By Charles Jay
You know, this boxing thing is a tough business. It’s not for everyone; you can come into it but odds are, you’re not likely to come out of it in the same condition. And when I say “come into it” I mean putting your own money at risk as, for example, a promoter. In an atmosphere where OPM (Other People’s Money) is so often sought, not too many people do that to begin with.
Some really want to do it, and are willing to take the shot regardless of what the cost could be. And some don’t REALLY don’t want to do it; they’d much rather “play-act” it.
I’d like to tell you a story about a promoter whose resolve was strong enough that he refused to give up on himself, his fans and his show, even in the face of impending financial disaster.
It was a Saturday night and it didn’t look good. The forecast for New York City called for freezing cold and snow – at least three to six inches of it – and this was enough for the relevant media outlets (e.g., Weather Channel, AccuWeather, National Weather Service, along with the mainstream media) to declare it the worst snowstorm of the winter season.
And there was every reason to believe it; weather all over the country was catastrophic, between blizzards, tornadoes, floods and everything associated with them.
If you live in any area of the country that has been ravaged with severe weather, particularly snow and ice, you’re aware that when this kind of thing happens, institutions have a way of shutting down. That means schools close, as do government offices. The streets are hazardous, so people don’t want to go anywhere. In fact, they are usually warned not to leave home.
Of course, the airports are compromised as well. They get backed up; shut down. Flights are delayed or canceled altogether. It’s total madness and there is a residual effect that is considerable. People need places to stay if they’re from out of town and that causes a logjam in the hotels.
All this impacted Larry Goldberg’s life, in more ways than one.
This storm, which was slated to hit the New York area on a Thursday (February 20, to be exact), directly conflicted with a boxing show scheduled for the same night by Goldberg’s Boxing Insider Promotions at Sony Hall, which is located right off Times Square in Manhattan.
Any hardships created by this weather threat were going to make it much harder for fighters to travel, and a chore for people to attend.
So Goldberg had a real decision to make. And if you’re familiar at all with boxing promotions, you know that a high percentage of ticket sales takes place in the final days leading into a show (including the so-called “walkup”). Don’t forget that the people who were going to constitute those sales were likely reading those same reports. If they’re coming in from more than a dozen blocks away, they were probably thinking about whether it might be easier for them to sit this whole thing out.
Let’s note that on top of this, Goldberg had some late fighter cancellations to deal with, not due to any snowstorm, but rather failed medicals, unreasonable demands and various and sundry excuses.
The way things stood, did he know that anybody was even going to show up on time? Or show up at all?
Under the circumstances, Larry had every justification to cancel the show, even though it might have wound up being a pain in the neck to get money back to those people who had spent in advance on tickets.
That would be an easy way out. Either way, he was looking an extreme financial hardship in the face. But it would be less disastrous without having to go through with all the expenses associated with carrying out an actual show.
In fact, I strongly suggested that he go in that direction. At least he couldn’t get completely crushed.
He understood that he might be in a position where he had no choice. But he also wanted to wait as long as possible before making an announcement, because he did not want to run out on his audience.
Yes, he really meant that.
So he decided to wait a day or two before alerting the New York State Athletic Commission. Of course, when you consider that Monday was a national holiday (President’s Day), there was no guarantee that people were, on a non-working day, going to see or hear his announcement, whatever that announcement was going to be. And that made things even tighter.
Well, Monday came and so did a new forecast – almost out of nowhere – that contradicted that which had been displayed on all the usual news outlets. Suddenly the snowstorm was not coming after all.
And then Larry decided that if such a thing was going to be the case, he could no longer reasonably cancel.
Needless to say, with all the uncertainty, he lost some time at a very critical juncture. But I could tell he was happy that the show was going forward, even if he was going to have a short card, which had become obvious by that point.
You see, last year Larry was given an award as the “Promoter of the Year” by the people who run the New York Boxing Hall of Fame. And he takes that kind of thing seriously.
So he dove into it headlong, even though he was in no way going to avoid taking a major financial hit.
Some time ago, had to postpone a show under different circumstances. And he was sick about it. “I can’t rightly be the promoter of the year and cancel shows because I have a little bit of trouble,” he said.
And by the way, when it comes to club-level shows, New York boxing would be practically non-existent without Goldberg, who has been, by far, the most active promoter in the state, and has had to overcome the tragic loss of his father in the process. It is important to him that there is still a presence for boxing in the city that was at one time the capital of the world for the sport.
So the Promoter of the Year went to work.
This is a feel-good story, so I’m happy to tell you that despite all the problems, there was a healthy, enthusiastic gathering at Sony Hall, a former Broadway theater which happens to be an outstanding place to watch boxing, as charming and intimate as you’ll find anywhere. And Goldberg, who also stages regular shows in his native Atlantic City, didn’t need any phony gimmicks to get people there.
His matchmaker, Eric Bottjer, is about as good as it gets in the professional boxing industry, and he helped save the day with fights that were both interesting on paper and competitive in the ring. In a way they had to be, since there were only three of them.
In a ten-rounder that was contested for the WBC US welterweight championship, Avious Griffin, who came with a 16-0, 15 KO’s record, had his stamina tested by Jose Luis Sanchez, who had a lot more experience and had posted recent wins over other undefeated fighters. Griffin banged out a workmanlike victory, with the end coming after the completion of the eighth round. Larry may be able to bring Griffin back, and he’ll be closer to the world’s top ten by that time.
A four-round fight between lightweights Jason Castanon and Stephen Barbee featured fighters who had only two pro bouts apiece, and it was evenly matched enough that Castanon, the local kid (from Brooklyn) had all he could handle in escaping with a split decision.
Koby Williams wasn’t so fortunate. The Virginia native, who is now based in New York, has been tabbed as a potential contender. He took his 4-0 record into a six-round lightweight bout against Nicholas Isaac, who sported a 5-0 mark. There was a story behind this one, as Williams had defeated Isaac in his amateur debut. Isaac vowed revenge, and he got it, winning a six-round verdict that excited the fans and now has Williams in a position where he wants to bounce back. Odds are that Goldberg will give him that opportunity.
By all accounts, it was one of the best shows seen in New York for a while, even with only those three fights. The customers had a good time and went home with smiles on their faces.
And you know what? After a tumultuous week, that’s just what Larry Goldberg wanted, and what he deserved.
In the way of disclosure, let me mention that I have been acting as an “advisor” of sorts for Boxing Insider Promotions from its inception, having previously written for Larry Goldberg’s BoxingInsider.com website. He has a chance to go as far as he wants, because he is one of those people who wants to be a promoter, rather than just sit back and make believe he’s one.
