A Tribute to Virgil Hill
By Steve Kim (March 30, 2007)

On the night of November 15th, 1984, at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, Virgil Hill would make his professional debut by stopping Arthur Wright in two rounds. Fighting alongside his much more heralded Olympic teammates like Pernell Whitaker, Mark Breland, Evander Holyfield, Tyrell Biggs and Meldrick Taylor, the silver medalist fought in relative anonymity.

If this crew were 'The Beatles', Hill, a native of Bismark, North Dakota, would've been Ringo Starr, overshadowed by the likes of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon. If it were the 'Fab Five' that ruled the hardwood for the University of Michigan in the early 90's, he was Ray Jackson, alongside Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard.

Yet, here we stand in 2007, and basically it's Hill and Holyfield who are the last men standing from that vaunted Olympic class, where he earned his place after upsetting Michael Nunn in the 1984 Olympic Trials. This Saturday, 'Quicksilver' faces Henry Maske - a rematch of a light heavyweight unification tilt that took place over a decade ago - in Germany.

Whitaker completed his Hall-of-Fame career long ago and is now training boxers. Taylor unfortunately became another sad boxing tale, a fighter who never recovered from his devastating loss to Julio Cesar Chavez in 1990. Biggs was a decent heavyweight who faded away quickly after his 1988 loss to Mike Tyson. Breland, the most acclaimed amateur of the bunch, would fail to live up to expectations despite winning two world titles. Holyfield, who is no longer a world-class heavyweight, has embarked on the 'Lone Star' circuit in Texas, taking on overmatched foes to big crowds who can say they saw a fistic legend.

So in many ways, Hill has outlasted them all.

In fact, in his last bout in January of 2006, he would defeat the 30-0 Valery Brudov for the vacant WBA cruiserweight title. Yeah, it may be just a paper title, but it still shows he has a bit left in his gas tank. Hey, what were you doing or will be doing at age 42?

Now at age 43, his career is clearly winding down (we think) and it's only now in retrospect that his career is beginning to be appreciated. Not so much for it's brilliance or any true level of greatness, but Hill's resume is a testament to his longevity, consistency and professionalism.

After beginning his career with Main Events, he would be given his release by the company after his legendary trainer/manager Eddie Futch clashed with Dan Duva. But he would forge ahead, and after 18 bouts he would get his first title shot against the respected Leslie Stewart in September of 1987 at the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Never known for his power, he would stop Stewart in four rounds in front of a national audience watching on ABC to win the WBA lt. heavyweight crown. By that time he was trained by a young cornerman by the name of Freddie Roach, and he would earn the distinction of becoming his first world champion.

Between then and 1991, he would make 12 successful defenses of that belt. But interestingly enough, the more defenses he racked up, the more derision he seemed to receive from outsiders. Because in facing men like Jean-Marie-Emebe, Willie Featherstone, David Vedder, Tyrone Frazier and Mike Peak, he wasn't exactly facing Yaqui Lopez or Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. And in addition to facing this rather non-descript lot of fighters, he also had a decided home canvas advantage at the Civic Center in Bismarck, North Dakota. Of those dozen title defenses, nine would take place in this venue (including eight in a row at one point) in front of his always large, enthusiastic throng of partisans.

During my days as a student at Montebello High School near East L.A. it seemed that Hill was on ESPN on Sunday nights about once every other month, performing in his state’s capital city. Nobody represented the '701' like Hill. In a state that is devoid of a major league team, Hill was the state’s franchise.

But to be truthful, like many other fans outside of the state, I wasn't much of a fan. Not only did it seem like the deck was always stacked against his opponents, he had a peck-and-box style that wasn't the most compelling to watch. His affairs always seemed to be rather dull and protracted. His game wasn't flashy, just fundamentally sound.

But the guy always won.

That was until June of 1991 when he would face the legendary - yet blown-up and aged - Thomas Hearns at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. 'The Hitman' was a dominant fighter as a welterweight, but surely Hill, a natural 175-pounder in his prime, would down Hearns, right? Instead, he would show much too respect to Hearns and lose a unanimous decision in giving away his first championship belt. Roach would admit years later that his fighter had 'froze' that night in his first real, big platform.

But three fights later in September of 1992, he regained that title by easily besting Frank Tate for the vacant WBA belt. From there he would beat a much better lot of challengers in Aldolpho Washington, Fabrice Tiozzo, Saul Montana, Drake Thadzi and Lou Del Valle in defending his throne the second time around. But it wasn't until he downed Maske, then the IBF champion, in Germany, in November of 1996 in a split decision, that he seemed to earn the recognition as a solid champion.

