Friday Night Boxing Panel 53 | Weekly Episode | Talkin Fight

Featuring 2-time heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, our group of panelists are always prepared for another weekly roundup of boxing headlines, including updates about boxers from the past and current event news to share with the many fans out there that enjoy the great sport of Boxing!

Watch live on TalkinFight.com or YouTube.com/c/TalkinFight

#TalkinFight #Witherspoon #FridayNightPanel

Transcribed:

Hello boxing fans around the world – thank you for joining us once again on the friday night panel here on talk and fight.

Special guests in the house include paul johnson, tim witherspoon, our regular and, of course, cedric ben and mike gore at 4.

.

All right gentlemen.

Quite a lot to talk about uh this week anyway, there’s the fallout from the crawford porter fight in respect to him, leaving bob aaron top rank, as well as the upcoming uh fight with respect to lopez and cambosis.

Whereas a lot of people asking why didn’t lopez continue and take on another fight with loma anyway um? Where do you want to start mike? Let’S, let’s start with the fallout, the follow porter porter went retiring, um, yeah huge.

It’S interesting that uh crawford uh is looking for all these uh uh people that’ll tell to line up and fight him uh, but one of the fighters who’s accepted the challenge.

If you will is thurman, but he says he won’t fight until uh, like eight months from now so uh crawford’s a little upset that uh, you know and eddie hearn said he won’t take on uh crawford and in fact recommended for crawford to join pbc.

If he wanted to go fight uh in the meantime, hey carl at this point at this point crawford you know really he he can call out whoever he wants at this point, and i think he should.

This is how i look at it man, but he can’t he just can’t get the fights.

That’S all i know i know it’s it’s unfortunate.

He can’t get the fights that he wants.

It’S it’s upsetting man.

He looked really really good in the ring like let’s, let’s not be real uh, his performance was, you know, it was great, definitely was yeah.

Definitely, definitely can’t complain about it and and honestly man, i just why can’t he get the fights man tim? Why do you think he can’t get the fights? You know i’m going to check the truth but um.

I missed the fight, but i have watched him before um.

I don’t know, maybe maybe he’s political, maybe people maybe he’s dead.

I don’t know um like i said.

I’M trying to get involved more and i did watch a little bit of the fight so uh.

Maybe it’s political, the the promotional part of it um, i’m sure, there’s people out there that uh that’ll give them a good go.

Well.

Ed eddie hearn came out and said, he’s a very expensive fighter to manage uh.

He thinks that bob aaron lost a lot of money on the pay-per-view sales between him him and porter this past weekend, so he wasn’t willing to take that risk.

So, even though you’ve got an undefeated fighter, i think he’s 39-0.

I think uh, you know he’s a quote-unquote top-ranked fighter uh, but now he’s on his own and he might have made a big mistake in leaving top rank.

Oh, i think one of the one of the things that comes to my mind when i hear about these business talks about boxers and promoters and who’s with who and who wants to be with who and who doesn’t and to me the bottom line is that boxing Is a very dangerous sport and the first choice: the first choice is the boxer, and if the boxer says i don’t want to fight anymore um, that’s his right.

If there’s a problem, he should have that that right to bring those uh those concerns to the public and let it be known and uh there just has to be a much more open relationship between promoters and boxers, legally yeah yeah yeah.

I agree, i think, for the longest time, one of the reasons why some of the big fights haven’t been happening is uh not because of the fighters that are afraid to reach out.

I don’t think you know you’ve been you’ve been boxing for that long.

Once you get to the highest level, you know all of a sudden wake up and be scared of somebody.

So i don’t think it’s because these guys are scared of each other.

It’S more so the politics for more promotional companies, not wanting to do business with each other um.

You know whether it’s bob arum and pbc or whatever.

So i think that was the main problem um with crawford not getting some of the big fights, because most of the guys in that in that welterweight division 147 are over, as they say on across the street.

He’S got poor options for big money fights so now now that he’s a free agent he’s, you know whether you can argue whether him and canelo are the pound for pound number guy number, one guys in the sport, so if technically, if he wanted to, he can Just go on one fight contracts like what canelo’s doing as as one of the top guys in the sport, or he can sign with pvc to to really secure him getting that uh that earl spence fight um but um other than that.

I think now that he’s not with top rank.

One of the reasons why that’s that fight was not happening was the promotional companies not because the guys were afraid to fight each other.

So now that he’s not with he has that that uh, that blockage away from him, i think, there’s a better chance of it happening.

That’S kind of funny bro real, quick um.

This is kind of like with a promotional thing mike tyson promotion, amanda holyfield, lennox, lewis promotion.

They turned me down, they turned me down, not knowing that i was mentally messed up uh.

You know my promoter was taking my money and stuff like that and when i found that out, i said whoa, linda lewis and the management didn’t want to fight me mike tyson and them management didn’t want to fight me and and one more vandal holyfield.

They said he had a bad, his heart was messed up and i was like i was like.

Oh that’s, cool, that’s cool, just kind of like it’s within the same type of thing, but i was i was like the fighter wanted to fight me.

Yeah.

The management made different decisions, sure yeah and think think of this equation.

If you have a fighter and he’s promoter by promoter a and you have another, you have two other fighters and one fighter is also with promoter a and another fighter.

Isn’T who do you think is going to get the inside track on the fight right, yeah, and that is that and that isn’t fair to the fans.

