The Hauser Report: Showtime Says Goodbye to Boxing and More Notes

Published

1 year ago

December 17, 2023

The-Hauser-Report-Showtime-Says-Goodbye-to-Boxing-and-More-Notes

On October 17, Paramount Global announced that it was closing the Showtime sports department and shutting down the network’s boxing program after a 37-year run.

Showtime televised its first fight on March 15, 1986 – a replay of Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s eleventh-round knockout of John Mugabi five days earlier. In the years that followed, it televised more than two thousand fights. In the early-1990’s, the network turned its boxing programming over to Don King in order to gain rights to Mike Tyson’s fights. More recently, Premier Boxing Champions enjoyed favored status.

Showtime was the launching pad for UK imports like Naseem Hamed, Ricky Hatton, and Joe Calzaghe in the United States. Its most notable telecasts included numerous Mike Tyson outings, the first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez, and the “Super Six” super-middleweight championship tournament that saw the emergence of Andre Ward as the best 168-pound fighter in the world. It collaborated with HBO to produce Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, and Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, and advanced the careers of myriad young prospects on ShoBox: The New Generation.

Steve Albert, Ferdie Pacheco, Al Bernstein, Steve Farhood, Barry Tompkins, Nick Charles, and Paulie Malignaggi were among the quality commentators who contributed to the soundtrack that the network provided for the contemporary boxing scene.

Less laudably, Showtime reveled in the highly lucrative but homophobic-misogynistic-fueled promotion of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. And in recent years, it shifted an increasing number of fan-friendly fights from “regular” Showtime to Showtime-PPV.

Like HBO, Showtime ended its sojourn through boxing with a mundane fight card. HBO’s final offering (on December 8, 2018) was a pedestrian event that featured Cecelia Braekhus, Claressa Shields, and Juan Francisco Estrada. On December 16, Showtime gave us David Morrell vs. Sena Agbeko, Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela, and Andre Berto vs. Robert Guerrero.

The show opened with Berto-Guerrero. Berto has won two fights dating back to 2015 and had last fought more than five years ago. Guerrero had lost five of eleven bouts dating back to 2013. Both men are forty years old and, on Saturday night, they fought like it. Guerrero won a 99-91, 98-92, 98-92 decision over the course of ten dreary rounds.

Then Jose Valenzuela (who was coming in off two losses in a row) knocked Chris Colbert unconscious with a right hook in round six.

In the finale, David Morrell (a 12-to-1 favorite) stopped a woefully overmatched Sena Agbeko at 1:43 of the second stanza. Agbeko was never in the fight.

The telecast began with a short video montage of images from past Showtime fights followed by remarks about the occasion from Brian Custer. After Berto-Guerrero, there was a brief video tribute to the sport of boxing. Later in the telecast, Steve Farhood narrated a segment on the history of ShoBox.

The members of the announcing team spent a lot of time praising each other. There was no acknowledgement of Jay Larkin (a key architect of Showtime’s boxing program). Nor was Steve Albert (Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for twenty years) or Ferdie Pacheco (who was paired with Albert) mentioned. A tip of the hat to Ken Hershman (who succeeded Larkin as president of Showtime Sports), Don King (who was a big part of Showtime Boxing), and other key figures in the network’s boxing program who were ignored would also have been appropriate.

But back to the fights. Goodbyes are important. It would have been better if Showtime Boxing had ended its run with its November 25, 2023, telecast of David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade. Benavidez turned in a star-making performance that night. That would have been a good note to end on with Showtime telling its subscribers, “We brought you some great moments in the past. Now here’s a glimpse of boxing’s future.”

****

There was a time when club fights were boxing’s lifeblood and New York City was home to several fight cards each week. On the night that Showtime bade farewell to the sweet science, Larry Goldberg promoted his ninth club-fight card at Sony Hall in New York.

Goldberg is the only promoter now running fight cards on a regular basis in New York. This was his ninth show at Sony Hall in the past fourteen months and he has three dates penciled in for the first six months of 2024.

Too many club fights cards today consist almost exclusively of non-competitive beatdowns. Two of the six fights on Goldberg’s card were particularly good match-ups.

