1. Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOS) - He's near the end, but he's still the only thing close to a local fighter with any kind of public clout, and even at 43, he's still damn good.
2. Steve Cunningham (21-1, 11 KOs) - A virtual TV unknown, this cruiserweight belt-holder is very good and with David Haye going up to heavyweight, he's probably the best in the world at 200 pounds.
3. Zahir Raheem (29-2, 17 KOs) - Anyone seen Zahir lately? Still a top 10 lightweight, Raheem made some bad business decisions after his monumental win over Erik Morales a few years back.
4. Demetrius Hopkins (28-0-1, 11 KOs) - Split with uncle Bernard and Golden Boy was not a smart decision, as he appeared headed for a title shot. The 27-year-old junior welterweight hasn't fought since November and has nothing scheduled.
5. Randy Griffin (24-1-3, 12 KOs) - Came out of the amateurs with some pedigree, but has taken a while to mature into a top 15-type. Drew with highly-regarded Felix Sturm in October. Rematch is in July.
****
Once or twice a year, I plan to write this blog, about the state of the game locally, because I think it's important to talk about local fighters and local boxing, and what needs to happen if the sport is going to start to regain some of the prominence it had in the 1970s and 80s.
It used to be better - a lot better.
Forget Joe Frazier, he's a different can of worms, because he was a heavyweight in the greatest heavyweight era of all time. His fame and notoriety is probably greater than any Philly fighter in history because of that; because he was champion of the world, because he fought Ali three times and Foreman twice. Does that make him the best Philly fighter of all time? I don't think so, but it's certainly debatable.
But remember when fighters like Matthew Saad Muhammad and Meldrick Taylor, and even Jeff Chandler, a bantamweight, when those guys fought on TV, and it usually was regular network TV, they were immediately identified as Philly fighters. If ComcastSports.net had been around back then, all would have been regulars on DailyNewsLive, and when they fought, people in the greater Philadelphia area would have known about it.
That doesn't happen today. Except for maybe Hopkins, most casual fight fans around these parts wouldn't know Steve Cunningham or Zahir Raheem, let alone when their next fight may be. It doesn't mean, they're not good fighters, quite the contrary, I believe my top five listed above are all very good, but they just don't get the kind of publicity, and have not been promoted correctly, to generate a lot of local interest.
The first problem starts with how their managers and promoters have chosen to build their careers from the ground up. There is a tendancy for prominent Philly fighters coming out of the amateur system to sign with a "national promoter", which tends to lead to minor TV dates and appearances on undercards of major cards in places like Las Vegas. That's all fine, especially because the upfront money is excellent, but it doesn't lead to any sort of a local following, and in the end, that makes these guys virtually anonymous in their home town. A home town that has often been thought of as a great fight town.
Take young Danny Garcia, a welterweight who just missed out on a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and after losing in the finals of the Olympic trials, he turned professional in late 2007. He made his pro debut in Atlantic City in November, signed with a prominent manager in Shelly Finkel and has aligned himself with Golden Boy Promoters. As a result, he's fought on undercards of Manny Pacquaio-Juan Manuel Marquez II, Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe, and Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes. He's also fought on Telefutura's Solo Boxeo program.
That's major exposure and boxing people are talking about this 20-year-old as a future star. But he hasn't fought once in Philadelphia as a professional, and there are no immediate plans for him to do so. As a result, only the hardcore boxing types have any idea of who he is.
Compare that with Chandler and Taylor, two decorated U.S. Olympians. Chandler is a former two-time bantamweight world champion and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His first 25 fights were fought in either in southeastern Pennsylvania or Atlantic City. He fought at the Blue Horizon, he fought at the Spectrum, he fought in Wilmington and Upper Darby, and he was a staple of AC boxing in the 1980s.
In a 46-fight career, which included two world titles and two memorable fights with Julio Cesar Chavez, Taylor had a built-in fanbase, not only locally but nationally, because of his exposure as a 1984 gold medal Olympian. And much of his early career coincided with many of his Olympic teammates, all of which were signed up and marketed perfectly by Main Events. None of his early fights were in Philadelphia, but he fought often in Atlantic City, including when he beat Buddy McGirt for the junior welterweight title in 1988. He ended up fighting three times later in his career in his home city.
In all fairness to the up-and-coming young fighters out of Philadelphia, the road out of the city is not an easy one and the opportunities presented like that was the case with Garcia are too good to pass up. I remember when Rock Allen, a 2004 Olympian, wanted to make his pro debut in Philly. Now, Allen already had a link with Golden Boy through his father, Nazeem Richardson, a longtime Hopkins trainer, but his team wanted to get it started in Philly. Well, they arranged to fight on a Damon Feldman Spectrum card, but after Allen and crew arrived at the arena on fight night, they learned his opponent dropped out. There was no fight, and tickets had been sold off the marketing that Allen was making his pro debut.
Eddie Chambers, a heavyweight who fought Calvin Brock and Alexander Povetkin on HBO in the last year as part of an elimination tournament to see who would be a crack at Wladimir Klitschko, is a Pittsburgh native who moved to Philly early in his career, fought 17 times at the Blue Horizon before getting a break. Ask Chambers or a Chazz Witherspoon if they would have preferred the Garcia plan if they'd had a choice?
The local promoters, for the most part, work very hard. There are shows routinely at the New Alhambra, the Blue Horizon and the National Guard Armory, and there are good fighters on those cards and some quality scraps as well. But they barely get a blip on the local media scene. What chance does a fighter coming out of that system have of actually building a following, when they're fighting just to survive?
If things are going to change, all the parties involved have to step up and make an effort to make the change.
A promoter like a Golden Boy needs to realize the important of building a Garcia in his home town, and try to farm him out to a Peltz/Joe Hand card at the New Alhambra a few times. They need to get him an interview on DailyNewsLive. They need to sell his story to the local press and TV news stations.
When given this opportunity, the local promoters need to realize they may have to buck up a little more than they're used to to get a Garcia or another prospect on one of their cards.
And the fighter needs to realize the money won't be as good, but the publicity would be invaluable toward building a future.
****
Philly fighter update:
Rock Allen (12-0, 7 KOs), junior welterweight - Hasn't fought since November and has no fights presently scheduled.
Tiger Allen (3-0, 2 KOs), cruiserweight - Rock's twin brother and also a decorated amateur, hasn't fought since July 2007. His career has never really got untracked.
Karl Dargan (1-0, 1 KO), junior welterweight - 22-year-old cousin of the Allen's, turned pro in December after amateur career. Let's get him busy and see what he has.
Chazz Witherspoon (23-0, 15 KOs), heavyweights - Cousin of Terrible Tim, Chazz has a major opportunity on June 21 when he fights prospect Chris Arreola on HBO.
Hank Lundy (10-0-1, 6 KOs), lightweight - 24-year-old is back in action on Friday in Rhode Island, after an entertaining ESPN2 draw in his last fight.
Rashiem Jefferson (14-1, 6 KOs), featherweight - 25-year-old was shocked in April, getting knocked out in the 12th round at the Armory by Jose Hernandez. He's back June 21 at the Cisco Arena in Oaks.
Mike Jones (14-0, 12 KOs), welterweight - After starting career with 12 straight first-round KOs, competition has stepped up and he has back-to-back eight-round decision wins. Still, this 25-year-old has an exciting style and a ton of upside.
****
Finally, I'd like to apologize for taking the last month off of posting. Family and work have kept me busy. I'll try to keep current from this point on.
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