Fight to Educate
I have covered several Fights to Educate at the Verizon Wireless Arena, and this year’s pro boxing event, the 8th annual, was the most entertaining by a knockout. Highlights from Wednesday night:
– Heavyweight boxing champs Leon and Michael Spinks enjoyed the festivities, along with Cory Spinks (Leon’s son), and the “first family of boxing” couldn’t have been more pleasant. They posed for hundreds of pictures, always smiling. Michael was telling me about his outdoor heavyweight fight against Larry Holmes in Las Vegas.
“We fought in the parking lot, and I busted him up,” Michael said.
– Leon, at 56, suffers from dementia but it doesn’t stop him from living life, working odd jobs, staying happy. He’s still a great ambassador for the sport.
– Cory Spinks was born five days after his father dethroned Muhammad Ali in February 1978 — a great upset in boxing history. “I was born to be champ,” said Cory, a former welterweight champion.
– Unknown heavyweight Shawn McLean posted an upset win, and it turns out he’s an accomplished actor from New York. He played Jo Jo Mendez on “The Sopranos” and was beaten up by Christopher Moltisanti in Season 1.
McLean defeated Faruq “The Dream” Saleem, who entered with a record of 38-0 and 32 KOs.
– About 1,000 fans attended the event. They made noise, too, during the best fights. Danny O’Connor of Framingham, Mass., a lefty, dropped his opponent with a wicked uppercut.
– Fans in the VIP area paid $125 per ticket. Some of the closest tables were literally splattered with drops of blood and sweat.
– Richard Gingras of Claremont fought for the first time since February and won with a TKO. He hadn’t stepped into the ring since the season finale of “The Contender IV,” which aired on Versus this year.
– Best nickname: Robbie “The Taz Mexican Devil” Tovar. However, he was scratched from the card. “He either chickened out or was hurt,” I was told.
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