Jacob Riley Solis (a 32-year-old New Yorker who was making his pro debut) took on Tevin Terrance (a 1-and-0 import from Canada). Terrance fought with all-out aggression and scored a knockdown in the first stanza. Solis has a weak jab that needs to be reconstructed and a good right hand. In round three, the right hands started landing and Terrance was counted out.

Cristian Otero (6-4, 2 KOs) vs. Yeuri Andujar (5-6-1, 3 KOs, 3 KOs by) was another competitive action fight. Andujar came into the ring with four losses and a draw in his last five outings. But those numbers are deceiving in that he’d been overmatched against prospects like Bruce Carrington and Robeisy Ramirez. Otero is a club fighter who gives an honest effort every time out. Andujar dropped Otero in round two and finished him with a brutal right hand in round four.

I’d much rather see evenly-matched club fighters who put everything they have into fights that they can win than a parade of mismatches.

***

The International Boxing Hall of Fame recently announced its inductees for 2024. I was disappointed that Flip Homansky (who was on the ballot for the first time) wasn’t chosen for induction. My sense is that too many of the electors don’t understand the trailblazing contributions that Dr Homansky made in advancing the health and safety of fighters during his years at the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

I’d also like to address what I believe is an injustice regarding two men who have never been on the ballot.

Gerry Cooney won his first 23 fights before losing to Larry Holmes on a night when Holmes was as good as he’d ever been or would be ever again. Plagued by substance abuse problems that he conquered after leaving boxing, Cooney retired after losses to Michael Spinks and George Foreman. The only three men to beat him in a boxing ring were first-ballot Hall of Famers. Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler ranks Cooney among the top twenty heavyweights of all time.

Cooney never won a world championship. But neither did Jimmy Bivins, Charley Burley, Billy Graham, Cocoa Kid, Lloyd Marshall, Holman Williams, and others who are enshrined in Canastota. He deserved to be on the ballot ahead of Jorge Arce, Vuyani Bungu, Yuri Arbachakov, Leo Gamez, Miguel Lora, Orzubek Navarov and some of the other nominees.

Cedric Kushner was a significant player on the boxing scene for decades. He was best known for promoting heavyweights like Hasim Rahman, Shannon Briggs, Chris Byrd, Ike Ibeabuchi, Jameel McCline, Derrick Jefferson, Kirk Johnson, Axel Schulz, and David Tua, but also built stars like Shane Mosley in other weight classes.

Dan Goossen, Klaus-Peter Kohl, Tito Lectoure, and Mogens Palle are in the Hall of Fame. Kushner was their equal as a promoter and deserved to be on the ballot.

****

The holiday sentiment of peace on Earth seems sadly out of reach this year. But I’d like to recount a story that Yuri Foreman told me years ago.

Foreman was born in Belarus. When he was eleven, his family moved to Israel.

“At first it was difficult,” Yuri recalled. “I was missing my friends. And sometimes in Israel, there was discrimination between the Russians and the Jews. The Russians were also Jewish, but the Israelis would call us Russians and say we didn’t deserve to be there, so there would be fights in school between the immigrants and the Israelis.”

Foreman learned the rudiments of boxing in an outdoor lot. There was no ring, not even a heavy bag.

“They wouldn’t give us a gym because we were just Russians,” he remembered. “We went to City Hall and begged for a place to hang a bag and put up a ring. All they told us was, ‘Go box with the Arabs.’ So finally I went to the Arab gym. The first time I walked in, I saw the stares. In their eyes, there was a lot of hatred. But I needed to box. And boy, did they all want to box me. But after a while, the wall that was between us melted. We all wanted the same thing. I traveled with them as teammates. It helped that I won almost all the time. And finally, we became friends.”

Foreman won the WBA 154-pound title in 2009 by decision over Daniel Santos. Shortly before that fight, the father of one of the boys Yuri had boxed with in the Arab gym called and told him, ‘We follow your career. We’re all rooting for you. We’ll be very proud when you become a champion. After you win, we want you to come to our village for a celebration and we’ll kill the nicest of the sheep for you.”

David Morrell photo compliments of Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – The Universal Sport: Two Years Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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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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Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results

LAS VEGAS, NV – Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions was at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas tonight for the second half of a DAZN doubleheader that began in Nottingham, England. In the main event, Diego Pacheco, ranked #1 by the WBO at super middleweight, continued his ascent toward a world title with a unanimous decision over Steven Nelson.

