A RUSSIA-UKRAINE STORY TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING

While Russia Battles Ukraine on the World Stage, Two Boxers Fight Not for Country, But for Legacy Oct. 18 in Philadelphia.

By Emily Pandelakis

PHILADELPHIA -- As Russia and Ukraine dominate the news, both countries have become inextricably linked to the current impeachment inquiry in Washington DC.  Up the road in Philadelphia, two world champion boxers--one Russian, one Ukrainian--are preparing to meet in a light-heavyweight unification bout.

As their home countries wage war against each other, their thoughts are 5,000 miles away, focused not on the opponent’s country, but on the man he will meet in the center of the ring at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Oct. 18.  The winner will leave the ring as WBC/ IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion of the world.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) is the current WBC Light- Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Adonis Stevenson via knockout in the 11th round of their Dec., 2018, bout in Quebec, Canada. The knockout would end Stevenson’s boxing career.

IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) defeated Gvozdyk when the two met as amateurs--Beterbiev representing Russia, Gvozdyk representing Ukraine.

Ukraine Arrives on the American Stage

In recent weeks, calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment became deafening after Ukraine released the transcript of a phone call between its President, former comedian Volodymir Zelensky, and Trump, which included an exchange about former Vice President and Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter.  Trump urged the newly elected leader to investigate the younger Biden.

The impeachment inquiry will examine whether Trump held up $400M in aid to Ukraine with the intention of releasing it when the country began an investigation of Hunter Biden, and one into Ukraine’s role in the 2016 US Presidential election--a conspiracy theory, which Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, have repeatedly pushed publicly.  The premise is that Crowdstrike, a California-based company that was brought in to investigate the Russian hack of the Democratic party’s servers that election year, is owned by a Ukrainian.

Zelensky, who played the President of Ukraine in a television show called Servant of the People for four years, was elected in a landslide victory in April and began his term as Ukraine’s sixth president in May. He’s an unwitting participant in American politics, which was made clear during a 10-hour, informal question-and-answer session last week with reporters in Ukraine.   He spoke dismissively about the potential that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election, saying he would have to be shown a reason to proceed with any joint “theoretical” investigation.

Like the boxers training in Philadelphia, who are focused on their fight and not on war and politics, his mind is elsewhere - working to end the conflict with Russia on Ukraine’s Eastern border.

His constituents, the people of Ukraine, are not focused on American politics and elections.  “The Trump phone call is being covered right now in Ukraine,” said Petro Shugurov, former Ring Magazine Ukraine Writer and Contributing Editor who lives in the country.  “Mostly just that Zelensky was involved. The Ukrainian people have enough to worry about with our own politics.”

The American and the Canadian

While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has a complicated and lengthy history, the roads that led Beterbiev and Gvozdyk to Philadelphia are well-traveled.

“The Boxing Federations of Russia and Ukraine are very similar,” said Shugurov.  “They still operate like they did during the days of the USSR. The Russian Federation is like God Almighty to boxers in Russia--there are a lot of programs to support them and they receive stipends.”

Both boxers were decorated amateurs.  Beterbiev had over 300 amateur fights and won gold and silver in world-level contests in Milan and Chicago.  Gvozdyk had over 250 amateur bouts and won a bronze medal for Ukraine in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Gvozdyk is followed closely by those in his home country of Ukraine and Ukrainians stateside, despite moving to California five years ago to focus on his career:  “One month ago, we went to the Ukrainian Festival. There were a lot of Ukrainian people there and I was surprised that a lot of them knew me. We spent a couple hours there, signing autographs and taking photos.”

Gvozdyk, whose father had a brief career as an amateur boxer in Ukraine, is living out his dream in California. “When I asked my wife to come to California with me, to leave her home, she said the most important thing is that I’m going to go with you,” Gvozdyk said of his wife, Daria.  He acknowledges that it can sometimes be difficult to be away from family as the two raise a family, but the kids--two boys and one girl, ages 3-10--have traveled the world with their parents. “Our kids are the most quiet kids on the plane when they travel. They don’t cry. They know it’s pointless.”  Gvozdyk lost his mother in 2014.

Politics is not a topic that Gvozdyk is anxious to discuss, going so far as to say he doesn’t know what’s happening.  “It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’m just an athlete. I don’t want to make any parallels to the fight. I am living in California, he is living in Montreal. I just don’t know anything about it.”

“Teddy Atlas, Gvozdyk’s trainer, runs a tight ship,” said J Russell Peltz, who is co-promoting the championship fight with Top Rank. “It doesn’t surprise me that he’s not focused on what’s happening on the other side of the world.”

His opponent, Beterbiev, shared the sentiment. “Any war is bad for people, but I really don’t want to talk about it,” said the Russian, who relocated to Montreal six years ago to further his career.  “It’s far from me in Canada.”

Shugurov hints at other motives at why the boxers don’t want to talk about life in the former Soviet bloc:  “They are high-profile athletes and they don’t want to upset anyone. They don’t want to have problems like those that have happened with other boxers.

