Tag Archives: senior

Floyd Mayweather Sr. Aims To Stop His Son’s Ring Return

Posted on 11/24/2019

By: Hans Themistode

When Floyd Mayweather Jr decided to flip the boxing world on its head by announcing that he would be returning to the ring in 2020, it was met with a mixed bag of emotions.

On one end, boxing fans were elated with the news. Floyd is one of the greatest boxers of all-time and an even better showman. On the other side of the spectrum, it seemed like a complete contradiction.

Just one day prior to making his announcement, Floyd went on record stating that he was officially done with the sport of boxing. At least, from a participant standpoint.

Floyd cited his health as the main reason why he was hanging up the gloves for good. The five division world champion has always kept himself in great shape, and has done an excellent job in avoiding taking heavy punishment in a career that has spanned more than two decades. But with so many ring tragedies as of late, Floyd decided that at the age of 42, it was just too much of a risk at this point in his life.

“Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle,” Said Mayweather. “My health is my wealth”

Floyd has retired from the ring on numerous occasions, but has always given the impression that he would be back at some point. This time however, things seemed more real.

With that being said, within just a few short hours later, Floyd would go on to announce that he would be ending his retirement in 2
Talk about a quick change of heart.

The focus has now quickly shifted to who exactly does Floyd have in mind for his ring return. The excitement surrounding the greatest boxer of his generation making his return in palpable.

One person however, who isn’t amongst those who are happy with the decision is his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr.

“There ain’t nothing to prove,” said Mayweather Sr. “He done proved everything.”

With 50 wins to his name with no defeats to go along with countless titles across five weight divisions, Mayweather Sr is right. Floyd doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone.

Many are expecting Floyd’s return to be a one off. A huge fight against quite possibly another UFC opponent where he could bank at minimum 100 million dollars for his services. But Mayweather Sr doesn’t quite view it that way. Instead, he believes this could become a pattern.

“If he fights this time then I figure then he’s going to fight again, and if you fight then, you’ll fight again and again and again. It’s like as long as I keep winning I’ll keep fighting and that ain’t no good.”

The concerns that Mayweather Sr has for his son has nothing to do with fighting ability. He believes that Floyd is still highly skilled but at this point why take the risk? Who knows if anyone around Floyd has advised him to stay away from a return, but Mayweather Sr has made it clear that if he can stop him, he will.

“He can do it, trust me but hopefully I can stop him from fighting. I don’t know if I can or not but if I can, I will be glad. I just don’t want him to get hurt in any kind of way.”

With Mayweather Sr expressing genuine concern for his son, maybe he can put an end to his 2020 ring return. Yet, with Floyd’s obsession with money, it is hard to see anyone changing his mind.

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Who Holds The Most Successful Title Defenses Record?

Posted on 01/15/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Since the 1940’s we’ve heard how heavyweight champion Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis, 66-3 (52), held the most title defenses at 25. What you may have not read is there are two other boxers who have passed that record and are both at 27 defenses.

Louis still holds the record for the most defenses in the same division. The first boxer to pass 25 defenses was none other than Mexico’s Julio Cesar “J.C.” Chavez, 107-6-2 (86).

In September of 1984 Chavez won the vacant WBC World Super Featherweight title in his 44th fight improving his record to 43-0. He defeated Mexico’s Mario Martinez, 33-1-2, in the eighth round in L.A.

Chavez would make nine defenses of the WBC World Super Featherweight title before winning the WBA Lightweight title in November of 1987 stopping Puerto Rico’s Edwin Rosario, 31-2 in the eleventh round in Las Vegas. In a non-title bout in March of 1986 he improved his record to 50-0 knocking out Roberto Collins Lindo, of Costa Rica in Las Vegas. In his second defense he defeated WBC champion Jose Luis Ramirez, 101-6, of Mexico, by TD eleven rounds in a unification bout ahead 96-94, 95-93 and 98-91. He would give up the WBA title.

In Chavez’s next fight he won the WBC Super Lightweight title from Roger Mayweather, 34-5, by RTD 10, in Inglewood, CA. It was their second meeting with the first for Mayweathers Lightweight title. In his third defense he added the IBF title in a unification bout win over Philadelphia’s Meldrick Taylor, 24-0-1, at 2:58 of the 12th and final round. Taylor took his eyes off of referee Richard Steele when he saw his trainer Lou Duva coming up the steps. Steel prematurely waved the fight off with just two seconds to go. Taylor was ahead 107-102 and 108-101 but behind 105-104. It was Ring Magazine’s “Fight of the Year!” Chavez improved to 69-0. It would be four and a half years before Taylor got his rematch.