However, in his very next outing, he would lose to Dariusz Michalczewski for all the marbles in the lt. heavyweight division in June of 1997. Then in his very next fight, ten months later, he was stopped by Roy Jones by a vicious body shot in round four.

It looked like he was now, Virgil (over the) Hill. Surely, at age 34, with consecutive defeats, his career was coming into its immediate twilight.

After wins against James Hayes and Glenn Thomas, he would travel to France to face Tiozzo once again, who by this time had put together a successful run as the WBA cruiserweight champion. In shocking fashion, the usually light-hitting Hill would suddenly go Bob Foster on us and stop the Frenchman in one round, decking him three times in December of 2000.

Well, whaddayaknow.

But in his very first title defense he was halted in nine by the rugged Jean-Marc Mormeck in France in February of 2002.

Now, this surely had to be the end.

Not by a long shot, as he would rack up wins against Carlos Bates, Joey DeGrandis and Donny Lalonde (in a bout that was at least a dozen years too late in making) before facing Mormeck once again in South Africa. For this match-up he would reunite with Roach and train at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California. (After becoming his first world champion, Hill would also become the first champion to split with Roach after the loss to Hearns.) Seeing him often, you saw the type of work ethic that made him the overachiever he was. It wasn't natural, God-given talent that made this career, it was drive and determination. Pound-for-pound, year-for-year, nobody worked as diligently in the gym as he did.

In May of 2004, he would lose a razor-thin decision in South Africa to Mormeck, losing by two points on two scorecards and a single point on the other, after a trip to the canvas in the eighth frame. This tough loss, in many respects, was as big an endorsement on Hill the fighter as any of his victories.

After his win against Brudov, his record in world title fights would stand at 24-4 (with an overall mark of 50-5), winning the WBA lt. heavyweight title twice and the IBF strap. Then he would become a two-time WBC cruiserweight titlist. Yeah, yeah, I know, some of you will scream that many of these are 'meaningless' titles but I can name you a host of quality fighters of the past, like an Oba Carr, who have never had a major belt around their waist. It speaks volumes that Hill has been able to stay competitive at the world-class level well into his second decade as a professional prizefighter.

Is he Canastota bound?

For many years I think the consensus would've been a resounding no. And while you'll get no arguments from me that he's not in the class of a Foster, Billy Conn, Michael Spinks, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles or Bob Fitzsimmons in the pantheon of great '75-pounders, if you look at the body of work, he has a decent case. Granted, he may have not had a great win during his tenure at lt. heavyweight, but he does have a roster of pretty solid names on his dossier. And quick, what's Orlando Canizales’ signature win as a long-reigning bantamweight champion? The reason I ask is that many pundits believe he is Hall-worthy.

To me, Hill is a lot like Manuel Medina; he took some lumps but kept at it for years and crafted an admirable career. I get the sense that while he may not be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, he might eventually get there.

But, hold on, he still isn't finished with his career.

FLIPPER

I met Hill for the first time at the Wild Card as he was preparing for his Mormeck rematch in the spring of 2004. You could not have met a classier or nicer individual. We became very friendly and would chat often. Everyday he was accompanied by a guy that worked with him as Roach's assistant. He had to have measured about 6'1 and weighed in at well over three bills. He said he played football at the University of Virginia back in the day - and he looked the part, and besides I wasn't going to ever debate that with him. He certainly looked the part of a down lineman.

One day as I was leaving, I was waiting to take a left turn on Vine St. To my left I see Virgil and the big fella driving up, and they graciously stopped to let me through, only I wasn't going that direction and needed the lane next to them to clear up so I could turn. I guess the glare from my window kept them from recognizing me. After about ten seconds of waiting, they honked and gestured for me to get in. They had to be thinking, 'Geez, these Asian drivers are as indecisive as they say, out here.' No arguments from me, but I wasn't looking to go in that direction.

I would crack open my window ever-so-slightly and flip them off. After a split-second of being stunned, they both gave me a look that said, 'Is Wayne Brady going to hafta slap a.....' Till I rolled it down completely and stuck out my head to say hello.

They both immediately cracked up and looked like they were going to fall off their seats. I would eventually make my turn and be on my way.

A few days later as I was getting ready to workout, Virgil would come up to me, almost giggling, and say, "Hey, I couldn't even get a good workout in a couple of days ago. We couldn't stop laughing."

The lesson being, if you're going to flip a multiple-time world champion and his human eclipse sidekick the bird, make sure they know what a great guy you are and the sense of humor you possess.

THE GHOST

I recently got a copy (thanks to Craig Goossen) of Robert Guerrero's title winning effort against Spend Abazi in Copenhagen, Denmark last month. With this win, he would recapture the IBF featherweight title that became vacant after Orlando Salido tested positive for steroids after beating 'the Ghost' last November.

This was the best Guerrero has ever looked in my opinion. In the past, for all his physical tools, he never fully seemed to utilize them. Instead of capitalizing on his tall frame and reach, he had fallen into the habit of smothering his punches and turning his fights into grappling contests.

In sending Abazi to the canvas a few times and eventually stopping him, Guerrero did a very nice job of controlling distance, getting extension on his punches, making sure his punches were turned over correctly so that he would hit cleanly with his knuckles and he just generally looked like a more professionally sound, crowd pleasing fighter.

If he can continue to improve, his second run as a titlist should last much longer than his first one.

RODNEY KING

As he once pleaded to a rioting Los Angeles, "Can't we all just get along?" Well, it looks like Antonio Margarito and his team has patched things up with Top Rank and Bob Arum over their recent differences at a pow-wow in Puerto Rico.

Litigation has been averted as Margarito has agreed to an extension with Top Rank (for a year and nine months) plus a 'matching rights' clause with the company.

With that 'the Tijuana Tornado' is free to face his WBO mandatory Paul Williams and then the winner of Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah, which takes place on June 9th.

Arum would tell Maxboxing: "We kissed and made up."

"We just got to move forward," said Sergio Diaz, Margarito's co-manager on Thursday afternoon. "Antonio's OK with what was given to him because he's positive he's going to beat these guys. So Bob Arum can see he's a marquee fighter and he deserves the attention he gives to his fighters like Cotto and Erik Morales."

As for when his bout with Williams will take place, Dan Goossen, who promotes 'the Punisher' and won this purse bid that caused all this volatility, says, "No later than July."

'THE SPORTS MACHINE'

Speaking of tributes, this past Sunday night was the last edition of 'the George Michael Sports Machine' after 27 glorious years. I know in the age of ESPN's world domination and the internet, perhaps a show like this had become overshadowed, but as a kid, it was a Godsend for young sports aficionados like myself.

I can recall having my father tape it for me, and I would watch it eagerly before going to school on Monday morning - twice. I loved the fact he showed highlights across the country of every sport, but also had vignettes on pro wrestling (of which I was a huge fan of at the time). And who can forget his 'Plays of the Month'?

In many respects, Michael and his show, which was syndicated throughout the land by NBC, was a precursor and a pioneer of the things at our disposal today. And it was a quality product till the very end. They will be missed.

I understand that when he was asked by the suits to make staff cuts he instead told them he would be the first to go. The captain would go down with his ship. And so the show would not go on. That's a very un-Larry Coker thing to do, which makes him my type of guy.

Long live George Michael and the Sports Machine.

FRIDAY FLURRIES

I hear they're calling the fight between Jermain Taylor and Cory Spinks in Memphis the 'Border Battle'; shouldn't it be Bore-der Battle?....Informed sources tell Maxboxing that hot prospect Jorge Linares will make his stateside debut on May 26th on the non-televised portion of the In Jin Chi-Oscar Larios card.....I don't watch 'American Idol' (seriously, I don't) but how in the world is that Sanjaya still in it? I'm beginning to believe that the Nevada judges are voting heavily in this year’s edition of the program....Seriously, if he was Asian, he's William Hung....OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but geez......

Maske Decisions Hill
- By Miguel Velasco

Former German boxing hero, Henry Maske (31-1, 11 knockouts), in possibly one of the most boring fights I’ve ever seen in my life, won a 12-round decision over Virgil Hill, the WBA cruiserweight champion, on Saturday night in Munich's Olympic Hall, in Germany. The final judges’ scores were 117-110, 116-113, and 117-110, all given for Maske, who was making his ring return after 10 years away from the sport. He probably should have stayed retired, because he fought like someone who was shadow boxing with air rather than an actual fighter. When the final judge’ decision was announced, I shocked, to say the least, because Hill had put on a virtuoso performance, badly out-boxing Maske the entire fight.

