Talking Boxing with STEVE FARHOOD
"What's so beautiful about boxing is the diversity of the fighters"
by
Coyote Duran
3/9 - I'm a firm believer that boxing isn't just great because of fighters. Oh sure, they're the attraction, mind you, but what fan
isn't affected in some way by the ubiquitous
analyst or
commentator?
Sometimes you love 'em. Sometimes you hate 'em. Sometimes, you turn the sound off so you can score a fight without being influenced even in the most minute of ways. Some of us have favorites while others make us scratch our heads and ask "What the hell?!" I actually have my own Jim Lampley Mistaken Reference and Facts Scorecard (Patent Pending).......I'm not kidding.
As a member of this esteemed community, Steve Farhood is a different breed of cat. Farhood, who along with solid sports vet/tan-meister Nick Charles, provides analysis for ShoBox: The New Generation with razor-keen honesty, a purist's eye and an appreciation for a sport he's been involved with in more ways than the casual fan might realize.
As a former editor for The Ring Magazine as well as currently being a contributing force in organizations like The Boxing Writer's Association of America and F.I.S.T., Farhood
knows what being neck deep in the sport is all about. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
I caught up with Steve recently and he filled me in on his life as an editor, why people take sanctioning bodies seriously and how he contributes to the sport he dearly adores.
Read on, Howlers. If you appreciate candid, respectful observations of your favorite sport, then this is an interview I hope you'll enjoy.
STEVE FARHOOD
Coyote Duran: You’ve served the sport in so many facets, Steve. Where did your passion for the fight game originate?
Steve Farhood: Well, growing up, I was affected like every other person my age by Ali. He was as famous and compelling an athlete as there was, in my youth. I went to all of his big fights on closed-circuit television in the movie theaters. You couldn't help but be a boxing fan when Ali was champion. That streak in the '70s when he fought Foreman and Frazier a couple of times and Norton three times. I mean, those were just great fights and you couldn't help but be a fan. I was a big sports fan but certainly a boxing fan as well.
Coyote Duran: Steve, you ran the show at The Ring Magazine for about 8 years or so. How much effort on your part was there to bring the magazine out of its state of disrepair in the 1980’s?
Steve Farhood: Well, you know, the magazine had a lot of different incarnations in the '80s. I feel that when it first came back in the early '80s, (Historian and famed boxing scribe) Bert Sugar did a very good job with it. In '79, '80, '81, he really brought life to the magazine. The magazine was more in financial difficulty when I took over as editor in 1989 than anything else. So it was a tremendous challenge because everybody associated with the magazine back then respected it so much and we wanted to regain its status as "The Bible of Boxing." So we worked very hard to turn it out with the same principles that we had applied to KO Magazine. Good journalism, good interesting stories, good photography, good editing, etc. So it was a challenge, but one we knew we were capable of because we had started KO magazine in 1980 and I'm very proud of what we did with that magazine.
Coyote Duran: How did you come to the decision to drop the reins and move into broadcasting?
Steve Farhood: Well, I left the company that put out The Ring and KO in........I believe it was '97. I had a disagreement with the owner about some of my outside activities and continued to write as I still do, mostly for Boxing Monthly. I had already been doing broadcasting so it was just the next logical step and fortunately about 4 years ago, the opportunity came to do ShoBox. That takes up most of my time now.
Coyote Duran: In your years as an observer of the sport, Steve, is there a particular joy that you experience watching young fighters grow on ShoBox?
