Vol. 4, No. 9, September 2007
RSS Feeds
The Torch Passes
The Gatti era over, the new era begins with a blockbuster matchup
Boxing fans receive something special on September 29—a new era of sorts.
Gone are the twice-yearly Arturo Gatti spectacles, but in comes a sleeper. Kelly Pavlik seeks to wrest the WBC and WBO middleweight titles from Jermain Taylor at Boardwalk Hall.
Taylor is one of the sport’s dominant performers, but Pavlik has rekindled excitement in the division. He dismantled the wild-swinging Edison Miranda in an exciting May 19 victory in Memphis, Tenn. On the same card, Taylor narrowly escaped upset with a close decision over Cory Spinks. Pavlik-Taylor comparisons began, and the bout was finally signed.
Both fighters are undefeated. Taylor, the 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist, was the first Arkansas native to make the United States boxing team. He advanced to capture the middleweight title against Philadelphia legend Bernard Hopkins in 2005, and this marks the fifth defense of his crown. He stands 27-0-1 with 17 knockouts. Pavlik, based in Youngstown, Ohio, supplies a 31-0 mark with 28 knockouts. The fighters have a combined 58-0 record with 45 knockouts, and the fight will be televised worldwide by HBO.
For Ken Condon, senior vice president and general manager of Bally’s Atlantic City, bringing the bout here was a no-brainer.
“All the sportswriters I spoke with told me what a great fight they expect it to be, and if they write that in their stories leading up to the fight, that will be nice,” he says. “The more people understand how good this fight is, the more they will support it. The turnout will be great for this fight. I think it will be one of the strongest events of the year.”
The event belongs in the East. Taylor’s absence of knockouts—none have occurred in his five title fights—blunts his Midwest drawing power. He heads here, where Pavlik’s Ohio base will be represented. Youngstown is the home of scrappy, popular ex-fighters like Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Harry Arroyo, both of whom filled Bally’s ballrooms in the 1980s.
Ohio gamblers displayed their prominence last March. They came in impressive numbers to root Xavier and Dayton on in the Atlantic 10 tournament. While New York and the Eastern corridor have long been considered Atlantic City’s prominent feeder markets, Eastern Ohio ranks highly. Atlantic City can be reached in one day via short flight or long drive.
“We have a large contingent of customers from that area,” Condon says. “Pavlik is the draw. Everybody wants to see the upset. They know that Pavlik is the guy. That all works well for us. There will be a combination of us bringing guests in and people jumping in their cars to attend the fight. The true boxing fans will support this fight. It will be a treat for them to come here for the weekend and see the fight in person.”
Pavlik began beating the promotional drums back in July. He was a recent in-game guest on the Cleveland Indians-Kansas City Royals broadcast. For nearly 15 minutes, he discussed the fight, ambitions and the Atlantic City date with baseball announcers. Boardwalk Hall will be his house September 29.
Taylor’s long reach and boxing style will contrast Pavlik’s opportunistic stalking. This will be the final defense of Taylor’s middleweight titles. He plans to abandon the division and move up to the 168-pound super-middleweight circuit. Taylor has struggled to make weight in recent fights, and lost nine pounds in the final 36 hours leading to the Spinks fight.
Taylor was once a dominant puncher, but has grown cautious. Boxing purists believe Pavlik can make Taylor aggressive again.
“We’re delighted to have the fight,” Condon says with a smile. “If we could only create another Arturo.”
Gatti Cedes Spotlight
The greatest one-man show in Atlantic City history ended July 14. Italian-born, Canadian-raised and Jersey City-based Arturo Gatti retired after being knocked out by unheralded Alfonso Gomez in Boardwalk Hall. Before a fanatical crowd that produced a strong gaming weekend, Gatti finally sevened out.
With slow reflexes and suspect defense, Gatti could not muster the intensity to beat a young fighter. It was his ninth straight Boardwalk Hall appearance over the past five years, but also his third loss in four fights. From 2002 to 2007, Gatti twice helped the Hall become Billboard magazine’s top-grossing venue in the world. Gatti established a non-heavyweight record gate of more than $5 million when he lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2005.
Although he held titles at 135 pounds and 147 pounds, Gatti was more known for a style. He made money for everyone, from opponents and networks to casinos and himself. The bill finally came due. The charismatic brawler, who was named in four Ring Magazine fights of the year, ultimately waged too many wars.
For gaming interests, he was the best thing Atlantic City ever had, even better than Mike Tyson during his glorious ’80s reign. Tyson provided mystique, but Gatti connected more with the regular guy. Gatti consequently brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Atlantic City.
“Some of our biggest bar nights would be after Arturo’s fights, because he would come back, win or lose, and hang out with his fans,” Condon says. “He was that type of guy. Arturo was here so many times that our customers knew him. He would talk with them, sign autographs, whatever they wanted. You never had to ask him to do it. Arturo was so natural about that.”
Gatti’s popularity came from a blue-collar work ethic, but it grew with an innate public-relations savvy. He speaks several languages fluently, and often gave a number of interviews in several languages.
“Arturo’s events were magical,” Condon says. “It was one of the rare times in the business when we could talk to Main Events (his promoter) on a multimillion-dollar deal and just talk about how we would split the money. There weren’t the intense site-fee negotiations you always see.
“All of us became partners. Twice a year on my calendar would be a January Gatti fight and a summer spectacular. We’d sell out Boardwalk Hall in January, a very tough time of the year to draw anything. That was unbelievable.
“And after all he’s meant to us, I’m glad that he’s leaving the game and that he’s not hurt.” It was quite a ride. Atlantic City’s boxing icon is already in the local Hall of Fame.
It would not be surprising for him to receive a special day.
