BOXING
PROMOTERS
Summer 2010
ASSOCIATION
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“Fighter of the Decade”
Manny Pacquiao
Jack Johnson
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Manny Pacquiao:
100 Years of boxing
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ROUND1 SUMMER 2010 • WWW.ROUND1MAG.COM
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOXING PROMOTERS ASSOCIATION
ON THE COVER AND THIS PAGE: Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto photograp hed by Howard Schatz
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n behalf of all of us in the Boxing Promoters Association (BPA), I want to say that it is an honor to be a part of this inaugural edition of what we believe is going to become one of the premier boxing magazines in the world. Not only are we excited about being in this edition, but we are also excited to announce that we have entered into a long-term distribution agreement with the magazine, whereby we will distribute Round1 directly and for free to boxing fans at events promoted by members of the BPA. Distributing the magazine at our events will give us the opportunity to provide our fans with boxing news and information. We value our fans and are pleased to provide this worthwhile service. We hope you enjoy the fights and Round1. This issue puts together an all-star team, with Steve Farhood (boxing analyst for Showtime and winner of the 2008 Boxing Writers Association of America Award for Long and Meritorious Service), who is serving as the Editor-atLarge, and world-renowned photographer, Howard Schatz, whose brilliance graces the cover. Steve and Howard are two of the best in the business, and we look forward to distributing and enjoying their Round1 work. We at the BPA appreciate the boxing fans that support our events, and we will continue to look for ways to make our shows deserving of your support. Please be sure to visit us at www.BoxingPromotersAssociation.com. All the best,
Joe DeGuardia, President Boxing Promoters Association
FEATURES THE ART OF BOXING p.8 THE FIVE MOST SIGNIFICANT FIGHTS IN HISTORY p.14
"Fun, smart, thoughtful, youthful—a joy. Sort of incredible that someone so real and human can fight so brutally," says Howard Schatz about WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (pictured).
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May 1, 2010, Las Vegas, Nev.: Floyd Mayweather won a 12-round unanimous decision over "Sugar" Shane Mosley, with scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110. RINGSIDE PHOTO BY HOWARD SCHATZ
STILL... I
n the ever-evolving world of public entertainment, the sweet science deserves praise for remaining a stripped-down sport. Yet, although the game itself hasn’t changed much, the players change more often than a traffic light. If the first half of 2010 is any indication, boxing is in the process of purging itself once again. »»
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AND STILL...
In April, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins reminded us that it’s a young man’s game; Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales are now the greats of yesteryear; Oscar De La Hoya wears suits full-time these days; and it won’t be long before Shane Mosley trades in the speed bag for suspenders. Nevertheless, the sport rolls on. The Klitschko brothers continue to dominate. Chad Dawson may be the next great light heavy. Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley sit atop the 140lb division, though Amir Khan is closing fast. And though the odds are high that one of them won’t make it, the three Andre’s (Berto, Dirrell, and Ward) so far appear to be future stars. But the biggest story of 2010 thus far has been the war for supremacy between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. While no blood has 6
yet been drawn,the battle lines are set. In March, Pacquiao staked his claim by pitching a shutout against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey. And oft-criticized for a business-minded approach in and out of the ring, Mayweather silenced doubters on May 1st by taking the fight to Shane Mosley and unveiling a steely resolve beneath his glossy exterior. Their pound-for-pound showdown has been bandied about since 2009, but even if they continue to engage in heated exchanges outside the ring instead of in it, all isn’t lost. Reports of the sport’s death have been more exaggerated than a mime act. In fact, there’ll be plenty to talk about in the coming months. So stay tuned.
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Kenneth Sam-Bouhairie Managing Editor
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
March 13, 2010, Arlington, TEX: Manny Pacquiao dominated Joshua Clottey for 12 straight rounds to easily win by unanimous decision at Cowboys Stadium.
THE ART OF BOXING
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“I think boxers, in terms of art, are beautiful, original, classics,”
says acclaimed photographer Howard Schatz, who showcases the power, honor and grace in the world of boxing in these striking images from his latest project. Here, he talks to ROUND1 about the art of capturing ‘the game you don’t play.’
