Boxing Experts Blog
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Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:24 pm EDT
R.I.P. Herbert Muhammad
Herbert Muhammad, one of the most powerful figures in boxing in the 1960s and 1970s when he was managing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's career, died Monday in Chicago.
He never recovered after undergoing triple heart bypass surgery. He was 78.
Muhammad, whose father, Elijah Muhammad, was the leader of the Nation of Islam, began managing Ali's career in 1964, shortly after Ali defeated Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title.
Muhammad negotiated a $10 million purse for Ali to fight Joe Frazier on March 8, 1971, in a bout many consider the biggest event in the sport's history. It was known as "The Fight of the Century."
His negotiating skill on Ali's behalf helped to drive up salaries for athletes in all sports, said Gene Kilroy, Ali's longtime friend and his former business manager.
"He was a good guy and he never got his just due," Kilroy said. "He did a lot for Muhammad and he was a very, very sharp guy. Back in those days, (NFL Hall of Famer) Jim Brown was making something like $60,000 a year. The top baseball players were making around $50,000 or so.
"Ali started making those huge purses because of Herbert and that helped raised salaries for all athletes."
In a brilliant April 25, 1988, piece about Ali's entourage in Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith wrote of Muhammad's negotiating brilliance.
"The Manager had ushered in the era of million-dollar sports contract, brilliantly playing promoters Don King and Bob Arum off against each other," Smith wrote.
Smith later quoted Ali saying that Muhammad would be the only non-family member he'd take with him if he could take five people on a trip to the moon.
Muhammad also worked with Ali in his post-fighting career and estimated Ali could have been making as much as $30 million a year in the late 1980s had he been interesting in pursuing endorsement deals, which he was not.
Kilroy said Ali, who rarely speaks because of the effects of Parkinson's disease and who did not release a statement regarding Muhammad's death, was aware of how important his manager was in his career.
"Herbert did so much for Muhammad that people don't know about, it's a crime," Kilroy said. "He deserves to be remembered for what he did for Ali."
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Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:18 pm EDT
USA coach is the Larry Brown of boxing
USA boxing coach Dan Campbell's post-fight whining is more annoying than a live performance from Ashlee Simpson. All the Olympic boxers are fighting under the same flawed scoring system so how can Campbell (pictured on the left) keep complaining that his guys got jobbed by the judges? It sounds like sour grapes. The U.S. has just one fighter, Deontay Wilder, in contention for a medal.
Demetrius Andrade was the latest big favorite to get bounced before the semifinals. In analyzing Andrade's loss, Campbell again referenced the Roy Jones Jr. ripoff in 1988. It reeks of Larry Brown (pictured on the right) during the 2004 games with his men's basketball team. Brown never once pointed the finger at himself as his squad lost twice in the '04 games. Oddly enough with a different coach, Team USA basketball has won its games by an average of 32 ppg in Beijing. Ron Borges from TheSweetScience.com continues to destroy Campbell:
What was just as bad were Campbell’s constant claims that whatever went wrong was the fault of his fighters or the people around them. He called Russell lazy at one point even though the guy never failed to make weight as far as anyone could recall until he got to the Olympic team. Then it happened before the biggest tournament of his life. How are the coaches and the staff of USA Boxing blameless?
Warren loses because he didn’t listen to Campbell. Yanez loses because he didn’t listen to Campbell. Andrade loses and then storms out of the ring before the winner is announced and Campbell says on national television he was all right with that because he didn’t feel Andrade was treated fairly by the judges. This is the guy leading these kids?Andrade, the defending world champ at welterweight, followed his coach's whiney lead. Middleweight Shawn Estrada goes home to deal with real life. While Luis Yanez gladly parts way with Team USA.
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Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:00 pm EDT
USA boxing coach says Williams got Roy Jones'd in Beijing
Is USA boxing coach Dan Campbell a sore loser or the victim of a lousy scoring system? Campbell told NBC's Jim Gray that Raynell Williams' loss to Khedafi Djelkhir at 125 lbs. was as bad as the Roy Jones ripoff in 1988. Meanwhile, NBC boxing analyst Teddy Atlas said that he thought Williams did lose the fight. It's tough to take Campbell seriously with anything that he says at this point. He's already had one fighter not make weight and another lose because he misunderstood the scoring. Ron Borges did a great story on the troubles with Campbell and USA Boxing.
