Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

Samuel Peter claims he has “dynamites in my two hands�

Heavyweight contenders Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare� Peter and James “Lights Out� Toney get it on a second time this Saturday from the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla. (Showtime).

The hard-slugging Peter, unlike Toney, is one of those strong, silent types notorious for letting their fists to the talking one the opening bell sounds, but the Nigeria Nightmare is as confident as ever and determined to turn Lights Out’s lights out for good.

“I have got dynamites in my two hands,� said Peter, according the Lagos, Nigeria Vanguard, “and I will crush James Toney once and for all. The Toney camp made the mistake of their lives by protesting and seeking a rematch. I am ready to teach him a bitter lesson.�

Sam Peter walked away with the W for Peter/Toney I at the Staples Center in LA last September, but it was by disputed split decision—a verdict so disputed, there was even a dispute about the dispute—which forced the WBC’s hand into mandating Saturday’s rematch.

Samuel Peter is the biggest thing to hit African boxing since Ghanaian superstar Azumah Nelson rocked the feather and junior welterweight divisions. The President of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, Prince Olaide Adeboye, admitted, according to allAfrica.com, “We are rooting for Samuel Peter, of course. He is one boy we believe in to bring back the country’s lost glory in professional boxing. I am personally making arrangement to be at the ringside to see him fight Toney again. I was at the first fight in Los Angeles in September.

“Peter has the brutal punch, and to me he was the clear winner of the first fight. But the WBC Board of Governors, of which I am a member, voted 21-10 for a rematch. There was nothing those of us Africans on the board could do in the circumstances. But I believe Peter will confirm he is better than Toney and will then go ahead to meet the champion and claim the belt for Nigeria and Africa.�

The Fighting Fisherman: Hard man faces hard time

Former light heavyweight contender Yvon Durelle, 77, who retired from boxing in 1963 with a 90-24-2, 51 KOs record, suffered a stroke earlier this week and is listed in serious condition at a hospital in Moncton, Canada, where he was transferred on Christmas Day.

Durelle’s wife, Theresa, told the Toronto Star, “He’s in serious, serious condition. We’re praying and hoping for the best. That’s all we can do”

Born Oct. 14, 1929, Durelle was one of 14 children who grew up in Baie-Ste-Anne, a small Acadian fishing village in New Brunswick, which earned him the nom de guerre the Fighting Fisherman.

Durelle turned pro in 1948 and proved he was a man who could box as well as punch, but he was a very hard man, an almost impossible man, to knock out. Durelle won the Canadian middleweight championship in 1953. In 1954 he had his first fight outside Canada, traveling all the way to Brooklyn, New York to fight an up-and-coming young panther named Floyd Patterson. Durelle lost that bout by decision, but he opened a lot of eyes and was suddenly ranked in the top-ten.

Durelle won the British Empire light heavyweight championship in 1957 and defended three times, setting up the bout for which he is best known, the Dec. 10, 1958 challenge at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec, for Archie Moore’s light heavyweight title. A 4-1 underdog going into the fight with the wily Old Mongoose, Durelle dropped the champ three times in the first round, shocking not just Archie, not just the world, but all of Canada.

After the fight, Moore described the first knockdown: “The first thing I remember was I heard the number five and I saw [referee] Jack Sharkey’s big mouth as he leaned over me, counting. I knew I had to get to my feet. I felt as if the top of my head was blown off. I walked the street of dreams.â€?

Moore not only walked the street of dreams, he fought the street of dreams, and with his tight defense and wizened ring generalship, Arch, although he was dropped again in the fifth, snuck his way back into the fight, battled his way back into the fight, to eventually wear down and KO the Fighting Fisherman in round 11.

In 1959 Durelle lost to Moore in a rematch via the KO route in the third. Also that year, Durelle lost a 12-rounder to Canadian heavyweight champion George Chuvalo, before finally winding it down and calling it quits after 117 fights.

We’re pulling for you champ. If anyone is tough enough to beat the odds it’s you.

James Brown, Godfather of Soul, dead at 73

James Brown, aka the Godfather of Soul, a longtime friend of Don King who performed at the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, passed away on Monday, Christmas Day, at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta. He was 73.

Along with Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Brown was one of three high priests in the church of popular urban black music in the mid-20th century, but while Berry was inventing rock ‘n’ roll and Little Richard was pulling up the roots of r & b, James Brown, with his polyrhythmic complexity, raw vocals, and sui generis dancing, was laying the foundation for everything from funk to disco to hip hop.

