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Elder Statesman Saoul Mamby (1947 – 2019) Was Even More Perseverant Than B-Hop
I think I interviewed the late Saoul Mamby just once. There might have been a time or two more, but I can’t say for sure, given the thousands of fights I have covered in my four-decades-plus on the boxing beat, not all of which made a deep enough impression on my memory that I can instantly dial up time, place and details. In any case, it is that first occasion I was at ringside for a Saoul bout I recall now, for reasons that only peripherally touch upon his participation in the main event that night at Resorts International Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.
It was Oct. 11, 1988. I was there to report for the Philadelphia Daily News on what I seem to recall was a seven-bout card, headlined by the 10-round junior welterweight matchup pitting up-and-coming John Wesley Meekins, 23, and 41-year-old warhorse Mamby, a former WBC super lightweight champion on the way down. Eighteen years younger, stronger and faster, Meekins negated Mamby’s edge in experience to win a majority decision.
The Bronx-born, Brooklyn-based Mamby’s status as a former world titlist in and of itself seemingly should be enough to commemorate his passing, at age 72, after a lingering illness. But the reason that date still registers with me so much later is this: a 23-year-old ex-convict from Philadelphia, Bernard Hopkins, made an inauspicious pro debut on the Meekins-Mamby undercard with a four-round majority decision loss to Clinton Mitchell.
Hopkins, you’ve heard about. Inactive for 20 months after the loss to Mitchell, he would come up the hard way, eventually becoming a middleweight champion (setting a record with 20 title defenses, since tied by Gennadiy Golovkin) and light heavyweight champion. He also holds the record for being the oldest widely recognized world titlist, making the last successful defense of his IBF 175-pound belt with a split decision over Beibut Shumenov, from whom he also annexed the WBA strap, on April 19, 2014, when B-Hop was 49.
By then a legend for his longevity as well as his many signature victories, Hopkins was just 29 days shy of his 53rd birthday for his final fight, on Dec. 17, 2016, when he was tagged with the only loss inside the distance in his exemplary, 28-year career, going out in eight rounds against 27-year-old construction worker Joe Smith Jr. in Inglewood, Calif. Only then did Hopkins concede that he was as susceptible to the one opponent, Father Time, that no fighter can stave off indefinitely.
I have covered dozens of Bernard Hopkins fights, many of which were for the PDN, tying us so closely in some people’s minds that we have almost come to be viewed as joined at the hip. Roy Jones Jr. even has referred to me as “Bernard Hopkins Fernandez.” And don’t think that more than a few people see some significance in the fact that we both will be formally inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 14, 2020, B-Hop in the Modern category and I in the Observer category.
But, as remarkable as Hopkins has been for achieving what he did in a sport that is harsh and unforgiving to those who try to hang on too long, consider this: Saoul Mamby, incredibly, was 60 when he appeared in his last sanctioned fight, losing a 10-round unanimous decision to 32-year-old ham-and-egger Anthony Osbourne on March 8, 2008, in Georgetown, Guyana. Osbourne, a Jamaican, entered the ring then with a 6-27-1 record.
Given the spate of aging fighters who either have launched or were contemplating ill-advised comebacks, most notably former middleweight and super middleweight champion Nigel Benn at 55 (he ultimately decided against it), Mamby’s name had been bandied about quite a bit recently as a prime example – maybe the prime example — of someone who, as in the words of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, “raged, raged against the dying of the light” of a ring career he hoped to prolong for as long as possible.
Unlike Hopkins, so celebrated now for surviving as long and as successfully as he did at the highest levels of boxing, Saoul Mamby is not likely to ever be posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, despite the WBC super lightweight title he claimed with a 14th-round TKO of Sang Hyum Kim on Feb. 23, 1980, and retained through five defenses. He was a good but not especially remarkable, 33-12-5, with 12 KOs when he finally yielded his championship to Leroy Haley on a unanimous decision on Feb. 13, 1983, coming up short again in his bid to reclaim the same title, again by UD, to then-champ Billy Costello on Nov. 3, 1984. His final record after the loss to Osbourne shall forever stand at 45-34-6, with 18 wins by KO or TKO.
But consider this: even as he regressed from champion to trial horse, enduring an eight-fight losing streak along the way, Mamby lost only one time inside the distance, a first-round stoppage against 23-year-old contender Derrell Coley on Aug. 13, 1993. Saoul was 46 then and Coley came in at 20-0-1 with 14 KOs.
