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The Hauser Report: Broadway Boxing Returns to Broadway

On November 22 (two days before Thanksgiving), Broadway Boxing returned to its geographic roots with a fight card at the Edison Ballroom on 46th Street just off Broadway near Times Square.
Broadway Boxing is the creation of Lou DiBella. Twenty-five years ago, HBO bestrode the sweet science like a colossus and DiBella was its point person on boxing. Then Lou left the network. He hoped to build a roster of elite fighters, make deals with TV networks on their behalf, and outsource a lot of the nuts-and-bolts work to third-party promoters. But circumstances forced him to become a promoter himself.
DiBella’s original vision for Broadway Boxing was based on the belief that New York had a lot of talented young fighters coming out of the amateurs and that small fight cards on a regular basis were necessary to accommodate them. His inaugural Broadway Boxing show was contested at the Crown Plaza Hotel on November 21, 2003. Emmanuel and Joshua Clottey were featured in separate bouts. John Duddy, in the third fight of his pro career, knocked out Leo Laudat on the undercard.
As Broadway Boxing grew, fighters like Vitali Klitschko, Gennady Golovkin, Sergio Martinez, Paulie Malignaggi, and Andre Berto starred in its events and HBO televised the action on Boxing After Dark.
But promoting is hard. HBO pulled back and eventually left boxing altogether. DiBella didn’t have a network propping him up the way that Premier Boxing Champions (Showtime and Fox), Top Rank (ESPN), and Matchroom (DAZN) do. Nor did he have a foolish investor who was willing to drop millions of dollars on his shows. For a while, Lou had the lifeline of being the promoter of record for PBC. But that time is long gone.
“If I added up all my Broadway Boxing shows,” DiBella said recently, “I’m probably down well over a million dollars over the past twenty years. I’ve made money on about twenty percent of the shows and lost money on the other eighty percent. Usually, I just hope to break even. But when things go right, these shows build my fighters for other platforms. It’s a loss if you never get the money back. It’s an investment if you do.”

Lou DiBella
DiBella’s most recent Broadway Boxing show in New York had been at Terminal 5 on December 5, 2019. Mary McGee won the IBF women’s 140-pound title that night but Lou took a big hit financially.
“The venue was too hard for most people to get to,” DiBella says, looking back on that night. The tickets just didn’t sell. It’s hard to find a venue in Manhattan, let alone near Broadway, that works. Losing Roseland and B.B. King’s [both of which hosted numerous Broadway Boxing cards but were in buildings that were torn down] really hurt.”
November 22 marked the 117th edition of Broadway Boxing. Roughly one hundred of these shows have been in New York.
“Good club fights have become prohibitively expensive to promote,” DiBella says. “And it’s a horrible time to be doing club shows in New York. Everything costs more here. Hotel rooms cost more. Meals cost more. The commission’s medical and insurance requirements are the same for the Edison Ballroom as they are for shows at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, and they cost a fortune. But I promised myself that I’d do a show in New York before the end of the year.”
Jay and Alan Wartski are brothers who love boxing and have been involved with the sport for decades. Alan operates the Edison Ballroom.
“I asked Alan if he could cut me a break to help make the show economically viable,” Lou recounts. “Alan told me that the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving were open, and here we are. I’m going into this knowing that I’ll lose money. The Edison Ballroom will seat about five hundred people on fight night. If I sell out, I’ll lose money. But I’m doing this to make a statement. I just want everyone who’s there, including me, to have a good time.”
There was a party atmosphere at the Edison Ballroom on fight night. DiBella was a gracious host as he worked his way around the room. The best ringside VIP tables cost $3,750 for ten people and included dinner with an open bar. Further away from the ropes, the same amenities could be had for a lesser price. A limited number of tickets without dinner or drinks were available for $125.
Lou changed boxing when he was at HBO and, after he left the network, boxing changed him. “I used to love being in boxing,” he says. “It was my life’s dream to work in this sport. I was a huge fan. I had incredible enthusiasm. A lot of that is gone now. Not all of it, but a lot.”
“I’m viewing this show as a test,” DiBella continued. “Not a test of will I make money on it, but a test of the concept of having VIP tables, a good dinner, and an open bar. If I sell the room out and people say, ‘This was great; when are you doing it again?’ we can go from there.”
The first bout began at 7:20 PM. Most of the crowd, incentivized by dinner, was there for the early fights. The food was good. The sight-lines were excellent. The one thing missing was good fights. Clarence Booth tested Mykquan Williams in the main event before fading in the late rounds. But none of the fights caught fire. The A-side fighter won every bout and the action was less than compelling. Many of the spectators had left by the time Williams-Booth started.
DiBella is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame – and deservedly so – for his work at HBO and as a promoter. He has an eye for making good fights. One week before the show at the Edison Ballroom, he said, “Broadway Boxing has had our share of clunkers but we’ve also had our share of great fights.”
Given Lou’s track record, one can expect Broadway Boxing to have its share of great fights in the future.
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – 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, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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