Notes on Tszyu-Horn, Sandro Mazzinghi and More

Published

4 weeks ago

August 26, 2020

Notes-on-Tszyu-Horn-Sandro-Mazzinghi-and-More

Former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn said he planned to “ragdoll” Tim Tszyu. The peachy word that Horn invented turned out to be a pretty good description of what Tszyu did to him. Tszyu dominated the junior middleweight contest from the start. Many thought the fight should have been stopped well before the bell ending round eight, whereupon Horn’s corner, at the encouragement of the referee, finally pulled him out.

It was a masterclass against an opponent who isn’t easy to look against, but Tszyu (16-0, 12 KOs) was better in every phase of the game. After the fight, he said, “I just want to let everyone know my name is Tim, not the son,” referencing his famous father.

Tim Tszyu, 25, has never said a bad word about his father, but there is undoubtedly some tension between them. Kostya Tszyu wasn’t there as his son was growing up and purportedly has attended only one of Tim’s fights. Kostya eventually left Tim and his mom and Tim’s two siblings, returning to his native Russia where he remarried and started a new family.

Tim Tszyu may never escape the long shadow his father, an all-time great, but today he became the face of Australian boxing and instantly one of the most talked-about young boxers on the planet.

Mazzinghi

The longer a prominent athlete lives, the shorter his obituary becomes, unless he was a true giant in his field. Sandro Mazzinghi was a two-time world champion at 154 pounds, but he wasn’t exactly a giant so it’s no surprise that his death last week at age 81 was largely ignored by the media in the English-speaking world. But make no mistake; Mazzinghi was a huge star in Italy. His saga inspired biographies and memoirs, two of which he wrote himself.

Born into poverty in the Valdera region of Tuscany in a town that suffered heavy damage from British and U.S. bombers during World War II, Mazzinghi followed his older brother Guido – a bronze medalist in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics – into the squared circle. He fought from 1961 to 1970, compiling a record of 61-3 (42 KOs) and then returned after a seven-year absence to append three more wins to his ledger.

mazzinghi

Two of his three losses were to countryman Nino Benvenuti, a future Hall of Famer. Benvenuti was 56-0 heading into their first meeting and Mazzinghi, making his fourth world title defense, was riding a 24-fight winning streak. This was Italy’s Fight of the Century. It was staged in a soccer stadium in Milan.

Mazzinghi suffered a great tragedy prior to his first title fight with Benvenuti. Leaving a restaurant in Florence on a wet and foggy night, he lost control of his BMW and slammed into a tree. The accident killed his wife of seven days and left him with a fractured skull.

Mazzinghi began a second run as the 154-pound world title-holder in 1968, out-pointing South Korea’s undefeated Ki-Soo Kim. He lost the belt in the most curious fashion, having it stripped from him after a bout with Freddie Little that was declared a “no-contest.”

Little, a very underrated fighter, was having all the best of the milling when he opened a bad cut over Mazzinghi’s right eye in the eighth frame with what the incompetent German referee deemed to be an illegal punch. He disqualified Little, but his verdict was later changed to NC.

Fourteen months after this incident, after one intervening bout, Mazzinghi made his first and only appearance in the United States. He fought on a club show at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas, opposing journeyman Cipriano Hernandez who was dressed with a 19-5 record that was undoubtedly closer to the 12-8 mark that currently appears in BoxRec.

There had to be a back-room deal that brought Mazzinghi to Las Vegas; it certainly wasn’t the money as his purse was only $1,200. The fights at the Silver Slipper were promoted by the late Bill Miller who managed Freddie Little and won the purse bid to stage the Massinghi-Little rematch, a fight that never happened.

Regardless, the Silver Slipper rolled out the red carpet for the Italian like no visiting fighter before him and although this was late in Mazzinghi’s career, he looked very sharp, taking out Hernandez in the second round before leaving the ring to a standing ovation.

Many European fighters aren’t nearly as skilled as their inflated records would indicate, but don’t put Sandro Mazzinghi in this category. He was very good as he attested in his second meeting with the great Benvenuti, a very close fight that went the full 15 rounds.

As a young man Mazzinghi dreamed of owning a vineyard. Boxing enabled him to achieve that goal. We here at TSS send our condolences to his loved ones.

Lomachenko – Lopez

Bob Arum told ESPN that there remains a possibility that the Lomachenko-Lopez fight could move out of the MGM Grand Bubble and into the MGM Grand Garden with fans in attendance. For this to happen, approval would have to come from the Governor who would, of course, act in concert with his medical advisors.

The Lomachenko-Lopez fight is signed for Oct. 17. Pre-COVID 19, this would have definitely been a pay-per-view event but as it now stands it will air live on the flagship channel of cable giant ESPN which reportedly reaches 86 million households. If the fight is as good as many anticipate, it will be great boon to the sport.