Chavez would defend both the WBC and IBF titles twice before giving up the IBF title. Five title fights later he would stop Greg Haugen, 32-4, in the fifth round in Mexico City before 132,247 in attendance in February of 1993.

After another defense Chavez tried moving up and taking the WBC Welterweight title from Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, 32-1, that ended in a majority draw in September of 1993 in San Antonio, TX.

Two fights later in January of 1994 Chavez lost his title to Frankie “The Surgeon” Randall, by split decision in Las Vegas. He was dropped for the first time in his career in the eleventh round and lost two points for low blows in rounds seven and eleven. Four months later in a rematch he re-won his title on a TD in eight. He was ahead 76-75 and 77-74 while behind 76-75.

The next fight would be the “re-match” with Taylor, 32-3-1, in September of 1994 some four and a half years later in Las Vegas. Taylor then went onto win the WBA welterweight title two fights later. He would attempt to move up to super welterweight losing to WBC Champion Terry Norris. In his next fight he would lose his welterweight title to Venezuela’s Crisanto Espana fighting out of the UK. He would win his next three fights before meeting Chavez again losing in the eighth round behind on two cards and even on one. Chavez would improve to 91-1-1.

In December Chavez made what would be his final successful defense against the former WBA World Lightweight Champion Tony “The Tiger” Lopez, 45-4-1, of Sacramento, CA, stopping him in the tenth in Monterrey, MEX. It was his twenty-seventh overall. He had nine at Super Featherweight, two at lightweight and sixteen at Super Welterweight.

Four fights later, Chavez would lose his title to Oscar “Golden Boy” De La Hoya, 21-0, being stopped in the fourth round. After two defenses De La Hoya would move up to welterweight and defeat Whitaker. Three fights later Chavez would fight to a draw for his former WBC Super Lightweight title that ended in a draw against Miguel Angel Gonzalez, 42-1, in a vacant title bout. Chavez would try to win another title but lost in fights in De La Hoya and world champion Kostya Tszyu.

The other boxer who also has made twenty-seven successful defenses is Omar Andres Narvez, 47-2-2 (25), from Chubat, Argentina. This southpaw is still active at age forty-two. His upcoming fight with southpaw South African Zolani Tete, 26-3 (21), of the UK, will be for his WBO World Bantamweight title on February 10th in the UK.

Except for being held to a draw in his fifth and seventeenth fights Narvaez his record was spotless winning the WBO World Flyweight title when he was just 10-0-1. It was in July of 2002 winning a lopsided decision over Adonis “Caballo” Rivas, 17-2-1, of Nicaragua.

In the fourth defense for Narvaez he was held to his second draw by Italy’s Andrea Sarritzu, 17-1-1, in Italy in a rematch. He was the WBO Inter-Continental Champion. This bout took place in December of 2002. In their previous battle Narvaez took a split decision win also in Italy. Sarritzu would eventually win the European title and lose in another world title fight effort.

In March of 2007 Narvaez would defeat 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Frenchman Brahim Asloum, 21-1, over twelve rounds. In February of 2009 he would stop American Rayonta “Stingray” Whitfield, 22-0, in the tenth round in Argentina. In May of 2010 he would win the vacant WBO World Super Flyweight title defeating Everth Briceno, 32-5-1, of Nicaragua. He had sixteen title defenses at Flyweight.

After having three defenses Narvaez tried jumping up a division for Nonito Donaire’s, 26-1, WBC World Bantamweight title losing a lopsided decision in October of 2011 at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater. He would return to his natural weight division and score eight more defenses reaching twenty-seven defenses.

Narvaez was 43-1-2 when he lost in Japan to their Nayoya “Monster” Inoue, 7-0, being stopped in the second round in December of 2014. He would go onto win his last four bouts and is now getting ready for his bout with Tete.

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Larry Hazzard, Sr., “You Name It and He Did It in Boxing!

Posted on 09/28/2016

Larry Hazzard, Sr., “You Name It and He Did It in Boxing!
By: Ken Hissner

Some people serve as boxers, martial artists, referees, judges, commissioners, chairman of officials, school principals, International Boxing Hall of Famers, or even literary authors, and actors. We can go on and on. However, few have filled all of these positions; except Larry Hazzard, Sr.

