An Early Vote for Andy Ruiz from ‘Louisiana Lawman’ Chris Eubank

Published

5 years ago

November 26, 2019

An-Early-Vote-for-Andy-Ruiz-from-Louisiana-Lawman-Chris-Eubank

At the MGM Grand this past Saturday, a group of boxing writers were having a round table discussion in the media room when they were joined by an outsider. The visitor, who stayed until the meeting disbanded, brought a little glamour to the gathering. Several of the writers were too young to remember when Chris Eubank was in his heyday, but everyone recognized Eubank who has remained one of Great Britain’s most well-known sporting personalities.

During a 14-year career that consumed 52 bouts, only three men defeated him. Steve Collins and Carl Thompson did it twice; the other was Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe who, like Thompson, caught Eubank at the tail end of his career. Eubank’s 1990 fight with Nigel Benn and his two fights with Michael Watson the following year rank among the most storied fights in British boxing history.

At age 53, Eubank is fit and trim, seemingly up to following the example of old foe Nigel Benn and plotting a comeback. But that isn’t happening. “There’s wear and tear there that you can’t see,” he says. Instead, Eubank will live vicariously through the efforts of his son of the same name. Chris Eubank Jr has a date with Matt Korobov in Brooklyn on Dec. 7. The younger Eubank has been preparing at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas.

During his fighting days, Chris Eubank was twice named England’s best dressed athlete. His name was also a fixture on polls of England’s most eccentric sportsman.

For a time, Eubank appeared in public dressed like a stereotypical born-to-the-manor, Regency Era gentleman with riding boots and a silver-tipped walking cane. His speech was concordant, more like that of a man of letters than that of a prizefighter. He was a pontificating philosopher in the words of author Donald McRae, a man who spoke in a “tortuously modulated manner.”

At the MGM, Eubank sported a solid black shirt, obviously custom-made, on which reposed a shiny silver badge. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” quipped Dan Rafael when Eubank casually took his seat with the assembled writers.

Eubank corrected him. “I’m a marshal, not a sheriff.”

And, indeed, he is. In March of last year, Eubank was formally sworn in as a city marshal in Opelousas, a predominantly black community buried deep in Louisiana’s Cajun Country. It’s basically an honorary position; he doesn’t carry a weapon. Eubank says that he is committed to spending three months of every year in Opelousas for the foreseeable future where he will assist local law enforcement in a public relations role.

Opelousas is a long way from London where he spent his formative years or, for that matter, Jamaica where Eubank spent a portion of his boyhood, or Atlantic City where he had his first five pro fights while staying with his mother in the grungy South Bronx. The fellow sure does get around.

An introduction to Opelousas’ Chief of Police Donald Thompson opened the door to the curious appointment. A number of civilians were issued various kinds of police badges while Thompson was in office, which became something of a scandal — he was voted out in last year’s November elections — but for Eubank, the badge, although adopted as a fashion accessory, isn’t merely for show..

“It’s important for boxers to be seen as protectors of the community at large,” he says. The city fathers of Opelousas have recognized him for his work speaking to youth groups about the importance of living a disciplined life.

At the MGM, Eubank took a seat next to mine at the table, allowing us to converse in low tones without intruding on other conversations. The talk naturally turned to the big fight coming up in Saudi Arabia.

Eubank insisted that he wasn’t surprised at all when Andy Ruiz upset Anthony Joshua and expects Ruiz to come out ahead again when they meet again on Dec. 7.

In Eubank’s view, the public gave too much credit to Joshua’s win over Wladimir Klitschko. “Klitschko had reigned for a long time,” he said, “but it was during an era when the heavyweight division was weak. It was much stronger back in the eighties and it is much stronger today.”

Eubank also believes that the public overreacted to Joshua’s more impressive physique. “The Adonis look doesn’t win in boxing,” he says, echoing an opinion held by old-time trainers.

Anthony Joshua didn’t take up boxing until he was 18 and was a relative novice on the international amateur scene when he won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He had answered the bell for only 32 rounds as a pro when he was matched against unexceptional Charles Martin in his first world title fight. “On the way to the title,” says Eubank, “Joshua was allowed to jump over several classes in school. He was still learning the art of boxing and still learning how to live the life of a fighter when he fought Ruiz. By contrast, Ruiz was very well-schooled.”

