By Ryan Songalia
The storylines in boxing rarely deviate from the classics: Juvenile delinquents Mike Tyson and George Foreman discover boxing and are rescued from bleak upbringings and catapulted into prize-fighting super-stardom; Ex-cons Sonny Liston and Clifford Ettiene leave prison and begin new lives as professional boxers, making legitimate money for the first time in their lives.
Then sometimes a latch-key youngster just has no other activities to engage in after-school and finds boxing to be a fitting baby-sitter.
While being poor, or “at-risk”, is not necessarily a prerequisite to being tough, it does expose young people to violence at a higher rate. Tennis courts, baseball fields and other amenities are not as readily available in ghettos as they are in Suburbia. Boxing becomes a seamless fit.
Based in Newark, NJ, C.O.M.B.A.T.T. (an acronym for Community Organization Making Better Alternatives Today for Tomorrow) has been running a pair of boxing gyms in Essex County, NJ since 1998 aimed at emphasizing the importance of discipline and self-confidence in children. At their eighth annual awards dinner at the Robert Treat Hotel on April 6 in Newark, founder Larry Hazzard Sr. expressed confidence in the job they have done so far.
“I think we’ve accomplished a lot,” said Hazzard Sr., the former NJ boxing commissioner.
“In the time that we’ve been in existence, I think we’ve instilled a lot of hope and inspiration in many of the youngsters in our program. I think we’ve changed the whole paradigm of what boxing can do for a young man, and now young woman in our society.”
The dinner boasted three former heavyweight champions, including honoree James “Buster” Douglas, Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks. Also honored that night were referee and former heavyweight fighter Randy Neumann, former middleweight contender Michael Olajide, top heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek, Ralph Petrillo of the New York State Athletic Commission, former pro turned commentator Brian Adams, among others.
All came from different neighborhoods but all found boxing changed their lives.
“It gives you an opportunity to explore yourself and find out who you are, gives you a bright outlook for the future,” said Douglas, 49, who made history by knocking out Mike Tyson in 1990 to win the heavyweight title. “I know without organizations like the Columbus recreation department I wouldn’t be the man I am today. “
Douglas now oversees a recreation center in his hometown of Columbus, OH named after his mother, Lula Pearl Douglas, that hosts its own boxing program.
“Boxing teaches you a lot about character,” said Spinks, former light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion from St. Louis,. “I got picked on a lot growing up. A lot of that helped me in boxing. My mother had the worst temper of anyone I ever met. I learned to transfer the bad temper into something more positive.”
“I think this program is exceptional because the kids from what I’ve seen want to be part of this,” said Adams, a former amateur star from Crown Heights, Brooklyn that has done commentary work for a number of boxing programs.
“ It’s very rare that you have kids that want to be part of something. They talk about gangs but kids don’t want to be part of that. They do it because they feel they have to. The kids at C.O.M.B.A.T.T. want to be disciplined, they want to do better, the want to be appreciated and that’s what C.O.M.B.A.T.T. does.”
Neumann, a native of Cliffside Park, NJ, also offered a strong endorsement for the sweet science.
“I went up to West Point a couple years ago to give a talk at a breakfast meeting and the colonel was there. He asked me if I had some time, I said ‘Yeah.’ He took me over to the huge gym that they have for the boxing program. He said ‘We take our cadets male or female, match ‘em up evenly, make them train for months and then we put them in a fight. We find that’s the best assessment tool that we have.’”
Hazzard, who was ousted from his post with the commission in 2007, is now the Chairman of Officials Education, Supervision and Development to the IBF. Hazzard says that while support for the program in the boxing community has remained strong, support from the city of Newark has waned since the Sharpe James administration ended in 2006.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of support in Newark. When Mayor Sharpe James was mayor in Newark, we got a lot of support. A change in the administration, the change in the attitudes towards the way the money was going to go. I don’t know, it could be political or it could be just the economic situation that we’re being confronted with.
“We have gotten a great deal of support from the Newark housing authority and the city of Irvington and Mayor Wayne Smith.”
Ironically, Sharpe James was released from prison the night of the dinner after serving 18 months on fraud charges.
C.O.M.B.A.T.T.’s two gyms are located in Newark and Irvington. The Newark location is based in the Central Ward neighborhood, which is where Hazzard grew up. The Irvington location is located in the Chris Gatling recreation center. Their membership currently numbers 400.
Said Douglas: “It’s great. It’s all about kids, supporting the next generation, being there like the people were for me. Guiding me, helping keep me on the straight and narrow.” –RS
Michael Spinks, a Modern Heavyweight?
When Michael Spinks won the heavyweight title in 1985, he beat a Larry Holmes that weighed 221 1/2 pounds. Spinks was just shy of 200 pounds. Former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight championTomasz Adamek, who was not on hand to accept his award from C.O.M.B.A.T.T. due to training conflicts, is trying to become heavyweight champion in a division where the Klitschko brothers frequently weigh in between 240-250 pounds. Could "The Spinks Jinx" overcome that kind of disparity?
"That would be a lot of weight to get away," said the 53-year-old Spinks. "I wouldn’t want to be one of those guys that fought these bigger guys. I could be a heavyweight now, I’m pretty heavy now. I think once I picked up the weight I couldn’t shake it. I lost a little weight, I’ve been riding my bike lately because I’ve been trying to lose this gut. I probably could tangle with those big guys, as long as they don’t lay on me I have a chance. All that weight is a little too much though."
Adams on Hazzard Sr
Brian Adams admits that he didn't like Hazzard Sr. much prior to being notified that he would be honored at this dinner. His animosity stems from an incident five years ago in Atlantic City while working in Rock Allen's corner. Adams said that Hazzard Sr. yelled at an inspector to remove him from the corner.
"He called me, we had a long talk, of course he didn’t remember it but he explained to me that it was nothing personal. He said I was getting this award for my service and commitment to this sport. I asked him who else was going to be honored and he mentioned a certain promoter. I said 'I’m a boxer at heart and more boxers should stand up and protest against certain people. That’s the only way we can get rid of certain people. If he’s around I don’t want to be there because then it’s like I’m sort of supporting him.'
"Once he said, ‘You know what, if you feel that strongly about it, he won’t be honored, you’ll be honored,' It was breath-taking. I was speechless and I have a lot of admiration for Larry Hazzard after that."
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com ;. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia
