The Hauser Report: Vitali Klitschko and More

Published

1 year ago

August 13, 2023

The-Hauser-Report-Vitali-Klitschko-and-More

On August 9, I listened in on the recording of an interview with Vitali Klitschko that will air on August 19 and August 20 on the nationally syndicated television show GameTime.

Boxing fans know Klitschko as an elite heavyweight who reigned as WBC and WBO heavyweight champion during a storied ring career. More significantly from a global perspective, Vitali has been active in Ukrainian politics for two decades. In 2010, he helped found an opposition political party called the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform. Two years later, he was elected to parliament. Since then, he has been elected twice as mayor of Kyiv. Other than president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Klitschko is his country’s most visible symbol of resistance against Vladimir Putin’s brutal war of aggression.

As a general rule, GameTime is devoted to sports. Its host, Boomer Esiason, played in the National Football League for fourteen seasons and was honored in 1988 as the league’s Most Valuable Player. This interview was about a subject more serious than boxing.

Klitschko was wearing a grey T-shirt under a gray pullover jacket. He cuts an imposing and heroic figure.

The conversation was conducted entirely in English and focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Klitschko appealed for continued support from the United States and the rest of the world. He voiced the view that Putin is mentally ill and talked about the horrors of the war, including the destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure and people being killed by Russian missiles while they were asleep in their beds.

Some of the other thoughts that Vitali expressed follow:

* “Normal life has been destroyed . . . We are talking about the genocide of the Ukrainian people . . . Without help, we can’t survive.”

* “We don’t want to be part of Russia . . . Our prayer is to stop this senseless war, to win this war, and be part of the democratic world. We are fighting for that.”

* “Russia destroyed the rules of the world . . . The future of Europe, the future of the world, is being decided now in Ukraine.”

* * *

In today’s digital age, self-published books about boxing arrive in the mail on a regular basis. Some are written by accomplished journalists. Others are by neophyte authors. When the Sunlight Goes Dark – a novel by Oliver W. Tuthill Jr (Austin Macauley Publishers) – is a recent self-published offering.

Tuthill spent a year trying without success to find a traditional publisher or literary agent who would contact publishers on his behalf. Finally, he concluded that, if he wanted to see his book in print, he should self-publish.

Packages vary from publisher to publisher. Tuthill paid $3,300 to Austin Macauley and $800 to a copy editor. He was dissatisfied with the cover design that the publisher prepared and hired a graphic designer to create a new one. He also paid $130 for his share of a small ad that Austin Macauley placed in Publishers Weekly. In exchange, he received twenty copies of the book, thirty flyers, and ten posters. If he wants more books, he has to buy them.

When the Sunlight Goes Dark is listed on Amazon.com in paperback for $18.95 and in a Kindle edition for $4.50. Tuthill is pleased with the book itself but disappointed by the lack of marketing support from the publisher. He tried to get himself booked on podcasts and radio shows but, in his words, was “amazed to learn almost all of them want to be paid. It is a learning experience,” he adds. “I’m not very good with the social media thing.”

The book’s plot revolves around Bobby Clantinani (a young 154-pound boxer), his older brother, Ted (a heavyweight contender) and their brutal father. Other characters include the beautiful Judith Tesch (who’s involved in a love triangle with Bobby and Ted), Robert Rios (a rapacious promoter who’s also a stripclub owner), and Benny Bear (a former fighter who trains heavyweight contender Tyler Murphy). Murphy is a psycho who beats up strippers.

There are the usual world sanctioning body shenanigans perpetrated by the corrupt Global Boxing Association, International Boxing Group, and World Boxing Guild. Home Viewer is a stand-in for HBO. Caesars Palace is reimagined as Constantine’s Colosseum. There are murders, fixed fights, and a long-count controversy.

On the positive side, When the Sunlight Goes Dark is a smooth read. And there are some nice touches. For example, an old trainer sitting in an empty arena tells Bobby that sitting there is “like being in church to me.”

But the plot is predictable. When a last-minute substitute results in a mysterious second appearing in Tyler Murphy’s corner on fight night, a reader doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Murphy’s water bottle will be spiked. And little is gained by Tuthill’s nod to The Godfather in the form of a severed hand being sent through the mail.

The characters tend to be stereotypes. That might pass muster in a 1940s boxing movie. But it’s out of place in a 21st-century novel where readers expect characters, not caricatures. Bobby Clantinani is heroic. Ted Clantinani is a cad. Their father (the brutal Oran Clantinani) punches his long-suffering wife in the face with regularity (knocking her unconscious and breaking bones in the process). Oran also smothers a cute little puppy to death in the manner of Tony Soprano murdering Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos.

