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Shelly Finkel probably didn’t know it at the time when he was book-deep at N .Y.U. in marketing.
However, the scholarly senior’s career in “ booking” would take two turns, first to a boxing arena for the annual Golden Gloves he followed growing up In Brooklyn and then joining buddy Johnny Koplit promoting rock concerts on the east coast.
When Finkel made the break in 1984 for a serious fling managing professional boxers, Koplit kept the concert gig going just in case.
Finkel built a solid reputation hustling pugs and handled 25 world champions over two decades with the legend of the lot being the explosive Mike Tyson but that association would come later. Shelly was a spectator when Tyson wrote history Nov.22,1986 with a two-round blitz of Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 21,in Las Vegas.
Tyson and Finkel seem to be a good read for each other and that’s why the New Yorker has rejoined the former two-time champ, who is now on the mend after hurting his left knee in losing to Britain’s Danny Williams last July in Memphis.
Finkel was in a reflective mood the other afternoon at his headquarters in Manhattan and was proud he was able to memorize most of the former champions he has managed.
“Of course, Mike Tyson will always be premier in the hearts of myself and world-wide fight buffs. However, I’ve had other great world champions like Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Alex Ramos, Johnny Bumphus, Michael Moorer, John John Molina, Fernando Vargas, Vinny Pazienza, and among the current in our stable, there’s WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko, and his brother, Wladimir, who is still a factor, there’s Jeff Lacy, the IBF 168-pound champion, and featherweight Manny Pacquiao, who is thriving as the biggest super star in Asia. I apologize for any of the current and former headliners I might have missed.”
When the media presses the versatile manager to weigh on the sports’ one-time Sweet Science compared to today’s controversial action, Finkel has never avoided an issue.
“One of the big problems today boxing doesn’t have the once-established networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS to build young newcomers. There are just too many fighters and too many weight divisions. When I was growing up there was just one world champion in the eight divisions. With all the divisions now, the traffic is so large, the public doesn’t know who is who at any weight,” Finkel stressed.
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However, the scholarly senior’s career in “ booking” would take two turns, first to a boxing arena for the annual Golden Gloves he followed growing up In Brooklyn and then joining buddy Johnny Koplit promoting rock concerts on the east coast.
When Finkel made the break in 1984 for a serious fling managing professional boxers, Koplit kept the concert gig going just in case.
Finkel built a solid reputation hustling pugs and handled 25 world champions over two decades with the legend of the lot being the explosive Mike Tyson but that association would come later. Shelly was a spectator when Tyson wrote history Nov.22,1986 with a two-round blitz of Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 21,in Las Vegas.
Tyson and Finkel seem to be a good read for each other and that’s why the New Yorker has rejoined the former two-time champ, who is now on the mend after hurting his left knee in losing to Britain’s Danny Williams last July in Memphis.
Finkel was in a reflective mood the other afternoon at his headquarters in Manhattan and was proud he was able to memorize most of the former champions he has managed.
“Of course, Mike Tyson will always be premier in the hearts of myself and world-wide fight buffs. However, I’ve had other great world champions like Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Alex Ramos, Johnny Bumphus, Michael Moorer, John John Molina, Fernando Vargas, Vinny Pazienza, and among the current in our stable, there’s WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko, and his brother, Wladimir, who is still a factor, there’s Jeff Lacy, the IBF 168-pound champion, and featherweight Manny Pacquiao, who is thriving as the biggest super star in Asia. I apologize for any of the current and former headliners I might have missed.”
When the media presses the versatile manager to weigh on the sports’ one-time Sweet Science compared to today’s controversial action, Finkel has never avoided an issue.
“One of the big problems today boxing doesn’t have the once-established networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS to build young newcomers. There are just too many fighters and too many weight divisions. When I was growing up there was just one world champion in the eight divisions. With all the divisions now, the traffic is so large, the public doesn’t know who is who at any weight,” Finkel stressed.
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