“James presented obviously the best grooves,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D told the AP several years ago. “To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one’s coming even close.”

James Brown was born dirt poor in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, where he lived in a one room shack in the woods with his parents and sibs. When James was four his mom and dad called it quits and he was passed over to his great aunt Honey Washington, who was the madam of a whorehouse in Augusta, Georgia. Brown danced for money in the brothel and on the streets. He shined shoes and picked cotton. He also sang in church. “Where I grew up there was no way out, no avenue of escape, so you had to make a way. Mine was to create JAMES BROWN.” But at the age of 15 he got nabbed breaking into a car and was sentenced to between eight to 16 years. Behind bars Brown led a prison gospel choir. He was also befriended by a local musician named Bobby Byrd.

Upon his release from jail three years later, Byrd brought Brown into his gospel group, the Gospel Starlighters. With James Brown free at last and in the mix, the Gospel Starlighters changed their name to the Famous Flames. They also changed their focus from singing about Jesus to singing about sex.

King Records signed the group in 1956, and four months later “Please, Please, Please,” a quintessential James Brown classic, was in the r & b Top-10. James Brown has been a hit machine/performance artist like none other ever since.

Brown’s offstage life was often more dramatic than his performances with the Fabulous Flames (and later the JBs) on stages across the world. There were allegations of Brown abusing drugs and alcohol and his wives over the years. There was also a well-publicized 1988 run-in with the law—where Brown, flying high on PCP, carrying a shotgun, with a towel around his waist, invaded an insurance seminar, apparently concerned that someone was using his private bathroom—before leading police on a half-hour high-speed chase out of Georgia into South Carolina (it ended when the cops shot out the tires of his truck)—that landed Brown in the hoosegow for six years, but that dustup only served to burnish his rep as an outlaw artist to the core.

Brown won Grammys in 1965 and 1987, and was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1992. He was among the first musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, and a handful of other pioneering greats.

James Brown wasn’t being ironic when he told Rolling Stone magazine in 1989, “The music out there is only as good as my last record.”

Edison Miranda’s Xmas beatings for Gibbs/Taylor/DiBella

Uncrowned middleweight king Edison “Pantera� Miranda (27-1, 24 KOs) isn’t the strong, silent type. He’s definitely strong—his sensational first round KO over Willie Gibbs on HBO’s BAD clarified that—but judging from the statements he has made since that stunning win, silence isn’t his strong suit.

The most recent trouble started when Willie Gibbs’ crew went to the press after the loss to Miranda to say that it wasn’t Miranda’s power that won the fight, it was a knee injury Gibbs suffered.

“I’m disappointed by the reaction of Gibbs’ team to their defeat,� Miranda said. “I was told Philadelphia fighters always come to fight and that win or lose, they have no excuses—well, this obviously isn’t the case. The only things that knocked Gibbs out were my fists, and I don’t remember hitting him on the knee. But he can look on the bright side, because if the fight would have continued, I would have sent ‘The Gladiator’ out on his shield.�

“I know Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham fear me and that I’ll have to shame them into fighting me,� continued Miranda. “That’s okay though, because the people know who the real fighters are and which ones are simply pretenders with title belts. In 2007, I’ll expose all of them.�

A few days later Miranda released another APB, this one addressed to Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella, allegedly making disparaging statements regarding Edison Miranda.

“I think Lou DiBella should stick to acting,� said Miranda, referring to DiBella’s portrayal of a boxing promoter named Lou DiBella in the new Sly Stallone film “Rocky Balboa,� “because he plays a promoter in the make-believe world better than he does in real life.

“The fans and media want to see this fight between Taylor and myself, and HBO definitely wants to see it, but Lou doesn’t want to put the jewel of his company anywhere near me because he knows he’ll get knocked out. I won’t be outweighed by 20 pounds on fight night and won’t need a walker to make it to the press conference like the other old men Taylor has fought, so he wants no part of me.�

Miranda addressed DiBella’s claim that he was a one-dimensional fighter.

“You call me one-dimensional, but no one has ever forced me to go to a Plan B in the ring,� said Miranda. “I knock people out and only someone who can deal with my power will force me to show the other parts of my game. That hasn’t happened yet. And let’s not talk one-dimensional when I can describe every Jermain Taylor fight the same way: Jab, right cross, clinch. Jab, right cross, clinch. Jab, right cross, clinch. And you wonder why he is afraid to fight me.�

Miranda went on picking apart DiBella’s critique: “You say that ‘I stink,’ ‘I have no clue how to box,’, ‘no resume,’, and you think ‘Jermain would slaughter me.’ In the next breath you tell the world I should fight Pavlik, ‘if he is man enough to take the fight.’ You make absolutely no sense.

