The Hauser Report: A Promoter’s Pro Debut

Published

2 years ago

October 14, 2022

The-Hauser-Report-A-Promoter's-Pro-Debut

The phrase “pro debut” is often heard in conjunction with fighters. But promoters make pro debuts too. On October 13 at Sony Hall in the heart of Times Square in New York, Larry Goldberg made his pro debut.

Goldberg, age 45, grew up in and around Atlantic City where he fell in love with boxing. He has an internet-marketing background and, in 1997, founded BoxingInsider.com. In the past, he’d promoted amateur fight cards. Now he was going pro.

If Goldberg’s pro debut had been in Montana or Kansas, it might have been similar to his amateur experiences. But it was in New York. Promoting a professional fight card under the best of circumstances is like herding twenty cats across a football field while a game is in progress. When promoting in New York, think fifty cats.

The New York State Athletic Commission has more rigorous protocols for promoters than any other state. For example, the fighter medical insurance required in New York costs $1,645 per bout. That’s $9,870 for a six-bout card. Line item costs such as hotel rooms for fighters and their teams are also higher in New York than in other jurisdictions.

Virtually everyone wants something for free when dealing with a promoter. Promoting a fight card can be analogous to planning a six-figure wedding on a five-figure budget.

“It’s my first show,” Goldberg acknowledged during fight week. “There’s so much to do. I’m learning and I’m making some mistakes. I’ll lose some money; I hope not too much. But it’s a start.”

Sony Hall is a difficult venue for a boxing promotion. Finding space for changing rooms, medical examinations, and other requisite areas is a task unto itself. Because of the building’s configuration, it costs three times more than the norm to bring the ring in and out.

Goldberg was promoting the October 13 event in association with DiBella Entertainment.

“Larry knows that he can’t make money in Sony Hall,” Lou DiBella (who was in Australia for Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos) noted. “But he’s learning the ropes. It’s like a graduate course in promoting. And it costs money to get an education.”

One might be forgiven for likening Goldberg’s “education” to a diploma from Trump University. The tuition is high, often without much hope of a meaningful return. Ultimately, boxing maven Eric Bottjer was brought in to help the promotion with compliance issues and other matters.

“Eric was a life-saver,” Larry said afterward. “I don’t want to think about what might have happened without him.”

Goldberg hired his own production team and arranged for the fights to be streamed live on BXNG TV with Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney handling the commentary. He hired a roundcard girl on the morning of the fights. Matt Competello (who Larry has worked with in the amateurs) was brought in as the ring announcer.

The New York State Athletic Commission had limited the number of fights that would be allowed on the card to six because of the cramped quarters in the back of the house. Ticket prices ranged from $102 to $325.

One fight fell out when a fighter who, Goldberg says, agreed to a $3,000 purse refused to get on a plane and come to New York unless his purse was increased to $5,000. That left Larry with only five fights. And he had to pay the $1,645 insurance fee for the cancelled fight because it had already been bonded.

Heather Hardy was Goldberg’s headline attraction and had gone beyond the role of being a fighter to help enormously in putting together the pieces of the promotion. Several opponents for Heather fell out. And for good measure, it rained on fight night which threatened to put a damper on last-minute ticket sales.

Dave McWater (the 2020 BWAA “manager of the year”) manages Ivan Golub who was in the second bout of the evening. Sitting in Sony Hall before the fights began, McWater reminisced about his own experience as a promoter.

“Years ago,” McWater recalled, “I backed Don Elbaum on a show in Connecticut. Don assured me that we’d sell 5,000 tickets. About an hour before the first fight, I went to the box office and we’d sold 259. After that, I decided I’d be better off managing than promoting.”

Then the gods smiled on Goldberg. Surprisingly, walk-up sales were good. Sony Hall nearly sold out. The venue was jammed. The seating was chaotic with close quarters everywhere from ringside to the standing room area by the bar. But all of the sightlines were good.

The ring canvas was gray, not powder blue, and the ring ropes were black. The overhead lights were dimmer than the norm. All of that when combined with the unusually close quarters, gave the evening an old-time fight-club vibe.

The fights moved smoothly from one to the next without the long delays occasioned by the demands of bigtime television.