“Ukrainians and Russians are everywhere and they are like a network.  Fighters as a whole don’t want to get involved. They want to make money and not have problems.  Beterbiev, he’s Canadian now. Gvozdyk is American.”

Beterbiev’s family life nearly mirrors that of his opponent.  Married with four children ages 2-8, Beterbiev lost his father to an accident when he was only sixteen. His father was just starting to enjoy his son’s career.  “A couple days before he died, I won a bronze medal in a tournament. He said to me: ‘You won this fight. Now go go go. I believe in you.’”

Raising a family away from home hasn’t been easy for Beterbiev and his wife, Medena, though Beterbiev’s mother has traveled to Canada to help.

Much Can Change in Ten Years

Ten years ago, Ukraine was led by Viktor Yushchenko, who had survived an assassination attempt by poison five years prior.  There was political chaos and a gas dispute with Russia. Putin was not yet President of Russia, but it was understood that he was in charge of the country. There was tension between the two countries, but nothing that matched the war and hostility they are facing today.

“We had beat Germany together,” said Shugurov. “We fought Nazis together. A whole lot of people believed we should be one country.  While Ukraine had a Western-friendly leader, there was a brotherhood between the people of the countries.”

The US had a different president, one not embroiled in an impeachment inquiry permeated by Russian and Ukrainian ties.

Ten years ago, two fighters, one from Ukraine, one from Russia, met in a boxing ring with the Russian besting the Ukrainian.  The two fighters, now husbands and fathers, undefeated world champion professionals, living away from home and seeking the glory that comes with unifying world titles, will meet in the most pivotal fight of their respective careers.  It’s a fight that transcends politics and war, whose winner, at least in the boxing world, will be declared Unified Champion of the World.

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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Peltz Boxing, tickets priced at $150, $90, $75 and $50 (not including applicable fees) can be purchased at the Liacouras Center Box Office, www.liacourascenter.com or charge by phone at 800-298-4200.

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War at Parx - Peltz’s 50th - Ennis Returns

By Luis A. Cortes III

It’s true that when the unofficial end of summer takes place and Labor Day passes that the boxing schedule begins to turn up the heat for the fall.  This year has been no exception.  With so many ways for boxing fans to be plugged into the sport, and with so many different outlets distributing fight cards, it can be easy for fans to lose track or miss out on a specific fight, fighter, or all-around fight card that they were anticipating.  With that in mind, I thought I would take some time to give you a few quick reminders about a great fight that took place last Friday just outside of Philadelphia, along with some other key dates regarding boxing and the city of Brotherly Love.

War at Parx Casino (September 20th)

Joe Hand Promotions may best be known as the king of closed-circuit television on the east coast, especially in the Philadelphia area.  However, they do have a stable of fighters that they manage and have a ton of relationships that run deep into all areas of the sport.  As a result, fight fans in the Philadelphia area are treated to a handful of fight cards each year.  During the past two years, these shows have taken place at the Xcite Center located inside of Parx Casino.  Last Friday seemed to be an exciting local show that featured five fights.  There were some knockouts and a farewell to the always hard-working Jamaal Davis, a super middleweight from Philadelphia that never reached the likes of Madison Square Garden or the elite level, but always gave paying fans his best effort both in victory and defeat.  His loss in a six round fight marked the end of his career.

After four fights, the fourth being another quality victory by the recently signed to Lou Dibella Entertainment Jr. lightweight Joshafat Ortiz (7-0) (4 KO’s), Ortiz needed six rounds to out work and out box Anderw Bentley an awkward southpaw.  It was then time for the main event, featuring another local fighter signed to Lou Dibella, lightweight Stevie Ortiz.  What took place next after the bell sounded for round one was eight non-stop edge of your seat rounds of pure action.  Ortiz started out by taking a lead in the fight by out boxing his determined opponent Alejandro Salinas.  In the second round, Ortiz, thinking he had hurt Salinas, moved in for the kill but was greeted by a thunderous left hook from Salinas that floored Ortiz.  Clearly hurt, Ortiz was still shaking off the buzz from the knockdown in the prior round when he again started to establish control in the third, only to once again show his willingness to exchange power shots.         

When Ortiz landed on his back, being dropped this time by a right hand in the third round, it seemed like the fans were witnessing an upset win for Salinas.  Unlike the first knockdown where Ortiz was able to get up with a clear mind, this time he was clearly one more power shot away from being completely knocked out.  To his credit, Ortiz was aware of this fact and started to hold and move around the ring to avoid the nail in the coffin shot from Salinas.  Being down two rounds to one after three in an eight-round fight is not often hard to overcome, but with both of those rounds featuring knockdowns, Ortiz was down three points.

