The Inoue and Serrano Championship Watches

Published

9 months ago

June 7, 2024

The-Inoue-and-Serrano-Championship-Warches

Now and then, a feel-good story of particular interest surfaces in boxing. When Naoya Inoue and Amanda Serrano were presented with championship watches by the Boxing Writers Association of America on June 6 to honor their designation as the BWAA’s male and female Fighters of the Year for 2023, it continued a long history of championship adornments. And it was an important marker on the journey of a man named Bobby Ermankhah.

Boxing’s first championship belt belonged to Tom Cribb, the champion of England, who was given a lion-skin sash with silver claws after defeating Tom Molineaux of the United States in 1811. Seven decades later, Richard K. Fox (publisher of the National Police Gazette) introduced boxing belts to the United States.

Fox was engaged in a bitter feud with John L. Sullivan. When Paddy Ryan knocked out Joe Goss in 1880, the publisher presented “his” champion with a jewel-studded belt, Sullivan’s followers were so outraged that they raised $10,000 to give “their” champion a gold-plated diamond-studded prize bearing the words, “Presented to the champion of champions by the People of the United States.” Legend has it that, when John L. received his belt, he put it on and loudly proclaimed, “Fox’s is like a dog collar compared to mine.”

In 1922, Ring magazine began publication and entered the belt trade. Jack Dempsey was the first recipient of a Ring belt.

Craig Hamilton (the foremost boxing memorabilia dealer in the United States) continues the narrative, recounting, “Championship rings came into boxing with Muhammad Ali. I don’t remember seeing any before that, and relatively few fighters have had them since. As for watches, it was not uncommon for gold pocket watches to be given to fighters in the first three decades of the twentieth century. The earliest that I remember was a gold Tiffany pocket watch given to John L. Sullivan in 1907 by his fans in Boston long after Sullivan had retired from boxing. Most often, the watches were given to fighters by their manager or promoter. I know that Tommy Burns got one. And Tex Rickard gave one to Jack Dempsey around the time of the Carpentier fight. Nat Fleischer (founder of The Ring) had a collection of 93 watches that had been previously owned by fighters, But most of those were personal, not presentation, watches.”

Enter Bobby Ermankhah, the driving force behind the Inoue and Serrano championship watches.

Ermankhah was born in Tehran in 1971. His father was a high-ranking Army official during the Shah’s regime. Babak (as Bobby was known then), his older sister, and their parents lived well. Then, in 1979, the Shah was overthrown.

“After the revolution,” Ermankhah recounts, “everything changed for the country and, obviously, for my family. We went from having everything to the fear of having nothing. My father was put in prison. Eventually, he was released but he wasn’t allowed to leave Iran.”

“In 1980,” Bobby continues, “the Iraq-Iran War began. You were not drafted into the Army until you were eighteen. But after the age of fourteen, you couldn’t leave the country. My mother was against my serving in the Army and made plans for my sister and me to leave the country. We loved Iran but we didn’t like the new government. The way I was brought up; I believe in God; I believe in doing the right thing. But I don’t think you need religion to know right from wrong. For some people, it helps. But when a small group of people tell everyone else what to believe, that’s a problem for me.”

At age eleven, Ermankhah left Iran with his sister (who was three years older than he was). They spent four months in Turkey, four months in Switzerland, and eleven months in Italy. When Bobby was twelve, they arrived in the United States. After six months in New York, they got their own apartment.

“We were children, but we looked after each other the whole time,” Bobby says. “We were raised to be independent. My mother has visited us here in the United States since then. But I’ve never been back to Iran and my father isn’t allowed to leave the country, so I haven’t seen him in more than forty years.”

Ermankhah studied electrical engineering at Chelsea Vocational High School and graduated in 1990 as class valedictorian. After that, he worked as an electrician with several local unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But the electrical work dried up and he got a job as a teller for CitiBank.

