The first fight on March 30 between light heavyweight contenders Isaac Chilemba and Tony Bellew ended in a disputed and unsatisfying draw. The two men will battle once again on May 25, this time at the O2 Arena in London, England.
In the first fight, Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KOs) began aggressively, but he wasn't able to touch Chilemba (20-1-2, 9 KOs) because of Isaac's slippery defense. Chilemba got off to a slow start offensively and didn't begin to fire with any regularity until the seventh round. Isaac admitted afterwards that he caught the flu two days before the fight, which may have hampered his offense.
But Chilemba is a slow-starter even when healthy, a habit he will have to break for this bout. The man from Malawi does have a tendency to finish strong, which will help him in a scheduled twelve round affair. The key for Chilemba in the rematch will be to keep his punch output up throughout the bout. He was at his best when coming forward and, once Bellew developed respect for Isaac's power in second half of their first fight, Tony was hesitant to unleash his punches.
Bellew will need to jab early and often, a punch he surprisingly failed to use in their first match. Chilemba is too cagey on defense, so Bellew will need to aim that jab at his opponent's chest to slow him down. The first fight showed that Bellew won't be successful if he tries to rough up Chilemba or tries to load up for a big shot. By jabbing to the chest and cutting off the ring, Bellew will hope to keep Chilemba stationary enough to land his more powerful right hand.
At today's press conference, Chilemba was gracious, "I thank Tony for taking the rematch, being strong about it." He added, "I believe I won the fight last time. I'm not here to defeat Tony, I'm here to defeat my own performance I put up last time."
Bellew said he was "looking forward" to the rematch. Yesterday, he told Sky Sports, "To make a great fight happen it takes two to tangle and it takes two guys who really want to make a fight. I am willing to play my part in it. It is whether he is willing to play his part. The real difference on the night is my output and this time I’m not going to stop after seven." The implication is that Bellew would prefer a brawl and was frustrated by Chilemba's boxing the first time around.
Since the first fight, both boxers' stock has fallen a smidgen. The Transnational Boxing Rankings has Chilemba as the tenth best man in the division while Bellew is just out of the top ten (Chilemba was ninth and Bellew tenth before their first fight). But The Ring has Chilemba rated at number seven and Bellew at eight (Chilemba was seventh and Bellew ninth before their first fight).
The winner will still earn a title shot against the recognized light heavyweight world champion. Chad Dawson, the champion, is scheduled to face hard-punching Adonis Stevenson on June 8.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
A Look Back: Artie Levine
In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will offer monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.
Artie Levine, an extremely hard puncher, engaged in over 70 fights during his career, but, above all else, he is remembered for one second of action in the ring. In that one second, he knocked down Sugar Ray Robinson with a left hook.
Born on January 26, 1925, Arthur L. LeVien grew up in Brooklyn, New York the youngest of seven children. His father was Jewish, but his mother wasn't. In 1946, Artie met a Jewish woman named Mimi at a social club in Brooklyn and a fell in love. Mimi and her family were concerned that Artie's mother wasn't Jewish. So he went to a mikvah and was circumcised. Artie told Allen Bodner about the experience:
"I had my pecker, I couldn't use it for a month. I had gotten married a couple of days later. I was incapacitated; it was terrible. I had about half an inch cut."
Artie injured himself playing football when he was 13 years old. His doctor recommended that he work out his leg in a local gym, where Artie cultivated a love of boxing. He entered professional boxing as a 16-year old in 1941 and used the surname Levine. He attempted to keep his new profession secret from his parents as long as possible. While he described his parents' economic status as "quite comfortable"- a rare condition for a boxer's family- he admitted that he became a boxer to earn money. But Levine later regretted the decision, saying, "I should have stayed in school is what I should have done. Stayed in school, gone to college, which I could have done."
Levine showed his ability to swat from the get-go. He stopped his opponent inside of two rounds in five of his first seven bouts, although he wasn't exactly facing world-beaters. He suffered only one defeat in his first 26 fights; all before the age of 18. Artie's trainer was Charley Goldman, who later trained Rocky Marciano. Levine fought mostly in New Jersey and near Goldman's Massachusetts base because Artie's home state didn't license boxers until they turned 18.
Levine described himself as possessing "two left feet." But his left hook was legendary. Truth be told, Levine had power in either hand. An attractive man, his long straight nose belied the fact that his defense wasn't impenetrable. He stood 5'9" and began his career at 140 pounds, eventually making his way up to middleweight.