“Both you and Jermain say you want ‘real fights’ and are ‘not looking for a stooge.’ If that’s the case, I challenge you to find another guy at 160 with a better resume than mine. Don’t you even dare mention Sergio Mora or Felix Sturm! If you got such a great team with Jermain and Emanuel, why can’t you beat a guy like me who is ‘one-dimensional and can only punch?’�

Chances are DiBella’s listening to his own music and Miranda’s bleating barely affects the reception, but by beating contenders and challenging the champs Miranda at least gets to have his voice heard.

“Let’s make this fight Lou,� pleaded Miranda. “It’s the right thing for the fans and the right thing for a sport that needs the best in the world fighting each other. If I’m so easy to beat, let Taylor prove it!�

Calzaghe saw Taylor/Ouma, scratch Jermain Taylor

It looks like Joe Calzaghe’s planned stateside debut next summer will not be against middleweight king Jermain Taylor, who’s been itching to come up in weight, but not for the reason you might think.

The unbeaten WBO super middleweight Welsh sensation defends his crown on April 7 against Contender star, and Providence, RI native, Peter Manfredo, Jr. at the Millennium Stadium, and there’s been a ton of speculation as to who Calzaghe fights next.

But Calzaghe, according to informed sources, was extremely unimpressed by Jermain’s performance against Kassim Ouma.

“I don’t think it’s fair to push him (Taylor) up to my level yet. Maybe in another year,â€? said Calzaghe, reports the South Wales Echo. “It’s frustrating for me because it would be a big-money fight, but it’s obvious he’s just not ready.â€?

Even Lou DiBella, Taylor’s promoter, agrees: “I think he’s right. I think Jermain needs a couple more fights. I think he hasn’t looked as good in his last two fights as he did in the second Hopkins fight. I’m not going to push this kid beyond where he should be.â€?

If Calzaghe’s hands can withstand the hardheaded Manfredo’s skull, there’s still an opponent out there to be named, to be determined.

Madonna’s take on hall-of-famer Emile Griffith

According to today’s Sun, Madonna, the Queen of Pop, aka the Material Girl, plans on directing her first feature film, called “Blade To The Heat,� which will focus on the fatal Emile Griffith-Benny Paret fight at Madison Square Garden in 1962.

Madonna’s production company, Maverick Entertainment, has thrown its weight behind the project, and “Blade To The Heat,” while definitely a boxing flick, will also deal with the ambiguities of Griffith’s sexuality, which played a part in the ring death of Paret, and which no doubt piqued Madonna’s interest.

The outing will be Madonna’s first time behind the camera. Her in front of the camera credits include “Desperately Seeking Susan� (1985), “A League Of Their Own� (1992), “Dick Tracy� (1990), “Evita� (1996), and the remake of “Swept Away� (2002), a flop produced and directed by her husband Guy Ritchie.

In addition to the above, Madonna’s concert films, “The Virgin Tourâ€? (1985), “Blond Ambitionâ€? (1990), “Truth or Dareâ€? (1991), and “The Girlie Show (1993), not to mention her lip-lock with Britney Spears in 2005, establish her bona fides when it comes to exploring the outer limits of what it means to be polymorphous perverse.

Klitschko/Maskaev, Sulaiman/King and the footprint of history

As an upshot to Kevin Iole’s LVRJ piece on the Klitschko-Maskaev negotiations and the progress or lack thereof, I contacted Maskaev’s manager, Fred Kesch, to get an update as to where things stand.

“We have a mandatory against the winner of Toney-Peter,� Kesch told TSS, “and Klitschko has a mandatory against Ray Austin. But let’s look at this objectively. King has 100% of Ray Austin. Don also has 50% of James Toney and 50% of Peter. So there you now have 200% Don King, who is anxious to once again get a stranglehold on the most precious belt in the sport, which is the heavyweight championship.

“We’re not handcuffed with any promoter—we have an agreement with Dennis Rappaport—he’s our exclusive promoter—and we don’t give options to anyone else. But Don wants José to stand by the mandatory.�

Options is one of boxing’s dirty little words and one of boxing’s not best kept dirty little secrets, because it robs the fighters of their freedom to negotiate at the same time as it robs the fight fans of the fights they want to see, rather than simply the fights they are sold.

