DC's Kenny Baysmore.. The nearly man..

Washington Dc's Kenny Baysmore looked like he had the potential to go all the way as a pro, he had amateur pedigree and had won the 1979 national golden gloves at bantamweight. Two years later Kenny would turn professional.
For three years Baysmore would stay unbeaten and by 1983 he would be voted Ring Magazines prospect of the year, an accolade reserved for prospective future standouts. In 1984 for his 18th fight he would beat Freddy Chumpitaz for the USBA  super featherweight title, a year later in 1985 he would win a 12 round split decision over tough Myron Taylor in defense of his title.  Kenny was now 20 / 0 with 18 knockouts, and matched into the toughest fight of his career, a USBA title defense against the former WBA super featherweight champion Roger Mayweather.  Roger had only lost 2 of his 22 fights, and it was an acid test for the promising Baysmore..  Mayweather was too much for the USBA champion, and served Baysmore his first loss, by third round knockout in Texas..  Roger would go on to fight the great Julio Cesar Chavez for the WBC title in a highly publicized affair, while Kenny had to reassess the direction of his career. The first loss, especially by knockout hurt Baysmore's confidence and it was important for him to get back on the horse as soon as he could..  A full year later he would regain his USBA title by outpointing Anthony English in Atlantic city..  After two more successful defenses of his title it was again time to step up..  This time against tough Harold Knight in his opponents back yard of Atlantic city..  Knight was unbeaten in 14 fights, but had took a couple of years out between 1985 and 87..   Kenny got off to a good start against Knight, using good lateral movement, but in round six he stood too long in front of the New Jersey man and got stunned, by round 7 Baysmore had not recovered and suffered his second defeat, again by knockout.  A year later Knight would unsuccessfully challenge Rocky Lockridge for his IBF title, in what would be his last fight. Kenny Baysmore would return three months later, but would find it tough gain momentum with his career, by 1990 after his next six fights Baysmore would win 2, lose 2 and draw 2, all to inferior opposition.  Kenny needed a break from boxing and would take a 2 year hiatus from the game. 1992 saw a refreshed Baysmore beat Floyd Favors and Cliff Hicks both by second round stoppage..  Baysmore then took on promising US based Russian Sergey Artimiev, Artimiev was 16 / 1 and held an amateur victory over Shane Mosley. The fight was a last ditch fight to propel his Baysmore's career. The Artimiev fight was ill fated, Baysmore would suffer three knockdowns en route to a 5th round TKO..   Artimiev looked destined for huge honors until he almost died following his 1993, 10th round knockout loss to Carl Griffiths..  Baysmore's final night in the spotlight was an appearance on the Bowe v Ferguson undercard in DC against Sharmba Mitchell. Mitchell 29 / 0 and a huge puncher knocked Baysmore out in one round..   Kenny would box 7 more times until 2001, losing each time by knockout..  Kenny Baysmore was better than his 28 / 13 / 2  (24 KOs) record but was never able to step up to world level as a major player..
A two time USBA champion and a national golden gloves champion, Baysmore was a highly popular DC fighter who should have achieved so much more..

Tony Tucker.. A talent that could have been great.