Interview by Lamar Clark
Chad Dawson Light Heavyweight Champion
“I use computers and multiple strobe heads so that I can repeat the flash in a very short interval, real fast. Boom boom boom. They were all done within a second, within 2/3 of a sec probably. He was fighting, ducking and dodging. That was the direction and he was serious.” ROUND1 SUMMER 2010 • WWW.ROUND1MAG.COM
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Bob Arum President, Top Rank
“I said, just imagine you’re in a conference with five or six people and you’re negotiating a deal and someone comes up with an idea. So that was my idea, to make a strong, powerful, enigmatic picture that would draw the viewer in, that would compel the viewer to look, and look carefully.” 10
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Teddy Atlas Boxing Analyst, ESPN
“Teddy Atlas, that scar. You know, boxing people are tough guys. There are so many stories of fights. But Teddy Atlas, when he was a young kid, I don’t know 13, 14, 15, he was with some friends and they got held up. And the guys who held him up had a knife and he got out there and fought with them and he got cut.”
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THE ART OF BOXING
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f New York photographer Howard Schatz were a boxer, his nickname would be ‘The Ice Man’ because of his ability to freeze time and deliver it with unforgiving power. Lucky for us, the only shots he takes are behind the lens and not in the squared circle. Schatz is in the midst of creating perhaps the most celebrated collection of boxing images and interviews yet. As an award-winning artist who has produced seventeen books, he is definitely one of the most accomplished photographers in this era to document ‘the sweet science’ and its wide world of characters.
On The Cover: Pacquiao was generous, spiritual, and wanted the images to be as good as “winning a championship.” It was a rich experience. “I do a one-hour interview and serious portrait of VIPs, because they all have something to teach me,” says Howard. “I ask them about boxing and the business and about the boxing family and about their life in boxing, and they all have stories. So the interviews have been very fruitful and have helped me understand a very great deal about this.” A few of Howard’s VIP subjects include Ken Hershman (Sr. V.P., Showtime), Bert Sugar (Boxing Historian) and Jim Lampley (HBO Announcer). Retired champions include Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney, and Jose Torres. Schatz already has a tremendous roster of champions he has photographed but is still recruiting for more (retired and current). So if any of you are out there, he can be reached at www.howardschatz.com. Howard plans to publish At The Fights: Inside The World Of Professional Boxing by the fall of 2011. 12
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Paul Williams Light Middleweight
“If you look at the corner, you realize that the boxer in a way is a helpless being. He’s got gloves on and he has to sit there. He has to listen while people are throwing water on him, throwing Vaseline on him. Covering his cuts. Catching his spit. He sort of lets people do whatever they need to do. He trusts that they’re there for his benefit. So boxers in a way are used to being handled. So my idea was to throw gunk on him. So I threw powdered paint. And then I squirted him with water. That was the idea, to make him a canvas. I wanted to make him a piece of art.” w
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The Five Most Significant Fights In History by Steve Farhood
Photos. Popperfoto/Getty Images
The fights remembered by hard-core fans are the slugfests, the improbable comebacks, and the one-punch kayos. But the fights remembered by historians transcend boxing. Here are five bouts that will live forever because of their lasting social and/or political impact.
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champions forever:
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& 100 Years Complied Edited by of boxing Doc Stanley ROUND1 SUMMER 2010 • WWW.ROUND1MAG.COM
Jack Johnson KO 15 Jim Jeffries, July 4, 1910, Reno, Nevada
Jack Johnson knocked out Jim Jeffries in the "Fight of the Century".
“I still think that within the United States Jack Johnson had a larger impact than Ali because he was first. Nothing that Frederick Douglass did, nothing that Booker T. Washington did, nothing that any African-American had done up to that time had the same impact as Jack Johnson’s fight against Jim Jeffries on July 4, 1910. It was the most awaited event in the history of African-Americans to that date.”
—Arthur Ashe to Thomas Hauser in “Muhammad Ali: His Life And Times”
In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Johnson vs Jeffries, ROUND1 presents a timeline of champions, from Jack to Manny...