“If Toney hadn’t opted to fight Peter,� continued Kesch,� he would have been the guy we fought in Moscow, not Okhello. But he (Toney) opted for greener pastures against Peter, and then the fight was given a rematch, and now the rematch is delaying everything else.

“Now what if Toney or Peter get hurt during this rematch? What does that do for us and our mandatory? We shouldn’t have to wait and see the outcome of January 6th. If we have an agreement basically in fact and all it needs for the signatures is the WBC’s approval, why not let it happen? It’s the best for boxing. It’s the best for the boxing fans. They recognize Wladimir Klitschko and Oleg Maskaev—I doubt they recognize some of the others—but they still don’t know who is THE heavyweight champion of the world, and I think a fight between Oleg and Wladimir would certainly define that.�

Maskaev’s next fight is tentatively scheduled for April 21, “if we can get through these obstacles,� said Kesch. “If José doesn’t give us the blessing and sanction the fight between Oleg and Klitschko, then we have a decision to make. But both Wladimir and Oleg stipulate in their agreement that they agree to immediately fight the winner of the Toney-Peter fight after the Klitschko-Maskaev fight. So whoever wins that fight will fight the winner of Toney and Peter.�

Still, if all that comes to pass, King still wouldn’t have options on either Klitschko or Maskaev, and isn’t that fact alone enough to keep this unification bout from ever happening?

“It depends on who runs the WBC,� said Kesch. “Does Don King run it, or does José Sulaiman run it? Somehow you always have to look at the footprints in the sand. But we’ve had some very positive discussions with José thus far, and they will continue, today as a matter of fact, but by the same token we realize what our obstacle is.

“We have some very, very important people around the world that are interested in seeing the Maskaev-Klitschko fight take place, they’ve already put their two cents in, and hopefully this will lead to further confidence by José to allow this fight to occur and not to delay.

“Boxing always has a tendency to shoot itself in the foot,� Kesch said, “and I hope that this isn’t one of those times.�

Klitschko/Maskaev unification bout in Señor Sulaiman’s hands

For those lost souls who thought a heavyweight unification bout was not only a welcome prospect but an inevitable one, it may be time to think again.

Despite the talk of IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko getting it on with WBC champion Oleg Maskaev to once and for all begin unifying the heavyweight division, there appears to be a one small obstacle standing in the way of the fight coming off, and that obstacle’s name is José Sulaiman.

Of course Sulaiman, for those who have been living in a snow cave or underwater the last few decades, is the grand poobah of the WBC, which is just one of several sanctioning bodies that feed off the boxing and perpetuate hoax upon hoax on those who respect boxers and love the sport.

According to Kevin Iole in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “The fight (Klitschko vs. Maskaev) won’t proceed without the blessing of WBC president Jose Sulaiman,â€? who in that well crafted sentence sounds a little too much like the pope for us skeptics and nonbelievers.

Klitschko’s manager, Shelley Finkel, spoke with Iole and said he doubts Sulaiman is likely to be swayed by something as persuasive as reason.

“You know how these organizations work,” said Finkel. “We’re not getting any closer to closure, and even though Wladimir wants the fight and Oleg wants the fight and the public wants the fight, the one person who has to say yes,â€? aka Sulaiman, whose relationship with Don King—the promoter whose vested interests include Sam Peter, Nicolai Valuev and Shannon Briggs—clouds all issues concerning the heavyweight divison, “isn’t sounding too positive. He said he’d think about it, but he’s afraid he’d get sued,â€? by whom is not stated, “and he doesn’t want to go through that, and, honestly, I’m just not that optimistic.”

By contrast, Dennis Rappaport, Maskaev’s promoter, was ever so slightly more hopeful—he described himself as “guardedly optimisticâ€?—than the clearly frustrated Finkel, because, he said, “such a fight would be for the betterment of the sport,” words that might not be the sweetest night music to the ears of Señor Sulaiman.

The Executioner beats the Joe Calzaghe drum loudly

After unbeaten super middleweight sensation Joe Calzaghe dispatches Peter Manfredo Jr. on April 7 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, his stock will have climbed even further, making his post-Manfredo opponent of even greater interest than it is now.

Middleweight king Jermain Taylor, who wants to move up in weight after another easy defense, this time against Sergio Mora, has been mentioned as a possible Calzaghe challenge, but the fight most people want to see is Joe versus the recently un-retired Bernard Hopkins, who appears to have abandoned his quest to fight WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev, at least for now.

