Hank Schwartz’s book won this year’s Independent Book Publisher’s Gold Medal, Sports Division.

by Roger Zotti

If anyone is positioned to write about his work as a boxing promoter and fan of the sport, it’s Brooklyn-born Hank Schwartz. A WWII Veteran, graduate from Brooklyn Polytech, and an expert on satellite and microwave technology, Hank promoted one of the most famous fights of all time – the “Rumble in the Jungle,” the 1974 Muhammad Ali – George Foreman heavyweight championship bout in Zaire. (At the time, his vice-president was Don King.) Hank was also responsible for the 1973 Foreman – Joe Frazier bout in Jamaica and the third Ali-Frazier contest, the ‘Thrilla in Manila.’”

Now Hank and his collaborator, Paige Stover Hague, have written From the Corners of the Ring to the Corners of the Earth: The Adventure Behind the Champions (CIVCOM).  Winner of the 2010 Independent Book Publisher’s Gold Medal in the Sports Division, the book is immensely entertaining, exciting and informative – for Hank takes the reader on an often surreal and hilarious journey behind the scenes of “the Golden Era of heavyweight boxing.”

Hank says many boxers – unfortunately – don’t know when to retire because “boxing is a gladiatorial sport … when you fight like a gladiator, you live in a world that, in your own mind, you have a position to defend. So you never want to say or think, ‘Well, I’ve had it. You take it over … and leave me alone.’ When they become mentally put down, that’s the time they’ll retire.”  Heavyweight fighters, Hank continues, “almost paint a picture of themselves as being back in the Roman era fighting in the Coliseum against other gladiators … The heavyweight fighter is a machine trained to deliver powerful blows” and today’s heavyweights aren’t as good “as those before because I don’t see any of them as delivering the amount of power and speed delivered by Ali, Frazier and Foreman. If I were back in the industry, I would [search hard] to find better talent in the heavyweight area.” This doesn’t mean Hank believes the heavyweight division is dead. Rather, he hopes its glory can be restored using “the newer technology.” The sport “can be broadcast into homes in high definition television and taken in on the Internet, allowing you to [watch] it on your time.”

One of most laugh-out-loud chapters involves George Foreman, who wouldn’t fly to Zaire – for his title fight against Ali – unless his dog Diego was allowed to sit next to him on the plane. Somehow Hank, reeling in disbelief, persuaded incredulous American Airplanes officials to permit man’s best friend to sit beside George and travel first class. Of course, Ali exploited the situation. (See pages 246-47. It’s Ali at his funniest.)

“Ali’s Last Hurrah” is one of saddest chapters. Before the 1980 Larry Holmes fight, Hank reviewed Ali’s medical records: “I suggested the fight be canceled… this would allow Ali to retire with dignity and in relative good health.” But Ali disagreed. At the end of the tenth round Angelo Dundee, Ali’s trainer, stopped the one-sided bout, proving Ali should never have fought the younger, stronger Holmes.

For more about the author and his book, visit CornersOfTheRing.com.

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Stonington native, Kevin Frowling continues his success as a baseball player at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.

by Maren Schober

Kevin Froling, a sophomore at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, is “striking them out” in baseball.  A 2008 graduate of Stonington High School, Kevin is continuing his success as a baseball player in college and making both his school and family proud.

“I am going into my Junior year at RPI,” Kevin tells me. “I chose to play baseball in college because it is a sport I enjoyed ever since I started playing it.  I also chose RPI because they have a very successful baseball program including one of the highest winning percentages in the country under head coach Karl Stephen,” Kevin states.

“RPI is one of the best engineering schools in the country.  I excell in math and science so engineering is a good career path for me. As a freshman, I was the smallest kid on the team and did not receive many opportunities to play. I worked hard in the off season and got stronger and faster while putting on 15-20 lbs.  I still received minimal playing time but with a large graduating class this year, I am looking to step in as one of the regular outfielders for the next year’s team. 

This year, coach Stephen classified me as a strong defensive outfielder with great bat control but lacks the power for long extra base hits.  Also, this year, we were ranked as high as ‘seventh’ in the country for D3 baseball but did not play up to our potential at the end of the year, which was disappointing.  Next year, we will have a young team with only three seniors.  We should still have a pretty good team but it may turn into a rebuilding year with the number of seniors that we are losing.”

In high school Kevin participated in soccer, basketball, indoor track and baseball which he played for all four years including two as a starter.  “I was a pitcher and an outfielder,” Kevin explains. “I had a high school career batting average of about .330 and I was a captain my senior year.”
All through high school Kevin was an honor roll student, participated in stage crew,  link crew, National Honor Society and received eight varsity letters.

