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

Published

1 month 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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Weekend Boxing Recap: Okolie in Manchester, Ramirez in Fresno and More

Published

7 hours ago

March 26, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Weekend-Boxing-Recap-Okolie-in-Manchester-Ramirez-in-Fresno-and-More

The media room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was as underpopulated as North Dakota this weekend. Only a handful of America’s A-list boxing writers attended the Benavidez-Plant card. Prominent wordsmiths like Kevin Iole, Mike Coppinger, and Dan Rafael were nowhere to be found.

Inside the boxing arena, however, the joint was full. One guesses that the Grand Garden was configured to hold 13,865 as that was the announced attendance and there didn’t appear to be an empty seat in the house. And the attendees arrived earlier than was the norm for a major Las Vegas fight card. The high rollers that arrive fashionably late (if there were any) were vastly out-numbered by true boxing fans, primarily Mexican-American on this particular occasion, who left the show in good spirits after Arizona-born David Benavidez, the self-styled Mexican Monster, manhandled brave but out-gunned Caleb Plant.

There were notable fights elsewhere on Saturday. Across the pond in Manchester, England, Lawrence Okolie, widely regarded as the sport’s best cruiserweight, won a lopsided decision over Australia’s David Light, advancing his record to 19-0 while successfully defending his WBO world title belt.

Okolie (pictured) was making his first start in 13 months. In the interim, he ditched his promoter Eddie Hearn in favor of Ben Shalom and ditched his trainer Shane McGuigan in favor of SugarHill Steward.

He and McGuigan appeared to be a great fit. With McGuigan in his corner, he was 7-0 with six wins inside the distance. His initial foray under Steward was a dull fight reminiscent of some of Okolie’s early efforts. He had a point deducted for excessive clinching but it was a moot point as Okolie breezed, winning by scores of 119-108, 117-110, and 116-112. Light was 20-0 heading in, but was sorely outclassed.

By all accounts, the Okolie-McGuigan divorce was an amicable split. Okolie trained for this bout in Miami and McGuigan had too much on his plate to accompany Okolie to the Sunshine State.

Okolie appears headed toward a domestic showdown with fellow Londoner Richard Riakporhe who is also unbeaten (16-0, 12 KOs). Physically, these two late-bloomers, both of whom stand six-foot-five, are virtual clones. A bigger fight for him would be a match with IBF belt-holder Jai Opetaia, the lineal cruiserweight champion, who is still recovering from the two broken jaws he suffered while de-throning long-reigning 200-pound champion Maris Briedis in a fight that will live long in Australian boxing lore.

The Okolie-Light undercard was cheesy including a BBBofC super featherweight title fight between Michael Gomez Jr and Levi Giles, two fighters who built their records on the backs of professional losers. Gomez won a split decision. Also, 31-year-old heavyweight Frazer Clarke, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, improved to 6-0 (5) at the expense of Romania’s Bogdan Dinu, a late sub who performed about as expected, retiring on his stool after two rounds.

Fresno

The Benavidez-Plant card went head-to-head with a Top Rank show in Fresno featuring local fan favorite Jose Carlos Ramirez. It was the second fight back for Ramirez after losing a close decision to Josh Taylor with all four 140-pound belts on the line and his first fight in 13 months. In the opposite corner was former world lightweight titlist Richard Commey, a 36-year-old Ghanaian.

Ramirez came out like gangbusters and hurt Commey in the opening minute. But Commey survived the onslaught and came back to win some of the middle rounds. In round 11, Ramirez closed the show. After decking Commey with a right hand that didn’t appear to be particularly hurtful, he delivered a vicious left hook to the liver and Commey was counted out while taking a knee.

fresno

Ramirez improved to 28-1 with his 18^th knockout. His promoter Bob Arum is expected to rekindle negotiations with Regis Prograis who won the vacant WBC 140-pound diadem in November with an 11^th round stoppage of Jose Zepeda. Commey (30-5-1) has lost three of his last five.

