Bob Halloran, Muhammad Ali, and Bob Arum: Allies and Adversaries

Published

3 years ago

January 5, 2022

Bob-Halloran-Muhammad-Ali-and-Bob-Arum-Allies-and-Adversaries

Bob Halloran was 87 years old when he passed away on Sunday, Jan. 2, in Rancho Mirage, California. With him, another remnant of the Muhammad Ali era was swept into the dustbin of history.

Halloran, who was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, attended the University of Miami on a golf scholarship. While there, he interned at WTVJ, channel 4, Miami’s CBS affiliate. Upon his graduation, the station hired him as a full-time sportscaster.

During Halloran’s early years at the station, who should turn up in Miami but none other than Cassius Clay. The consortium of Louisville businessmen that purchased Clay’s contract after he won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics remanded him to Miami to train under the watchful eye of Angelo Dundee who then hung his hat at the 5^th Street Gym in Miami Beach which was owned by Angelo’s brother Chris Dundee.

Bob Halloran was Howard Cosell before Cosell. He interviewed the brash young boxer on numerous occasions before Cosell became identified with the fighter that took the name Muhammad Ali. Halloran may have been the first white person to know that Clay intended to shed his “slave name.” The boxer revealed it to him before he won the world heavyweight title with his shocking upset of Sonny Liston. Halloran, at the boxer’s behest, withheld the news until after the fight.

Halloran would recall that Ali had several telephones in the house that he rented in Miami. When Halloran interviewed the boxer there, the first thing he did was to unplug the phones. Everyone wanted a piece of Ali after he took the title from Liston.

After 16 years with WTVJ, Halloran was hired away by the CBS flagship station in New York. After getting fired for “stepping on the wrong toes,” he freelanced before accepting the offer to join Caesars Palace in Las Vegas where his title was vice president of sports programming. The honchos at Caesars were impressed with Halloran’s organizational skills. In Miami, he had arranged several celebrity golf tournaments that achieved national exposure.

During Halloran’s tenure at Caesars, the property, which adopted the motto “Home of Champions,” hosted numerous big fights. Halloran was the liaison between Caesars and promoters Bob Arum and Don King.

In those days, Halloran, who always looked younger than his years, bore a striking resemblance to Robert Redford. In fact, Redford’s name sometimes appeared on a reporter’s list of Hollywood celebrities at a big Caesars fight although Redford was never there.

Halloran

Steve Wynn poached Halloran from Caesars to serve in the same capacity at the Mirage. The third fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, an outdoor event noosed to an extravagant fireworks show, was the centerpiece of the grand opening festivities at the Mirage in December of 1989.

Wynn then aspired to become a major player in the world of boxing. The Mirage stood poised to overtake Caesars (the MGM Grand hadn’t yet opened) when Wynn snatched the fight between Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield away from Atlantic City after a bitter court battle with Don King and his ally Donald Trump. Holyfield vs. Douglas came to fruition at the Mirage on Oct. 25, 1990.

Bob Arum’s company, Top Rank, handled the closed-circuit arrangements for Leonard-Duran III. The receipts were strong but Arum felt they would been much stronger if Wynn’s people had done a better job of marketing the event. In a conversation with Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist John Henderson, Arum, never one to hide his feelings, put the onus on Halloran: “At Caesars he just showed his face. He has no idea how to run a fight.”

When Steve Wynn seized the Douglas-Holyfield promotion and left Arum out of the loop, Arum went off on a tirade. He had a handshake deal with Wynn to handle the pay-per-view and the closed-circuit and to arrange the undercard, responsibilities that the casino mogul decided were best handled in-house. “By blowing me off, [Wynn] demonstrated that he is a despicable person,” said Arum to Review-Journal boxing writer Royce Feour

On Aug. 9, 1990, with all systems “go” for Holyfield-Douglas, Arum promoted a card at the Hacienda, a little casino at the south end of The Strip. Looking around, he noticed that Bob Halloran was in attendance and had him evicted. Arum had security guards give Halloran the heave-ho after the boxing commissioners refused to get involved.

In the world of professional boxing, bitter enemies are quick to bury the hatchet when it is pragmatic to do so. Arum and Steve Wynn eventually made up. Wynn’s newest properties, the Wynn and adjacent Encore, sponsored the Nov. 5, 2016 card at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center headlined by Manny Pacquiao’s bout with Jessie Vargas. Arum and Wynn had nothing but kind words to say about each other as they shared the dais at the pre-fight press conference. (For Wynn, the allurement wasn’t Pacquiao but two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming who appeared on the undercard. Shiming was seen as a conduit to the lucrative Chinese market.)

Wynn lost his enthusiasm for boxing after the Holyfield-Douglas dud and there wasn’t much for Bob Halloran to do. He left Las Vegas quietly and rather than heading back east he settled in the Palm Springs area of California where he could play on some of the best golf courses in the world. It isn’t known if Halloran harbored a grudge toward Bob Arum or if he shrugged it off, as have others who were targets of Arum’s venom, saying “well, that was just Arum being Arum.”

Talk to an old salt who has been part of the Las Vegas boxing scene for decades and he will tell you that the glory days were the days when the biggest fights were held outdoors on the Las Vegas Strip. There was an ambience to those fights, a festiveness, that was lost when the big fights went indoors and the stars in the sky disappeared from the panorama.

Bob Halloran was a big part of that festiveness. May he rest in peace.

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Arne K. Lang

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

3 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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