Fight #1 saw Petros Ananyan (16-3-2, 7 KOs) face off against Paulo Cesar Galdino (12-6, 8 KOs) in a super-lightweight contest. Neither man had much defense and both men got hit a lot. But Ananyan hit harder and Cesar got hit more often leading to a sixth-round stoppage. The fight was notable because Freddie Roach was in Ananyan’s corner and the venue was set up in a way that waiters with plates full of chicken tenders and fried calamari kept walking in front of Roach while rounds were going on. “I did wonder what the f*** was going on,” Freddie said afterward.

Ivan Golub (20-1, 15 KOs) vs. Wesley Tucker (15-3, 9 KOs, 1 KO by) was the second bout. Golub was arguably the most accomplished fighter on the card. But the big ticket sellers were Heather Hardy, Nadim Salloum and Andy Dominguez Velasquez, so the last three slots were reserved for them.

Tucker is a club fighter. During the preceding five-and-a-half years. he’d lost three times to other club fighters and won once. In round two, he scored a knockdown when he tagged Golub and Ivan’s gloves touched the canvas. But then Wesley tired and morphed into a human punching bag. His corner stopped the carnage after four rounds.

In fight #3, Andy Dominguez Velasquez (7-0-0, 6 KOs), a good flyweight prospect, knocked down Ricardo Caraballo (7-1, 2 KOs) two minutes into the first stanza. Ricardo rose on wobbly legs, and virtually everyone in the arena except Sparkle Lee could see that he was in no condition to continue. Unfortunately, Lee was refereeing the fight. So, Caraballo took more unnecessary concussive blows to the head before he was knocked down again and the fight ended.

Fight #4 featured Nadim Salloum (8-1, 3 KOs) vs. Jorge Leandro Capozucco (4-0, 3 KOs). Salloum, age 28, was born in Lebanon and now lives in Brooklyn. He’s a ticket-seller, having developed a significant following in the Lebanese-American community. His ring skills aren’t as good as his marketing. That said, Leandro only had one punch – an arcing overhand right that landed more often than it should have because Salloum has a porous defense. But Salloum also had a more varied arsenal and more power than Leandro. Referee Steve Willis stopped the fight in round six.

Then it was time for the main event – Heather Hardy (22-2, 4 KOs) vs Calista Silgado (20-15-3, 15 KOs, 3 KOs by). Hardy (who moved from 126 to 135 pounds last year) had lost her last two outings by decision against Amanda Serrano and Jessica Camara and hadn’t won a boxing match since 2018. Silgado was competing at 118 pounds as recently as May of this year and had lost four of her most recent five fights. Her one victory during that stretch came against a woman who has had two fights in her entire ring career and been knocked out in both of them.

Silgado had flown to New York from Miami and arrived at 11:30 on Tuesday night. She weighed in on Wednesday, fought on Thursday, and flew back to Miami on a 5:00 AM Friday flight. Such is the life of a B-side fighter.

Hardy-Silgado was scheduled for six two-minute rounds. Once the fight began, it was clear that Heather’s reflexes have slowed noticeably since her prime years. Calista looked old and tired and had powder-puff fists. It wasn’t a hard fight to score. Two judges appropriately ruled 58-56 in Hardy’s favor. One judge gave Heather all six rounds and shouldn’t be assigned to judge again absent extensive retraining.

Hardy is forty years old. Her defense has always been suspect. She’s tough and has a fighting spirit. But that alone doesn’t cut it in boxing, particularly at age forty. The punches add up for women fighters as inexorably as they do for men. Now would be a good time for Heather to stop fighting.

At evening’s end, Goldberg’s father (who was at the show) told him, “Congratulations! This was your second bar mitzvah.”

So . . . Where does Larry go from here?

He came out of the promotion with his honor and reputation intact. He lost some money but not as much as he feared he might.

“I’ll be able to sleep well tonight for the first time in two months,” Goldberg said when the show was over. “I can’t believe this worked out as well as it did because it could have gone really bad. I was petrified that things out of my control would go wrong. I’ve got a lot to digest. But now that I know how the sausage is made, it should be easier for me next time. Next time, I’ll know how to save money on hotel rooms and airfare and all the other things that add up. I’d like to promote at Sony Hall again. I think I can make the numbers work and turn a profit there. I’d like to promote a fight card in Atlantic City. That’s one of my goals. Maybe I’ll turn Boxing Insider into a streaming platform. There’s so much to think about.”