War back into the fight is what Ortiz needed to do and he did.  With his prospects of victory all but dead in the water, Ortiz changed the tide into him potentially regaining control of the action.  He did this by utilizing his boxing skills and a powerful overhand right that continued to connect from a distance to the side of Salinas’ head.  Over the next five rounds, fans got all types of continued drama in each round as both warriors struggled to assert themselves as the dominant fighter of each three-minute stanza.  They both got hurt or were stunned on numerous occasions.  There was no let-up in either fighter and both fighters swung for the fences as the ringside clapper went off to signify ten seconds remaining in the fight.  Fans rose to their feet and applauded both men for their effort, resourcefulness, determination, and mostly for the exciting entertainment they granted everyone lucky enough to witness their fight.  Ortiz would walk out of the ring the victor winning a majority decision with two judges scoring the fight 76-74 and the third having it even 75-75.  With the victory, Ortiz improves to 11-0 (3 KO’s), while the game Salinas dropped to 10-3 (9 KO’s).  This fight could easily be granted the honor of Philadelphia fight of the year for the almost completed 2019.

Peltz Promotions turns 50 

Next Friday night, October 4th, from the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia, the boxing community will be celebrating the golden anniversary of J. Russell Peltz’s involvement with the sport.  Peltz has been the king of boxing in Philadelphia and has a long and beautiful history with the sport, that at times in his life’s journey has played various roles.  It’s been his savior, a place of refuge, and his passion.  Along with whatever else he has needed it to be to survive.  Emily Pandelakis wrote a wonderful feature story that detailed all the ways that Peltz has impacted boxing history, as well as the ways boxing has impacted the history of Russell Peltz as a man.  Click here to read the piece, it was truly wonderfully done.

As for the actual night of action on October 4th, Michelle Rosado of Raging Babe has put together her second show at 2300 Arena to honor her mentor that will feature an eight-fight card.  Local fighters like Marcel “Celly” Rivers, Osnel Charles will be featured on the card, along with an appealing rematch between Isaiah Wise against Roque Zapata. Zapata gave Wise one of his losses.  The main event features a young prospect that has all the tools and natural ability to go far in the sport, as Victor Padilla fights for the second time this year after almost a two-year absence from the ring.  At the age of just twenty, time is still on his side.

Stay tuned for a feature article next week that will look at just how after 50 years in the sport, Russell Peltz feels about the business and the way things have changed since he first started promoting fights in 1969.  Tickets for the show are still available but are going fast.  Contact (215) 765-0922 to purchase your seats for this historic night.

Jaron Ennis returns 10/5 

One of the most talked about young contenders in the sport, Jaron “Boots” Ennis (23-0) (21 KO’s) returns to the ring on October 5th.  He will be featured as the co-feature of a Showtime Championship Boxing card.  In the main event, Claressa Shields will try to capture the WBO junior middleweight championship against Ivana Habazin.  This fight is a homecoming for Shields as it takes place in Flint, Michigan.  For Ennis, this is just his second fight in 2019, after being one of the most active prospects in the sport since turning professional in 2016.  His long lay-off was due to some issues from a managerial standpoint, but with all things cleared up, he continues to march forward to prove that he is indeed the future of the division and the sport.

Next week we will look at just what some of those issues were that kept him sidelined for the majority of 2019, why he feels that it hasn’t stopped his progression, and his answer to many critics who look at his record and feel that he has faced soft opposition to pad his record.  Stay tuned to The Weigh-In for continued coverage, along with a look at the unification welterweight fight between Erol Spence and Shawn Porter this Saturday night on Fox pay-per-view

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PELTZ BOXING: A LIFE-LONG LOVE STORY

J Russell Peltz Celebrates Half Century in Boxing

By Emily Pandelakis

PHILADELPHIA -- For 50 years, J Russell Peltz has lived and breathed boxing.  On October 4, he will celebrate his Golden Anniversary as a Philadelphia promoter with an eight-bout card titled “Blood, Sweat & 50 Years,” at the 2300 Arena.  Since Sept. 30, 1969, he’s been an institution in the city, providing a platform for hundreds, if not thousands of Philadelphia fighters to showcase their talent. He’s promoted over a thousand boxing events and over 40 world title bouts. For half a century, Peltz has ridden the roller coaster of small- and big-time boxing, with stops all over the world. 

Peltz’ love for boxing has outlived mentors, parents, a sister, a son and a marriage. It’s been the constant throughout the entirety of his adult life, and a refuge from guilt, sadness and loss.  It was the cane he used when he couldn’t stand, and the mountain from which he screamed his successes.  It has been an enduring passion and a safe, faceless pool where he could pour out an immense amount of love, out loud, and without guilt or fear of judgement. 

He has a savant-like ability to recall dates of fights, who was on every card, and what happened in every round.  He remembers detailed 40-year-old stories, fights, conversations and events like they happened yesterday.  

For his 14th birthday, his dad took him to his first fight and it was love at first bell. He knew he was going to be a part of the beautiful brutality of boxing. His mom refused to allow him to go to more fights; she didn’t want him to be part of “that element.”  He would lie and say he was out with friends or at parties, then go to the fights.  Eventually she relented, and his father took him to more fights.  He would abandon a burgeoning sports journalism career and promote his first event on Sept. 30, 1969. 

