“I can’t help it, I’m a homer,” admitted a portly writer sitting in press row. “I gave it to Devon by one point.”
As more than 7,000 paying customers at The Family Arena in St. Charles stood on their feet last Saturday night trying to talk themselves into believing that St. Louis-native Devon Alexander had done just enough to edge hard-punching Argentine junior welterweight Lucas Matthysse, a collection of writers on press row, most from Missouri, furiously typed their stories hoping to quell the unease they were feeling too.
Alexander, a former 140-pound champion and the state’s only current world-class boxer, had been floored in the fourth round by Matthysse, the WBO’s third-ranked contender. Alexander was also battered and stunned in the seventh, eighth and tenth rounds. While many of the other rounds were toss-ups, Matthysse had clearly inflicted the most damage.
“I had it 95-94 Matthysse,” said another local scribe, looking as if he’d just committed an act of betrayal as a number of fellow writers looked up from their keyboards in his direction while his words still hung in the air.
This wasn’t your typical fight night anxiety. Something very peculiar was going on in St. Charles. In addition to torrential rains and a terrible electrical storm that prevented nearly all of the fighters on the card and their families from leaving The Family Arena until well past midnight, there was a real sense of desperation in the air, and it was not just coming from Alexander supporters.
The 11-bout “Show Me Something Great” promotion on June 25 was originally intended to provide comeback opportunities for St. Louis-based former champions Alexander and Cory Spinks, who both lost their world titles in their last bouts. It was also expected to serve as a global coming-out party for Ryan Coyne, the state’s new boxing celebrity, who was scheduled to fight reigning World Boxing Association Cruiserweight Champion Guillermo Jones.
But when Coyne’s fight with Jones was called off six days earlier, after Jones suffered a rib injury during training, one could feel the hype balloon deflating a bit. For the better part of a decade, the St. Louis area has grown accustomed to hosting championship fights and cheering for local heroes who held titles. But almost overnight, it seemed the city was on the verge of losing it all.
In fact, it is common at major fights for members of press to refrain from openly rooting for one boxer or another. Writers talk amongst themselves, of course, and compare notes. But Saturday was the first time I ever heard so many reporters openly share personal experiences they’ve had with the boxers – specifically Alexander and Coyne – competing and make excuses for them during their matches. In fact, when Coyne was roundly booed by some fans after his match, several local reporters were shocked by the reaction and openly stated so.
“How can they be booing Ryan?” one asked incredulously, after Coyne barely edged a 38-year-old late substitute who hadn’t fought in nearly four years, as if the reason for the booing wasn’t apparent enough.
I first noticed this out-of-place “excitement” among reporters during the open workout at Coyne’s gym in Clayton the previous Tuesday, when a former boxing writer for the St. Louis Post Dispatch saw Coyne about to enter the ring to work out and told a buddy next to him that he (the writer) was getting “goose bumps.” When I heard him say it, I was caught off guard and looked closer at the fighter while he trained, feeling I must be overlooking something everyone else had already seen.
On Saturday, I realized there was nothing to see. What these Missourians were experiencing was the same feeling partygoers get when the keg finally runs dry at a great, spontaneous summer bash, and it’s time for everyone to go home. But apparently some of the boxing writers near me were more than happy to overlook the obvious shortcomings of a couple local fighters in an attempt to keep the party going a little while longer.
And they were in for a long night.
Cory Spinks: Last Call for ‘The Next Generation’
Just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, more than four hours before HBO would begin its broadcast, Roy Jones took his seat at ringside. Once the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, the 42-year-old Jones is now an expert analyst for HBO’s Boxing After Dark series. Before the other members of the broadcast team arrived, Jones, who continues to be an avid fight fan, wanted to sit back and enjoy a couple of the matches before going to work.
Seeing the legend at ringside, David McNemar, the West Virginia cruiserweight who was fighting later on the bill against hometown favorite Ryan Coyne, walked up to the former four-division champion and excitedly held out his hand. Jones stood, and the two shared a few hearty laughs together. They seemed to be having a grand time until the ring announcer for the preliminaries climbed through the ropes and called Cory Spinks to the ring.
The son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and the nephew of light heavyweight great Michael Spinks, Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks is generally credited with bringing big-time boxing back to Missouri during his reigns as a welterweight and junior middleweight champ. That was until last August, when Spinks was shockingly knocked out in the fifth round by fringe contender Cornelius Bundrage and lost his IBF 154-pound crown.
Suddenly the weathered 33-year-old didn’t quite look the same, as if all those years in the sport had caught up to him overnight. Spinks was given a spot on the June 25 card, but his match was slotted as a late-afternoon preliminary – a position typically reserved for guys just starting out in the pro game.
