November 19, 2002
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The Ramada Rumble
William
Hillman
Staff writer
The room filled slowly like the deepening of the river before the
crossing. Beasts lurked starved, awaiting the bell, the call to crossing.
Aug.
16, 8:35 pm
Rosemont, IL
A big figure moved through the crowd. He was stout, six feet two
inches, 230 pound, Heavyweight Art Binkowsky. Binkowsky was a 1996
Olympian from Canada. He is undefeated as a pro with five fights and four
knockouts. He’s got the presence of a legend walking, though he is
widely unknown. He was under matched that night, in a development fight.
His opponent is aged but has a lot of experience. Anthony Jackson is six
feet three inches, 220 pounds and a solid boxer.
The
bell rang to begin the match.
Binkowsky came out slowly pawing with his jab, not letting his
hands flow. The second round began with Binkowsky settling in, finding the
right distance for his punches. Then two jabs, a right cross followed by a
left hook; precision, like a machine. Jackson’s legs melted into the
canvas; he laid there looking up to the bright lights over the ring,
straining his neck to get up as his body stiffened.
The heart of professional boxing in the Chicagoland area can be
found in Rosemont, Ill., a 15 minute drive north from Elmhurst College.
The Ramada hotel on Manheim Road is home to the event known as the Ramada
Rumble. The Ramada Rumble has been pumping out a steady beat of 10 fight
cards a year for the past 12 years when promoter Bobby Hitz came up with
the idea for the event.
Bobby Hitz was a fighter before he crossed over to the other side
of the ropes. He had a record of 21-4 as a pro, fighting out of the Kronk
Gym in Detroit under the immortal Emanuel Stewart. Hitz skipped the
amateurs, a decision he regrets, “I was learning with every bout, it was
tough, in the amateurs it doesn’t really matter if you lose, it’s
about learning,” Hitz said adjusting his glasses.
Remember that prolific return to the ring George Forman made, the
one that started with laughter and ended up with Michael Moore on his back
looking up at the 54-year-old man in disbelief? Well, Hitz was one of the
many victims of that come back.
“I took the fight on a weeks notice and I underestimated him,”
Hitz said smiling.
This is a place were golden belts camouflage humanity and create
gods.
Aug.
16, 9:20 pm
A crowd of men, 12 or so, came storming out of the dressing room
door. Radford Beasley, 32, somewhere in
their midst, fought for the WBA world title, losing to Joe’s
Casamyor in 2000. He holds a regional belt; one of the men in his
entourage holds up the thick gold belt as he shouts “champion.”
Beasley smiled smugly as he shook his arms loose. His opponent’s ring
name was Superstar. He was 39 years old but had remarkable movement and
skill for a man his age; his record is 14-9.
As the fight begins, Superstar came on strong, landing
combinations, slipping punches. Beasley patiently stalked using a prodding
jab. Midway through the second round Beasley came alive, landing a right
cross that left Superstar slowly spiraling to the canvas like a child
after spinning too long. He then staggered to his feet; Beasley moved in
slowly, stalking Superstar’s old legs as they stiffened. He fought on,
stumbling, yet still landed shots. Then the right came in, dropping
Superstar and opening a large cut over his swelling brow line. The referee
stopped the bout. Superstar was furious, He yelled out “Ah man, I’m
fine” as the crowd’s cheers turned to laughter. As the glove boy tried
to get the gloves from Superstar, Bobby Hitz consulted the defeated boxer
who outright refused to give the gloves back. Hitz said something to him
he didn’t like, and he started to move in some psychotic tap-dance
number, shouting, “See…. I’m fine.” The crowd erupted into
laughter.
Hitz has put on a lot of shows dealing with a different caliber of
fighters than Superstar. In his career he’s had WBO lightweight world
champion Angel Manfredy at the Allstate, and Super Middleweight world
champion James Toney was featured on his very first show. Yet Hitz is more
comfortable at the Ramada.
“Bigger isn’t always better,” he said, wrinkling he forehead.
“With all the entertainment venues in Chicago it’s hard to compete. I
just try to keep it real.”
Reality in Chicago doesn’t seem so bleak; the Ramada is a fairly
small venue, though it can rumble with the best fight cards in the nation.
The Ramada Rumble has been featured on national television eight times
since its beginning. The biggest show to date occurred in January of 2001.
It was broadcast on ESPN 2 and the show featured Ben Tackie vs. Teddy Reid
for the NABF and USBA Welterweight world championship. The card also
featured Reggie Johnston vs. 1996 Olympian Antonio Tarver for the NABF and
USBA Light Heavyweight world championship.
Aug.
