Boxing Odds and Ends: Paul vs. Fury, the Mike Tyson Statue and More

They held a press conference on the afternoon of the Canelo-Plant fight to promote the forthcoming match in Tampa between you tube influencer Jake Paul and UK reality star Tommy Fury. Paul vs. Fury, an 8-round cruiserweight contest packaged with the usual frills that one associates with a Jake Paul production, will air on Showtime Pay Per-View on Dec. 18.

For the confab, Showtime commandeered the Red Tail, a combination sports bar and karaoke lounge inside Resorts World, the newest property on the Las Vegas Strip.

Resorts World is quite a joint (“joint” being an old Vegas term applied indiscriminately to any property with gambling). Built with Malaysian money, Resorts World harbors three different Hilton hotel brands with a combined 3,506 rooms and 40 restaurants and bars. It sits on the site of the old Stardust Hotel and Casino.

The press conference afforded this reporter the first look inside the property. It’s been open for several months — the grand opening was June 24 – but like most long-time Las Vegas residents, the opening of a new resort, no matter how lavish, carries no great allure. We’re jaded.

Another reason for attending was the free brunch. No matter the aliment, it had to beat the box lunches that were doled out to the boxing writers in the media room at the MGM Grand, the contents of which made a Subway sandwich shop seem like a 5-star restaurant.

The confab was moderated by Claudia Trejos who saw her role as that of a cheerleader (“Hello! Can you feel the excitement building?”). Tommy Fury, the 22-year-old half-brother of Tyson Fury, wasn’t there, having rushed back to England because of a family emergency; reportedly his mother had taken ill. He was represented by ace trainer SugarHill Steward who has taken Tommy under his wing. Steward noted that although Tommy is raw, he’s very athletic and learns fast and that fighting is in his blood and in his culture.

Jake Paul was joined on the dais by the newest member of his team, Coach D, a character developed by comedian/satirist Drew “Druski” Desbordes who Gentleman’s Quarterly calls Hip-Hops new favorite comedian. Coach D did not bring his A game.

Jake Paul, needless to say, is no shrinking violet. He considers himself solely responsible for bringing a younger demographic into a sport that had been overtaken by UFC. “Everyone should take up boxing,” he said, “just for fitness, confidence, and to be able to protect yourself.” As for Tommy Fury, he says this will be Fury’s “first real test against an opponent who’s not there to flop over…(and) he will crack under the pressure.” Had Fury been there, he would have undoubtedly countered that Paul, 24, is finally fighting a man of his own age and someone who is actually a boxer, not a refugee from another sport. Paul’s last three opponents — Nate Robinson, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley — were in their late thirties.

Tommy Fury is 7-0 (4). His former opponents were 14-175-5 in the aggregate. The oddsmakers chalked him the favorite. At the moment, Fury is a consensus 7/4 favorite.

Those in the know tell me that Jake Paul can fight more than a little, as Damon Runyon would have put it. Methinks the oddsmakers have the wrong favorite.

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The Red Tail at Resorts World Las Vegas sits directly across from Mulberry Street Pizzeria. Mulberry Street was the main thoroughfare of New York’s Little Italy, but this pizza place, a tentacle of a small SoCal franchise, originated in Beverly Hills.

Last month, a 10-foot-tall statue of Mike Tyson was unveiled at the entrance to the pizzeria. It was commissioned by Mulberry Street’s founder and owner Richie Palmer as a tribute to the boxer who Palmer says has been a close friend for thirty-five years.

It’s an impressive piece of artwork but, as many have noted, it doesn’t look anything like him. Hopefully Mr. Palmer got a good deal on it.

By the way, by all accounts the pizza at Mulberry Street Pizzeria is outstanding. A plain cheese slice goes for $5.50. Add $1 for each topping. Yes, the days of the cheap buffets that were once a Las Vegas trademark, are long gone.

R.I.P. Jerry Martin

News arrived this past weekend that Jerry Martin had died. There were no details; merely that he had passed away. He would have turned sixty-eight on the 28^th of this month.

A light heavyweight, nicknamed “The Bull,” Martin was born and raised in Antigua. He turned pro in Philadelphia in 1976 without the benefit of any amateur experience and compiled a record of 25-7 (17).

Martin wasn’t a great fighter by any means, but his career invites comparison to Jerry Quarry, which is to say that he came along at the wrong time – at a time when his weight class was exceptionally strong. He had three cracks at the world title, losing to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (L TKO 10), Matthew Saad Muhammad (L TKO 11), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi (L TKO 6).

Jerry Martin’s signature win came inside New Jersey’s Rahway State Penitentiary. On May 25, 1980, he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Rahway inmate James Scott in a bout televised on NBC. Scott, who was in there for armed robbery, which violated his parole (that’ll do it every time), was undefeated (18-0-1). Eight of those wins had come inside prison walls including a win over future champ Mustafa Muhammad, then known as Eddie Gregory. Martin’s triumph was a major upset and Martin’s manager J. Russell Peltz would number it among the highlights of his 50-plus years in boxing.

We here at TSS send condolences to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.

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