Records, however, are merely statistics, from which conclusions can be twisted to fit someone’s preferred narrative. It should be noted that Mamby, a Vietnam veteran, gave the great Roberto Duran, the reigning lightweight champ, all he could handle in losing a 10-round, non-title unanimous decision on May 4, 1976. But the “Hands of Stone” was just one of the top-tier fighters with whom Mamby swapped punches, a list that also includes Costello, Coley, Edwin Viruet, Antonio Cervantes, Esteban De Jesus, Buddy McGirt, Maurice Blocker and Javier Castillejo.
Mamby was unquestionably a lesser version of himself when he squared off against Meekins, a New York City resident who never did quite fulfill the championship promise he flashed for a time as a hot prospect. Still, I made Saoul the focus of my story for the PDN, which I thought to be of possibly greater interest to readers.
“It’s a tribute to him that he’s still able to do what he does,” Meekins said of Mamby. “He obviously takes care of himself. I personally can’t even imagine what it would be like to be fighting when I’m his age.”
A prophetic look into the future. Meekins was 29 when he quit the ring in 1994, with a 24-5-2 record with 17 wins by KO.
Mamby, by this time apparently accustomed to the reality that he no longer was the “A” side of most of the bouts in which he participated, shrugged off another loss that, once upon a time when he was still a champion, he likely would have won.
“It wasn’t too bad a performance on my part, considering that I only had a week to get ready,” he told me “I have no complaints. I did my best. The judges said it wasn’t good enough.:
And now for the part that I find most surprising, given what would transpire later. The story I wrote for my newspaper ran a few inches longer than the hole into which it was assigned, so most of the copy that made it into print dealt with the main event. Some of the undercard bouts – including the one involving the debuting Hopkins – didn’t make the cut.
Many years later, I asked Hopkins if he remembered who the main-event fighters were on the night he turned pro. He said he wasn’t sure.
“It was John Wesley Meekins and Saoul Mamby,” I said.
“Oh, yeah, John Meekins,” Hopkins replied. “Good young fighter. From New York, I think.”
The passage of time has made it easier to forget some of what Saoul Mamby did as the most elder of boxing’s once-active elder statesmen. Now that he’s gone, I don’t ever want to make that mistake again.
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East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad knocked out Ukraine’s Viktor Slavinskyi to retain the WBC Continental America’s featherweight title on Friday in a strategic but entertaining contest.
Fighting in front of frenzied crowd of supporters Trinidad (16-0-1, 13 KOs) defeated southpaw Slavinskyi (15-3-1, 7 KOs) with a measured and careful attack at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.
Fans familiar with Trinidad (pictured over the right shoulder of promoter Tom Loeffler) are familiar with his aggressive pressure fighting style, but the Boyle Heights pugilist took a careful approach against Slavinskyi. Instead of a pounding assault Trinidad kept the fight at a distance and used his reach advantage to perfection.
It was reminiscent of long-armed fighters of the past like the late great Mando Ramos of the late 1960s who could punch or box. Pick your poison.
Trinidad employed a constant jab and well-placed counter shots. The right hand, in particular, was especially effective.
“I couldn’t miss with the right,” said Trinidad
For seven rounds Trinidad dominated with counter-punching. Then, Slavinskyi increased the pressure and forced the East L.A. fighter to come along. He did.
“If I could get a knockout I’d put him in the blender,” Trinidad said.
From the eighth round until the end Trinidad engaged in his usual fast and furious style and was especially effective with uppercuts in ninth round. Slavinskyi walked into a right uppercut that sent him across the ring and into the ropes. Referee Ray Corona ruled it a knockdown.
In the final round Trinidad wasted no time in looking to unload with an uppercut and Slavinskyi walked into a right hand version. There was no escape as he was ruled unable to continue by Corona at 2:31 of the 10th and final round.
Trinidad keeps the title.
“The left hook and right uppercut was the money shot,” said Trinidad. “It was well-timed and it was a money shot.”
Welterweights
A fight between buddies from the same Armenian amateur team saw Aram Amirkhanyun (16-0-1, 4 KOs) defeat Gor Yeritsyan (18-1, 14 KOs) by split decision after 10 hard-fought rounds in a welterweight fight for a regional title.
The judges scored it 96-94 Yeritsyan and 96-94 twice for Amirkhanyun. No knockdowns were scored.
Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) proved that adapting into a pro style was not a problem in soundly defeating Pittsburgh’s Colleen Davis (3-2-1) after six featherweight rounds. Her best weapon was accuracy.
Verduzco, who is trained by her mother Gloria Alvarado, had been one of the most decorated amateur boxers for many years. In just her second pro fight the tell-tale signs of the amateur style were gone.
While the taller Davis circled rapidly to the left, Verduzco calmly waited for the openings and blasted away with pinpoint shots to the body and head. Her right hook was deadly accurate and the left found openings whenever they appeared.
