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Eddie Futch Tribute – Trainer Extaordinaire
Eddie Futch Tribute – Any “best-of” list is, of course, subjective. Whenever someone offers his or her opinion on such, it almost always makes for lively and sometimes heated debate. Boxing is no different; if you make the case that Sugar Ray Robinson is the greatest fighter of all time, be prepared to argue the point with contrarians who are just as staunch in their belief that Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Willie Pep or Harry Greb deserves to be celebrated as No. 1. More recent devotees to the sweet science will nominate Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the top spot and, if they don’t, Floyd himself will.
It’s no different when the topic shifts slightly to discussion of who should be recognized as the greatest trainer ever. The list of renowned chief seconds without question is impressively deep. Contenders for designation as best of the best include such legendary corner strategists as Ray Arcel, Emanuel Steward, Charlie Goldman, Whitey Bimstein, Gil Clancy, Jack Blackburn, Cus D’Amato, Nacho Beristain, Angelo Dundee and George Benton, just to name a few. All have been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Non-Participant category.
As the winner of an unprecedented seven Trainer of the Year awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Freddie Roach certainly deserves to be considered for the mythical status as the GOAT among trainers. But if you ask Roach — who presently is in the Philippines preparing Manny Pacquiao for his Nov. 5 challenge of WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center — as to the identity of the true king of the hill among trainers, he said it’s an open-and-shut case. The late, great Eddie Futch, for whom the BWAA Award is now named, stands alone, according to Roach, and is likely to remain out front until the end of time.
“Eddie was a great trainer, a great teacher, but he was even better as a person,” Roach, himself an inductee into the IBHOF (2012), told me in a 2 a.m. telephone call (my time) from the Philippines. “When I went to work for him after I retired (as an active boxer), that was the best move I ever made in my life. I’m so happy I did.
“He really taught me the ins and outs of boxing. We cut no corners and worked our asses off the whole way. That’s why the fighters we had were great. He made sure their work habits were unbelievable. Here I am getting ready for another title fight with my best fighter, Manny Pacquiao, and he’s looking better than ever because I’m taking him back to my Eddie Futch days.”
Eddie Futch’s days were many, and almost uniformly glorious. He was 90 when he passed away on Oct. 10, 2001, having continued to train fighters until he was 86. Right to the end of his career and even his life, Mr. Futch never seemed to lose anything off his proverbial fastball; his memories of long-ago fights and fighters were richly detailed and he could call them up with WiFi speed. More than a few boxing writers, when asking about his remembrances about some of the fighters he instructed – a Who’s Who compilation that included, at one time or another, such notables as Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Alexis Arguello, Bob Foster, Riddick Bowe, Holman Williams, Virgil Hill, Mike McCallum, Marlon Starling and his very first champion, Don Jordan – were astounded that he could describe in detail not only particular rounds from decades earlier, but punch sequences during those rounds.
But near-total recall without perspective and foresight is essentially a squandered gift. Where “Mr. Eddie,” as he was reverentially known by his many admirers, excelled was his ability to put his breadth of knowledge into the sort of useful context that enabled his fighters to attain maximum efficiency on fight night.
“I think Eddie’s greatest asset was to build a game plan for a particular fight,” Roach said. “He was the absolute best at getting his guy ready to beat a certain opponent. Everyone remembers how he got Frazier, in what was his best performance, prepared to beat Muhammad Ali in their first fight. He did it with Norton, too. He did it with a lot of fighters.”
What is especially amazing is not only that Futch was such an exquisite strategist, but he could get his message across without ever seeming to raise his voice or to resort to the sort of expletives that are so common in a sport where expletives are as much a part of the terminology as nouns and verbs. Futch was unfailingly courteous and polite, but his genteel manner masked an inner strength his fighters quickly came to understand and respect. When he spoke, his quiet, measured comments were not so much a suggestion as a command, leaving little or no room for dissent. What else would you expect of someone who could quote verbatim from the works of his favorite 19th-century British poets, and whose bearing was as professorial as it was professional?