The fans deserve the best to the best and i think fighters and i i’ve talked to some people about this and i think there’s some there’s some merit to this when you’re at the when you’re the number one fighter, and so who are you going to fight Next, well, the number one contender people say well, a fighter should have the right to take a couple choices of his own who he wants to fight whatever choice that is and then eventually there should be a path where the best has to fight the best.

But there should be a couple of uh opportunities to take a fight that you want to take and and down the road um.

Okay, now you have to fight the mandatory, but there shouldn’t be a mandatory right off the bat for a fighter.

He should have a couple of rights to choose his own fight for a couple fights and then and then get into the mandatory, but those things should be discussed and negotiated between promoters and boxers.

I think, and a lot of other people think so too yeah.

I agree and it came out uh with respect to lopez and combos who are fighting uh tomorrow night.

You know they cambosis is already saying after he deals with lopez, cio lopez.

He wants to fight devin haney down in australia because he believes it will attract a 90 000 person arena.

The american media is laughing at combos, saying that that nobody knows, despite we’ve, had devin haney on the show several times and he’s a great fighter he’s not known in australia, so you can sort of see how money talks.

In this regard, i mean, although cambodia’s wants that fight past lopez, if he beats lopez and he’s looking down the road to do squaring off against devin hayney, it’s all about the money.

You can start.

You can sort of see now how that is fitting into the equation here, but now the promoters are taking into account the pay-per-view sales in advance of booking these.

You know, and and when, when it came out the uh, the crawford porter fight didn’t make as much money as anticipated.

No, why? Because uh uh, they put it on espn plus, which is an app and crawford, came out and said a lot of my a lot of my older fans.

Don’T know how to get that app on their televisions.

You know and he’s right right.

I think that’s.

I think it was a big thing for for for crawford to just you know, dip out like that off the bottom room.

I don’t think it was a smart move in you know, he’s getting a little older, um he’s 34 years old.

He can’t afford to do stuff like that, because he has poor he’s, got poor options for big money, fights at 147 right now, plus he’s getting older uh.

He needs to fight beatable guys like thurman, because if he waits much longer, the wbo will make him uh fight.

You know jeremy’s jeremy or virgil ortiz jr as his mandatory and those guys will likely beat crawford um with the way crawford struggled against.

You know sean porter last saturday night he’s not going to beat dennis ortiz uh when he looked like that, to be honest, yeah, hey brian, how you doing hey, how we doing guys sorry paul! I didn’t get back to you.

I apologize sorry we’ll talk, yeah um! I answered the email, though, to all you guys you did thank you.

You’Ve been busy on the um, we’ve been busy on the youtube channel.

Oh yeah, we got a lot of stuff to talk about some big things happen so um.

I don’t know.

If i should talk about it or not, maybe i should i don’t know early.

You don’t want to skunk it by by talking about it too soon, but um we did get reached out to um by a pretty large martial arts channel.

They have don the dragon.

Wilson on there i know, if you guys, are familiar with him.

He was uh many many times world champion kickboxer and he’s on this uh podcast, and they were talking to me about putting something together for a celebrity kind of celebrity fight with uh for um.

For tim and the name they they have a connection to a couple.

A number of people, uh one, was don the dragon that came up whether tim would be interested in doing a match with him.

Uh he’s a kickboxer, you know um, so we talked about that.

He’S not a big guy, though he’s about a you know, relative to tim, he’s like 175 pounds and he’s 67 years old um.

So i don’t know that might be uh too much to handle the uh.

Thor’S hammer comes down on him and then there was um uh uh, michael j white, no yeah that came yeah so anyways.

I hope i’m not interrupting the podcast like saying that we’re just trying to work on getting one of those michael.

He didn’t hear you because you cuz the uh computer.

You went off a little bit.

Oh okay, yeah you talking about michael j white.

That could be a possibility, yeah that could be cool yo.

The original spawn yeah yeah man, michael john, wait for sure.

Now, let’s go um so with the uh, with the lopez and camrosa junior fight.

I’M really looking looking forward to this one man um, you know tio, has said some big things: man uh he’s warned george campos jr that god will humble him for disrespecting his family when he defends his belts and and franchise and ring magazine world lightweight titles.

On saturday uh, what are your thoughts guys? This fight has been, you know, cancelled twice: uh originally originally dropped by what was it thriller? A couple of months ago now just got picked up by matchroom, so it’s finally about to get underway man.

This is gon na, be a huge battle.

This uh, these guys been talking and talking and talking and now we’re about to see them battle it out, didn’t their fathers get in a fight yesterday, [ Laughter ], yes, yes, man! Yes, their fathers got into a fight in their press conference wow and that and i suppose that stuff that stuff happens and you know and so be it.

But the one thing i’ll say about uh tia femo is that uh i’ve seen him fight and and he’s uh.

He is a phenomenal professional boxer.

Yes, and i i’m just saying that just i don’t personally, i’ve never spent time with a guy.

I just know that i’ve seen him fight and and as a professional boxer he’s outstanding and um his uh, his opponent um.

I don’t i’ve, i’m not that familiar with him, and so i’m just i’ll just leave it at that with the female excellent.

I love it.

I’M loving this card, though uh raymond ford.

We have on here fighting uh felix carabello for the wba continental, feather titles on this.

I’Ve been talking about this kid raymond ford for some time now, he’s 901, but to uh about to go up for this belt.

It’S gon na be great and then uh.

