Must Be in the Front Row By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (June 13, 2011) Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
On the night of April 17th,
just one day after the entertaining back-and-forth battle between Victor Ortiz
and Andre Berto, I asked this question on Twitter: “Do you ever watch a fight
with KOs and knockdowns to see the reaction of the crowd who have a vested
interest in it? #boxing.” I asked this because, admittedly, I do. All the time
in fact, especially when a certain promoter is involved in a fight, like he was
the evening before. It seems I'm not the only one. These are just some of the
replies I received: - @BigA2417: "everytime
I watch a DiBella fighter I tend to rewatch the DVR, he can be fascinating to
watch." - @iiReal: "great
stuff, DiBella has the best reactions. Especially when Sergio KO's
people." - @7Cadillac7: "U mean
like watching DiBella ringside as Berto is getting pounded on? Now that's
PRICELESS!" - @JasonTO: "Sergio-PWill
II was the best. The replay of the KO caught DiBella and Goossen on the same
frame. It was beautiful." Whether it's the thrill of
victory (Sergio Martinez starching Paul Williams) or the agony of defeat (Berto
being defeated by Ortiz), you can always see how the fight is playing out for
his man, just by watching the passionate New Yorker in his front-row,
camera-side seats.
When asked if he was ever aware of just how emotional he gets, Lou DiBella told
Maxboxing, "I mean, I'm not really paying attention to it. I'm not playing
to the camera but it's sure pretty funny. But someone gave me- Angie Carlino, a
photographer in New England- a photograph of me at two different fights; one
was a Micky Ward fight and one was an Arturo Gatti fight and they were
both from the ‘90s and you could see- and other than being the guy who was
telecasting the fight- me in the first or second row jumping through the roof
also." Going back to his days as an
executive at HBO, where he created the “Boxing After Dark” franchise, DiBella
has no hesitation in stating, "I'm a fan, man. That's what differentiates
me from some of the other promoters. I actually watch “Friday Night Fights”; I
watch other people's fights. If you follow me on Twitter, I tweet about
fighters I have nothing to do with and I either give them their props or rip
them as I see fit. I'm a fan. I guess the second people stop seeing me jump up
and down, you can pretty much count on me being out of it within a year or two
because the truth of the matter is, I hate enough about the sport and it's
still the fact I can get excited about it now and then that keeps me in
it." Say whatever you will about
DiBella, the guy loves boxing (This was confirmed to me back in the late ‘90s
when he had to get off the phone quickly with me more than once because “Heavyweight
Explosion” was starting in a few minutes. If you subscribed to those cards, you
were a bona fide boxing fanatic). On the flipside is Bob Arum,
who has a poker face that would make Phil Ivey fall for his bluff. No matter
what is going on in a particular fight, Arum is stone-faced throughout.
"I maintain my cool, particularly in those fights where I'm the promoter
of both fighters," he said. "I think it would be unseemly during the
course of a fight to betray my emotions, so I'm able to bottle them up and just
concentrate on the fight." Years ago, he even told his wife, Lovey, to
remain as neutral as possible in that setting. "I told her to not show
emotions while the fight was going on; don't distract people and so forth. Just
sit there and watch the fight. I've always known that. That's how I've always
watched the fight." If you watch a big card on
pay-per-view, HBO or Showtime, the first row or two will seat the promoters
involved in the event, sponsors, celebrities and network executives, who
themselves have to be aware that every reaction they have is there for the
world to see. Ken Hershman, the “Boxing Czar” of Showtime says, "Well, I
guess you gotta be cognizant," he said, laughing at the thought. "Especially
at the ‘Super Six,’ I was very cognizant because each side accused me of taking
the other side. But yeah, sometimes the emotion overtakes you; the excitement
overtakes you and you just get into the event." It's become customary to see
the big power brokers on camera but it wasn't always so. According to Arum, who's
been in the business for over four decades, it’s "quite the contrary. The
promoter sometimes sat in the press section, never sat on camera- never. That
changed with the advent of Mr. King, who insisted on camera- in the
center." Arum, of course, is referring to his old colleague and archrival.