“Beautiful man, beautiful man,” Benton, who died on Sept. 19, 2011, said of Futch in Corner Men: Great Boxing Trainers, authored by Ronald K. Fried in 1991. “We never had a disagreement about anything because I knew that he was knowledgable about what he was doing. And he knew that I was the type of guy who was knowledgable about what I was doing – but I was still learning all the time, getting that experience with him.
“I would way the biggest thing I picked up from him was psychology. Eddie is a real psychologist when it comes to human beings. He knows what to say to you and how precisely to say it to you. That’s why he gets along with guys. It’s easy to teach when you’re this way, because every human being is not the same. They don’t think the same.”
Futch’s understated way was never more evident than in Ali-Frazier I on March 8, 1971, perhaps the most-anticipated boxing match ever. With Madison Square Garden a madhouse of emotion, Mr. Eddie was the calm eye of the hurricane, telling Smokin’ Joe to fight with fury but under control, and not to stray from the tactically brilliant plan he had outlined beforehand.
It is, of course, true that not every pupil of an outstanding teacher is able to instruct in the same way and with the same results. When it came time for Joe Frazier to train fighters, including his son, heavyweight prospect Marvis Frazier, Smokin’ Joe taught them all to fight exactly as he had, bobbing and weaving constantly forward and firing left hooks, often to their detriment. Frazier was indisputably a greater fighter than Roach and Benton, but some of the lessons Futch tried to pass along to his proteges were grasped more readily by some than by others.
Noting that many trainers scream at their fighters in order to be heard as noise and tension levels in arenas rise, Roach said that Futch was the quintessential embodiment of “grace under pressure,” which is how the celebrated author Ernest Hemingway defined courage.
“Eddie was never loud in the corner because he didn’t need to be,” Roach said. “He understood that a lot of yelling only confuses fighters. What Eddie was able to do in that minute between rounds was so important. That’s when you have to tell your guy what he needs to do in the next round in order to help him win the fight. If you’re overly excited, the fighter gets overly excited and the game plan starts to fall apart. What happens then? You’re lost. Eddie taught me that the quiet way is the best way.”
Born in Hillsboro, Miss., on Aug. 9, 1911, Futch moved to Detroit with his family when he was five. Years later, at the Brewster Recreation Center in the early 1930s, he frequently sparred with Joe Louis, despite giving away 50-plus pounds, because Louis wanted someone smart and swift to help sharpen his reflexes. By all accounts, even the great “Brown Bomber” never was able to consistently catch up with the nimble and observant Futch, who was learning as much from those sessions as Louis was from him.
Futch, a lightweight, was 37-3 as an amateur and won the 1933 Detroit Golden Gloves championship, but a physical examination revealed that he had a heart murmur shortly before he was to turn pro in 1936. He thus was obliged to shift his attention from fighting to the training of fighters, but it was hardly an easy or a seamless transition. There were bills to pay, after all, and Futch made ends meet by holding a variety of jobs unrelated to his passion, boxing. At various times he worked as a hotel waiter, road laborer, welder and distribution clerk for the main branch of the Los Angeles Post Office. It was his speed and accuracy at sorting mail that mirrored his finest traits as a trainer.
In Dave Anderson’s 1991 book, In the Corner: Great Trainers Talk About Their Art, Futch described his proficiency thusly:
“I think Texas had 737 cities and towns then. Big cities like Dallas and Amarillo were the distribution points for all the little towns. But no matter how well you knew where the towns were you had to take a test every year. You had eight minutes to throw 100 cards in the right cubicle. You had to get 95 percent correct. I did it in three minutes and I always got 100 percent.”
But for all that he did well, and without a lot of chest-thumping, Futch was not without his disappointments. Sometimes his fighters didn’t listen as closely as they might have, and sometimes, if things didn’t work out as well as planned, they required a scapegoat. In boxing, the trainer is always the most convenient target for assigning blame. Frazier, Holmes and Arguello were just three of the fighters who at one time or another disappointed Futch by turning away from him, although in more instances than not they regretted any rifts that were caused and apologized to him.
