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The Travelin’ Man goes to Boardwalk Hall: Part one

Fighters Network
01
Mar

Boardwalk Hall

 

Thursday, Feb. 18: As usual, the 26 days since returning from Tucson have been stuffed with various boxing-related tasks, such as conducting CompuBox research and tending to my ever-growing sports video collection. Because of the relatively light schedule of shows in early 2016 as compared to the near-saturation slate during the latter half of 2015, I was able to work far enough ahead so I could work on the April 9 HBO Pay-Per-View show topped by Timothy Bradley-Manny Pacquiao III. As of this writing, I’ve already finished the research on two of the bouts and I’m nearly done with the third of the four-match telecast.

While I enjoy my time at home, I still look forward to hitting the road and riding the sky because that provides an element of adventure that I can’t get at the home office. On this day, I’ll be traveling to Atlantic City to work a “ShoBox” quadruple-header that will pair super middleweights John Magda and Christopher Brooker as well as Ronald Ellis and Jerry Odom, lightweights Lavisas Williams and O’Shanique Foster and, in the main event, junior featherweights Adam Lopez and Mario Munoz. Although the bouts will be staged inside Boardwalk Hall – known by some as “The House That (Arturo) Gatti Built” – they won’t take place inside the larger arena but rather the Adrian Phillips Ballroom (which has its own nickname, “The Pernell Whitaker Room,” because the future Hall-of-Famer fought there several times).



During my 20s and 30s, Atlantic City reigned over American boxing on the East Coast as powerfully as Las Vegas did (and still does) west of the Mississippi River. In recent years, however, the once-torrential flow of fights at all levels has slowed to a trickle. How much has it slowed? Since the turn of the century, Atlantic City has hosted just five heavyweight title fights: Wladimir Klitschko TKO 6 Ray Mercer in June 2002, Chris Byrd UD 12 Evander Holyfield in Dec. 2002, John Ruiz UD 12 Hasim Rahman in Dec. 2003, Hasim Rahman D 12 James Toney in March 2006 and Sultan Ibragimov UD 12 Shannon Briggs in June 2007. That means it’s been nearly nine years since Atlantic City hosted a major heavyweight title fight.

Given Atlantic City’s past reputation, it’s even more stunning that when one includes the 1990s, the total only swells to 11 (Ray Mercer KO 9 Francesco Damiami in Jan. 1991, Evander Holyfield UD 12 George Foreman in April 1991, Ray Mercer TKO 5 Tommy Morrison in Oct. 1991, Michael Moorer TKO 5 Bert Cooper in May 1992, Lennox Lewis TKO 8 Phil Jackson in May 1994 and Lennox Lewis TKO 5 Shannon Briggs in March 1998). Contrast that to the period between Oct. 1987 and July 1989 when Atlantic City hosted four heavyweight title bouts, all of which involved Mike Tyson and all of which resulted in knockouts (TKO 7 Tyrell Biggs, TKO 4 Larry Holmes, KO 1 Michael Spinks and TKO 1 Carl “The Truth” Williams). That said, the only other Atlantic City heavyweight title fight in the 1980s was Larry Holmes’ fifth round TKO of Scott Frank.

As I conducted this piece of research, my historian’s curiosity kicked in. I wondered if a similar picture would be painted if the study were expanded to all Atlantic City title fights in all weight classes. Starting with Joey Giardello’s middleweight title defense against Dick Tiger at the Convention Center on Dec. 7, 1963, Atlantic City has hosted 208 major title fights. The Giardello-Tiger bout, which Giardello won by unanimous decision to retain the title, was the only one staged in the 1960s and the next one wouldn’t occur until more than 16 years later when Matthew Saad Muhammad stopped John Conteh in their rematch on March 29, 1980 at Resorts International.

Saad-Conteh II was the first of 75 title fights Atlantic City hosted during the decade as well as the first of 21 light heavyweight title contests (by far the most bouts in a single weight class during any of the decades studied). In the 1990s, the number expanded slightly to 77 title bouts while from 2000 onward, it contracted to 55.

