It’s always a good thing when there’s a big fight card in Los Angeles. Being that I live in the city, that means no four hour jaunts to Las Vegas via automobile or being stuck in an airplane like a sardine.
This past weekend saw the Staples Center get back into the thick of things with Bernard Hopkins making his 20th middleweight title defense against Howard Eastman with his new promotional outfit and partner, Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya.
While the fight itself was far from great, it was a great night for the business of boxing and Los Angeles. The fact that 12,828 spectators showed up on a gray, rainy day to see four black fighters – all based thousands of miles from Southern California – was a great sign.
Perhaps boxing can once again be a major player, on a consistent basis, in our city. Ahhh, the hockey lockout, the gift that keeps on giving.
But having a fight locally means that my day is a busy one. Unlike fights in Vegas where I can just sleep in all day – where maids seem to wake me up every 10 minutes with the calls of ‘room service’ – when the fights are at home, my schedule is pretty hectic.
You readers seem to enjoy my boxing blogs, and here at MaxBoxing, we aim to please. So your wish is my command.
My day, on February 19th, 2005.
9:32 AM- I wake up groggily, but I feel OK. I had spent much of the previous night watching boxing on ESPN2, Telefutura and ShoBox. Much of the viewing was done for ‘The Next Round’ as we would be airing highlights of ‘Friday Night Fights’ and Shobox for our next episode.
So those were telecasts that I not only had to watch, but also tape and log highlights.
Hey, it beats working in a coal mine.
9:40 AM- By this time I have a bowl of Smart Start cereal and my laptop in front of me. I browse around the ‘net a bit and check my e-mail. Not much is going on, so I log off quickly.
10:08 AM- I get back to my room and I start multi-tasking. All at once I begin reading my ESPN magazine, watching the Illinois-Iowa game on ESPN2 and start listening to Rich Marotta’s ‘Neutral Corner’ radio show on 570 KLAC.
Marotta has Howard Eastman, Ken Miller (my good buddy from the Sentinel), Larry Merchant (always a good interview), Bernard Hopkins and Julio Diaz on board this week.
Like a juggler I manage to read my magazine, watch bits and parts of the game and listen to Marotta all at the same time. Every aspect gets one-third of my undivided attention.
10:42 AM- Uh, oh, the undefeated Illini are struggling, holding just a 53-51 lead over the Hawkeyes in the middle of the second half. I like this Illinois squad, led by Dee Brown, Luther Head, Derron Williams and Roger Powell. They may be a bit small, but I think they can win it all with their guard play and quickness.
This team reminds me a lot of that 1989 Illinois team that had Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo, Lowell Hamilton, and Kenny Battle. Wow, was it THAT long ago – my junior year at Montebello High – I must be getting old.
10:45 AM- My multi-tasking is broken up as I receive a call from my good friend Dave ‘Rent-a-Wreck’ Schwartz and then Bob Santos, the co-manager of Robert Guerrero, who asks me about tonight’s fights.
He asks me what I think of him bringing on Shelly Finkel as his co-manager. I state that since ‘The Ghost’ is already on TV and going places, was there really a need to give anybody else a piece of what could be a very lucrative pie? Also, by making this move, he halts any chance of a showdown with Rocky Juarez, who is also managed by Finkel.
But hey, it’s his fighter. Santos hears me out but he is still convinced that this is the right move for them. And that is what ultimately matters.
11:06 AM- I can breathe easy, the Illini have pulled away and win by ten, 75-65, to run their mark to 27-0. I’d love for them to run the table, as it would be quite an achievement. I love to see streaks, whether they’re hitting streaks, games played or consecutive wins.
Also, I’ve always been a fan of Luther Head ever since he was one of the featured players in the 2001 show ‘Preps’, which followed the exploits of Chicago area ballers during their high school days. That was a great show that gave an in-depth and revealing look at these kids’ lives, on and off the court. Because of that show, I’ve always had a keen interest in how Head, Pierre Pierce (since kicked out of the Iowa program), Eddy Curry (Bulls), Jay Straight (Wyoming), Will Bynum (Ga. Tech) and Sean Dockery (Duke) have progressed the past several years.