Johnson
Jeffries
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The Five Most Significant Fights In History t might surprise some that boxing’s first black world champion, Canadian featherweight George Dixon, won the title as far back as 1890. Other than the color of his skin, Jack Johnson had virtually nothing in common with Dixon—or any other athlete who came before him. In fact, the Texas-born Johnson’s arrogance, his scorn for the racial ground rules of the day, his fondness for white women, and his dominance in the ring made him a monster to much of America. Jack London famously wrote in the New York Herald, “Jim Jeffries must now emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove that golden smile from Jack Johnson’s face. Jeff, it’s up to you. The White Man must be rescued.” It had been 18 months since Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, had chased down Tommy Burns and won the crown in Australia. Jack Johnson (1878 - 1946) Desperate to return the title to white hands, America turned to unbeaten former champion Jeffries, who hadn’t fought in six years. Johnson-Jeffries turned out to be a comical mismatch, with the defending champion toying with a worn-out Great White Hope from the start. Sadly, but perhaps predictably, race riots and lynchings immediately followed in cities North and South. Johnson would keep the title for another five years. w
Jack Dempsey KO 4 Georges Carpentier, July 2, 1921, Jersey City, New Jersey
“If you want to select an exact date when it was proven publicly that American sports had become big business, July 2, 1921, certainly makes sense. If you want to select a date when high-society America, Broadway and Hollywood America, Algonquin America, well-coiffed, bejeweled, superrich America first came to embrace sports with a passionate hug, again you come to July 2, 1921.” —Roger Kahn in “A Flame Of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey And The Roaring ‘20s”
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he original “Fight Of The Century” was so big that on the day of the bout the New York Tribune chose DempseyCarpentier as its lead story, trumping the news that World War I adversaries Germany and the USA, had finally come to an official peace. The fight was the first bout ever broadcast on radio; it was the first million-dollar gate (an amazing $1,789,238, to be exact); and, held at Boyle’s Thirty Acres (20 minutes from New York City), it drew a record crowd of 80,183. Dempsey signed for a record guarantee of $300,000, and more than 700 reporters were ringside. The Golden Age of sports had officially begun. Nothing sells a fight like a juicy storyline, and Dempsey-Carpentier was a study in contrasts. Whether accurate or not, Dempsey was viewed by the public as a “slacker” (draft dodger), while France’s Carpentier had a storied war record.
champions forever: 100 Years of boxing
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(Left) Mickey Walker won the middleweight title on December 3, 1926, when he beat Tiger Flower. The former welterweight champion held the middleweight crown for five years. June 18, 1929, (right) Panama Al Brown became the first Latin world champion, defeating Vidal Gregorio for the bantamweight title.
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1929
Photos. Johnson and Dempsey poster: Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Walker: Getty Images; Brown courtesy of CCM.
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Illustrated poster of Jack Dempsey (1895 - 1983), promoting his match against Georges Carpentier for the World Heavyweight championship title
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Dempsey was an unshaven, rough and tough ex-hobo, while Carpentier was sophisticated and urbane. George Bernard Shaw opined that “Carpentier will knock Dempsey into the Hudson River.” Shaw was apparently a better writer than fight analyst. The reigning light heavyweight champion, Carpentier spotted Dempsey 16 pounds. He almost stopped “The Manassa Action from Dempsey vs Carpentier Mauler” with a right hand in round two, but he injured his thumb, and in the third he absorbed a terrific beating. Dempsey scored two knockdowns in the fourth, and the Frenchman was counted out. Boxing was now big-time. w Joe Louis KO 1 Max Schmeling, June 22, 1938, Bronx, New York
“So the next Fight of the Century was moving into the center ring …Nobody on either side of the Atlantic viewed Louis and Schmeling II as anything less than the personification of Good vs. Evil. If Schmeling won, the shadow of the swastika would darken our land. If Louis triumphed, Negroes, Jews, anti-Nazis, pacifists, and everyone who yearned for an order of decency without violence would feel recharged and reassured.” —Budd Schulberg in Richard Bak’s “Joe Louis: The Great Black Hope”
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ometimes history positions men as if they were chess pieces. Max Schmeling was most definitely not anti-Semetic, but with Hitler appointing him as a symbol of Aryan supremacy, the heavyweight wasn’t in a position to argue. In 1936, Louis was 23-0 and seemingly unbeatable when he was stopped in the 12th round by former champion Schmeling. It was a huge upset. One year later, “The Brown Bomber” took the title from James J. Braddock, and a rematch with Schmeling was all but inevitable. In June 1938, America was still three-plus years from entering World War II, but the meaning of the rematch didn’t escape President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who invited Louis to the White House and Schmeling (R) shaking hands with Louis during a weigh in before their title bout told him, “Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.” More than 70,000 fans attended the fight at Yankee Stadium, and they witnessed one of the most savage demolitions in ring history. The fight lasted 124 seconds, with Louis scoring three knockdowns and fracturing two vertebrae in Schmeling’s back. Louis would keep the title through the war and until 1949. During that time, he became the most beloved athlete in America, black or otherwise. w
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(Right) Benny Lynch won the flyweight championship in September of 1935. He defeated champion Jackie Brown to become the very first world boxing champion in Scotland’s history. On November 11, 1946, with a record of 52-0, (left) Willie Pep defeated Chalky Wright for the featherweight championship of the world.
