Requiem for a Heavyweight Gatekeeper: A Contrite Farewell to Leroy Caldwell

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2023

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Leroy Caldwell passed away during the second week of February at a hospital in Las Vegas. He was 77 years old.

The local papers and TV outlets made no mention of it. Neither did the leading boxing journals. Like many journeymen boxers before him, Caldwell died in obscurity. But as journeyman go, Caldwell had quite a resume. He fought five men who held a world heavyweight title – George Foreman, Gerrie Coetzee, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, and John Tate — and six others who were world title challengers: Earnie Shavers, Cleveland Williams, Oscar Bonavena, Ron Lyle, Joe Bugner, and David Bey.

No, Caldwell didn’t win any of these fights – and, truth be told, his efforts against Bonavena and Bugner were desultory — but his setbacks, in the aggregate, were the product of extenuating circumstances.

As the “B side,” Caldwell was constantly fighting in his opponent’s backyard where the deck was stacked against him. He out-boxed European heavyweight champion Jose Manuel Urtain on Urtaini’s turf in Bilbao, Spain but received only a draw. The same thing happened when he fought the tough Canadian Trevor Berbick in Winnipeg; another draw.

It didn’t help that Leroy, although well-muscled, was on the small side for a heavyweight. More often than not, he carried less than 205 pounds on his six-foot-one frame. Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams out-weighed him by 30 pounds, George Foreman by 32 pounds, Big John Tate by 40 pounds.

Also, since Caldwell was constantly taking fights on short notice, he rarely the luxury of training for a specific opponent. He stayed in shape, by and large, by working as a sparring partner.

He sparred with many of the men that he eventually fought and also touched gloves with Tim Witherspoon, Tony Tucker, Michael Dokes, Frank Bruno, and Bonecrusher Smith. Over the course of a career that spanned 22 years, he likely earned more money as a sparring partner than he did in his actual fights. His largest purse, by his recollection, was the $19,000 he received when he opposed Gerrie Coetzee in Johannesburg.

Caldwell spent his boyhood in New Orleans. His parents, he said, had 23 children between them. Needless to say, times were tough. On occasion as many as 15 people resided under the same roof with him.

Caldwell had no amateur bouts. His first pro fights were on the Gulf Coast club circuit. For a time he fought out of Chris Dundee’s fabled 5^th Street Gym in Miami Beach. Bruce Trampler, the future Hall of Fame matchmaker, fresh out of college, was also there, serving as an intern under Chris’s brother Angelo, the famous trainer. In 1972, Trampler accompanied Leroy to Madrid and to London for bouts with Gregory Peralta and Joe Bugner, matches spaced seven-and-a-half weeks apart. (Trivia time: Later that same year, when Caldwell fought Earnie Shavers at Newton Falls, Ohio, Bruce Trampler was the referee!)

In 1974 or 1975, while living in Milwaukee, Caldwell got into an altercation with a policeman who came to arrest him for stealing a package of lunch meat from a grocery store. The gap in his boxing timeline – he missed all of 1975 and 1976 – was a residue of this incident; he was incarcerated.

News of Caldwell’s passing brought back memories to this grizzled reporter.

Late in his career, Caldwell fought Jeff Shelburg at Las Vegas’ long-gone Hacienda Hotel. I was there with several of my friends.

A stocky, short-armed heavyweight from Salt Lake City who had knocked out 19 opponents while building a 22-3 record, Shelburg had been the subject of a recent feature story in a local weekly rag called SportsBook. The story said that someone had invented a contraption for measuring the force of a punch and that of the dozens of boxers that had been tested, Shelburg had the best score.

Armed with this information, I was prepared to chunk it in on Jeff Shelburg if I could find a willing taker. Inside the arena, someone overheard me extolling Shelburg’s credentials and a bet was consummated at even-money. Back in those days, a $40 wager was a big bet for me and, as I recall, I wagered $50. I was showing off. I didn’t want my friends to think I was a piker.

Ignoring the Lopez brothers, Ernie and Danny, who were raised on the Ute Indian Reservation, only two top-shelf boxers ever came out of Utah: Jack Dempsey and Gene Fullmer. Dempsey grew up in Colorado and West Virginia, but he represented Salt Lake City as he was climbing the ladder and met his first wife in a Salt Lake City whorehouse. Fullmer had two left feet but was tough as nails. Sugar Ray Robinson knocked him out cold in their second of four meetings, but Fullmer won the series 2-1-1.