11:10 AM- By this time I’m out the door on my way to Freddie Roach’s gym for an early workout. As I drive down Hollywood Blvd, I listen to Merchant being interviewed by Marotta.
No one has the ‘dramatic pause’ down quite like Larry. Dick Vitale he isn’t.
11:20- 12:30- I arrive at Wild Card and I see Roach dressed in a Boston Red Sox championship t-shirt and ball cap. They look brand new. “Freddie, you on the bandwagon, now?” I asked him. “Well, all this stuff was sent to me, I didn’t buy any of it,” he explains.
But since he’s from that area, he gets automatic membership in ‘The Nation’, so it’s OK.
I notice that even though it’s about an hour from the arrival of Manny Pacquiao, ‘Lil Manila’ is forming early. Like Star Wars fans who wait in line two months early to see the latest installment of that series, Filipino fans come early to stake out their spots in the gym to see their hero.
With the extra bodies inside and all the windows and doors shut tightly because of the weather, it’s quite hot and humid in the gym – which is great; there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to work up a good sweat after a night of downing some Heinekens.
That beer has to go somewhere, and I’d much rather have it through my pores than to my gut.
After I wrap my hands and warm up I begin to hit the heavy bag and double-end bags for the next 45 minutes or so. I can’t work the mitts with my man Macka Foley because he says his back has been giving him fits. It must be all those rounds with the Korean Hammer, I guess.
As I work out I see Pedro Fernandez, who’s in town for the fights and has come to interview Pacquiao himself. We say hello as he speaks with Roach and I proceed with my workout.
As I finish up and start drinking my protein drink, he comes over to me and asks why he’s the only guy writing about this Yory Boy Campas situation with Top Rank. I tell him I really don’t know. He tells me that if this were Don King that all of us would be writing about it. Which may have a grain of truth to it, but I still probably wouldn’t be writing about it.
It seemed strange to me that he was concerned about what others were writing. I tell him that I write about what interests me and that the Yory Boy situation is of no interest to me. That doesn’t seem to make Pedro too happy, but hey, I’m just being honest. There’s a reason why I’m not a hockey writer.
I’d probably die from boredom.
1:00 PM- By this time I’m out of the Wild Card (which has become a fire hazard with all of Pacquiao’s fans crammed inside) and I head over to the Tosa Express, which is just a few blocks from my home.
Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this place has my favorite Chinese chicken salad and the most affordable sushi I’ve seen. What’s amazing is, there isn’t an Asian working in the whole joint. From what I’ve seen, the whole workforce is Latin.
That would be like going to a Mexican restaurant and having the whole staff be Chinese.
I get my customary salad and 12-piece tuna roll – all for less than 10 bucks.
1:10 PM- I get home and I see bad news on my TV. As I watch ESPNews, I see that the NHL is having some emergency meetings over the weekend and they might ‘un-cancel’ the upcoming season. Oh, what a buzzkill.
I call Dave Smith, the ace drive-time host of ‘the Ticket 1540 AM, and he’s stunned. “What!!! Oh, geez, that’s terrible.” I agree – damn that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, can’t they just leave the dead alone?
After I eat, I talk on the phone with Donald Tremblay, the top-notch publicist for Main Events, Kevin Iole of the Las Vegas Review Journal and our webmaster Gary Randall about a variety of subjects. Doing what I do, I don’t have set hours or punch a clock, but there’s never really a day off, either.
Which is OK, this beats working in a steel mill.
2:52 PM- It’s drizzling outside as I take off for the Staples Center. The televised portion of this show doesn’t start till 6:45, but Golden Boy has scheduled a pretty interesting undercard full of prospects and contenders, so I leave early, hoping to catch the full card.
It’s such an early start (around 3:15) that I feel like I’m going to a Don King show.
As I hit the usual bottleneck on the 101 leading up to the 110, I get a call from Carl Moretti, the matchmaker for Main Events, who is relieved that Antonio Margarito came away unscathed in beating Sebastian Lujan the night before in Atlantic City, paving the way for Margarito to face Kermit Cintron as one of the featured bouts on Main Events’ April 23rd pay-per-view show with ESPN.