“My sister had married by then,” Bobby says, continuing the saga. “Her husband had a small jewelry store in Flushing (an area of Queens, which is one of New York’s five boroughs). I’d saved some money, and I opened in Flushing a small Greek restaurant with my brother-in-law called The Greek Specialties. It did not do well. It lasted about a year-and-a-half, and I lost all the money I’d saved since I was fourteen years old. After that, I started working at my brother-in-law’s store, which was called King’s Jewelry and was also in Flushing. That was in 1994. I’d always loved watches. I bought a Rolex Datejust Twotone for $2,500. Everyone made fun of me. Who will go to Flushing to buy a Rolex? But I added some diamonds for $500 and sold it for $5,000. Then, with the $5,000, I bought two more Rolexes and sold them.”

In 1999, Ermankhah opened his own business, selling watches in a small booth in the back of an exchange at 45 West 47th Street in Manhattan. In 2005, he founded Azad.

The name “Azad” translates to “freedom” in Persian. The debut Azad collection was launched in 2008. In Ermankhah’s words, “An Azad watch is a luxury item and a statement. I start with the design and go from there. Any car can get you from one place to another, but some people like a different look. Most companies repeat what they’ve already done before and copy what everyone else is doing. Our customers want something different.”

But there were problems. In 2008, the year of Azad’s launch, the economy tanked. “It was a very difficult time for us,” Bobby acknowledges. “We didn’t sell a thing the first six months. But over time, the pace picked up.”

Azad now has eighteen different basic models that have been released in editions of twenty to five hundred pieces. Each model can be made with dozens of variables (e.g. different stones, colors, metals, bands, etc). The watches are assembled in New York. The parts come from Switzerland, Japan, and Germany, except for the cases, which are made in Hong Kong. There are ten to fifteen different suppliers of parts for each watch, which makes them harder to counterfeit. The key corporate players are vice president Cedric King and creative director Anna Zakrepine.

Meanwhile, Ermankhah is still at 45 West 47th Street in the heart of New York’s diamond district. But the Azad booth is now in the front of the store, encompassing four-and-a-half showcases and the front window. And the company recently opened a 2,000-square-foot showroom and factory on the third floor of the same building.

Insofar as the sweet science is concerned, Azad has been involved with boxing for years. It has had sponsorship deals with Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center. The first fighters to wear Azad patches on their trunks were Paulie Malignaggi, Paul Williams, Chris Arreola, and Kendall Holt. Since then, it has had relationships, among others, with Gennady Golovkin, Sergio Martinez, Jermain Taylor, Andre Berto, Danny Garcia, Deontay Wilder, and John Duddy.

“Boxers work hard to get what they get,” Ermankhah says. “They deserve recognition, but only a few champions are recognized on the street. You can’t walk around wearing your championship belt to show that you’re a champion. But you can always wear a watch.”

That brings us to the championship watches presented to Naoya Inoue and Amanda Serrano at the June 6 BWAA awards dinner. The design and red-and-white color motif of Inoue’s watch are evocative of the Japanese flag. It’s inner movements are visible from both the front and back. The stainless steel case is encrusted with more than two hundred diamonds. On its back, the watch reads, “Naoya Inoue, 2023 BWAA Fighter of the Year.”

Serrano’s watch is from Azad’s prestige Zada collection and, like Inoue’s, has a stainless steel case encrusted with diamonds.

“I’d love to make a one-of-a-kind watch for every BWAA Fighter of the Year in the future,” Ermankhah says. “It would be an honor.”

Is this the start of a new tradition?

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and me – is a personal memoir available at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5C0TEN4M9ZAH&keywords=thomas+hauser&qid=1707662513&sprefix=thomas+hauser%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1

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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Bivol Evens the Score with Beterbiev; Parker and Stevenson Win Handily

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2025

David A. Avila

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It was labeled the best boxing card in history.

That’s up for debate.

And there was some debate as Dmitry Bivol avenged his loss to Artur Beterbiev to become the new undisputed light heavyweight world champion on Saturday by majority decision in a tactical battle.

“He gave me this chance and I appreciate it,” said Bivol of Beterbiev.

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) rallied from behind to give Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) his first pro loss in their rematch at a sold out crowd in the Venue Riyadh Season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Like their first encounter the rematch was also very close.