In the co-feature, East LA’s Seniesa Estrada picked up a second world title belt at 105 pounds with a lopsided decision over Germany’s previously undefeated Tina Rupprecht. Estrada (24-0, 9 KOs) won all 10 rounds on all three cards which was misleading as many of the rounds were close.

(The victory opens the door to a true unification fight with Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle who has won 15 straight since losing a decision to Rupprecht in Munich in 2018. Valle was also in action on Saturday night. At a beach resort hotel in Guanacaste, Valle successfully defended her titles with a wide decision over Mexican invader Jessica Basulto.)

In another bout of note on the Fresno card, SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (17-0, 14 KOs) overcame adversity to score a ninth-round stoppage over Tijuana’s Humberto Galindo (14-3-1).

Galindo caught Muratalla against the ropes in the opening round and put him down with a left-right combination. Muratalla returned the favor three rounds later and ended the contest in round nine with a series of punches which deposited Galindo on the deck where he stayed for the 10-count.

According to Jake Donovan, Top Rank plans to pit Muratalla against Namibia’s Jeremiah Nakathila on the Lomachenko-Haney card tentatively scheduled for May 20 in Las Vegas. Nakathila upset Miguel Berchelt in his last outing, dominating the former super featherweight title-holder en route to a sixth-round stoppage.

Also

Two 10-round preliminaries preceded Saturday’s SHOWTIME pay-per-view at the MGM Grand. Both contests played out in a similar fashion.

In a super bantamweight contest, Culiacan, Mexico’s Kevin Gonzalez stayed unbeaten with a clear-cut unanimous decision over Colombia’s Jose Sanmartin. The judges had it 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93.

Gonzalez, who advanced to 26-0-1, fought mostly in flurries but worked the body well and landed the cleaner punches. It was the U.S. debut for Sanmartin (34-7-1) who had been in with the likes of Emanuel Navarrete and Mauricio Lara.

In the lid-lifter, Orestes Valasquez, a 29-year-old Cuban defector who has been training in Las Vegas under Ismael Salas, stepped up in class and won a 10-round unanimous decision over Argentina’s Marcelino Lopez. The judges had it 97-93 and 99-91 twice.

A 16-year pro, Lopez brought a 37-2-1 record. His signature win was a second-round blowout of former world title-holder Pablo Cesar Cano. Valasquez was extended the distance for the first time after opening his pro career with six wins by stoppage.

Ramirez-Commey photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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David Benavidez Starts Slow but Finishes Strong, Overcomes Caleb Plant

Published

22 hours ago

March 25, 2023

David A. Avila

David-Benavidez-Starts-Slow-but-Finishes-Strong-Overcomes-Caleb-Plant

LAS VEGAS-David “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez proved too strong and simply overpowered Caleb Plant after a tight early half of the fight to win going away by unanimous decision in the super middleweight elimination fight on Saturday.

Plant would not quit.

“Caleb Plant is a tough fighter. He gave me everything in the first few rounds,” said Benavidez who had predicted he would not go the distance.

Arizona’s feared Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) was unable to stop Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) but battered his way to victory before a sold-out crowd at the MGM Garden Arena. Despite no knockdowns it was clear who was stronger.

Plant used his speed and footwork to maneuver in and out of danger in the match and gained control for the first four rounds. His hand speed and ability to clinch in tight quarters with the aid of referee Kenny Bayless gave the Las Vegas-based fighter an early advantage.

Things turned around when Plant clinched then smacked Benavidez who thought it would be a clean break. That seemed to spark Benavidez into berserker mode.

From the seventh round on Benavidez punched through clinches and would not allow Plant to take advantage. In the eighth round Benavidez powered through and Plant seemed staggered and hurt by the Arizona fighter’s power. But he kept upright.