Meanwhile, give Goldberg credit for loving boxing and putting his money where his heart is.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – was just 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, Hauser 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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Bakhodir Jalolov Returns on Thursday in Another Disgraceful Mismatch

Published

2 days ago

February 4, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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How good is Bakhodir Jalolov? Some would argue that in terms of pure talent, the six-foot-seven southpaw from Uzbekistan who has knocked out all 14 of his opponents since turning pro, is better than any heavyweight you can name. Others say that this can’t possibly be true or his braintrust wouldn’t keep feeding him junk food. Jalolov has been brought along as gingerly as Christopher Lovejoy who was exposed as a fraud after running up a skein of 19 straight fast knockouts,

One thing that’s indisputable is that Jalolov was one of the best amateurs to come down the pike in recent memory. A three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist, Jalolov won 58 of his last 59 amateur bouts. The exception was a match in which he did not compete which translated into a win by walkover for his opponent, countryman Lazizbek Mullojonov.

The circumstances are vague. Was Jalolov a no-show because of an injury or illness or a technicality? Amateur boxing, save in a few places or in an Olympic year, is the quintessential niche sport. The mainstream media does not cover it.

What we do know, thanks to boxrec, is that Jalolov caught up with Mullojonov in May of last year in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk and won a split decision. And Mollojonov was no slouch. He too won a gold medal at the Paris Games, winning the heavyweight division to give the powerful Uzbekistan contingent the championship in the two heaviest weight classes.

Jalolov, whose late father was a champion free-style wrestler, has answered the bell as a pro for only 35 rounds. The Belgian-Congolese campaigner Jack Mulowayi came closest to taking the big Uzbek the distance, lasting into the eighth round of an 8-round fight. But when Jalolov closed the show, he did it with a highlight reel knockout, knocking Mulowayi into dreamland with a vicious left hook.

The KO was reminiscent of Jalolov’s most talked-about win as an amateur, his first-round blast-out of Richard Torrez Jr at a tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia, in 2019. Torrez, knocked out cold with a left hook, left the ring on a stretcher and was removed to a hospital for evaluation.

This was the first AIBA-sanctioned international tournament in which pros were allowed to compete and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was incensed, calling the match-up “criminal” in a tweet that was widely circulated. (Jalolov then had six pro fights under his belt.) They would meet again in the finals of the Tokyo Olympiad with the Uzbek winning a unanimous decision.

Perhaps there will be a third meeting down the road. When Jared Anderson was roughed-up and stopped by Martin Bakole, Torrez Jr (currently 12-0, 11 KOs) vaulted ahead of him on the list of the top home-grown American heavyweights. But Torrez Jr, a short-armed heavyweight who overcomes his physical limitations with a windmill offense, would be a heavy underdog should they ever meet again.

Bakhodir Jalolov’s last bout before heading off to Paris was against the obscure South African Chris Thompson. His match on Thursday at the Montreal Casino in Montreal pits him against an obscure 33-year-old Frenchman, David Spilmont.

Spilmont’s last two opponents were the same guy, an undersized Lithuanian slug who has lost 36 of his 41 documented fights. It seems almost inevitable that Spilmont will suffer the same fate as Thompson who was KOed in the first round.

There’s talk that Jalolov doesn’t really care how far he advances at the professional level; that he has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles where he would have an opportunity to become only the fourth boxer to win three Olympic gold medals, joining the immortal Teofilo Stevenson, Hungarian legend Laszlo Papp, and Cuban standout Felix Savon. Were he to accomplish the hat trick, they would build monuments to him in Uzbekistan. But, if that is his mindset, he’s skating on thin ice. There’s no guarantee that boxing will be on the docket at the Los Angeles Games and, if so, the powers-that-be may choose to roll back the calendar to the days when the competition was off-limits to anyone with professional experience.

While it’s true that Jalolov needs to work off some rust, a pox on promoter Camille Estephan and his enabler, the Quebec Boxing Commission, for not dredging up a more credible opponent than the grossly overmatched David Spilmont.

—

Jalolov vs. Spilmont is ostensibly the co-feature. The main event is a 10-round junior welterweight clash between Movladdin “Arthur” Biyarslanov (17-0, 14 KOs) and Spilmont stablemate Mohamed Mimoune (24-6, 5 KOs). Undefeated light heavyweights Albert Ramirez and Mehmet Unal will appear in separate bouts on the undercard. The Feb. 6 event, currently consisting of seven bouts, will air in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.

