WPCNR PRESS ROW. By Johnny Cannon. February 2, 2005, UPDATED Feb 3, 2005, 11:45 A.M. with Card:

DONG! DONG! DONG!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Westchester County Center, the East Coast’s Premier Palace of Pugilism, The Canvas Cathedral of the Fistic Arts, Northeast Promotions and Irish Ropes Boxing present “The Night of Future Champions,” Friday night at 7:30 P.M. (NOT 8)  featuring in the Main Event, the up-and-coming undefeated Irish Icon, with 7 knockouts in 7 fights, John Duddy of County Derry, Ireland in an 8 Round match against 8-1-1 Middeweight, Larry Vaughn, of Houston, Texas.

Friday night's card  features Women’s Boxing matching White Plains’ own Ann Marie Saccurato, the National Women’s Golden Gloves Champion of 2001, undefeated in 9 fights with 3 KOs. Plus The Bronx’s own Joey Rios, and Russell Jordan, and “The Damager,” Queen’s own Max Daguzian.

COUNTY CENTER, WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, converts to a boxing ring Friday night with seven big fights. The first fights in the Center in 10 years. The fighters look it over.  Photo by WPCNR Sports

“Good Evening everyone, this is Howard Rosell, ringside at the County Center, where we have for you 7 thrilla’s featuring the lean, the muscled, the hungry, the hard-hitting, serious mean fighters on the way up trying to get a piece of the brass ring of life, fighting their way up out of the mean streets, training in gyms pungent with the reek of linament, sweat and testosterone under the watchful eye of dedicated trainers teaching them the art of defense, the combinations and the discipline to fight through to the top of the world’s toughest profession.

Tougher than professional football with no faceguards, no pads to save you from punishment. Where you’re only as good as your cutman and as tough as your heart, these young bulls and million dollar babies live to compete, ladies and gentlemen, and it is my pleasure to be handling the color tonight, along with my ring partner, the man whose voice sounds like a fist, the legendary, Deadend Dunphy, Donderoo?”

(Legendary Fightcaster, Deadend Dunphy appears on camera)

“Thank you Howard, and welcome to the ancient art deco arena, the Westchester County Center home to boxing since the 1930s, the first Center fight in 10 years.  It’s filling up to the balcony in an anticipation of our first bout. Tonight we’ll be seeing flashing middleweight, lightweights, welterweight and a classic women’s event. We’ll be scoring on the 10-point must system.

But, I don't think we’re going to see these fights go far. These are kids trying to get a piece of the boxing action. Big wins here in the eye of the big apple mean a lot to these fighters. They’re young, hard and mean, superbly trained, fearless. I don’t expect long fights, many of these fighters have not tasted losses and will be facing their stiffest tests to date. The typewriters are clattering on press row. The cigar smoke is floating over the ring. The first fighters are in their corners. Let’s go to the referee for his instructions to the fighters."

DONG! DONG! DONG!

Remember how it was decades ago? When Gillette’s Cavalcade of Sports with its jaunty "To Look Sharp" theme (parodied in our headline), presented the Friday Night Fights on NBC?

Westchester County Executive Andy Spano remembers. He’s from the Bronx, and on Friday nights he said his dad used to take him to the old fights at the County Center. Spano, said at the news conference announcing this Friday's  fights, it was his dream to bring back that tradition. Promoter Ron Katz, right, former matchmaker for Top Rank Boxing, said they were looking to draw at least 1,500 to 2,000 fans to the fights to make the concept viable. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

Well this Friday night, Westchester County’s Department of Recreation and Parks is bringing the “Friday Night Fights” back to the County Center in attempt to revive with Northeast Promotions, the boxing tradition at the County Center with seven fights beginning at 7:30 P.M. (Not 8 as reported previously.) 

Tickets are priced from $75 ringside to $40 Reserved and $25 general admission. For tickets call the County Center or Ticketmaster.

Now, Howard Rosell.

Now back to Howard at ringside with one of the fighters on tonight’s card, born-and-raised White Plains baby, Ann Marie Saccurato before the events get under way. Down to you, Howard.

Thank you, Ed Herlihy, this is your repawta, Howard Rosell, reporting for WPCNR, "Bringing the Sports Back Live” with me at ringside (DONG! DONG! DONG!) is White Plains’ Ann Marie Saccurato, she's a former kickboxer, and the toughest resident on White Plains North End. She works as personal trainer by day, and trains at New York Boxing Gym in Yonkers. Ann Marie, what got you started in boxing?”