Arum had originally hinted at parking the fight at Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the former Oakland Raiders. It was obviously no coincidence that Arum chose the date of Oct. 17 as the Raiders have a bye that weekend.

Wednesday’s fight between Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu at Townsville, Queensland, Australia, was parked in a stadium with attendance capped at 16,000 for social distancing purposes. The new home of the Raiders is a 65,000-seat venue, capable of expanding to 71,835 for a Super Bowl. By taking seats and rows out of commission, it could still accommodate a large crowd, even with social distancing protocols. Yes, I know there are other issues. How do we keep fight-goers six feet apart at the entrances and exits, or when lining up at the restrooms and the concession stands? But Bob Arum is a very resourceful fellow and he will figure it out if given the opportunity.

Many big fights over the years have been icebreaker events at new stadiums. Perhaps it’s a pipe dream (and yes, I’m biased because I would love to be there), but a big stadium fight is just what Las Vegas needs right now and I believe there is still a shot that it may happen.

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Arne K. Lang

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 103: The 50th Anniversary of East L.A. Riots

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Season 2 of the World Boxing Super Series Concludes on Saturday in Munich

Published

15 hours ago

September 23, 2020

The Sweet Science

Season-2-of-the-World-Boxing-Super-Series-Concludes-on-Saturday-in-Munich

PRESS RELEASE: The hotly-anticipated World Boxing Super Series Season II Cruiserweight Final between Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos takes place behind-closed-doors in a film studio at Plazamedia Broadcasting Center in Munich, Germany on Saturday, 26 September. On the line: The Muhammad Ali Trophy, IBF World Title, and vacant Ring Magazine 200 lbs belt.

The final will be shown live on DAZN in the US and Sky Sports in the UK.

“A final for the Muhammad Ali Trophy has proved to be something extraordinary. We have seen that it brings out the best in boxers which reflects the DNA of our tournament as to deliver and continue to deliver boxing at its very best to fans of the sport,” said Andreas Benz, CEO of Comosa, the event organizer.

“Plazamedia is a phenomenal solution, the studios are providing a controlled environment which is of huge benefit to us and the production team to keep everyone safe while also putting on a great show.

“At the same time, we have done everything to secure fair conditions for both teams, and to ensure they remain healthy and isolated until the action starts.”

Mairis Briedis, tournament No. 1 seed, qualified for the final through wins over Noel Mikaelian (UD) and Krzysztof Glowacki (TKO3), while Dorticos, No. 2 seed conquered Mateusz Masternak (UD) and Andrew Tabiti (KO10) to enter the 200 lbs decider.

“We are very happy about the announcement of the final,” said Latvia’s Mairis Briedis. “I love the fact that it will be in Munich as it reminds me of every time I went to train with the Klitschko brothers in Germany and the flights were always via Munich. Those are some great memories of the time spent with them there.”

Said Miami-based Cuban, Yuniel ‘The KO Doctor’ Dorticos, IBF World Cruiserweight Champion: “To all my fans worldwide, In Europe and especially in Munich, Germany: I am super happy the World Boxing Super Series final will take place in Munich, Germany, and I will see you all on Saturday, September 26^th. The KO Doctor is back and ready to prescribe another dose of pain and take the Muhammad Ali Trophy back to Miami.”

Kalle Sauerland, Chief Boxing Officer of the WBSS, said: “On 26 September we will not only crown the best cruiserweight on the planet but also send a sign to the world that boxing is back with the first major transatlantic championship bout between the undisputed number one and two in their division.

The final is not only about honour and glory, but cementing a legacy. The winner will become a member of an exclusive ‘Ali Trophy Winner Club’ that includes Oleksandr Usyk, Callum Smith, Naoya Inoue and Josh Taylor. It doesn’t get much bigger in boxing, and we expect Briedis and Dorticos to have an absolute barnstormer!”

The Muhammad Ali Trophy was created by the late world-renowned artist Silvio Gazzaniga who also designed the iconic FIFA World Cup Trophy.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 106: Return of LA Boxing, Josh Taylor, Charlos and More

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2020

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 106: Return of LA Boxing, Josh Taylor, Charlos and More

Let’s call this week the Big Build Up.

Back in the 1920s to the 1950s the City of Angels was known as the place where Humphrey Bogart lived and played characters out of Raymond Chandler’s novels. Books like the “Big Sleep” and “Lady in a Lake” were made into movies based in Los Angeles.

Well, here we are back where boxing thrives, people or not.

Los Angeles kicks off the big boxing week starting with a televised fight card that features home grown featherweight Vic Pasillas at the Microsoft Theater in the downtown area. Fox Sports 1 will televise the Premier Boxing Championship card on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Pasillas (15-0,8 KOs) faces Dominican fighter Ranfis Encarnacion (17-0, 13 KOs) in the co-main event at a fan-less event that begins a crowded week of boxing as we near the end of 2020.

