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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1983)
A A ' .* 4*-—-K«**- <•/ ,■-*■■ Page 6 Portland Observer, January 5.1983 Can Boxing Be Saved? Where Have You Gone, Muhammad Ah, George Foreman A nd Sugar Ray Leonard? by Robert Eller Remember when M uham m ad A li was beatin g the like» o f G eorge F o re m a n , Joe F ra zie r and ev ery body else in the boxing w orld after co m in g out o f hi» forced re tire ment? O r when Sugar Ray L eo nard topped W ilfredo Benitez? O r Leonard*» classic bouts with Roberto Duran? A h , those were the good ol' day» when the fan », sp o rtsw riter» and broadcasters, not to mention fight ers and promoters who were making millions, adored the sport of gladia tors. W ell, let’s see what happened to the boxing, its fans and it» power brokers now that A li has failed in his last com eback against L a rry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard has de cided to hang his gloves up and Ro berto Duran is no longer saying "n o m as" w ith his m outh but w ith his performances in the ring. The biggest fight o f this year, as far as this w riter is concerned, was the m atch betw een Benitez and Thomas Hearns, both of whom had only lost one bout each in their ca reers. both to the great Leonard It was the kind of match-up that made p ro m o te r D o n K in g ’ s h air cu rl. (Y o u can be sure, however, that he didn’t let anyone see it that way.) It was to be a classic b attle between two o f the best fighters in the world and w ith Leonard gone and Larry Holm e’, never to get the credit he de serves, possibly a battle for "K in g o f the R in g ." The winner would make millions and »o w o u ld the loser, and King would again be smiling and sticking his diamond covered fingers in front o f the cameras. So w hat happened? Just a few short days before the fight, the box ers were n o tifie d th at they w ou ld have to take a small cut in their ex pected purses. T h e tickets just weren't selling. A nd why w eren 't tickets to this historic battle being gobbled up like hotcakes at a Salvation Arm y break fast? There was the D uk K oo Kim tragedy for one thing. Ray "B o o m B o o m " M ancini's punches directly or ind irected ly leading to the K o rean fighter’s death certainly d id n ’ t help the sp o rt, but the news th at ticket sales were not going well was out long b efo re that u n fo rtu n a te bout. C o u ld it have been the te rrib le mismatch that occurred on national T V when L a rry H o lm es carried " T e x ” Cobb fo r 15 rounds? That may have had something to do with it, too. But what are the underlying facts that have boxing on its sick-, if not death-, bed? W hy are the same people— H o w ard Cosell, for example— who were so high on boxing a few years ago now turning on the sport? Coseli re cently announced that he would no longer do co m m en tary on fights ( I ’m not complaining— are you?). Maybe it’s the bandwagon effect. Boxing has gotten some really black eyes over the past few years. A li's admission that he used a drug to get his w eight d o w n , the death o f a num ber o f lesser-know n figh ters than Kim in less-publicized fights, the d ep artu re o f A li and Leonard fro m the rin g, the question o f the rankings the two governing bodies th at have d iffe re n t title -h o ld e rs (W o rld Boxing A ssociation and W orld Boxing Council) are among boxing’s recent setbacks. C all me a racist if you want, but the feeling here is that one o f the main reasons boxing has lost some o f its support is the lack o f o u t standing w hite fig h ters. (T h a t's right, I said it.) Had Gerry Cooney won the heavyw eight title fro m L arry H olm es, boxing would have been in much better shape I f there were a n o th e r leg itim a te " G re a t W hite H o p e " on the horizon, that would certainly help, too, or even if Don King were not the biggest and most successful promoter and Bob A ru m , a w hite m an, instead were the man who could pull the strings, things might be different. T h e tru th o f the m a tter is that boxing, like pro basketball, another sport that is suffering from the ra cism o f fans, has become too dom i nated by blacks. T h a t, along w ith the attitude o f fans who are subject to throw bot tles, cans or other objects and possi bly even riot at almost any time, is the biggest problem with the sport. not the possibility o f