Pacheco glides round the ring smoothly whereas Nelson wastes a lot energy with something of a herky-jerky style. However, although Nelson figured to slow down as the fight progressed, he did some of his best work in rounds 11 and 12. Fighting with a cut over his left eye from round four, a cut that periodically reopened, the gritty Nelson fulfilled his promise that he would a fight as if he had everything to lose if he failed to win, but it just wasn’t enough, even after his Omaha homie Terence “Bud” Crawford entered his corner before the last round to give him a pep talk (back home in North Omaha, Nelson runs the B&B (Bud and Bomac) Sports Academy.

All three judges had it 117-111 for Pacheco who mostly fought off his back foot but landed the cleaner punches throughout. A stablemate of David Benavidez and trained by David’s father Jose Benevidez Sr, Pacheco improved to 23-0 (18). It was the first pro loss for the 36-year-old Nelson (20-1).

Semi wind-up

Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, who as a pro has never fought a match slated for fewer than 10 rounds, had too much class for Hermosillo, Mexico’s rugged Omar Salcido who returned to his corner with a puffy face after the fourth stanza, but won the next round and never stopped trying. The outcome was inevitable even before the final round when Salcido barely made it to the final gun, but the Mexican was far more competitive than many expected.

The Cuban, who was 4-0 vs. Keyshawn Davis in closely-contested bouts as an amateur, advanced his pro record to 5-0 (2), winning by scores by 99-91 and 98-92 twice. Salido, coming off his career-best win, a 9^th-round stoppage of former WBA super featherweight title-holder Chris Colbert, falls to 20-2.

Other TV bouts

Ernesto “Tito” Mercado, a 23-year-old super lightweight, aims to become the next world champion from Pomona, California, following in the footsteps of the late Richie Sandoval and Sugar Shane Mosely, and based on his showing tonight against former Beijing Olympian and former two-division title-holder Jose Pedraza, he is well on his way.

After three rounds after what had been a technical fight, Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) knocked Pedraza off his pins with an overhand right followed by short left hand. Pedraza bounced back and fell on his backside. When he arose on unsteady legs, the bout was waived off. The official time was 2:08 of round four and the fading, 35-year-old Pedraza (29-7-1) was saddled with his third loss in his last four outings.

The 8-round super lightweight clash between Israel Mercado (no relation to “Tito”) and Leonardo Rubalcava was fan-friendly skirmish with many robust exchanges. When the smoke cleared, the verdict was a majority draw. Mercado got the nod on one card (76-74), but was overruled by a pair of 75-75 scores.

Mercado came out strong in the opening round, but suffered a flash knockdown before the round ended. The referee ruled it a slip but was overruled by replay operator Jay Nady and what would have been a 10-9 round for Mercado became a 10-8 round for Rubalcava. Mercado lost another point in round seven when he was penalized for low blows.

The scores were 76-74 for Mercado (11-1-2) and 75-75 twice. The verdict was mildly unpopular with most thinking that Mercado deserved the nod. Reportedly a four-time Mexican amateur champion, Rubalcava (9-0-1) is trained by Robert Garcia.

Also

New Matchroom signee Nishant Dev, a 24-year-old southpaw from India, had an auspicious pro debut (pardon the cliché). Before a beaming Eddie Hearn, Dev stopped Oakland’s Alton Wiggins (1-1-1) in the opening round. The referee waived it off after the second knockdown.

Boxers from India have made large gains at the amateur level in recent years and Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn anticipates that Dev, a Paris Olympian, will be the first fighter from India to make his mark as a pro.

Undefeated Brooklyn lightweight Harley Mederos, managed by the influential Keith Connolly, scored his seventh knockout in eight tries with a brutal third-round KO of Mexico’s Arturo de Isla.

A left-right combination knocked de Isla (5-3-1) flat on his back. Referee Raul Caiz did not bother to count and several minutes elapsed before the stricken fighter was fit to leave the ring. The official time was 1:27 of round three.

In the opener, Newark junior lightweight Zaquin Moses, a cousin of Shakur Stevenson, improved to 2-0 when his opponent retired on his stool after the opening round.

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

3 days ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

3 days ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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