Futch was enough of a realist to understand how the game is played, and he wasn’t the kind to let grudges fester. But forgiving and forgetting are not always one and the same, as he told Fried.
“I’m in (boxing), but I don’t like a lot of things in it,” he said. “I tolerate some things because that’s the way it is. Ingratitude is one of them. The ones I’ve done the most for have been the ones who have been the most ungrateful.”
Eddie Futch would be 106 now, had he lived long enough to hit triple digits. When he was still an active boxer Roach admits to occasionally disregarding his mentor’s sage dictums, acts of impetuosity which continue to nag at him. But Roach is enjoying his own second act, as the foremost preacher of the gospel according to Eddie, and he vows that some of the mistakes he made back in the day will not be repeated in the here and now.
“I’m so fond of my fighter here in the Philippines,” Roach said, referring to Pacquiao. “We’ve been together 15 years now, me and Manny. He’s lost a couple of times here and there. Maybe it was my fault, maybe it wasn’t. But he’s stuck with me for those 15 years. Most marriages don’t last that long these days.
“I’ve got a real loyal guy, and that’s how I was with Eddie. If I didn’t listen to him sometimes, I would end up losing the fight. But he always got me back on track. He’d take the time to explain to me what I did wrong and what I should have done instead. It made perfect sense to me then, and it makes perfect sense to me now.”
Pictured: Eddie Futch with ken Norton and Joe Frazier.
Eddie Futch Tribute / Check out more boxing news and videos at The Boxing Channel.
Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
Saturday’s fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, topped by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy, was being hyped as the greatest boxing card ever. That was before Daniel Dubois took ill and had to pull out of his IBF world heavyweight title defense against Joseph Parker, yielding his slot to last-minute replacement Martin Bakole.
The view from here is that the card remains in the running for the best fight card ever, top to bottom. The public didn’t view Dubois as the legitimate heavyweight champion. That distinction goes to Oleksandr Usyk.
Terms like “greatest” are, of course, subjective. Are we referring to the most attractive match-ups or the greatest array of talent, or the card that gives the most satisfaction by churning out a multiplicity of entertaining fights?
We won’t know how satisfying this card is until after the fact. We won’t know whether the talent on display was the greatest ever assembled on one night until many years have passed. Contestants such as Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Hamzah Sheeraz are still in their twenties (Stevenson is the oldest of the three at age 27) and it’s too soon to gauge if they will leave the sport with a great legacy.
As for which fight card in history had the deepest pool of attractive match-ups, this is a query that is amenable to an operational definition. Betting lines are a useful tool for informing us whether or not a fight warrants our attention if the likelihood of witnessing a closely-contested bout is our primary consideration.
Based on these factors, I would submit that the current leader in the race for the best card ever assembled goes to Don King’s May 7, 1994 promotion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Six future Hall of Famers – Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and Christy Martin — were on that card, an 11-fight, eight-hour marathon with five WBC world title fights, four of which were rematches.
These were the five title fights:
140 pounds: Julio Cesar Chavez (89-1-1, 77 KOs) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1, 39 KOs)
Odds: Chavez 3/1 (minus-300)
154 pounds: Terry Norris (37-4, 23 KOs) vs. Simon Brown (41-2, 30 KOs)
Odds: even (11/10 and take your pick)
160 pounds: Gerald McClellan (30-2, 28 KOs) vs. Julian Jackson (48-2, 45 KOs)
Odds: McClellan 7/2 (minus-350)
130 pounds: Azumah Nelson (37-2-2, 26 KOs) vs. Jesse James Leija (27-0-2, 13 KOs)
Odds: Nelson 17/10 (minus-170)
105 pounds: Ricardo Lopez (36-0, 27 KOs) vs. Kermin Guardia (21-0, 14 KOs)
Odds: none
Results
Chavez-Randall — Julio Cesar Chavez avenged his loss to Frankie Randall, but not without controversy. An accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Chavez with a bad gash on his forehead. Ring physician Flip Homansky would have allowed the bout to continue if that had been Chavez’s preference, but El Gran Campeon wasn’t so inclined. A WBC rule specified that in the event of a significant injury accruing from an accidental head butt, the less-damaged fighter is penalized a point. The fight went to the scorecards where Chavez won a split decision that would have been a draw without the point deduction. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Chavez, but the big bets were mostly on Randall and the odds got nicked down on the day of the fight.