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Hazzard was a 3-time Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Champion in the 60’s and also won an AAU title. After graduating from Central H.S. in Newark, NJ, Hazzard received a Bachelor’s degree in education and a Master’s degree in administration from Montclair State University. He held positions as a physical education teacher, girls track team coach, athletic director, vice principal and principal for various Newark public and charter schools.

Hazzard earned a black belt in Ju Jitsu and was a martial arts instructor for 12 years. In 1967, at the age of 23, he became an amateur boxing referee and in 1978 he advanced to the professional referee level, where he was the “third man in the ring” for many events and title bouts around the world for sanctioning organizations such as the IBF, WBC and WBA. It was a time when boxing was blossoming along with the Atlantic City casino industry. He sometimes worked shows twice a week and quickly became known as the top referee in the Garden State and one of the best in the world.

In December 1985, Governor Tom Kean appointed Hazzard as Commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Hazzard quickly implemented his “no-nonsense” approach toward regulating boxing, and all other combative sports. During his tenure as commissioner, Hazzard initiated many new policies and procedures, which were adopted throughout the world as standard practices for the improvement of combative sports. He is most known for his strict regulation and innovations such as replacing the mouthpiece during competition, the use of rubber gloves for all referees, physicians and cornermen, and comprehensive medical testing requirements, including Brain CT scans, ophthalmology exams and communicable disease screenings for HIV, Hepatitis B and C. His accomplishments propelled New Jersey as leaders in the combative sports industry and as a result, Atlantic City became a major venue for some of the largest and greatest boxing events in modern day history. He is especially proud of his success in standardizing championship rules for both boxing and mixed martial arts, which have been adopted around the world as the Unified Rules of Conduct for Professional Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Championships.
Hazzard has denied rumors that he was fired in November 2007 by former Attorney General Anne Milgrim. “I left because it was the right thing to do at the time”, said Hazzard. Milgrim, herself, has been quoted as saying, “Hazzard did nothing wrong… We’re just going in a different direction.”

After a short retirement as NJ’s commissioner in 2007, he travelled around the world as Chairman of Officials, Education, Development and Supervision for the IBF from 2008 to 2010. In 2012 he was hired by NBC Sports Network to serve as their television expert for scoring and rules interpretation.

The author of two publications entitled “A Conceptual Approach to Refereeing” and “The Ringleader: A Boxing Referee’s Guide to Greatness”, Hazzard’s diversity does not stop there. He also appeared in Hollywood’s movie “Ali” where he played the part of Ali’s mentor, Zack Clayton, as the referee for “The Rumble in the Jungle” pitting Ali regaining his title from then champion George Foreman. Other acting credits include film appearances in “Homeboys” and “Undefeated”, as well as a cameo appearance in the television series, “Oz”.

Hazzard was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2010 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in the Non-Participant category for his longtime contributions to the sport as both a referee and administrator. He admitted it was one of the few times in his life that he was nervous when he got the call. He has received numerous other awards and recognitions over the years, as well.

In 2014 Under Governor Chris Christie, Hazzard was reappointed to the NJ State Athletic Control Board to regain his thrown as commissioner, continuing on his history-making journey of protecting the health and safety of contestants and preserving the integrity of combative sports. With many casinos closing over the past few years, Atlantic City is no longer the leading venue for major boxing events as it had been in years past. In 2016, New Jersey has only hosted 8 boxing shows but Hazzard is working diligently to revive major boxing events around the state. “We had 9 boxing events cancelled for one reason or another over the past 3 months,” said Hazzard. “It’s going to take some time, but we’re confident that major boxing events will return to NJ soon. We have already begun to attract Showtime, ESPN Sports and PBC televised events; not to mention the excitement that MMA and Professional Kickboxing has been bringing to NJ as well. We anticipate another PBC event with Danny Garcia, before the end of the year”, he continued.

Hazzard will turn 72 in December and he could pass for someone in his 50’s. He has always kept himself physically fit and is a dapper dresser. At a press conference Hazzard, the Honorable Mayor Eric Jackson and Renee Aiken of Boss Lady Promotions highlighted their promotion on May 1st at the Sun National Bank Center, 81 Hamilton Avenue in Trenton. Featured in the main event is well known Paulsboro, NJ, heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon along with a 10 bout undercard that includes “Bridge Wars” with NJ vs NY amateurs opposing one another. It’s the 1st Annual Mayors Cup. It will certainly be a full night of boxing.

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