Unlike the judges, I had Hill winning 11 rounds to 1, and I was being very generous by giving Maske the one round, because he did next to nothing all fight, rarely throwing punches other than badly aimed jabs. In fact, Maske looked more like a statue out there than actual fighter, often standing completely still for long moments, studying Hill with a look of seemingly great concentration on his face that somehow made him look deranged.

On the other hand, Hill did most of the work in the bout, landing a large amount of powerful body shots, and a sizable amount of right hands to the head. To be frank, if it weren’t for Hill’s aggression, there wouldn’t have been a fight at all, since Maske wasn’t showing much interest in making a fight of it until the 10th round.

All before that, as far as I could tell, Maske came close to winning none of the rounds. He did, however, throw a lot of pretty jabs at the air, badly missing Hill’s face by 2-3 inches every time. It didn’t matter, though, because the German fans shouted their heads off, mindlessly oblivious to the fact that Maske was missing Hill with his jabs and hitting only air.

Round after round, it went like this, Maske throwing exclusively jabs, missing 99% of them, and the German insanely roaring on each miss. Clearly, Maske was afraid of being countered by Hill, otherwise he’d have let himself get closer to Hill so that his jabs - again, his only weapon in the fight – could land. As for what he showed in the fight, it wasn’t very much, to be kind. Maske’s timing was shot, speed was gone – and his power was nonexistent... not that he ever had any to begin with.

In point of fact, Maske looked like a fighter only in physical form, but not in action. I’ve seen some of his older fights, and though I wasn’t impressed with him, at least back then, 10 plus years ago, he could actually fight some, especially when fighting a slow-moving European fighter – his typical opponent. Way back, in his past, Maske could land punches, even with his jab. As for now, in 2007, all I can say is, those 10 years away from the ring took with it any of the limited skills that Maske ever had, turning him into caricature of his former self.

Now, don’t get me wrong or misinterpret what I’m saying. Maske did do something well on Saturday night, for instance, he showed good form in clinches. In fact, from the rounds 10-12, that’s mainly what Maske did, mostly clinching. Whenever Hill got close to him, Maske often dove at him, grabbing him in a tight embrace, causing the referee to pry them apart, and chastise him about holding. Besides this, Maske displayed excellent form on hitting on the break, something he did on a number of occasions in the later rounds. When, however, Maske actually was initiating any kind of an offensive attack, he looked wild and amateurish, running at Hill and wildly flailing both arms like a grade school child. Aside from, perhaps, Axel Schultz, I’d never seen fighting like that before in professional boxing, and I hope never to see it again. Any how, enough of Maske, I think you get the point.

As for the action of the fight, each round was in essence the same, and at all times, painfully boring to watch and seemingly like punishment. In rounds 1-9, Virgil Hill - looking incredibly young and sharp for 43 - would throw jabs and hooks, for the most part, to Maske’s chest and midsection, rarely bothering with punches to the head. Maske, on the other hand, was often slow to respond to the attacks, and would either push Hill away or grab him. Like I mentioned previously, Maske mostly threw jabs, particularly in the first nine rounds. The jabs looked nice, but they were so badly missing, it gave the appearance that Maske was auditioning for a Rocky movie, perhaps as a poor man’s version of Ivan Drago. Maske certainly had the robotic thing going, standing and fighting like he had a stick stuffed up his backside, and he couldn’t get it out.

At first, I thought that Maske would make corrections, seeing that his jabs were coming up short, and would get a little nearer to Hill, allowing them to make contact with Hill’s face. Strangely enough, Maske never did correct his bad aim, perhaps figuring that if the German crowd – 19,000 strong - is shouting and screaming for his every punch, it must mean they think he’s connecting. Little did they know, Maske couldn’t hit the side of a barn if he was right in front of it.

In the eighth round, Hill received a large cut above his left eyebrow after butting heads with Maske. It was a bad cut, with lots of blood, causing the referee to stop the action and have the ringside doctor take a look it. In the meantime, the referee docked a point from Maske, although I don’t know why, because it seemed more initiated by Hill than by any move on Maske’s part. After looking at the cut for a few seconds, the doctor allowed Hill to continue fighting. The cut, however, would bleed badly for the rest of the bout, covering both fighters in blood and giving Hill a ghoulish appearance.

So, the fight went like this, round after round, until finally in the 10th round, Maske seemed to summon up a little courage, enough to actually throw a few punches other than his usual, wildly thrown jabs. Incredibly, he even landed with a couple of them, for instance, when Hill threw a punch and missed, leaving him balance and bent over. Not to miss out on such an opportunity, Maske launched an all out assault when Hill’s back was turned, and thus was able to land several punches before Hill could right himself and regain his balance. Sure, it wasn’t pretty, but what the heck, it worked for Maske, and the Germans loved it.