J Russell Peltz grew up in an upper middle-class family, moving from Philadelphia to the wealthy community of Bala Cynwyd on Philadelphia's Main Line when he entered third grade.  His father, Bernard Peltz, a plumber like his own dad, had expanded Peltz Plumbing to include heating and air-conditioning. By all measurements, his business was successful, catering to both residential repairs and large company and government installations. His father was beloved by his employees.

Peltz had a taste of the plumbing life over two summers in 1963 and '64 and was decidedly bad at it.  It was a disastrous endeavor for teenage Peltz, who was not mechanically inclined.  One error resulted in the destruction of several oil paintings belonging to a wealthy client, and a large bill for his father to foot. 

His father wasn’t much of a sports fan outside of boxing.  His father, Peltz’ grandfather, was an avid fan and worked for Western Union.  On fight nights, including during the Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney fight in 1926 in Philadelphia, he would be ringside, gathering updates and copy and communicating them to the wire services.  

As Peltz tells it, his father, like many parents of kids who came of age in the 50s and 60s, was not expressive with his emotions.  “He was just not the kind of person,” Peltz began, then paused.  “Any more than I am, that could show it. My mom was the emotional, loving one.”

What shines through when conversing with Peltz, is how much his parents loved each other.  In a time where men were not supposed to cry, Peltz’s father, who he described as a “man’s man,” took care of his wife while she was sick for years with emphysema. “They were passionately in love,” said Peltz.  “Things became rocky later, especially when my mother became sick, but he always loved her.

“She was so weak he would have to cut her meat and pre-chew it, so she would be strong enough to chew the rest of it,” remembers Peltz. “He would do those things and you could see that he loved her.” 

After his mother passed away in 1975, Peltz found a box among her belongings: “When my mom died, I found a box of newspaper clippings of stories about me, some of which I’d never seen before. I knew she loved me.”

His father gave him an office to work from, and twice lent him money when Peltz needed a boost to get through a show or a bad year. If Peltz hadn’t been weighed down with remorse, he might have seen these gestures and support of his son’s boxing promoter career, of which he outwardly didn’t approve, as his father’s way of saying I love you. 

A rift developed in the family when Peltz married his first wife, a non-Jewish girl, in 1969, against the wishes of his parents.  This disagreement would color the remainder of their years together. 

At 72 years old, Peltz looks back over those years and sees a selfish, immature version of himself, who didn’t treat his parents all that well. “I never had a mature relationship with my parents,” Peltz would say more than once. “I have terrible regrets about that.” His uncle had told him that his decision to marry his first wife was killing his mother, and Peltz believed him.   The guilt is palpable as he describes his mother’s final days.  

The bitterness he had felt at his parents’ reaction to his marriage and their nagging “get a real job” attitude toward his chosen profession put space in between them. After both had passed, pride and resentment quickly gave way to guilt and regret.  

In the end, it was his sister's home and then his parents’ home he’d go to when his first marriage fell apart.  Every day he’d stop in and say hello to his father, who had built him an office over his plumbing company.  His family’s foundation, which had been built on silent love and commitment, proved unyielding throughout the years.

It wasn’t long after his mother’s death that he met the woman who would become his current wife--a former classmate at Lower Merion High School.  Peltz knew from their first date that he would marry Linda Sablosky. All the nagging feelings of doubt he had going into his first marriage were nowhere to be found.  For someone who sees himself as unemotional and unexpressive, the enormity of his love and devotion to Linda from that first date until this day is evident.  In four hours of interviews, it was when he spoke about Linda that he sounded the most fulfilled and uplifted. 

“Family is everything to Linda,” said Peltz.  "She brought together estranged cousins and other family members and she became very close to my father, calling him every day.

“If my mom had met Linda,” he continued, weeping softly, “she would have had a reason to live.”  

Linda fit effortlessly into his boxing world.  She would often attend events, traveling with Peltz.  “Linda is the kind of person who can exist in any world, in any atmosphere, and everybody loves her." Peltz said.  "It helped me in boxing.  People say, ‘How bad can he be? She married him!’

“Linda is never idle.  She can fill up 24 hours a day.  She’s the Queen of the Dollar Store.  She can’t stand sitting around doing nothing.  If Linda has 400 things to do and I only want to do 200 of them, she says I’m boring.”

The two would have two sons, Matthew and Daniel.   Matthew, the oldest, was interested in music and girls.  He was a ‘Deadhead,’ the moniker bestowed upon Grateful Dead fans, and traveled with them for a summer.  He eventually moved to Israel and became a Rabbi.  He  married and had four children.  

Daniel was the athlete, participating in various sports, including a short amateur boxing career that Peltz hid from Daniel’s mother for a short period of time. 

