Goodbye to Arizona

Goodbye to Arizona By 2005 Arizona was very much the Helpdesk State, whatever hold the Grand Canyon still had on tourists’ imaginations, and a few wiseasses in a Tempe call center said we should change the state bird from a Cactus Wren to a Head Set. One such chap was Bob Benedetti. He started a local sports portal, named it Bob44.com and asked me to write for him. So began my tenure as an Arizona boxing writer – a journey rife with pleasant surprises. The boxing-writing part of that journey continues so long as you read me. The Arizona part, though, concludes Feb. 1, the day I move to San Antonio, Tex. What follows, then, is a meandering tour of the last five years of Grand Canyon State boxing. Please join me. In March of my first year, Arizona boxing had attached its fortunes to a former U.S. amateur champion readying for his 15th professional fight under Top Rank’s banner. Jesus “El Martillo” Gonzales was 14-0 (9 KOs) and expected someday to approach the fame and accomplishments of Michael Carbajal – whose shadow always looms over local prizefighting. I visited Central Boxing Gym, learned Gonzales’ training schedule and returned the next day to interview both Jesus and his father and trainer, Ernie Sr. A week later MaxBoxing.com’s Thomas Gerbasi wrote a Tuesday profile of “El Terrible” Esdrick Isaac Morales, and I sent him an email inquiring about boxing writing. He replied quickly and generously, even encouraging me to pursue a credential for Gonzales’ next fight. A month later Top Rank’s Lee Samuels introduced me to local rep Phil Soto who gave me that credential. That year there were 23 fight cards in Arizona. Top Rank – doing business with local promoter Peter McKinn – staged about a dozen. Startup outfit Golden Boy Promotions did six of their own in Tucson. But Top Rank’s interest in Arizona boxing crashed Sept. 17, 2005. That night, the last of the “Adiós” cards featuring Julio Cesar Chavez, saw Jesus Gonzales ruined by Jose Luis Zertuche – just before Ernie Sr. punched McKinn – then Chavez blame a broken hand for his fifth-round surrender to Grover Wiley, and finally Michael Carbajal escorted from the premises by security. Bob Arum was ringside. “¡Adiós Phoenix!” indeed. Along the way, though, I met John Raygoza – the owner of 15rounds.com and author of the first piece I read about “El Martillo.” John invited me to Tucson where I met Desert Diamond Casino’s excellent staff. Six weeks after Top Rank said adiós, Golden Boy returned to Tucson to make its most ambitious desert show, “Boxing World Cup” – a 50-round monster between Mexico and Thailand. The following March, with Bob Benedetti’s encouragement, I started writing for 15rounds.com. Two months later undefeated cruiserweight BJ Flores rented Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, home of the Arizona State Fair, and made a card the late Norman Mailer might have called “Advertisements for Himself.” Phil Soto, who handled seating for Flores, put me on the canvas next to The Arizona Republic’s scribe – some guy named Frauenheim. I spent the next 150 minutes laughing at 30 years’ worth of stories. That month, the median value of a Phoenix home was $330,320. Towards the end of 2006, the end of Arizona as a boxing destination became apparent. Don King made his last visit in the fall, staging “Red November: The Hunt for the White Wolf” on the pitcher’s mound at Chase Field. Liakhovich-Briggs, the main event, followed the worst 35:30 of heavyweight championship boxing with perhaps its most suspenseful conclusion when Shannon Briggs knocked Sergei Liakhovich onto the scorer’s table at 2:59 of the last round. Golden Boy Promotions used Desert Diamond as a Plan-B venue 364 days later, bringing Juan Manuel Marquez and Rocky Juarez to the southern desert after lagging ticket sales, er, an injury to Marquez’s knuckle, knocked the fight out of Las Vegas. But by then Arizona’s economy was in free-fall. Frightened Arizonans did what frightened Americans always do in bad economic times: Blame the immigrants. A novel law got passed, work visas became mandatory for Mexican fighters, and one year later matchmaker Eric Gomez called Arizona the hardest place to put a boxing card. Showdown Promotions made a noble effort to resurrect prizefighting with a Gila River Casino card in the fall of 2008. Ivaylo Gotzev promised a rising Phoenix 13 months later. Fact remained, though, that in the four years since 2005, Arizona boxing had gone from 23 cards to eight – with only half comprising more than four fights. This month the median value of a Phoenix home is $177,000. That’s 46 percent less than it was in 2006. You can imagine what such a reversal has done to the mortgage offices, restaurants, car dealerships and banks that employed Arizona fight fans. Golden Boy Promotions’ last Tucson card was possibly the worst in “Friday Night Fights” history. Peter McKinn spent some of his fall in Fourth Avenue Jail. And BoxingTalk.com reports Ivaylo Gotzev filed for bankruptcy two months after “Phoenix Rising.” Arizona boxing deserved better. As I leave for the Lone Star State, though, let me acknowledge some friends. All the best to my three favorite local fighters – two of whom try never to fight locally – Donnie Orr, BJ Flores and Juanito Garcia. Many thanks to the good folks at SIMG in Tucson. Thanks for the good chats to Showdown’s Gerry Truax. And for providing my first credential, and being a first-rate person, Phil Soto, especially, has my gratitude. Finally, the writers: Keep your eye on Albert Alvarez at DiamondBoxing.com. Know that there isn’t a finer, or funnier, baseball writer on the wire than the AP’s Andy Bagnato. If ever you’re in southern Arizona, get a copy of the Green Valley News; Nick Prevenas is Arizona sportswriting’s best- kept secret. And that guy named Frauenheim? Turns out he’s a legend of sorts. You can find him here every Friday. See you guys at the Alamodome. Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry.

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