Tony Tucker looked like he had everything, he used his height, had a tremendous jab, had respectable power and a solid chin..  Tony enjoyed a very good amateur career. Capturing the 1979 National AAU light-heavyweight title, as well as winning a light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1979 Pan-Am games and winning the 1979 light-heavyweight World Cup, Tucker looked ahead to the 1980 Olympics. Tucker had a lot of tools that could have defeated Teofilo Stevenson, the Cuban favorite but Tucker was denied the opportunity due to the USA’s boycott of the Moscow games. However Tucker like most of the Olympic representatives took the opportunity to fly to Poland and compete, independently..  In Poland Tony won his bout, and in waiting around in the airport for his father he missed the scheduled flight home, taking the next flight out..   On arrival back to Grand Rapids the Tucker family were said to have thought they'd seen a ghost..  Unbeknown to Tucker, the plane carrying most of the remaining squad home had crashed killing all onboard..
Tony is a deeply religious man and always held the belief that God had spared his life for a purpose..
Tony turned pro in 1980 under the guidance of Kronks Emmanuel Steward, beating an overmatched Chuck Gardner in 3 rounds..
Over the next three years Tucker was matched strategically as to move him quickly through the ranks..  By 1984, he had beaten ranked Walter Santemore, got past durable Jimmy Young and after a solid win over the very dangerous James Broad in 1986, Tucker was 35/0, staring at a title shot...
Tony's title fight would come on the Tyson v Pinklon Thomas card in Las Vegas in 1987..  Michael Spinks had been stripped for not defending against the IBF number 1 contender who happened to be Tucker himself..    Tony Tucker would face James Douglas, a decent heavyweight who was notorious for blowing hot and cold throughout his career..   Tony would get off to a bad start, allowing James, who was more relaxed to get into a rhythm. It took until the eighth round until Tucker got a foothold, gaining Douglass respect with his jab..  Going into the tenth round it was still close, but Tucker looked the fresher, he backed James into the ropes and started to mount an assault, Douglas wasn't firing back, Tucker pouted it on and Mills Lane jumped in to save Douglas. Tony Tucker was 28 years old and the undefeated IBF heavyweight champion..    This victory was only the prelude to a huge Glory Hallelujah unification bout with WBA and WBC champion Mike Tyson..  Tony was a huge underdog in this fight and no-one gave him a hope.  Mike Tyson was the mechanical champion that everyone thought was invincible..  On this night, Tucker proved a lot of people wrong in defeat..  In round 1 Tony caught Tyson walking straight in with an uppercut, from that moment Tyson knew he had his hands full, Tucker however boxed conservatively, trying to nullify Mikes attacks only once standing toe to toe in the final seconds of a fight where he proved his true value, losing a unanimous decision to the best heavyweight around was no disgrace..
Following the Tyson loss,  problems found Tucker..
Most of Tony's problems was his father Robert. Tony's father signed a lot of paper with a lot of people , shares for up-front money and Tony was getting virtually nothing from his purses, all kinds of people had pieces of Tony Tucker..  Tucker had no choice but to tell his father Robert that he could no longer handle his career, he had almost broke his son..
1988 Tony Tucker went through a deep depression, he had no money, the Tyson purse was still ongoing and a lot of court hearings were getting him down..  He acquired a drug habit which he kept private and wouldn't box for three years..
Tony would return in 1989 under the watchful eye of Jack Cohen, a real estate investor who had seen Tucker's demise at the hands of Cocaine, lots of cocaine and deep depression...  Tucker was 30 pounds heavier, thick set, a sterner look on his face and the trademark Jeri curls had gone... Tony would rack up 14 straight wins in the next four years, beating respectable names, Orlin Norris, Lionel Washington, Oliver McCall, Frankie Swindell until in 1993, three years completely clean following numerous rehabs, he would be presented with a chance of a competed clean start..  WBC Champion Lennox Lewis offered to defend his new crown against Tucker, now heavily backed by Don King..     Tucker's $1.005,000 purse would be enough to square up all of the financial mess his father had made and enough to make him comfortable again..    Tucker would box very competently against Lewis, he had come a long way..  He got off the floor twice to go the full 12 against a man who would prove over the next 10 years as one of the best of the era...
In the next four years Tony would only lose to future world champions..    Orlin Norris the former cruiserweight champion, Bruce Seldon in a WBA championship fight on the Holmes v McCall card in Las Vegas, Henry Akinwande in Philadelphia, Herbie Hide, the WBO champion in Great Britain, then finally in an Nabf Championship fight to John Ruiz in 1998, the year he would fight his last bout, a one round knockout of Billy Wright..  Tony's record stands 57 / 7 with 47 knockouts..
Tucker now lives in Florida, has been clean of drugs since 1989 and coaches the next generation of young prospects in a local gym..  Tony still attends the major boxing events, I was lucky enough to speak with him in April of this year at the  Mayweather v Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas..    Tony Tucker is at peace with himself..     He only ever lost to world champions.

Jacobs v Quillin.. Dibella says it's the biggest fight ever at The Barclays Centre.

