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John scully to enter connecticut boxing hall of fame
November 17, 2009
JOHN SCULLY TO ENTER CONNECTICUT BOXING HALL OF FAME
By Kirl Lang
Iceman noted as a boxer, trainer, mentor and friend
This Saturday night, former boxer and current trainer “Iceman” John Scully will be inducted into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame. Past living inductees (at the time of the inductions) have included boxing greats such as Willie Pep and Marlon Starling. Although he challenged for a world title, Scully did not reach the heights that Pep and Starling reached, but taking his entire contribution to the sport into account (his work as a pro trainer and serving as a mentor to many young amateurs), Scully richly deserves a plaque on the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame wall at Mohegan Sun right next to the “Will o’ the Wisp” and “Moochie.”
Scully is also my good friend.
At the start of his pro career, Scully ran up a nice record of nearly 20 fights, and only one loss, before suffering his second defeat at the hands of then-NABF middleweight champion Kevin Watts in a non-title bout in 1990. One judge had the fight as close as 96-95 even though the fight took place in Atlantic City, NJ and Watts was from Jersey.
Six years later, in his lone title shot - in Germany - Scully went 12 rounds in a losing effort against undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Henry Maske. That alone is an accomplishment. There is only a select percentage of the population that can say they fought for the world championship and there are far less who can say they made it to the final bell. Scully made a return visit to Germany after facing Maske, this time going the 10-round distance with former super middleweight champion Graciano Rocchigiani, who then went on to claim the WBC light heavyweight title in his next bout.
The bouts against Maske and Rocchigiani took place in 1996 and 1997, respectively, but I got to witness one of Scully’s finest performances in our home state of Connecticut in 1995. Fighting on the undercard of a James Toney main event at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Scully gave former two-division champion Michael Nunn all he could handle for 12 rounds. The fight and the punch stats were a lot closer than the unanimous decision for Nunn would lead you to believe. And that’s the truth, from someone who was just a fight fan at that point and who hadn’t yet befriended Scully.
Scully retired from the ring in 2001. However, it’s not solely Scully’s pro fighting career that has earned him a spot in the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame. He has also established himself as a top pro trainer. Working with junior middleweight Jose “El Gallo” Rivera in 2006, he led the pride of Worcester, Massachusetts to a world title victory over Alejandro Garcia. Rivera, under a different trainer, had lost a title bout in his previous fight, and in his hometown, when he was matched up with Luis Collazo. However, under Scully’s tutelage, the hometown hero came back to the same arena and won the WBA junior middleweight title (not the “regular” version that Rivera previously had). A year later, in 2007, Scully was in the corner when Hartford’s Mike Oliver won the vacant IBO super bantamweight title after 12 rounds against Al Seeger. Scully also currently works with top cruiserweight Matt Godfrey.
While I have outlined some of Scully’s pro accomplishments, perhaps equally impressive, if not more so, is all the work Sully has done with amateur fighters over the years, without ever collecting a paycheck. Some people become pro trainers to bask in the limelight of their star pupil, to get a bit of fame themselves. However, Scully would have been perfectly happy if he had never worked with a pro boxer. He truly loves working with young amateurs, as evidenced by the many trips, across many states, over the years, to get wanna-be Sugar Ray Leonards, Mike Tysons and Sugar Shane Mosleys to the next tournament to showcase their skills and add to their boxing trophy collection.
There are very few boxers who have spent as much time working with amateurs as Scully has. Scully is in the company of guys like Emanuel Steward and Joe Frazier, guys who don’t forget where they came from, who don’t forget the sport that did so much for them. Frazier was a world heavyweight champion, and Steward was a Golden Gloves champion before becoming the legendary trainer of the Kronk Gym. Steward may work with the best of the best in the pro game, but he still supports his amateur program with much of what he earns from working with the Klitschko brothers, for example, and his HBO broadcasting gig. Frazier worked with amateurs for decades until he closed his gym recently.
The Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame doesn’t induct by category like the International Boxing Hall of Fame (fighter, non-participant, observer, etc.) but if it did, Scully would likely get in as both a fighter and a trainer (non-participant), the fistic equivalent, sort of, as Paul McCartney getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - once with the Beatles and a second time as a solo artist.
