A Closer Look at Elite Boxing Trainer and 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee Kenny Adams

Published

11 months ago

May 10, 2024

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Kenny Adams will be formally enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum in Canastota, New York, next month. It is a long overdue honor for the longtime Las Vegas boxing coach who turns 84 in September.

Adams grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he was raised by a great aunt and her husband. He had his first amateur fight at age 11 in Sikeston, Missouri, and dozens more in smokers in other nearby towns. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Army where he was a two-time all-service champion and was part of an elite squadron that worked behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. He would eventually rise to the rank of Master Sergeant.

Adams first attracted attention as the coach of an Army team that dominated inter-service competitions. After serving as an assistant on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, he was named head coach of the 1988 squad for the Seoul Summer Games.

The U.S. dominated the boxing competition at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, winning a gold medal in nine of the 12 weight categories, but that achievement should probably come with an asterisk. The Soviets boycotted the Games as did the powerful East Germany contingent.

Expectations were low for the 1988 squad which lacked a charismatic personality. There was no Sugar Ray Leonard or Mark Breland to whet the interest of America’s top sports scribes. The fighter that got the most pre-tournament buzz was Kelcie Banks, a spindly featherweight from Chicago who would be knocked out in the opening round.

Defying the odds, the Americans won three gold medals and two silvers. Heavyweight Ray Mercer, light heavyweight Andrew Maynard, and bantamweight Kennedy McKinney won gold. All three were Army men. Light middleweight Roy Jones Jr and light flyweight Michael Carbajal had to settle for silver after losing controversial decisions in the finals. Jones’ setback to his South Korean opponent was considered so rancid that he was named the tournament’s outstanding boxer.

Adams acknowledges the role played by his top assistants, Hank Johnson, an Army combat medic and the brother of light heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson, and Alton Merkerson, best known as the trainer of Roy Jones Jr. However, Kenny gives himself full credit for selecting the venue where the Army fighters trained for the Summer Games.

He chose Fort Huachuca, an Army installation near the Mexican border in Cochise County, Arizona. “It was perfect,” says Adams, “very secluded. A boxer couldn’t leave the base or have a visitor without us knowing about it.” (The nearest good-sized city was Tucson and that is 77 miles away.)

After the 1988 Games, as Adams was finishing up a 30-year hitch, Top Rank came calling with the proverbial offer too good to refuse. Bob Arum was putting together a syndicate to manage the careers of some of the top amateur boxers who were about to turn pro and he wanted Adams to coach them.

Notable members of the syndicate, which took the name Las Vegas Gloves, were Las Vegas businessman/restaurateur Freddie Glusman, future Las Vegas mayor Ron Lurie, and UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. The fighters entrusted to Adams included McKinney, the most prized of the signees, Vincent Phillips, Cleveland Woods, and Eddie Cook, all former U.S. Army soldiers, plus Freddie Norwood, a boyhood friend of Cook from St. Louis.

The syndicate lost money, notwithstanding the fact that McKinney, Cook, Phillips, and Norwood captured world titles.

Eddie Cook was the first American fighter that Kenny Adams molded into a world title-holder. In 1992, Cook dethroned WBA bantamweight champion Israel Contreras, knocking out the Venezuelan veteran in the fifth round. (He lost the belt in his first defense and retired two years later, leaving the sport with a 19-3 record after suffering a TKO at the hands of future Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera.)

Before Cook won his title, Adams played a role in one of the most startling upsets in boxing history.

While training boxers in Germany, Adams was introduced to Rene Jacquot, a boxer from France. Jacquot’s management inquired if Adams would “polish” him.

“He was a very good student,” recalled Adams, “a hard worker. I trained him in the American style and it enhanced him.”

Nonetheless, no one gave Jacquot a chance when he was matched against Donald Curry in Grenoble, France on Feb. 11, 1989 in a match televised on CBS. Jacquot’s reported record, 24-10, was that of a journeyman.

Curry had started to slip. He had been stopped by Lloyd Honeyghan and Mike McCallum. But a few years prior during his reign as a world welterweight champion, Curry was rated in some quarters as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Although the fight was in France, Rene Jacquot was considered nothing more than speed bump for the American invader.

When the smoke cleared, Rene Jacquot was the new WBC 154-pound champion. The decision in his favor was unanimous and eminently fair. (He would lose the belt in his first defense, knocked out in the opening round by John “The Beast” Mugabi. Adams wasn’t around for that one.)

The Ring magazine named Jacquot vs Curry the 1989 Upset of the Year. Eight years later, Adams would be on the right side of yet another fight that would receive this distinction.

While Adams worked with Rene Jacquot for only one fight, he had a long run with Vince Phillips. It was rocky at times. Phillips, in common with his pal Kennedy McKinney, developed a cocaine problem early in his pro career. Las Vegas was no Fort Huachuca. There were temptations galore.

Phillips had a fine pro record (35-3, 24 KOs) when he challenged IBF 140-pound kingpin Kostya Tszyu at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on May 31, 1997, but he had lost two of his last four fights, had been knocked out in three rounds by Ike Quartey, and was dropping down in weight to meet an undefeated fighter who was considered the best junior welterweight to come down the pike since Aaron Pryor.

“Cool Vince” took the fight out of the judges’ hands, scoring a 10^th-round TKO. It was the 1997 Upset of the Year.

Adams would eventually train more than two dozen world champions including such notables as Diego Corrales, Edwin Valero, Johnny Tapia, and Nonito Donaire. In some cases, these relationships were long-lasting; others were fleeting as some boxers seem to change trainers as often as they change their underwear.

Nowadays, Kenny Adams can be found most afternoons at the DLX Boxing Gym in Las Vegas. The facility is a short walk from the handsome home that Adams shares with his wife of 57 years, the former Claudia Campbell of Clarksville, Tennessee.

There are no stuffed shirts at DLX. Adams is often the subject of good-natured ribbing. “I didn’t know they had a hall of fame for spit-bucket carriers,” joshed the young trainer Manny Savoy, addressing Adams one afternoon when we happened to be there.

In common with most others of his vintage and especially those that led wildly exciting lives, Adams is experiencing some memory loss. Recalling events, the timeline gets jumbled. And physically he has had a number of maladies that have slowed him down. But when Kenny works the pads with a boxer – often a schoolboy as DLX trends younger in the afternoon when school lets out – the years roll off him. By some mysterious alchemy, his reflexes become that of the young man that he once was.

—

Note: The 2024 renewal of the annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, a 4-day jamboree, runs June 6-9. The event concludes on Sunday with the Parade of Champions in the Downtown Canastota District followed by the formal induction of this year’s honorees in the showroom of the Turning Stone Casino-Resort in Verona, NY, one exit away on the New York State Thruway.

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Arne K. Lang

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Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

Published

1 hour ago

April 20, 2025

David A. Avila

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It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’selusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.

Will it be her last flyweight defense?

Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.

Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.

The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.

Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.

Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.

“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”

The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.

In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.

Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.

Perez Beats Conwell.

Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.

It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.

Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.

Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.

It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.

Other Bouts

Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.

It was very close.

Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.

Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.

One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.

Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.

Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.

Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.

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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

Published

21 hours ago

April 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.

Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.

Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.

The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.

Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.

Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11^th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.

That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.

Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.

In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.

Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30^th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.

Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.

The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2025

David A. Avila

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Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.

One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.

Take your pick.

The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.

Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.

Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.

If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.

He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.

During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.

Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.

Fundora

Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.

Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.

Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.

Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.

Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?

When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.

This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.

Commerce Casino

Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.

Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.

It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.

Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?

That’s a question for another day.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).

Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).

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