Come December 5th, the bout between middleweights Peter Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KO’s) and Danny Jacobs (30-1, 27 KO’s) will be one of the biggest bout to ever take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Both Jacobs and Quillin call New York home so it's got a turf war flavour to help promote the huge event..
Lou Dibella is convincing in selling the show, "This is the biggest fight in Barclays history and certainly the biggest fight I will have promoted in Brooklyn and it's going to have the biggest crowd, I think we’ve been doing great crowds with Garcia-Peterson, Garcia Malignaggi. Khan-Algieri did a good crowd. This is going to be a great fight.”
If Dibellas mathematical recipe is correct, of put on a 50/50 fight in the right area, watch the magic happen..
As far as the matchup, it's a natural, both Brooklyn natives, both champions in the same division, both big characters and both former NY golden gloves winners.
Its a matchup that’s been a long time coming. Both guys in their primes , Jacobs overcoming huge adversity in his life has built a huge following, Quillin has Cuban heritage bringing a hispanic element into play..  It's a mouthwatering fight, and there's no (Pacquiao v Mayweather) 18 months of messing around, the fights was easy to make and it's a classic.

Finally.. Frampton v Quigg is On.. Feb 27th.

It looks like finally the Carl Frampton v Scott Quigg all British world title unification fight is finally on..  Northern Ireland's Frampton holds the IBF super-bantamweight belt while England's Quigg, is the current WBA title holder.
The long-awaited bout between the undefeated pair will unify both belts. Frampton is adamant that he is going into Scott Quiggs back yard to take the titles because he says "I'm the legitimate champion and It's what Champions do."
Frampton and Quigg have baited each other for a while now and only financial issues have caused previous negotiations to break down. Both respected champions are evenly matched, Frampton being the older by a year at 28..
Frampton claimed the IBF crown from Kiko Martinez in September 2014 and has defended his title twice, stopping Chris Avalos in Belfast in February before retaining his belt on points against Alejandro Gonzalez Jr after a shaky start on his debut in America.
Quigg has made five successful defences of his title since claiming the WBA belt in October 2013.
"I've finally got the fight I've wanted for so long," said Quigg.
"I've dedicated my life to this sport and I have never been more confident going into a fight. I know I will beat him in every department."
The much awaited bout is scheduled for February 27th at The Manchester Arena..

Sinan Samil Sam Passes aged 41.

Former heavyweight Sinan Samil Sam died Friday morning in his native Turkey from liver failure at the age of 41.
6-foot-3inch Sam was an outstanding amateur, winning the super heavyweight title at the 1999 World Championships in Houston, Texas before turning pro the following year.
Sam signed with Turkish promoter Ahmet Oner of Arena boxing and boxed out of Germany, winning his first 18 fights, including knockouts of fringe contenders Przemyslaw Saleta and Danny Williams. He suffered his first loss in 2003, dropping a decision to Juan Carlos Gomez on HBO’s “Night of the Young Heavyweights” in Buffalo, N.Y.
Sam was a highly respected durable fringe contender for the next few years, defeating Decent opposition, Lawrence Clay Bey and Denis Bakhtov while losing to Luan Krasniqi, Oleg Maskaev and Oliver McCall.
Sam retired in 2008 with a record of 31-4, 16 knockouts, after winning the European heavyweight title for a second time.
Sam was hospitalized in intensive care in 2010 with liver failure after vomiting blood due to excessive alcohol consumption, Sam was rushed to hospital last week with suspected liver failure..  41 is far too young to go, he was a folk hero in his native Turkey and was affectionately known as The bull of the Bosporus..

Clifford Etienne.. Breaking the habit of a lifetime..