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Claressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship

Published

3 days ago

February 2, 2025

David A. Avila

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Claressa Shields blasted her way to the undisputed heavyweight championship and nearly knocked out challenger Danielle Perkins in the final seconds, but settled for a win by unanimous decision on Sunday.

Yes, she can punch.

“I just feel overwhelmed and so happy.” Shields said.

Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) proved that even the super athletic Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs), a true heavyweight, could not stop her from becoming an undisputed world champion in a third weight division at Dort Arena in Flint, Michigan, her home town.

In the opening round it was easy to see the size difference. Shields calmly measured Perkins long right jabs then countered with rocket rights through the guard. The speed was evident in Shield’s punches. Perkins used jabs to work her way in but was caught with counters.

“That girl was strong as hell,” said Shields describing Perkins.

Perkins, a southpaw, was somewhat confident that she was the stronger puncher and the stronger fighter overall. But when Shields connected with 10 rocket overhand rights in the third round the power moved Perkins several feet backward.

Suddenly, Perkins realized that indeed Shields has power.

Perkins became more cautious with her approaches. Though the true heavyweight was not frozen in fear, she was wary about getting caught flush with Shields rights. But bullet jabs and lightning combinations still rained on Perkins.

Finding a way to nullify Shields speed was crucial for Perkins.

The former basketball player Perkins continually proved her athleticism with agile moves here and there, but Shields just was superior in every way.

When Perkins became focused too much on the right, a Shields left hook caught the New York native flush. Suddenly there was another Shields weapon to worry about.

Many critics of Shields had focused on her lack of knockouts. But in her previous fight against another heavyweight, the two-time Olympic gold medalist surprised Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse with knockout power. It’s the same power Shields showed Perkins as if firing a fast ball by powering her right with leverage by using her left leg to produce momentum and an explosive punch.

In the 10^th and final round Shields and Perkins exchanged blows. Perkins was looking to connect with one of her power shots when suddenly Shields countered with a perfectly timed right to the chin and down went Perkins with about 10 seconds remaining. She beat the count to finish the round.

“I showed I was the bigger puncher and better boxer,” said Shields. “I knew I could do it because I’m really strong at heavyweight.”

All three judges favored Shields 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92.

It was another convincing performance by Shields. So what is next for the best female fighter pound for pound?

“I want to fight Franchon Crews, Hanna Gabriels,” said Shields also naming a few others. “Flint, (Michigan) I love you all so much.”

Other Bouts

A heavyweight clash saw why there is a rule against holding. Brandon Moore (17-1) and Skylar Lacy (8-1-2) punched and held throughout their eight rounds. Referee Steve Willis finally disqualified Lacy when he tackled Moore and took him through the ropes and on to table below.

No, holding and clinching is not part of the fight game. Now you know why.

Moore was ruled the winner by disqualification due to unsportsmanlike conduct by Lacy at 1:35 of the eighth. No need to describe the fight.

A battle between undefeated welterweights saw Joseph Hicks (12-0, 8 KOs) stop Keon Papillon (10-1-1, 7 KOs) at 1:35 of the seventh round. Hicks stunned Papillon at the end of the sixth, then unloaded in the seventh round to force a stoppage.

Joshua Pagan (12-0) out-battled Ronal Ron (16-8) over eight rounds to win the lightweight match by unanimous decision.

Samantha Worthington (11-0) defeated Vaida Masiokaite (10-27-6) by decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight bout.

Featherweight Caroline Veyre (9-1) out-boxed the shorter Carmen Vargas (5-3-1) to win by decision after six rounds.

Super bantamweight Asheleyann Lozada (1-0) won her pro debut by unanimous decision over Denise Moran (3-1) in a four-round fight.

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Benavidez Defeats Morrell; Cruz, Fulton, and Ramos also Victorious at Las Vegas

Published

4 days ago

February 2, 2025

David A. Avila

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David Benavidez showed fans why they call him “El Monstro” as he plowed through Cuba’s heavy-punching David Morrell to retain a number one ranking in the light heavyweight division by unanimous decision on Saturday.

Not even a flash knockdown for Morrell could make a difference.

