commentators missed.

After the fight, Broner bemoaned the fact that – in his words – “I’ve been going through a lot this week” (as if it were someone else’s fault) and called out Floyd Mayweather. He sounded like a WWE villain without the charm.

Also, it’s worth noting that the incident for which Broner was indicted occurred on January 21. The lawsuit against him was filed on behalf of the alleged victim on February 6. The story didn’t become news until it was reported by TMZ on March 24. That’s how much Adrien Broner matters in the larger scheme of things.

Broner-Theophane was embarrassing for boxing on multiple levels. The epidemic of fighters blowing off weight cheats fans and opponents. And Broner’s legal situation tarnishes the sport.

Broner, like all criminal defendants, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty insofar as the criminal justice system is concerned. But this doesn’t mean that adverse consequences shouldn’t flow from what is known about his conduct at the present time. And it certainly doesn’t mean that he should be allowed to go about his life unimpeded while there’s an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

The DC Boxing and Wrestling Commission is not known for competence. Let’s not forget, this is the commission whose PED-testing protocols failed to detect elevated levels of testosterone in Lamont Peterson’s system at a time when Peterson, by his own later admission, had testosterone pellets surgically implanted in his hip.

The Broner conundrum is also bad for Premier Boxing Champions.

One of the reasons that boxing all but disappeared from network television was that advertisers didn‘t want their products associated in the public mind with Don King and Mike Tyson. Broner won’t bring the advertisers back. It might be added that Adrien blowing off making weight gives the impression that PBC can’t control one of its flagship fighters.

And a final thought.

Recently, I wrote a five-part series about Al Haymon that was published on the The Ring Online. After Part One was posted, I was criticized for not stating in the article that I’m a consultant to HBO Sports, and “The Ring” was criticized for not stating that it’s owned by Golden Boy Promotions (which is in litigation with Haymon). In response – and given the content of the series – I requested that my relationship with HBO be added at the end of each part.

But shouldn’t there be consistency on this issue? In other words, if someone believes that it was incumbent upon me to state that I’m a consultant to HBO Sports (which I’ve done in the past and which is a matter of public record), do they also think that PBC should preface its telecasts with the disclaimer, “This show is a time buy. The time has been purchased by corporate entities controlled by Al Haymon, and Mr. Haymon has substantial control over its content.” And similarly, where relevant, should the commentators on PBC shows tell the viewing public, “We just want to make sure our listeners understand that Al Haymon has chosen us as commentators and is paying our salary.”

Just asking.

Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book – A Hurting Sport: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

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Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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