Clifford Etienne took up boxing while serving a 40-year prison sentence for armed robbery in his home state of Louisiana. A hard puncher with torrid determination, Etienne won the state prison boxing championship in his first year. Etienne became a affiliated member of the notorious "Gunslingers" prison boxing team in Louisiana and reportedly had a 30–0 prison record. He was released on good behavior after serving 10 years.
Clifford had his sights on turning to professional boxing now as a means to going straight. He turned pro in 1998 with a one round knockout in Mississippi. By 2000 Etienne had racked up 19 straight wins and was named 2000's "Most Exciting Fighter to Watch" in the heavyweight division by Ring Magazine, largely the result of his unanimous decision over then-undefeated Lawrence Clay Bey. The fight was widely considered to be one of the best heavyweight matches of that year. He had also beaten Relentless Lamon Brewster, the future WBO heavyweight champion, on points after ten rounds in the May of that year. Clifford then landed a contract with Showtime, this elevated Clifford's profile and his stock was set to rise, but it would quickly fall after an upset first pro loss to Puerto Rican Fres Oquendo, who stopped Etienne in the eighth round of their fight in March 2001.
Clifford now had to try rebuild and by 2002 he had racked up five solid wins in a row plus a gutsy draw with highly ranked former IBF champion Franz Botha..  Etiennes fight with Botha caught the eye of the Tyson people who were on the lookout for a comeback opponent for the former champion...  In 2003 , in Memphis, Tyson v Etienne was made and Clifford was catapulted to the world's stage for an unlikely chance to pull off a huge upset.. Unfortunately Tyson showed up on this occasion and overwealmed Etienne who was prepared to exchange in the early seconds, but it wasn't for long, Etienne suffered a first-round knock-out only 49 seconds after being caught with a right hand.
After the loss to Tyson, Etienne's future seemed to be that of a journeyman opponent.  Former Olympian Calvin Brock stopped Etienne in the third round in January 2005.
The same year Etienne's last fight would be against Nikolai Valuev, who would go on to become the WBA champion. Valuev knocked Etienne out in the third round of their fight in Germany.
2006 saw Clifford Etienne find trouble again..
News Story..
Clifford Etienne was arrested Wednesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and the attempted murder of a police officer. Etienne allegedly robbed a local business, car-jacked a vehicle containing a woman and her children, then pulled a gun on police officers. He is being held in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison with a $70,000 bond.
On June 22, 2006, following his trial in Baton Rouge, Etienne was found guilty and sentenced to 150 years in prison without parole for an allegedly cocaine fueled crime spree that included robbing a check cashing business, Carjacking, kidnapping a family, and attempting to shoot two policemen. In April 2013 his sentence was reduced from 150 years to 105 years due to a technicality. Regardless..  Clifford Etienne won't be likely to see freedom in his lifetime..

Unbeaten Charlo destroys Alcine in six.

Unbeaten IBF number 2 super welterweight Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (27-0, 12 KOs) scored a sixth round TKO over former world title holder Joachim Alcine (35-8-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas. Charlo dropped Alcine in round six and got the stoppage with his follow up barrage. Time was 1:21.  Alcine boxing out of Canada by way of Haiti has seen better days, coming off a split draw to Delvin Rodriguez in May, he had lost 5 of his last 8 outings..  Charlo however is racking up a virtual who's who of victims, and seems headed towards a very bright future...  Jermell has 12 knockouts in his 27 victories, but every single one of his points victories have been relative shutouts,  unanimous ..

Davey Pearl.. A small man, with huge presence.