“Coming out on top against Encarnación is going to catapult me into some big fights at featherweight. The division is wide open and I know with hard work I can take it over,” said Pasillas who is originally from Los Angeles. “This is by far the most important fight of my career. I’m coming with everything I got, because I know this is the turning point that will lead to bigger and better fights. I am ready to bring an exciting fight to the fans and get my hand raised in victory.”

Both Pasillas and Encarnacion are undefeated and unknown to most of the boxing world. A win changes everything especially when it’s difficult to even stage a boxing card.

Promoters are anxious to get their fighters in the ring by any means necessary.

On Thursday in Biloxi, Mississippi, super lightweight Michael Williams Jr. meets Thomas Miller in the headline attraction of a boxing card that will be streamed by UFC Fight Pass.

On Friday in southern Mexico, Serhii Bohachuk (17-0, 17 KOs) meets Alejandro Davila (21-1-2, 8 KOs) in Merida, Yucatan. No word if it will be streamed. The super welterweight from Ukraine has a 17-fight knockout streak and has become a main attraction in Hollywood, California for 360 Promotions.

“Serhii has become one of the most talked about rising stars in boxing,” said Tom Loeffler, promoter of 360 Promotions. “Boxing fans are excited to see if he can continue his knockout streak against Alejandro Davila, the toughest opponent he’s faced. He’s been training very hard with Manny Robles for this fight and if victorious, we’re certain there will be bigger opportunities for him in the near future.”

These are all tasty appetizers for the big buffet coming on Saturday.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Saturday morning, especially if you live in the California area, ESPN+ will showcase the IBF, WBA super lightweight world title fight between champion Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) and Apinun Khongsong (16-0, 13 KOs) in London. It will be streamed live on Sept. 26, Saturday morning, starting at 11 a.m PST.

This is an important match for Taylor (pictured on the left) who needs a win to nail down a unification clash with Jose Carlos Ramirez the WBC and WBO titlist. If Scotland’s Taylor emerges victorious the super lightweight clash will be one of the top fights of the year.

And if that fight happens to take place, then that winner more than likely meets WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

But first things first. Taylor needs to defeat Thailand’s Khongsong on Saturday.

“I didn’t want a warm-up fight, so getting straight back in there against my mandatory challenger is great, as it’s kept me fully focused. I want big fights in my career, so this is an important fight with my belts on the line,” said Taylor.

Charlos Pay-per-view

The Charlos brothers asked for it and they got it.

Long have the brothers from Houston, Texas asked for a pay-per-view fight card and it never seemed possible until now. The Charlos will headline a pay-per-view double-header on Saturday via Showtime.

Beginning at 4 p.m PT/ 7 p.m. ET the Showtime pay-per-view card begins with three top notch bouts:

WBO bantamweight titlist John Riel Casimero (29-4) vs Ghana’s Duke Micah (24-0, 19 KOs).

WBA super bantamweight titlist Brandon Figueroa (20-0-1, 15 KOs) vs Damien Vazquez (15-1-1, 8 KOs).

WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) v Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs).

Charlo was not impressed with Derevyanchenko’s performances against Daniel Jacobs and Gennady Golovkin because both were losses. He expects to dominate.

Derevyanchenko says he’s ready for Charlo.

“Golovkin is a very different fighter than Charlo, but Jacobs is similar stylistically, so that’s something I’ll be used to,” said Derevyanchenko. “This training camp has been very similar to camps for my previous fights though. We just brought in different sparring partners for this one. We’re using fighters who can show us what Charlo will bring to the ring.”

After a 30-minute intermission the second half of the boxing card begins.

Former bantamweight world champion Luis Nery (30-0, 24 KOs) moves up in weight to face Aaron Alameda (25-0, 13 KOs) for the vacant WBC super bantamweight world title. Both fighters are from Mexico.

Former super bantamweight titlists Danny Roman (27-3-1) and Juan Carlos Payano (21-3) meet in a 12-round bout.

In the grand finale WBC super welterweight titlist Jermell Charlo (33-1, 17 KOs) challenges IBF and WBA super welterweight titlist Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) in a fight for all three belts.

“We lions,” said Charlo.

It’s a very big week for boxing that begins on Wednesday and ends Saturday.

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The Return of Wednesday Boxing Evokes Memories of a Golden Era

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2020

Arne K. Lang

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There’s a Wednesday card on the boxing docket this week. The card, which features several undefeated up-and-comers of the sort usually found on Showtime’s developmental series, “ShoBox: The New Generation,” will play out at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and air on Fox Sports 1.