And there are times when the writing is a bit much . . . “If Greyhound bus seats could talk, they could tell a thousand tales that would break a strong man’s heart” . . . “She smelled divine, a feminine prototype of desire and lust passed down through English genes over the course of hundreds of centuries.”

But I’ll close on a positive note by saying that, as I read When the Sunlight Goes Dark, I was curious to know how things would turn out. And Tuthill is happy with the end result. “I would self-publish again if it was the only option I had,” he says. “I feel good about writing the novel, and I am pleased with the printing job the publisher did.”

* * *

Yory Boy Campas fought in Tijuana on July 29 (the same night that Terence Crawford devastated Errol Spence). Campas is 52 years old with 128 fights on his ring resume. There was a time when he was good enough to beat faded versions of Raul Marquez and Tony Ayala Jr. But he came up short in his biggest fights and, before Saturday night, had last fought five years ago.

Campas’s opponent on July 29 – 43-year-old Juan Carlos Parra Rodriguez – had an 8-26-2 (19 KOs by) ring ledger. Parra last beat a fighter with a winning record in 2003. That fighter’s record was 1-and-0 at the time and he ended his career at 1-and-1.

Campas knocked Parra out in the eighth round.

I could say that this won’t end well for Campas. But it already hasn’t.

* * *

With the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup nearing an end, it’s worth revisiting the experience that one of boxing’s great middleweight champions had with soccer.

When Sergio Martinez was seventeen years old, he played forward in the #7 slot for a team called Defensoris in a junior amateur football (soccer) league in the province of Buenos Aires.

“We were playing against a team called Sportman,” Martinez told me years ago. “It was a tournament that was important for me to play well in. There were a lot of professional scouts in the stands. If I did well, it could take me places.”

“I was very inspired that day,” Sergio reminisced. “We won 4-to-0, and I scored three goals. On the first goal, there was a free throw from one of my teammates and I lifted it in an arc with my right foot over the goalie. That put us ahead in the score. The next goal was my best of the game. I stopped the ball with my chest, dribbled it past four defenders, and scored on a finesse kick with my right foot. The third goal was at the end of the game. Their goalie was at midfield. I got the ball, dribbled all the way in, and scored on an empty net. After each goal, everyone was celebrating and hugging. It was an incredible feeling.”

“I wasn’t born with the instincts that a great football player has,” Martinez continued. “My technique wasn’t good, but I was fast and strong. My emotions were my Achilles heel. I was very emotional when I played football. The next game was for the championship. There was a tie and the game went to penalty kicks. If I make my kick, we play on. If I miss it, we lose.”

“I placed the ball down in front of the goal,” Sergio recalled. “Then I got nervous. The goalie got bigger and bigger in my mind and the goal got smaller and smaller. I kicked the ball and it went slowly to the goalie, right to his hands. He didn’t even have to move to field it. I was humiliated and embarrassed. It was one of the worst moments of my life. Because of my failure, we lost the championship game. I was so devastated that I quit the team.”

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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L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

If asked to name a prominent boxing trainer who operates out of a gym in Los Angeles, the name Freddie Roach would jump immediately to mind. Best known for his work with Manny Pacquaio, Roach has been named the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record seven times.

A mere seven miles from Roach’s iconic Wild Card Gym is the gym that Rudy Hernandez now calls home. Situated in the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Boxing Gym – a relatively new addition to the SoCal boxing landscape — is as nondescript as its name. From the outside, one would not guess that two reigning world champions, Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga, were forged there.

As Freddie Roach will be forever linked with Manny Pacquiao, so will Rudy Hernandez be linked with Nakatani. The Japanese boxer was only 15 years old when his parents packed him off to the United States to be tutored by Hernandez. With Hernandez in his corner, the lanky southpaw won titles at 112 and 115 and currently holds the WBO bantamweight (118) belt. In his last start, he knocked out his Thai opponent, a 77-fight veteran who had never been stopped, advancing his record to 29-0 (22 KOs).

Nakatani’s name now appears on several pound-for-pound lists. A match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is brewing. When that match comes to fruition, it will be the grandest domestic showdown in Japanese boxing history.

“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day and nothing interfered with that dream,” Hernandez told sports journalist Manouk Akopyan writing for Boxing Scene.

Akin to Nakatani, Rudy Hernandez built Anthony Olascuaga from scratch. The LA native was rucked out of obscurity in April of 2023 when Jonathan Gonzalez contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw from his date in Tokyo with lineal light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. Olascuaga, with only five pro fights under his belt, filled the breach on 10 days’ notice and although he lost (TKO by 9), he earned kudos for his gritty performance against the man recognized as the best fighter in his weight class.