Near the end of the 10th round, Maske was able to corner Hill against the ropes, and land several punches, although none of them were what you would call hard shots, but since Hill did very little in this round, it was enough for me to give the round to Maske.

In the 11th and 12th rounds, Maske began to hold a lot, so often that he was repeatedly warned by the referee. It looked awful to watch, reminding me a lot of a typical fight with John Ruiz, filled with clinches. During this round, Maske would throw punch, and regardless of whether it landed or not, he would immediately grab for Hill and start trying to wrestle him to the ground, bending him to and fro.

Hill, showing that he was a true professional, didn’t get annoyed by the constant clinching, instead landing powerful hooks, and jabs. If it weren’t for all of Maske’s wrestling and clinching in the final two rounds, he would have had a decent chance at winning these rounds. However, his behavior seemed as if he was trying to just survive the rounds without taking punishment. I thought it was stupid for him to do this, but then again, the fight was in Germany, so he probably thought the fight was in the bag and wanted to coast the rest of the way.

Afterwards, when the fight was Maske was awarded the decision by the judges, he seemed to lose all his sense, moving around constantly in ring, looking slightly crazed, and barking barely understandable German nonstop. Even when being interviewed afterwards, he paced back in forth, rapidly, looking around and sniffing the air. It looked odd. For someone who, in my book, was easily beaten in a one-sided fight, he strutted around the ring like peacock, seeming both incredibly arrogant, and out of touch with the reality of the fight.

It was around this time that someone foolishly handed him a microphone, so that he could address the entire German audience, at which point he started blathering about this and that, boring the audience with his long-winded speech. In fact, it went on so long, it seemed like a presidential address, and I was hoping he would just shut up already. Finally, the announcer, perhaps getting tired of listening to him, too, snatched the microphone out of his hands before he could put the entire audience to sleep. Some of the audience, however, was in rapture, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, both seemed near tears with his great accomplishment, as were Darius Michalzewski and Markus Beyer. As for me, I was sickened by the whole thing.

A Blast from the Past

Virgil Hill of Williston/Grand Forks, ND outpointed Michael Nunn of Davenport, IO, for the 1984 Olympic 165-pound boxing trials title.

The 1984 Olympic Boxing Team and Coaches

Results of the 1984 Olympic Boxing Trials: 165 pound class: First round: Gilbert Taylor (Dallas, TX) dec. Darrell Stubblefield (US Marines), 5-0; Robert Rodriguez (US Marines), Vincent Boulware (Harrisburg, PA), Kevin Fitzpatrick (Spokane, WA), Virgil Hill (Williston, ND), Michael Grogan (Atlanta, GA), Michael Nunn (Davenport, IO) and Adam Garland (Piscataway, NJ) all drew byes. Quarterfinals: Vincent Boulware won on disqualification over Robert Rodriguez, DQ-2 (0-35); Virgil Hill stopped Kevin Fitzpatrick, RSC-1 (1:53); Michael Nunn stopped Michael Grogan, RSC-3; Adam Garland stopped Gilbert Taylor, RSCH-1 (2:57). Semifinals: Virgil Hill dec. Vincent Boulware, 4-1; Michael Nunn dec. Adam Garland, 5-0. Finals: Virgil Hill dec. Michael Nunn, 4-1.

A five time world champion in two weight classes (WBA light heavyweight (twice), IBF light heavyweight, and WBA cruiserweight (twice), current WBA cruiserweight champion Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill (50-5, 23 KOs), of ND was on hand to provide color commentary for the Roy Jones Jr. - Prince Badi Ajamu bout in Boise, ID last Saturday night. Sitting alongside longtime boxing expert and commentator Al Bernstein, Hill was articulate and precise in his television role. He also offered up a few comments concerning his March 31, 2007 bout against former nemesis Henry Maske, of Germany.

Read the full article

"The Road Warriors"
 
By Ted Sares
 
I wouldn't be surprised if the first name you come up with is Buck Smith. After all, he once went down to Mexico to get knocked out by Julio Caesar Chavez and after all, his current record is 178 - 17 - 2 - 25 . Hell, just last August he lost to one Julius Fogle in Kansas City and prior to his comeback, he got iced by tough Jorge Kahwagi in Tijuana in 2003. But most of Buck's bouts have been fought in the Mid-plains circuit of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, and Tennesee. Yes, he did fight Shannan Taylor in Australia and Gary Murray in South Africa both in 1995, but these two fights plus his two in Mexico don't even come close for qualifying him for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Road Warriors. The members of this Hall comprise a pretty exclusive group and entry is extremely difficult.
 