Last summer, Kevin worked as a camp councilor at Stonington High School. “This summer I will be working as an intern at Electric Boat in Groton.  It  will also be my second year playing in the CT College Baseball League (CCBL) for the Manchester Mavericks, where I am a starting outfielder and a relief pitcher.  It is a wood bat summer league for college players in CT.”

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The winner of the 2010 Mohegan Sun World’s Strongest Man Qualifier, Derek Poundstone, Waterbury police officer, during the 700lb Timber Frame Carry.

story & photo
by Christopher Annino

Several weeks ago Strongmen Athletes from throughout the world come to battle feats of strength such as the Giant Timber Frame Carry 700lbs, Car Deadlift, and the Atlas Stones – which weigh 285 lbs to 420lbs – at Mohegan Sun Arena. Those who competed in World’s Strongest Man Qualifier  were: Mark Felix, Brian Shaw, Derek Poundstone, Terry Hollands, Stoyan Todorchev, and Louis-Phillipe Jean.

Just coming off wining the Arnold Classic Strongman event for the 2nd time in a row and placing fourth in the World’s Strongest Man Championships in Multa, Waterbury police officer Derek Poundstone carved a reputation for himself in the strongest man competitions for being consecutive. “World’s strongest man is not about how strong an individual is, there is a great deal of technique, stamina, agility, and speed required in these events,” said Derek. At the Qualifier he had gathered another consecutive victory just barely winning over fellow athlete Brian Shaw.

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(l-r) Delvin Rodriguez lands a jab against the right eye of Mike Arnaoutis at Mohegan Sun.

by Alex Pierpaoli

Danbury native, Delvin Rodriguez defeated Mighty Mike Arnaoutis for a twelve round unanimous decision, thus retaining his USBA Welterweight Title, in the Main Event of a six bout card at Mohegan Sun.  An enthusiastic crowd watched the mostly tactical bout promoted by Star Boxing and aired on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.

After an uneventful first, a round best described as the consummate feeling-out round, Rodriguez used his size and consistent pressure to blunt the attack of the southpaw, Arnaoutis.  Mighty Mike’s speedy straight-rights and lefts did little damage to the stronger Rodriguez who landed his own straight shots that swelled and reddened the face of Arnaoutis over the course of the bout.  In the eleventh, Rodriguez opened a gash around the left eye of Arnaoutis and the cut bled freely till the end of the bout.

Despite consistent and effective body-punching by Arnaoutis, Rodriguez’s size and power won him the bout on all three official scorecards.  Judge Clarck Sammartino saw it 118-109, judge Don Ackerman had it 117-110 and judge Larry Hazzard Jr’s final tally was 119-108, all in favor of Delvin Rodriguez.  

In the televised co-feature, former Olympian and unbeaten Demetrius Andrade, of Providence, RI, defeated Geoffrey Spruiell by eight round unanimous decision.  The junior middleweight southpaw, Andrade, used smart boxing and aggression to force the determined Spruiell to give up ground.   By the end of round three it seemed as though Andrade might be able to end things with a busy fourth round but the cagey Spruiell, of Pueblo, CO, was determined to go the distance and made it to the final bell by fighting back wildly when along the ropes and clutching through the rough spots when Andrade surged.  Andrade finished the night with a shut-out victory on all three official scorecards and proved his focus is not shaken when faced with a cagey but limited opponent who refuses to be kayoed and is content to go the distance.  Andrade improved to 10-0 (7) and Spruiell fell to 8-9 (2). 

Middleweight Joe Greene of Queens, NY defeated Chris Gray of Baton Rouge LA by eight round unanimous decision in the most dreadful bout of the night.  Both men clutched and grabbed and missed and fouled each other throughout the fight bringing out the boo-birds in the crowd who were only scattered by hoots and whistles between rounds at the appearance of the bikini-clad round card girls.  Greene remained undefeated with the decision win and is now 22-0 (14) while Gray dropped to 12-13 (1).

In the first bout of the night super middleweight Shqiprim Muriqi, brother of light heavyweight Elvir Muriqi, stopped Fasika Bezabah at 2:08 of round three.  Bezabeh was getting shelled along the ropes when referee George Phillips stepped in and waved off the bout.  Muriqi is now 3-0 (2) while Bezabeh remains without a win at 0-4.

Yan Barthelemy, of Miami, stopped Roberto Benitez, of the Bronx, at 1:16 of round four in a super bantamweight contest.

Yathomas Riley of the Bronx, NY, stopped Walter Foster Jr of St Louis, MO, at 1:20 of round number two in a light heavyweight scrap.

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Governor M. Jodi Rell presents Coach Geno Auriemma and the University of Connecticut Women’s basketball team with an oversized Connecticut license plate to mark the team’s undefeated season and seventh national championship. An estimated 25,000 people attended the team’s parade in downtown Hartford and State Capitol rally on April 18.