The city’s dearth of recent title action can best be illustrated by listing the most recent title fight staged in each division:

Heavyweight: June 2, 2007 – Sultan Ibragimov UD 12 Shannon Briggs, Boardwalk Hall

Cruiserweight: Jan. 27, 2006 – Virgil Hill UD 12 Valery Brudov, Tropicana Hotel & Casino

Light heavyweight: Nov. 8, 2014 – Sergey Kovalev UD 12 Bernard Hopkins, Boardwalk Hall

Super middleweight: Dec. 17, 2011 – Andre Ward UD 12 Carl Froch, Boardwalk Hall

Middleweight: Oct. 26, 2013 – Peter Quillin TKO 10 Gabriel Rosado, Boardwalk Hall

Junior middleweight: Jan. 29, 2005 – Kassim Ouma UD 12 Kofi Jantuah, Boardwalk Hall

Welterweight: April 12, 2008 – Miguel Cotto TKO 5 Alfonso Gomez, Boardwalk Hall

Junior welterweight: Dec. 13, 2008 – Kendall Holt SD 12 Demetrius Hopkins, Boardwalk Hall

Lightweight: Feb. 16, 2013 – Adrien Broner TKO 5 Gavin Rees, Boardwalk Hall

Junior lightweight: Nov. 17, 2007 – Joan Guzman UD 12 Humberto Soto, Borgata Hotel Casino

Featherweight: July 9, 2011 – Jhonny Gonzalez TKO 4 Tomas Villa, Boardwalk Hall

Junior featherweight: Dec. 7, 2013 – Guillermo Rigondeaux UD 12 Joseph Agbeko, Boardwalk Hall

Bantamweight: Dec. 5, 1998 – Johnny Tapia MD 12 Nana Yaw Konadu, Convention Center

Junior bantamweight: Dec. 13, 2003 – Luis Perez UD 12 Felix Machado II, Boardwalk Hall (only entry)

Flyweight: Sept. 4, 1998 – Mark Johnson TKO 6 Jose Laureano, Boardwalk Hall (only entry)

Junior flyweight: Dec. 13, 2003 – Rosendo Alvarez D 12 Jose Victor Burgos, Boardwalk Hall (only entry)

Minimumweight: June 25, 2005 – Ivan Calderon UD 12 Gerardo Verde, Boardwalk Hall (only entry)

But as relatively barren as recent circumstances have been, the city’s place in boxing history is secure. It has seen its share of mind-blowing upsets such as Lloyd Honeyghan KO 6 Donald Curry, Richie Sandoval KO 15 Jeff Chandler, Vince Phillips KO 10 Kostya Tszyu, Claude Noel W 15 Rodolfo Gonzalez, Jake Rodriguez W 12 Charles Murray, Tomas Molinares NC 6 Marlon Starling (originally a KO 6 for Molinares, who KO’d Starling with a punch that was launched clearly after the bell), Keith Mullings KO 9 Terry Norris, Montell Griffin DQ 9 Roy Jones Jr. I and all-time slugfests like Roberto Duran W 12 Iran Barkley, Michael Moorer KO 5 Bert Cooper, Jeff Harding KO 12 Dennis Andries I, Bobby Czyz KO 2 Willie Edwards, Kelly Pavlik KO 7 Jermain Taylor I, Miguel Cotto KO 7 Ricardo Torres, Alexis Arguello KO 14 Ray Mancini and Arturo Gatti KO 5 Gabriel Ruelas.

I’ll never forget Pernell Whitaker’s sensational come-from-behind knockout of Diosbelys Hurtado that saved “Sweet Pete’s” already-signed showdown with Oscar De La Hoya (for more details, please buy a copy of “Tales from the Vault”), the relentless drive of Sean O’Grady, that only was exceeded by Hilmer Kenty’s bravery in defeat, or Wilfredo Gomez’s all-around excellence in defeating future titlist Juan “Kid” Meza. Other indelible memories include Eusebio Pedroza’s almost non-stop fouling against Juan LaPorte (as well as the between-rounds riot that broke out), Jeff Chandler’s revenge KO of Oscar Muniz less than five months after “The Boxer” out-pointed him in a non-title go, Aaron Pryor’s rematch knockout of Alexis Arguello (a much better fight than given credit), the unholy beat-down Floyd Mayweather Jr. dished out on Gatti that first lifted him to pound-for-pound supremacy and Julian Jackson’s consciousness-removing knockouts of Terry Norris and Buster Drayton.

