Nick Charles Signs Off
 By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (June 28, 2011) Doghouse Boxing
-
I woke up to the news on Saturday morning via Twitter that Nick Charles, who had courageously fought bladder cancer since
2009 had passed away at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of 64. I'm
sure by now you've read all the bios and tributes to this man, who despite
being resigned to his fate and his deteriorating condition, never wavered from
his upbeat outlook on life. He understood how precious every day was and he
taught many of us that our time on Earth should be cherished.
But I got to thinking about
Nick on Saturday afternoon and it came to me- this guy was a huge part of my childhood growing up in Montebello, California,
as I was a young man who was a lot better at watching and talking about sports
than actually playing them. I fondly recall that every weeknight at 8:30 PM, Pacific Time, I
would tune into CNN to watch Charles and Fred Hickman co-host “Sports Tonight.”
Long before ESPN's “SportsCenter” became this monolithic, iconic show, these
two guys pioneered this field. They were the “Starsky and Hutch” of Ted
Turner's 24-hour news operation and along with reporters like Jim Huber (who
did some of the best vignette pieces you could ever imagine), Dan Hicks and
Vince Cellini, Charles and Hickman helped nurture this kid’s love of sports. It
was a nightly ritual for me; first “SportsCenter” would come on at 8 o'clock
but then I would flip over to CNN to see what was going on over there.
(If I dig deep enough, somewhere
in my closet full of old VHS tapes is a “Best of 'Play of the Day'” video from
CNN that I bought years ago.)
I can recall numerous times
in that era between the mid-to-late ‘80s where they would cover fights live on
the scene. In the days leading up to it, Charles and his mane of thick, black
hair would interview all the players involved in the promotion and then, report
from the press conferences on fight night. Boxing highlights were a regular
feature of “Sports Tonight”- I vividly recall being stunned by the clips of
Lloyd Honeyghan upsetting Donald Curry back in 1986. Back then, I didn't have
HBO or Showtime, so this program was vital.
That's the other thing about
Nick; unlike his other high-profile colleagues at similar positions, he
absolutely loved to cover our game and its participants. When it came to
boxing, it wasn't just an assignment to him but a true passion. His most
memorable moments were of camping out in Miami and looking for Roberto Duran just
days after his infamous “No Mas” debacle versus Sugar Ray Leonard. He had
dozens of stories like that as he covered boxing from the belly of the beast.
Charles would take it personally that newspapers and other forms of the media
would routinely ignore boxing and the brave individuals who risked their lives
to earn a living and entertain the masses. He found it unconscionable on many
levels that somehow, this sport was relegated to second-class status within the
mainstream.
My younger readers will most
likely associate Nick for being the blow-by-blow voice of “ShoBox” on Showtime.
I can honestly tell you, he loved that role (where he worked alongside Steve
Farhood since its inception in 2001). This wasn't just a paid gig for him. It
truly bothered him when he believed that the show had failed to deliver on its
mission statement to put young, fledgling boxers in real fights. I know because
I recall seeing him at a fight in Las Vegas where he had flown in after one of
his telecasts and asked me what I had thought of the previous night’s card. I
couldn't really offer an opinion since I hadn't seen it. He grimaced and told
me, "I don't know; wasn't really happy with the fights we did. We gotta do
better." It truly irked him because he wasn't just punching a clock when
he was on “ShoBox.”
More than once via email or
in private conversations, he would worry about the quality of the fights the
network was broadcasting. I don't think I have ever run into an announcer who
was more protective of a series that he worked on, not for what it meant to him
in any way, but in terms of the quality control and making sure that fans who
tuned in were not cheated. Yeah, he absolutely gave a damn about you guys out
there who follow the sport loyally because he was one of you guys. It hurt him
greatly when he had to give up his regular post because of his illness back in
2009. For a guy who covered the heyday of Mike Tyson and events like Ray
Leonard-Marvin Hagler, going to the Chumash Casino on a regular basis was still
the greatest job in the world.
As his health allowed, he
still made it clear he wanted to cover and be around the sport of boxing. And
he'd call excitedly when Bob Arum- who through it all, made it clear that he
would always have a home behind the mic for his cards- would dial his number
and see if he could make it out and call a fight. The first time many of us in
the boxing community saw Nick after he started his chemotherapy sessions was at
the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in November of 2009 in Las Vegas. At a Top Rank
media dinner on a Thursday
night, you saw the effects of his treatments but there was no other
place he wanted to be. Charles was around boxing people at a big event.
Precious moments with his family and boxing sustained him in many respects.
This past March, HBO did an incredibly gracious
thing by fulfilling his wish to call one last major bout and he did the
blow-by-blow for the fight between Miguel Garcia and Matt Remillard in Atlantic City. You
got the sense it would be his swan song to the sport of boxing and the general
public, which he had inspired during his ordeal.
I was tipped off by either
Kevin Iole and/or Fred Sternburg on their Twitter accounts last week that
things were getting very tough for Nick. I have to admit, after not reaching
out to Genaro Hernandez, during his last months with us, I promised I was
never, ever going to commit that folly again. I dialed up Nick and we chatted.
From the very onset of our conversation, I could sense a certain weariness and
fatigue in his voice I hadn't heard before, a resignation that while he had
fought the good fight, Charles had done all he could do. No, he wasn't quitting
but he was bowing out gracefully like a man who knew he had lived life to the
fullest and had given himself a puncher’s chance.
