Who Was The Greatest and Worst Promoter Of All Time

[Willie Pep 229]

Also, also, I THINK it was the son, Dan Duva, not Lou Duva who promoted the fights.

NOT SURE OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY.

I suspect that the Muhammad Ali Law, circa 1990s (federal regulation of fighter-manager relations) made it illegal for a manager to tie his own fighter to a multiple-fight contract of his own promotions.

This is why Don King's son was Tyson's manager of record.

Duva suffered the same dilemma. His son Dan was the promoter so Lou could be the manager with multi-fight contract deals with his fighters.

I think.

Anyone understand this situation better please correct me.

[kara]

Also Bill Brady should be on the list. An early, important promoter.

Bill Cayton?

[Ivich]

Who was the greatest promoter of all time going back in boxing history. Who was the fairest? Who did the best for their boxers and paid them what they deserved. Who conned and tricked people the most? Who put on the greatest shows we've seen?
Who was most/least trustworthy of the history of promoters?
Eddie Hearn
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Don King

Frank Warren

Bob Arum

Oscar De La Hoya

Al Haymon

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Kalle Sauerland

Akihiko Honda

Tex Rickard
1870–1929

Kellie Maloney

Richard Schaefer

Ricky Hatton

Wilfried Sauerland

Mickey Duff
1929–2014

Andrey Ryabinskiy
Mike Tetteh
Dean Lonergan

Murad Muhammad

Arthur Frederick Bettinson
1862–1926

Spencer Fearon

Lou DiBella

Dmitry Salita

Roy Jones Jr.

Sampson Lewkowicz

Yvon Michel

Lou Duva
1922–2017

Aileen Eaton
1909–1987

50 Cent
Humbert Fugazy
1885–1964

Truman Gibson
1912–2005

Bob Goodman
1939–2023

Jess McMahon
1882–1954

Bill Cayton
1918–2003

Butch Lewis
1946–2011

Frank Palermo
1905–1996

Sylvester Stallone

Gibson was never a gangster and he never promoted a fight.Neither Roxborough orJacobs screwed Louis over those two charity fights.

[Willie Pep 229]

Gibson was never a gangster and he never promoted a fight.Neither Roxborough orJacobs screwed Louis over those two charity fights.

i

Don't Blame the IRS

The IRS, Joe Louis, and the charity fights of 1942

Before commencing it is proper to note that Joe Louis' tax dilemma started long before the (now) infamous 'charity' fights of 1942; Louis was not the innocent he is often painted as, he had not been making good on his tax burden as early as the Braddock fight and by 1942 was already in a deep tax hole.

The argument here: the real culprit stopping Joe Louis from gaining tax relief from his 1942 donations wasn't the US government (IRS), but instead was the actions of Uncle Mike Jacobs (promoter) and Johnny Roxborough (manager). The government was trying to work with Louis; Uncle Mike and Roxborough weren't trying to work with the government.

About the charity fights:

Joe Louis donated his entire battle money (purse) from his 9 January 1942 title defense against Buddy Bear to the Navy Relief Fund, and then on 27 March 1942 in a title defense against Abe Simon, while in uniform, Louis once again donated his entire battle money (purse), this time to the Army Emergency Relief Organization.

But there lies the rub; he donated his 'purse.'

In January of '42 trying to find some tax relief for Louis, with Louis' induction eminent, manager Johnny Roxborough reached an agreement with a War Department representative, Thurman Gibson. (It was in the best interest of both parties if Louis was to enter the military tax debt free.) The plan was for Joe Louis to fight two title defenses, with Joe Louis, his manager Johnny Roxborough, and his promoter Uncle Mike Jacobs ALL donating their earnings to the NRF and the AERO respectfully. The fights were to be 'charity events.' Had this occurred the agreement with the IRS would have been fulfilled and Louis would have been relieved of much of his tax debt. Louis would have gotten credit for all of the donations.