The co-main event is for the vacant international boxing federation, world superfly or super feather title uh against fuzzily and uh ogua, so check that out.

There’S lots of action on tomorrow night plus there is another card: the uh fulton, the fulton junior versus uh figueroa junior card, the guy from philly yeah yeah, fulton jr.

Oh, i remember being an undefeated 122 122 pound world champ, stephen fulton jr and unbeaten top contender.

Risa lim preview, their respective showdowns during las vegas media roundtable on saturday before they enter into the ring in separate attractions, live on show time.

This saturday november 27th premiere boxing championships event from dolby live at the park mgm in las vegas, so guys don’t want to miss that one starts at 10 p.

m.

Eastern standard time, uh fulton will square off against brandon figueroa in the main event, while lean battles mexico’s eduardo bez baez in the co-main event of the telecast, which begins at 10 p.

m.

So these guys they’re going to clash.

It’S going to be great man, don’t want to miss this one honestly, i’m! I guess i guess we’re going to do watching live on the uh on the tia former lopez um on talking fight like we did last week, so we’re probably going to be covering that one for sure so tim feel free to come by and join us and And watch us watch this watch it live.

When is that later yeah? We do it, we do it late.

At night, man, we watch the fights and uh we we we go live and people watch us and our reactions as we commentate on the fight.

That’S actually going on for the people who are unfortunate to not be able to see it so uh.

You know it’s had some good definitely had some good attention.

Uh.

You know we’re hitting up there in the in the numbers in the couple of thousands.

Every time we do it now, it’s starting to take off uh feel free to try this uh no tomorrow night, we’re gon na.

Do it tim we’ll, send you the link? If you want to join yeah, you said you want to be up up to date with all the new fighters and everything yeah way to do it and and you can live commentate while you do it and say, hey man, this is, i think he did it.

This way wrong, or this way wrong – and you know what we’ll interact with the fans and everything it’ll be great.

Speaking of new fighters, uh we’re going to have maddie harris join us now.

I thought we were talking about big boys and the influence of tyson fury.

A while back on the heavyweight division yeah and it’s interesting that we had uh maddie harris who’s, what six eight six nine something like that he’s a big boy and he won his debut professional fight.

Last night um.

Yes, i put the link up.

I sent the link to the group on the uk yeah he’s from the uk uh.

He will be joining us monday.

He actually uh fell asleep after uh.

He fell asleep missed his interview time.

I already talked to him.

He uh he apologized for missing.

It.

He’S gon na be back in on monday uh to join us for the interview uh.

What a debut this kid had man to be honest, um seriously, like dominated the entire four rounds, uh looked really good.

Man used that jab.

He doubled up on that jab like textbook and uh yo.

The kid can move, the kid can move for a tall boy, six eight like that, and he can uh he’s fast and he’s got them hand.

Moves man he’s got that shuffle that little alley shuffle and uh he’s got he’s got some explosive power in his right hand, and i mean, like you know, he’s he’s – got some big mitts to swing.

Man, definitely a kid to be watching him for he’s.

Gon na make he’s gon na make he’s gon na make his name known and he’s gon na put his stamp on the heavyweight division.

What’S his full name, matty harris m-a-t-t-y harris, okay, i’ll! Definitely it’s amazing! When you get a big guy that can move yeah, you know he’s he he’s the way he just you know, he’s he’s so fluid and the way he looks and the way he throws his jabs out there and then sets up his rights and his faints um.

The fact the fact that he’s six eight and conduct and dodge the way that uh some of these shots were coming out were very impressive man.

He had a very very you know very good, very, very skillful, debut i didn’t see the fight.

How did he beat him? Was it tko, knockout, unanimous, unanimous decision went all the way uh he wanted to take.

He wanted a tough fighter to begin with so uh he didn’t eat him back down man.

He took out a guy who’s, uh who’s experienced.

You know who had, i believe, almost 20 fights under his belt and uh yeah man.

He he went to town and he looked great doing it.

Um excuse me so when, when he, when he’s when he said that um he wanted a tough guy to fight.

I’M sorry he wanted a tough guy to fight.

That is a good sign, but in terms of business and management um did they get.

I’M sorry, that’s a peanut, don’t let it get you champ, so so um.

I know they probably didn’t.

Go and deep into him.

Making that decision or saying that um, but in his mind all right go ahead.

In his mind his mind, he said that his management wait a minute how’d it happen in his mind.

He should follow the guide of his management and everything because he is he’s he’s only is this his first fight and that’s good confidence.

I, like that yeah.

He said he’s trying to sign now to watch him in boxing okay yeah, but he told him he want the best yeah.

He said he said he wanted some good competition uh they threw him.

They threw him into the ring with um aladdin menev uh, who was uh, who was three and eleven going into the fight, so okay, definitely yeah pro debut for harris.

He came out.

He looked great doing it i’ll, send you the link to the fight.

Actually.

So you can check it out.

I like the attitude: what nationality is he he? He is from the uk he’s from the east from the uk, oh she’s, having an interest of peanuts.

He’S english yeah he’s a he’s, an english boy.

What kind of thing he’s a big english he’s black he’s black and he’s got, i believe his mom is black and his.

That is white.

Oh okay, okay, oh, i think i’ve seen him.

Okay, i think i’ve seen him he’s not from up you’re north is.

He is he like around uh sheffield area.