Spinks’ opponent, a light-punching 42-year-old from North Carolina named Shakir Ashanti, described in the press packet as “a Slick Tar Heel,” entered the ring with a record of 16 wins, 10 defeats and only four knockouts. At the final press conference on Wednesday, Spinks didn’t even pretend to know who Ashanti was.
“Whoever this man is I’m fighting is in trouble on Saturday,” Spinks said. “I am so eager to get back in the ring. St. Louis will see I am ready to be a six-time world champion.”
But as Spinks entered the arena, most of the late-arriving crowd hadn’t found their way to their seats yet. Still, those who had gave him a sincere standing ovation. The fighter seemed very appreciative, too. Then the bell rang.
Weighing in the heaviest of his career (160.5 pounds), Spinks looked as though he was throwing punches at half the speed he’d done during his prime. By the third round, he’d scored enough lead left hands to cause a nasty swelling over the shaven-headed Ashanti’s right eye. Yet despite having nothing to fear in terms of his opponent’s punching power, Spinks never really opened up or had his man in trouble.
“He looks better than he did against Bundrage,” one reporter next to me said aloud, in an attempt to put a positive spin on what we were seeing. “I think they said Cory weighed more than 200 pounds before he started camp for that fight.”
Each round was a replay of the one before it – with Spinks landing more than enough scoring blows to win most rounds, while Ashanti answered back just enough so fans didn’t lose interest. Despite pleas from his supporters to “open up” and “let your hands go,” the former champ seemed unable to answer the call.
Spinks won all 10 rounds, improving his record to 38-6.
There had been talk before the match that if Sechew Powell defeated Bundrage later that day for Spinks’ old belt, maybe Cory would get one last title shot. But it was painfully clear to everyone watching that Spinks had lost more than just a belt last year.
Powell vs. Bundrage II: K9 Bites Back
The first title fight on the card – Bundrage vs. Powell – was a rematch of a bout that took place back in 2005. In their first meeting, Powell stopped Bundrage in just 22 seconds. What made the fight truly memorable, though, was that both boxers landed with the first punches they threw and both immediately hit the deck, resulting in a double knockdown. Once action resumed, Powell connected again and Bundrage went down, got up and fell a third time – his equilibrium shot. The fight was waved off. In all, three punches landed resulting in four knockdowns.
Their rematch was expected to be equally explosive. It also couldn’t have come at a better time for HBO.
Two weeks earlier, the network had televised Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s first 154-pound title defense against Britain’s Ryan Rhodes. Now the search was on for more names to feed Alvarez. The hope was that Powell would do what he did in his first meeting with Bundrage, score a quick knockout and look amazing in the process so HBO could stage a unification bout at 154 between the two, possibly in New York.
Unfortunately, Powell seemed to forget that he had to hit Bundrage before he’d fall down. Instead, the Brooklyn native just wouldn’t let his hands go. Over 12 frustrating rounds, Powell’s corner begged their charge to punch. When he did, it was obvious Powell was the smoother, more talented fighter. But it was Bundrage who put the knockdowns in their first meeting out of his mind and used his natural strength and punching power to swarm Powell, landing hooks to the body and head on the inside. It was an ugly, bruising way to win, but win he did.
As the seconds ticked down in the closing minute of the fight, Powell’s corner screamed for their man to “Go for it!” But he seemed frozen. Bundrage forced Powell back to the ropes for a final time, just above the HBO team, and said, “I got this.” When the bell did ring ending the match, Bundrage couldn’t help himself and began jawing at his former conqueror. Powell finally lost his cool and took a hard swing at K9, causing referee Earnest Shariff to grab Powell and shove him back into his own corner. (View full fight.)
The crowd quickly turned on Powell, who seemed to want to walk over and apologize to Bundrage. But Shariff prevented him from doing so and told him to stay in his corner. Within seconds, it was announced the judges had voted unanimously in Bundrage’s favor – 119-109, 117-111 and 115-113. (View the official scorecards.)
By this time, Cory Spinks had showered and returned to mingle with the growing number of fans filling the stands. Next to him was his now grey-haired father, Leon Spinks, the former heavyweight champion. They put their arms around each other and smiled for cameras the way older champions do, happy that people still remember when they were young and among the best in the world. Like his dad, though, Spinks’ time appears to be over.
Meanwhile, Allan Hopper, public relations director for Don King Productions, ran down to reporters in press row after speaking to Powell and Bundrage in the ring.
“I was happy with my performance, but I felt I could’ve done better,’ Hopper quoted Bundrage as saying. “Sechew is a good fighter. He’s rated higher than me in Ring Magazine. It was a hard fight, but I refused to lose.”
“What did he say about Ring Magazine?” one writer called out.
“He said Powell’s rated higher than him by Ring Magazine,” Hopper answered.
“Not anymore,” another scribe said as he typed up the quote. (Story continues here.)