Ann Marie Saccurato, toughest woman in White Plains North End. Ann at 7-0-2 will be fighting Victoria Cisneros of Albaquerque NY. Vickie is 3-1. Friday Night. Photo by WPCNR SPORTS.

“I’ve been a competitor all my life. I’ve been an athlete, and I’ve always been looking for more, to push myself harder, and I  found more of that edge in boxing. I actually started in martial arts, and TKD (Tae Kwan Do) for about a year or so. A friend sent me a flyer for the New York Golden Gloves, and I ignorantly, and very naively entered. I did a crash course on boxing and ended up getting a bye into the finals. Lost in the finals, but that ended up propelling my boxing career. I fell in love with the sport. It’s pushed me harder more than anything I’ve done in my life.”

“I’ve had three knockouts, a couple of close fights, two draws.”

How did you turn pro?

“After I won the Golden Gloves, the gentleman I was with at the time brought up the idea of me turning pro. I thought about it awhile and decided it was something I was interested in doing, because women’s boxing was not in the Olympics at that time. If it was, I would have stayed amateur. They are trying to bring it in to the 2008 Olympics, which I would like to be a part of. I ended up hooking up with  (Trainer) Luigi Olcese. Luigi helps me out a lot. He’s been my rock through all of this. He’s helped me out financially a great deal. Unfortunately, in women’s boxing you don’t get paid the same, as much as a lot of the guys do.  We’re working on that, trying to make strides. Hopefully this will be another stride closer to crossing the equality line between women and the guys.

Where is Women's Boxing Today?

        "Right now the only people who make money in the sport for women are Christi Martin, Lucy Riker. Hopefully, we’re trying to bring women’s boxing more to the forefront, get more support, more respect and make strides that way.”

       What’s next for women’s boxing, Annie?

      “Right now they’re running a card out of Vegas, I believe, and I’m trying to do one in Florida, representing all of the top female fighters, an all female card. So that’s  just starting. Hopefully they’re all steps in the right direction really propelling the sport, along with the movie that’s out right now Million Dollar Baby.”

        What kind of fight are you going to give us tonight, Ann Marie Saccurato?

        “You’re going to see a lot of excitement. You’re going to see all the boxing. You’re going to see the footwork. You’re going to see the dancing. Especially if you’re going to come and see me fight. I can dance with the best in my heels, but I’m a fighter. A fighter’s a fighter, a boxer’s a boxer.”

         Now, let’s go to Deadend Dunphy, who’s with Super Lightweight Jose Rios of The Bronx who’ll be fighting Chad Lawshe of Mobile on Friday night’s card:

         Thank you Howard,  Jose you were born and raised in the Throgs Neck section of The Bronx, was it tough?

JOSE RIOS. Photo, Courtesy, Northeast Promotions.

         “Everywhere you go, it’s tough. It’s what you make of it.”

          How did you get into the fights?

          “When I was young, I thought I was a little tough guy in school. And in school, when you fight, you get in trouble. In the ring, you get bumps and bruises and you bleed and when you hit somebody back and you hurt them. It was O.K. It was actually what the coaches like I was drawn to that. Not only that. I saw how it was a family environment in the gym. It was fun to be there. It taught me just so much. How to be a man. Self-respect. Discipline.”

         Who first noticed you?

          “My trainer, Angel Alejandro. Before we started boxing together, he was a neighbor in my building, we lived together. He asked me to come down to the basement where they used to open up a little room, have kids box. Teach them and train them. He put me to fight. He saw my talent. He said, this kid has something. He brought me to the gym and then, forget it ever since then it’s history.”

           What’s your training discipline?

           “Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays we do heavy sparring sessions. No running. On days I have off we do a tremendous workout. We do roadwork early in the morning for an hour and a half. We do 2 to 3 hours in the gym off heavy bag, rope, calisthenics everything you could possibly think of. And on Saturdays, I go up into the mountains and I run. Boxing is my fulltime job now.”

           How do you get paid?

           “I have a sponsor Rusty Ansell who’s helping me out, so I am getting through the weeks, anything I need he provides. He’s in Ocala, Florida. He saw me at the Golden Gloves.”

           Now to Howard and  The Damager, Max Daguzian of Queens, who will be in his second professional fight Friday night after a draw in his first outing. He'll be fighting Chad Lawshe, Super Lightweight out of Mobile, at 8-3 with 3 KOs.  Howard?

