Month: June 2003

Crying Wolfe: Ali saga on Ann Wolfe

The out-of-the-blue announcement of the August 23,  Laila Ali and Christy Martin matchup brought the expected reaction from the "usual suspects" in Texas. RPM Boxing issued a broadside stating that Ali, by taking the Martin bout, was once again, "dodging the bullet", a matchup with RPM's estimable fighter, Ann Wolfe. Wolfe's name, indeed, has usually been a noticeably absent element any time opponents for Laila Ali are the subject. However, like almost everything to do with Ali and her career, it comes back to Johnny "Yahya" McClain, who is Laila's husband and, not surprisingly, the promoter of the August 23 card on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. McClain has done a masterful job of positioning Laila Ali as the new "face" of Women's Boxing, replacing the other woman in the ring on August Read more [...]

Mike Tyson and Fifteen Years By Bernie McCoy

Fifteen years is a long time. To adjudge just how long, think of one name in the boxing world, Mike Tyson. Fifteen years ago this week, Mike Tyson laid a very solid claim to the title, " the baddest man on the planet" by annihilating, and there's really no other word for it, Michael Spinks in just over a minute in a heavyweight championship bout in Atlantic City. Fifteen years later, Tyson continues to scuffle around the heavyweight ranks, but he is now known more for his bizarre conduct and statements to the press than for his ferocious boxing skill in the ring. Tyson was scheduled as a "program saver" for the original incarnation of the  Lennox Lewis championship fight on June 21. However, remaining true to his career-long erratic behavior, Tyson dropped out of the scheduled bout soon Read more [...]

Friday the 13th: Boxing card at the Chinook Winds Casino – by Katherine Dunn

Friday, June 13th, 2003, Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln City, Oregon. Promoter: Top Rank; Matchmaker: Pete Susens  -Ringside Physicians: Dr. Luis Rios, Dr. Ron Shear; Referees: Jim Erickson, Dave Hagan, Jeff Macaluso; Judges: Greg Baker, Robert Flamme, Trevor Lewis, Denis Ryan; Regulation: The Siletz Tribal Athletic Commission I’ve decided to blame Bob Arum for the Friday the 13th horror show at the Chinook Winds Casino. In letting the casino and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz off the hook, I’m giving them credit for their first fight card, back on December 4 of 1999, when they hosted the excellent HBO broadcast of Fernando Vargas vs Winky Wright and Diego Corrales vs John Brown. That was promoted by Ringside Ticket, Inc run by Patrick Ortiz. Then the Siletz held the respectable Read more [...]

Auturo Gatti-Mickey Ward, They Deserved Better By Bernie McCoy

The first fight was the best, probably the best of this generation. The return bout wasn't quite as great, it couldn't have been, there's never more than one Taj Mahal. The third fight was the least of the three, but will probably be better than 90% of the boxing matches we'll see in the next five years. When Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward finished the last round of their ten round segment of thirty rounds of boxing on Saturday night in Atlantic City, they stopped punching for the first time in thirty minutes of ring savagery. They  then  stood in the middle of the ring, forehead to forehead and muttered words to each other that only they were privy to, words that, in a true sense,  only they should have been privy to. There was no prancing around the ring, no jumping on the ring ropes, Read more [...]

Michelle Gatewood wins her pro debut By Sue TL Fox, Ringside

(JUNE 16) On Saturday night (June 14) in front of a packed house of boxing fans, Lucky Eagle Casino, in Rochester, Washington, had it's "Fight Night 41".  In the women's bout, it featured two newcomers to the sport. Doll Crain, who weighed in at 100 lbs., and then had to put on some quick pounds for the fight, fought Michelle Gatewood, 110 lbs., out of Spokane, Washington. Crain has been on the fight scene for quite awhile working as a boxing trainer, and a cornerman for various fighters on many cards. Crain showed tremendous heart despite the brutal pummeling she endured. Gatewood punished Crain, she delivered one blast after another until Crain fell to the canvas. Crain would pop right back up, only to be sent right back down again. In the third round at 1:23 seconds, the referee Read more [...]