 6/18/06 - article by Howie Reed
Jermain Taylor & Kerry Daigle
TALKIN BOXIN
June 18, 2006
by Howie Reed
I really hate to bring this up but did anyone but me
notice that both Golden Boy (Oscar deLaHoya) and Top
Rank (Bob Arum) held shows on the same day within a
stones throw of each other and both were "Boffo" at
the box office. Hopkins-Tarver in Atlantic City did
10,200 in a venue who's best sightline is lousy. That
fight also did 330,000 buys PPV which brought in an
additional $16.5 million. Meanwhile in the Garden
Cotto- Malignaggi did a whopping 14,369. No report on
what that "PPV" did for op Rank. No wonder Top Ranks
local paper (the Las Vegas Review-Urinal ) devoted a
full page to Hopkins-Tarver and nary a mention of the
hometown guys fight. Pay backs a bitch ? Could be. The
numbers from those two contests should maybe shut up
some of those that say "boxing is in trouble". It's
not in trouble when promoters actually put on bouts
that someone wants to view. Imagine that. "Boffo " ?
Yep that's a show biz term that means "outstanding".
Yes a lot like Talkin Boxin is "Boffo" most weeks.
Some of us that follow the sport probably don't
realize that there are a plethora of fight cards not
only in the USA but around the world each day, week
and month. Doing one of these writing things each
week we tend to stay with the well known boxers in
well know fights. Some of the local promoters are
actually doing some promoting something the big time
guys have forgotten how to. How about this for a
headline ? ""Bad Chad and Homer Gibbins Declared A
War". Nope bad hu ? Where would that fight be ? Why in
Rural America Lafayette, Louisiana at the Blackham
Coliseum. The boxers on the card have some great down
south names from "way down yonder" as Pappy use to
say. Boxers from Scott, Lawtell, Monroe (pronounced
MON ROW), New Road and my favorite Cut Off Louisiana.
Boxing is alive and well in the hinterlands. Those
that promote in the "minor leagues" have a tough time
of making a living. "Wanna make a million dollars
promoting in Cuff Off, Louisiana ?" "OK. Start with 10
million and work your way down.
I am not a big fan of conspiracy theory's. The fact is
though that sometimes "theory" turns into fact. Now
I'm not going to say the following will become fact.
On the other hand the following has a hell of a lot
more chance of becoming fact than the views of "Whack
Job " Charlie Sheen. He the guy that said, "Call me
crazy but I never saw any planes fly into the World
Trade Towers on September 11. To me it looked like a
controlled explosion." Crazy ? Probably not but a
certifiably a moron ? You bet. I also want to state
full and before my maker that I am not a lawyer
although I used to tend bar at a Holiday Inn. With all
that out of the way Diego Corrales and Gary Shaw last
week filed suit in New York Federal Court against
Jose Luis Castillo and Top Rank. They filed the suit
with the "allegations" that Castillo and Top Rank knew
that Castillo would not make the 135 pounds but
withheld the information causing the June 3rd boxing
contest to be cancelled late on June 2.
Using one of the very best at suing boxing entities
Attorney Judd Burstein, Corrales is asking for the
purse money he lost in the amount of $1.2 million and
promoter Shaw $750,000. They each want $10 million in
punitive damages. The "allegations" in the lawsuit
are pretty straight forward. The real bombshell is
found in a letter sent to the Nevada Athletic
Commission by Burstein on behalf on Corrales and Shaw.
In that letter "the Nevada Athletic Commission
asking it to investigate whether Top Rank committed
income tax fraud by funneling some of Castillo's purse
money through Fernando Beltran in Mexico." Beltran is
listed as Castillo's "advisor or manager" but in a TV
Interview Bob Arum of Top Rank said that Beltran was
his "co-promoter". The "allegation" is that money was
"funneled" to Beltran that was then given to Castillo
thereby avoiding United States Income Tax. The
"evidence" for this as presented by Burstein is that
for the cancelled fight Corrales (who lost the last
time) would get $1,2 million and Castillo $900,000.