Now, I’m sure that if you didn’t see it, you must’ve heard from somebody about Lujan looking like Van Gogh with his left ear damn near dangling off at the end of the fight. It was one of the most grotesque things I have ever seen. Evander Holyfield’s ear didn’t look nearly as bad after his encounter with Mike Tyson.
“He boxed his ears off,” Moretti tells me.
As we sign off, Moretti tells me, “Hey, remember, he boxed his ears off.” I assure Carl that he will get full credit for that line. It’s a good one, almost as funny as when he tells me every August that his beloved Notre Dame ‘Fightin’ Irish’ are poised to make a run at the national title.
3:20 PM- The rain is starting to get a little harder as I drive down Sepulveda Blvd. heading towards the Staples. Usually I just park near the arena on their lot for 20 bucks. But I gotta tell ya, I always feel like I’m being held up when I do it.
So I decide to do some comparison shopping and see if I can get a better price – and still have my vehicle by the end of the night. I find a lot about two blocks from the arena near the Palm Restaurant for eight dollars. Just 30 feet down on the other side of the street they’re charging ten bones.
Yeah, I’m getting a bargain here.
As I start my trek to the Staples, the misty rain comes down steadily. I think to myself, “This is LA, not Seattle; this is ridiculous.” By now, I should be wearing my shorts and sandals, not using my umbrella. But this has been an unusually wet season out here. Streets are being transformed into rivers and hillside homes are sliding away into oblivion.
3:30 PM- As I make my way to the credential desk, I notice that there’s actually a pretty good crowd for being this early in the afternoon. These must be some rabid fans if they’re showing up at this time on a day like today.
I get my credential and I’m ready to go in.
We got fights to cover.
(Part II – Inside the Staples Center and the night of fights)
MAY DAY
The word is that boxing will be back again at the Staples Center on May 28th, featuring a junior lightweight tilt between Carlos Hernandez and Jesus Chavez, a title defense for IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez, and Julio Chavez Sr. and Jr.( yes, both of them will be in action).
Tickets will be priced from $200 to $20, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that you could get 15,000 plus in the house that night.
Again, the NHL lockout, the gift that keeps on giving.
BABY STEPS
Did anyone see ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ piece on Joe Mesi? I thought it was an outstanding look into the plight of Mesi, who just last year was thought to be among the game’s saviors, but who now waits in limbo, as his status as a prizefighter is determined.
Bob Ley also had an opportunity to interview Mesi’s father, Jack, who I thought came off very well in stating their case.
It’s just my opinion, but I know the Nevada State Athletic Commission is trying to be as well-intentioned as possible in not allowing Mesi to fight on. But at the same time, if Mesi can prove that he is at no more a risk than any other prizefighter (as Dr. Robert Cantu suggests), and he is willing to sign a waiver, then why deprive him the opportunity to fight and make a living?
Also on that night’s edition of ‘OTL’ was a feature on New Patriots ‘backer Teddy Bruschi, who suffered a mild stroke this past week at the age of 31. His ailment was caused in large part because of the physical nature of football.
It got me to thinking – and I’ve had the chance to talk with some ex-football players about this – but there are literally hundreds of football players who go out there each week and play with lingering injuries that are in more physical peril than Mesi is in a boxing ring.
My point, if the guy wants to fight, and he has enough evidence that he can, then let him.
FINAL FLURRIES
I’ve been told by a couple of people that with the NHL lockout that ESPN is contemplating adding a few more boxing dates to their schedule to fill the vacancies…..Dan Goossen is right when he says that James Toney is the much bigger name and has the much larger marquee value than WBA heavyweight titlist John Ruiz. But I don’t agree with him that there should be a 50-50 split if this fight does go to a purse bid. After all, isn’t Goossen’s complaint – and it’s a valid one shared by many in the sport – that the sanctioning bodies don’t follow their own rules and make them up as they go along? Well, if you want uniformity and consistency within the rules from these organizations, shouldn’t the integrity of the 75-25 split be honored?….. I thought ‘FNF’ had a very moving piece on Antonio Margarito and his wife….I think Mike Arnaoutis got brought back down to earth a bit with his 12-round struggle against Roberto Santa Cruz. He’s still a very good prospect, but right now, he’s just that. A prospect….. There is now talk of a bout between IBF junior featherweight belt-holder Israel Vazquez and Wayne McCullough….
