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In a Minds Eye Leroy Neiman Would Have Been Busy: The Hershey Centre Review and the State of Boxing

Submitted By: Michael J. Schmidt

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Famed artist, and most certainly friend and supporter of boxing, Leroy Neiman would have been busy this past United Promotions card at the Hershey Centre in Ontario, Canada. The point is that Leroy Neiman has a way of putting you right in the fight scene with some of his artwork. If you have been lucky enough to have had time to really examine some of his depictions in detail, of Madison Square Garden ringside view, Ali-Frazier 1, or perhaps his out of Boxing arena sketches, such as famous fight scribe bar of yesteryear, Toot’s Shores, you might just recognize a famous face or two, or three, or ten… I say might because some of the characters are drawn so fine or woven oh so small over a larger landscape that it is that vague feeling of a person you have not seen since childhood. There is a familiarity but oh so subtle: Frankie Carbo, perhaps. Jackie Gleason, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Johnny Adie by the microphone dropping down from the ceiling. Who is that blond  ringside?  a                                                                                                                      

In a minds eye that was in a different way obviously, and certainly smaller way, the Hershey Center in Ontario, Canada this past September fight card. Why do I say in a minds eye? Because it had that feeling that, given my generation, one could only conjure up as a boxing romantic vision of yesteryear. As a boxing nut I can only, in my minds eye, play out what it must have been like back in the 1940’s and 1950’s when at any given time a fight fan could take in a fight card six nights a week in the New York area. Where homegrown talent fought, not in boring TV fights like we have seen oh to often recently, but to learn their craft and fight for local bragging rights. These were the fight cards that made boxing a number one sport. These were the cards that gave a vast number of fighters a chance to earn a dollar, take pride in what they accomplished and the show they put on, and allowed them to dream dreams of bigger conquests. These were the cards that were not influenced by a small group of promoters controlling rights and using the same fighters. They were FIGHT cards. Fighters fought and they fought on a regular basis. They did not turn down repeated opportunities because it was not ever so right or might incur a loss. Want to see that these days. Well, perhaps you should pack your bags and get down to Mexico where it is still done the old fashioned way and where having a couple of losses is not the end of the world and where boxing is still numero-uno. “Back in the day” as it were, a small arena of perhaps 2000-3000 people was jammed packed. It was a weekly event to look forward to.

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The Hershey Centre had that good old  fashioned feeling this past September. It could have been, in a minds eye, the old St Nicholas Arena in New York on a Monday night, hosted by Chris Schenkel, presented by Dumont Television network with Jonny Adie as the announcer. A place that before it closed, hosted an estimated 30,000 fights. It could have had the storied promoters of that arena, Mike Jacobs, Marty Cohen, Teddy Brenner. But it was not “The Rink” as St Nicholas Arena was affectionately called in reference to its 1896 opening as a ice rink ( it was a boxing venue from 1906-1962 when it regrettably closed). For that matter, in a minds eye, it could have been any of those old grand venues of yesteryears pain, blood, lost dreams and yes, glory if perhaps even for one night only. Maybe it was Sunnyside Gardens, the Eastern Parkway Arena, Ridgewood Grove or any other of countless arenas where fighters started out and worked their trade. But in the case of the Hershey Centre  it sure had that good old fashioned feeling. IT HAD GOOD OLD FASHIONED BOXING ATMOSPHERE. No boring,non-boxing fan feeling here or pre-ordained winner-loser match-up we are seeing way too often on television these days. It was not a Monday or Friday night. It was a Saturday. It was not Dumont but rather Super Channel. It was not Chris Schenkel and Jonnie Addie. It was Al Bernstein. It was Russ Anber. It was Thomas Treiber doing the ring announcing There sat the iconic George Chuvalo. Still standing. Still incredibly well spoken and staccato- like articulate. There sat former Canadian Champion Jonny Kalbhen ( what can you say about a guy who in his prime had dance partners such as Livingstone Bramble and Jeff Fenech and who I might say is high in my envious  list for having worked on numerous movies, but in particular  with the great Charles Bronson and of course pointing out his pictures, when we have met, together with the man who made the great bare knuckle fight film “Hard Times.”) There was former number one rated Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool and Canadian Champion Bryon Mackie. There was comebacking Razor Ruddock looking in tremendous physical condition. There was Canadian Heavyweight Champion Nevan Pajkic. There was World Champion and Ring Magazine number three in the world rated Steve Molitor.There was Marvin “The Weasel” Elkind who, although no Mister Gray, certainly could regale one with stories of the likes of Frankie Carbo, Bernie Glickman, of Sonny Liston, of Rocky Marciano and on and on and on. There was Chris “Showtime” Johnson- HOOOOOO.”