Brown-Norris — In their first meeting in December of the previous year, Simon Brown dominated Terry Norris from the opening bell before stopping him in the fourth round. It was a massive upset. Norris was in the conversation for the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. In the rematch, Norris opened a slight favorite, but the late money was on Brown. And, once again, the so-called “sharps” were on the wrong side. Terry Norris, the would-be avenger, won a comfortable decision.
McClellan-Jackson — A murderous puncher, Gerald McClellan bombed out Julian Jackson in 83 seconds, or four rounds quicker than in their first engagement. Jackson was also a murderous puncher and attracted money in the sports books, lowering the price on the victorious McClellan who yet remained a solid favorite.
Nelson-Leija – WBC President Jose Sulaiman mandated this rematch after the first meeting ended in a draw after an error was found in the tabulation of one of the scorecards, overturning the original verdict which had Nelson retaining his title on a split decision. Leija thought he was robbed and was the rightful winner in the do-over, outworking Nelson to win a unanimous decision. At age 35, Azumah was getting long in the tooth.
Lopez-Guardia – Before the digital age, bookmakers didn’t trifle to post lines on bouts that on paper were egregious mismatches, save perhaps a fight of great magnitude. Guardia, the Colombian challenger, overachieved by lasting the distance in a fight with no knockdowns, but “Finito” won a lopsided decision.
A Note on Odds
Betting lines serve a useful purpose for boxing historians; they quantify the magnitude of an upset. However, quoting odds is tricky because they are fluid and vary somewhat from place to place. What this means is that two journalists can quote different odds on the same event and they both can get it right – unless there is a significant disparity. The odds quoted above are the closing lines at the MGM Grand or, at the very least, a very close approximation.
Saturday in Riyadh
One reason why tomorrow’s fight card is the best ever, said the tub-thumpers, is that the card (in its original conformation) included seven world title fights. But that’s no big deal There are so many title fights nowadays that the term “world title” has been trivialized. And what wasn’t acknowledged is that three of the title fights were of the “interim” stripe.
However – and this is a big deal — a glance at the odds informs us that tomorrow’s card is chock-full of competitive match-ups (at least on paper) and from that aspect, a blend of quality and quantity, it is a doozy of a boxing card.
The greatest boxing linemaker of my generation, now deceased, once told me that any fight where the “chalk” was less than a 3/1 favorite is essentially a “pick-‘em” fight. Yes, I know that makes no sense mathematically. However, I know what he was getting at. In a baseball game, for example, it’s very rare to find a team favored by odds of more than 3/1. In boxing, where self-serving promoters are constantly feeding us King Kong vs. Mickey Mouse, odds higher than 3/1 are the norm.
As this is being written, there are six fights on Saturday’s card where one could play the favorite without laying more than 3/1. I believe this is unprecedented. Moreover, the main event and a fascinating match-up on the undercard, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov, are virtual toss-ups with the favorites, Beterbiev and Ortiz, currently available at 5/4 (minus-125). Another very intriguing fight is the heavyweight contest between late bloomers Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang which finds the less-heralded Kabayel cloaked as a small favorite. And kudos to Joseph Parker for accepting Martin Bakole when he could have held out for a lesser opponent. If Bakole is in shape (a big “if”), he will be a handful.
And so, where does tomorrow’s card rank on the list of best boxing cards ever? Right up there near the top, we would argue, and, if the bouts in large part are memorably entertaining, we would push it ahead of Don King’s May 7, 1994 extravaganza.
That’s the view from here. Feel free to dissent.