Peltz did his best to never miss a game.  “He was always there for me,” said Daniel.  “He traveled a lot, but he always made time for my sporting events. He didn’t miss a milestone.” 

Peltz and his wife lost Matthew to a drug overdose in 2017. He was only 38.  The pain in Peltz’ voice when he talks about the years they tried to save their son is heart-wrenching. Countless trips to rehab, broken promises and relapses litter the last years of their time together. He loved Matthew as hard and as completely as any parent could have, but the thief that is drug addiction took Matthew away from his parents, his brother and his children. 

At his son’s funeral Peltz told the story of a bidding scandal that rocked the plumbing industry in Philadelphia when he was a kid. The story had hit the newspapers, and when he was able to get his hands on the article, he read every word, looking for his dad’s name among those involved, hoping and praying it wasn’t there.  His voice cracks again as he retells it.  “When I got to the bottom of the story, it listed all those companies involved in the fix… and his name wasn’t in there. I felt so proud.of him.

“So it’s just that I knew that Bernie Peltz provided a hard day's work for a fair day's wage. Thirty years later, I came home from work one day and Linda hands me the phone.  Your son wants to talk to you.  I said ‘What’s up Matt.’  He said ‘Dad, how come when the sports writers write about boxing promoters, they always write bad things like they cheat the fighters, they steal their money, they pay off the judges and the referees, they fix the rankings… but whenever they write about you,” he paused and sniffed heavily as tears fell, "they always write nice things.  He finished by saying 'that’s so cool.' I didn’t realize it at the time but as the years went by I realized that my son felt the same way about me that I felt about my dad.” 

Peltz carries the weight of his Linda’s pain in addition to his own at the loss of their son.  “All Linda ever wanted was to be a mother. To be there when the kids came home from school,” Peltz recalled.  “That’s what made losing Matthew so devastating for her.  She questioned her ability as a mother.

“If Matthew had had any other mother,” Peltz said, his voice cracking with emotion, “he wouldn’t have made it to even 20.”  

Peltz finds comfort in his grandchildren.  “Pop Pop is very affectionate with the kids,” said Daniel, who has two daughters. “He has six grandchildren -- he loves them and they adore him.” 

Over the years, Peltz has brought many boxers into his inner circle, many of them becoming family.  Osnel Charles, who fights on October 4, asked Peltz to be the co-best man in his wedding. He spoke at many hall-of-fame inductions, weddings and funerals over the past half century. 

He talks about one of his more recent charges, Jason Sosa, with affection.  One of the highest points in his long career was witnessing underdog Sosa stop Javier Fortuna to win a world title in 2016 in Beijing, China.  

“When that fight was over we walked back to the hotel,” he remembered.  “Linda went up to the room because she was tired.  I went into a bar in the hotel. One of these really modern neon lit bars. I sat at that empty bar and I felt so on top of the world.  People back in the states are just getting the news and here I am in Beijing having a beer by myself and I felt so good.  You know why?  Mostly because at the time of my career that it happened.  To win a world title like that, in a foreign land, coming from behind off the canvas, with no shot to win except by knockout...with Linda screaming and crying and she jumped up because she loves Jason. It was just like so great. Such a wonderful feeling. One of the highlights of my career. It’s not number one but it’s like 1A.”

Number one, he added, was when his first charge, Bennie Briscoe, knocked out Tony Mundine in Paris in 1974: “That will always be number one. It was an eliminator. We were underdogs. It was my first trip to Europe and it was the biggest fight you could have without it being for the title. It was just such a wonderful night.” 

His protege, Raging Babe Michelle Rosado, who is promoting “Love, Sweat & 50 Years,” is one of many who see Peltz as a father figure.  His seven-year mentorship of Rosado will culminate in his passing the torch to his hardworking mentee.   “Leaders build leaders.  Because he doesn’t have an ego, and wasn’t inclined to protect his secrets at all costs like so many of his peers, he was able to mentor BAM [Brittany Rogers] and I and teach us the ropes.  I’m honored that he trusts me to continue his legacy.”  Peltz is known to brag about Rosado to his colleagues in the business.  When he talks about her, his tone alternates between that of a proud father and professional respect and admiration.  They may fight and scream but will always eventually reconcile like family so often does.

Peltz is ready to slow down after his 50th anniversary celebration.  The changes to the sport have worn thin his desire to keep going. “It’s not the sport I fell in love with,” he says.  “It’s not like it used to be.  Guys just wanted to fight.  If guys were within 10 pounds we had a fight.”  

On October 4, he will wind down his matchmaking career with the kind of card that he’s become known for in Philadelphia over the last 50 years.  Tough, Philly versus Philly toss-up matches.  The kind of card that drew him to boxing and kept him there for half a century. 