I could only imagine the buzz inside the Convention Center during round seven of Evander Holyfield-George Foreman when it became clear that the 42-year-old reverend was going to put his Christian brother through hell, the gasps that swept through the arena as Ray Mercer pounded Tommy Morrison into semi-consciousness or the myriad rush of emotions – both positive and negative – during Naseem Hamed’s Halloween-themed ring walk before his bout with Wayne McCullough. I never got to experience the atmosphere that only comes with a Gatti fight at Boardwalk Hall (where the final two fights with Micky Ward took place) but I did conduct a phone interview with Ward, by then Gatti’s trainer, before “Thunder’s” final contest against Alfonso Gomez.

The combination of boxing’s globalization and surrounding states’ legalization of casino gambling, it’s unlikely Atlantic City will ever regain its former standing in the sport. For now, however, I’ll enjoy the here and now, even when reminiscing about past glories.

*

My travel day began shortly before 8 a.m., when I usually arise most days. I could afford to stay with my routine because my lone flight of the day – from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia – was scheduled to depart at 1:35 p.m. When I first learned of this assignment a few weeks earlier, one main concern was weather conditions on travel day, which remain dicey through March, thanks to the partnership of Old Man Winter and Mother Nature in this part of the northern hemisphere. Although our area was beset by ferocious snowfall and frigid temperatures in recent weeks (Punxsutawney Phil definitely missed the mark this year), it was blessed by much better weather here – partly sunny skies and a temperature in the mid-30s. Aside from an insistent trucker, who refused to drift left, so I could gain access to a ramp leading to a bridge (I had to stop to let the lug through), traffic was of no consequence. Thus, I arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport in two hours and 16 minutes, a little quicker than usual. I found a parking spot in short order (five spots before the 13D sign) and, as I walked into the terminal, I had no reason to be concerned.

As I glanced up at the flight monitor, I was irked to see that all three flights to Philadelphia were delayed, including the one that was supposed to leave shortly before noon. I toyed with the idea of changing to the earlier delayed flight but two developments persuaded me to stay put: (1) my flight, originally second in the queue, moved up to first in line to depart and (2) the scheduled departure time was moved back only 15 minutes.

Only it ended up not being 15 minutes; it was closer to 30. But thanks to some “shortcuts” our pilot told us he would take, we still arrived in Philadelphia five minutes earlier than our slated 3:12 p.m. touchdown.

The plan from here was to meet ace audio man Mike Sena, who arrived in Philly from LAX about 45 minutes earlier and, thanks to a series of texts, we eventually met up. In years past, I was flummoxed – and intimidated – by the Philadelphia to Atlantic City route but now, several years later, I had learned it so well that I helped Mike with a few of the turns when the audio on his smart phone’s GPS malfunctioned. Once we arrived in Atlantic City, however, I was of little benefit because the GPS advised a different route than the one listed on our production memo. After a bit of scratch-and-sniff navigation, we eventually arrived at Bally’s, the crew hotel.

Once I checked into my ninth-floor room and made a couple of “I’m all right” phone calls, I took the elevator downstairs to the casino and fueled up on Johnny Rockets fare. Predictably, the filling meal rendered me nearly devoid of energy but not before I finished research requested by my boss (and, in my opinion, future Hall-of-Famer) Bob Canobbio. For the remainder of the evening, I alternated between the Penguins-Red Wings game on NBC Sports Network and the two ESPNs. A state of drowsiness slowly enveloped me as I worked the remote and, before I knew it, my eyes had grown too heavy to keep open. At the unusually early time of 10:45, I decided to turn out the lights – and my own lights.