Four months ago, these two faced each other as undefeated light heavyweights. Now, after two furious engagements, both have losses.

Beterbiev was making his first defense as undisputed light heavyweight champion and made adjustments from their first match. This time the Russian fighter who trains in Canada concentrated on a body attack and immediately saw dividends.

For most of the first six rounds it seemed Beterbiev would slowly grind down Bivol until he reached an unsurmountable lead. But despite the momentum he never could truly hurt Bivol or gain separation.

Things turned around in the seventh round as Bivol opened up with combinations to the head and body while slipping Beterbiev’s blows. It was a sudden swing of momentum. But how long could it last?

“It was hard to keep him at the distance. I had to be smarter and punch more clean punches,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev attempted to regain the momentum but Bivol was not allowing it to happen. In the final 10 seconds he opened up with a machine gun combination. Though few of the punches connected it became clear he was not going to allow unclarity.

Using strategic movement Bivol laced quick combinations and immediately departed. Betebiev seemed determined to counter the fleet fighter but was unsuccessful for much of the second half of the fight.

Around the 10^th round Beterbiev stepped on the gas with the same formula of working the body and head. It gave Bivol pause but he still unleashed quick combos to keep from being overrun.

Bivol connected with combinations and Beterbiev connected with single body and head shots. It was going to be tough for the referees to decide which attack they preferred. After 12 rounds with no knockdowns one judge saw it a draw at 114-114. But two others saw Bivol the winner 116-112, 115-113.

“I was better. I was pushing myself more, I was lighter. I just wanted to win so much today,” said Bivol.

Beterbiev was gracious in defeat.

“Congratulations to Bivol’s team” said Beterbiev. “I think this fight was better than the first fight.”

After the match it was discussed that an effort to make a third fight is a strong possibility.

Heavyweight KO by Parker

Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) once again proved he could be the best heavyweight without a world title in knocking out the feared Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) to retain his WBO interim title. It was quick and decisive.

“Catch him when he is coming in,” said Parker, 33, about his plan.

After original foe IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw due to illness, Bakole willingly accepted the match with only two days’ notice. Many experts and fans around the world were surprised and excited Parker accepted the match.

Ever since Parker lost to Joe Joyce in 2022, the New Zealander has proven to be vastly improved with wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Now you can add Bakole to the list of conquests.

Bakole, 33, was coming off an impressive knockout win last July and posed a serious threat if he connected with a punch. The quick-handed Bakole at 310 pounds and a two-inch height advantage is always dangerous.

In the first round Parker was wary of the fighter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He kept his range and moved around the ring looking to poke a jab and move. Bakole caught him twice with blows and Parker retaliated.

It proved to be a very important test.

Parker refrained from moving and instead moved inside range of the big African fighter. Both exchanged liberally with Bakole connecting with an uppercut and Parker an overhand right.

Bakole shook his head at the blow he absorbed.

Both re-engaged and fired simultaneously. Parker’s right connected to the top of the head of Bakole who shuddered and stumbled and down he went and could not beat the count. The referee stopped the heavyweight fight at 2:17 of the second round. Parker retains his interim title by knockout.

“I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m sharp,” said Parker. “I had to be patient.”

Shakur Wins

Despite an injured left hand southpaw WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) won by stoppage over late replacement Josh Padley (15-1, 6 KOs). It was an impressive accomplishment.

Often criticized for his lack of action and safety-first style, Stevenson was supposed to fight undefeated Floyd Schofield who pulled out due to illness. In stepped British lightweight Padley who had nothing to lose.

Padley was never hesitant to engage with the super-quick Stevenson and despite the lightning-quick combos by the champion, the British challenger exchanged liberally. It just wasn’t enough.

Even when Stevenson injured his left hand during an exchange in the sixth round, Padley just couldn’t take advantage. The speedy southpaw kept shooting the right jabs and ripping off right hooks. At the end of the sixth Stevenson briefly switched to a right-handed fighting style.

