Yankees clear date for Foreman-Cotto

[Keithlewis]

NEW YORK -- Boxing could be finally returning to Yankee Stadium, more than three decades after Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton at the old ballpark in the Bronx.

The Yankees said Friday they've agreed to accommodate a family that scheduled a bar mitzvah for June 5, the date that promoter Bob Arum wants to stage Yuri Foreman's junior middleweight title defense against Miguel Cotto at the opulent ballpark. It wasn't clear what accommodations were made, although the bar mitzvah for Scott Ballan is still scheduled for the same day.

Ballan is the son of Jon Ballan, the lead bond lawyer for the financing of the $1.2 billion stadium. As part of the bar mitzvah, the Yankees had promised the family use of the videoboard in center field, which would have prevented its use during the fight card.

"We want to thank Jon Ballan and his family for their graciousness, understanding and good will in helping to accommodate the Yankees," the team said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We will now meet with Bob Arum and his organization to continue discussions to bring this fight to Yankee Stadium."

While the contracts for the fight have yet to be signed, Foreman said he was thrilled about the possibility of fighting in one of the most hallowed venues in sports.

"It's a tremendous opportunity, it's something I've never ever dreamed," he said Friday. "It's where Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling, you know? For me to be fighting in Yankee Stadium is historical, being part of the history."

Yankee Stadium would likely be configured for about 30,000 fans if the fighters and venue agree to terms, although the precise logistics are unclear. When fights were staged at the old stadium, the ring was set up on the infield with floor seating radiating out in every direction, and additional seating in the stands and upper decks.

Foreman, who is studying to become a rabbi, was born in Belarus but now makes his home in New York. And just in case anybody was curious, Foreman made it clear he's a Yankees fan.

"It's a little bit surreal," he said. "But I've also had faith in God always being there, and sure that I knew God was going to help me, give me a hand. It's incredible."

Yankee Stadium has a proud tradition of hosting fights.

Rocky Marciano defeated Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore there, and nearly 40,000 turned out to see Willie Pep fight Sandy Saddler. Sugar Ray Robinson was done in by the heat against Joey Maxim in 1952, then by Carmen Basilio five years later in Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year.

Louis fought at Yankee Stadium a dozen times, against the likes of Max Baer and Primo Carnera, although his two battles with Schmeling had worldwide implications. Schmeling won the first bout in 1936 but, two years later, Louis delivered a blow to Nazi Germany by stopping Schmeling in the first round of their rematch.

Arum promoted the final bout at the old Yankee Stadium across 161st Street when Ali fought Norton on Sept. 28, 1976. Arum has approached the club several times over the past three years about staging another event at the stadium, but George Steinbrenner and club brass had always been tepid about erecting a ring and seating on the immaculate infield grass.

Under the new leadership of Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, though, the team appears more open to holding events such as concerts and fights at the ballpark in an attempt to maximize revenue.

Foreman (28-0) would be making the first defense of the WBA title he won from Daniel Santos on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's fight against Cotto last fall. While he doesn't have widespread name recognition, Foreman does have substantial backing from the large Jewish population that makes up the New York metropolitan area.

He'll need every bit of it fighting in a city where an estimated 800,000 people trace their roots to Puerto Rico. Cotto has regularly filled Madison Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade, which would fall the week after the fight at Yankee Stadium.

If negotiations for the ballpark fall through, Arum has the Garden on hold for June 12.

"I'll definitely have to be mentally on top of my game," Foreman said. "I know there are going to be a lot of Puerto Rican fans, which I don't mind. There are going to be a lot of boos, which is OK. I admire them for the way they support their boxers.

"In the end of the day, the bell rings, it's going to be just you in the corner."


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

[broncofan]

NEW YORK -- Boxing is back at Yankee Stadium after more than three decades.

Greats such as Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton have been replaced by Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman, and the ballpark where they once fought stands as a shell of its former self just across the street.

The dream of Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum to return to the ballpark in the Bronx was realized Friday, when Cotto and Foreman were introduced at the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium. They'll meet for Foreman's junior middleweight title June 5 in the first sports event besides baseball since the facility opened last spring.

"How can anybody that has any kind of feeling for momentous things not be here?" Arum said.

After the Yankees wrap up a three-game home series June 3 against the Baltimore Orioles, the stadium will be turned over to Top Rank promotions. The ring will be built in right-center field, under an enormous canopy, with about 7,000 field-level seats.

The rest of the seating will be in the outfield bleachers and down the first-base line, and promoters hope between 30,000 and 35,000 fans show up.

"It's an honor fighting here," said Foreman, the WBA titleholder, who was born in Belarus but makes his home in Brooklyn. "It's a dream."

Yankee Stadium has a proud tradition of hosting fights. Harry Greb fought under the famous facade, along with Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey and James Braddock -- the Cinderella Man.

When the 1920s beget the '30s, the great Joe Louis fought the first of his record 11 bouts at Yankee Stadium, including his famous victory over German champion Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938, that avenged an earlier loss in the same ballpark.

In later years, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano and Sugar Ray Robinson were the marquee names on the front gate. Rocky Marciano won four straight fights there in the 1950s, before Ali and Norton fought on Sept. 28, 1976.

"As a boxing fan, you can't forget any of those names," Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost said. "Yankee Stadium was, is and will always remain a fabric in the life of boxing."

Several factors played into why there hasn't been a major fight at the ballpark in the past three decades. Ownership became tepid about erecting a ring on the infield grass, which had drainage problems. Casinos created competition for marquee events by offering exorbitant site fees.

The Ali-Norton fight also left a bitter taste for some, mostly because the fight was dull and members of the NYPD went on strike that day. The Bronx turned into a scene of chaos, and many fans getting off the subway immediately returned to Manhattan.

"Whenever I thought of the possibility in the interim years of coming back and doing a fight at Yankee Stadium, that went through my mind," Arum said. "Now remember, it's 34, 35 years later, and things change. But it was a really bad experience."

There are plenty of story lines involving the two fighters, though they'll probably take a back seat to Yankee Stadium, a monument to success and excess all at once.

Foreman, a self-proclaimed Yankees fan, is studying to become a rabbi and has backing from the large Jewish population in the New York metropolitan area. The sabbath doesn't officially end until sundown on Saturday night, so the main event start time will be pushed back to 11:30 p.m.

The first title fight at the old stadium also featured a Jewish champion. Benny Leonard defended his title against Lew Tendler on July 23, 1923, just a few months after the doors opened for the first time.

"When I won the world title on Nov. 14, they told me to take a few fights, some easy fights, then get into something better," Foreman said. "Being a world champion is not just easy fights, it's fighting other world champions. And Miguel Cotto is another world champion."

Or at least a former world champion.

Cotto has lost two of his last four fights, including a stoppage loss to pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao last November on the same night Foreman won his title in Las Vegas.

The former welterweight has numerous fans in New York City who trace their roots to his native Puerto Rico, many of them residing in the Bronx.

Cotto has headlined at Madison Square Garden several times on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade, which this year falls a week after the fight, when the Yankees are at home.

"I know it's going to be a tough fight for us, a tough fight for Yuri, too," said Cotto, who will fight at junior middleweight for the first time. "But we are owners of our own destiny, you know? We'll try hard, and I guarantee you we're going to make a great show."