I you know what i’m not too sure exactly where we’ll have to ask him when he comes into the studio for the interview.

It’S not a box rack! Oh no! It’S not! On box wreck he’s coming on tomorrow, he’s coming on he’ll be he’ll, be he’ll, be joining me for an interview on monday.

I would like to try to send me some links, so i can try to be there.

Okay, okay, definitely.

Definitely we’ll get yeah.

You know what we’ll have you on for the interview with him? Okay, so all you got to do is send the link yeah i’ll, send the link we’ll have you in there that’ll be great.

You know him he’ll be getting interviewed by two-time heavyweight champion of the world after his debut fight.

That’D be awesome for him, so i’ll definitely send you over the fight.

We’Ll definitely get that going on.

Thank you mate.

Thank you, mate.

All right.

What’S what’s going on what else we got? Oh, oh uh, just uh there was a fight today, uh brazilian heavyweight import, igor adele, mikado da silva, was just two seconds away from going the 10 round distance with come backing russian heavyweight, sergey kuzmin when a big right hand dropped him down for the count in The fight he was losing regardless wow, but he had two seconds to go, is what you’re saying two seconds ago.

Man gets dropped right at the bell: ding ding good night.

I got this.

I got this i got, this, could could be, could be, uh could be standing in the you know in the runner-up for uh knockout of the week.

So are there? Are there any fights going on tonight? Uh, there’s lots of fights going on tonight, um.

So for friday we have well there’s i don’t know how many are too too many are televised, but i know there is uh, there’s one in dubai that is going to be televised.

I believe.

That’S on uh the zone zone or fight tv uh, it’s wasim versus barrera is the uh is the main event on this card.

Uh there’s a bunch of newcomers, some guys that i’ve been following uh for a little while who are under 10 fights uh on.

You know on the record uh.

We also had a card that was going down in the uk uh and the headline was uh jack massey for the vacant international boxing organization, world cruiser title also on there was nathaniel collins uh for the commonwealth, feather title and mark jeffries is also on that card.

For the vacant world boxing organization, global super middle title and uh, you know we got a bunch of undefeateds as the uh leading up to the main events, so definitely another great card to check out.

Also, we have uh jack harris against hector gabriel flores for the vacant.

Wba intercontinental light, fly title and also uh jacob robinson is on that card for the uh vacant british welsh area feather title and akeem ennis brown uh is uh fighting for the vacant world.

Boxing council international super light title, so there’s lots of fights going on tonight.

If you can catch them, if you have the right platforms to stream at all, you can catch them.

Um.

You just got ta, find the streams, i’m not giving out all my sources but uh yeah.

I have services to watch them english.

I mean to cut your english.

I came right, yeah yeah! Oh i mean you want to finish what you were saying yeah.

I know so.

There’S so.

There’S big cards on tonight, uh there’s a card that’s going on in poland, uh there’s also a card.

That’S going on in argentina, both are both are on media, but it’s just you got ta, find the media to find the fights uh.

I just you know.

I watch them all because i got all these all these up and comers that are uh, that i’m following around the world man, so that you know sort of that.

I have content for my show uh.

Thank you shout out big mike the honey badger.

Yes, that’s a buddy of mine thanks for tuning in meech, thanks for supporting the channel, much love and respect we’ll talk later um.

Yes, but yes, lots of cards going on tonight.

It’S just whether or not you can you can catch them all, and i try to catch as many as i can, because you know i’ve got all these.

When is that games? When is that game fight, uh team fights tonight, you just got ta find find the uh.

I think the card is on right now to be honest.

Well, they wanted me to work with them.

Um, because i was friends i think i told you before on the on the show earlier in the show – started um.

He was an amateur and i seen a lot of potential in them.

I became his friend we kept in touch and then be about a month and a half ago.

They offered my for my help, but the epidemic hit.

I was supposed to come over and start helping him train um and um he’s a nice guy he’s a nice guy.

I mean you’re, a nice guy in boxing he’s.

He don’t come around with a chip on his shoulder, he’s always nice to people and he’s a southpaw.

You know and they offered they wanted.

They was going to fly come over, but the epidemic hit.

So i think i might have been in this corner or just helping them out would uh.

John was john pittman is his trainer.

Somebody like that yeah yeah he’s a nice guy, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, definitely definitely definitely a great fighter uh.

Definitely somebody to watch there’s.

There’S tons of cards on i’m loving, i’m loving, all of it.

The action is just great.

I love watching all these all these up and comers man, and they make all these wonderful, wonderful.

You know knockouts that uh that we get to show everybody man, the young, guys, try so hard.

That’S why right, but uh we got some we’ve got some other guys.

Um uh, erica cruz hernandez is going up against melissa esquivel for the wba world.

Uh female feather title: you can catch that on his own tonight, um angel fierro is taking on christian bellima, for the wbo nation to watch out on that card will be raul, uh salman who’s sitting at 8-0 in the super middle division.

Looking to keep his uh keep his undefeated record going plus i want uh, i would say, watch out for uh jesus artiga valdez, taking on jose juan valdez morales.

Uh should be another theme here, his name.

No, no! You froze you froze.

Oh you.

I froze.

Okay, hey zeus, artiga valdez is taking on jose juan valdez morales is another uh fight that will be going on that the zone guard to the zone card to watch out plus uh reuben gustivo vega.

I’Ve mentioned this guy in the past, is taking on victor de jesus albino and that’ll be another another fight uh to watch on that card as well in the bantam division.

