By Michael Marley
Instead of acting like his "Raging Bull" persona, 90 year old ring legend Jake LaMotta reprised his second career, standup comedian on Sunday afternoon at Russo's On The Bay in Howard Beach, Queens.
It was all shtick and move for nonagerian whose trademark joke is "I fought Sugar Ray Robinson so many times (six, losing five) that it's a wonder I didn't get diabetes," as he was the biggest name in attendance for the inaugural class of the New York State Boxing Hall Of Fame.
More LaMotta "punch lines" which delighted a crowd of about 1,500 at the catering hall near Kennedy Airport:
(How he wanted to play himself in the Oscar winning biopic "Raging Bull," which instead starred the great Robert DeNiro:
"They told me, 'Jake, you're not the type. They were thinking of Sammy Davis Jr. but he couldn't do it because they said he was too Jewish."
On DeNiro's classic portrayal of the middleweight champ's turbulent life and times:
"If you ask me, DeNiro is the greatest fighter who ever lived. I must have sparred and shadowboxed 1000 rounds with him. He came on so good, when I got done, he could've fought professionally."
In a hoaky but fun Q and A with onlookers, LaMotta was asked "what it takes to be a champion:"
"If you don't know, you will never know."
Robinson, born in Detroit but who fought in the New York Golden Gloves and launched his nonpareil pro career out of Harlem, was another of the 20 first class inductees. Of Sweet Sugar, LaMotta said:
"I look up to the greatest fighter, the greatest pound for pound and it is Sugar Ray Robinson."
A spectator shouted out LaMotta contemporary Rocky Graziano's name and Jake said:
"I said to Rocky one time, what's that up there, the sun or the moon?"
Rocky said, 'I don't know, I don't live around here.'"
I was just surprised that LaMotta left out his usual groaner about how one of his many wives divorced him.
"She said I clashed with the drapes..."
Mike "Body Snatcher" McCallum, from Flatbush, Brooklyn, via his native Jamaica, was another inductee as were BK products Iron Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe, two heavyweight champs who were not present.
Probably the two most popular non-boxer inductees were trainer Jimmy Glenn and HBO's Unofficial Fight Judge, the always garrulous Harold Lederman.
Other fistic greats so honoered were Gentleman Gene Tunney, Tony Canzoneri, Benny Leonard, Carlos Ortiz, Vito Antuofermo and Carmen Basilio.
Ortiz, a Puerto Rican hero and lightweight champ in a time when there were eight weight divisions and as many champs, told me he loved going to an opponent's homeland for a title bout.
"It just made me give something extra because I knew I had to do that to win. I didn't mind going to the other guy's country to fight."
Former welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith was also in the house.
Trainer Ray Arcel was honored posthumously along with journalists Nat Fleischer and Bill Gallo and trainer-manager-TV analyst Gil Clancy. Steve Acunto was also honored his efforts to improve the sport. And Arthur Mercante, the epitome of a great referee, was also in the stellsar group.
All in all, a very classy class.