Despite his 5 foot 4 inch size, David 'Davey' Pearl commanded great respect and affection from those who knew him in boxing..
Not only was he a terrific referee, he was a man of solid principles, hard nosed but a lovely guy as well, you'll rarely hear a harsh word spoken of Pearl, he was as straight as they come.. Pearl was truly dedicated to boxing, first as a judge then as a referee.
"I know he either lied about his age so he could continue working, or Nevada knew and decided it just didn’t matter," Mike Katz said. "Even at 80, and as small as he was, he still had the command necessary in the ring."
Before his celebrated career as a referee of more than 70 championship fights, Pearl took up boxing as part of a self-defense program.
After five years in the armed services, Pearl got a job judging professional fights. That led to referring, although it was several years before he landed a title fight.
"I was doing mostly club fights in Vegas, and they were always telling me I was too small to do a title fight," Pearl said in an earlier interview.
He finally got his chance to do a title bout, a junior middleweight world championship bout yet It wasn’t long after that fight that Pearl was asked to referee the biggest fight of his life the Ali-Spinks fight in 1978. That one elevated Pearls refereeing profile.
To Pearl refereeing wasn't about the money, it was his passion  (Pearl said the most he ever received as a referee was $1,500 for a fight, and when he received $1,000 for officiating Ali-Spinks, it was the first four-figure check ever paid to a Nevada referee), he’s had to rely on other sources of income. Despite his size, Davey refereed many more huge events, involving men who would dwarf him in physical stature, Larry Holmes v James Smith, and Shavers.. Mike Dokes v Lynn Ball, Dwight Muhammad Qawi v Jerry Martin and the huge first fight between Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns..  Yet years before all of these fights Davey was involved at the highest level in a different capacity..  In 1968 Pearl refereed the Sonny Liston v Bill McMurray fight in Reno, little did he know then that a year later Davey would become Sonnys official manager and friend...  Pearl was with Sonny for the final two fights of his career ending with a victory over Chuck Wepner in 1970..  Davey spoke openly about Liston,  proclaiming that Sonny sure as hell never killed himself with an overdose, Pearl was adamant that Liston was murdered, and that Sonny was portrayed by Ali as a monster and typecast in public as such..  Sonny was a great guy, a family guy, very caring, a complete contrast to what you've been fed..
Pearl had worked in casino bingo halls and had operated bars in Las Vegas, including the popular Davey’s Locker on East Desert Inn Road, which became synonymous with boxing characters..   During his final years, Davey was suffering from Alzheimer's, boxing friend and fellow referee Toby Gibson took the time to care for the ailing Pearl until his passing in 2006 aged 88..
Sadly two years later in an unrelated incident Toby Gibson would take his own life..
Davey Pearl was survived by his wife, Janet but was preceded in death by his twin brother, Lou, in 2004.

Daveys passing catchphrase that is so often used by referees today is "I've explained the rules to you both in the dressing room!"  That was a Davey Pearl original..

Motivated Malik Scott springs the upset over Thompson.

                                  

In a mini upset, 35-year-old Malik Scott (38-2-1, 13 KOs) was forced to get up off the deck to defeat 44-year-old #9 WBC heavyweight Tony Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision on Friday night on Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce TV at The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Florida.

Scott used good movement to out maneuver the older man throughout the majority of the bout which did prove entertaining viewing. Scott's mobility paired with fast hands was the undoing of the largely pedestrian Thompson who was looking to secure a third world title shot, this time against WBC King Deontay Wilder who sat ringside. Malik was by far the sharper of the two, but by his own admission needs more activity having only fought once in a full year, another solid win over former title challenger Alex Lepai in Australia..  Scott was hurt by a single right hand in the ninth round but was experienced enough to regroup from the knockdown and stick to the game plan..  Scotts win could throw him into a position where he could be considered for a title in the near future if he is moved right, but considering that he lost to a current champion, Wilder in  a single round it's not a rematch many would be queuing up to see..   But it does seem for the minute that in his 15th year as a pro Malik Scott has found his finest hour.

Warriors boxing tonight.. Thompson v Scott..

The Venue, University of Central Florida, Warriors boxing presents, a heavyweight eliminating between Malik King Scott and Tony Thompson..  Thompson looking for a third heavyweight title shot while long time contender Scott is looking for his first..  PBC..      Friday Oct 30th..

Eddie Futch.... The Master..