So you can check this all out tonight.

Uh that’ll be on the zone other than that.

I don’t know what else you guys want to talk about man.

It’S boxing hey.

I got a.

I got a.

I got a quiz for you, okay, um.

You remember boxing the the the the days of boxing back in the 20s and the 30s and the 40s and the 50s.

Yes, some of the great champions and some of the great boxing matches from that time.

In that era, um, the quiz part is this: when did the first ranking sanctioning body come into existence? Wow whoa got me on that.

You know, and the funny part is it was like 1980.

You know what 1980 i i thought ring magazine had a a ranking system and they were they.

They didn’t it.

Wasn’T it wasn’t by any kind of any kind of structure in the sport of boxing was kind of ring magazine said they were gon na.

You know have a have a way of saying: who’s, really, good and and and having a way of ranking and and and sanctioning fighters.

But but the actual sanctioning body okay, came into existence, didn’t come into existence until 1980 and and a ranking body, and i think ranking bodies should be part of boxing.

But i i think there has to be a way of making sure that how boxers are ranked because it definitely affects their employment.

How they’re ranked and that process should be again should be part of getting boxing put into a corporate structure.

So these things can be talked about and worked out with the boxers input involved in that process.

I know the wba has been around since 1962.

No, i don’t.

I think if you check that out.

That’S not true.

I think if you check it out, it’s not true.

Now in 1962 there was not a wba champion, but but i don’t i don’t wan na get a big knob in 62.

.

Wbc wbc was like first right.

Well, you know.

I know that i know that the ibf and and came after the wbc in the wba and then the wbo came after the ibf, but what the process was between the wba and the wbc.

If you think about world boxing association world boxing council, that gives you some kind of reason to believe that those people have a say about the employment of boxers and that and that that process is is okay.

But it has to have input from the boxers.

There has to be a process there, where the boxers have input into that with the with those groups, and then you know down the road figure out a way whether it can be an undisputed championship and get that figured out now.

Historically, i’m gon na ask this.

Anyway, um historically, is that because those organizing bodies reformed prior to them being around was that boxing was controlled by certain families because they wanted uh, shall we say more control over the the casino and the gambling uh that was going on.

So i’m talking about the 40s and 50s, especially well, if, if, if, if the discussion here is about who had control, who had power over what i i’ve read a lot about boxing, and i’m certainly aware of that.

The only point that i’m trying to make here is that the people that climb in the ring and do the boxing have to have a say in the process.

That’S all i’m saying yeah, but all i’m saying is, is they never have? I mean correct? Originally, it was certain families, either out of new york or las vegas uh, potentially london, england uh.

These other organizations that came to be are located where panama, puerto rico like.

Where are these? You know these governing bodies aren’t necessarily with the exception.

I think of the ipf.

Maybe the ibf is from the united states correct right.

So you know how that was made right: okay, real real, quick, and then we don’t forget about the comeback of this okay larry holmes.

Um larry holmes was fighting all the young turks.

I was one of them and we would give them a hard time call the truth.

Um me um snipes, snipes uh put them on the canvas, so larry holmes complained to uh bob lee.

No, he complained.

He complained about to don king about fighting all these young guys because he’s trying to reach rocky marciano’s record you’re, trying to get to 40 or no or something like that and 49 and all right 49.

You know, i’m sorry for it well, and he tried to i know i i’ve been hearing this going on so um.

He went to bob lee um, um, larry holmes went to bob lee and they created the ibf because he wanted to try to reach rocky mount.

Chandler’S record now i might be wrong, but this is all i’ve been hearing since when i was fighting and when i retired that larry holmes did not want to fight any more young turks, he wanted to clean a soft path to get into rocky monsanto’s record.

I don’t know of him and don king had any problems but for some reason, don kept putting the tough guys in on him.

So that’s how the ibf was created.

I heard he went to bob league.

They created the ibf and tried to make it easier pass for um larry holmes to uh reach.

That record now did any of your guys hear about that.

That’S what i’ve been knowing for 20 years! That’S how i was created.

Yeah, i’ve read some stuff, but it’s interesting to hear that uh that uh, that’s what i heard i beat him.

It was close call.

Then you had other other heavyweights that that uh gave him a close call called the truth and all the other guys.

And then i heard larry holmes went to bob lee, they went to bob lee and they talked about the ibf and now the ibf is here so then he’s trying to fight, but he still lost to michael spinks.

I think right, whoever yeah so paul.

If that’s true, then larry holmes is actually the exception if he created the ivf or co-created the ibf.

No, that’s what everybody in philly believed everybody in philly new york.

We heard this.

I heard it that he went to um bob lee.

They sat down and talked they sat down and talked and that’s how the ibf was created.

Do you think you had anything to do? Do you think it had anything to do with what like one is in central america or mexico, or wherever they were, and then they somebody said they wanted to have one of the ranking groups in the united states? Do you think it was something about that or it was it? It was about larry holmes, reaching rocky marshall’s record and he didn’t want to fight no more young, tough guys.

So i think he went to bob lee to try to make it an easier path.

This is what i heard this was going on for 20 years ago, 13 years ago, so um that that’s what happened and then um um.

I think um yeah, what don they they forget tyson and that’s why we wounded up today, so the ibf was created because of larry holmes is a regional championship organization like the north american boxing federation in 1983, at the wba’s annual convention held in puerto rico, robert Bobby lee, president of the usba lost in his bid to become wba president against mendoza, lee and others withdrew from the convention after that election and decided to organize a third world level organization to coexist with the wba and the wbc formed as usba international.

