BOXING’S DEMONS REAR THEIR UGLY HEADS, BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Posted on | July 26, 2009 | No Comments

Great Boxing Events On Tap as Vernon Forrest Tragedy Strikes

By: Patrick McElligott

This is an important and competitive week in the sport of boxing. For many of us, of course, the events will be overshadowed by the brutal, senseless death of one of the sport’s truly decent men, Vernon Forrest. It’s difficult to concentrate on anything else right now, as this – the third tragic death in the boxing nation in 30 days – has all of the boxing people I know in a state of shock.

Perhaps, in a strange way, the documentary on HBO on Saturday night, “Assault in the Ring,” will be airing at an appropriate time. It covers one of the ugliest chapters in boxing history, the June 16, 1983 fight between undefeated prospect Billy Collins, Jr., and journeyman Luis Resto. That fight resulted in the death of a fighter who never would have the opportunity to reach his full potential, either inside or out of the squared circle.

The fight was held in the Madison Square Garden, as the co-feature of Roberto Duran’s challenging WBA champion Davey Moore for the 154lb crown. That night sticks out in my mind, in part because shortly after I decided to retire from amateur boxing, some regional promoters offered me a chance to fight Moore. However, not only was he the last guy in this state I wanted to fight, but my friend Rubin Carter was advising me to quit fighting, and focus on my education, rather than the “ugly business” of boxing. (I’ve been re-reading some of the letters on that topic this afternoon, including one where Rubin wrote, “No matter how successful that you might be in the ring, you would still have to get hurt – for that is what prize-fighting is all about.”

Resto, who was trained by boxing’s infamous Panama Lewis, entered the ring with both plaster of Paris on his hand wraps, and stuffing removed from his gloves As the HBO documentary will show, this allowed him to not only upset Collins, but to cause permanent damage. Eventually, both Resto and Lewis would be convicted and sent to the slammer. Collins would commit suicide nine months after the fight, by driving his car off a cliff.

All the reviews of the HBO special indicate that it will be up to the standard of the best of their documentaries. It will show the best and the worst of boxing: certainly, men like Collins and Forrest are representative of the good, and snakes like Panama Lewis are its dark side.

Now, to this week’s fights. On Thursday, the new VS fights, which are Oscar de la Hoya’s attempt to interest the general sports fans with competitive fights between young, potential contenders, continues. I think that Oscar is providing boxing fans with a valuable service, and I strongly recommend watching these fight cards.

On Friday, there will be ESPN FNF and Shobox. Both cards look very good. I will be in Saratoga Springs that night, watching a good card from a ringside table. For several years, the Saratoga Springs cards have been featured on ESPN FNF. This year, the card appears to be more on the level of the Versus’ cards, and for that reason, I think ESPN will be featuring the card in Hollywood, FL. While it’s too bad that the Pugnacious Promotions were not able to secure a main event on the level that Teddy Atlas has worked to have ESPN cover, it should be an interesting card. The main event features NYC’s Nagy Aguilera challenging Darrel Madison for the NYS heavyweight title. Both are talented young fighters, and by coincidence, each has only one loss – by DQ!

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Aguilera fight twice, including last year on the Saratoga undercard. I think that he has the potential to do very well in the division. While I haven’t seen Madison in person, I’ve seen enough to know that both men are facing their toughest test to date. Look for my report, including photos and interviews, over the weekend.

And finally, Showtime is presenting an outstanding card on Saturday. The co-feature bout between Junior Witter and Devon Alexander is worthy of being a “main event.” Then, Tim Bradley meets Nate Campbell, in what should be an intense fight. Bradley appears to be beginning to peak, and certainly has the potential to mature into a great fighter. But Nate Campbell is a cagey veteran, who will provide Bradley with a serious – and dangerous – test.

Enjoy the fights this week. And consider honoring Vernon Forrest by making a contribution to one of the charities that he supported. Perhaps the people on this site could make a group contribution to the program for adults with mental disabilities that Vernon Forrest strongly believed in supporting.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

July 30
At Los Angeles (Versus): Charles Huerta vs. Derrick Wilson, 6 rounds, featherweights; Luis Ramos vs. Sandro Marcos, 6 rounds, lightweights; Enrique Ornelas vs. Roberto Baro, 6 rounds, super middleweights; Ronny Rios vs. Rodrigo Aranda, 4 or 6 rounds, featherweights; Ricky Lopez vs. Edgar Peralta, 4 rounds, junior featherweights; Carlos Molina vs. TBA, 4 rounds, lightweights; Jose Roman vs. TBA, 4 rounds, junior lightweights

July 31
At Temecula, Calif. (Showtime): Marvin Quintero vs. Tyrone Harris, 10 rounds, junior lightweights; Chris Avalos vs. Andre Wilson, 8 rounds, bantamweights; Freddy Hernandez vs. Hicklet Lau, 8 rounds, welterweights; Bowie Tupou vs. Demetrice King, 8 or 10 rounds, heavyweights; Gary Russell Jr. vs. TBA, 4 rounds, featherweights; David De La Mora vs. Christopher Martin, 8 rounds, bantamweights; Dashon Johnson vs. Alan Velasco, 6 rounds, welterweights; Aris Ambriz vs. Daniel Gonzalez, 6 rounds, welterweights

At Saratoga Springs, N.Y.: Darrel Madison vs. Nagy Aguilera, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Shannon Miller vs. Terrell Nelson, 8 rounds, heavyweights; Michael Faragon vs. TBA, 6 rounds, junior welterweights; Shawn Miller vs. Valentine Fortenelly, 4 rounds, lightweights; Brian Miller vs. TBA, 4 rounds, junior welterweights

At Hollywood, Florida (ESPN2) – 10 rounds, lightweights: Julio Diaz (36-5, 26 KOs) vs. Victor Manuel Cayo (22-0, 15 KOs); 10 rounds, heavyweights: Chazz Witherspoon (25-1, 17 KOs) vs. Carl Davis Drumond (26-1, 20 KOs); 10 rounds, heavyweights: Gurcharan Singh (20-0, 11 KOs) vs. Fabio Maldonado (20-0, 19 KOs).

Saturday, August 1
At Rancho Mirage, California (Showtime) – 12 rounds, light welterweights: Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs) vs. Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KOs); 12 rounds, vacant WBC super lightweight title: Junior Witter (37-2-2, 22 KOs) vs. Devon Alexander (18-0, 11 KOs); 12 rounds, vacant IBF lightweight title: Yuri Romanov (21-2, 14 KOs) vs. Fernando Angulo (22-5, 14 KOs).