Published by on April 22nd, 2008
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Former lightweight champ fights again April 25 – at long last
By Charles Jay
Having experienced one delay after another, the latest fight in former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora’s comeback is set to take place at the Avalon Hotel in Erie, PA on April 25. Spadafora will be stepping into the ring against Shad Howard of Jefferson City, MO (13-10-3, 6 KO’s), a game opponent-type who has gone the distance in the past with IBF light welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi, and went six rounds before being stopped on cuts by world-rated by undefeated, world-rated Dimitry Salita.
It is no accident that this fight lands in Erie, as it is where he’s been training for the past year, as well as the headquarters for Spadafora’s promoter, Mike Acri.
Boxing fans might need to be reminded that Spadafora (40-0, 16 KO’s) is still undefeated. He won the vacant IBF lightweight title in August of 1999 when he outpointed Israel Cardona, and made eight successful title defenses, including decisions over Angel Manfredy and Joel Perez, and a rip-roaring 12-round draw with Leonard Dorin in May of 2003 that was one of the best fights of that year.
Then the roof fell in for the Pittsburgh native. In early 2004 he was arrested for aggravated assault related to an incident involving his girlfriend. After the arrest, and while Spadafora was awaiting trial, Acri had been approached by promoter Bob Arum (of Top Rank) about the possibility of fighting Floyd Mayweather in the Pretty Boy’s hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. After some deliberation, Madison Square Garden was chosen as the more “neutral” location, as well as the one that would land the bigger gate, but in May of 2004 the New York State Athletic Commission refused to license Spadafora despite the fact that he had not even been tried, much less convicted. That caused him to lose out on a purse that may have been as much as a million dollars.
And there wouldn’t be any big purses for quite a while. Spadafora was indeed ultimately convicted, receiving a sentence of anywhere from 21 months to 36 months. He wound up doing 14 months of that sentence – seven in jail, a month in “boot camp,” and the rest in a halfway house, during which time he was allowed to train as a boxer during the day before checking back in at night. So he was ready to hit the ground running when he got out of custody, this time as a welterweight, and just a couple of months after his release (November 22 of ‘06), he stopped Jesus Zepeda in five rounds.
That was the beginning of what was supposed to be a rather regular schedule of activity for Spadafora. He fought again in March of last year against Irishman Oisin Fagan, winning a split decision that left some fans dissatisfied.
But Spadafora hasn’t fought since. He was scheduled to get back into action in June, but on May 31, he was picked up for a parole violation and placed in protective custody for 75 days, the product of an accusation on the part of a female acquaintance that turned out to be false, at which time he was released. But compounding his problems was the fact that he suffered not one, but two inner ear infections. Spadafora often swims for conditioning purposes, and in doing so used wax earplugs rather than those made of rubber, a mistake that knocked him out of the ring for another few months, killing a prospective November fight.
In January he was slated to go against Argentinean Ivan Bustos, but one night while walking out from a meal at Denny’s, he slipped on a sheet of ice and hurt his knee. Then his April 6 fight in Erie had to be postponed when he, along with two other undercard fighters, developed stomach flu, joining another fighter on the show who came down with bronchitis.
The fight is now on for the 25th, provided another unforeseen gaffe doesn’t take place.
Acri admits that with events forcing such an uneven program, he is moving along with opponents for the time being who are relatively low-risk propositions. Howard, however, customarily finds himself in the ring with quality opponents, having suffered seven of his ten defeats to undefeated foes.
“Spadafora will be the aggressor in a fight like this, and he’ll show a lot of what he can do,” said Acri. “He can fight inside, which is something a lot of people don’t realize he can do. When he and (Leonard) Dorin fought, they really got down to some business on the inside.”
Spadafora is training on a regular basis with Ricky Diaz of Buffalo, who also trained former lightweight contender Victoriano Sosa (who fought both Spadafora and Mayweather for world titles) as well as world champion Joel Casamayor. Jesse Reid, who has worked with a number of world champions, including Spadafora in the past, will also come in before the bout.
After this fight is over and done with, and assuming Spadafora moves on, what will be next?
“The plan is basically to continue to fight and keep busy,” says Acri. “The kid is a technician, and a technician needs to practice and stay sharp. I would like to fight him in June, then in August or September. I really need to get him back into the game. I’d say he’s about 85% of the way there. I’ll tell you this – he still has the tremendous hand speed. He still hits from all angles. He’s hard to hit, he’s smart, his jab is good. If he had more power, he’d own whatever division he wanted.”
When Spadafora is ready to make a bold move, which should happen within a year’s time, Acri will sit back and see which fight opportunity presents itself. HBO wanted him to fight Arturo Gatti, but Gatti, who was obviously more at home with a fellow brawler, was apprehensive about fighting him.
There may be another, more lucrative possibility – one that may have materialized had Spadafora not run into trouble with the law.
“There could be a fight with Mayweather,” says Acri. “They were lightweight champions at about the same time. There is a tape on YouTube of Spadafora beating up on Mayweather in six rounds of sparring in Las Vegas, but they never wound up fighting each other.
“There could also be a fight with Ricky Hatton. The fight he really wants is Oscar De La Hoya. Paul likes to fight guys who are tall and come straight ahead.” Acri concedes that while the fights with Mayweather and Hatton could conceivably be made, the chances of fighting De La Hoya are rather remote. “Those other guys are 29, 30 years old. They’re going to be still around.”
It would be wishful thinking for any of those bigger fights to land in Pittsburgh, the site of six of Spadafora’s title defenses and where he is wildly popular, inheriting the nickname “The Pittsburgh Kid” that light heavyweight champ Billy Conn made famous in the 1930’s. Acri, who has re-christened his fighter “The Comeback Kid,” acknowledges that times may change, but he has developed a viable brand in the Steel City.
“It was tough to make money in the fight game in Pittsburgh until Spadafora came along,” he says. “But he made money there as a champion. I would hope I could get him back there again someday.”
(Charles Jay is a veteran boxing writer and columnist who has been a manager, matchmaker, agent, publicist and color commentator in professional boxing. He proudly contributes to Boxing Insider, but is proudly NOT a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America)
