69 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Keith Terceira byline.
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Recently, Hall of Fame trainer Jesse Reid was added to Samuel Peter’s camp to assist Andy "Pops" Anderson and Boza Edwards. Previously Reid was the trainer for Lamon Brewster who just lost his title to Sergei Liakhovich, besides several other world champions.
When Marc Ratner resigned his office and took a position with the UFC, in my opinion it signaled a major death toll for the sport of boxing. With MMA already grabbing a huge market share from boxing, the intelligent addition of Ratner as a mouthpiece to commissioners and politicians nationwide shows the dedication that UFC has to becoming the evolutionary replacement for our sport. Ratner who is a fervent advocate for fighter safety adds credibility to the UFC and further assists the genius business plan that someone has developed in that company. Or perhaps all the UFC executives had to do was collect all the articles written by boxing people over the last two decades that have warned of boxing’s demise if changes were not made and applied the cure to the UFC business plan. Intelligently they decided that it is better to build the business of MMA instead of any one athlete. Competitive matchups, entertaining shows, a focus on the sport similar to the NFL model instead of a focus on individual hype, joined with positive reporting.
Last week I had the pleasure to be ringside at Wild Bills Concert Hall in Duluth, Georgia for a Dana Pitcher Productions event. Broadcast by Comcast, Cox and various other television outlets this show was reminiscent of the 1950’s broadcasts, believe me when I say it was an old school production with a flavor that we rarely see in the generation of building fighters and television commentators that seem to forget they are getting a check from the sport.
Ron Resnick of Resnick Productions LLC. spoke with BoxingScene yesterday and offered his view as to what occurred in the tenth and final round of the Figueroa- Cuevas title bout.
BoxingScene has confirmed that Maximino Cuevas through his management has filed an official protest and that the title bout will be reviewed and an answer by next week as to the complaint.
Maximino Cuevas,(7-3-1) was born in the Bronx and moved to Florida in search of a new beginning. After a brief stay with family his move landed him along with his wife and five children in a homeless shelter. Rather than taking a short cut and asking for state assistance, Cuevas worked his way onto a construction site, concentrated on his boxing, culminating a hardworking attitude into a short at the WBC Intercontinental Mundo Hispano Title at welterweight.
The split decision rendered in Rochester N.Y. last Thursday, has caused a uproar in Maximo Cuevas’ camp, this time out though it is not a judging issue. Trainer Pete Brodsky confirmed with BoxingScene in an exclusive interview that protests have been lodged by phone and will be followed tomorrow in writing to both the WBC and to the New York State Athletic Commission that rules were violated in the tenth and final round of the WBC Intercontinental Mundo Hispano Welterweight title bout by the referee and commission officials at ringside.
While the Rahman-Toney decision may have muddied the heavyweight waters even further for many fight fans it was a saving grace for the newly crowned USBA, NABO, NABA, and NABF Champion Shannon Briggs. While working the Heavyweight Slugout 2 fight card last night in Fort Smith as an inspector for the revitalized Arkansas Athletic Commission, I watched a transformation take place in Shannon Briggs camp and in Briggs himself as reports came in on the Rahman - Toney bout.
Lately I have had little time to concentrate on writing with coaching, matchmaking and a large family, but always there is time to attend matches promoted in our area by Slugout Promotions. Attending fight cards on many a level for three decades, it’s easy to get jaded by over-priced pugilists who become prima donnas, asking and receiving suites, million dollar purses, and big bonuses. There are top prospects that can’t sell enough tickets to fill a phone booth let alone match the standing room only crowds that attend a Slugout event.
A few years ago I jumped on the Mesi bandwagon because I found Joe Mesi to be a person that could help the image of boxing. Over the passing months and all the court issues and the medical case, the leaking of reports, the false stories, and the impartial reporting by one of Mesi’s hometown papers, I came to respect the Mesi’s more because they never lost their cool , at least in public.