Not to be out-done, “ShoBox” is returning. The long-running series, which suspended operations in March in obeisance to COVID-19 restrictions, returns on Oct. 7 with a show emanating from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino. The contestants in the main go of the four-fight card, Charles Conwell and Wendy Toussaint, have identical 12-0 records.

It just so happens that Oct. 7 is also a Wednesday. And these upcoming Wednesday shows transported this reporter back to his boyhood when boxing was a fixture on radio and television on Wednesday nights. The Wednesday series sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon beer ran from 1950 to 1960, airing the first five years on CBS and then on ABC.

Fights were all over the TV dial during the 1950s, not that there was much competition. The Big Three — NBC, CBS, and ABC — ruled the airwaves with DuMont a very distant fourth and cable television well off into the future. (For a time, the short-lived DuMont network aired boxing shows on Mondays.)

When televisions first came out, they were a big-ticket item. In 1948, RCA’s cheapest model sold for $395. That’s the equivalent of $10,400 today. By 1954, the cost of the least expensive model had declined to $189 and it came in a bigger box, with a 17-inch screen compared with the 13-inch screen that was standard six years earlier.

With the cost of the coveted contraption beyond the means of many wage earners, saloonkeepers cashed in. Boxing fans flocked to the neighborhood tavern to get their boxing fix. The saloonkeeper could write off his television sets on his taxes as a business expense.

Those were the days, and I date myself, when every town had a TV repair shop and the repairman, like the family doctor, made house calls.

The Wednesday Night Fights were a spin-off of the Friday Night Fights on NBC. The matchmaker for both series (through 1958) was the International Boxing Club which was headquartered at Madison Square Garden. The president of the IBC was James D. Norris (who would come to be seen as a puppet for mobster Frankie Carbo, but that’s a story for another day).

James D. Norris inherited a vast fortune from his father, Canadian businessman James E. Norris. The elder Norris was a big wheel in the sport of hockey and had a financial interest in the arenas that housed NHL teams in Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. He made these arenas available to his son and the Wednesday fight cards moved around, unlike the Friday fights which were pinned to Madison Square Garden.

Both series would eventually venture out at times into virgin territory, but the Wednesday series was the trailblazer. The first nationally televised boxing show from the West Coast was a Wednesday affair. Jimmy Carter defended his world lightweight title against LA fan favorite Art Aragon, the original Golden Boy, at the Olympic Auditorium on Nov. 14, 1951. Aragon had upset Carter in a non-title fight 11 weeks earlier, but Carter took him to school in the rematch, winning a lopsided decision.

The Friday boxing series, which took the name “Gillette Cavalcade of Sports,” would come to be more fondly remembered, but once the TV became a living room staple, which happened fast, the Wednesday series drew higher ratings. This was predictable as more folks stayed home on Wednesday nights than on Friday nights. And although the Friday series had a larger budget, some of the most important fights of the era were staged on Wednesdays.

One of the highlights of the 1951 season was Ezzard Charles’ world heavyweight title defense against Jersey Joe Walcott at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. It was Walcott’s fifth crack at the title and he was considered ancient at age 37, but he avenged his two previous losses to Charles with a thunderous one-punch knockout.

Carmen Basilio appeared in The Ring magazine Fight of the Year in five consecutive years (1955-1959). The first two — his second meeting with Tony DeMarco and his second meeting with Johnny Saxton – were televised on a Wednesday.

Although he would be quickly forgotten, the Wednesday series brought Bob Satterfield a cult following because of his unpredictability. He certainly left an impression on octogenarian boxing writer Ted Sares who recently named Satterfield his all-time favorite fighter.

To conjure up a portrait of Satterfield, think Deontay Wilder and then fix Wilder with a glass jaw. Satterfield, whose best weight was about 182 pounds, was a murderous puncher, but during his career he was stopped 13 times.

LA’s Clarence Henry and Pittsburgh’s Bob Baker were ranked #3 in the heavyweight division when they ventured to Chicago to tangle with Satterfield, Henry in 1952 and Baker the following year. Henry knocked out Satterfield in the opening round. Satterfield hit the canvas so hard, said a ringside reporter, the resin dust flew up.

The Satterfield-Baker fight would also end in the opening round. Baker out-weighed Satterfield by 34 pounds, but Satterfield flattened him. Later on, in a non-Wednesday fight, Satterfield knocked out Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams in the third round. Williams, 33-1 heading in, was the larger man by 25 pounds.

One bet on or against Bob Satterfield at one’s own peril.

The Wednesday Night Fights had a nice run before the series was cancelled and supplanted in its time slot by “The Naked City,” a critically acclaimed police drama series. Perhaps the return of boxing on Wednesdays augurs well for another mid-week boxing series, but we won’t hold our breath.

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