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1946
Dempsey vs Carpentier: Library of Congress; Schmeling and Louis: AFP/Getty Images; Lynch and Pep courtesy of CCM; JOE KAYOS: NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images; Ray Robinson: Al Fenn/Pix Inc./Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; Patterson: J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images
The Five Most Significant Fights In History
Front page of the Daily News, dated June 23, 1938
1946
On December 20, 1946 at Madison Square Garden, (left) Sugar Ray Robinson dropped Tommy Bell in the 11th to capture the welterweight title. On June 20 1960, (right) Floyd Patterson became the first man ever to regain the heavyweight championship of the world. He knocked out Ingemar Johansson.
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Photos: Arguello, Tyson and Holyfield courtesy of CCM; De La Hoya: Ethan Miller/Getty Images; Fifight of Champions: © Christie's Images
The Five Most Significant Fights In History
Official “Fight of Champions” program
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On June 2, 1981, (left) Alexis Arguello became just the sixth man to win world titles in 3 different weight classes when he defeated England’s Jim Watt for his lightweight title. (right) Mike Tyson became the youngest man ever to win and hold the heavyweight championship of the world on November 22, 1986, with his 2nd-round TKO of Trevor Berbick.
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Joe Frazier W 15 Muhammad Ali, March 8, 1971, New York City
“Ali is an American myth who has come to mean many things to many people; a symbol of faith, a symbol of conviction and defiance, a symbol of beauty and skill and courage, a symbol of racial pride, of wit and love.” —David Remnick in “King Of The World”
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n a Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the most anticipated fight in history made the world stop. Frazier, 26-0, was the defending heavyweight champion, and former titlist Ali, 31-0, was two fights removed from a 31/2½-year exile after refusing military draft. But it was a particularly sensitive and volatile time in America, and this was so much more than a boxing match. Outspoken, if not outrageous, and proud of his color and faith, Ali had come to represent not only dissatisfied blacks but also the rebellious youth and anti-war activists of the ’60s. There was no ambivalence: supporters labeled him a hero, while detractors wanted his overactive mouth finally shut. And Frazier was the man who could shut it. Once the bell rang, there was no stopping Frazier; on this night, he could’ve left-hooked his way through an army of 100 men. Setting a breathless pace, the champion staggered Ali in the 11th, floored him in the 15th, and won a unanimous decision. Frazier left the ring with the title belt, but Ali, glorious in defeat, exited with something less tangible: universal admiration and respect. w
1990
Five Gold Medal Matches At The Summer Olympic Games, July 1976, Montreal
“Our Olympic team had a lot to do with the resurgence of American boxers. The key was television. In the late-‘70s and ‘80s, there was a major fight on one of the major networks every weekend.” —Howard Davis Jr., Olympic gold medalist
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he outstanding boxers of the ‘70s were Panama’s Roberto Duran and Argentina’s Carlos Monzon. America flaunted Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and an all-time best cast of heavyweights—and virtually no one else. It’s almost impossible to fathom, but in 1976, Ali was the only American on the list of boxing’s 24 world champions. Red-white-and-blue titlists were shriveling at the same rate that the foreign-based alphabet organizations were growing. Moreover, the creation of two lower weight classes (junior flyweight in 1975 and junior featherweight in ’76) further reduced U.S. representation. Then came the greatest American Olympic class in history. In Montreal, Sugar Ray Leonard, Howard Davis Jr., Leon and Michael Spinks, and Leo Randolph snatched gold medals from their favored Cuban rivals and laid the foundation for an American boxing renaissance that peaked in the early-‘80s, when a series of superfights made frontpage headlines. The success of the Montreal Five not only revitalized the American fight game, but marked the beginning of a golden era for
On October 25, 1990, (left) Evander Holyfield became the undisputed heavyweight champion when he knocked out James (Buster) Douglas. On June 23, 2001, (right) Oscar De La Hoya defeated Javier Castillejo, the reigning WBC super welterweight champion, in 12 rounds to win his fifth title in as many weight classes.
