Standing 8 is Courtside

On January 23, 1010 at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater, the co-main events ended in exceptional knockouts courtesy of two of the boxing world’s hottest young champions, as 2004 Olympic gold medallist Yuriorkis (El Ciclon de Guantanamo) Gamboa defended the WBA World Featherweight title with a second round annihilation of the notoriously tough Rogers (The Tiger) Mtagwa, and former WBO Bantamweight champion Juan Manuel (Juanma) Lopez made a successful move to featherweight by eviscerating Steven Luevano in seven rounds to win the WBO World Featherweight title. In dismantling their respective opponents, Gamboa and Lopez moved a step closer to their appetizing bout for featherweight supremacy. That intriguing possibility made them the main focus of the evening’s festivities. However, behind the brewing Lopez-Gamboa showdown was an ample supply of legal, contractual, and regulatory issues that are important to boxing as a whole, as well as to the evening’s gladiators. A brief overview of these issues follows.

Negron Shows He’s No Loserweight at Developmental Stage of His Career

The opening bout of the night featured Carlos Negron, 6-0 (5 KOs), the freakishly tall (6’6”) Puerto Rican cruiserweight who scored a solid, but unspectacular, win over rugged Philadelphia product Garrett Wilson. Despite the non-descript performance, Negron’s undefeated record, unusual size, and ethnic background could make him an interesting addition to the Top Rank stable. Negron apparently has a promotional agreement with Top Rank, and at this early stage of his career, every win counts. Indeed, as noted in “The Incredible Expanding First Defense Deadline,” many promoters place provisions in their promotional agreements that allow them to modify or cancel their contract with a given boxer if they are not declared the winner of a fight. “[N]ot declared the winner,” you ask? Indeed, that means a draw can spell doom as well.

Rainmakers Among Haymakers Alert at WaMu

So how do three New York-based boxers that have no promotional agreement with Top Rank and minimal international repute end up on the undercard of an HBO-televised card? Because Plainview, New York’s Tommy Rainone, former New York Golden Gloves champion Will (Power) Rozinsky, and Greenlawn, New York’s Chris Algieri are all capable of selling enough tickets at a New York venue to make their way onto a wide range of local shows. Another level or two up from them are junior middleweight contenders Pawel (The Raging Bull) Wolak and “Ireland’s Own” John Duddy, who are reliable New York-area ticket sellers on the cusp of getting bigger fights. Wolak and Duddy already have promotional agreements with Top Rank. If Rainone, Rozinsky, and Algieri keep winning and keeping bringing their fans, perhaps they may not be far behind, even if many may question their upside. For more on the value of “rainmakers among haymakers” see: http://www.8countnews.com/news/138/ARTICLE/1689/2009-06-22.html.

Arvin Unsuccessfully Returns from a Prime Example of the Need for Instant Replay in Boxing

A year and five months displaced from his creation of a textbook example of the need for instant replay in boxing at the expense of Anthony (The Messenger) Thompson back on August 15, 2008, Baltimore, Maryland’s Ishmail (The Arsenal) Arvin made his return to the ring on the undercard of Lopez-Luevano against Pawel (The Raging Bull) Wolak. Against Thompson, Arvin was rewarded a spurious technical knockout victory after referee Gary Rosato ruled that Thompson was cut over his eye by a punch, though the replay plainly showed a clash of heads. Even after Rosato reviewed the replay with the help of ESPN and acknowledged that the he blew the call, he was overruled by District of Columbia Boxing and Wrestling Commission, who decided that Rosato’s initial ruling should stand. Washington, DC, of course, does not provide for instant replay in boxing. Arvin had no such luck against Wolak, and lost on points after eight largely one-sided rounds. Wolak, an exciting pressure fighter and rainmaker among haymakers, can now go back to the gym to stay sharp for bigger opportunities. For more on the issue of instant replay in boxing, see http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/1817/2009-08-10.html.

Diaz Follows Up His Game Changing KO Win at WaMu Theater Back in October in Impressive Fashion

On October 10, 2009, some may have wondered why Jersey City, New Jersey prospect Jorge Diaz, then 9-0 (5 KOs), was being offered up to former Cuban amateur star and Olympic gold medallist Yan Barthelemy so early in his career. Nonetheless, on the undercard of 2009 fight-of-the-year candidate Juan Manuel Lopez v. Rogers Mtagwa, there he was. To an outsider, it seemed as if Diaz was being thrown to the wolves. Indeed, Barthelemy was part of the illustrious trio of Cuban defectors that also included Gamboa and heavyweight Odlanier Solis, whom Top Rank was courting at the time. In the middle of the sixth round, however, it was Barthelemy who appeared to have been thrown to the wolves as Diaz knocked him out in sensational fashion and showed that he too belonged in the discussion of boxing’s most capable prospects. Whether Diaz’s exceptional win against Barthelemy earned him a promotional agreement with Top Rank is unknown to Standing 8 Court, but what was certain was that Diaz was back at the WaMu Theater, and Barthelemy was not. Diaz made his latest opportunity count, stopping journeyman Tommy Atencio in one round.

Gamboa’s Flattening of Mtagwa Raises Issue of Whether Boxers Should Be Allowed to Come in Too Light for a Championship Bout

Back on February 26, 2000, the question raised at Madison Square Garden was whether the late Arturo (Thunder) Gatti should have been allowed to enter the ring to face Joey Gamache after reportedly putting on close to 20 pounds after their weigh-in. That question is making its way through the New York Court of Claims as we speak, courtesy of a lawsuit filed by Gamache after he sustained brain damage due to a crushing second round knockout by Gatti. Nearly 10 years later, Standing 8 Court was asked after Gamboa’s knockout of Mtagwa whether there is any rule about a boxer coming in too light.

The question was raised because Mtagwa, who weighed in at 121 pounds for his epic clash with Lopez at junior featherweight, only weighed in at 122 ½ pounds for his bout with the full-sized featherweight Gamboa, who weighed in at 126 pounds. Under 19 NYCRR § 214.7, a section of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations that regulates professional boxing in New York State, the weight limit for a featherweight championship bout is, not surprisingly, 126 pounds, while the limit for a junior featherweight title bout is, also not surprisingly, 122 pounds. Thus, one can weigh anywhere from an infinitesimal amount over 122 pounds to exactly 126 pounds for a featherweight title bout in New York State. It was, accordingly, Mtagwa’s prerogative to enter the ring as a small featherweight. Whether a featherweight moving up in weight could, for example, choose to weigh-in at the featherweight limit for a junior lightweight bout is, however, an open question. For more analysis of the Gatti-Gamache lawsuit and the issues it raised about a boxer’s weight on fight night, please go to: http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/1408/2009-02-16.html.

Luevano a Prime Example of a Non-Rainmaker Among Haymakers

As pointed out by Dan Rafael of ESPN.com in his pre-fight coverage of Lopez-Luevano, Luevano “has no real fan base to speak of. Doesn’t have much charisma either.” In Standing 8 Court language, this means he is the polar opposite of the aforementioned rainmakers among haymakers. While boxers like Wolak and Duddy may be able to afford a loss here and there as long as their fan base remains loyal, therefore, the boxing gods may not be as kind to Luevano following his seventh round TKO loss to Lopez. This also means, as Rafael’s article infers, that Luevano did not really have much negotiating power going into the bout with Lopez. He brought the hardware coveted by Lopez, but he did not bring any fans or any notoriety.

Paul Stuart Haberman, Esq. is an attorney at the New York law firm of Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, LLP. He is also a New York State licensed boxing manager and the Chairman of the Sports Law Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association. He can be e-mailed at haberman.paul@gmail.com. ©