These relationships, the ones that Peltz has with Linda, Daniel and his grandchildren, with Michelle, with Osnel Charles, Bennie Briscoe, Jason Sosa and countless other boxers--these relationships don’t happen by accident.  They’re built on respect and on love. Love that isn’t screamed out loud, but is felt by actions.  Love that is disguised as feeling proud, or as the weight of guilt and regret.  A love that’s equal to or perhaps even more than that of his love for boxing.  Boxing will always be the place where Peltz can love out loud, but his legacy will forever be the quiet way he loved those he touched over the past 50 years.

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Avery Sparrow: Underdog – No VADA Testing, Par for the Course

By Luis A. Cortes III

Avery Sparrow (10-1) (3 KO’s) goes into his fight this Saturday night against Ryan Garcia (18-0) (15 KO’s) (DAZN 7 P.M. ET) in a familiar position, as the underdog.  It’s a position that Sparrow has not only come to expect to be in, but one that he relishes.  One thing that most boxing observers fail to realize about Sparrow and his career is that Sparrow, while being dubbed the underdog or “B side” of his fights thus far, simply does not think of himself as the underdog.  In fact, every time he has taken to the ring as a professional, he has the confidence that his abilities and experience put him on par with any fighter in the world in the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions.  With his dominate victory over one-time prospect Jose Lopez in 2017 in front of a national audience on ESPN, and his recent victory over long time contender (and fellow Philadelphian) Hank Lundy in March, one would be hard pressed to argue that Sparrow shouldn’t feel that he is often over looked by boxing observers when they mention the top talent in his weight classes.

Sparrow takes it in stride while dedicating his life to his career, which he feels is in a perfect position to once again prove to the world that he is indeed an elite fighter.  A natural super-featherweight, Sparrow was unable to secure any meaningful fights in the division and instead opted to fight Lundy at lightweight.  “It’s a little frustrating when you can’t get any fights at your natural weight and you have to move up,” stated Sparrow.  “Being that I’m from Philadelphia, I didn’t get any breaks coming out of the amateurs, and I’m built Peltz tough, having to fight tough opposition its fulfilling that I know I had nothing handed to me and know that the hard work is paying off.”    

On Saturday night when Sparrow climbs into the ring to face Garcia, yet another lightweight, it’s clear that the fighter most of the boxing world will be tuning in to see will be Garcia.  Since turning professional in 2016, the twenty-one-year-old Garcia has built a massive following through his various social media platforms.  It also helps that Garcia is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which has set their young talent on a course to become more than just a boxing sensation.  Garcia has matinee idol looks that leads one to believe that a cross over into mainstream popular culture is possible.  Sparrow views things a bit differently. 

“We all know the Golden Boy system; the first fourteen fights are tailor made for their fighter to win.  He was supposed to win those fights,” stated Sparrow.  “Coming from the Philadelphia system and the way we both had to deal with our amateur careers is a difference too.  When I was in the amateurs, we had to fight everyone in the city, then the regionals, then the Mid-Atlantic, and then you made it to the nationals.  Now you can just pay to get into the nationals and fight.  They say oh Garcia beat fighters from all over California, but I’ve been around the world.  I fought in the Junior Olympics and national tournaments.  So, this kid [Garcia] hasn’t even faced that type of opposition.  He was playing baseball when I was fighting in these big tournaments.  I had to qualify for those tournaments, I didn’t just get to walk on.  Also, in the professional fights, I’m always coming in against tough opposition and not easy fights.  I believe that separates me from Ryan Garcia.” 

Much has been made of the union between Garcia and Eddie “Chepo” Reynoso the lifelong trainer of boxing’s current big star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.  So far, it’s a union that has faired well for Garcia and has many in the sport believing that Garcia is constantly getting better, both as a professional athlete and as a fighter.  When the move from his father being the head trainer was made and Garcia was inserted into the world of Reynoso, many felt it was the type of move that would prepare Garcia for the moment when he would have to step up the level of his opposition.  That moment for him has arrived and it will take place against Sparrow on Saturday night.  “Look Canelo [Saul Alvarez] has like six brothers that are all fighters they train too.  His brother just got starched the other night.  Canelo is a diamond in the rough.  He trained with them his whole life since he was like ten years old.  Their system is embedded in him.  If you know anything about boxing, once you get hit and are in the trenches and get hurt.  Through muscle memory you go back to the fundamentals and everything you were taught, and those fundamentals were taught to him by his father.”

As for Sparrow, his training is done at TKO Fitness, a gym which over the past few years has gained a reputation for being the home of not only top contenders but also world champions.  Current IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer and former WBA champion Jason Sosa ply their trade inside of the walls of TKO Fitness.  Sparrow is currently trained by former top American amateur Rashiem Jefferson, whose professional career was cut short due to an unfortunate motorcycle accident.  Sparrow’s training has been spent working with plenty of the world class fighters that call that gym home.

“I feel so strong right now.  I was off for a year when I fought Hank Lundy.  Only had two and a half months of training for that fight, after that long layoff.  My timing and my power are all there.  Now that my body is always active and I’m sharp from being in the gym, I’m ready both mentally and physically,” stated Sparrow. 