"You have to see a fighter 2 or 3 times to make any kind of judgement"
Steve Farhood: Oh, of course! One of the most interesting aspects of the job is to see a young fighter and try to project (his progress). Is he a future champion or is he's gonna fall by the wayside? You look for the little subtle things and the beauty of it is that it's so easy to be wrong! I mean, I don't think I'm different from anyone else in that I've seen fighters that look fantastic and end up not making it. And very often, it's for reasons that have nothing to do with boxing! It can be because of the streets. It can be because of lack of connections. It can be for a lot of reasons. Then sometimes, you'll see a fighter that may not impress you and then turns out to be a future world champ so it's kind of a game and it's great to play because you can never be sure! The one thing I've learned, especially from ShoBox, is that you never, ever make the mistake of judging a fighter, a young fighter, by one performance. We had Rico Hoye on. We had Kermit Cintron on. We had Sam Peter on and none of them looked good on their first fights on ShoBox and they're all top prospects now. You have to see a fighter 2 or 3 times to make any kind of judgement.
Coyote Duran: And even one who's made his dent in ShoBox in Mike Arnaoutis. We saw what happened in his last outing against Roberto Santa Cruz where Arnaoutis got a little lax and ignorant of his opponents potential and came close to blowing it. In the eyes of some, he walked out of there by the skin of his teeth.
Steve Farhood: Yeah, that was the reverse! That was a fighter looking fantastic, maybe a little bit better than he was the first two or three times on our show and then leveling off. That's a classic case of that. So it works both ways. You can't expect prospects to be consistent because they're learning. What they learn from Fight "A" they carry to Fight "B" and until they experience what they experience in Fight "A", you know, they can't use that in the future. There's a lot of evolution to a fighter and it's a step-by-step process. You can't make sweeping conclusions the first time you see them.
Coyote Duran: In light of that last bit of conversation, I hope we don't run the risk of jinxing any particular fighter by discussing this. Is there any particular fighter featured on ShoBox, thus far, that you feel is above and beyond others in his class of ability or who might go further than any other?
Steve Farhood: Well, let's think.....I'll say this: I like Arnaoutis a lot. The reason I like him is he shows me a lot of the intangibles. I believe he's very tough. I believe he has a fighter's spirit and I believe he's very serious about what he does. Those are aspects of a young fighter that not all young fighters have. Does Arnaoutis have the skill to go to the top? We'll see. I can't answer that for sure but I do like a lot of the intangibles that he brings. Robert Guerrero, who's on our next show, to me is as good a young featherweight as there is in the world. He's in that category right now where he's really a prospect who's a contender. Only in today's boxing world could you have that because there's so few good fighters. He's borderline Top 10 already and he's still really a prospect. He definitely looks the part. On a slightly lesser scale, Shamone Alvarez is certainly looking fantastic in his two ShoBox appearances. He looks real good. He's a southpaw who can punch, box a little bit as well. Those are the first names that come to mind.
Coyote Duran: What would you say was the best fight you’ve ever covered or for that matter, not covered and just enjoyed?
"the best fight I've ever covered...was the first Alexis Arguello-Aaron Pryor fight"
Steve Farhood: Well, the best fight I've ever covered, and I'm asked this question quite a bit, was the first Alexis Arguello-Aaron Pryor fight at the Orange Bowl. 1982, I believe? If you combine all the elements of what makes a great fight: Action, atmosphere, significance, quality of the fighters. The stakes were great because Arguello was trying to become the first fighter to win titles in four weight classes and he was favored to do so. It was just as perfect a match-up and then the fight was even better. You know, tremendous pace, tremendous changes in momentum. Pryor fighting a little different style than he had fought and then a vicious, conclusive ending. So that fight had it all for me. I would give it the slight edge over fights like Hearns-Leonard and other fights like that like (Wilfredo) Gomez-(Lupe) Pintor. A bunch of fights I've been at have been great fights but I would rate that #1.
Coyote Duran: As an observer, do you think this sport can ever see a renaissance, a possible return to the mainstream glory it once held?
Steve Farhood: It's not gonna be easy. Boxing right now is suffering a little bit for a lot of different reasons. A lot of them self-inflicted reasons. A reason that I think it can regain some of its former glory is because there's still nothing as great as a big fight! Boxing sells itself in that regard. Baseball, basketball, football, hockey are great games but there's nothing like a great fight where the whole world focuses on two fighters in one ring at one particular time. The fighters have to be well-known and well-publicized and that's where the problem comes because it's an individual sport of stars and the star-making machine is really not in a good place right now.