The thought of it has Arum chuckling. "That is something that was created
by Don King. Because most of the big fights in the older days were done, say in
Madison Square Garden, and the best seats to watch a fight in the Garden, were
the ones that were slightly raised off-camera on the side, the short side.
Those were the premium seats. If you wanted to watch a fight- not just be seen-
those were the best seats. "Just the way the best
seats at the MGM Grand are the ones in the center of the raised seats,"
Arum points out, "but people want to be seen and we used to have, at MSG,
to sit in those seats where you were seen, Frank Costello, people like that.
But Mr. King made it a practice that he would sit front and center and then
Bill Cayton insisted on that- put it in the contract- and then that became what
everybody did. Those seats were actually in the contract that you had to have,
like, not only first or second row but they would have to be right in the
center. I mean, crazy sh*t." When a fight is a
co-promotion, Arum says, "You sit down with the co-promoter and you then
arrange for him to have seats right next to each other. If you didn't give him
a seat, then there would be a fight but if you give 'im a seat, there's no
fight." As for the network’s tickets, Hershman says, "It depends on
the event but we ask for- as part of any deal- a certain number of seats in
certain locations to make sure we can take care of the people we need to take
care of." So now, it's a matter of
tradition and prestige (if not the best vantage point) to have these seats. In
other sports, you'd have to look into a luxury box to see the reaction of a
team owner during a game. In boxing, it's right there in front of you at all
times. DiBella is the most fascinating and entertaining subject to watch
because he doesn't just wear his emotions on his sleeve; they are draped all
over him like an oversized trenchcoat. There have been some great
DiBella moments at ringside, like his jubilation over Martinez's vicious
knockout of Williams last November in Atlantic City, where he didn't hesitate
to start making his way over into his fighter’s corner and eventually into the
ring, passing the likes of Goossen, Al Haymon and HBO execs who were in stunned
disbelief over what had just occurred. There was also his unbridled joy over
Bernard Hopkins' victory over Felix Trinidad, while he still represented “The
Executioner” in 2001. Just wait a few minutes after the conclusion of the fight
and look into the crowd and you don't have to be an expert at Where's Waldo? to find him. And who can
forget him basically tackling Paulie Malignaggi after the Brooklynite won his
title against Lovemore N’dou? Then he engaged in what Keith Olbermann would
call “premature jocularity” as Jermain Taylor sent Kelly Pavlik to
the deck in the second round of their first fight in 2007. As the count reached
six and seven, DiBella had already positioned himself to jump into the ring and
celebrate. Less than a half-hour later, Taylor was stopped by Pavlik. During the sixth frame of
Ortiz-Berto, as Ortiz was knocked down and with Berto seemingly having all the
momentum of the fight, there was DiBella on his feet, screaming. As Ortiz
returned the favor later in that round, DiBella looked just as deflated. It was
the gamut of emotions, two dramas taking place in and out of the ring.
"People ask me if I gamble and the truth is in real life, I really don't
very much, like occasionally, the NCAA's or the Super Bowl or something,"
said DiBella, "but I don't gamble because my whole business is a form of
degenerative gambling. I mean, the truth is I make the opportunities for my
fighters and if they don't come through and they don't win, then my business
suffers greatly. Boxing- if you're a promoter- is a form of degenerative gambling,
every fight. So I tend to get too personally involved with my fighters and I
forget the old adage, 'Never fall in love with your fighter' because he'll f**k
you, basically. But I fell, too, in love with my fighters because I feel like I
have a personal stake. But I have to be honest; often, I sit there and I'm just
seeing a great fight, seeing great action, if I'm part of it, I'm happy because
it's not going to kill any of my fighters to fight a 'Fight of the Year'
candidate." And don't worry, fans; DiBella
isn't moving off camera-side anytime soon. This show isn't going to end
anywhere in the near future. "I actually think I occasionally make a
difference. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs when Andy Lee seemed to be in
a haze (versus Craig McEwan). More than that, it's not about being seen. Hey,
look, I'm used to sitting in good seats. I'm not going to sit in bad seats now.