Phoenix native Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) gave Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) his first loss as a professional in front of more than 15,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No one needed to hear the judge’s decision.

“I prepared for everything. I know he’s a great fighter,” said Benavidez. “I thought he was going to hit harder, but he didn’t.”

Before the fight, Morrell was almost an even bet according to oddsmakers, but that was not the case once the fight commenced.

Immediately Benavidez pounded the body and exposed the weaknesses of Morrell’s peek-a-boo defense by using his own left glove to push down the Cuban’s guard. Then immediately firing a crushing right to the jaw.

For the first four rounds Benavidez pounded away on the left and right side of Morrell’s body. And when the openings came the uppercuts caught Morrell’s chin. But he absorbed the blows.

Morrell didn’t waver in trying to find a solution. Though Benavidez connected often to the body and head, the Cuban fighter who moved up from super middleweight displayed a very solid chin.

In the fourth round during a furious exchange Morrell beat Benavidez to the punch that stunned him momentarily. But the blow seemed to spark outrage and a storm of blows followed from Benavidez.

It must have seemed like a nightmare for Morrell.

At times the Cuban fighter would connect perfectly with a right hook and pause. Then Benavidez would return fire with massive blows.

The look on Morrell’s face bore traces of disappointment.

As the rounds continued Benavidez became emboldened by his success. Soon the Mexican Monster began launching lead right uppercuts through Morrell’s guard especially in the sixth round.

“He was easier to hit than I expected,” Benavidez said.

During the breaks Morrell’s corner asked him to pressure Benavidez. It was a fruitless suggestion. How do you corner a Monster?

Benavidez continued to stalk Morrell who never stopped swinging but could not seem to hurt the Monster. In the 11^th round Morrell managed to catch Benavidez perfectly with a right hook and down went Benavidez. He immediately got up and the two fighters unloaded on each other. Morrell fired one punch after the bell and was deducted a point by referee Thomas Taylor. That negated the extra point gained from the knockdown.

“I wasn’t really hurt,” said Benavidez. “That bullshit knockdown caught me off-balance.”

The final round saw both resume their efforts to knock the other out. Both showed great chins and the ability to trade. Benavidez was simply better. Even Morrell didn’t wait for the decision to be read as he raised the arm of the Monster at the final bell. All three judges scored in favor of Benavidez 115-111 twice and 118-108.

“He knows this is Monstro’s world. Big shout out for Morrell, he’s a tough fighter,” Benavidez said.

Other Bouts

In a fight dedicated to honor the late Israel Vazquez, the ultimate Aztec warrior, super lightweights Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (27-3-1) and Angel Fierro (23-3-2) battled like demons for 10 nonstop rounds. Cruz was ruled the winner by unanimous decision.

With little resemblance of defense, Cruz and Fierro whacked each other relentlessly with shots that might have stopped a moving car. Cruz was tagged by a right cross on the top of the head that staggered him momentarily. Fierro was driven back four feet by an overhand right to the chin early in the fight.

Both fighters took cruel and unusual punishment and never wavered more than a few seconds. It was brutal war and fans were the winners after 10 rounds of violent and savage action.

All three judges saw Cruz the winner 96-94, 97-93, 98-92.

“I’m so happy I gave the fans a great fight,” Cruz said.

Fulton Wins

Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) defeated Brandon Figueroa (23-2-1, 19 KOs) again and took the WBC featherweight title by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. He had previously defeated Figueroa in 2021 for the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles.

Most of the action took place in nose-to-nose fashion where Fulton landed the cleaner shots especially with uppercuts. Figueroa had his moments but was unable to hurt the challenger who lost to Naoya Inoue by knockout 17 months ago.

Fulton landed clean shots but as his record shows he lacks the power with only eight knockouts on his record. But Figueroa was unable to hurt or knock down Fulton. After 12 rounds all three judges saw Fulton win by scores of 116-112 twice and 117-111,

“It feels good. I’m champion again,” said Fulton.

Ramos Wins

Jesus Ramos (22-1, 18 KOs) won by technical knockout over former world champion Jeison Rosario (24-5-2) in the eighth round of a middleweight fight. Both fighters attacked the body but by the sixth round Ramos was the busier fighter and began to dominate the fight. At 2:18 of the eighth round referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight.

“I like to throw a lot of body punches. It’s kind of my style,” said Ramos.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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