Postscript: If you plan to watch the entire card ($25.99 on DAZN for U.S. buyers), it would help to stock up on some munchies. The first fight (Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith) is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 a.m. for us viewers in the Pacific Time Zone / 11:45 a.m. ET. If the show adheres tight to its schedule (no guarantee), Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to enter the ring at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 314: A Really Big Boxing Show in Riyadh and More
One of boxing’s most spectacular fight cards takes place this weekend.
Think, Godzilla big.
It starts with an appetizer in California on Friday with 360 Promotions then on to the main course on Saturday morning in Riyadh Season with several promotions combined in Saudi Arabia.
Here is how it begins:
Undefeated “Sugar” Cain Sandoval (14-0, 12 KOs) leads a 360 Promotions card on Friday Feb. 21, at Chumash Casino as he faces Mark Bernaldez (25-6) in the main event. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card live.
360 Promotions is led by Tom Loeffler who knows a thing or two about promoting stars like Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin for example. He also backs Serhii Bohachuk and Mizuki “Mimi” Hiruta.
Then catch some sleep and wake up around 8 a.m. the next morning and prepare for a long day of world title fights.
Riyadh
A star-studded lineup of world titlists is led by the rematch between undefeated Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 Kos) and Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) for the undisputed light heavyweight world championship at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. PPV.Com and DAZN pay-per-view will each provide streaming.
Bivol seeks to avenge his only pro loss.
“All athletes want to win. We’re like gamblers and of course I wasn’t a winner,” Bivol said.
Beterbiev made no predictions, but one.
“it’s going to be a good fight,” said Beterbiev the undisputed light heavyweight world champion.
It’s a hefty boxing card reminiscent of Don King’s mammoth cards of the 90s and early 2000s. I once covered a boxing card that began at 10 a.m. on Saturday and ended at 1 a.m. Sunday in Las Vegas. I was hearing bells in my sleep after that adventure.
Like that Don King card, this one is loaded with world title fights.
From lightweights to heavyweights, multiple world championships are being settled in the desert nation.
IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois scratched against Joseph Parker because of a virus.
The former champion Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) will now face Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) who was last seen battering American contender Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson last August in Los Angeles. Despite the change of foes Parker may still be in a very intriguing fight. It could be explosive.
Another very intriguing clash pits former super welterweight champion Israil Madrimov (10-1-1) against undefeated Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs). No world title is at stake, but reputations will be made or demoted after these two meet in the boxing ring.
Madrimov recently lost a close decision to Terence Crawford in Los Angeles. No shame there.
“I always chase at big fights. I have another big fight,” Madrimov said.
Ortiz had problems making weight after battling Covid-19 and moved up from super lightweight to super welterweight. That’s a big jump regardless of talent. The Texas-bred fighter has never been defeated but this is his first time facing a real super welterweight of championship caliber. It’s a daring test but Ortiz has never shied away from a battle.
“There’s not much to say. In my opinion, this is the best fight on the card,” said Ortiz.
Golden Boy Promotions backs Ortiz and Matchroom Boxing has Madrimov who is trained by the brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio, Calif. They formerly trained Ortiz years ago. Robert Garcia now trains Ortiz in Riverside, Calif. There are rivalries and there are rivalries.
In another sparkling match WBC middleweight titlist Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) defends against Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) a tall lanky power-hitter who looks like the real deal. I don’t expect this to reach the final bell.
Adames is a slick fighter out of the Dominican Republic and Sheeraz is a British puncher. Both train in the U.S. It’s a don’t-blink type of fight and could end early.
Others on the card are heavyweights Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) versus Germany’s Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs). The Chinese heavyweight seems to have the skills but lacks the stamina as his loss to Joseph Parker showed. Kabayel has never tasted defeat and has wins over Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov, Cuba’s Frank Sanchez, and England’s Derek Chisora.
Plus, Shakur Stevenson found a replacement for Floyd Schofield who dropped out due to illness. And light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi fights former champ Callum Smith whose only losses were to Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez.
Get ready for a long day of title fights.
Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)
Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Cain Sandoval (14-0) vs Mark Bernaldez (25-6).
