Mike Tyson Was a Thunderbolt and Steve Lott Was Caught Up in the Storm

Published

3 years ago

September 7, 2021

Mike-Tyson-Was-a-Thunderbolt-and-Steve-Lott-Was-Caught-Up-in-the-Storm

PART ONE OF A TWO-PART STORY — In the 1982 MGM comedy film “My Favorite Year,” a young production assistant is charged with the responsibility of keeping tabs on a famous but famously trouble-prone British actor who has been brought to New York to make a guest appearance on a TV comedy show. Steve Lott can relate although he wasn’t buckled to a famous actor but to a prizefighter who became more famous than any actor you could name. When Mike Tyson was climbing the ladder, no one was closer to Mike than Steve Lott. When Mike needed a place to crash, he went to Steve’s apartment and crashed on the couch.

Steve Lott now lives in Las Vegas where he is president of the Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas which controls one of the world’s most valuable sports libraries, the enormous Big Fights Inc. library of legendary fight films and photos, the rights to which were sold to ESPN but with Lott retaining the exclusive Boxing Hall of Fame rights, world-wide. The company also licenses films and photos to various documentary film productions.

There’s a story there, but let’s start at the beginning.

As a teenager growing up in a working-class family in the Bronx, Lott became a whiz at the sport of handball. At the junior level, he was once ranked the #1 singles player in the world. Jim Jacobs, a legend in the sport – arguably the best handball player of all time – took Lott under his wing.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Jim Jacobs was an obsessive collector of old fight films. He eventually hooked up with Bill Cayton, the owner of a successful New York City advertising agency and they formed a company called Big Fights Inc. When Jacobs moved to New York, he lived for a time with boxing trainer Cus D’Amato who had molded Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres into world champions. When D’Amato moved upstate to Catskill and took to coaching amateurs, Jacobs and Cayton funded his training camp.

Steve Lott had one year of college under his belt and was working as a salesman at an auto dealership when he approached Jacobs about working for Big Fights Inc. Jacobs hired him and Lott’s life would get a lot more exciting.

Jacobs and Cayton eventually branched into fight management. They purchased the contract of the great Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benitez who became their first client in what would become a small and select stable. Lott’s duties shifted to that of camp coordinator. His title was that of assistant trainer but his responsibilities were more diffuse including dealing with the media. In time, he became referenced as Tyson’s assistant manager.

The Mike Tyson saga has been well-documented. A pre-teen thug on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn, seemingly incorrigible, Tyson became the surrogate son of Cus D’Amato who entrusted Mike’s boxing career to Jacobs and Cayton. He turned pro at age eighteen after losing in the finals of the Olympic Box-Offs, won his first 19 pro fights by KO, 12 in the opening round, and became the undisputed world heavyweight champion shortly after his 21^st birthday. Beyond that, Tyson had the “it” factor that made him a media darling, the world’s most talked-about athlete.

The town of Catskill, New York, is roughly two hours from Manhattan. When Tyson came to the city, Lott’s apartment was his crash pad. During his first year as a pro, Tyson had a frenetic schedule. He averaged a fight every three-and-a-half weeks. But as he advanced, the gaps between fights became longer and a night’s sleepover often evolved into something longer, perhaps a three-day or five-day stay.

In those days, remembers Lott, Mike Tyson had no car, no jewelry, no expensive clothing. “Mike didn’t care about money,” says Lott. “He cared about his legacy. He wanted to be remembered like Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis.”

He certainly wasn’t a party animal. His hobby, as it were, was watching old fight films or riffing through the pages of The Ring record book. In Lott’s estimation, young Tyson made himself into the world’s foremost boxing historian. “If you showed him a picture of an old-time fighter, he could not only identify him but tell you something about him.”

Tyson’s ascent to superstardom was so fast that Lott was blindsided by it. “When we first started hanging out,” says Lott, “I never envisioned that Mike would become so big. He was just my friend. Then one day it dawned on me that I had been entrusted with the most valuable commodity in sports. It was as if Mickey Mantle was crashing on my couch the year after he won the triple crown.”

It was bigger than that. Mickey Mantle wasn’t a name that resonated in most parts of the world. Mike Tyson was an international celebrity. “Mike was cool as a cucumber waiting in the dressing room before a fight,” says Lott, “but I was a nervous wreck. I knew that in this sport one punch can ruin a career.”

Tyson’s ring walk was famously spartan: “plain black trunks, no robe, no socks, no nonsense.” There was no entourage. “There were only three of us that accompanied Mike on his ring walk,” remembers Lott. “His trainer Kevin Rooney, his cut man Mike Baransky, and myself.” (In the photo, that’s Rooney on the left, Baransky on the right, and Lott in the middle.)

That was the foursome that prevailed through Iron Mike’s famous fight with Michael Spinks. But during the prologue there were dark clouds on the horizon. A palace coup was brewing and the insurgents were hell-bent on cleaving Tyson from his handlers.

Three months before the Tyson-Spinks fight, Jim Jacobs passed away at age 58 from complications of leukemia. Cus D’Amato was already gone, having passed away two-and-a-half years earlier. These men were Tyson’s primary role models. Without them, he was adrift, or so it would be written. But in theory he wasn’t rudderless at all because he was now a married man. On Feb. 7, 1988, seven weeks before Jim Jacobs died, Mike married Robin Givens after a 10-month courtship.

Tyson’s wife was a knockout in her own right as she would show the world in a 1994 Playboy pictorial and she was well-educated, having graduated from high school at age 15 and having attended tony Sarah Lawrence College which had the highest tuition of any college in the country.

There was nothing quite like Robin Givens back on Tyson’s old turf in gritty Bed-Stuy. As Frank Sinatra would have said, Robin Givens was one classy broad.

To be continued……

Photo credit: Steve Lott – Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas

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Arne K. Lang

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

2 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

5 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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