NBC boxing announcer Bob Papa said, that he and Teddy Atlas could question the scoring in 50 or 60 bouts. So why is Campbell wasting his time complaining about the system?
The Olympic boxing point scoring system is odd. Five judges have scoring pads similar to those used by Compubox. If 3-of-5 ringside judges award a point, the fighter is given credit. It seems like huge punches upstairs are the only type that resinate with these judges. There is no sense in throwing body punches. Too often when a fighter lands 5-6 body punches and is greeted by one straight headshot in return, the volume puncher doesn't get the point.
Here's a recap of Team USA results:
Heavyweight Deontay Wilder still alive
Campbell's enemy Yanez advances
Demetrius Andrade crushes Russian
East L.A.'s Estrada is in the quarters
2007 World Champion Rau'shee Warren loses in the prelims
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Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:15 pm EDT
Olympic boxing picking up steam
Olympic boxing is getting major coverage on CNBC. NBC may have its most honest and qualified announce team on the event as well. Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas have been great. When they don't get the scoring system and the way it's working, they have no problem calling out the discrepancy.
Controversy, of course, has always been a part of Olympic boxing. There have also been some unreal victorious moments through the years for USA boxing. Here's a look at some of the most memorable moments and controversies over the years:
5. Cassius Clay wins the light heavyweight gold medal in 1960.
This exploded Clay, later Muhammed Ali, onto the boxing world.
4. Roy Jones gets robbed in Seoul in 1988.
Jones dominated the field ,not losing a single round during the Olympic competition. Jones appeared to have won the first three rounds in the final against Park Si-Hun as he landed 86 punches to his opponent's 32. All three judges who voted against Jones were eventually reprimanded. The official IOC investigation which concluded in 1997 found that the judges had been given perks by Korean officials. Amazingly, the IOC would not overturn the result.
3. Referee steals match from Evander Holyfield in Los Angeles
Holyfield, representing the United States in the light heavyweight division, was disqualified in the second round of a semifinal match. Referee Gligorije Novicic called for a "break", which by Olympic rules calls for the fighters to stop punching. Holyfield said he did not hear the call. He threw a punch and floored Barry. Barry was unable to continue and Holyfield was disqualified. Holyfield went onto win the bronze medal.
Novicic later apologized to Holyfield for the error.2. George Foreman wins heavyweight gold in 1968 but is vilified
Foreman KO'd four of his opponents on his way to a heavyweight gold.
Big George wasn't universally celebrated. He was trashed by many African-Americans for waving the American flag in the ring after securing victory. This came shortly after Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the black power salute during the medal ceremony for the 200 meters.
1. Ray Leonard is the leader of the greatest USA boxing team ever
This team had immense success in professional boxing.
Those are my top five. What are your most memorable USA Boxing Olympic moments?
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Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:00 am EDT
Oscar: Margarito out for December, Pacquiao unlikely
Negotiations appear to be breaking down for a potential Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight on Dec. 6. Golden Boy Promotions is offering a 70-30 revenue split while Pacman's promoter Top Rank is looking for 60-40. Unfortunately for Camp Pacman, a precedent was set when Floyd Mayweather accepted the 70-30 split for his superfight against De La Hoya. De La Hoya also told ESPNRadio1100 that a fight against Antonio Margarito is not a possibility. Oscar said that out of respect for Paul Williams, Margarito must defeat Williams, before he would consider taking on the 'Tijuana Tornado.' Williams beat Margarito (116-112, 115-113 & 115-113) back in July of 2007.
CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE ENTIRE DE LA HOYA INTERVIEW (w/Cofield & Cokin on ESPNRadio1100):
Top Rank is also showing that it believes that there is no shot for a De La Hoya-Margarito fight with its talks of a Joshua Clottey-Margarito fight for Nov. 11 at Dodger Stadium.
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Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:30 am EDT
With Graham gone, Hatton may want Floyd Sr.