Of course, I didn’t know all this at that time; I was a greenhorn; a foolish greenhorn. Jeff Shelburg may have packed a hard punch, but as I learned to my dismay, he was a typical Utah fighter. “Shelburg could never get untracked against the veteran Caldwell, who jabbed and moved and used his superior boxing ability to rack up a one-sided win,” wrote Review-Journal boxing writer Royce Feour.

I ran into Leroy about 12 years later and, ironically, we were in Utah. This was the first and last time that I ever spoke with him. More precisely, he spoke to me.

I was in Utah to perform the duties of a ring announcer at a kickboxing show at the basketball arena of Dixie State College in St. George, a town about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The promoter was pals with a number of individuals in the Las Vegas boxing community and two carloads of boxers – some active, some retired – made the trip to St. George.

There were a number of “notables” in their ranks – I don’t remember them all, but Roger Mayweather comes quickly to mind – and I had them stand up and take a bow during the course of the festivities.

Leroy Caldwell was there too and he let me know about it at the conclusion of the show. “I was on TV more than all those other guys put together. Why didn’t you acknowledge me too?’, he said to me, his carriage less indignant than disconsolate.

An oversight on my part? Not exactly. I knew that he was there. He had been retired for some time now and I just didn’t consider him noteworthy. And that was my bad; shame on me. I hurt his feelings and in the ensuing years, whenever I saw him, I remembered that one-sided conversation in Utah and rued that I had been so inconsiderate.

Caldwell stayed involved in boxing after he retired. He made himself useful in the gyms around town and picked up odd jobs as a cornerman. He was a trainer, yes, and arguably a very good one, but he was never the primary voice in the comer of a big-name boxer. And the money that dribbled in was barely enough to keep his head above water.

In August of last year, a longtime friend of Caldwell, a former club fighter named Johnny Jackson, started a GoFundMe page for Leroy. Caldwell, he said, had major medical bills and although Leroy’s wife had a job, they were facing eviction. Caldwell staved off homelessness, but the fund fell far short of its $10,000 goal.

When Caldwell was last seen at the Mayweather Boxing Club, he was in a wheelchair. However, it was plain that he still had all of his faculties. “He was one of my favorite people to talk to,” said former WBC super featherweight champion Cornelius Boza-Edwards who helps run the place.

“When I heard that Leroy was in the hospital, I went over to see him, just to chat with him for a little while,” said Boza-Edwards. “But his wife, who I never met, had put a no-visitors rule in place and I wasn’t allowed up to his room. That was the first time that it dawned on me that Leroy might be seriously ill.”

“Leroy was a good guy,” said everyone I talked to about him since I learned of his passing. “He was in my corner helping [trainer-manager] Luis [Tapia] when I won my first title [against Sandra Yard at Colorado’s Sky Ute Casino in 2000], recalled Layla McCarter. “I will never forget how happy he was for me. Looking back that made it even more special.”

In researching this story, I stumbled on this item in the Oct. 4, 1979 edition of the Los Angeles Times:

“Heavyweight Mircea Simon of Torrance, silver medalist at the 1976 Olympics while representing his native Romania, was announced to have fought journeyman Leroy Caldwell of Las Vegas to a draw in Thursday night’s featured bout at the Olympic Auditorium.

However, in reviewing the fight, the California State Athletic Commission discovered an error in the tabulations. Recalculated, the scoring shows Caldwell the winner of a split decision.”

This story ran seven days after the fight. The correction never went into the record books. At boxrec, Leroy Caldwell’s final record is listed at 27-31-6. It should be 28-31-5.

We called it to boxrec’s attention and hopefully they will fix it. True, it wouldn’t bump Leroy’s record above .500, but here was a journeyman who was used and spit out by the boxing establishment (and disrespected by one unnoteworthy ring announcer) and it seems only proper to set the record straight.

Arne K. Lang’s third boxing book, titled “George Dixon, Terry McGovern and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910,” has rolled off the press. Published by McFarland, the book can be ordered directly from the publisher or via Amazon.

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Arne K. Lang

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Bivol Evens the Score with Beterbiev; Parker and Stevenson Win Handily

Published

1 hour ago

February 22, 2025

David A. Avila

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It was labeled the best boxing card in history.