Eubank has always gushed over the potential of his son whom he once likened to Sugar Ray Leonard. “This is the most dangerous man on the planet,” he told Donald McRae prior to Junior’s 2014 fight with Billy Joe Saunders.

In that fight, Eubank Jr finished strong but came out on the short end of a split decision. More recently, he was out-boxed by George Groves who won a close but unanimous decision.

The elder Eubank had no quibble with the verdict. “My son had become in love with his power,” said Eubank, noting that Junior had knocked out Avni Yildirim in his previous fight. I told him (after the Groves fight), ‘you have to be clever, use your brains.’”

Eubank Jr has won two straight since that mishap, most recently a wide decision over former two-time title-holder James DeGale, plunging DeGale into retirement. Prior to that match, Eubank inked a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

Eubank Jr (28-2, 21 KOs) is dropping back to middleweight for his match with Korobov (28-2-1, 14), a Miami-based Russian who is coming off a draw with Emmanuwel Aleem, a bout that most everyone thought that he won. If Eubank Jr prevails, that will likely boost him into a fight with Jermall Charlo, the undefeated WBC champion, provided that Charlo gets past Australia’s Dennis Hogan on the same card.

Chris Eubank, quite naturally, thinks his 30-year-old son is a lock. “Junior has the same drive to succeed that I once had,” he said. “He is obsessed with training. Korobov can’t match his speed. If you have speed, that puts you in a different class.” (For the record, Korobov, a southpaw, is 36 years old. The odds favoring Eubank Jr, roughly 12/5, aren’t that high, reflecting the fact that there’s a general opinion that the Russian, although not as athletic, has the higher ring IQ).

The elder Eubank arrived at the little confab in the MGM with an agenda. He is in the process of starting a foundation for retired boxers that have fallen on hard times. Eubank admires Al Haymon and says, “I’m sure it’s a program that Al would get behind.”

Eubank is no stranger to money woes. In 2005, he was reportedly bankrupt. With a tax debt exceeding $1 million, he was forced to sell his mansion. He insists that he is in fine fettle today from an economic standpoint and that is likely true as he commands a nice fee for personal appearances in Great Britain where millennials recognize him from his frequent appearances on TV reality shows. The camera likes him and he’s a good talker.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” says Eubank, who appeared in 22 world title fights, winning 19. Someone who wasn’t so lucky, notes Eubank, is Kirkland Laing, the Jamaica-born Englishman who once held the British welterweight title and whose upset of Roberto Duran in 1982 was named The Ring magazine’s Upset of the Year. In 2003, nine years after leaving the sport, Laing was found living on the street.

Psychologists tell us that retirement can be stressful, especially for an individual whose identity is wrapped up in his work. A full-time professional boxer spends countless hours in the gym which becomes his surrogate home. When it’s time to let go, it’s difficult.

Many retired boxers, noted Eubank, need more than economic assistance: “Most are uneducated and need help with all the paperwork that comes with navigating the system and keeping their head above water.”

We wish Chris Eubank well with his foundation. When the web site is up and running, we will pass along the info. And if we ever get to Opelousas and run into trouble while there, hopefully a certain marshal will be able to pull a few strings.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Arne K. Lang

Up Next

Avila Perspective, Chap. 75: Oscar Valdez, Carl Frampton and Heavyweights

Don't Miss

Ruiz – Joshua 2: Cash on the Dunes

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-289-East-L.A.-A-Fight-Town-Claressa-Shields-and-More

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.

Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.

On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.

The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.

Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?

The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.

Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.

All that action takes place on Friday.

Elite Boxing

The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.

Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.

For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com

Claressa Shields in Detroit

Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.

Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.

The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.

Shields doesn’t lose.

I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?

The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.

Don’t get Shields mad.

Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.

That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.

Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.

Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.

Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).

Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).

Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take

Published

2 days ago

July 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Arne's-Almanac-Jake-Paul-and-Women's-Boxing-a-Curmudgeon's-Take

Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.

Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”

Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.

Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.

Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.

“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.

The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)

Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.

The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.

Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.

—

The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.

Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)

Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)

Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63

Published

4 days ago

July 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Former-World-Bamtamweight-Champion-Richie-Sandoval-Passes-Away-at-age-63

Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.

News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”

Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.

Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.

Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15^th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.

Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.

Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).

Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.

A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!