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The Hershey Centre was packed with fight customers on a Saturday night. It had nothing to do with an “A” Las Vegas card because it was obviously was not and nobody was pretending that it was given the development stage the fighters on the card were at. It was good old- fashioned fight promoting. The main event pitting an undefeated fighter, rising rapidly up the ranks, fighting another fighter from his same home town for the NABA Lightweight crown. How good is that. Forget the belt. This was for the right to walk down the main street that you grew up on and walk the walk. To go past the corner store where, as a kid, you bought black cat gum or pink popcorn in a box with a prize. To go past the local watering hole that you snuck in with your friends in your teens to impress your latest girlfriend.To go by the lamppost you would hang out at with friends on a hot summer night, calling out the girls as they walked by. How about one of the other fights where two young undefeated guns decided to put it on the line this early in their careers knowing that somebody was walking away with a dent on their record. Don’t see that very often anymore do you?

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My point to all of this waxing boxing philosophic of course has to do with what will bring boxing back to what it should be. There was a reason that big names such as Al Bernstein and the face of Canadian TV boxing and chief Rival Boxing gear honcho Russ Anber came and did their thing. There was a reason that Super Channel was broadcasting. Everybody involved understood this for what it was and hopefully continues to be (this was United Promotions fourth great fight card this year.). It was a good old fashioned promoted fight card that as a spectator you could lick your proverbial chops on as the front doors opened at 7pm. It was a group of fight folks coming together as a team to put on a great show. How good is that in a sport known recently for time and time again shooting itself in the foot. Hats off to Logan and Buzz getting it on for the main event. Don’t kid yourself at all on that one. There would be a whole lot of pre-fight and post fight pressure fighting a guy from your same home- town. And hats off to Sammy Vargas and his dance partner, Ryan Wagner, for risking their undefeated records this early on. Hopefully there are more cards like this springing up. I suspect that the law of economics is going to play a bigger role in these type of cards flourishing across the fight landscape. When major fighters do not draw live crowds of over 6000 people and do not have a major TV backing- well guess what folks- fight for a substantially reduced pay day or do not fight at all. If this was yesteryear 10-15 fights a year, sometimes not getting paid, was not uncommon. Fighters fought because they wanted to fight. There are of course fighters still out there, of this breed, but they are a rare bird indeed. On the other end of the spectrum promoters have to recognize that you are not doing the fighter “a favour” putting them in at small time wages or having them “pay” for their fights. You, the fighter and promoter, are helping each other out as a team thank you very much.                                                                                                 

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What is to be gleamed from the Hershey Centre type of fight cards. It is this simple folks. We all love our boxing. Turn off the TV, put on the recorder, grab your friends, your wife, your girlfriend, whoever… and get out to these live cards and enjoy the evening. Mingle with the boxing crowd and enjoy the fighters learning their trade, dreaming their dreams. Lastly, put those silly “boxing is dead” types in their place. Go over to Germany and you will see how dead boxing is. It is so dead they can pack in over 60,000 people in a soccer stadium for a not so great matched heavyweight tilt. It is so dead that regular pro shows are popping up all over the country every month. Go over to Mexico and see fight cards across the country weekly. Put on good fights under a good show setting, treating your patrons well, and it does not matter whether it is a Casino, a TV fight, PPV or a small show- people will come out and they will come back. Put on fights that don’t put the best against the best, that look boring on paper and end up that way- well we have seen the result of that. Hail to all the Hershey Centre type fight cards out there. There is another one coming up in Moncton, New Brunswick shortly. Montreal of course is now seen as a major boxing player. With great fight cards going in Montreal monthly you cannot help but stand and applaud. Yesteryear may  someday be again and I suspect it will be grass root promoters that put it there. In the case of our promoter friends from United Promotions- Well how does this sound after less than a year of fight cards- Bernstein and Anber doing T.V. announcing- Super-Channel T.V broadcast- N.A.B.A. Title fights, Thomas Treiber ring announcer, and a post fight wrap-up, as described wonderfully by Morgan Campbell, plastered all over the front page, lovely photo and all, on one of Canada’s national newspapers, The Toronto Star.
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On November 20 the next show is at the Hershey Centre and I am already looking forward to it. Of course we have great shows coming up in Montreal, Casino Rama at the end of the month and in New Brunswick this month. Hats off to all involved and hats off to you the fight fan. Get out and enjoy the shows. If you want better fights, and boxing healthy do not naysay. Get out, get out, get out, get out to the shows.

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