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The Five Most Significant Fights In History
African-American boxers. Leonard, Davis, the Spinkses, and Randolph were all black, and led by Sugar Ray, who was the greatest fighter of the ‘80s, four of them became professional world champions. In addition to the Olympians, most of the dominant fighters of the late-‘70s and early-‘80s were black, including Aaron Pryor, Larry Holmes, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, and Matthew Saad Muhammad.
By 1981, 11 of boxing’s 27 world champions (41 percent) were American. To place that in perspective, consider that today, only seven of 73 world champions (less than 10 percent) hail from America. Five months after the Olympic Games, “Rocky” was released, and the film had a reel effect on boxing. But Leonard and his teammates had already made a real difference. w
champions forever: the new face of boxing With the continued dominance of the sport’s latest megastars, Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather, the aura of boxing and its champions keeps getting better. 22
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'76 Olympic Team: DAVID BERGMAN / Corbis; Pacquiao courtesy of Top Rank; Klitschko courtesy of CCM; Maywaether: Al Bello/Getty Images.
Eight of the 11 boxers from the 1976 Olympic boxing team reunite during Hall of Fame weekend on June 9, 2006. They are: (top row, left to right): Leon Spinks, Howard Davis, Jr., Chuck Walker, Ray Leonard; (bottom row, left to right): Leo Randolph, Louis Curtis, Davey Armstrong, Charles Mooney.
BPA MEMBERS SUMMER 2010. ISSUE 1. VOL.2
Publisher Lamar Clark www.BoxingPromotersAssociation.com
Classic Entertainment and Sports Don Chargin Productions Inc. Thompson Boxing Promotions Star Boxing DiBella Entertainment, Inc. Duva Boxing / D&D Global Pugnacious Promotions Ron Englebrecht Events X-cel Worldwide Hitz Boxing Gotham Boxing KEA Boxing Promotions Let’s Get It On Promotions, LLC Sampson Boxing, LLC Alfredo Marchio Seminole Warriors Boxing TKO Promotions Top Rank Peltz Boxing Banner Promotions Resnick Productions Gary Shaw Productions KZ Event Productions One Punch Productions Prize Fight Promotions Square Ring Promotions King Sports Entertainment Keep Punching Media Promotions 8 Count Productions King Sports Entertainment Universal Promotions Inc K2 Promotions Boxing 360 The Empire Sports & Entertainment Official Distributors of ROUND1
Editor-At-Large Steve Farhood Managing Editor Kenneth Sam-Bouhairie Art Director Lisa Morgan Monroe Cover Photographer Howard Schatz Sales Manager Michelle Jimenez Copy Editor Lisa Hedgepeth Contributors Marty Rosengarten Doc Stanley Special Thanks To: Brian Adams, Luis Barragan, Keith Clinkscales, Kery Davis, Joe DeGuardia, Andrew Eisely, Chris Isenberg, David Itskowitch, Ed Keenan, Jake Mahoney, Beverly Ornstein, Ralph Paniagua, Jr., Frank Robinson, Kevin Rooney, Jr., Nick Strini, Rob Scott, Mark Taffet and Sam Watson Online/Print Advertising Inquiries (917) 723-4010 info@round1mag.com Media Kit:
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ROUND1 is distributed free of charge at participating boxing events and other selected venues, limited to one copy per reader. ROUND1 may be distributed only by the magazine's authorized indepent contractors. No person may without prior written permission, take more than one copy of each issue. • The entire contents of ROUND1 are Copyright 2010 by ROUND1. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of the publisher. ROUND1 is published quarterly by Clark Creative Media, Inc, 229-19 Merrick Blvd., Suite 101, Laurelton, NY 11413.
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SCORECARD
See more Jessica at www.round1mag.com/category/ring-girls/
You Be The Judge! There are four categories of judging when correctly scoring a fight— (1) "Effective" Aggression; (2) Defense; (3) Ring Generalship; and (4) Clean and Hard Punching.
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