Day: May 23, 2003

Talkin’ Boxin’ by Howie Reed – Boxing News in May of 2003

THERE were two major fights (major cause they were on TV only) Saturday Night on Television. One on Showtime (Sharmba Mitchel-Ben Tackie) and one on HBO ( WBA Leonard Dorin-IBF Champion Paul Spadafora). In the air of disclosure I will admit that I saw neither. I write this with no shame and no sorrow. Before going into a long explanation it should be noted that Dorin-Spadafora boxed to a flat footed draw. (115-113 Dorin, 115-114 Spadafora, 114-114). From news reports it was a good fight. Of some interest is that prior to the fight Dotin’s folks had complained about the fight using two California judges. In the end one favored Dorin and the other called it a draw. The WBA judge had it for Spadafora. The Showtime fight was "kinda" a title eliminator to see who wasn’t going to fight Kostya Read more [...]

Spending Time in the Garden By Bernie McCoy May 23, 2003

To many boxing fans my age, and that means those who saw Floyd Patterson fight an eight-round main event in Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway Arena because he wasn't old enough to be licensed to fight ten rounds, "the Garden" can mean only one thing. Its the arena that was on 50th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City and it was the Mecca of boxing in the forties and fifties. This, of course, was decades before it was ever conceived that "big fights" would be held in casino parking lots or ballrooms and most people thought Zaire was a bakery in the Bronx that had bagels "to die for". Friday night was fight night at the Garden, not once a month or every other week, but every Friday, most weeks of the year. The main event started at ten o'clock, since it was televised as part of the "Gillette Cavalcade Read more [...]