Two fights later, back in Tokyo, Olascuaga copped the WBO world flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Riku Kano. His first defense came in October, again in Japan, and Olascuaga retained his belt with a first-round stoppage of the aforementioned Gonzalez. (This bout was originally ruled a no-contest as it ended after Gonzalez suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. But the referee ruled that Gonzalez was fit to continue before the Puerto Rican said “no mas,” alleging his vision was impaired, and the WBO upheld a protest from the Olascuaga camp and changed the result to a TKO. Regardless, Rudy Hernandez’s fighter would have kept his title.)

Hernandez, 62, is the brother of the late Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez. A two-time world title-holder at 130 pounds who fought the likes of Azumah Nelson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chicanito passed away in 2011, a cancer victim at age 45.

Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez was one of the most popular fighters in the Hispanic communities of Southern California. Rudy Hernandez, a late bloomer of sorts – at least in terms of public recognition — has kept his brother’s flame alive with own achievements. He is a worthy honoree for the 2024 Trainer of the Year.

Note: This is the first in our series of annual awards. The others will arrive sporadically over the next two weeks.

Photo credit: Steve Kim

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A Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!

Published

3 days ago

December 15, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A-Shocker-in-Tijuana-Bruno-Sarace-KOs-Jaime-Munguia

It was a chilly night in Tijuana when Jaime Munguia entered the ring for his homecoming fight with Bruno Surace. The main event of a Zanfer/Top Rank co-promotion, Munguia vs. Surace was staged in the city’s 30,000-seat soccer stadium a stone’s throw from the U.S. border in the San Diego metroplex.

Surace, a Frenchman, brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but a quick glance at his record showed that he had scant chance of holding his own with the house fighter. Only four of Surace’s 25 wins had come by stoppage and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records. Munguia was making the first start in the city of his birth since February 2022. Surace had never fought outside Europe.

But hold the phone!

After losing every round heading into the sixth, Surace scored the Upset of the Year, ending the contest with a one-punch knockout.

It looked like a short and easy night for Munguia when he knocked Surace down with a left hook in the second stanza. From that point on, the Frenchman fought off his back foot, often with back to the ropes, throwing punches only in spurts. Munguia worked the body well and was seemingly on the way to wearing him down when he was struck by lightning in the form of an overhand right.

Down went Munguia, landing on his back. He struggled to get to his feet, but the referee waived it off a nano-second before reaching “10.” The official time was 2:36 of round six.

Munguia, who was 44-1 heading in with 35 KOs, was as high as a 35/1 favorite. In his only defeat, he had gone the distance with Canelo Alvarez. This was the biggest upset by a French fighter since Rene Jacquot outpointed Donald Curry in 1989 and Jacquot had the advantage of fighting in his homeland.

Co-Main

Mexico City’s Alan Picasso, ranked #1 by the WBC at 122 pounds, scored a third-round stoppage of last-minute sub Yehison Cuello in a scheduled 10-rounder contested at featherweight. Picaso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) is a solid technician. He ended the bout with a left to the rib cage, a punch that weaved around Cuello’s elbow and didn’t appear to be especially hard. The referee stopped his count at “nine” and waived the fight off.

A 29-year-old Colombian who reportedly had been training in Tijuana, the overmatched Cuello slumped to 13-3-1.

Other Bouts of Note

In a ho-hum affair, junior middleweight Jorge Garcia advanced to 32-4 (26) with a 10-round unanimous decision over Uzbekistan’s Kudratillo Abudukakhorov (20-4). The judges had it 97-92 and 99-90 twice. There were no knockdowns, but Garcia had a point deducted in round eight for low blows.

Garcia displayed none of the power that he showed in his most recent fight three months ago in Arizona and when he knocked out his German opponent in 46 seconds. Abudukakhorov, who has competed mostly as a welterweight, came in at 158 1/4 pounds and didn’t look in the best of shape. The Uzbek was purportedly 170-10 as an amateur (4-5 per boxrec).

Super bantamweight Sebastian Hernandez improved to 18-0 (17 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Argentine import Sergio Martin (14-5). The end came at the 2:39 mark of round seven when Martin’s corner threw in the towel. Earlier in the round, Martin lost his mouthpiece and had a point deducted for holding.

Hernandez wasn’t all that impressive considering the high expectations born of his high knockout ratio, but appeared to have injured his right hand during the sixth round.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

Published

3 days ago

December 14, 2024

David A. Avila

Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

ONTARIO, CA -Two SoCal welterweights battled to a majority draw and Ohio’s Charles Conwell wowed the crowd with precision and power in his victory.

In the main event Alexis Rocha sought to prove his loss a year ago was a fluke and Raul Curiel sought to prove he belongs with the contenders.