Benavidez took advantage of Plant’s inability to maneuver as he did before and hammered the former champion who lost to Canelo Alvarez with triple left hooks and overhand rights. Plant would not go down and held on and absorbed the punishment.

The 10^th round saw Benavidez dominate every second of the round. Plant tried fighting back but his punches lacked any power and Benavidez battered him from post to post, It was a round that could have been stopped or scored 10-8.

“I think I was catching him with a lot of power shots and that’s why I’m called the Mexican Monster because I keep coming like a monster,” said Benavidez.

Plant proved unwilling to quit despite cuts on his face and withstanding some hellish blows. The slender super middleweight refused to go down and somehow withstood the punishment.

It was remarkable bravery on his part.

When the final bell rang Plant tried valiantly to fight it out with Benavidez but just did not have the power to hurt the most feared man in the super middleweight division. Despite all the heated words during the promotion of the fight, the two warriors hugged and shook hands warmly. The animosity was gone.

“I know there was a lot said between us but in the end we settled this like men. He’s a helluva fighter. I’m happy we gave the fans the best rivalry of the year or the last five years. I’m just very happy,” said Benavidez.

Plant was equally benevolent.

“David’s a hell of a fighter. We settled it like men in the ring,” said Plant. “You roll the dice someone is going to get their hand raised. No excuse, David was the better man, he is a hell of a fighter.”

Benavidez now is the number one ranked WBC super middleweight and a mandatory for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez who is undisputed world champion.

Other Bouts

Arizona’s Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) proved too strong for Michigan’s strongman Joey Spencer (16-1, 10 KOs) and ended the fight by stoppage at the end of the seventh round in the super welterweight contest.

Ramos scored early with a left-hand knockdown in the first round and powered his way past Spencer in almost every round. Spencer was valiant throughout the match but just couldn’t match Ramos speed or strength. Most of the fight took place in close.

“After the first round knockdown I kinda knew my power was too much,” said Ramos.

Despite an early first round knockdown Chris Colbert (17-1, 6 KOs) won by unanimous decision in a lightweight fight over the more aggressive and busier Jose Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs) in a decision that left the fans very displeased.

“He lost for a reason,” said Colbert as fans booed lustily.

A counter left cross floored Colbert in the first round and Valenzuela took control early with more punching to the body and head as Colbert covered up. It was a tactic he used often and was rewarded by the judges.

Valenzuela was not pleased at all.’

“I dominated,” said Valenzuela.

All three judges scored it 95-94 for Colbert.

Welterweights

Canada’s Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) imposed his will early against Arizona’s Abel Ramos (27-6-2, 21 KOs) and held on for the victory by majority decision down the stretch in a brutal war for the right to fight for the WBC welterweight title.

A knockdown scored in the 11^th round by Ramos by a counter right cross was reversed by the Nevada Commission after a replay of the blow revealed his glove did not touch the ground. That proved beneficial to Crowley in the scoring.

Crowley pressured Ramos throughout the first eight rounds then the fight changed and was fought at a distance as Ramos used pot shots to score heavily from that moment on.

Ramos rallied by staying in the middle of the ring and using the space to crack the always pressuring Crowley with long range shots. From the ninth round on the scoring got tighter with Crowley scoring rapid combinations and Ramos scoring with heavy shots.

After 12 rounds one judge saw it even 114-114, two others saw Crowley the winner 115-113, 116-112. Crowley now gets the shot at the WBC title held by Errol Spence Jr.

“This fight was something else,” said a tearful Crowley whose father recently died. “If not for my dad I wouldn’t be here today.”

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas

If you know the history of Las Vegas, it’s endured a number of phases since its first major growth spurt when the Hoover Dam project brought thousands to the desert region in the 1930s.

Then came the New York phase when the Flamingo Hotel was built in the 1940s and was followed by numerous other major casino hotels like the Sands, the Dunes and the Aladdin. Of course, boxing was always a way to entice people to the desert.