Sat. PPV.COM or DAZN ppv 7:30 a.m. Artur Beterbiev (21-0) vs Dmitrii Bivol (23-1); Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0) vs Israil Madrimov (10-1-1); Joseph Parker (35-3) vs Martin Bakole (21-1); Carlos Adames (24-1) vs Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Lucas Bahdi Paid His Dues, Quite Literally, and Now his Boxing Career is Flourishing
Lucas Bahdi Paid His Dues, Quite Literally, and Now his Boxing Career is Flourishing
In boxing, one punch can dramatically alter the trajectory of a fighter’s career. This is true for both the perpetrator and the unfortunate recipient.
On July 20 of last year in Tampa, Florida, Lucas Bahdi, a lightweight from Niagara Falls, Canada, rucked himself out of obscurity with a frightening knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva. Bahdi has fought once since then, sharing the bill at an event attended by an announced crowd of 72,300 and will be returning to the ring in a more conventional setting at Toronto on Friday, March 7.
Bahdi’s knockout of Sylve came in the final minute of the sixth frame. Although it wasn’t a classic one-punch knockout, it came out of the blue with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day. Down 5-0 on all three scorecards through the five completed rounds, Bahdi unleashed a fast, three-punch combination that left poor Sylve splattered face-first on the canvas. The final punch of the trio, a sweeping left hook, was superfluous. Sylve was out on his feet. It would be named the 2024 TSS Knockout of the Year.
The match, slated for 10 rounds, was on the undercard of a Jake Paul promotion co-starring Paul and the boxer he sponsors, the great Amanda Serrano. Although Lucas Bahdi was more seasoned than Ashton Sylve and he too had an unblemished record, the conventional wisdom was that he would be just another stepping-stone for Jake Paul’s precocious house fighter.
A decorated amateur from Long Beach, California, Ashton “H2O” Sylve signed with MVP Promotions, Jake Paul’s company, when he was 18 years old. In the press release announcing his signing, Paul predicted that Sylve (who happens to be Snoop Dogg’s nephew) would become “a massive, massive superstar…not merely because of his [fistic talent], but because of his charisma.” And through his first 11 pro fights, during which he scored nine knockouts, Sylve did nothing to temper that opinion.
Meanwhile, Lucas Bahdi was building a nice record, but toiling in obscurity. Prior to meeting Sylve, he had fought exclusively in Mexico and Canada. He took the Sylve fight on three-and-a-half weeks’ notice, subbing for Floyd Schofield. Filching the title of an Oscar-contending movie that is currently making the rounds, Bahdi was “A Complete Unknown,” at least outside his native habitat.
Bahdi’s prize for knocking out Sylve was an MVP Promotions contract and a slot on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson show at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 15. Paul vs. Tyson was a predictable farce but it was a mega-event, purportedly the most streamed global sporting event in history. On the card, Bahdi won a 10-round decision, advancing his record to 18-0 (15 KOs).
Lucas Bahdi’s risky investment paid off. By his reckoning, he spent more than $100,000 of his own money seeding his professional boxing career before linking up with Jake Paul. About those early fights in Mexico: There was no financial reward; to the contrary, he paid the purse of his opponents.
Of Palestinian and Italian heritage, Bahdi grew up in comfortable circumstances. His father George Bahdi is a prominent builder in Niagara Falls. Away from the gym, Lucas can be found at Niagara Falls’ Olympia Motors, his used car dealership. Buying and selling cars is more than a job, he says, it’s also a hobby. His personal preference is for late 1990s, early 2000 Jaguars.
We caught up with Lucas Bahdi last week at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas. With him were his coach Stevie Bailey, the head trainer at Toronto’s West End Athletic Club, and Stevie’s wife Sara Bailey.
Ms. Bailey, who competed all over the world as an amateur under her maiden name Sara Haghighat Joo, happens to hold the WBA’s female light flyweight world title, a diadem she acquired in her fourth pro fight. In Las Vegas, the team stays in an AirBnB roughly a mile from the gym, but doesn’t keep a rental car handy. “We walk everywhere,” says Bahdi, “sometimes 10 miles a day. It keeps my weight in check and, besides, there is a lot to see around here.”
