MUCH MORE THAN A BOXING RING
By Roger Zotti
I hope [readers] smile, frown, laugh and cry, as they realize what this incredible artifact represents. When they finish the book, pause and think about what they have just read, I hope they conclude: There was no better portrait of a sport or our society than the (New York) City Ring, and there never will be.
Mark Allen Baker
The Grandest Ring of Them All
The prolific, award winning author Mark Allen Baker told the IBRO Journal, in a recent interview, that what prompted him to write his latest book, the extraordinary Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden: The History of an Iconic Boxing Ring, 1925-2007 (McFarlane), was “an announcement by Madison Square Garden, the mecca of boxing, and my affiliation with the International Boxing Hall of Fame. When MSG announced on September 19, 2007, that they were retiring one of its most treasured artifacts, a boxing ring, and donating it to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, it was almost beyond belief.”
Baker continued: “Ever since I first saw it—in the book, I refer to it as the City Ring—I wanted to tell its story. Just imagine the incredible history that took place atop its canvas. I wanted to crawl between the ropes, put my ear to the canvas and listen. I wanted to hear the accelerated heartbeats of the fighters, the screams from their seconds in their corners, the crunching resonance made by the flesh and bones hitting the canvas. I wanted to know everything about it.”
The “City Ring,” Baker explained, “is an iconic symbol of the Twentieth Century and a portrait of our culture.” It’s the “one from Madison Square Garden that has been at the epicenter of [the sport] since John L. Sullivan defended his heavyweight title at the original Garden in 1883. Fascination with its role in history prompted me to write the book. And, as a boxing historian associated with the International Boxing Hall of Fame, I felt it was my obligation.”
Baker, who has an immense knowledge of the sport A.J. Liebling called ‘the sweet science,” pointed out that his book “takes the reader through the history, performance and tradition associated with all four renditions of the venue [that] quickly supports the significance of the ring.” He added: “Readers are also treated to the history of the sport, especially as it pertains to New York City. Over fifty black & white photographs, primarily portraits of popular fighters, illustrate the ethnic diversity of the sport.
“And slowly the reader realizes that the ring is far more than just the altar of pugilism: It is an iconic symbol. Within its ropes, and upon its surface, was where the blood, sweat and tears of the finest gladiators consecrated the sport. No other single table of humanity offered so much opportunity or destroyed so many dreams quicker. As a historic artifact it has symbolized every element of society imaginable—age, gender, physicality, titles, ethnicity, religion, class, desire and even a nation’s governing body.”
Challenges, Hope, and Memories
Baker cites three reasons why his extensively researched work was a challenge to write. First: “The greatest challenge is always the research. Exploring thousands of Garden fight cards to determine which battles to include took months. My first pass at the manuscript was over 250,000 words.”
Second: “The ring’s 130 assembled pieces represent the most accurate reflection of who we were during the Twentieth Century. At times it was tough to view the corruption and discrimination associated with the sport. Yet, it reflected the era.”
Third: “Some of the stories I include speak to your heart. Like the one I tell of a sixties’ fighter by the name of Billy Bello. His dream was to fight in Madison Square Garden against his hero Gaspar Ortega—a name all too familiar with Connecticut fight fans. While he accomplished his dream, the ending was not anticipated.”
Baker’s hope is readers take from his book “an appreciation for what Madison Square Garden and its iconic ring mean to the sport of boxing and world history; and why this iconic artifact is the perfect reflection of our culture. [While] entire books have been written about the symbolism of a single Madison Square Garden conflict—an excellent example: Ali v. Frazier—no book has ever been written about its iconic boxing ring, or Holy Grail.”
Also, he’d like “the memories, such as recalling the Friday Night Fights, to come flooding back to the reader. I hope a smile comes over their face when they read about some of the often-forgotten fighters—names like Joey Archer, “Bat” Battalino, Larry Boardman, Johnny Cesario, and so many others.”
Influences and Favorites
Baker said that among the authors who have influenced him are “Hall of Fame writers W.C. Heinz, Damon Runyon, and Bert Sugar. Also, I really like Jack Cavanaugh’s book [Gene] Tunney: Boxing’s Brainiest Champ and His Upset of the Great Jack Dempsey, Clay Moyle’s book Sam Langford: Boxing’s Greatest Uncrowned Champion, and Geoffrey C. Ward’s book Unforgivable Blackness, The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.