This Saturday, four star boxing returns to Las Vegas. But it be competing against the western regional finals of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Prepare for crowds.

Las Vegas is packed.

Undefeated David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) meets once-beaten Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 25. The TGB Promotions card will be televised on Showtime pay-per-view.

The winner gets a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. And that means big money.

It’s all happening in Las Vegas and so will the NCAA tournament. Expect an extremely crowded Strip as fans of boxing and basketball convene on the strip by the thousands. Its also a gambler’s paradise for betting so make sure you allow yourself time because the lines will be long at the sportsbooks.

When I first visited Las Vegas in the early 1970s sports betting was done outside of the casinos. The state law back then prohibited sportsbooks inside hotel-casinos. My favorite sportsbook, for sentimental reasons, is the Westgate Hotel, formerly the Hilton International. It’s has a huge sports betting area.

I’m not a betting type of guy but sports betting to me is the center of everything and adds luster to the atmosphere of Las Vegas. You won’t find a sports book in California.

Boxing has always been a sport made for betting, probably since the stone age.

When Benavidez steps into the prize ring he will be the big favorite but if you truly know boxing, Plant does have a chance. Anything can happen in boxing. Anything.

A man can parachute from the sky and land in the middle of the fight as happened back in 1993 when Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe were combatting for the heavyweight title at Caesars Palace. Of course, this won’t happen on Saturday because the fight is indoors at the MGM Hotel.

One major lesson about pro boxing is that nothing is a sure thing.

Though Benavidez has power and has never been defeated, he could tear an Achilles tendon right during the fight. Or he could break a wrist delivering a punch. I’ve also seen a great fighter like Pernell Whitaker get his clavicle broken from a single punch and be unable to continue.

Don’t bet your house on the outcome.

What you will see on Saturday is two very talented super middleweights with completely different fighting styles engage. They do not seem to care for each other but that doesn’t matter. It’s a fight, not a marble contest.

Words have been exchanged all through the promotion. But words don’t mean a thing once the first bell rings.

Plant has speed, agility and solid defensive skills. His only loss came to Canelo Alvarez. That’s more a medal of honor than an embarrassment.

“I feel I’m the better boxer, I have the better IQ and I have more experience,” said Plant. “I have the better pedigree and its going to show on Saturday night.”

Benavidez has power, speed and a very solid chin. He seems to intimidate foes with a come forward style that reminds me of a young George Foreman.

“We’re going to see what that chin is like on Saturday,” said Benavidez.

Supporting fights

Cody Crowley meets Abel Ramos in an welterweight elimination fight for the WBC title held by Errol Spence Jr.

Both of these guys are rough and tough. It’s the ram versus the bull.

The other Ramos, Abel’s brother Jesus, is fighting Joey Spencer in a super welterweight clash.

Six other fights are planned at the MGM Grand.

Top Rank

Fresno’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) gets a hometown crowd when he meets Richard Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) on Saturday March 25. The former super lightweight titlist needs a win to get back in the hunt. ESPN will televise the Top Rank card.

“All of a sudden after one loss people started walking away,” said Ramirez. “We’re focused on Richard Commey.”

Commey wants what Ramirez wants too, a title.

“I really want to become a two-time world champion, so I’m coming strong,” said Commey.

Also on the same Fresno card will be WBA titlist Seniesa Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) seeking to unify the minimumweight titles against Germany’s WBC titlist Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs).

“This is the moment that Ive dreamed of since I was seven years old,” said Estrada. “Its crazy to think how far I’ve come in this sport.”

Rupprecht is also excited.

It’s a big honor to fight for both titles,” Rupprecht said. “This is always what I wanted.”

Fights to Watch

Sat. Showtime ppv 6 p.m David Benavidez (26-0) vs Caleb Plant (22-1); Cody Crowley (21-0) vs Abel Ramos (27-5-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1) vs Richard Commey (30-4-1); Seniesa Estrada (23-0) vs Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1).

Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions

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