In 1943, Levine joined the marines and fought only one bout from July 1943 until May 1944. Artie adopted the nickname "The Fighting Marine," which matched perfectly with the rhythm of his name and the controlled ferociousness with which he fought. He left the service in 1945.
Artie faced increasingly better opposition before taking on Jimmy Doyle on March 11, 1946. Doyle, who Levine called a great fighter, managed to reach Levine's face often during the first eight rounds, but in the ninth, Levine knocked Doyle down three times and gave him a concussion.
Robert Sacci wrote that referee Jackie Davis "should have stopped it, but he was too busy tallying up points, judging the fight." Doyle died a day after facing Sugar Ray Robinson in 1949 and, according to Sacci, the Levine fight may have softened him up. Levine told Bodner, "I knocked him out in the ninth, and he nearly died in the ring on me... It destroyed me in boxing. I lost my killer instinct after that."
Eight months and eight fights later, Levine faced Sugar Ray Robinson, widely recognized as the greatest boxer who ever lived. Artie entered Cleveland's Arena as a 4-1 underdog on November 6, 1946 with the great Ray Arcel in his corner. In the fateful fourth, Levine landed a right cross that threw Robinson into his own corner. Levine wailed away but couldn't touch Robinson until he opened up with a left hook that crashed down on the point of Robinson's chin.
Robinson was down and virtually out. Referee Jackie Davis, the same man who failed to stop Artie's bout with Doyle on time, marched Levine over to a neutral corner. Davis sauntered back to Sugar and incorrectly started his count at one. Robinson was in such bad condition that he didn't rise until the count of nine.
Twenty seconds had passed from the moment Robinson had slumped to the canvas and the moment he rose. Thomas Hauser wrote that it was "a quintessential 'long count'." Robinson later noted that Levine's left hook was the hardest he had even been hit.
Robinson wrote of Levine's power in his autobiography that after his trainer told him, "The eighth round is next, Robinson." Ray retorted, "The eighth? I thought it was the fourth." Robinson added, "That's how Artie Levine could scramble your brains." Robinson wrote that Levine had landed his lethal left hook in the fifth, but, as mentioned, the blow came in the fourth, yet another way Levine could scramble your brains.
Robinson was tagged and staggered with a left hook again in the ninth round. In the tenth, Sugar hit Artie with a left hook to the body. Levine retreated the ropes where Robinson rained punches on him. Levine finally fell back and sat on the bottom rope where the referee counted him out in ten seconds.
Two fights later, Levine took on Herbie Kronowitz at Madison Square Garden. Kronowitz boxed well early, but a right smashed into Kronowitz's chin in the fourth round. From that point on, Kronowitz was more careful. Levine won a unanimous decision with three scores of 6-3-1, although Herbie thought he deserved the victory.
From that point, Levine only went 5-5 in what would be his last ten career fights. His last bout took place in 1949. Artie ended with a record of 52-15-5 with 36 KOs. After his career, Levine, who made good money inside the ring, owned a meat business and later sold cars. He was also a boxing judge in the 1980s and was ringside as late as 2004. After his first wife died, he married a non-Jewish woman, which was a source of tension between Artie and his children. As Bodner writes, "So Artie Levine, the non-Jew who married a Jew, became the Jew who married a non-Jew."
Artie died on January 13, 2012.
Bibliography
Bodner, Allen. When Boxing was a Jewish Sport. 1997.
"Brooklyn Boxer Floors Robinson for Nine Count." Toledo Blade. November 7, 1946.
Hauser, Thomas. "Sugar Ray Revisited." SecondsOut.com.
Robinson, Sugar Ray. Sugar Ray. 1969, 1970.
Royal, Cliff. "The Club-House." Times Daily. December 8, 1945.
Sacci, Robert. Friday's Heroes: Willie Pep Remembers. 2008.
Artie Levine, an extremely hard puncher, engaged in over 70 fights during his career, but, above all else, he is remembered for one second of action in the ring. In that one second, he knocked down Sugar Ray Robinson with a left hook.