Bahdi reflected on some of the adversity he faced as he was toiling in the shadows. At a November 2020 fight in Cuernevaca, Mexico, he left the ring with two broken hands and both of his eyes badly swollen. “I couldn’t think straight while I was in there; I couldn’t focus” he says. And oh by the way, he knocked out his tormentor in the fourth round.
“A lot of people thought my career was over right there,” says Bahdi while noting that both of his damaged hands required surgery. He was out of action for 17 months as boxing activity slowed because of the COVID pandemic.
Bahdi, who like Ashton Sylve had a notable amateur career, takes umbrage with those that would characterize his stoppage of Sylve as a fluke. “The kid is an amazing talent,” he says, “but we adhered to our game plan. Mentally I knew I was ready. In boxing, timing beats speed.”
Fighting on the Paul-Tyson card at an NFL stadium was quite a departure from all those little fights in Mexico and Canada, but Bahdi wasn’t overwhelmed by the moment. “Knowing that I was finally the ‘A’ side, was helpful,” he concedes.
Bahdi’s forthcoming fight on March 7 at the Great Canadian Casino in Toronto marks the first incursion of MVP Promotions into Canada. Bahdi will headline against an undefeated Filipino southpaw, Ryan James Racasa, who will be stepping up in class in his North American debut. Sara Bailey is also penciled in, but her opponent hasn’t yet been determined. According to a press release, the fight card will air on DAZN for free with no subscription required.
Now 31 years old and the father of a 16-month-old son, Lucas Bahdi has taken an unconventional path to what he hopes will culminate in a world title. With a lot of sweat and a little luck, his risky investment is paying dividends.
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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Arnold Barboza Edges Past Jack Catterall in Manchester
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Biyarslanov TKOed Mimoune at Montreal; Jalolov Conspicuous by his Absence
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The Hauser Report: Keyshawn Davis at Madison Square Garden
Oscar Duarte KOs Miguel Madueno in a Battle of Mexicans at Anaheim
Arnold Barboza Edges Past Jack Catterall in Manchester
Results and Recaps from Madison Square Garden where Keyshawn Davis KO’d Berinchyk
Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: Global Cooperation — Golden Boy and Matchroom Boxing
Vito Mielnicki Hopes to Steal the Show on Friday at Madison Square Garden
With Valentine’s Day on the Horizon, let’s Exhume ex-Boxer ‘Machine Gun’ McGurn
More ‘Dances’ in Store for Derek Chisora after out-working Otto Wallin in Manchester
Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: The Misadventures of Canelo and Jake Paul (and More)
Biyarslanov TKOed Mimoune at Montreal; Jalolov Conspicuous by his Absence
Bakhodir Jalolov Returns on Thursday in Another Disgraceful Mismatch
Claressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Benavidez Defeats Morrell; Cruz, Fulton, and Ramos also Victorious at Las Vegas
Undercard Results from Las Vegas where Mirco Cuello Saved his Best for Last
Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble
Hall of Fame Boxing Writer Michael Katz (1939-2025) Could Wield His Pen like a Stiletto
Boxing Odds and Ends: Ernesto Mercado, Marcel Cerdan and More
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Featured Articles7 days agoResults and Recaps from Madison Square Garden where Keyshawn Davis KO’d Berinchyk
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoHall of Fame Boxing Writer Michael Katz (1939-2025) Could Wield His Pen like a Stiletto
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoClaressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
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Featured Articles1 week agoVito Mielnicki Hopes to Steal the Show on Friday at Madison Square Garden
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoNajee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoWith Valentine’s Day on the Horizon, let’s Exhume ex-Boxer ‘Machine Gun’ McGurn
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoBakhodir Jalolov Returns on Thursday in Another Disgraceful Mismatch
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoMore ‘Dances’ in Store for Derek Chisora after out-working Otto Wallin in Manchester