Friday, Feb. 19: For whatever reason, I slept longer (nearly eight hours) and more soundly than usual, so, once I decided to get up, I did so with atypical energy. It was a good thing I had some extra fuel to burn because I needed to make up for the previous night’s neglect. Thus I spent much of the morning (and early afternoon) catching up on my writing responsibilities instead of taking a stroll on the boardwalk or sampling the local fare as I had wished to do. I took a break only to print out my boarding pass, which, unlike last August, I completed with no problem.

After returning to my room, I couldn’t help but remember that this date was a special one for me as well as for my immediate family. For me, today marks the ninth anniversary since I was asked to join CompuBox full-time while, exactly three years earlier, my father underwent surgery to remove a cancerous kidney, an operation that rendered him cancer-free then – and cancer-free now.

Because of my habit of putting business before pleasure, I wasn’t able to enjoy the sunshine that streamed through the curtains or the view of the Atlantic Ocean. It was just as well, for, when it came time for me to leave for the venue, I discovered the sunlight concealed the accompanying chill. Thanks to some helpful casino employees and a security guard at Boardwalk Hall, I found my ringside work station inside the Adrian Phillips Ballroom and eventually got the green light we all wanted to see. Meanwhile, my punch-counting partner Aris Pina took a bus from New York City and arrived at the hotel shortly after 3 p.m. and, after resting up, arrived at the arena at 7 p.m., well before our 10 p.m. start time.

As we waited for the show to begin, Aris and I chatted with one another as well as with a few ringsiders. One of them was veteran writer/public relations guy John Beyrooty, who is always good for a trip (or, in his words, a jog) down Memory Lane, as well as a funny story. And the best part is, his stories actually happened.

Today’s story involved a press conference in Los Angeles that focused on junior featherweight champion Israel Vazquez. Beyrooty handed Vazquez his cell phone after the regular portion of the press conference and the one-on-one interviews, so the fighter could conduct more interviews with other press people who weren’t able to attend live. As Vazquez was talking, Beyrooty was hustling to take care of other pressing matters. Once those duties were finished, Beyrooty sought to retrieve his phone and discovered that Vazquez – and virtually everybody else – was gone.

“For some people, cell phones are important but, for me, it is vital,” Beyrooty said. “Everyone had left by now and I was freaking out.”

Beyrooty purchased another phone to tide him over but the mystery was solved a few hours later when a key member of Vazquez’s team managed to get hold of him.

“I hear you lost your phone,” the team member said. “Israel has it. He must have walked away with it by accident.”

Beyrooty never expected Vazquez to be the one who had his phone. He thought he had heard his ring tone sometime before he left the press conference but didn’t think anything of it, at the time.

“You know, we tried to call you,” the team member said.

“Yeah?,” Beyrooty asked. “Did I pick up?” Only then did the team member realize the absurdity of his last sentence and the pair laughed it off.

The story had a happy ending as Beyrooty and his phone were soon reunited.

Aris and I paid scant attention to the undercard as we continued to chat with each other as well as with various boxing folk, like ring announcer Thomas Treiber, analyst Steve Farhood and audio guy Sena, who gave me the claim ticket for the rental car because I was charged with returning it to Philadelphia the following morning.

With 34 scheduled rounds of action, this show had the potential of being a very long one. As I scanned the bout sheet, I thought that two of the bouts would end in knockout (Magda-Brooker and Ellis-Odom) while the other two would go the distance. No matter to me though; I was ready to count for as long as necessary. I just hoped the fighters would keep our fingers busy.

By the time the broadcast began at 10 p.m. EST, I had already been inside the arena for more than seven-and-a-half hours. I sensed that an already lengthy work day would end up being far longer.

*

Lee Groves is a boxing writer and historian based in Friendly, West Virginia. He is a full member of the BWAA, from which he has won 13 writing awards, including 10 in the last five years and two first-place awards since 2011. He has been an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 2001 and is also a writer, researcher and punch-counter for CompuBox, Inc. He is the author of “Tales from the Vault: A Celebration of 100 Boxing Closet Classics.” To order, please visit Amazon.com. To contact Groves, use the e-mail [email protected].

 

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