Born on January 26, 1925, Arthur L. LeVien grew up in Brooklyn, New York the youngest of seven children. His father was Jewish, but his mother wasn't. In 1946, Artie met a Jewish woman named Mimi at a social club in Brooklyn and a fell in love. Mimi and her family were concerned that Artie's mother wasn't Jewish. So he went to a mikvah and was circumcised. Artie told Allen Bodner about the experience:
"I had my pecker, I couldn't use it for a month. I had gotten married a couple of days later. I was incapacitated; it was terrible. I had about half an inch cut."
Artie injured himself playing football when he was 13 years old. His doctor recommended that he work out his leg in a local gym, where Artie cultivated a love of boxing. He entered professional boxing as a 16-year old in 1941 and used the surname Levine. He attempted to keep his new profession secret from his parents as long as possible. While he described his parents' economic status as "quite comfortable"- a rare condition for a boxer's family- he admitted that he became a boxer to earn money. But Levine later regretted the decision, saying, "I should have stayed in school is what I should have done. Stayed in school, gone to college, which I could have done."
Levine showed his ability to swat from the get-go. He stopped his opponent inside of two rounds in five of his first seven bouts, although he wasn't exactly facing world-beaters. He suffered only one defeat in his first 26 fights; all before the age of 18. Artie's trainer was Charley Goldman, who later trained Rocky Marciano. Levine fought mostly in New Jersey and near Goldman's Massachusetts base because Artie's home state didn't license boxers until they turned 18.
Levine described himself as possessing "two left feet." But his left hook was legendary. Truth be told, Levine had power in either hand. An attractive man, his long straight nose belied the fact that his defense wasn't impenetrable. He stood 5'9" and began his career at 140 pounds, eventually making his way up to middleweight.
In 1943, Levine joined the marines and fought only one bout from July 1943 until May 1944. Artie adopted the nickname "The Fighting Marine," which matched perfectly with the rhythm of his name and the controlled ferociousness with which he fought. He left the service in 1945.
Artie faced increasingly better opposition before taking on Jimmy Doyle on March 11, 1946. Doyle, who Levine called a great fighter, managed to reach Levine's face often during the first eight rounds, but in the ninth, Levine knocked Doyle down three times and gave him a concussion.
Robert Sacci wrote that referee Jackie Davis "should have stopped it, but he was too busy tallying up points, judging the fight." Doyle died a day after facing Sugar Ray Robinson in 1949 and, according to Sacci, the Levine fight may have softened him up. Levine told Bodner, "I knocked him out in the ninth, and he nearly died in the ring on me... It destroyed me in boxing. I lost my killer instinct after that."
Eight months and eight fights later, Levine faced Sugar Ray Robinson, widely recognized as the greatest boxer who ever lived. Artie entered Cleveland's Arena as a 4-1 underdog on November 6, 1946 with the great Ray Arcel in his corner. In the fateful fourth, Levine landed a right cross that threw Robinson into his own corner. Levine wailed away but couldn't touch Robinson until he opened up with a left hook that crashed down on the point of Robinson's chin.
Robinson was down and virtually out. Referee Jackie Davis, the same man who failed to stop Artie's bout with Doyle on time, marched Levine over to a neutral corner. Davis sauntered back to Sugar and incorrectly started his count at one. Robinson was in such bad condition that he didn't rise until the count of nine.
Twenty seconds had passed from the moment Robinson had slumped to the canvas and the moment he rose. Thomas Hauser wrote that it was "a quintessential 'long count'." Robinson later noted that Levine's left hook was the hardest he had even been hit.
Robinson wrote of Levine's power in his autobiography that after his trainer told him, "The eighth round is next, Robinson." Ray retorted, "The eighth? I thought it was the fourth." Robinson added, "That's how Artie Levine could scramble your brains." Robinson wrote that Levine had landed his lethal left hook in the fifth, but, as mentioned, the blow came in the fourth, yet another way Levine could scramble your brains.
Robinson was tagged and staggered with a left hook again in the ninth round. In the tenth, Sugar hit Artie with a left hook to the body. Levine retreated the ropes where Robinson rained punches on him. Levine finally fell back and sat on the bottom rope where the referee counted him out in ten seconds.
Two fights later, Levine took on Herbie Kronowitz at Madison Square Garden. Kronowitz boxed well early, but a right smashed into Kronowitz's chin in the fourth round. From that point on, Kronowitz was more careful. Levine won a unanimous decision with three scores of 6-3-1, although Herbie thought he deserved the victory.