Stevenson used his right jabs and hooks to perfection. Double right hooks to the head and body seemed to affect the British challenger. A clean left to the body of Padley sent him to the floor for the count in the ninth round. It was a surprising knockdown due to his injured left. Padley got up and the fight resumed. Stevenson unloaded with right hooks to the body and down went the British fighter once again. He got up and tried to fight his way out but was met with another left to the body and down he went a third time. Padley’s corner tossed in a white towel to signify surrender. The referee stopped the fight at the end of the round. Stevenson scored his 11^th knockout win.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Early Results from Riyadh where Hamzah Sheeraz was Awarded a Gift Draw

Published

5 hours ago

February 22, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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After two 6-round appetizers, British light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith got the show rolling with a lusty 12-round skirmish. Things went south in the middle of the seven-fight main card when WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames locked horns with challenger Hamzah Sheeraz. This was a drab fight owing to a milquetoast performance by the favored Sheeraz.

Heading in, the lanky six-foot-three Sheeraz, whose physique is mindful of a young Thomas Hearns, was undefeated in 21 fights. Having stopped five of his last six opponents in two rounds or less, the 25-year-old Englishman was touted as the next big thing in the middleweight division. However, he fought off his back foot the entire contest, reluctant to let his hands go, and Adames kept his title when the bout was scored a draw.

Sheeraz had the crowd in his corner and two of the judges scored the match with their ears. Their tallies were 115-114 for Sheeraz and 114-114. The third judge had it 118-110 for Adames, the 30-year old Dominican, now 24-1-1, who had Ismael Salas in his corner.

Ortiz-Madrimov

Super welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr, knocked out his first 21 opponents, begging the question of how he would react when he finally faced adversity. He showed his mettle in August of last year when he went a sizzling 12 rounds with fellow knockout artist Serhii Bohachuk, winning a hard-fought decision. Tonight he added another feather in his cap with a 12-round unanimous decision over Ismail Madrimov, prevailing on scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice.

Ortiz won by adhering tight to Robert Garcia’s game plan. The elusive Madrimov, who bounces around the ring like the energizer bunny, won the early rounds. But eventually Ortiz was able to cut the ring off and turned the tide in his favor by landing the harder punches. It was the second straight loss for Madrimov (10-2-1), a decorated amateur who had lost a close but unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his previous bout.

Kabayel-Zhang

No heavyweight has made greater gains in the last 15 months than Agit Kabayel. The German of Kurdish descent, whose specialty is body punching, made his third straight appearance in Riyadh tonight and, like in the previous two, fashioned a knockout. Today, although out-weighed by more than 40 pounds, he did away with Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang in the sixth round.

It didn’t start out well for Kabayel. The New Jersey-based, six-foot-six Zhang, a two-time Olympian for China, started fast and plainly won the opening round. Kabayel beat him to the punch from that point on, save for one moment when Zhang put him on the canvas with a straight left hand.

That happened in the fifth round, but by the end of the frame, the 41-year-old Zhang was conspicuously gassed. The end for the big fellow came at the 2:29 mark of round six when he couldn’t beat the count after crumbling to the canvas in a delayed reaction after taking a hard punch to his flabby midsection.

Kabayel remains undefeated at 26-0 (18 KOs). Zhang (27-3-1) hadn’t previously been stopped.

Smith-Buatsi

The all-British showdown between light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith was a grueling, fan-friendly affair. A former 168-pound world title-holder, Smith, 34, won hard-earned unanimous decision, prevailing on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and a ludicrous 119-110.

There were no knockdowns, but Liverpool’s Smith, who advanced to 31-2 (22) finished the contest with a bad gash in the corner of his right eye. It was the first pro loss for Buatsi (19-1), an Olympic bronze medalist who entered the contest a small favorite and was the defending “interim” title-holder.

This contest was also a battle of wits between two of America’s most prominent trainers, Buddy McGirt (Smith) and Virgil Hunter (Buatsi).

Check back shortly for David Avila’s wrap-up of the last three fights.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez

Published

21 hours ago

February 21, 2025

David A. Avila

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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.

Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.

Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.

Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.

In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.

“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.

Other Bouts

Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.

Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.

Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.

Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.

A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.

It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.

In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.

Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.

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