The Hauser Report: “The Greatest Show on Earth” Comes to Warren, Ohio

Published

3 years ago

January 31, 2022

The Hauser Report: “The Greatest Show on Earth” Comes to Warren, Ohio

On January 29, Don King promoted a six-bout card headlined by Trevor Bryan defending his faux “regular WBA world heavyweight championship” against Jonathan Guidry coupled with Ilunga Makabu defending his WBC world cruiserweight title against Thabiso Mchunu. The fights took place one year to the day after Bryan defended his belt with an eleventh-round knockout of Bermane Stiverne on a Don King card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. One had to go back to a four-bout card at the D Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on August 28, 2015, to find another fight card with King as the lead promoter.

Once upon a time, King bestrode the boxing world like a Colossus. He was the driving force behind “The Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire and packed 132,000 screaming fans into Azteca Stadium in Mexico to witness Julio Cesar Chavez’s destruction of Greg Haugen. Las Vegas casinos and historic venues like Madison Square Garden were his personal playpen.

But on January 29, King was promoting at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio – a facility that boasts of having 1,890 “sellable seats without obstructions” and 528 more with an obstructed view of the stage. And the seating capacity for the card fell short of those numbers because the ring was pitched in the center of the room.

The most entertaining thing about the pre-fight promotion was King. But his monologues tend to be less interesting now than before. The Don King of old might have styled this event as a “Fight for World Peace” and talked of staging it on the Russia-Ukraine border with Vladimir Putin and Vitali Klitschko as honored guests. Of course, with the Don King of old, the fighters might have been Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

William D. Franklin (the mayor of Warren) issued a proclamation declaring that January 26 (three days before the event) was “Don King Day” in Warren. He also presented King with a plaque and told the promoter, “I am thankful to you, Mr. King, for letting us be the host of this great event seen by boxing fans worldwide. Who would have thought that Warren, Ohio, would be the host.”

King responded, “We’re going to have a sensational evening of boxing. It will give people a chance to have fun again. We are here to give you a moment of respite. Let’s have some fun. No matter whether you are young or old, let the good times roll.”

To his credit, King also addressed the issue of COVID head-on, telling fans who planned to attend, “It would be much better if you take the vaccinations and the shot, wear your mask and socially distance.”

Makabu (28-2, 25 KOs, 2 KOs by) was a 2-to-1 betting favorite over Mchunu (23-5, 13 KOs, 3 KOs by), in part because he’d knocked Mchunu out in a previous meeting six years ago.

As for the heavyweights . . . Bryan’s ring record was 21-0 (15 KOs). But no serious reckoning places him among the top big men in the world. And Guidry (17-0-2, 10 KOs) is a club fighter.

No one should blame Guidry for taking the fight. A 32-year-old father of four, he has lived a hardscrabble life in Louisiana, eking out a living as a commercial fisherman and fighting for three-figure paydays when circumstances allow. His purse for facing Bryan was said to be $70,000. That was before the members of his team took their cut. He also received $10,000 for training expenses.

In the past, Guidry had fought a woeful collection of opponents. All but one of his previous fights had been in Louisiana in towns like Cut Off, Opelousas, Houma, Gretna, and Charenton with three appearances on undercards in New Orleans. He’d gone eight rounds once and a full six rounds twice. As for his amateur pedigree; he’d compiled a 2-4-1 (O KOs) amateur ledger between 2007 and 2012. He’s listed as 5’11” tall and had weighed in for his most recent fight at 263 pounds. Bryan was a 15-to-1 betting favorite

King defended the choice of Guidry as an opponent, saying, “The whole essence of this card is opportunity.”

Bryan suggested that any blame for Guidry’s selection fall on shoulders other than his own. “I’m a fighter,” Trevor explained. “When my promoter and manager say this is my next fight and who I’m fighting, all I can do is prepare and get ready for that.”