An intriguing curve ball was thrown towards team Sparrow when the negotiations were taking place before the fight was officially announced.  According to Sparrow, he wanted pre-fight steroid testing to take place between the two fighters.  “It’s absurd that they didn’t want to do the testing.  I pushed for it for both of us to have to do.  It just doesn’t make since, because we are both ranked in the top fifteen in the world.  It’s the professional thing to do, especially since you’re coming from a camp that has tested positive in the past.  What Sparrow is referring to is the fact that Saul Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance prior to his rematch with Gennady Golovkin.  It caused a suspension for Alvarez and the eventual rematch date to be pushed back.

Sparrow is not accusing Team Garcia of doing anything wrong in their pre-fight preparation.  He simply feels as though this type of testing is something that should be done once you reach this level of your career.  “It has nothing to do with the cost of the testing.  Everyone is saying that it is so expensive to do, but we were willing to pay for it,” said Sparrow.  “We were willing to take a pay cut out of the purse in order to make sure that the testing was done.  We would have paid for both our side and his side to be tested.  They didn’t want to do it.”

With a victory over Ryan Garcia on Saturday, Avery Sparrow would once again prove to the world that he is not only a talented fighter.  By defeating the highly touted Garcia, Sparrow would prove that his skills and his career should be taken seriously as a contender.  While a victory doesn’t ensure him a title shot, it should however continue him down a path towards bigger pay days.  Unless of course yet another victory as the underdog would in turn have other top-rated contenders continue to shy away from facing him as they pad their records with lesser competition.  All that remains to be seen and these answers will start to come to light after the fight.

Whichever way it turns out on Saturday night, one thing is clear about Sparrow - He is more than comfortable and confident in what he brings to the ring on fight night.  Regardless of who he faces, his opposition better be ready to bring their hard hat and lunch pail to work on fight night.        

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South Philly’s Phinest

By Luis A. Cortes III

We are rapidly approaching the first boxing show of the year in the Philadelphia area on Friday night at the 2300 Arena, a show that is being billed by the promoter Raging Babe as “Philly Special.” Aside from the fan friendly matchups that have helped to make this event a sellout, this card will feature two fighters from South Philadelphia that seem to only have the sky as their limit regarding their possible success. Christian Carto (17-0)(11 KO’s) a native of South Philadelphia who is currently a bantamweight prospect from the Carto fighting clan will be in the main event of the card. While Sonny Conto, a former heavyweight amateur standout, who like Carto, also hails from South Philadelphia and is of Italian heritage, will make his professional debut. This is significant for the sport in the city, since there have been musings throughout the local boxing community recently regarding how and if boxing will ever regain prominence in the forefront of mainstream sports fans mindset. Boxing’s relationship with the city of Philadelphia has been covered and is familiar to most boxing fans not just in the city, but throughout the country. 

What makes this card with these two fighters important, is the fact that with their success, there is an opportunity for the resurgence local insiders yearn for. Over the course of the past few years, Carto has proven that while he continues his growth as a young prospect inside of the ring, he is already established himself as a draw at the box office. He continues to fight locally, filling up the smaller venues throughout the city and his fan base has proven they will travel with him to Atlantic City. It is the type of grass roots support and fan base that has eluded many current world champions. Several reasons have caused this problem in the sport which makes the fact that Carto has been able to foster this type of support while remaining a free agent from any promotional company interesting. Sonny Conto on the other hand signed a promotional deal with Top Rank Promotions before even fighting a single round as a professional.

Although there is a contrast to how both fighters are going to progress in their careers from a business standpoint. With the fan base Carto has already shown, the belief is that Conto will not be far off in terms of the type of excitement that he will bring to the area when he fights. 

“Heavyweights are always appealing. Sonny is athletic, strong, well trained, and has good amateur experience,” stated Carl Moretti (Vice President of Top Rank Promotions). “Our belief is that he can transfer all of that into the professional ranks. He has a solid team behind him.” 

While Top Rank is known throughout the sport for nurturing their young talent into future world champions, there are always a select few that transition into superstar attractions.  When it comes to moving heavyweight fighters there are those that may feel the need to move him from future prospect all the way to contender at a rapid rate. Also, since the business at the heavyweight level is much larger in terms of finances, others may protect the talent and try to build him as an undefeated attraction.  “It depends on how well he shows he can handle each test put in front of him. It truly is a case by case basis. Each fighter is different,” suggested Moretti.

Conto is expected to live up to his raw talent and transform that into being a seasoned professional before there will be any discussions about just how far he can take his abilities up the ranks. It doesn’t hurt that he is just twenty-two years old. At 6’5 and weighing around 215 pounds, Conto moves well and is agile. As he matures physically, time will move him towards his physical prime.  It’s no wonder why Top Rank is making an investment into his future.  It also doesn’t hurt that even before fighting a single second as a professional, he also shows promise of having a fan base in the city and beyond. “Of course, that goes into his signing, he has a base that can be built off of. We don’t want him just to be an east coast fighter, he can expand beyond that into much more,” reiterated Moretti.  