From that point, Levine only went 5-5 in what would be his last ten career fights. His last bout took place in 1949. Artie ended with a record of 52-15-5 with 36 KOs. After his career, Levine, who made good money inside the ring, owned a meat business and later sold cars. He was also a boxing judge in the 1980s and was ringside as late as 2004. After his first wife died, he married a non-Jewish woman, which was a source of tension between Artie and his children. As Bodner writes, "So Artie Levine, the non-Jew who married a Jew, became the Jew who married a non-Jew."
Artie died on January 13, 2012.
Bibliography
Bodner, Allen. When Boxing was a Jewish Sport. 1997.
"Brooklyn Boxer Floors Robinson for Nine Count." Toledo Blade. November 7, 1946.
Hauser, Thomas. "Sugar Ray Revisited." SecondsOut.com.
Robinson, Sugar Ray. Sugar Ray. 1969, 1970.
Royal, Cliff. "The Club-House." Times Daily. December 8, 1945.
Sacci, Robert. Friday's Heroes: Willie Pep Remembers. 2008.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Roman Greenberg Won't Be Back in the Ring
The boxing career if former heavyweight contender Roman Greenberg is over, according to a knowledgeable source. For years, fans held out hope that Greenberg, who turns 31 this week, would continue fighting after his lone career loss, but that possibility has now ended.
Greenberg was born in Moldova and grew up in Tel Aviv. After turning pro in 2001, he won his first 27 bouts. In his first 14 fights, Roman defeated only one man with a winning record, but his next 13 wins were all against opponents with marks over .500.
On August 29, 2008, Greenberg faced the toughest test of his career. Cedric Boswell sported a 27-1 record, but was 39 years old when he entered the ring against Greenberg at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. After a slow first round, Boswell's faster hands began to touch Greenberg in the second. An overhand right threw Greenberg back to the ropes. Boswell then probed Roman's lax guard until he landed two looping rights that dramatically wobbled the Jewish fighter. Referee Bill Clancy quickly stepped in to wave off the fight despite Greenberg's protests. Within a flash, Roman's air of invincibility had vanished.
According to the knowledgeable source, Greenberg hasn't rediscovered the will to return to the ring since. Roman resisted every effort his former manager, Robert Waterman, made to coax him back into the sport. Greenberg's heart simply wasn't in it. In 2012, Waterman told Barry Toberman of The Jewish Chronicle, "Roman trained hard, but the problem was getting him to training."
Greenberg was one of three men- along with Dmitiry Salita and Yuri Foreman- who were responsible for the recent resurgence of Jewish boxing in the twenty-first century. Since The Jewish Boxing Blog began in 2010, no fighter has stoked the hopes of Jewish boxing fans more than Greenberg. Countless readers have written emails to The JBB hoping for some hint of his return. Those emails have tapered off as the years have passed.
Greenberg currently works as a bouncer for a Tel Aviv nightclub.
Greenberg was born in Moldova and grew up in Tel Aviv. After turning pro in 2001, he won his first 27 bouts. In his first 14 fights, Roman defeated only one man with a winning record, but his next 13 wins were all against opponents with marks over .500.
On August 29, 2008, Greenberg faced the toughest test of his career. Cedric Boswell sported a 27-1 record, but was 39 years old when he entered the ring against Greenberg at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. After a slow first round, Boswell's faster hands began to touch Greenberg in the second. An overhand right threw Greenberg back to the ropes. Boswell then probed Roman's lax guard until he landed two looping rights that dramatically wobbled the Jewish fighter. Referee Bill Clancy quickly stepped in to wave off the fight despite Greenberg's protests. Within a flash, Roman's air of invincibility had vanished.
According to the knowledgeable source, Greenberg hasn't rediscovered the will to return to the ring since. Roman resisted every effort his former manager, Robert Waterman, made to coax him back into the sport. Greenberg's heart simply wasn't in it. In 2012, Waterman told Barry Toberman of The Jewish Chronicle, "Roman trained hard, but the problem was getting him to training."
Greenberg was one of three men- along with Dmitiry Salita and Yuri Foreman- who were responsible for the recent resurgence of Jewish boxing in the twenty-first century. Since The Jewish Boxing Blog began in 2010, no fighter has stoked the hopes of Jewish boxing fans more than Greenberg. Countless readers have written emails to The JBB hoping for some hint of his return. Those emails have tapered off as the years have passed.
Greenberg currently works as a bouncer for a Tel Aviv nightclub.
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