Category: boxing event

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 [...]

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 [...]

The One and Only By Bernie McCoy

He began life eighty three years ago this month, May 3, as Walker Smith Jr in the small town of Ailey,Georgia. His birthplace was one, maybe the only, of the small town elements about the man who was known throughout his career as "Sugar Ray". He lived large outside the ring and inside the ropes he was the largest presence of his, or possibly, any other generation of fighters. There have been other boxers who have appropriated the sobriquet "Sugar Ray" throughout the years, some who have even carried the proud name into the ring with a modicum of distinction.  However, to most knowledgeable boxing fans, "Sugar Ray" goes with Robinson the way "Babe" goes with Ruth. He had nearly 200 bouts in his career and won 173 of them, 109 by knockout, but these are only the unrefined statistics of Sugar Read more [...]

Drama Without a Script… By Bernie McCoy

Its been written that sports is "drama without a script". Every so often, however, a sports event plays out exactly according to a script,  like the last act of a play. On October 26, 1951, that play was, in the eyes of many, a tragedy. The day before, October 25th, I had, chronologically, become a teenager. I could now truthfully proclaim that "I was in my teens" and look forward to all the wonders life had to offer a teenager in Brooklyn. It didn't take long. October 26th was a Friday and Friday was fight night at Madison Square Garden. I usually had to argue, cajole, persuade, and, usually, as a last resort, grovel, to get my dad to take me with him to McGuire's, the neighborhood gin mill, to watch the Friday Night Fights on TV. Once in a great while, he'd give in, particularly if Read more [...]

Women’s Boxing: TV or Not TV – By Bernie McCoy

Have you ever heard of the United States Basketball League?  Its a sub-NBA league existing primarily in medium sized markets around the country and populated with  players not ready for the prime time of the National Basketball Association. Have you ever heard of the Champions Tour, formerly the Senior Golf Tour? Its a sub-PGA tour existing on medium sized golf courses around the country populated with players past their golfing prime and no longer competitive on the Professional Golf Association tour. Don't look in your "local listings" for the next USBL basketball game, they aren't on TV. However, the Champions Tour is regularly telecast and has been for the last fifteen years, providing viewers with "compelling" telecasts of fifty and sixty year olds, climbing in and out of Read more [...]

Talkin’ Boxin’ by Howie Reed – Latest News on Boxing in April of 2003

THERE are perks that come with covering or competing in sport that come only to those that do. It probably takes a singer to fully enjoy Frank singing "One for My Baby" from his Wee Hours of the Morning album. Having the opportunity to watch some of the sporting artists at work, I put Marco Antonio Berrera right there at the top. He’s Jerry Bailey on a horse. He’s Gordie Howe going into the corner with elbows failing and coming out with the puck.. He’s Willy Mays cashing down a fly hit directly over his head in center. He’s Roberto Clemente making the throw from the right field foul line to third. He’s Dale Ernheart giving a little nudge to the car in front. He’s Donnie Gay riding a bull. He’s John Lowe playing a game of darts. He’s every great running back you’ve ever Read more [...]

Heavyweight Memories… By Bernie McCoy

Its amazing how easy memories come back. I'm watching what I thought would be a very compelling heavyweight fight between Roy Jones Jr. and John Ruiz. The quicker Jones is having no trouble with the plodding Ruiz. As I attempt to tune out the announcer's inane comments designed to keep the audience interested in this one sided affair, I am suddenly transformed, in my mind, to a long line leading to a movie theater on the upper Westside of Manhattan on a cold February night.I'm with a friend and we're standing right behind Lauren Bacall and Jason Robards, married at the time, 1964, waiting to see what everyone, including these celebrities in front of us, thinks will be a very compelling heavyweight fight. Similar to the Jones and Ruiz bout, this long ago title fight, featured a big heavyweight Read more [...]

Talkin’ Boxin’ by Howie Reed – the top mens Boxing News – March 30, 2003

THIS is a column is suppose to and actually sometimes does "Talk Boxin". In perspective boxing is but a very small pebble in the lake of life. What those inside boxing take as important or noteworthy is many times hardly worth reporting. There are times, many times to few, when boxing does something that makes me proud and honored to be a part of the sport. One of those events took place last Friday night at the ORLEANS Casino in my hometown of Las Vegas. It was the monthly reasonably priced professional fight card. I was pleased when walking in as one of my favorite people associated with the sport, Jody by name, was standing just inside the area where tickets are collected. She was handling out miniature American Flags. They were a popular item. Those who substitute cynicism for common Read more [...]

The Square Ring by Howie Reed

Stop the press: Hugo Dianzo (29-8) will be the one challenging WBC bantam champ Veeraphol Nakhonluang (40-1)in Bangkok May 1. Dianzo lost a very controversial decision to then-118lb champ Paulie Ayala two years ago in Ft. Worth, Texas and since has gone 3-2. The native of Mexico is computer ranked #31 while Veeraphol is #2. “Just another payday.” We now return you to our regular column. Trust that everyone has survived Songkran with a “sigh” and a thought. The thought? “Thank goodness we made it through another Songkran.” Surviving Songkran is something, as it killed more than SARS and The War in Iraq. Gosh what a great holiday. The fight between Joe Calzaghe (35-0) against William Joppy (34-1-2) scheduled for May 24th in Newcastle is probably “deader than Kelsey’s reproductive Read more [...]

Talkin’ Boxin’ by Howie Reed – Latest on Men’s Boxing in February 2003

"Hi Howie, Just wanted you to know that I enjoyed your last column. Keep up the good work...or whatever it is that you do... Keep Happy. Larry." Name withheld to protect the guilty. MOM always use to say, "Always finish what you start." In those day long past every command was wrapped with a message. "Eat everything on your plate. Clean it up. People in Europe are starving." "Then send them the cauliflower." As I was picking myself up off the floor of our small dining area at 1921-105 Avenue in Oakland California I realize that "Mom is always right." So Mom if you’re looking down I will finish what I started last week. After listening to the "Braying Asses’" on HBO during the Mosley "encounter", can’t call it a fight, I was questioning my very own ability to see and or think clearly. Read more [...]

Talkin’ Boxin’ by Howie Reed – More news on men’s Boxing in February of 2003

I’LL bet ya that a lot of you out there have said, when there is a lull in the conversation at the quiche and fondue party featuring a clever new white wine, "Boy that Talkin Boxin column seems to wander around aimlessly. It’s incoherent most of the time." Not my fault. The effort is the product of a Bi-Polar disorder that can only be treated with medication. That medication comes in either tall clear bottle with a black label or a short can in gold with a black label. On the bright side being Bi Polar gives you twice as many chances in dating polars. Onward we go. Where we’re going is the real question. Well we, that would be me, were going to play boxing reporter this week. It’s one of these events that comes upon me when I’ve been away from the MGD too long. At the Latin Fury Read more [...]