           Max, you’re new to the fight game, how did you like your first fight in Middletown, New York, three months ago?

           “The first one was fantastic. The crowd reacted awesome. I just loved it. It was a beautiful experience. Something new. Hopefully I’ll fight at least eight fights a year.”

           Isn’t that a lot of wear and tear on the body?

            “No, not really. As long as I train right, eat right, think right. I train about five days a week. Give my body some rest.”

           Do you have a sponsor?

           “I’m gonna make a name for myself.”

           How did you get into the fight game?

           “Basically, my brother used to box. He was boxing out of Beststyle Boxing Center, he brought me into the gym and I took it on from there. I won the Gloves, won the (New York State) Empires (Games), went on to the regionals, fell short in the nationals in the U.S. championships. I was so close to making the Olympics, but I fell short (in 2000). I took a four year layoff. It’s a motivator. You got to do better.You can’t quit. Always, always, it’s always like that. Someone’s always trying to drag you down. Someone is always trying to take away your confidence But you know what, only you can build up that confidence. Only you can do it, because you feel what you feel.”

            What’s your best punch?

            “My left hook. Everybody’s going to recognize Max Daguzian. The Damager. I’m mentally ready. I’m focused. I’ve got my eyes on the prize. I’m a very gentleperson outside the ring.”

            We’ll be looking for that left hook, Max, now sending it back up to Deadend Dunphy with Middleweight from Ireland, fighting for the first time in the U.S.,  IRISH John Duddy.

Irish John Duddy. Photo, Courtesy Northeast Promotions.

             Thank you Howard. Johnny what brought you to America?

             “Looking at professionals back home (in County Derry) in England and Ireland. In America, over the centuries you have the best boxers, the best coaches, and I think the best way to get to the top is to get on and mix it with the best, learn with the best and that’s why I’ve come to America for.”

               How do you like America so far? And, as you can tell by the accent, he’s really Irish, folks:

             “I think it’s fantastic. I currently train at Irish Ropes Boxing Club in Far Rockaway (Queens), Eddie McLoughlin. He’s the one who brought me over here and opened the door for me. Since I’ve come here, I feel like I have to pinch myself every once in a while because it feels like a dream come true. I’m loving the life of a professional fighter. I’ve had seven KO’s, 5 in the first round.

             I’m getting a great (box) office. They’re getting great numbers for every event that I house. My coach Harry Keith. He’s working with me every day. I’m training at Gleason’s Gym. Rubbing shoulders with the greats. If I don’t get there, I think this is the best opportunity that I have to get closer.”

               What do you like about boxing?

               “I love the attention. When I’m in that ring,  people are there to see me. Whenever my hand gets lifted up at the end of the fight, that crowd is cheering for me.That is the greatest experience I have so far. The love of the game. I’m trying to prove to myself how good I am. This is what I’m going to find out.”

                What’s your routine during the week?

                 “Jogging at 6 o’clock in the morning, about 6 miles. At 10 o’clock, I jump a train and go to Irish Ropes or Gleason’s to do me training sessions. After that I’m becoming a great house mom, I clean the house and do the dishes and laundry for my girl friend because she be away working. It’s not that exciting a life. But it’s my dream come true. I’ve been given the opportunity to eat sleep and talk boxing and I’m just thankful for having the opportunity to be here.”

                 Do you scout your opponents?

                 “We do get films of our opponents.  My people are going to be looking at it. They’ll work on it. We’ll leave it to them to ask the questions and I’ll answer them in the ring. I just looking forward to the experience.”

                 What’s your best punch?

                  “My left hook. I throw a lot of combinations. I’m very busy. Very forward, a very aggressive fighter so I don’t concentrate on landing any one single punch. I just try and get off as many as possible, a lot of combinations. I’m a good both-handed fighter so right hand or left hand, whatever. Hopefully I’ll put on a good show.”

                 Well, there you have it Howard, and we’re just about ready for the first round and the fighter introductions.

Yesteryear Lives Once More Friday night.

Well, Howard and Don Dunphy are gone, but that was the flavor of the Friday night fights. This Friday, White Plains and all of the tri-state  get to see boxing come back to the arena that recalls the feel of St. Nicholas Arena, Sunnyside Gardens, the 69^th Regimental Armory, and of course, the old 8^th Avenue Madison Square garden, where balconies hung over the ring bringing you close enough to hear the punishing slap of glove on jaw, heavy pounding bodywork and  be close enough to see the spit fly out of a fighter’s mouth from a right cross landing, and see the gleam of blood over a cut eye.