Coyote Duran: I rely on The Ring for its gutsiness and defiance of what they consider the ills of boxing. As a former captain of the ship, are there any other elements that you think hold back the sport?
Steve Farhood: I feel that there are a couple of different elements. One element that does not look like it's going to improve is the fact that boxing gets less coverage in the media than it used to. Far less. It's become really covered on the Internet only now. Newspapers virtually ignore the sport now. One of the reasons for that is that the editors of magazines and newspapers are younger and younger and younger than they used to be. Boxing is not a sport that they grew up watching so they don't appreciate it or understand it as much as some of the older guys that were their predecessors. So that's a problem. Another problem which bothers me to no end is that sports like NASCAR or the NBA and the NFL depend so much on marketing. In-house marketing. Boxing doesn't have that because it's so fragmented and that there is no one body that runs the sport. Marketing is everything today because of the competition! You can't just throw something out there and expect it to be seen. So because boxing is so fragmented, everybody's out for short-term, selfish results. There's nobody who looks at the long-term health of the sport and welfare of the sport and as a result, there's really very little in-house marketing. If you have a great fight or a great fighter, that fight or fighter has to be marketed just like anything has to be marketed! There's nothing in place to do that and boxing suffers because of it.
Coyote Duran: Do you think The Ring’s current championship policy is a good thing for the sport?
Steve Farhood: Yes, I do because we've been bitching and moaning about the alphabets for 30 years and nothing's changed! What The Ring is doing is noble. Nigel Collins is a good boxing man and an honest boxing man. Two things you need to do ratings. Now I don't 100% agree with their methods. I would like a wider panel or polling. A geographically balanced polling. That's the way I believe ratings should be done. With that said, I think what they're doing is being accepted because the media is the key. The media has to accept it and certainly HBO and ESPN have taken to this idea. While it's not perfect, I think it's certainly a welcome change from the alphabets.
Coyote Duran: Truth be told, Steve, I can’t help but be somewhat insulted when a Ring champ who holds another minor sanctioning belt like the IBO or the IBA, for example, gets the props for holding those belts and The Ring’s title might not even get mentioned.
Steve Farhood: Right. Well, TV is to blame for all of that. There's not a doubt in my mind. Fighters love belts. It doesn't matter who the belts belong to. In many cases, even a WBO title which may not be considered quite as significant as an IBF, WBA or WBC title, means money to the fighters. So from the fighters' perspective, I understand it. But from the sport's perspective, you have to take the belts for what they're worth. Television, really from the late '70s, encouraged promoters and fighters to push the idea of championship fights. That's one of the reasons we have as many as we do and I understand it but times do change and I think the fans today, especially the hardcore fans, are a little insulted by meaningless championships.
Coyote Duran: There are still some people who honestly see, I guess, a relevance in the sanctioning bodies as well as their belts and I think they're inclined to give that reverance on history alone.
Steve Farhood: Well, I think what people have to remember is that while we may not like the selfishness of the WBC, WBA and the IBF, you do need somebody to determine who the champions are and the top contenders. Now should that be a magazine which is a commercial entity? Perhaps not. Perhaps it should be done independently. But nonetheless, someone has to say "This is the champion of the world." It's a sport that needs that. You just can't explode a bomb on the WBA, WBC and IBF and say "Get rid of 'em. Let's start over!" You have to have something in place to replace them.
Coyote Duran: Who have been or currently are your favorite fighters to watch?