Let's take a look at some real Road Warriors. Guys who will go anywhere to earn their keep. In fact, some seem to thrive on the fans being against them. However, one thing they likely can  never get used to is "home town cooking" when it comes to decision. Still, while the risk-reward equation seems to be against them, they travel to such places as St. Maarten, South Africa and Düsseldorf, Germany to ply their trade.
 

Brian Mitchell

One such Warrior was perhaps the best South African boxer of all time. Brian Mitchell  turned pro in 1981 and captured the WBA Super Featherweight Title in 1986 with a TKO over Alfredo Layne. He defended the title a world record 12 times before retiring in 1991, and never lost a title fight. 

In 1985, he faced Jacob Morake for the fourth time. Morake was the only man to beat Mitchell. Mitchell won on a twelfth-round KO, but Morake had absorbed a terrible amount of head punishment.  He later died of injuries incurred in the fight.

Due to South Africa's apartheid policy during those times, Brian had no choice but to become a true road warrior, defending his title almost exclusively abroad. He proved his worth by making 10 of his title defenses on the road, and he repeatedly proved his ability when fighting for the world title. Spain, Italy (5 times), England,  Panama, Puerto Rico, The US (3 times) and France were all countries in which Mitchell defended his crown, He retired with a truly remarkable 45-1-3 record. Many South Africans consider him the that country's greatest ever boxer. Today, he is one of South Africa's top trainers.

Someday I may do a fantasy piece on  'Manny Pacquiao vs. Brian Mitchell: Who wins?" 

Virgil Hill
 
"Quicksilver" is another such fighter. In between his Atlantic City title book-ends, he has fought tough competition holding two wins over Frank Tate, 41-5, two victories over Fabrice Tiozzo, 48-2. Including one in which he overwhelmed Tiozzo decking him three times in a remarkable one round onslaught in Villeurbanne, France. He has also defeated Donny LaLonde, 41-5-1, James Toney conqueror Drake Thadzi, 30-9-1, Lou Del Valle, 35-3-1, Rufino Angulo, 21-3-3, Adolpho Washington, 31-9-2, Lottie Mwale, 44-9, Marvin Camel, 45-13-4, Jean-Marie Emebe, 27-7, Ramzi Hassan, 35-12-2, Marcos Geraldo, 60-28-1, Leslie Stewart, 31-12, Bobby Czyz, 44-8, James Kinchen, 49-9-2, and Henry Maske, 30-1. The combined won-lost record of just the opponents mentioned here is an astounding 833-149.
His 1996 win over Maske was in Munich and was the popular Maske's first loss. Henry retired after that loss. As a fearless road warrior, ten of his big career fights have been in other countries including England, Germany, Australia, France and South Africa. Amazingly, he won seven of them. While some might criticize the number of bouts fought in his home state of North Dakota, "Quicksilver" has had more than his fair share of fights in Atlantic City or Nevada and his willingness to fight in an opponent's home country is reflective of both his courage and his international popularity. For him, being a road warrior has meant making money.
 
He is due to fight Maske 2007 in -- you guessed it -- Germany.
 
 
Glen Johnson
 
 
Tough Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson's venue reads like an advertisement form a travel agency. He has fought in the Cayman Islands,   The Bahamas, St. Maarten, Aruba, Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany, Padova, Italy, York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, Estrel Convention Center, Berlin, Neukölln, Germany, Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, and Reebok Center, Bolton, Lancashire, England.
 
In between, he waged war in Los Angeles, Florida, Memphis, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Hawthorne Park, Cicero, IL, both Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, Valdosta, GA, The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI. 
 
Hell, Glen, 44-11-2, even duked it out with Eric Harding at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe in the Bronx in 1993 for the something called the vacant USBA Light Heavyweight Title. He took a UD from Harding in this one. 
 
The thing about Glen is that arguably he may have been stiffed in many of his fights (two MD's and two SD's) and has almost become philosophical about. Thismay account for his other moniker to wit: "The Gentleman." Yet, he has won many fights by bringing his own judges to the fight, Mr. Left hand and Mr. Right Hand....and this clearly is the safest policy for all Road Warrior types.
 
Interestingly, his trilogy with Clinton Woods (1-1-1) was fought in England and resulted in Glen winning over a great number of English fans.
 