death in the ring. M u h a m m a d A li once defended boxing's right to exist by drawing an analogy with auto racing. Just how m any d rivers have been kille d in auto races over the past year? Has anyone called fo r a ban on that sport? M otorsports is by far more dangerous th an boxing and a l though I am one who loves auto rac- Joe Fraxler Sugar Ray Leonard Muhammad All ing w ith a passion, just how many top auto racers are black? As fo r the cries o f fixed fights, why should the sport be banned be cause some say that fights are fixed? Nobody has called for the abolition of professional wrestling, and there, the men in the ring go strictly be a sc rip t, kn o w n in g when to punch, when to fall and when to get pinned. O r what about college basketball? FOR SALES W asn ’ t it proven that players on a m a jo r college team w ere shaving points just a year or tw o ago? Is anyone calling for a ban on college basketball? So w hat w ill it take to stem the tide and keep professional boxing alive? This w riter isn't sure, but a couple o f white champs and a big- tim e w hite p ro m o ter w ou ld sure help. SERVICE PARTS REPAIRS Our New Modern Building . N o d h ta tl Broadway at Flrtl for the BEST BUYS Alan Molden in tow n I FORD Receive $50°° cash or discount with purchase. LYNN KIRBY COLISEUM FORD M r ¿»f ’ M J 56 NE Broadway 288-5211 NATIONAL AMATEUR BOXING CHAM PS —The U S A. Amateur Boxing Federation national championship tournament was held re cently in Indianapolis, Ind. It produced soma naw faces to the na tional amateur boxing title acana. and. of couraa, some old onaa. The naw champion« with weight claaa Dated in parentheela are from left kneeling: Bryan Jonea 1109). Philadelphia, Pa.; Todd Hickman (112). Akron. Ohio; Maldrlck Taylor (1191, Philadelphia. Pa.; Barnard Gray 11261. Boynton Beach. Fla ; Clifford Gray (132), Boynton Baach. Fla.; and Henry Hughaa (1391. Cleveland. Ohio. From left In top row are Ronnie Esaett 11471, Indlanapolla. Ind.; Dannie M ilto n (166), Bronx. N.Y.; Michael Grogan (166). Atlanta. Ga.; Sherman Griffin (179), Minnaapolia. Minn.; Ricky Womack (Haavywaight). Detroit. M ich .; and W arren Thompaon (Super H aavyw aight), Baltim ore. Md. Budwaiaar ia the aponaor of local, regional and national ama teur boxing championahipa which w ill lead to the United Stataa Olympic Boxing team to compete in the 1984 Olympic« In Loa An gola« JACK ROBERTS PRESENTS SAT., JAN. 22 - 7 P.M. OSU gymnasts face first trial W ith an optimistic eye on the sea son ahead. Oregon State's gymnas tics team w ill open the 1983 cam paign this weekend in Seattle in the W ashington In v ita tio n a l M eet on Saturday, Jan. 8. T h e meet w ill p it the Beavers against virtually all o f the top gym nastics teams in the Northwest and w ill be a good early-season test for O S U , the defending regional chant- There are an estimated 61 varieties of chili peppers in pion ranked fifth nationally this sea son in pre-season polls. Ron L ud wig's team, which finished fourth in the national tournament a year ago, w ill be fav o red in the eig h t-team meet this Saturday but the coach fi gures the improving quality o f gym nastics in the Northw est w ill o ffe r the Beavers enough challenge. Mexico alone. a J O H N N Y C ASH W A N N A START S O M E T H IN ? Lena Horne was the first black woman to sign a term- contract in films. '. Then try the Union Avenue . . . • JUNE CARTER ® BATTERY X-CHANGE The first regular air mail service for civilian mail in the United States started in 1918. featuring and the G R E A T E IG H T IE S /8 • Pluto is not longer the most distant planet from the sun. In 1978, it and Neptune exchanged places. They change again in March, 1999. Plus Special Guests • FREE Instillation • FREE Battery T ill We d o uot do buainaaa with South Africa. American State Bank AN INOCPENOCNT BANK • FREE Electrical check Head Ottica 2 7 3 7 N. E. Union Portland. Oregon 9 7 2 1 2 3007 N.E. Union Ave. C indy c ash & rosey carter FROM CIVIC AUDITORIUM s19.95 Tlcketa: »12.75 4 »11.25. (tncl 25* uaers t e e ) On sele at Ctvtc Aud Box Office. 222 SW Clay. Portland 97201 Ateo at Meter 6 Frank. Downtown - Stevens 4 son. Salem 4 Lloyd Center - Gt Joe S'oree in N Port.. Beaverton. Rockwood. Oak Grove 4 Eastport Mail or ders to Civ« Aud Box Office - Enel SASE w/cbeck or m o Call 248-4498 for details Hear Johnny 6 June on KWJJt Exchange 249-0101 y * * * - .- j- T ‘ t-r