Both got their wish.

After 12 rounds of back-and-forth exchanges, Rocha (25-2-1, 16 KOs) and Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs) battled to a stalemate in front of more than 5,000 fans at Toyota Arena. No oner seemed surprised by the majority decision draw.

“We got one for the people It was a Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

During the first half of the fight, it looked like Rocha’s experience in big events would be too much for Curiel to handle. Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

Maybe trainer Freddie Roach’s words got to Curiel. The Mexican Olympian who now lives in the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, suddenly planted his feet and ripped off five- and six-punch combinations. It was do or die.

The change of tactics forced Rocha to make changes too especially after absorbing several ripping uppercuts from Curiel.

Back and forth the welterweights exchanged and neither fighter could take charge. And neither fighter was knocked down though each both connected with sweat-tossing blows.

The two fighters battled until the final seconds of the fight. After 12 blistering rounds, one judge saw Rocha the winner 116-112, while the two other judges scored it 114-114 for a majority draw.

“I respect this guy. It was 12 rounds of war,” said Santa Ana’s Rocha.

Curiel felt the same.

“I respect Rocha. He is a good southpaw,” Curiel repeated. “Let’s do it again.”

Battle of Undefeated Super Welterweights

Few knew what to expect with undefeated Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) facing undefeated Argentine Gerardo Vergara (20-1, 13 KOs). You never what to expect with Argentine fighters.

Conwell, a U.S. Olympian, showed why many consider him the best kept secret in boxing with a steady attack behind impressive defense. He needed it against Vergara, a very strong southpaw.

Vergara seemed a little puzzled by Conwell’s constant pressure. He might have expected a hit-and-run kind of fighter instead of a steamroller like the Ohio warrior.

Once the two fighters got heated up in the cold arena, the blows began to come more often and more powerfully. Conwell in particular stood right in front of the Argentine and bobbed and weaved through the South American fighter’s attack. And suddenly unleashed rocket rights and left hooks off Vergara’s chin.

Nothing happened expect blood from his nose for several rounds.

For six rounds Conwell blasted away at Vergara’s chin and jaw and nothing seemed to faze the Argentine. Then, Conwell targeted the body and suddenly things opened up. Vergara was caught trying to decide what to protect when a left hook jolted the Argentine. Suddenly Conwell erupted with a stream of left hooks and rights with almost everything connecting with power.

Referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the fight at 2:51 of the seventh round. Conwell finally chopped down the Argentine tree for the knockout win. The fans gasped at the suddenness of the victory.

“We broke him down,” Conwell said.

It was impressive.

Other Bouts

Popular John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs) started slowly against Texas left-hander Ephraim Bui (10-1, 8 KOs) but gained momentum behind accurate right uppercuts to swing the momentum and win a regional super flyweight title by unanimous decision after 10 rounds

Bui opened the fight behind some accurate lead lefts, but once Ramirez found the solution he took the fight inside and repeatedly jolted the taller Texas fighter with that blow.

Ramirez, who is based in Los Angeles, gained momentum and confidence and kept control with movements left and right that kept Bui unable to regain the advantage. No knockdowns were scored as all three judges scored the fight 97-93 for Ramirez.

A battle between former flyweight world champions saw Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) pull away after several early contentious rounds against Mexico’s Arely Mucino (32-5-2, 11 KOs). Left hooks staggered Esparza early in the fight.

Esparza always could take a punch and after figuring out what not to do, she began rolling up points behind pinpoint punching and pot shots. Soon, it was evident she could hit and move and took over the last three rounds of the fight.

Mucino never stopped attacking and was successful with long left hooks and shots to the body, but once Esparza began launching impressive pot shots, the Mexican fighter never could figure out a solution.

After 10 rounds two judges scored it 98-92 and a third judge saw it 97-93 all for Esparza.

Victor Morales (20-0-1, 10 KOs) won by technical knockout over Mexico’s Juan Guardado (16-3-1, 6 KOs) due to a bad cut above the right eye. It was a learning experience for Morales who hails from Washington.

Left hooks were the problem for Morales who could not avoid a left hook throughout the super featherweight fight. Guardado staggered Morales at least three times with counter left hooks. But Morales turned things around by controlling the last three rounds behind a jolting left jab that controlled the distance.

At one second of the eighth round, referee Ray Corona stopped the fight to allow the ringside physician to examine the swelling and cut. It was decided that the fight should stop. Morales was awarded the win by technical knockout.

A super bantamweight fight saw Jorge Chavez (13-0, 8 KOs) score two knockdowns on way to a unanimous decision over Uruguay’s Ruben Casero (12-4, 4 KOs) after eight rounds. Chavez fights out of Tijuana, Mexico.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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