Steve Bunce explains it all…
YOU are a little lighter in the dark. In the boxing business there is always a need for a silly story, a story that makes people smile rather than choke. I think I’ve found one to escape the gloom of last week. And a man made me chuckle.
This is from one of my dead friends. A real no-nonsense man of the boxing world named George Kimball. He once left a nice bad message at 3 a.m., when he watched a clip of me complimenting someone new. He follows the boxing press with a sharp eye and an even sharper tongue; he can also write amazing stuff.
It’s 2005, it’s Baghdad and Don King is determined to deliver a war to American troops in the Middle East. It was a glorious piece of King’s hope and hype.
“I intend to answer the President’s call and do all I can to support our military,” King pledged, waving his flag.
Kimball joked that Saddam Hussein, who was on trial at the time of King’s plan, complained that he was being tortured when he had to watch the full 12 rounds of Nikolay Valuev and John Ruiz. “No American has to watch this battle – why should I?” Hussein asked in Kimball’s column. Obviously, dictators never say such things.
The fight between Ruiz and Valuev dates back to a bad time in the heavyweight division. King has worked with both Ruiz and Valuev.
In June of this year in Miami, King told me about his daring plan to host a world heavyweight title fight in Ukraine. Sadly, for the global advertising king, his champion, Trevor Bryan, was leveled by Daniel Dubois.
King in his travels did business with everyone. Power-hungry, rulers, and crooked government officials all sat down to dinner to flirt with the King and his contenders. It’s just business.
King added: “I plan to hold exhibition matches in Iraq to showcase the skills of many great champions from the world of boxing. “It will be a historic, unforgettable event. I would even hold a real championship match if I could. ”
King is not allowed.
Kimball was happy with the idea of the King, but another Baghdad story let him down. Kimball had no time for a man named Maurice “Termite” Watkins. I don’t like Watkins.
Watkins’ story is a real distraction, a story of pure prodigiousness. Kimball didn’t have any part of it and called Watkins a “harmful”. I met Termite in 2004 while he was at the Fitzroy Lodge gym in south London. He was there under very special measures.
Let me retell the story a bit and provide some background on Kimball’s thoughts and feelings. Big George is not a lover of war. Watkins hasn’t been an Olympic national boxing coach since 1972, when Terry Spinks was in charge of the Korean boxing team.
Watkins was the coach of the Iraqi national team and at the 2004 Athens Olympics, there was only one boxer, Najah Ali. Kimball thought it was a political stunt, he hated the way it was presented as a kind of free expression; it was seen as a victory against the evil of the Hussein regime. I met Watkins and liked him – George put me in the right place!
Watkins used to do pest control work in Baghdad and began training survivors. It was an act of bravery by Watkins, who could never accompany the warriors but always had to take his own vehicle. He still lost some of the fighters he was working with. It was a deadly place in 2003.
Kimball believes it was all a publicity stunt and that the Iraqi fighters were simply not good enough; Finally, Ali was given a position. By the way, he’s not bad. In my opinion, it’s a story that feels good and not such a disgusting piece of propaganda. Ali won and then lost.
There is a slight twist to the story of Termites. He’s not just a leader, chasing big dollars to kill rats in the danger zone. No, he fought for the world title in Las Vegas on Muhammad Ali’s card. I never saw that person come when I was first told his story. Watkins is a true martial artist. And ended his career with just five losses in 69 games. King, incidentally, was the promoter that night in Las Vegas.
Watkins lost to Saoul Mamby for the WBC lightweight belt in 15 rounds on the night of 1980 when Ali lost to Larry Holmes, in an embarrassing heavyweight title fight. That’s good news, Mamby could actually fight back – even George admits it. However, Watkins also tells many war stories; Humvee crashing at 100 mph in the desert, suicide bomb attacks, near miss when gun goes off. There are only so many trifles that a glorious skeptic like Kimball can grieve. In 2020, Sly Stallone’s company, Balboa Productions, is in talks with Termite about a movie. However, even I realized that Brad Pitt wanted to be in the lead role.
I still think George is a bit harsh on spoilers and rat-catchers; It was clear that working in a bombed and damaged gymnasium in Baghdad during the American occupation was very dangerous. Sure, Termite can tell a story, but then he has a few to tell. From Caesars to the center of Baghdad is quite a journey. It was one of the schemes that Don King had planned but failed.