But putting aside all of Scully’s accomplishments, this man is sort of like a brother I don’t see often enough. We live about an hour away from one another in different parts of the state. In a number of ways, he and I are more alike than some actual brothers. We both cite Muhammad Ali as our boyhood hero. In fact, I took great pride a few years ago when a young woman at the Bridgeport PAL boxing gym told me I had the fastest jab of anybody who trained there, even though I was one of the oldest and heaviest. I always wanted to have fast hands like Ali and I know Scully imitated Ali when he was younger. It is also really because of Ali that Scully and I don’t drink, smoke or do any other kind of drugs. Ali didn’t do that stuff so we don’t either. We also don’t curse. Call us nuts, call us prudes, but we are graduates of Muhammad Ali University.
Scully and I are also alike in that we could care less about a glass of soda. It is rare to find two grown men who never drank, smoked and don’t curse, and feel guilty if we drink a Pepsi, but that is the case with us. Scully and I also lost a parent too early. His mother passed away in the mid-1990s and I lost my dad in August 1997.
I first sat behind Scully at a Golden Gloves tournament in 1996 but never really had a real conversation with him until 2000. He and I were on the same plane heading to Roy Jones Jr.-Eric Harding in New Orleans. On the stop-over flight, we struck up a conversation and the rest is history. My trip to New Orleans had me in the city for two nights but I had only booked a room for one night. Scully offered to let me crash in his hotel room on fight night so I could get some rest before my plane ride back to Connecticut the next morning. Since that time, he and I have traveled to Canada, Coney Island (Brooklyn), hung out in Times Square on several occasions, Pensacola, FL (Roy Jones’ hometown) and numerous other places. I’ve been to a Super Bowl party at his house, with his wife and children, even when he ended up not making it (Scully’s fighter, Matt Godfrey, got an offer at the last minute to head to Wladimir Klitschko’s training camp and provide some sparring).
Scully and I have donned suits for weddings and for funerals. In November 2006, we were pallbearers for the legendary Willie Pep. Scully let me crash in his hotel room back in 2000 and I made it possible for him - due to my relationship with Pep’s wife - to help lay Pep at his final resting place. We help each other out like that.
I was given the job of videotaping his wedding back in 2007 and on Saturday night - without being asked - I’ll have the video camera on record once again. Congratulations on your induction John.
JOHN SCULLY TO ENTER CONNECTICUT BOXING HALL OF FAME
By Kirl Lang
Iceman noted as a boxer, trainer, mentor and friend
This Saturday night, former boxer and current trainer “Iceman” John Scully will be inducted into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame. Past living inductees (at the time of the inductions) have included boxing greats such as Willie Pep and Marlon Starling. Although he challenged for a world title, Scully did not reach the heights that Pep and Starling reached, but taking his entire contribution to the sport into account (his work as a pro trainer and serving as a mentor to many young amateurs), Scully richly deserves a plaque on the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame wall at Mohegan Sun right next to the “Will o’ the Wisp” and “Moochie.”
Scully is also my good friend.
At the start of his pro career, Scully ran up a nice record of nearly 20 fights, and only one loss, before suffering his second defeat at the hands of then-NABF middleweight champion Kevin Watts in a non-title bout in 1990. One judge had the fight as close as 96-95 even though the fight took place in Atlantic City, NJ and Watts was from Jersey.
Six years later, in his lone title shot - in Germany - Scully went 12 rounds in a losing effort against undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Henry Maske. That alone is an accomplishment. There is only a select percentage of the population that can say they fought for the world championship and there are far less who can say they made it to the final bell. Scully made a return visit to Germany after facing Maske, this time going the 10-round distance with former super middleweight champion Graciano Rocchigiani, who then went on to claim the WBC light heavyweight title in his next bout.
The bouts against Maske and Rocchigiani took place in 1996 and 1997, respectively, but I got to witness one of Scully’s finest performances in our home state of Connecticut in 1995. Fighting on the undercard of a James Toney main event at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Scully gave former two-division champion Michael Nunn all he could handle for 12 rounds. The fight and the punch stats were a lot closer than the unanimous decision for Nunn would lead you to believe. And that’s the truth, from someone who was just a fight fan at that point and who hadn’t yet befriended Scully.