That’s up for debate.

And there was some debate as Dmitry Bivol avenged his loss to Artur Beterbiev to become the new undisputed light heavyweight world champion on Saturday by majority decision in a tactical battle.

“He gave me this chance and I appreciate it,” said Bivol of Beterbiev.

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) rallied from behind to give Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) his first pro loss in their rematch at a sold out crowd in the Venue Riyadh Season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Like their first encounter the rematch was also very close.

Four months ago, these two faced each other as undefeated light heavyweights. Now, after two furious engagements, both have losses.

Beterbiev was making his first defense as undisputed light heavyweight champion and made adjustments from their first match. This time the Russian fighter who trains in Canada concentrated on a body attack and immediately saw dividends.

For most of the first six rounds it seemed Beterbiev would slowly grind down Bivol until he reached an unsurmountable lead. But despite the momentum he never could truly hurt Bivol or gain separation.

Things turned around in the seventh round as Bivol opened up with combinations to the head and body while slipping Beterbiev’s blows. It was a sudden swing of momentum. But how long could it last?

“It was hard to keep him at the distance. I had to be smarter and punch more clean punches,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev attempted to regain the momentum but Bivol was not allowing it to happen. In the final 10 seconds he opened up with a machine gun combination. Though few of the punches connected it became clear he was not going to allow unclarity.

Using strategic movement Bivol laced quick combinations and immediately departed. Betebiev seemed determined to counter the fleet fighter but was unsuccessful for much of the second half of the fight.

Around the 10^th round Beterbiev stepped on the gas with the same formula of working the body and head. It gave Bivol pause but he still unleashed quick combos to keep from being overrun.

Bivol connected with combinations and Beterbiev connected with single body and head shots. It was going to be tough for the referees to decide which attack they preferred. After 12 rounds with no knockdowns one judge saw it a draw at 114-114. But two others saw Bivol the winner 116-112, 115-113.

“I was better. I was pushing myself more, I was lighter. I just wanted to win so much today,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev was gracious in defeat.

“Congratulations to Bivol’s team” said Beterbiev. “I think this fight was better than the first fight.”

After the match it was discussed that an effort to make a third fight is a strong possibility.

Heavyweight KO by Parker

Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) once again proved he could be the best heavyweight without a world title in knocking out the feared Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) to retain his WBO interim title. It was quick and decisive.

“Catch him when he is coming in,” said Parker, 33, about his plan.

After original foe IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw due to illness, Bakole willingly accepted the match with only two days’ notice. Many experts and fans around the world were surprised and excited Parker accepted the match.

Ever since Parker lost to Joe Joyce in 2022, the New Zealander has proven to be vastly improved with wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Now you can add Bakole to the list of conquests.

Bakole, 33, was coming off an impressive knockout win last July and posed a serious threat if he connected with a punch. The quick-handed Bakole at 310 pounds and a two-inch height advantage is always dangerous.

In the first round Parker was wary of the fighter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He kept his range and moved around the ring looking to poke a jab and move. Bakole caught him twice with blows and Parker retaliated.

It proved to be a very important test.

Parker refrained from moving and instead moved inside range of the big African fighter. Both exchanged liberally with Bakole connecting with an uppercut and Parker an overhand right.

Bakole shook his head at the blow he absorbed.

Both re-engaged and fired simultaneously. Parker’s right connected to the top of the head of Bakole who shuddered and stumbled and down he went and could not beat the count. The referee stopped the heavyweight fight at 2:17 of the second round. Parker retains his interim title by knockout.

“I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m sharp,” said Parker. “I had to be patient.”

Shakur Wins

Despite an injured left hand southpaw WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) won by stoppage over late replacement Josh Padley (15-1, 6 KOs). It was an impressive accomplishment.

Often criticized for his lack of action and safety-first style, Stevenson was supposed to fight undefeated Floyd Schofield who pulled out due to illness. In stepped British lightweight Padley who had nothing to lose.

Padley was never hesitant to engage with the super-quick Stevenson and despite the lightning-quick combos by the champion, the British challenger exchanged liberally. It just wasn’t enough.

Even when Stevenson injured his left hand during an exchange in the sixth round, Padley just couldn’t take advantage. The speedy southpaw kept shooting the right jabs and ripping off right hooks. At the end of the sixth Stevenson briefly switched to a right-handed fighting style.