The fledging organization was later renamed the international boxing federation, based in new jersey, where its main offices remain today.

Okay, it’s okay, so i was a little bit.

You know bob lee got turned down or something like that um, but i think that um, the word was too, when all the boxers knew that larry went to him and enforced it, i think they enforced it and that made him even more um.

You know that they wanted um the ibf, the ibm.

It says the first, the ibf’s first world champion was uh marvin campbell, okay, marvin campbell [, Music ], who won the foreign belt at the same in the same division.

During its first year of existence, the ibf remained largely obscure, but by 1984 decided to recognize larry holmes, aaron pryor, marvin, hagler and donald curry already established champions from other organizations as ibf world champions.

In holmes’s case he relinquished his wbc title to accept the ibf’s recognition.

It established the ibf as the third sanctioning body and legitimate organization.

Okay, but what’s amazing is that is that you take all the groups getting started and they’re having a direct say by ranking in the employment of boxers and the boxers have to be involved in that process.

They have to have a say there has to be a negotiated process where people’s voices are heard in the sport of boxing and boxing has to be put into a single corporate structure.

We know that’s going to happen and you can have the separate ranking groups, but there has to be a single corporate structure for professional boxing, a union for the boxers.

You know so the boxers have a voice in this and it’ll be great for they’ll, be great for the fans.

It’Ll be great, for the sport be great for box it’ll be great for everybody.

I’M glad you said that um that bob lee went and tried to form the form that, because now that that the truth really, the fact is that i don’t think that larry holmes um helped create ibf, because bob lee already was trying to do it right.

Okay, so all those years, i thought that larry and him just got together and they made it so um.

Now i really like to tell people another is another story, because why did they um um stop them from from from creating ibm? Did they no well? He he he and a couple.

Others created the ibf because of his his uh, his election, the election with the wba okay yeah, oh okay, wa president yeah, the convention after the election and decided to organize and create the third party uh ibf.

So after that uh 1983, the wba’s annual convention is when uh when they got together, pulled out and said you know what screw this we’re gon na start our own and then they created the ibf okay.

It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that they use larry holmes money, [, Laughter, ].

There is a scandal, despite despite achieving an appearance of legitimacy to three year.

Investigation started by a 1996 charges levied from former heavyweight champion.

Michael moore ibf’s reputation was ruined in 99 with founder lee’s, uh indictment for racketeering and other violations for taking bribes in exchange for higher boxer rankings wow, and then he was indicted on federal rocket, uh racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges uh were president robert w lee 65.

His son ibf liaison robert lee jr 38 former ibf executive and virginia boxing, commissioner donald william brennan 86 and south american ibf representative, francisco fernandez lee that was going on before yeah.

That was that was all so.

In 2000, citing extortion, boxing promoter, bob aaron voluntary testified to have paid ibf president bobby lee a hundred thousand and two installments in 95.

As the first half of a 200 000 bribe, though middleman stanley hoffman, adding that lee had first demanded five hundred thousand manhattan to approve the uh schultz foreman fight, but had several you can so you can.

You can break that.

You can break the law and not be in a family, [, Laughter ] me and his good friends.

Remember him stan hoffman.

He, yes, who did he uh stand off and he promoted a lot of big a good heavyweight too.

I just can’t remember: it’s been 25 30 years staying a little short little short guy with with like gray hair, and he was cool.

Do you remember, do you do you remember an organization called the national boxing association, nba yeah? That was actually one of the first groups that was started and was started by a guy.

I think his name was irv abramson and he started that and that was way before any of the other ones started.

He started that was a national boxing association and then then, the wbc wba and the ibf and everything kind of kind of flew out just from a historical side of taking society about anything, just what the truth is and what happened.

It raises the question whether or not these organizations were formed uh if you will stem the tide of a boxers union, because if you, if you think about when that was all taking place in the 80s, especially tim, can attest to this with the power that don King held at that time, you’d have to think the only the only the only reason – and i didn’t mean to cut you out, but the only reason i disagree is jose torres jose torres former uh light heavyweight champ of the world.

He was one of the one of the original members of the blc as well, and, and he was uh, he became part of – i think the wbo.

He was a part of the wbo and he was a.

He was one of the the a real and he’s he’s passed away now, but his his dear wife is around, but but he was a real strong advocate about boxers having a union – and he was part of the wb, i think was the wbo he did.

He did listen, i respect him.

We were good friends, we you know, and he we really.

We really um, kicked it off me him and a lot of the other other uh people that was associated paul, and i did tell you he threatened me.

He was he loved me and, like we were cool, we were called.

He would give me a hug, but i think don king pushed him.

You know he pushed him, but he threatened me to take the fight, and so, if people i told you paul, people was telling me man, just don’t just leave it alone and i did leave it alone, but him jose torres.

I love, he give me a hug.

We talk, but he had to do it.

It was jose torres suleiman.

It was the doctor, it was several other ones they kept taking, turns knocking on the door to force me to fight threatening me and that’s what i’m seeing wait.

Wait wait i understand, but you can look in their eyes and tell they didn’t want to do this because they know i was a nice guy and i talked to him, but they was taking turns threatening me in las vegas to force me to take the fight With bone crusher – and you could tell on their face, they didn’t want to do it they didn’t want to, but somebody organizing it so one after number, even a doctor came even a friend, was coming knocking on my door, saying you better take the fight.