I don't care so much about being seen on TV but I'm going to react like I'm
going to react as a fan." DiBella laughs as he says
this but he means every single word.
"I gotta tell you something; I'm a fan. The first thing I did after the [Ortiz-Berto]
fight was to go see if my fighter was OK and the second thing I did was go into
Victor's dressing room and congratulate him. Look, I was stoked that night
because it was a great fight but I don't think people saw him looking like I
was killing myself because I knew that wasn't the worst night ever for either
guy and that when you fight a fight that good, then you're going to get your
props in the sport and get elevated." RIP CHICANITO In case you haven't heard, services
for Genaro Hernandez, who passed away last week after a valiant fight against
cancer at the age of 45, will take place on Monday from 11 AM to 3 PM at the
Resurrection Church (3324 Opal St. in East Los Angeles, off the cross streets
of 8th and Lorena). Here's what I had to say
last week about his life and passing: http://www.maxboxing.com/news/sub-lead/its-true-the-good-indeed-die-young. I got plenty of responses on
that article reaffirming what type of person Hernandez was. Here's one that
captures the essence of “Chicanito's” grace and humility toward those he met:
Mr.
Kim,
Just
a short story I wanted to share with you regarding Genaro Hernandez. My children and I were at
the fight the night he lost his title to Mayweather. He had been
beaten and definitley looked the part at the end of the fight. As he and his
brother were making their way through the casino, my daughter stopped him and
asked if he would take a picture with her. I thought, "oh my god, that's
the last thing he'll do" and as I was about to chastise my 14 year old
daughter for even asking such a ridiculous question, Chicanito stopped, smiled
that huge smile of his (the swelling had already taken ahold of his eyes
and face) and posed for a picture with her. I will never forget that classy
moment and never has she.
I
felt such sadness at his passing. I would hope that you could share this story
with his family. Thank you. Richard Chavez SEPTEMBER
This isn't set in stone but I was told over the
weekend that there is a chance that HBO, in addition to broadcasting the WBC
heavyweight title tilt between Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek from Poland
on September 10th, is going to air a bout involving Yuriorkis Gamboa
from Atlantic City later that evening to go with the replay.
Also, the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could
land on September 24th. The names being kicked around the most
prominently are Peter Manfredo Jr. and Darren Barker. Houston and San Antonio,
Texas could land this bout.
FINAL FLURRIES
Floyd Mayweather and Bob Arum may not see
eye-to-eye on much but they both did some great things in relation to the
fallen Hernandez. Arum paid for Hernandez's medical treatments throughout this
ordeal and Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reported that Mayweather will be footing
the cost of the funeral...Based on all the empty seats I saw the Roseland
Ballroom on Friday and Saturday night, I was wondering if the Puerto Rican
Parade was called off in New York this weekend...I think it's clear you
can't just showcase Puerto Rican boxers; you have to showcase a Puerto
Rican star on this date...In any
other division other than cruiserweight, is Lateef Kayode anywhere near ready
for a title shot? He's still got a ton of rough edges to smooth out...Speaking
of the 'Rican boxers, of all the guys I saw, I think Thomas Dulorme has the
most upside and Lou Del Valle has the chance to be the most crowd-pleasing...Here
is the link to the most recent edition of MaxBoxing Radio with Corey Erdman and
yours truly: http://radio.thescore.com/episodes/maxboxing-radio-mayweather-ortiz-announced...So
five NFL teams have inquired about Los Angeles? Geez, am I the only one who
doesn't care if our great city never gets an NFL team here or not?...Great to
see season two of “Master Chef”; I can watch just about anything with Chef Gordon
Ramsay on it....