16,
10:15 pm
Well-respected Chicago amateur Shay Mobley was featured on Channel
11 in last year’s finals of the Chicago Golden Gloves, along with his
coach Martin McGary, a first generation Irish immigrant who runs a boxing
gym out of the garage at his home on the South Side of Chicago. Mobley was
making his pro debut against a rugged Mexican pro named Jesus Sanchez.
Sanchez was 6-2 with four knockouts.
The fight began with Mobley fighting in amateur style; he was not
committing to his punches or relying on his speed to ward off Sanchez, who
was stalking and missing but not hurt by the fluttering punches of Mobley.
Through three rounds of the four round fight, Mobley is untouched and
dominating the scorecard. As the fourth round came to a close, the 10
second signal was heard just as a left hook landed to Mobley’s chin.
When the right came, there was a thud and a snap in the neck. Sweat beads
poured onto the card girls sitting in the front row as he crumbled to the
canvas. The referee looked into Mobley’s eyes and stopped the fight 10
seconds from a sure victory. McGary had a look of shock on his face as the
glove boy undid the laces; the corner is silent.
Ed Gutierrez is a 33-year-old professional fighter out of the Windy
City Gym in Chicago who has been featured in the Ramada Rumble. He had an
extensive amateur career lasting six years, including over 100 fights. Two
years ago he finally won a regional tournament: the Chicago Golden Gloves
open division. The tournament qualified him for Nationals, where he won
his first two bouts with knockouts but was then beaten by a decision in
the quarterfinals. His pro record is a perfect 5-0. There is a sentiment
amongst the pros with extensive amateur backgrounds that the gloves offer
much less protection to the recipients of the blows.
“You can really swat that bug with them,” said Gutierrez, as he
tried to hide his grin with his hand.
There is a sound unmistakable, bone collision. In the back row you
hear the blow first, a sweat mist surrounding, it hangs there for a
second.
Aug.
16,
11:00 pm
Two rising heavyweights stood in the ring, and Jim Strohl was the
favorite at 21-0. His opponent, Jerry Clark had a strong record: 19-1 with
one draw. This was a battle of contrasting styles. Clark was a six-foot
tall pressure fighter looking to land with power pairs against Strohl, a
six foot three inch sharp-shooter. The fight was scheduled for eight
rounds.
The first three rounds belonged to Strohl whose hand speed caught
Clark as he reached to get inside. Then late in the fourth, Clark landed a
solid left hook, hurting Strohl. The dynamics of the struggle changed as
Strohl began to run and was caught with hard shots several times in the
round.
Clark owned the next three rounds; late in the seventh, Clark
rocked Strohl again backing him into the ropes, pounding the body, then
the head. Strohl, with his back on the ropes and legs weakened, made his
stand, letting out six and seven punch combinations. He stayed there on
those ropes with hands flowing. Clark wobbled and stumbled backward. The
crowd rose to its feet. These are the moments they come for: the instants
of clarity, of refusals of death, of the will in this four-rope cage,
moments where champions rise. Strohl finished the fight strong, landing a
right-left combination at the final bell.
Clark’s corner tells him he won as the glove boy unlaces his
right glove.
“Did I win?” he asked, his eyes blood-shot from the sweat and
the blow.
The glove boy, a local amateur fighter answered him, “It was
close.”
Clark looked down, shook his head then asked again, “Did I
win?” His corner tried to interrupt saying, “Sure you did, you got
him.”
Clark’s eyes remained on the Strohl. “I’d give it to you, you
landed the harder, bigger shots, but who knows what they’re gonna do.”
The decision came as a split decision in favor of Strohl. Clark
appealed to the crowd and got some support, probably from the guys who had
their money on him. But maybe there were a few who understood the art of
inside fighting, the art of Joe Frazer and Jack Dempsey, of the glory
found there far from the glamour of this game.
Sam Colona is the trainer at the famed Windy City Gym on
Chicago’s west side. He has been involved in a lot of big fights.
“It’s like a high, you work so hard, all the lights, you
can’t describe it, hair is popping out of your arms, all that builds to
that point, it’s a lot of stress,” Colona said. Though he hasn’t
been on the winning side of all the big fights. “When you lose it’s
like an empire just fell down, a lot of crying, ‘why did this
happen?’”
The next card featured at the Ramada Rumble will be held on Nov.
27. It will feature Pat Coleman vs. Pat Thorns for the IBU world title, at
Welterweight. The card will also feature Art Binkowsky, Mike Mallow, Ed
Gutierrez, Eddie Pirra and Matt Barber.
And they will return, to this room, this ring. Because of what lies
on the far bank of these waters. Glory, Million Dollar, Madison Square
Garden bouts remembered, broken nose, scar-browed old men forever. This is
the place.
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