21.11.05 – By Scoop Malinowski: Status: Boxing manager for Manny Pacquiao, Robert Guererro, Juan Diaz, Ricardo Juarez, Fernando Vargas, Chazz Witherspoon, Malik Scott, etc. Also is an advisor for the Klitschko brothers and Mike Tyson. DOB: June 27, 1944 In: Brooklyn, NY.
Childhood Heroes: “Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Sugar Ray Robinson.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Collecting boxing memorabilia. (What good stuff do you have?) The robe Ali wore into the ring against George Foreman. Tickets from the John L. Sullivan-Jim Corbett Heavyweight championship. And Joe Louis’s trunks he wore when he KO’d Jersey Joe Walcott in their rematch.”
Favorite Movies: “Citizen Kane, The Rocky movies, of course.”
Musical Tastes: “The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eagles, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Aerosmith.”
Favorite TV Shows: “I like the old shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, Lucille Ball, The Honeymooners – classic. They’ve stood the test of time.”
Favorite Books: “Early Ludlum. Early Frederic Forsyth. Day of the Jackal. Some Hemingway, Old Man and The Sea. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.”
Early Boxing Memory: “Watching the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports with my father (William). Watching Pernell Whitaker beat Angel Herrera of Cuba in the 1983 Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela. Watching Mark Breland beat Serik Konakbaev of Russia in the 1982 World Amateur Championships in Munich, Germany. He dominated him. Those are great memories.”
Childhood Dream(s): “They changed often as I got older – marketing, promoting rock concerts.”
First Job: “Ripley’s Clothing Store, a block from my house. Two or three nights a week (age 14). I always had a job. Gave me spending money.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “I guess Evander Holyfield winning the Heavyweight championship over Buster Douglas. Nothing to describe how that moment felt. One moment of euphoria.”
Most Painful Moment: “Mark Breland getting knocked out by Marlon Starling.”
Favorite Fights: “Robinson KO Fullmer with a perfect left hook. Ali-Frazier I and III. Leonard-Hearns I. Bob Foster’s KO’s of Dick Tiger and Mike Quarry – classic one-punch knockouts. Ali-Foreman. Foreman-Lyle. Sanchez-Gomez. Early Larry Holmes – he didn’t get credit early on. He was great. James Toney – at his best. Pernell Whitaker. Holyfield.”
Favorite Meal: “Italian, Chinese.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butterscotch praline.”
Funny Boxing Memory: “Pernell Whitaker pulling down Roger Mayweather’s pants in the ring [smiles].”
Most Treasured Possession: “The Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year trophy from a few years ago. That trophy is important to me.”
Biggest Sports Thrill: “In karate, making black belt. (I did it) in my late 20s, over a period of five, six years. For five, six days a week. It was great, both physically and mentally.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “People in general, who make the most of their abilities, whatever they may be. I think God gave everyone qualities and it’s a question of maximizing those qualities. I think you have to have the drive to be the best at something. If you don’t, you’re just wasting what you’ve been given. I don’t like to see it when people don’t utilize their ability…What I like in athletes is that extra drive that brings them to a different level. If you would have judged Evander versus Alex Stewart, you wouldn’t have given him a chance against Bowe. But he had that desire when it mattered. If Foreman learned how to handle the pressure earlier, he would have beat Ali. But Ali convinced him that he couldn’t hurt him.”
Education: NYU (Marketing).
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