"What's so beautiful about boxing is the diversity of the fighters"
Steve Farhood: There's so many. What's so beautiful about boxing is the diversity of the fighters. As a result, I love some boxers, I love some punchers. We all love knockouts but you can't love one style without respecting or liking the others 'cause it's the mesh of styles that make great fights. With that in mind, I've loved boxers from Eusebio Pedroza and Pernell Whitaker. I've loved punchers like Pipino Cuevas and Arturo Gatti. I've loved fighters who can adapt like "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Julio Cesar Chavez. I guess if you held a gun to my head and asked "Who's your favorite of all time?", I would have to say (Roberto) Duran. But he's the choice of a lot of guys because he was such a pure fighter. I was lucky enough to see some of his bigger fights live and I didn't have any significant personal relationship with him, basically, because of the language barrier but I loved him as a fighter and I don't see anybody who's a real boxing fan not loving Roberto Duran. I don't mean to shortchange you in answering your question but with current fighters, I love Diego Corrales. Consistently involved in great fights. I love Erik Morales. Consistently involved in great fights. I tend to like the smaller guys a little more than the bigger guys. That's just my nature. When I first came up, I loved the bantamweight division. Especially the Mexicans with (Ruben) Olivares and those guys, (Carlos) Zarate and (Alfonso) Zamora. So I tend to like the smaller guys a little better. I have an appreciation for the Barreras and the Moraleses of the world.
Coyote Duran: Tell us how your work as a director with the Fighters Initiative for Support and Training is coming along. For those who aren’t familiar with the organization, how does F.I.S.T. help ex-fighters?
Steve Farhood: well, we help ex-fighters in a multitude of ways. Fighters, very often, just don't know who to turn to. Former fighters, I should say, have a number of problems. Everything from drug and alcohol abuse to needing vocational help to needing guidance to needing help in making the transition from being a full-time boxer to joining the work force. There are a lot of difficulties and no one has ever been there to turn to. So what F.I.S.T. does is we connect people to organizations. We connect people to people who can give them jobs. We connect fighters to psychiatrists. We connect them to drug counselors. We connect them to vocational experts. Whatever needs to be done. Over the years, and it's been about 4 or 5 years, F.I.S.T. has collected a number of resources and in many, many different ways. When a former fighter comes to us and says "I don't wanna fight anymore. I want a kickstart with the rest of my life." or "I have a problem. Can you help me?" Well, we know where to send them. We make that connection and that's a beautiful thing.
Coyote Duran: Being a vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, a board member of F.I.S.T. and a commentator for ShoBox is an insane list of responsibilities. What do you like to do in what little down time you probably have?
Steve Farhood: Well, you know, I love working for F.I.S.T. and the Boxing Writers because it's done selflessly because, obviously there's no pay involved. I like giving back because I've been in boxing 27 years. It's the only thing I've ever done professionally and I just love the sport. I love the people and I love everything about it so giving back is fun and I enjoy that. In downtime, I'm a major sports fan. I love college basketball. I love watching football. I love playing ball. I try to stay in shape and I love going to movies and theater and taking advantage of living in New York City. There is downtime. I don't believe in being totally obsessed with boxing. I don't think that's healthy in any way. I watch as much boxing on TV as most guys. I go to a lot of fights. I spend a lot of time working! But I do feel it's best to have something other than boxing in your life.
Coyote Duran: Steve, I'd like to thank you for your time. It's been quite a privilege talking to someone who's seen so much in this sport.
Steve Farhood: Well, it's my pleasure! Anytime I can help, I'd love to. You know, I was once starting in this business as well and it's a long road. Anytime I can help anybody, I'm happy to do it. Especially somebody young and starting out. Anything I can do, feel free to ask.
Talking Boxing would like to thank Steve Farhood for taking the time to share his valuable thoughts and insight on a sport that has given him so much. With his various roles in serving the fight game, Steve has more than returned the favor and the love.
Please take the time to visit F.I.S.T. at www.helpboxers.org to learn more about this incredible fund raising organization. You can also check out the Boxing Writers Association of America at www.bwaa.org.
Coyote Duran can be reached at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com
Discuss this at our Boxing Forum