Asked about his favorite boxing movie—and why?—he named “Raging Bull (1980), primarily because of the family. I spoke often to Vikki LaMotta and thought the world of her. And I still stay in touch with her children. I also like The Fighter, Cinderella Man, The Joe Louis Story, Ring Of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story, The Boxer, and Requiem For A Heavyweight.
“Battling Nelson, The Durable Dane, would make a perfect motion picture, too—not just because I wrote it, but because it is a great ‘rags-to-riches-to rags’ story.”
Baker would like to thank his readers because “over the years I have developed an audience for my work and I am very grateful for their support. Nobody does a book alone. I appreciate the continued assistance of so many individuals especially the staff at the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame, IBRO, and my fellow boxing historians.” His next book, scheduled for the summer of 2020, “will also be about boxing.”
Available at Amazon, Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden combines a crucial aspect of boxing history with a portion of American history. It’s a book written with a narrative that unfolds in a clear and relaxed manner and should be read and relished.
Some of the Book’s Highlights
When Baker writes about the many forgotten fighters in his book who deserve recognition, I turned immediately to his index where, much to my delight, I discovered two of my favorites: Joey DeJohn and Joe Miceli.
A Syracuse middleweight, DeJohn slugged it out with Pete Mead, at Madison Square Garden, on February 25, 1949. Dropped twice and taking a beating for six rounds, Mead, Baker writes, “Miraculously [was] able to come out for the seventh. Mead was livid over the beating he had endured. He became transfixed at returning it to DeJohn and he did just that.” He dropped DeJohn three times in the round and referee Johnny Burns stopped the fight: “The Ring magazine recognized it as one of the ten greatest fights of the 20th century.”
Brooklyn’s Joe Miceli, who during his boxing career (1948-1961) fought the best lightweights, welterweights, and middleweights of his era. (And believe me that’s a sweeping understatement! I was going to list those fighters but suffice it to say there were at least forty of them and twelve were champions.)
Thirty-seven of Miceli’s bouts were televised, and his most notable weapon was a hard, fast left hook/uppercut. An odd though effective punch. He was a top ten welterweight from 1950 to 1956, but never fought for a title.
In my interview with Baker, he mentioned the 1963 Billy Bello – Gaspar Ortega fight at Madison Square Garden. Nationally televised, it was one of those great Friday Night Fights, and at the end of ten rounds Ortega was awarded a split decision.
“For Bello,” Baker writes in chapter 12, “it was a bitter loss that was magnified by the press . . . Many of Bello’s mistakes were due to inexperience; Ortega had over one hundred professional fights and by this point in his career wasn’t prone to error.” (Ortega entered the ring with a 96-27-3 record; Bello, 17-6-1.)
Fourteen days later the twenty-year-old Bello was “found lifeless in the fifth-floor hallway of a Bronx tenement,” Baker writes. “Near his body were envelopes that contained narcotics, and an examination revealed needle marks on his left forearm . . . Bello had lost a decision to narcotics.”
Of Roy Jones, Jr., Baker notes in chapter 20 that “If there was anything [he] couldn’t do, nobody told him.” Only the second light heavyweight champion to win a heavyweight title, he was also “the first former world middleweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 to conquer a heavyweight title.”
In the unpredictable world of boxing we know sometimes great fighters deteriorate (almost) without warning. Consider the following: Jones began fighting professionally in 1989 and had lost only once—and that was by disqualification to Montel Griffin, in 1997—before fighting Antonio Tarver, in 2004, whom he had already beaten. In the rematch Tarver stopped him in the second round. Four months later veteran Glen Johnson knocked him out in the ninth round. In 2005 he lost again to Tarver, this time by unanimous decision.
In 2006, 2007, and 2008 the once dominant Jones won three fights, but when he faced the hugely talented Joe Calzaghe, at MSG in 2008, he lost a unanimous decision. He won two fights in 2009 but later that year Danny Green stopped him, Bernard Hopkins defeated him by decision the following year, and Denis Lebedev kayoed him in 2011. According to boxrec.com, after the defeat by Lededev, Jones won thirteen of fourteen fights, his only loss a devastating kayo to Enzo Maccarinelli in 2015. After defeating Scott Sigmon in 2018, it appears Jones has retired.
A member of the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Roger Zotti is a regular contributor to the IBRO Journal. He’s the author of two books about boxing, Friday Night World and The Proper Pugilist. Email him at rogerzotti@aol.com