Scully retired from the ring in 2001. However, it’s not solely Scully’s pro fighting career that has earned him a spot in the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame. He has also established himself as a top pro trainer. Working with junior middleweight Jose “El Gallo” Rivera in 2006, he led the pride of Worcester, Massachusetts to a world title victory over Alejandro Garcia. Rivera, under a different trainer, had lost a title bout in his previous fight, and in his hometown, when he was matched up with Luis Collazo. However, under Scully’s tutelage, the hometown hero came back to the same arena and won the WBA junior middleweight title (not the “regular” version that Rivera previously had). A year later, in 2007, Scully was in the corner when Hartford’s Mike Oliver won the vacant IBO super bantamweight title after 12 rounds against Al Seeger. Scully also currently works with top cruiserweight Matt Godfrey.
While I have outlined some of Scully’s pro accomplishments, perhaps equally impressive, if not more so, is all the work Sully has done with amateur fighters over the years, without ever collecting a paycheck. Some people become pro trainers to bask in the limelight of their star pupil, to get a bit of fame themselves. However, Scully would have been perfectly happy if he had never worked with a pro boxer. He truly loves working with young amateurs, as evidenced by the many trips, across many states, over the years, to get wanna-be Sugar Ray Leonards, Mike Tysons and Sugar Shane Mosleys to the next tournament to showcase their skills and add to their boxing trophy collection.
There are very few boxers who have spent as much time working with amateurs as Scully has. Scully is in the company of guys like Emanuel Steward and Joe Frazier, guys who don’t forget where they came from, who don’t forget the sport that did so much for them. Frazier was a world heavyweight champion, and Steward was a Golden Gloves champion before becoming the legendary trainer of the Kronk Gym. Steward may work with the best of the best in the pro game, but he still supports his amateur program with much of what he earns from working with the Klitschko brothers, for example, and his HBO broadcasting gig. Frazier worked with amateurs for decades until he closed his gym recently.
The Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame doesn’t induct by category like the International Boxing Hall of Fame (fighter, non-participant, observer, etc.) but if it did, Scully would likely get in as both a fighter and a trainer (non-participant), the fistic equivalent, sort of, as Paul McCartney getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - once with the Beatles and a second time as a solo artist.
But putting aside all of Scully’s accomplishments, this man is sort of like a brother I don’t see often enough. We live about an hour away from one another in different parts of the state. In a number of ways, he and I are more alike than some actual brothers. We both cite Muhammad Ali as our boyhood hero. In fact, I took great pride a few years ago when a young woman at the Bridgeport PAL boxing gym told me I had the fastest jab of anybody who trained there, even though I was one of the oldest and heaviest. I always wanted to have fast hands like Ali and I know Scully imitated Ali when he was younger. It is also really because of Ali that Scully and I don’t drink, smoke or do any other kind of drugs. Ali didn’t do that stuff so we don’t either. We also don’t curse. Call us nuts, call us prudes, but we are graduates of Muhammad Ali University.
Scully and I are also alike in that we could care less about a glass of soda. It is rare to find two grown men who never drank, smoked and don’t curse, and feel guilty if we drink a Pepsi, but that is the case with us. Scully and I also lost a parent too early. His mother passed away in the mid-1990s and I lost my dad in August 1997.
I first sat behind Scully at a Golden Gloves tournament in 1996 but never really had a real conversation with him until 2000. He and I were on the same plane heading to Roy Jones Jr.-Eric Harding in New Orleans. On the stop-over flight, we struck up a conversation and the rest is history. My trip to New Orleans had me in the city for two nights but I had only booked a room for one night. Scully offered to let me crash in his hotel room on fight night so I could get some rest before my plane ride back to Connecticut the next morning. Since that time, he and I have traveled to Canada, Coney Island (Brooklyn), hung out in Times Square on several occasions, Pensacola, FL (Roy Jones’ hometown) and numerous other places. I’ve been to a Super Bowl party at his house, with his wife and children, even when he ended up not making it (Scully’s fighter, Matt Godfrey, got an offer at the last minute to head to Wladimir Klitschko’s training camp and provide some sparring).
Scully and I have donned suits for weddings and for funerals. In November 2006, we were pallbearers for the legendary Willie Pep. Scully let me crash in his hotel room back in 2000 and I made it possible for him - due to my relationship with Pep’s wife - to help lay Pep at his final resting place. We help each other out like that.
I was given the job of videotaping his wedding back in 2007 and on Saturday night - without being asked - I’ll have the video camera on record once again. Congratulations on your induction John.
ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY
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