Guidry addressed his presence on the card with the observation, “I’ve seen what they’re saying, like ‘who is Jonathan Guidry?’ But it’s just how things work. I have nothing to lose. I’m a nobody. But yesterday’s nobody is tomorrow’s somebody.” Later, he told the media, “Not a lot of people can say they fought on a Don King card or fought on his show. I’m grateful that he’s letting me fight on this show and fight for the world title. Without him, I might still be on my shrimping boat or still be crabbing or something.”

Tickets ranged from $550 down to $80. The pay-per-view price was $49.99. FITE (the most reliable distributor of the event stream) is said to have sold a meager 600 buys which, by extrapolation from past events, would place the total number of buys at roughly one thousand. Whatever the universe of resolutely hardcore boxing fans is in the United States, King and Bryan haven’t tapped into it.

The undercard featured four North American Boxing Association “championship” bouts, raising the question of what former promoter Gary Shaw is doing in his current roles as president of the NABA, chief of staff of the World Boxing Association Directorate, and advisor to WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza. Shaw was also the WBA supervisor at ringside for the night.

King was visible for most of the evening, wearing his iconic “only in America” jacket that has faded and looks like a relic from another era.

The early fights were dreadful. To fill time, viewers were shown the video of a 20-year-old fight between Felix Trinidad and Mamadou Thiam (KO 3) after which King appeared in the ring for a ten-count in honor of Las Vegas casino vice president Bob Halloran who died earlier this year. Then Annette Blackwell (the mayor of Maple Heights, Ohio) read from a proclamation praising King for his character and good works.

Bryan, who has weighed in for fights as low as 200 pounds, fought his last bout at a career-high 267. This time, he did himself one better, tipping (or was it toppling) the scales at 268. He looked as though he’d trained in a fast-food restaurant.

Guidry came in at a pudgy 246 (a 17-pound reduction over his last outing).

When the bell rang, Bryan plodded around the ring, toying with Guidry for most of the contest. One of the few moments of drama came when Trevor’s trunks started to slip beneath his stomach and off-camera adjustments had to be made. Finally, Bryan began letting his fists go a bit. But Guidry hung tough and Trevor couldn’t put him away.

By round eleven, Bryan looked like he’d be content to cruise the last six minutes and win comfortably on points. But at that juncture, Guidry (who had a fighter’s mentality if not the skills to go with it) began pushing the action. In round twelve, he pushed it too far, and Bryan dropped him seconds before the final bell. Poor camera work left viewers in the dark as to whether or not Guidry beat the count. But since the fight went to the scorecards, one assumes that he did.

Judges Nathan Palmer (118-109) and Brian Kennedy (116-111) scored the bout for Bryan. Steve Weisfeld (one of boxing’s better judges) inexplicably had it 115-112 in Guidry’s favor. Jonathan fought as well as he could. One hopes that Trevor can fight better.

In the co-feature, Mabaku prevailed over Mchunu on a questionable 116-112, 115-113, 113-115 split decision.

In recent months, there has been talk of Canelo Alvarez going up in weight on Cinco de Mayo Weekend to face Makubu in an effort to win a title in yet another weight division. But that talk faded as Makabu-Mchunu drew near. It’s possible that King will be able to monetize Makabu against Canelo. More likely, he’ll be forced to settle for a much smaller payday in conjunction with what’s supposed to be Bryan’s “mandatory” defense of his WBA belt against Daniel Dubois. King won’t find it as easy to maneuver around Frank Warren (Dubois’s promoter) as he did around the team that backed Mahmoud Charr, who was Bryan’s previous “mandatory” challenger.

Meanwhile, there’s something noble, albeit poignant, about King’s pursuit. He’s ninety years old. His power is gone. But he keeps reaching for the brass ring and promoting.

And one thing more. A person can be in the media center for a fight promoted by Bob Arum, Frank Warren, or Eddie Hearn and not know they’re there. That doesn’t happen with Don King. He still stops any room he enters.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – Broken Dreams: Another Year Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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Glimpses from the Past (Part One)

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

Published

2 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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

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

2 days 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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