Stevenson used his right jabs and hooks to perfection. Double right hooks to the head and body seemed to affect the British challenger. A clean left to the body of Padley sent him to the floor for the count in the ninth round. It was a surprising knockdown due to his injured left. Padley got up and the fight resumed. Stevenson unloaded with right hooks to the body and down went the British fighter once again. He got up and tried to fight his way out but was met with another left to the body and down he went a third time. Padley’s corner tossed in a white towel to signify surrender. The referee stopped the fight at the end of the round. Stevenson scored his 11^th knockout win.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Early Results from Riyadh where Hamzah Sheeraz was Awarded a Gift Draw

Published

4 hours ago

February 22, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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After two 6-round appetizers, British light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith got the show rolling with a lusty 12-round skirmish. Things went south in the middle of the seven-fight main card when WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames locked horns with challenger Hamzah Sheeraz. This was a drab fight owing to a milquetoast performance by the favored Sheeraz.

Heading in, the lanky six-foot-three Sheeraz, whose physique is mindful of a young Thomas Hearns, was undefeated in 21 fights. Having stopped five of his last six opponents in two rounds or less, the 25-year-old Englishman was touted as the next big thing in the middleweight division. However, he fought off his back foot the entire contest, reluctant to let his hands go, and Adames kept his title when the bout was scored a draw.

Sheeraz had the crowd in his corner and two of the judges scored the match with their ears. Their tallies were 115-114 for Sheeraz and 114-114. The third judge had it 118-110 for Adames, the 30-year old Dominican, now 24-1-1, who had Ismael Salas in his corner.

Ortiz-Madrimov

Super welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr, knocked out his first 21 opponents, begging the question of how he would react when he finally faced adversity. He showed his mettle in August of last year when he went a sizzling 12 rounds with fellow knockout artist Serhii Bohachuk, winning a hard-fought decision. Tonight he added another feather in his cap with a 12-round unanimous decision over Ismail Madrimov, prevailing on scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice.

Ortiz won by adhering tight to Robert Garcia’s game plan. The elusive Madrimov, who bounces around the ring like the energizer bunny, won the early rounds. But eventually Ortiz was able to cut the ring off and turned the tide in his favor by landing the harder punches. It was the second straight loss for Madrimov (10-2-1), a decorated amateur who had lost a close but unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his previous bout.

Kabayel-Zhang

No heavyweight has made greater gains in the last 15 months than Agit Kabayel. The German of Kurdish descent, whose specialty is body punching, made his third straight appearance in Riyadh tonight and, like in the previous two, fashioned a knockout. Today, although out-weighed by more than 40 pounds, he did away with Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang in the sixth round.

It didn’t start out well for Kabayel. The New Jersey-based, six-foot-six Zhang, a two-time Olympian for China, started fast and plainly won the opening round. Kabayel beat him to the punch from that point on, save for one moment when Zhang put him on the canvas with a straight left hand.

That happened in the fifth round, but by the end of the frame, the 41-year-old Zhang was conspicuously gassed. The end for the big fellow came at the 2:29 mark of round six when he couldn’t beat the count after crumbling to the canvas in a delayed reaction after taking a hard punch to his flabby midsection.

Kabayel remains undefeated at 26-0 (18 KOs). Zhang (27-3-1) hadn’t previously been stopped.

Smith-Buatsi

The all-British showdown between light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith was a grueling, fan-friendly affair. A former 168-pound world title-holder, Smith, 34, won hard-earned unanimous decision, prevailing on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and a ludicrous 119-110.

There were no knockdowns, but Liverpool’s Smith, who advanced to 31-2 (22) finished the contest with a bad gash in the corner of his right eye. It was the first pro loss for Buatsi (19-1), an Olympic bronze medalist who entered the contest a small favorite and was the defending “interim” title-holder.

This contest was also a battle of wits between two of America’s most prominent trainers, Buddy McGirt (Smith) and Virgil Hunter (Buatsi).

Check back shortly for David Avila’s wrap-up of the last three fights.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez

Published

20 hours ago

February 21, 2025

David A. Avila

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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.

Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.

Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.

Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.

In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.

“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.

Other Bouts

Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.

Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.

Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.

Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.

A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.

It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.

In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.

Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.

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