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Return to Glory Los Angeles showcasing big-time boxing once again
Posted: Friday June 16, 2000 01:22 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's been more than a quarter century since this city had the muscle to promote a marquee fight. On Saturday, Oscar De La Hoya, once-beaten and probably the most popular boxer active in America, fights undefeated Shane Mosley and could mark the return of big-name, big-money boxing. The WBC welterweight title showdown between the locals - De La Hoya grew up in East Los Angeles, Mosley in Pomona - is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 20,000 to Staples Center. The sleek, starship-looking arena, which opened last year and whose tenants include basketball's Lakers and Clippers and hockey's Kings, will be the site of what some boxing officials hope is the rebirth of major boxing shows in Los Angeles. The city was eclipsed long ago by Las Vegas and Atlantic City as prime locations for big fights. New York City also has started shifting back into the mix. "It's been a long time since we've had a big fight here. Maybe this will open the doors for a big fight or two, certainly with having Staples Center, a real up-to-date arena, said Don Chargin, a Sacramento fight promoter who was the boxing promoter at L.A.'s Olympic Auditorium for many years. The last fight in Los Angeles to gain much national and global interest was the Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton bout in 1973. California has staged a lot of smaller shows, from club bouts to the burgeoning fight cards at Indian Casinos. In Southern California this week alone, there were matches scheduled Thursday night, two different cards Friday night, another on Saturday afternoon before De La Hoya-Mosley, and still another on Sunday, all at different locations. There were 82 such boxing shows in California a year ago, more than twice the number in Nevada, with New Jersey and New York far behind with 16 each. California's fights, however, were much smaller shows. Promoter Bob Arum, whose stable of fighters includes De La Hoya, sees California - Southern California in particular - as a giant, largely untapped market for major bouts. "You must realize that because of the tremendous Hispanic population here, boxing starts off with a real plus," Arum said. "Unlike the Anglo population, where 18-25 year-olds in particular aren't very interested in boxing, it is the No. 1 sport throughout the Hispanic community. "On a selfish level, I would love to see big fights take off here because some of the best Hispanic fighters are with me. With success of this (De La Hoya-Mosley), I really look to see boxing come to life here, make it big nationally again." The gate will be around $7.5 million to $8 million, by far the richest ever in the state. The Ali-Norton bout at the Forum in Inglewood grossed around $500,000. Said De La Hoya: "It's very exciting to know that the biggest fight ever in California is going to take place at Staples Center, and that I'm going to be a part of it." Chargin, 72, and a fight promoter since 1950, believes big-time boxing's future in Los Angeles might hinge on the quality of Friday's performance. "The fight must deliver," he said. "If it is sensational, that will do a lot toward heightening interest. If it's a so-so, run-of-the-mill fight, it may be a few years before they get that much interest in another fight." Los Angeles apparently will continue to be handicapped in a sense when it competes with Las Vegas and Atlantic City, where casinos chip in "site money" for the bouts, and with New York, which has imposed a $50,000 tax cap on boxing shows. The gate for the De La Hoya-Mosley bout will be taxed 5 percent by the state and 3 percent by the city, which means the total tax bill could reach $640,000. There are bills pending in the state legislature to reduce the taxes on boxing, but none of those apparently will affect the bill for this fight, and, considering Californians' anti-tax mood, may never become law. Staples Center will pitch in with Arum to pay the taxes on Saturday's gate, and Tim Leiweke, president of the arena, said if the state doesn't reduce the tax burden on big boxing shows, it may greatly dampen the enthusiasm of Staples Center and other would-be sites of major cards in the future. "If they don't, there may not be any more shows of this magnitude for a long time," Leiweke said. "They should realize that something (in tax revenue) is better than nothing."
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