The Hauser Report: Tony Danza, Federico Castelluccio, and Boxing

Published

1 year ago

August 11, 2023

The-Hauser-Report-Tony-Danza-Federico-Castelluccio-and-Boxing

Larry Goldberg promoted his sixth fight card at Sony Hall on August 10. There was a touch of stardust in the room because Tony Danza and Federico Castelluccio were there.

Antonio Salvatore Iadanza (Danza’s name at birth) was born in Brooklyn in 1951. He made his mark as an actor and is best known for roles in Taxi and Who’s the Boss? Before his success in Taxi, he was a fighter.

Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler remembers Danza as “a tough kid and all-action club fighter with a brawling style.” Legendary trainer Gil Clancy once opined, “Tony is lucky he can remember his lines in Taxi because it’s obvious from the way he fights that he doesn’t remember the instructions his corner gives him.”

BoxRec.com lists Danza’s ring record as 9 wins against 3 losses with 9 knockouts and 2 KOs by. One of those fights (listed as an April 9, 1978, knockout of “Tony Rodriguez” at an unidentified venue in Brooklyn) might not have occurred.

Most of Danza’s opponents had marginal skills. But there were exceptions. For his second pro fight, someone got the bright idea of matching him against John LoCicero (who would win nineteen fights and battle William “Caveman” Lee in a 1981 war that was short-listed for “fight of the year”). It did not go well for Tony. KO by 1.

But give Danza credit. He was a real fighter.

Danza is now 72 years old, weighs 155 pounds (five pounds below his fighting weight), and looks remarkably fit. Several years ago, he decided that he wanted to learn how to play piano. “I practice three hours a day,” he says. “I suck but I enjoy it.”

Sitting at Sony Hall in Times Square as the fights unfolded, Danza reminisced about his years as a fighter.

“I was a club fighter,” he said. “I grew up in Brooklyn and fought on the streets the way some kids play stickball. I could really punch. Unfortunately, I could really catch too. And I kept my chin high in the air which didn’t help. If I had to chase you, I looked bad. But if you came to me, I could hurt you. My idea of fighting was to survive long enough to hit the other guy on the chin. Sometimes I’d lose my temper and turn back into a street fighter which was a problem. But I was tough. And I believed in myself. You have to believe in yourself to be a fighter.”

“It’s rare that a fight comes down to where you have to outwill the other guy,” Danza continued. “Usually, skills are the difference. But if it comes down to will and you win, which I did a few times, it feels special. I liked fighting inside. I’d have to go through a bad neighborhood to get there. But when I got inside, I’d stay on top of the guy I was fighting.

“I have so many good memories of being a fighter. I loved it all. I loved the gym. I loved the dressing room on fight night. I loved the fights. One night, I hit a guy with a three-punch combination; jab, straight right, left hook. And I heard the crowd gasp. Another time, I was on the Long Island Railroad. I was sitting next to this girl and I had a black eye. She asked me how I got it and I told her I was a fighter. I was proud to say it.

“For my early fights, my purses were in the hundreds of dollars. Then I got Taxi and took some time off from boxing. When I came back, the money was better. Nothing like these guys [social media personalities] are making today. But it wasn’t about the money. I look back on my life now and think, ‘I’m a garbageman’s son from East New York in Brooklyn. And somehow this all happened to me.'”

Federico Castelluccio was born in Naples in 1964 and has lived in the United States since the age of three. He’s an accomplished artist who graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York. But his celebrity status comes in large part from having played Furio Giunta (a bodyguard and enforcer for Tony Soprano) in season 4 of The Sopranos. In that season, Furio and Carmela (Tony’s wife) develop an intense mutual attraction which Furio understands can lead to no good. So without notice, he leaves the United States and returns home to Italy.

“Things were crazy back then,” Federico remembers. “One time, I was on an elevator at Madison Square Garden and, just as the door was closing, Roberto Duran got on. He took one look at me, gave me thumbs up and big smile, and said, ‘The Sopranos!'”

In 2014, Castelluccio discovered a 17th-century painting by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (an Italian artist known as “Guercino”) at an auction in Germany. The painting had been misidentified as an 18th-century work. Federico bought it for $68,000. After restoration and other expenses, the cost came to $140,000.

“I’d studied Guercino’s work and written a paper on one of his paintings,” Castelluccio recalls. “His style was embedded in my brain. So when I saw the painting, it was unmistakable to me.”

The painting is now in storage at Christie’s. Castellucci and a business partner are co-owners. Estimates are that it will bring between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000 at auction.

“I’m a painter first, then an actor,” Federico says.

Castelluccio grew up watching boxing on television with his father in Paterson, New Jersey, and is a lifelong boxing fan. In 2009, he and Burt Young (of Rocky fame) were grand marshals for the Parade of Champions that preceded the annual induction ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota.

Like Danza, Federico understood what he was watching at Sony Hall and followed the action with a knowing eye. “I love boxing,” he said. “It’s a sport with a lot of heart.”

Then he was asked the inevitable question: “Do you miss The Sopranos

“Of course,” Federico answered. “Everybody misses The Sopranos.”

Federico Castelluccio

****

A moment of reflection on Edy Valencia Mercado, who was the opponent brought to Sony Hall on April 27 of this year to lose to Tsendbaatar Erdenebat. As expected, Erdenebat won a lopsided unanimous decision.

On July 31, Valencia suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was hospitalized in a coma following a knockout loss to George Acosta in Ontario, California. A source close to the situation says that Edy is no longer in a coma but adds, “The situation is not good. He responds to certain stimuli but his future looks bleak.”

Valencia was a mid-level club fighter. He had eight fights during the last nineteen months of his career and won one of them. The fighter Valencia beat during that stretch had a 15-14-1 record. Edy could win if given a realistic chance. The other seven opponents had a composite ring record of 109 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw at the time he fought them. In other words, too often Valencia was treated as cannon fodder.

He deserved better

****

There was an empty seat at Sony Hall on Thursday night. David Goldberg (promoter Larry Goldberg’s father) died unexpectedly on July 22.

I didn’t know David well. We sat at the same table at Larry’s first four fight cards and had several telephone conversations when David picked my brain about the business side of boxing. He impressed me as a decent man whose word could be trusted; someone you could make a deal with on a handshake. He had a fondness for underdogs and liked saying, “Ten-to-one isn’t ten-to-none.”

After Larry’s first fight card, David told him, “Congratulations! This was your second bar mitzvah.” Two shows later, David told me, “I’m very proud of Larry. I had doubts about his promoting at first . But now I think he can make this work.”

David died at the much-too-young age of 74. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him better.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – The Universal Sport: Two Years Inside Boxing– was just published by the University of Arkansas Press. https://www.uapress.com/product/the-universal-sport/ 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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Avila Perspective, Chap. 248: Canelo vs Charlo plus Weekend Boxing Notes

Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

2 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

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Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

5 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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