THIS is a boxing love story a few guide, yep, that one.
There was nothing extra unique in the Nineties than a replica of the Boxing Record Book from Fight Fax, Inc. Nothing, belief me.
It would arrive every year, weighing about the identical as a strawweight contender from Tijuana, and it sat there on the kitchen desk, huge and majestic. Its pages full of the tiniest print and the greatest of info, the most superb of particulars.
I do not know when it was first printed and no thought when it stopped publishing; this isn’t a historical past lesson, it’s a love lesson. A lesson about appreciating one thing uncommon and beautiful in our enterprise; every web page full of reminiscences and studying. Nostalgia in the boxing recreation could be unhealthy, however remembering one thing forgotten is crucial.
We all misplaced – properly, those who cared about the actual info – hours turning the pages and finding out the greats and the unknowns. It was not the solely document guide, it was presumably not even the hottest, however it was the most wonderful. The Boxing News Annual, the Ring Record guide, Barry Hugman’s books and the monumental British document books by Bob Mee are all good in their very own manner. And then got here the on-line outfits: Fight Fax, nonetheless, was the king.
How is that this for a desk of contents, unfold, by the manner, over 772 pages: Phone listing (8-17), Former Champions (28-69), Olympic Gold Medalists (109), Active Fighters Records (113-699), 1994 World Title Fights (713-758), Boxing Hall of Fame (765-769). Everybody had a favorite chapter. I cherished the “Important Numbers” pages; I nonetheless use a few of the numbers now and there are scribbles and new numbers subsequent to a few of the names. Others have a belated RIP tag. Angelo Dundee, Dan Goosen, Phil Berger, Eddie Futch and Mickey Duff. All their private numbers had been there to be used inside the commerce. There was even a quantity for Enswell. The quantity for Duff was the cellphone subsequent to his chair in his Marble Arch flat; name on a Sunday night time and it could barely ring as soon as earlier than he picked it up. He most likely had a replica of Fight Fax on his lap.
The 1995 version was a magnificence, a piece of boxing artwork.
The former world champions in that 1995 version had their careers minimize down to incorporate the first, the final and their world title fights. So, Ken Buchanan has his dob, his full stats and simply seven fights; it’s sufficient in some ways: Starts with Brian Tonks, ends over eight rounds with George Feeney and has Ismael Laguna twice, Ruben Navarro, Guts Ishimatsu and Roberto Duran. Locations for the fights: England, Puerto Rico, California, New York City and Japan. Those uncooked and diminished numbers are very, very spectacular. Incidentally, above Ken was Panama Al Brown and under him, Johnny Buff. That is fantasy studying.
The energetic boxer part begins with Bulgaria’s Borislav Abadjiev and ends a whole lot and a whole lot of pages later with Colombian, Rafael Enrique Zuniga.
The record of world title fights was put collectively by Bob Yalen, who appears to have been 38 eternally. The fights embody the solely particulars that matter: the round-by-round scores of the officers, the venue and the data of the boxers. There is, nonetheless, the deal with part, which is named, ‘Remarks’. Most fights don’t have anything in the remarks’ field, however these with an entry are great. Mostly, Yalen simply data level deductions, that are essential, low blows and many others. There are corrections if a decide acquired the deductions unsuitable, point out of tiny or obscure location after which gems like this: “Another WBO scandal as fake fight passed off as a legitimate title fight.” Ouch, take that. It was a mini-flyweight fight that lasted simply 90 seconds.
In the very again of the guide, reverse a full-page advert for Duff’s fighters, there are the essential particulars for receiving data by fax. It was a revolution, belief me. You may open an account, name them and get the document despatched to you “within minutes of your call”. This was a priceless game-changer in the early Nineties when there was far much less scrutiny of the doubtful, incomplete and outright invented data of imported fighters. Steve Lillis (he purchased me a replica of Fight Fax as a present for being his greatest man) and I’d usually arrive armed with smudged, freshly faxed data to impress Duff at his press conferences. Finally, working boxing writers had right data; the data additionally has particulars of suspensions. I nonetheless have the pale sheets now. It was no nice shock when he lastly banned me.
The actual magic in the guide is hidden in the adverts; full, half and quarter-page. It is a window to a misplaced, misplaced world. How about Al Vialardi and his Florida gymnasium. Al ran Gleason’s gymnasium for 5 years. in 1995, he was in Florida, Fort Lauderdale. “I own and manage a classy gym – no radio, hats or nonsense.” Al seems to be like a person who is not going to stand a second of hat nonsense. He additionally affords a prize, the promise of limitless gold. Al is searching for the subsequent champion. This is all in his quarter web page advert. “Somewhere out there is a world champion. Disgusted pros – amateurs – service men – send $2.00 for brochures. No reverse charges, don’t try. No hustlers or drifters.” It’s 1995, not 1959. Did Al discover his man? No thought, I hope so.
Al and Duff and a zillion different names and faces, info and claims and guarantees made this guide so very particular.
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