The County Center, St. Nick’s, Sunnyside. Those were places to fight. Not those glamour palaces in Vegas or the Boardwalk. The ticketsellers were ugly and mean. The aficionados of the cruel sport were mean. It was a man’s world, that women loved to go to and show off. 

Because there’s always something about a good fight. The shine of sweat on a naked torso. The baring of a mouthpiece of the fighter before he danced to the center of the ring. The deft work of trainers in the corner, working on cuts. Pouring water over a drenched sweaty fighter's face.

There was the fight announcements ritual, that I parodied at the top of this column.

The fighters making their way to the ring in satin robes with their names on the backs, like “Lewis,” “Sugar Ray,” “Dempsey,” “Marciano.” There were the women of the fights, beautiful showpieces brought by rich powerful men who paid $100s of dollars for their ringside seats for the privilege of having spit blood and the smells of sweating desperate men trying to hurt each other in their nostrils.

Friday, the County Center brings it all back.

You won’t see the pall of  the legendary cigar smoke  hanging in rafters. You won't see the fast-talking wiseguy sportswriters with panatellas hanging from their pecking fingers of flash-typing on their portables. There won't be a lot of white-shirted, bow-tied reporters in cheap suits with straw and felt fedoras perched back on their heads who used to crowd press row ringside. There will be no sounds of hot lead copy clattering out on rows of Smith Corona typewriters, with all the staccato rat-tat-tat of a Sugar Ray combination. All the while they were writing, the "scribes" would be  chain-gulping coffee with press cards stuck in their hat bands, with Lucky’s hanging out of their mouths. (The County Center is smoke-free. We’ll miss that.)

I loved the blow-by-blow by the great Don Dumphy, who delivered "the punch-by-punch" in front of a microphone that looked like a microphone, none of this headset crap, whose raspy turse delivery sounded like a flurry of punches and had the grit that sounded like a fight – just as Mel Allen sounded like baseball was.

But the gong will be there. The bow-tied referee, and please, can the ring announcer wear a tuxedo? Can please, can the mike be lowered from the ceiling? There will be beautiful Ring Girls, too to announce the rounds.

Now back to Deadend Dunphy for the first round.

“The fighters are leaving their corners. Saccurato circling her opponent, light on her feet, lean meanlooking tough, she moves in, very aggressively going after her opponent on the ropes now delivering a left to the body, a right. Her opponent ties her up. Right away Saccurato is coming out, just as she said she would.

Circling each other now. Here comes Saccurato again with a flurry to the head. Oh a solid right, counter punch caught her unawares, staggering her. She parries ties up. Dances back and lands a devasting upper cut to the jaw, a right cross, and misses a haymaker with a left...

Boxing. It’s back!

For latest information go to www.nepboxing.com. Or Call the County Center for ticket information at 914-995-4050, or order through Ticketmaster.

The Sweet Science Returns to the Cathedral of the Fistic Arts. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

845-454-3388.

	Night of Future Champions Bout Card (ORDER OF BOUTS TO BE ANNOUNCED)
Bout #1					8 Rounds
John Duddy Name Larry Vaughn Middleweight (160) Weight Middleweight 7-0     7KO’s Record 8-1-1     4KO’s County Derry , Ireland Hometown Houston , TX
Bout #2				8 Rounds
Joey Rios Name Chad Lawshe Super Lightweight (140) Weight Super Lightweight 9-0     5KO’s Record 8-3     3KO’s Bronx , NY Hometown Mobile , AL
Bout #3				6 Rounds
Russell Jordan Name Darian Ford Welterweight (147) Weight Welterweight 8-2     5KO’s Record 10-7     4KO Rochester , NY Hometown New Orleans , LA
Bout #4				4 Rounds
Max Daguzian Name Hassan Wassawa Super Bantamweight (122) Weight Super Bantamweight 0-0-1     Record 2-2-1 Queens Related Links · More about Sports · News by jfbailey Most read story about Sports: Hudson Hills Golf Course Debuts Tuesday Article Rating Average Score: 0 Votes: 0 Please take a second and vote for this article: Options    Printer Friendly Page    Send to a Friend

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