The rationale ? "Top Rank and Beltran have been
taking advantage of a fighter who does not speak
English and is represented by a manager (Beltran) who
has been corrupted by Top Rank" or because "Top Rank,
Beltran and Castillo are engaged in a scheme to
defraud the Internal Revenue Service by paying monies
to Beltran in Mexico that are really due to Castillo
in the United States as fight purses subject to United
States taxation." The story broke last Monday but Bob
Arum was on an airplane from New York and couldn't be
reached for comment. It's now Sunday morning and still
no comment from Arum. Great travel agent Bob. New
York to Las Vegas 7 days. Heck of a deal. Top Rank
Attorney Ike Lawrence Epstein did have something to
say. "It's sad there are people practicing law who
make wild and baseless allegations like Mr. Burstein
has done," Epstein said. "I'm not sure why Mr.
Burstein has chosen to conduct himself this way. There
is no merit at all to it, though I'm not going to
discuss the specifics." A lawyer making "wild and
baseless allegations "? Well I never.
The local media in Las Vegas has pretty much ignored
the lawsuit and NO mention of the letter. One local
radio station reported that "boxer Jose Luis Castillo
has been sued." That was it. No mention of Top Rank
or the Casino's involved. Not hard to figure out why.
In a city with at least three radio station devoted to
"sports talk" never a peep. Why ? Here comes the
conspiracy part. If as alleged, Top Rank and Arum knew
then you can be darn sure that the sponsoring Casino's
had a heads up. If the fight is cancelled before check
out time on Friday or even days before the fight
Hotel/ Casino's were going to loose not only hotel
revenue but the gaming for the weekend. Cancel late
Friday "not problem". Saturday night are easy to fill.
Friday is the problem. Hard to believe that hometown
promoter, who gets a lot of bucks from Casino's, would
lie to 'someone in authority" at any Casino.
The charge of "income tax fraud" could be even more
seriously for Casino's. Having run events in gaming
establishments where prize money was involved I know
that for "foreign players" money had to be withheld up
front. One can only guess that the same holds true for
"entertainers". If Senator "Windbag" McCain wants to
go after boxing and Nevada here's his open door. Surly
Attorney Burstein explained to Shaw and Corrales that
the suit was opening a "can of worms" that would
attack not only the "heart of Top Rank" but Nevada,
gambling and the relationship between them and boxing.
Made the mistake of actually thinking that
Wright/Taylor might be a really good fight. For the
record it was OK. Not as described by HBO shills, "A
great fight'. No it wasn't. In the championship rounds
Winky Wright reverted to his old run and hide no fight
routine that made his claims of victory a joke. The
fight was a "split decision draw" with Nevada's Chuck
Giampa having it 115-113 for Taylor, Ray Hawkins
115-113 for Wright and HBO's Harold Lederman and
Melvina Latham 114-114. Talkin Boxin had it 117-112
for Taylor but then Talkin Boxin never worshiped at
the Alter Wright. Taylor was hampered late in the
fight by a left eye that was closed. "It was caused by
a butt", tossed in Lennox Lewis. That was about the
only thing he said during the telecast that made any
sense. "Well you say a head butt", countered Lampley.
Of course the video showed the head butt which should
make no difference to Lampley. He decided a long time
ago that he is the boxing authority on everything.
I tend to go along with Taylor's comments after the
fight. "He was running like he had the fight won, I
stayed trying to get him. That's the difference
between us. I would have kept fighting. If he wanted
the title so bad, he should have fought all twelve
rounds. That's what I did." As Irene Maude Reed use to
say, "Let's give the devil his due" OK this one's for
you Mom on Father's Day. "Wright fought better than
he has in the last four or five years." Let's hope the
rematch is on PPV so I can switch it off as I did with
most of the replay of Hopkins-Tarver.
AND FINALLY: This morning, from a cave somewhere in
Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Migration, Mohammed
Omar, warned the United States that if military action
against Iraq continues, Taliban authorities will cut
off America's supply of convenience store clerks.
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