What began as a promising year for boxing has been soured by controversial decisions, indictments and performances ranging from lackluster to loony by the sport’s supposed superstars, including yet another Mike Tyson folly.
That leaves it up to two heavyweight matchups to save the day before Y2K.
Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield will square off here Saturday in a rematch to try to clean up the debris left by a controversial draw in their limited-action title-unification fight March 13 in New York.
The following Saturday (Nov. 20), contenders Andrew Golota and Michael Grant step into the ring in Atlantic City to determine who can improve his standing at the other’s expense. Golota is Chicago-based and Grant is Chicago-raised.
After Lewis-Holyfield I, the unsatisfying hit-run-chase of Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, the wrestle-infested Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Cesar Soto fiasco, the foul-curtailed “no contest” of Tyson-Orlin Norris and indictments last week of top International Boxing Federation officials for accepting bribes to fix rankings, boxing needs a major fight that is clean and competitive.
Retro rumble: There will be a nostalgic gloss to the punching and counterpunching of Golden Gloves boxing Saturday at St. Andrew’s Gym, 1658 W. Addison St.
Top amateur fighters from Chicago and New York will box in 10 bouts, beginning at 7:30 a.m. The two-city challenge hasn’t been held for 17 years.
More Top Picks Best Magnifiers For Reading Medicine Labels
Recalling competition in the late 1920s, when each of the cities was host to an amateur tournament pitting its champions against the other’s, Chicagoland Golden Gloves Charities director Jack Cowen said, “This event takes Golden Gloves back to its roots.”
Talented Chicago boxers Jimmy Gonzales, Rudy Cisneros, Jermaine Marks and Ottu Holyfield will lead the Chicago team against a Gotham squad that includes Mark Anene, Luis Colazzo, Dimitre Salida and Carlos Sanchez.
Real wrestling: Amateur wrestling is a sport that seldom blips on the radar of media coverage, but one man has risen above the largely anonymous competition.
Known in his sport simply as Gable, his deeds have brought him recognition far beyond it. Dan Gable’s wrestling accomplishments include a 181-match winning streak at Iowa State University, a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in which he did now allow a point to any opponent, and 15 NCAA championships as the coach at the University of Iowa, including nine in a row.
His stubborn dedication to his sport, and the tragic murder of his sister that set him on such a defiantly singular journey, are examined with affection and candor in “Freestyle: The Victories of Dan Gable.” The documentary by an Iowa film team debuts at 6:15 p.m. Sunday on HBO Signature network.
Sweet science, Chicago: Ken Murphy gets a chance to bring a title to Chicago Saturday, if he can take it from Frenchman Fabrice Tiozzo, the World Boxing Association cruiserweight champion. Chicagoan Murphy (21-1-1), brother of former cruiserweight champion Lee Roy Murphy, faces Tiozzo (38-1) in a scheduled 12-rounder on the Holyfield-Lewis undercard. . . . Promoters Dominic Pesoli and Bobby Hitz have pre-Thanksgiving cards lined up, with Hitz hoping to find a a non-butterball opponent for Eric “Butterbean” Esch. Pesoli’s Nov. 19 card at the Park West Theater includes featherweights Antonio “Chelo” Diaz vs. Jose Rodriguez, welterweights Emiliano Valdez vs. Kenito Drake and junior middleweights Freddie Cuevas vs. Luis Carmona. Besides Butterbean and his opponent-to-be-named, Hitz’s card will feature Chris Kreuz vs. Sandra Yard in a 126-pound women’s bout, and North American Boxing Federation super-welterweight champion Anthony Jones in a non-title bout.
Which way is up? When the roller-coaster that is boxing hit bottom rail with the Tyson-Norris no-show and the IBF indictments, there was apparently no better tonic than two spectacular heavyweight knockouts on the same telecast. HBO got the scary sights, then the celebration rites once assured the victims were OK, on last Saturday’s “Boxing After Dark” telecast.
Unbeaten 6-foot-6-inch newcomer Derrick Jefferson smashed Maurice Harris with a textbook left hook to end their competitive brawl, and Oleg Maskaev ended Hasim Rahman’s steady but dull control of their bout by knocking Rahman out of the ring and onto a table and the floor.