Meanwhile in the main event, Christian Carto, as mentioned earlier, is already a major prospect. In fact, he has reached the point in his career where it’s about time for him to turn the corner from prospect to contender.  On Friday night, he faces Victor Ruiz, 22-10 (15 KO’s), a tough and rugged veteran, who has faced some of the best in the world around the bantamweight division. This is the right type of fight for Carto in terms of his progression towards becoming a serious contender at bantamweight. In Ruiz he will face a fighter who knows what it means to be a professional prizefighter with the savviness to possibly show Carto things he may not have experienced just yet. 

Therefore, it helps that his union with respected trainer Billy Briscoe has progressed past the stage of understanding each other. It takes several fights for fighters and a new trainer to build a serious rapport with one another and have an unspoken synergy. This is the type of relationship that seems to have reached that point when you watch them train.  

As for Carto being already the type of attraction that Top Rank hopes Sonny Conto can become soon, Carto and his team, which is made up of his father and older brother, hold all the proverbial cards in terms of business with promoters. 

“Christian has the chance to make it to the big time on his own. I don’t think he has to align himself with any promoter because of his popularity and his ability. He can go it alone,” stated Hall-of-Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz during a recent media event promoting this card. “I really believe that no promoter is going to come to Philly and say I don’t want him on my show cause he isn’t signed to me. That’s not going to happen.” 

As the progression continues for Carto inside of the ring along with his popularity outside of the ring, many believe that at some point he is going to have to sign with a promoter to get the types of fights he is fighting towards. Since he is not far from the role of contender, the pressure may be turned on by promoters looking to align themselves with such a popular and talented fighter.  It is not like most promoters haven’t already tried to sign him to an exclusive deal. “They should stay independent and build their own franchise.  He can help bring Philly back to the way it used to be when boxing was big. I know it’s a lot to put on his shoulders, but I really believe he can do it,” claimed Peltz.

It was mentioned earlier that this card is being promoted by Raging Babe, which is run by Michelle Rosado. Rosado has been active on the local scene in Philadelphia, as well as in North Carolina and Arizona. After learning the trade and craft of promoting from J. Russell Peltz (her mentor), Rosado is putting on her first show in Philadelphia. “She has learned from the best to ever do it in Philly in Peltz,” stated Moretti.  He is familiar with Rosado since she along with Peltz have worked with Top Rank on shows that the promotional company has put on in Philadelphia. “She is great at marketing and its great to have the relationship to continue working with her. Obviously, she knows what she is doing since it is already a sellout, “remarked Moretti. 

So yes, while the show is already sold out and the 2300 Arena will be at capacity, fans can watch all the action, including Sonny Conto and Christian Carto, on the Fight Night Live page on Facebook.

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Drew Stone Interview

Matt Ward recently had the opportunity to sit down with filmmaker and musician, Drew Stone. Stone runs the New York City-based production company Stone Films NYC, and is the executive producer of the Muhammad Ali documentary, "Me Whee."

Drew Stone at the World Premier of "The New York Hardcore Chronicles Film"

"Me Whee" was shot in 1975 in and around his training camp in Deer Lake, PA and in Las Vegas. This documentary captures an incredible moment in time in Muhammad Ali’s life. At the peak of his career his love for kids and general philosophy of life shine thru with appearances by luminaries from the boxing and entertainment world. Highlights include his legendary 1975 commencement speech at Harvard University.

"Me Whee" Poster

The documentary features appearances by Muhammad Ali, Phyllis Diller, Jerry Lewis, Angelo Dundee, B.B. King, Drew “Bundini” Brown, Jim Brown, Walter Youngblood, Lloyd Wells, and Gene Kilroy.

"To Drew Stone, From Muhammad Ali, Peace 1977"

Check out their interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Bonus Round - Drew Stone Interview with Matt Ward on SoundCloud

Bonus Round - Drew Stone Interview with Matt Ward on iTunes

Muhammad Ali Autographed Photo

"Me Whee" Screening in Philadelphia

The Veteran Boxers Association Ring 1 of Philadelphia will host the first Philadelphia screening of the Muhammad Ali documentary "Me Whee" on *September 12th* with Q & A moderated by Executive Producer Drew Stone and special guests Nigel Collins, Henry Hascup, J. Russell Peltz, and Craig "The Journeyman" Setari (Sick of It All).

Tickets for this event are $10.00 and are available at the door and by calling 609-377-6413. Your ticket purchase includes food and drink specials at the VBA Ring 1 Clubhouse located at 2733 E Clearfield St, Philadelphia, PA 19134. For more information on this great event, check out the official Facebook event page by clicking here.

Drew Stone and Matt Ward

Drew Stone Singing with his Band, Antidote

Drew's Father, Arny Stone, with Willie Pep

Arny Stone with Joe Frazier

Ali Film Negative Lab Report from 1975

MW

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