(SEPT 28) A chronicling of the
professional boxing career of Ann Marie Saccurato must begin with a
one word question: Why. Why has this remarkable American fighter
gone 736 days, and counting, between bouts in her home country? Why
has Ann Marie Saccurato not fought in the United States since
September 22, 2007?. It is surely not because that September 2007
bout was a dull, un-watchable affair.
Those ten rounds with Jessica Rakoczy, culminating in a startling knockout by Saccurato, with
seconds remaining in the bout, may have been the best female fight,
of any length, ever, in the history of Women's boxing. Saccurato
deserved to be the center of bidding wars for her ring services in
any of those areas in this country that count themselves as "good
fight towns" (including her hometown of New York). Instead,
Saccurato's next three bouts were in Tokyo, Tokyo and, upcoming on
October 9, in Marseille. That's Tokyo, Japan and Marseille, France.
Why?
Because no one is paying attention. Because no one knows, or seems
to care enough about just how good the sport of Women's boxing can
be. I am not talking about the hard core contingent of fans who
follow the sport. Nor do I mean those boxing fans who, invariably,
come away from a fight card, marveling that the female bout was the
"fight of the night." No, I'm talking specifically of those "boxing
professionals," in this country, who are, ostensibly, charged with
putting the best female boxers in their sport in the best possible
position of exposure for their remarkable talents. That would be the
promoters and sanctioning bodies whose mission, supposedly, is to
present their sport at it's talented best.
To be fair, in this time of fragmented sports interests, it is not
an easy job, especially when it comes to women's athletics. But it
can be done. It can be done with hard work and dedication to the
purpose of "selling the sport" rather than blithely hoping that the
sports fan will realize, on their own, just how good the sport and
the athletes are. Selling any sport to the public requires proactive
efforts from within the hierarchy of the sport.
To date, those type
of efforts have been largely absent in the sport of Women's boxing.
It can be done. It was done with the 2012 Olympics. But to date, the
overseers of the sport of professional Women's boxing have come up
woefully short of their responsibilities to the sport they
purportedly guide. That certainly may be one reason why one of the
top American female boxers has not fought in the US in over two
years and why Ann Marie Saccurato has been forced to globe-trot, to
Asia and Europe, in order to properly display her eye-catching
talents in the ring against worthy competition such as Myriam Lamare.
"It's frustrating, but even more, it's heartbreaking," Saccurato
told me last week when we spoke at the LA Boxing facility in
Mamaroneck, NY, a week before she leaves for France to fight Lamare
for the vacant World Boxing Foundation female light welterweight
title, on October 9, in the aforementioned Marseille, France. "It's
frustrating because this sport is difficult enough without
constantly having to add on long, twelve hour flights just to get
within commuting distance of the bout (and that's just France;
Japan, fuggeditabutit, getting to Japan is a second career). "But
it's also heartbreaking because what I really want to do, more than
anything in this sport, is to fight in front of those fans who have
been with me from the start of my career; I want to give something
back to those fans who have provided such love and support for me
through all the ups and downs that any boxer goes through.
And I
sure can't do that in Tokyo or Marseille. Don't get me wrong, I'm
glad I got this bout, it was a long time in the making and I have
nothing but the deepest respect for Myriam as a person and as a
fighter (I met her in New Mexico when she was over here for the
Holly Holm bout) and it will be a privilege to be in the ring with
her. But I would much rather have had this fight in Madison Square
Garden, and you know, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Myriam would
have agreed to that.
Of course, the bout won't be in Madison Square Garden and one reason
is that you'd go through a whole lot of "boxing people" in that "mecca"
on West 33rd St. before you got a correct answer to the question:
"who is Myriam Lamare," if, indeed, you ever got a correct answer.
Saccurato can provide an answer quickly, "Lamare is a real good
fighter, she's been in with Anne Sophie Mathis twice, the second
time, losing a close majority decision. And in January she (Lamare)
gave Holly (Holm) a very interesting night out in New Mexico. Bottom
line, Myriam Lamare is one of the top fighters in the sport." And,
so, not only does Ann Marie Saccurato have to "go on the road
again," but boxing fans in the United States miss out on the
opportunity of watching two of the best female fighters in the world
go ten rounds, simply because, the "power structure" in Women's
boxing, in this country, does not seem to know enough or care enough
about the sport to find a time and place for this bout.
And, know this: Saccurato/Lamare could turn out to be one of the
best female bouts this year. Both fighters have been in with the top
boxers in their weight class, 130-140. And that means both boxers
have been in with the best fighters in the sport of Women's boxing.
Lamare and Saccurato have had two common opponents: Belinda
Laracuente and Holly Holm. Lamare won decisions over Laracuente
twice within four months in 2006, both close verdicts; Saccurato
dropped a split decision to Laracuente in 2005, her (Saccurato)
first loss as a professional. Both fighters have, also, lost close
decisions to Holly Holm in New Mexico. Saccurato and Lamare are both
"come forward" fighters, each has good punching power and both
maintain close to a 50% record in KO wins: Lamare 9/16, Saccurato
6/14. Neither fighter has a reverse gear. "Fight of the Year?" Who
knows.
But when you put together two boxers with the talent of Ann
Marie Saccurato and Myriam Lamare, that possibility is not out of
the discussion. And who put it together? The WBC and Golden Boy
Promotions, the WBA and Bob Arum?
Not a chance. The bout is being sanctioned by the World Boxing
Foundation, an organization that has been in existence for five
years and the fight is being promoted by Absolut Boxe in Marseille.
These are "boxing people," with a distinct difference between them
and their better know colleagues in the sport. The World Boxing
Foundation and Absolut Boxe seem to clearly understand that good
fights come in all genders.
And the fight they put together on
October 9 is a good fight, it could be a terrific fight. Fight fans
in the US will probably have to scour the Internet or YouTube for
reports and possibly taped snippets of the bout. And when those
reports are read and those snippets viewed and those fans realize
that they missed out, once again, on a very good bout between two
fighters who happen to be female, those fans will probably,
logically, ask: Why?
Bernie McCoy