“You can say what you want about Bernard Hopkins,â€? the 41-year-old Hopkins, referring to himself in the third person, told icWales on Sunday, “but the one thing you can’t deny is that I’m a star. I’m in the top three pay-per-view fighters in the last few years as I fight people with credibility, for example Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Jermain Taylor and Antonio Tarver. I guarantee a huge audience.â€?

There is no denying that Hopkins is a star, but so is Calzaghe, albeit not of the magnitude of B-Hop, at least not yet.

“Joe Calzaghe hasn’t a track record on pay-per-view so he cannot dictate terms over here. He may be able to do what he wants in England, but in America he’s a nobody,â€? continued Hopkins. “If Calzaghe wants Bernard Hopkins, he’ll have to pay. I’m a businessman first, fighter second. And I’m not chasing Joe Calzaghe. Joe Calzaghe must understand I don’t need him, he needs me. If he thinks I’m fighting in England, it’s not going to happen.â€?

Although I’m not privy to the ultimate ins and outs of making Calzaghe’s first bout after Manfredo, that’s Frank Warren’s doing, my understanding is that Manfredo was chosen as a steppingstone specifically to draw an American audience to the Welshman’s next fight, which will be broadcast on HBO, before Calzaghe comes to the States to fight his fight on this side of the pond.

“His promoter Frank Warren will want the best deal for him and his fighter, but I’m big box office and must be paid accordingly. But I’m always fair and this deal can be done quickly one way or another. Then I can go back to having fun and making money without taking the punches.â€?

For those who wonder how Hopkins makes money without taking punches, he offered a few details: “I’m setting up real estate, I’m CEO of a promotion company and I’ve movie deals coming out of my arse, so I don’t need the fight.â€?

Admittedly, Hopkins, should he fight Calzaghe, will be the toughest customer Joe has faced during his stellar career.

“I’m not your ordinary fighter. Joe Calzaghe doesn’t just need a big fight but a big name fight,â€? said Hopkins. “Forget Jermain Taylor. The only credible legend out there at the moment is Bernard Hopkins. Roy Jones Jr. is a spent force. It’s no big deal knocking him out. I’m the man… It’s Bernard Hopkins, who is a living legend, versus Joe Calzaghe, who wants to be a living legend. But it’s more than Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe, it’s orthodox vs. southpaw and USA vs. Britain.â€?

For those who think Hopkins’ trash talk indicates he has no respect for Calzaghe, think again.

“Joe Calzaghe showed why he has been a champion for damn near a decade,” said Hopkins. “He can fight. He’s a tough, in-your-face fighter with the boxing skills to imitate a modern-day Jake LaMotta. LaMotta was a tough, rugged guy. Even if you broke his nose he’d still come back for more. Joe has the heart of Arturo Gatti and epitomizes a boxer’s mentality.”

Former champion Lamon Brewster cleared by docs to fight

Former WBO heavyweight champion “Relentless� Lamon Brewster (33-3, 29 KOs), who won the title from Wladimir Klitschko in April 2004 and defended three times before losing his crown and suffering a detached retina in his fight against Sergei Liakhovich in April of this year, has been given the all-clear to fight and is eager to return to action at the earliest possible date.

“Contractually I am a free-agent,� says Brewster, “and I am ready to move on and go after what the public demands, and that’s an exciting aggressive American heavyweight who will unify the belts.

“The eye injury was an unfortunate injury, and it cost me the title, but I learn from every fight, and I intend to be very aggressive in all my future bouts. My strength is my power and I intend to KO all opponents from now on.�

Many people had pinned their hopes on Brewster as the heavyweight champion to watch, especially after his dismantling of Klitschko, and even though those hopes were dashed by White Wolf Liakhovich, Brewster’s not done with boxing, not by a longshot.

“I’m making a vow to the American people,� Brewster continues. “I will be in the best shape of my career, even before I begin my next training camp, and I’ll be in the best possible condition for every fight. I put all my heart into every fight and I’m the only heavyweight out there providing exciting fights to the boxing public. I’m going into the ring to take out all opponents quickly. Once I get a title back, I promise to only go after the other champions and to unify all the belts.�

Whether or not Brewster can win a belt, let alone unify, only time will tell, but he has his eye on the prize and the four heavyweight champions still standing.

“I have one goal and one goal only: to unify the heavyweight division with resounding power and exciting bouts. I want to keep my promise to the people. Maskaev, Briggs, Valuev and Klitschko, if you have the heart, and you’re not scared let’s do it, let’s give the people what they want, and let’s return the heavyweight division back to the glory days with one unified champion.