I had people in my room with guns: um tim tim.

Can you imagine, can you imagine if people were to come to you and make statements like that if there was a union that would not happen and one of the things that you know baseball football hockey and you have the players.

Organizations have a voice.

These kinds of things can’t happen and they won’t happen, but but let me let me say this before all this and after that i still would get a hug and talk to them.

They had to do this.

I wouldn’t even say this because i i tried to talk to jose solomon’s son uh, when i had a chance when we were doing the what we were doing real quick.

We were doing the commentating down in las vegas and dante wilder fight with tyson fury, and i missed the opportunity, and i talked on the show about.

I missed the opportunity to talk to his son and paul.

You were telling me if you see him talk to him and get the information, so we could talk to him and i and i blew the chance when i seen him in vegas.

He looked at me and walked over towards me and then i walked to him.

I gave him a hug and then i blew the opportunity where we could have united and talked about stuff, and i could have hooked him up with you, so we can get started.

He had nothing to do with all this and i don’t think those officials did either, but there was pressure, and so i took the fight i took a dive, i took a dive, you know, i feel bad for bone crusher, but they took their turns trying to Get me to take the fight, and i knew they didn’t really want to do it, but they had to do it.

Damn one of the things that one of the things i love about, one of the things we love about.

You is your honesty and your stuff is gon na get figured out.

It’S gon na get straightened out.

I promise my kids mother was laying right was right in the room watching them watching them.

Listening to them.

Antagonize me go ahead.

Paul, i’m sorry go ahead! No! Now, you’ve, that’s no! It’S we’re gon na get this figured out.

It’Ll get figured out.

I had people in the room with guns, i had people from philly, they flew in um, no serious.

There was people.

No, i mean i’m talking about this t-shirt he’s showing his t-shirt.

Oh that’s right, because what cause fighting solves everything right, but i didn’t really need need to need the guys with the with the with the weapons, because i knew that at don i fought real good.

I showed that i wasn’t scared, you know if you scared don king and put you down and and and i was cool with them – i don’t think they was going to physically hurt me or anything like that, but they was using mental things.

To do that.

To me, but but some of my people flew over anyway to protect me for that particular fight, but but it didn’t, it did hurt me a little bit that that that he did that jose uh sulaiman, jose torres, because we were good friends every time they see Me we would hug me talk to me for long periods, but i knew they had to do that.

They didn’t want to, though they didn’t want to.

They were good.

They were good guys.

I left that alone, but since you mentioned paul – and i talked to you about that me – and you talked about that – and you didn’t realize that you know, but his son is a nice guy, but that’s what happened.

You know that’s what happened! One of the good one of the good things of having you being uh being a part of the boc tim, because you understand this stuff in boxing and those are the kind of behind the sce scene stuff that is going to be eliminated and the sport is Going to be put into a corporate structure with undisputed championship tournaments and the fans are going to see what they want to see and this behind the scenes stuff.

If there’s a there’s a grievance, if there’s a dispute about something it’s gon na, be there will be a process to bring to bring that dispute forward with the business of professional boxing and we’ll get that we’ll get that that’ll come together.

This is one of the reasons why i’m i’m on this this this podcast um.

This is one of the reasons why um i’m keeping contact with you paul because um it was in my heart i mean i should be living in the mansion um with you know, with a lot of money in the bank, you know uh going around helping other People and – and these are the things that stop me from doing that, but i’m still doing it – you know i’m still doing it i’m going around.

I don’t have that much money, but don’t forget.

There’S some people that look at a regular middle class house as a mansion.

Believe me, oh yeah, man tim.

I spoke up on your behalf today i was uh commenting on uh there’s a product out there called fight camp.

Are you familiar with it? It’S like an in-home boxing system and they raised like 90 million dollars.

I don’t know if they’ve gone public yet or not, but one of the investors is michael.

Go ahead, go ahead anyway.

I i said to these guys.

I said what what what they need is someone to endorse their product, same way that george foreman endorses the grill.

I said you need to get pulled the tim witherspoon and have the the tim witherspoon fight camp.

There you go whoa.

That is cool, so i got a brush.

I got.

I don’t want nobody else’s money.

I don’t want to go.

Take somebody else.

I just want what’s deserving to me.

I don’t want nobody else’s money.

I don’t want you, i don’t want you, your family, all right.

I’Ll withdraw the offer, then yeah.

No, no! No i’m saying i’m talking about just in general.

I don’t.

I would like to do something like that, but it’s like.

If i see somebody that’s wealthy, hey god bless them.

I don’t want their money if they need me to work when i work with them, but i don’t want to take their money unless they want to invest in a corporate structure for professional boxing.

There you go there you go yeah i was using.

I was using tim, i was purely using tim was the worm on the hook.

Oh trust me, i’ve used him.

I’Ve used him as the worm on the hook.

Many times hey.

Please do please.

I do i do any chance.

I get to mention you and the family here, you you and me, are you and me host the show together? Oh definitely, i’m not gon na write that i’m gon na try to hurt me as long as you don’t try to hurt me.

No, never! Never! I’M always like hey man, you should come check it out.

Oh by the way, my my co-host is uh, none other than two-time heavyweight champion of the world tim witherspoon.