Davis was able to land rights but just not enough to offset the incoming fire from the Southern California fighter. After six rounds all three judges scored it 60-54 for Verduzco.
In a firefight, Abel Mejia (5-0, 4 KOs) barely survived a second round knockdown against Tijuana’s rugged Jose Correa (6-10, 4 KOs) and rallied to remain relevant in the super featherweight match. In the fourth and final round Mejia beat Correa to the punch with a left hook that knocked out the tough Mexican challenger at 55 seconds as referee Ray Corona stopped the fight.
A super featherweight fight saw Hawaii’s Jaybrio Pe Benito (5-0, 4 KOs) power past Texan Michael Land (1-5-1) for a knockout win at 1:30 of the second round. Benito was too powerful and busy for Land who tried but was unable to slow down the assault.
Photo credit: Lina Baker
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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
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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.
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Middleweight Title Fight Canceled; Super Welterweight Sizzler Announced by Golden Boy
Angelo Leo’s Homecoming Fight in Albuquerque was Fermented on ProBox
Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is the Boss at 115, but Don’t Sleep on Ioka vs Martinez
Results and Recaps from Philly where ‘Boots’ Ennis Stomped Out David Avanesyan
Results & Recaps from Miami where Teofimo Lopez Out-Classed Steve Claggett
Shakur Improves to 22-0 and Christmas Comes Early for Conceicao in Newark
Trevor McCumby Fell Off the Map and Now He’s Back with a Big Fight on the Horizon
Kalkreuth and Fulghum Score Uninspired Wins over Late Subs at Fantasy Springs
Jesse Rodriguez KOs Juan Francisco Estrada Before a Roaring Crowd in Phoenix
Lamont Roach TKOs Teak-Tough Feargal McCrory in a Homecoming Title Defense
U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Fidel La Barba Was a Phenom After a Rocky Start
Aaron McKenna and Kieron Conway Victorious in Osaka
Avila Perspective, Chap. 287: Boxing Wars on Tap in Philadelphia and Las Vegas
Fernando Martinez Ratches Up the Heat in the Hot Super Flyweight Division
Shane Mosley Jr Turns Away Daniel Jacobs in the Co-Feature to Masvidal-Diaz
Results and Recaps from Ontario Where William Zepeda KOed Giovanni Cabrera
Amanda Serrano and Jake Paul Vanquish Overmatched Foes in Tampa
‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez Delights the Home Folks: TKOs Barrera in 10
The Mirage Goes Dark and Another Storied Venue for Boxing Bites the Dust
Fast-Rising Omar Trinidad KOs Slavinskyi at the Commerce Casino
Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More
Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take
Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63
Amanda Serrano and Jake Paul Vanquish Overmatched Foes in Tampa
Nakatani Strengthens his Pound-for-Pound Credentials: Blasts Out Astrolabio
Results and Recaps from Fantasy Springs where Rocha Topped Dominguez
Literary Notes from Thomas Hauser
Avila Perspective, Chap. 288: Jake Paul and Amanda Serrano
The Mirage Goes Dark and Another Storied Venue for Boxing Bites the Dust
A Conversation with Legendary Phoenix Boxing Writer Norm Frauenheim
Aaron McKenna and Kieron Conway Victorious in Osaka
Results and Recaps from Philly where ‘Boots’ Ennis Stomped Out David Avanesyan
Muratalla Nips Farmer and Segawa Upsets Villa on a Top Rank Card in Las Vegas
‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez Delights the Home Folks: TKOs Barrera in 10
Middleweight Title Fight Canceled; Super Welterweight Sizzler Announced by Golden Boy
Avila Perspective, Chap. 287: Boxing Wars on Tap in Philadelphia and Las Vegas
Trevor McCumby Fell Off the Map and Now He’s Back with a Big Fight on the Horizon
Fernando Martinez Ratches Up the Heat in the Hot Super Flyweight Division
Shane Mosley Jr Turns Away Daniel Jacobs in the Co-Feature to Masvidal-Diaz
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoMiddleweight Title Fight Canceled; Super Welterweight Sizzler Announced by Golden Boy
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoAngelo Leo’s Homecoming Fight in Albuquerque was Fermented on ProBox
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Featured Articles4 days agoFormer World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoJesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is the Boss at 115, but Don’t Sleep on Ioka vs Martinez
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoResults and Recaps from Philly where ‘Boots’ Ennis Stomped Out David Avanesyan
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoResults & Recaps from Miami where Teofimo Lopez Out-Classed Steve Claggett
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoShakur Improves to 22-0 and Christmas Comes Early for Conceicao in Newark
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoTrevor McCumby Fell Off the Map and Now He’s Back with a Big Fight on the Horizon