Eddie Futch was born in Hillsboro Mississippi in 1911 but moved with his family to Detroit when he was five years old. The Futch family lived in the Black Bottom section of the City..   Futch played semi-professional basketball with the Moreland YMCA Flashes and planned to attended the YMCA College School at the University of Chicago, but the Great Depression changed his plans and forced him to work shifts at The Wolverine hotel to bring much needed funds into the family home...  Here Eddie would meet friend and trainer / Promoter Don Arnott..  In 1932, Futch won the Detroit Athletic Association Lightweight Championship, and in 1933, he won the Detroit Golden Gloves Championship. Eddie trained at the Brewster Recreation Center Gym, and often sparred with the future champion Joe Louis. However health issues and a potential heart murmur prevented Futch from turning professional, and he began training boxers. Eddie Futch was a phenomenal trainer, perhaps the greatest strategist who ever lived. He prepared fighters to perform their best at the highest levels of the sport for several decades.  The list of Champions who worked under Futch's tutelage include Don Jordan, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Michael Spinks, Alexis Arguello, Marlon Starling, Wayne McCullough and Montell Griffin ...  Jordan however was Futch's first world champion, crowned in 1958.
Eddie Futch was noted for his work with heavyweights, he was first hired by Joe Frazier, and his chief cornerman and manager Yank Durham to help him prepare for a fight in 1967, with Scrap Iron Johnson..  He trained Frazier to stay low and create a sense of perpetual motion and pressure Johnson consistently ..  Futch was using Fraziers height as an advantage, making the opponent continually punch down, making Joe a tough target to hit without taking as much punishment as a boxer with a more conventional fighting style would.
The tactic proved to be highly effective, and Frazier remained undefeated, winning the New York title from Buster Mathis, the man he had replaced in the Tokyo Olympics and WBA crown from Jimmy Ellis with solid knockouts. All of which led to the inevitable victorious showdown with Muhammad in March 1971 at New York's Madison square Garden.. Futch would be by Joes side for all three historic bouts with Ali..  Eddie would train four of the five men who would beat Ali..
For Kenny Norton Futch's master plan for his first Ali fight was for Ken to try and out-jab Ali. Although a pressure fighter, Norton had a good jab. Futch reckoned this would play mind games with Ali, who was so proud of his own jab. The plan seemed effective..    For Frazier v Ali 1, Futch told Frazier to wear down Ali with persistent body punches,  Futch also believed that Frazier's constant bobbing and weaving would make Ali uncomfortable because he would often have to punch down , which was something he was not used to doing. Finally, Futch noticed that Ali's uppercuts were thrown sloppily and technically incorrectly, he instructed Frazier to throw a left hook over the top of Ali's right uppercuts, and told his fighter to beat Ali to the punch when doing so, something that worked perfectly in the 15th round when an exhausted Ali threw a half-hearted uppercut, Frazier feinted a left and then unleashed a huge sweeping left hook at Ali's head, which floored him and created an famous moment in boxing history.
Frazier won the fight by a unanimous decision and was recognized as the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
Four and a half years after the Fight of the Century, Frazier and Ali met for a third and final time in a fight known as the "Thrilla in Manila" in September 1975. Futch served as Frazier's manager and chief second for the fight, having inherited those duties from Durham who died from a stroke shortly after Frazier's defeat by Foreman in 1973.
Futch's would ultimately save Joe from himself in the 14th round of one of the most brutal heavyweight fights ever witnessed..  A decision Frazier held bitter against Futch for years..  Eddie would stand alongside dominant heavyweight champion Larry Holmes another of the elite club to beat Ali, then prepare another Ali tamer in Jamaican Trevor Berbick, albeit against a much faded Ali..
Eddie would then work with his fighter Holmes nemesis,  Michael Spinks, who would become the only light heavyweight in history to arrest the heavyweight title..
Following Michael Spinks defeat at the hands of Mike Tyson, Eddie had no invested interest in a ranked heavyweight, until he met Riddick Bowe..  Everyone labeled Bowe a quitter, an underachiever who wouldn't rise when the going got tough, but Futch had faith..  Eddie said "he'd judge Bowe as he found him" and after brief introductions Futch set Bowe a strict training regime while he was supposedly out of town..  This was the acid test..  On a cold winters morning unsupervised would this underachieving quitter set out on his 5 mile runs at 5am..  Futch watched from a vantage point unbeknown to Bowe and to the young mans credit, he never missed a beat..  Futch proclaimed that he would make Riddick Bowe a champion.  31 fights later he would fulfill his promise to Futch and outpoint Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas to claim his crown..  Unfortunately after Bowes defense against Britains Herbie Hide Futch left understudy Thell Torrence in charge, washing his hands of his young charge who had began to lack discipline, at 84 years of age Futch didn't have time for bullshit..    Eddie still had the magic to steer Montell Griffin towards becoming the first man to beat Roy Jones Jr. and Wayne McCullough one of the most exciting champions in his division..    October 10th 2001 , Eddie Futch passed away in Las Vegas...  I was in town the week of his life celebration at Caesars Palace, it was the final farewell of one of boxings leading lights..   An extraordinary man..