But, neither Roxborough nor Jacobs came through with their donations, (both took a profit from the fights) and worst yet Jacobs (for his own tax benefit) paid Louis a 'purse.' This meant, while Louis' donations did count toward paying off his outstanding tax debt as agreed, the IRS now (rightfully) claimed Louis was subject to new taxes on the money he had just earned.

The IRS didn't see the fights as charity events, (and probably felt like Uncle Mike had played them). The IRS claimed Louis' purse was taxable income; under these conditions, fighting in a for-profit prize fight, Louis should have paid his taxes first and then donated what remained. Whether the IRS was being unreasonable or not, is open to debate, but it wasn't the IRS who broke the deal.

Louis got blind sided, not by the IRS, but by his manager Johnny Roxborough (a former bookmaker) and Uncle Mike Jacobs, his promoter.

Yet even after these back-to-back fiascos, amazingly the War Department and the IRS were still willing to try to rectify the matter and tried to work with the heavyweight champion one more time.

In the late summer of 1942 the War Department (Thurman Gibson again) proposed to Louis' people one last shot at a 'charity fight,' the much anticipated Louis-Conn rematch. This time Mike Jacobs would be publicly committed to staging a 'charity' event, with ALL the gate receipts going to a war relief fund. With an anticipated million dollar gate, both Louis and Conn would be relieved of their tax burdens. (Conn was signed with Jacobs, Conn also had tax problems, no surprise there.)

The contract was officially signed on September 22nd and the fight set for October 12th, 1942. Everyone was in (almost).

Just a day or two after the contract was signed it was leaked to the press that both Louis' and Conn's contracts contained clauses where some gate receipts would be used to pay off private debts (as well as tax debts.) Jacobs and Roxborough were at it again, the two recipients of the private debt pay offs were none other than Mike Jacobs and John Roxborough. They attempted to divert $136,000 from the charity fund into their own pockets. Furthermore it then surfaced that Jacobs had held back 200 of the most expensive ringside seats as well, claiming he needed them for comps.

It became a media **** storm culminating with Southern Senators taking to the floor of the US Senate and asking: 'Why, with American boys dying at Guadalcanal was the War Department working so hard to bring tax relief to one wealthy individual?' (Louis' name was never mentioned but everyone knew who was at issue.)

With the press and the 'blue dawg' Southern Senators clipping at his heels Secretary of War Stimson folded, the fight was canceled. Stg. Louis and Cpl. Conn where placed on active duty and the gate receipts returned.

Louis wouldn't be able to fight for money again until '45 and with the high tax rates of 1945 and 1946 eating up the last few paydays he had, he was never be able to get himself out of tax debt.

It was all there for the taking, all Mike Jacobs and Johnny Roxborough had to do was not steal and Joe Louis would have had his tax debt erased. Don't blame the IRS, blame Jacobs and Roxborough.

Oh! and we would have gotten Louis-Conn II when we should have, in 1942.

[Willie Pep 229]

Gibson was never a gangster and he never promoted a fight.Neither Roxborough orJacobs screwed Louis over those two charity fights.

i

Are you suggesting that the IBC was clean?

Because if you go to Boxrec and put in Thruman Gibson's name for promoter you will find he has no credits except being in the IBC.

[4truth]

Don king is best and worst promoter tbh.

You stole my line

[Ivich]

Are you suggesting that the IBC was clean?

Because if you go to Boxrec and put in Thruman Gibson's name for promoter you will find he has no credits except being in the IBC.

I never mentioned the IRS.
Typing in Thruman Gibson would produce no results.Truman Gibson is another matter.
I'm not saying Gibson did not break the law,I'm saying,he was no gangster.
"Lie down with dogs ,you get up with fleas."

Louis took training expenses for both his charity fights.Jacobs contributed a percentage of his profits.

[Willie Pep 229]

[QUOTE=Ivich;n31912763]

I never mentioned the IRS.
Typing in Thruman Gibson would produce no results.Truman Gibson is another matter.
I'm not saying Gibson did not break the law,I'm saying,he was no gangster.
"Lie down with dogs ,you get up with fleas."