You never know you never everybody’s, always like.

Oh really, oh really.

Okay was that english? Oh really! Oh really, oh really! Yes, no, we got friends over there too.

We got a lot of friends over there too.

They love you our hands reach globally.

Now? Yes, yes, yes, so that’s primarily! You know.

I always want to leave a good thing, but paul has been fighting.

I’M that’s.

Why i’m with paul i’m with paul, because i know he won’t take nothing from nobody.

I know him.

He will make sure everything’s run right, and this is why this is why i’m behind paul and supporting.

I know that if they gave him the project or he created it, he would do right by all the boxers and people.

So that’s that’s one thing, i’m behind paul ford.

100.

Definitely definitely i’m you know i’m behind anyway, any any way that i can help, i’m always behind i’m here to help now that sean porter’s retired, i wonder if we might be able to contact him as uh.

Well, he’s gon na be looking for something new to do with either that or he’s gon na go into broadcasting good idea, yeah, he is broadcasting.

I mean it’s.

It’S obvious that the uh, the tyson furies of the world, the auntie and josh of the world are pretty busy uh.

You know still maintaining their championships yeah, but the guys who guys who were recently retired um.

You know borderline here, deontay wilder uh.

You know he.

I mean, if you ask me, based on his concussive nature.

I mean that was interesting when we were talking about the ibf earlier that donald curry’s name came up because i had sent you guys, an email uh regarding uh the discussions going on on reddit right now with respect to the formation of a union uh and why There hasn’t been one so far to benefit guys like donald curry, who’s currently suffering uh without any uh health care benefits um.

You know from the effects of concussions that he received in the ring.

So you know it’s an ongoing issue without a doubt uh to provide not only health care and dental and mental health benefits for uh fighters past and present.

But, as you say, paul there’s all these other benefits that the union can provide to boxers as well.

Fighting on their behalf outside of the ring per se, yep and we’ve, you know, we’ve talked to you, know.

Politicians and and we’ve talked to uh um promoters and we’ve talked to boxers and and this thing is going to happen, it’s going to come forward because it’s going to be in the best interest of the sport and everybody’s going to benefit and the fans are going To see what they really want and that’s undisputed championship, tournaments legitimately in a in a single corporate structure, a professional box, so yeah, it’s gon na happen and it’s uh – it’s not happening.

It’S got ta happen.

There’S too many belts, not enough people can you know comprehend? What’S going on when it’s going on yeah, you know you go up, wait, you vacate belts, mandatories, you know you got all this different stuff that goes on with all the different belts and all the sanctioning bodies and then all the politics that gets involved and then What happens we don’t get the fights you got guys that literally can wait out another boxer’s age, like that’s ridiculous stuff like that shouldn’t go on if this guy’s a champion and i’m a champion, why aren’t we fighting together as a champion fight how the hell am? I waiting for you to age out well.

Well, remember remember, there is.

There is a thing that says if you’re a champion and uh somebody comes up to you and says: okay, i want you to fight that person.

You know the following and we’re not talking about the politics of who’s promoting who right, but if there’s a fighter, that’s coming up and you’re the champion of the world.

There’S a fighter coming up who’s really good and you know it’ll make a lot of money.

But he’s not the number one contender yet, and you want to fight him.

There should be a selection process where the champion should have a couple of free choices if he wants to fight, but eventually there should be a process where you have to take the number one contender or the or, however, that process is going to be worked out.

Right right, you know: that’s i like that.

That sounds good, so we got off to a bit of a late start, so we’re running out of time because neil the deal show is coming up.

Uh.

Do you have any last comments before we uh tim tim? Don’T forget monday you’re going to interview maddie harris with me: okay um.

What time would that be? What time would that be? It’S going to be 4 p.

m, eastern standard time, and it’s only going to be like a 20-30 minute thing.

I want to know right now where cedric’s been i’ve been training.

I’Ve been training, my boxer, the whole time i’ve been listening to the whole show.

That’S why i came on now: [ Laughter, ], 4, 30, tomorrow, right, no 4 p.

m, monday, monday, okay, 4, p.

m.

Shania! Remember that’s my secretary 4 p.

m, monday, all right! Okay, i’ll send you the link less plus i’m gon na put the video to his fight from last night on on the whatsapp group that you’re part of okay so go on there and click it you’ll be able to watch the fight.

Okay, beautiful awesome, stay sharp y’all.

You know, i think, he’s going to love that man getting interviewed by a legend like yourself and i’ve been practicing too i’ve been practicing, i’ve been doing podcasts with um, with bryant, we’ve been trying to do stuff, um and – and that’s the reason why, when i, when That when i got on with you guys, i wanted to keep doing it, so i can get better um your pod, your podcast sparring and you’re beginning your podcast yeah.

That’S it that’s it.

We should be called the sparring channel disappearing again, figure out something all right.

Thanks guys, mike next week too, right yeah, let’s, let’s remain in touch we’re gon na try to get somebody – okay, okay, yes, definitely to all the fans watching around the world.

Thanks for tuning in supporting the channel man talkingfight.

com make sure you go hit it up.

Jab.

The legs hook subscribe set those reminders.

You know what it’s about man, another friday night same time, same channel on the panel we’ll see you next week, make sure you tune in tomorrow for watching live on talking fight.

You know what it is thanks paul thanks, tim, graham cedric.

You know what it’s at man we’ll see you all.

Next friday, okay, see you