As always, Nick gave plenty of thanks for keeping tabs on him. "Ah, you're
the best; thanks for calling, Steve. You don't know how much it means to
me," he said. But this time, it just sounded different. I knew it would
probably be the last time we'd ever speak. I know how tired he was; you could
sense it. I didn't want to keep him too long, his remaining time would be
better spent with his wife, Cory and their daughter, Giovanna. Before we ended
things, he asked, "Hey, what do you think of Mayweather-Ortiz?" He
said it in a way that let you know he was looking forward to that September
match-up but with the stark reality that he wasn't going to be around to
witness it.
But that was Nick Charles.
A boxing guy till the very end.
WEEKEND THOUGHTS
In much lighter fare, there was a full-slate of boxing this past weekend, some
thoughts on what took place...
- I had Lucas Matthysse up by a few points over Devon Alexander on Saturday night. Honestly, you can make
the argument that Matthysse is legitimately undefeated (as he seemed to catch
up to Zab Judah late in their encounter in November) and starting with his
struggle against Andriy Kotelnik in August of last year, Alexander is 0-3.
Alexander's problem are twofold, in my opinion; outside of that devastating
shot to Juan Urango, he isn't much of a puncher (he never seems to hit through
his target, does he?) and unlike say, a Cory Spinks in his heyday, he doesn't
have the type of elusiveness to always make up for it at the world-class level.
- I thought two things would be a factor here in that fight: first, the home-canvas
advantage and second, the fact that this fight was a ten-rounder, not 12. I
think both played a huge part in this fight but it's clear, beating Alexander
in Missouri is
tougher than sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
- I want to see more of Tavoris Cloud; he's a fun, entertaining, blue-collar
fighter. He may have some limitations but the bottom line is that he'll always
give you a hard day’s work and he makes for good fights. The question is can
Don King keep him more active in the future? Forget about the marketability
factor as it relates to getting Cloud out there more often, I think these long
layoffs he's been through have hindered his development as a prizefighter.
- Just my opinion but I thought Matthew Macklin did enough to take the WBA
middleweight title from Felix Sturm. I had him winning 115-113. However,
judging by the reaction from the Twitter-verse, it was made to sound like
a robbery of Pernell Whitaker-Jose Luis Ramirez I proportions. I tweeted
something to the effect that it's a good thing World War II didn't go to the
scorecards in Germany.
This much is true; it will be very, very difficult to decision Sturm on his
soil.
LUKE
It was originally announced on
Friday night by Bernard Hopkins via Twitter that on October 15th,
he will face Chad Dawson. Later that evening, I spoke with Golden Boy CEO
Richard Schaefer, who confirmed the news. But Schaefer also mentioned- and
again, folks, don't kill the messenger here- that because of the HBO budget (or
lack thereof), this would be on pay-per-view.
(I can just hear the howls of protest now.)
Here's the thing, to me this reminds me of Luke Walton and his albatross of a
contract he has with the Lakers (where he somehow is getting paid in the $5
million range for the next two- yes, two!!- seasons) and because of this
existing deal, it has hampered the Lakers’ ability to make moves and they're
stuck with a guy who isn't that good (his “high basketball I.Q.”
notwithstanding, which is another way of saying, “slow and unathletic”). Well, early
on in 2011, HBO got themselves into a bunch of Luke Walton-like deals, from the
miscalculation on the Tim Bradley-Alexander fight (where they put in over $4
million in resources) and promising return engagements to the likes of
Alexander (who was paid over a million bucks this past weekend),Chad Dawson and
Sergiy Dzinziruk.
Folks, that's how you drain a budget and how Hopkins-Dawson ends up on
pay-per-view.
So for anyone who says that licensing fees doled out by the networks isn't
something that fans should care about, this certainly proves the opposite.
Another issue facing this event is that Montreal's Bell Centre, thought to be
the most ideal setting for this fight, has a hockey game scheduled for that
night. Schaefer told me that Quebec
City will be looked at, as will venues in Atlantic City and Los Angeles.
According to Schaefer, because of the impending NBA lockout (which some believe
will wipe out the entire 2011-2012 slate), there will be a lot of venues like
the Staples Center that will suddenly have 41 open dates needing to be filled and boxing could be
something that fills this void.
REMEMBERING NICK
This bit of information regarding Nick Charles was sent to me by Fred
Sternburg:
A memorial service will be scheduled in
his beloved Santa Fe
later this summer. Details will be announced soon. In lieu of
flowers, the Charles family has requested that donations be made in Nick’s
memory to WorldVision and TEACH NOW, a
project dedicated to preventing child labor in the Philippines and improving those
children’s lives. http://bit.ly/ixmnpy
Let’s all remember Nick’s lessons to us during his brave battle, to embrace
life and to love what you are doing.
FINAL FLURRIES
Honestly, I think Mike Dallas Jr. was the recipient of the worst decision of the weekend versus Mauricio Herrera.
Unfortunately, unlike a Macklin or Matthysse, he probably doesn't have their
options moving forward…John Molina has a thumping right hand but geez, his
delivery is about as elongated as a batting practice machine...Some say the EPIX.com feed was crystal clear and flawless. Others say that they still had problems
with it and went to another stream. So it's obvious that they still have some
issues to figure out...I would make some comments about the NBA Draft but I
have to admit, outside of the first two guys, I have no clue who the others
are...So Ron Artest wants to change his name? “Metta,” please...From what I've
seen the past two weeks, it's more like “Top Rank Dead” than “Top Rank Live”...Were
you guys as underwhelmed by Bermane Stiverne as I was, as he finally stopped
Ray “The Six-Dollar Man” Austin in ten rounds, while down on two scorecards?...
|
|