Louis took training expenses for both his charity fights.Jacobs contributed a percentage of his profits. [/QUOTE]

Yea I got his name correct in the first narative and then decided to get it wrong in the second.

I also got the wrong Secretary of War in one of the naratives. It should have Stimson not Stanton. Stanton was Lincoln's guy. Lol

The way I understood the situation donating a part of his profits was the problem.

FIRST OFF: Gibson's involvement goes back to the IRS. You really can't talk Gibson unless you involve the IRS and War Department's effort to get Louis out of tax debt.

The IRS made it clear that the fights were to be charity events in which no one makes a profit. This is what screwed Louis. When he donated his purse to war relief it was taxable.

Had it been a true charity event then Louis' contribution would have been non-taxed.

Dispite Jacobs, Gibson, and Roxborough malfeasance the IRS and War Department were willing to give it a third try with Louis-Conn II in the first week of October making it abundantly clear that no one was to make a PROFIT and both Louis and Conn would be cleared of their tax debt.

But Roxborough and Jacobs just couldn't bear the thought of not stealing some of the money and the fight got called off.

No sir, I am sorry Jacobs and Roxborough were thieves and they screwed Louis over.

In regards to Truman Gibson. You make money off the IBC you are stealing from fighters. You associate yourself with the likes of, Carbo, Palermo, and Norris then you are stealing from fighters. That makes you a gangster.

IMO You're making excuses for a thief.

From Boxrec:

Truman Gibson was a political adviser to U.S. President Harry Truman, lawyer for Joe Louis, and secretary and president of the IBC International Boxing Club. The IBC was dissolved after the Supreme Court ruled in 1959 that it had violated antitrust law. Two years later, Gibson and four co-defendants – Frankie Carbo, once described by the New York district attorney's office as "the underworld czar of boxing", Louis[SIC] Tom Dragna, Joe Sica, and Frank Palermo – were convicted in federal court of conspiracy and extortion in an effort to siphon off earnings from the welterweight champion Don Jordan. Gibson was sentenced to five years' probation and fined.

P.S. Are you aware how they used Joe Louis to set up the IBC, and then bought him out?

Gibson was a real bottom feeder.

[travestyny]

In 1960 it was better to be Black admists the Civil Rights movement than to be Italian during the war on organized crime.
.

Yea, ok. Let's keep it to boxing, buddy.

[Willie Pep 229]

Yea, ok. Let's keep it to boxing, buddy.

Na, it's a truth. Italian-American were discriminated against.

They 'Al Caponed' Carbo and Palermo, giving them 20 years each. When the Black guy got five years and then the judge suspended his sentence because of his War service.

The five year sentence would have been fair considering, but they were putting Carbo and Palermo away for 20 years for all the other crimes they committed, but without the RICO Act (which would not come until 1970) they couldn't convict.

Just like they did with Capone; had that been you or I, back in 1932, we would have gotten a large fine and a year or maybe two in prison, e.g. Westly Snipes. Al Capone got 11 years. We all know why.

Carbo and Palermo got 'Al Caponed.' AND THEY DESERVED IT.

Gibson was sentenced correctly. The decision to suspend his sentence speaks to his political connections. He was a successful Black man associated with the War Department. He embarrassed the Civil Rights movement and proved that the Black man was the White man's equal, even when it came to crime.

The two WOPs got what they deserved. They bled every fighter, whoever appeared on TV, on all four Networks, for nine years. Gibson was there for it all, right from the get go.

Sports writers were calling the IBC "the octopus." Because it touched, fleeced, every aspect of the game. The fighters, managers, promoters, and broadcasters all had to pay the IBC fees.

The one conviction they got, for extortion was just boiler plate, they needed to shut down IBC and they did with anti-trust laws.

Anyway I am not comparing the plight of the Italian-American to that suffered by the American Black man. I understand well, being Italian that they don't compare.