 
Ronald "Winky" Wright 
 
 
Winky, 51-3-1, up until recently was perhaps the ultimate American road warrior. Let's look at his incredible road slate. From July 1992 to January, 1996, Winky fought in Luxembourg, France (12 times!), Germany, Monte Carlo, and Argentina. During this period, he racked up an amazing 16-1 record fighting 7 times in 1993 and 6 times in 1995. His one loss, a decisive one, was to Julio Caesar Vasquez in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France in 1994.
 
The great Argentinean "El Zurdo" Vaszquez was a roadster in his own right having waged battles in such diverse countries as  Croatia (Hrvatska), Spain,  Zadar, Russia, Uruguay, England (twice),  Kazakhstan, France (nine times...he beat Winky Wright there in 1994), Northern Ireland, Monaco (twice) and the US ( four times).
  
He then came back to what must have seem to him the strange environs of the States in 1996 and beat the very capable Andrew Council, 25-3-3 coming in, and Bronco McKart, 28-1 at the time. His win over Council was aired on the USA Network's Tuesday Night Fights and finally gave him national exposure to American fans. But apparently homesick for the open road, his next three fights, each of which he won, were fought in England....two in Manchester and one in London. In 1998, he travelled to Temba, NWP, South Africa and lost a controversial MD to Namibian Harry Simon, 16-0 for the WBO Light Middleweight Title. Simon, ironically, was trained by the aforementioned Brian Mitchell and retired undefeated with a 23-0 record and the WBO Middleweight Title. 
 
But back to Winky. After breaking with his managers, the Acaries brothers in 1999 and beating  Derrick Graham by ko in Miami later that same 1999, he met heavily favored Fernando Vargas for the IBF Light Middleweight Title. He again lost a controversial MD in a fight I personally thought should have been ruled a draw. He continued to defend the NABF and won the USBA Light Middleweight title in another decision over Bronco McKart.
 
He then ran off a 13 fight undefeated streak which is still alive. Along the way, he won the Vacant IBF Light Middleweight Title, the WBC Light Middleweight Title, the WBA Light Middleweight Title, and the WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator. Among his victim have been Keith Mullings, Robert Frazier, Sugar Shane Mosley (twice), Tito Trinidad, and Ike Quartey. His fight with Jermaine Tayler for the WBC Middleweight Title did end in a draw, albeit a controversial one.
 
More importantly, Winky Wright has gone from underlooked  and somewhat unknown road warrior to one of the top Pound for Pound fighters in the world. He is now in a position to influence, if not dictate the location of his fights.
 
 
Ross Puritty
 
"The Boss," 30-19-3, has fought in Germany (three times),  Uzbekistan, The Ukraine, Denmark, South Africa, Japan and Mexico. Heck, he even fought in East St. Louis in 2000. Of course, Ross's defining road warrior moment was his shocking TKO win over Wladimir Klitschko, 24-0 at the time, for the  WBC International Heavyweight Title in 1998. This was accomplished at the Sportpalast, Kiev, in the Ukraine
 
Whether a Teamster's Hall, beery ballroom, floating casino, Riverboat, Country Club, civic center, fairgrounds, or the Blue Horizon, Ross is more than willing to duke it out. But that's what road warriors do.

Ted Sares is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and can be reached at tedsares@adelphia.net.

Virgil Hill in the Hall

25.08.06 - By Ted Sares:

Next year Roberto Duran becomes eligible for induction into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame and that should be a slam dunk. A few years later, Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill also will become eligible and I submit a reasonable, if not compelling case can be made for his induction as well. Let's look at the facts.

Virgil won his first fight in 1984 against Arthur Wright in Madison Square Garden. He defeated Clarence Osby in 1986 at the Felt Forum in New York City to win the WBC Continental Americas Light Heavyweight Title.

And in 1987 he beat Leslie Stewart in Atlantic City to win his first world championship belt (the WBA Light Heavyweight Title). Almost twenty years later on Jan 27, 2006 and also in Atlantic City, Virgil beat Russian, Valery Brudov, 31-1, in impressive fashion to win the Vacant WBA Cruiserweight Title. The WBA cruiserweight title was vacant because Jean-Marc Mormeck had been elevated to super champion status after winning a unification bout. Brudov was the top-ranked challenger and Hill was No. 2..