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High school student athletes celebrating the new ECC Website with former Boston Redsox catcher Roger Lafranois. (l-r) Dana Derrico, Woodstock Academy, Quinn Duffy, Bacon Academy, Marcel Simion, New London HS, Mike Green, Woodstock Academy, Ross Spencer, East Lyme HS, Roger Lafrancois, Andrew Hill, Bacon Academy, and Rachael Gavin, New London HS.

Several weeks ago, representatives of the Eastern Connecticut Conference (ECC) announced the creation of their new website at Norwich Free Academy. ECCToday.org, the interactive website, is designed to help raise funds for ECC Programs.

The website allows individuals to find out what is happening with any of the ECC sports. “This gives positive exposure to many of the young athletes. I think this is a good thing for everyone” says Roger LaFrancois, owner of LaFrancois Marketing Consultants and former Boston Red Sox catcher.

Visitors to the site will also be able to find tournament results, view action photography, vote for their favorite schools and sign up for a monthly e-newsletter. “We think it’s an awesome thing it is finally a way to broadcast stats and scores more globally. It gives us more opportunities as student athletes,” said Woodstock Academy student athletes Mike Green and Dana Derrico.

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Referee Benji Esteves picks up the count over the fallen Juan Urango as Devon Alexander looks on from a neutral corner at Mohegan Sun Arena

by Alex Pierpaoli
photos by Rich Esposito

Devon Alexander unified the WBC & IBF 140 pound titles in beating Juan Urango by eighth round TKO at Mohegan Sun Arena.  Alexander, of St. Louis, used smart, aggressive boxing to checkmate the wild-swinging, hard-charging Colombian, Juan Urango, stopping him for the first time in his 25 bout career.  The Alexander-Urango fight was featured live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark to cap an eight bout card promoted by the fight game’s own P.T. Barnum, Don King.

In a sport that sees fewer and fewer American stars each year, Devon Alexander stepped forward as a fighter to watch with his brilliant performance versus Urango.  Alexander-Urango pitted two southpaws against each other but it was clear from the outset that Alexander’s speedy right jabs were getting to the target before Urango’s wide right hooks and plaguing the Colombian who tried repeatedly to get his offense started.  Alexander, unlike other similarly-styled boxers, uses upper body movement to avoid blows rather than distance and stayed close to the danger zone and well within Urango’s punching range while using constant but incremental side-to-side movement to force the aggressive Urango to pursue him.  Alexander’s skillful use of distance kept the fight exciting and competitive.  And although Urango was able to connect with power shots in rounds three, five and six, he was never able to hurt or stun Alexander, despite winning as many as four rounds on one judge’s scorecard.

Devon Alexander connects with a left to the mid-section of Juan Urango at Mohegan Sun.

Urango was bleeding from the nose and an abrasion above his left eye in round two that appeared to have been caused by a snappy right hook by Alexander.  The right uppercut was another power punch that Alexander had success with from the start.  Landing from long range or in close, Alexander strafed Urango with the nasty uppercut which Alexander admitted later he and trainer Kevin Cunningham had worked to perfect in training camp.

Their work paid off.

In round eight, Alexander connected with a picture-perfect right uppercut that caught Urango on the face just as he was throwing a left hand power shot and the Colombian slugger was instantly flat on his back as the crowd of 3117 let out a collective gasp.  Urango was up at eight and ready to continue but in true professional fashion, Alexander rushed forward and finished things off with another well placed combination including another uppercut which dropped Urango again.  Referee Benji Esteves stopped the bout at 1:12 of round eight.

Afterwards, Alexander, now 20-0 with 13 kos, hinted at an upcoming bout with former 140 & 147 pound titlist Zab Judah, who was ringside for the Main Event.  Judah knocked out another St. Louis native, former welterweight champ Cory Spinks in Missouri in 2005 and promoter Don King looks to be setting the stage for Alexander to try and avenge Spinks’ defeat to Judah in the coming months.

After his performance versus Juan Urango, Devon Alexander certainly looks up to the task.  During the in-ring post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman, broadcast to the arena on the PA system, Alexander made it clear what he thought about a fight with Brooklyn’s Judah.

“Zab’s the past tense,” Alexander said.  “I’m the present tense.”

In defeat Juan Urango returns to Colombia with a record of 22-3-1 (17).

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photo by Rich Esposito

by Alex Pierpaoli

Providence’s Peter Manfredo Jr. attacks Matt Vanda in a middleweight Main Event at Mohegan Sun.  Manfredo was the busier, more aggressive fighter over ten rounds and the Rhode Islander landed a big left hook to the floating rib in round six that put Vanda on one knee.  The crowd enjoyed Manfredo’s work rate, chanting: Pete-ah, Pete-ah! as he pursued Vanda, pressuring him throughout the bout.  With the decision win, Manfredo improved to 34-6 (18) while Matt Vanda dropped to 42-10 (22).

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