The Sun reported the shocking news that longtime Ricky Hatton mentor Billy Graham (pictured in the middle) abruptly retired on Monday. The Hitman's next fight is Nov. 22 against Paulie Malignaggi. Initial reports said that Graham's assistant Lee Beard would step in for the Malignaggi fight but now rumors are swirling that Hatton may bring on Floyd Mayweather Sr. to run his team. Retirement is a nice word to cover up what many think is a firing. A rift between 'The Preacher' Graham and Hatton began after the loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many felt that Graham was overmatched as a tactician and uncomfortable in the spotlight. Hatton's brother Matthew had parted ways with Graham earlier this month.
Preacher worked together for 11 years. Graham never had a signed contract. In an odd twist, Graham is reportedly moving to Georgia in the U.S. where he's said to invested in real estate.
If Floyd Sr. does come on board where will Hatton set up camp? He has never trained outside of Manchester, U.K. but one has to wonder if Floyd Sr. would go all the way to England for a camp.
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Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:15 pm EDT
Team Pacman is ready for De La Hoya
Manny Pacquiao jumped up five pounds to fight at lightweight with such ease that the buzz around a move to 147 lbs. to face Oscar De La Hoya is quickly becoming a reality. We know the Filipino media and fans want the fight. The possibility is getting major coverage. Recent Philippines newspaper headlines include: Arum says Pacquiao-De La Hoya possible
Roach wants Pacquiao-De La Hoya
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, appeared on Manila's DZSR Sports Radio this morning. Arum said Pacman and his family are in Las Vegas for a few days starting on Wednesday. Top Rank and Pacquiao advisers will decide what's next for the the new WBC lightweight champ.
Arum wants Pacquiao to face the Golden Boy:
"Hopefully that will result in a plan. And if he wants to go ahead with the De La Hoya fight then I'll contact Richard Schaefer and will start that negotiations. It's gonna take maybe a week or so, but there's no reason for undue haste. It's a very important decision for Manny's career. There's a lot of money involved and we're gonna go slowly."
You can hear the entire interview here.Read More >>
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Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:07 pm EDT
New pound-for-pound rankings
Antonio Margarito forced his way into Y! Sports Top 10 with his TKO victory over Miguel Cotto on Saturday night. Margarito debuted at No. 6; Cotto, after the first loss of his career, fell six spots to No. 9.
Where do you think the new WBA welterweight champion should be ranked? How about Cotto? And who is your No. 1? Tell us what you think about the pound-for-pound rankings.
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Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:15 am EDT
Sports Illustrated scribe inaccurately heaps praise upon himself
You gotta love the media. For every correct prediction we deliver on, we probably miss on five. It's odd though, you'll never see a story headlined, 'I'm an idiot.' SI.com's boxing writer Chris Mannix was in self-congratulatory mode after Antonio Margarito's victory over Miguel Cotto.
"Ever since I first learned about Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito, I've felt alone on an island. Why? Because I think I'm the only one who believes Margarito can win. 'I think you are,' said Ed Keenan, one of the PR coordinators for this event, in the press room a few hours before the fight. 'Everyone out here seems to like Cotto.'
I wouldn't quote Mr. Keenan as the research king of boxing. I love the guy but I've talked to Ed dozens of times at events, it's 50-50 if he gets my name correct!
Chris was definitely in the minority with his selection but if he checked the local Las Vegas paper or walked around radio row, he would have seen that he wasn't alone.Read More >>
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Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:45 pm EDT
Was 'Money' a big winner with the Margarito TKO?
The Floyd Mayweather watch was on during the pre-fight for the Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto battle. Would the retired former pound-for-pound king show to watch two guys duke it out for welterweight supremacy? Mayweather was not on hand but his Escalade (pictured at the front entrance to the MGM Grand) was and rumor has it that so was some of his entourage.
The story flying around the MGM Grand media room was that Floyd sent some of his associates to try and get money down on a Margarito KO. Apparently, the MGM would not take thirty large on the 5-2 bet. With the Margarito 11th round TKO of 'Money' would've won $75,000. MGM Sports Book management refused to deny or confirm that the Mayweather camp tried to place the Margarito bet.
The 75 dimes may not matter much to Mayweather if he decides to face Margarito down the road. It looks like an immediate fight against the 'Tijuana Tornado' is unlikely. But with another big Margarito win, a potential Mayweather-Margarito fight could build to a crescendo and pull 'Money out of retirement for a $20+ million payday. So maybe Mayweather was a big winner on Saturday night.
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