That he earned the fifth world title of his career with a unanimous decision over Brudov on January 26, 200 in Atlantic City at age 42 is all the more remarkable. All three Judges had him winning the 12-round match 118-110 to earn the World Boxing Association cruiserweight title. Incredibly, he was appearing in his 28th world title bout and he used that experience to his advantage in easily beatings his confused opponent. "I couldn't catch him. I was shocked he moved so well for a 42-year-old guy. His experience showed," said Brudov through an interpreter.

In between his Atlantic City title book-ends, he has fought tough competition holding two wins over Frank Tate, 41-5, two victories over Fabrice Tiozzo, 48-2. Including one in which he overwhelmed Tiozzo decking him three times in a remarkable one round onslaught in Villeurbanne, France. He has also defeated Donny LaLonde, 41-5-1, James Toney conqueror Drake Thadzi, 30-9-1, Lou Del Valle, 35-3-1, Rufino Angulo, 21-3-3, Adolpho Washington, 31-9-2, Lottie Mwale, 44-9, Marvin Camel, 45-13-4, Jean-Marie Emebe, 27-7, Ramzi Hassan, 35-12-2, Marcos Geraldo, 60-28-1, Leslie Stewart, 31-12, Bobby Czyz, 44-8, James Kinchen, 49-9-2, and Henry Maske, 30-1. The combined won-lost record of just the opponents mentioned in this article is an impressive 833-149.
His 1996 win over Maske was in Munich and was the popular Maske's first loss. Henry retired after that loss. As a fearless road warrior, ten of his big career fights have been in other countries including England, Germany, Australia, France and South Africa. Amazingly, he won seven of them. While some might criticize the number of bouts fought in his home state of North Dakota, "Quicksilver" has had more than his fair share of fights in Atlantic City or Nevada and his willingness to fight in an opponent's home country is reflective of both his courage and his international popularity.

With a 250-11 amateur record and a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Las Angeles, Virgil Hill is a 5-time world champion having won titles in both the Light heavyweight and Cruiserweight divisions. He has only five defeats, and three were against truly great competition.....Thomas Hearns, 61-5-1, Dariusz Michalczewski, 48-2, and Roy Jones, 50-4. After taking a long layoff during which he contemplated retiring as champion, he decided to continue but lost his Cruiserweight title to the tough Mormeck, 32-3, in Marseille, France. After this loss he decided to make still another title run against the aforementioned Brudov which, of course, proved successful and which moved his career record to a fine 50 (23 ko's)- 5.

Looking ahead, Virgil says, ".......now I'd like to fight once more and then walk away on my own terms." To this end, he claims he has negotiated a deal to fight Henry Maske in Germany, probably in January. As mentioned above, Hill beat Maske 10 years ago to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles. Both boxers are now 42. "It's amazing, at the tender age of 42, everybody wants to beat up on the old boy," Hill said. He negotiated the fight himself, though manager Bill Sorensen is still part of his team. "It was just that in this particular instance, I negotiated it myself," Hill said. "It was great. I got everything I wanted and even more."

There is another rumor out there to the effect Virgil may defend his title against come backing Thomas "Hitman" Hearns but the Maske fight seems more secure.. On June 3rd, 1991 Hearns outpointed Hill to win the WBA light heavyweight title that he held at the time. But as fellow writer Jim Amato sagely said in another piece, "Thomas Hearns is a legend but he has had only two fights in the last six years. Virgil has stayed active and effective. I understand Virgil wanting to avenge a loss and maybe pick up a nice payday. I understand Tommy wanting to recapture his past glory. In sensible reality though this fight does not make sense. Hearns has done nothing to warrant a title shot at this stage of his career. I hope this fight does not come off for the fan's sake and Tommy's." (Virgil Hill vs. Tommy Hearns II?, 03.07.06 - By Jim Amato)

Whomever "Quicksilver" fights in his "last" one, I believe he has done enough in an amazing career that has now spanned 22 years to warrant inclusion in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. He beat nine world champions, faced top German fighters.....in Germany, beat Fabrice Tiozzo twice....in France, won five world titles, has a 50-5 career record, an amazing 28 world title fights, three of his losses were against Hall of Fame worthy opponents, and he was stopped only once (by Roy Jones Jr. That should be more than enough. While beating an aged Hearns will not do much for punctuating his chances, beating Maske will. In any event, let's hope he is one of the few to leave boxing on his own terms.

"It's still a tough hustle for the kids," But when they come to visit [the hall of fame], with all they do for boxers here, you know this [museum] is strictly done from the heart......for boxers, it's priceless," Angelo Dundee

Ted Sares is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and can be reached at tedsares@adelphia.net