The Road to Redemption: Aneudi
Santos
by
Soctrates Palmer, Jr.
There is an old cliché that has been used many
times before and probably epitomizes the sport of boxing and more importantly life, "Its not how many times you get knocked
down, but its how many times you get up." Aneudi "El Estudiante" Santos is prepared to make that anecdote a reality.
The young man from Freeport, Long Island
by way of the Dominican Republic got back on the winning track when he faced roadblock Joseph Harris. Santos and Harris were
part of the supporting cast in Lou Dibella’s production of "Broadway Boxing", which took place on Thursday,
April 22, 2004 and emanate from the Manhattan Center’s Grand ballroom, in New York City.
The last time we saw Santos in the ring he was on the short
end of a majority decision loss to journeyman Sam Reese back in January. A loss that Santos to this day disputes and clearly
does not feel he lost despite what he himself described as a sub par performance.
No matter how you analyze things a loss to Reese, whom by
his ring record of 12-10 with 4 draws is an opponent, an opponent that Santos had no business losing to. The opted word of
opponent is describing a fighter who is supposed to be stepping stone opposition for a promising prospect, like Santos.
However to Reese’s credit he has run off two consecutive
victories since his upset of Santos, and prior to Santos he knocked off Dallas Vargas another formerly undefeated talent.
"I still think I won the fight, at worst it should have been
a draw. I’ve seen the fight twice and all I was getting caught with was a jab. After the fight I was upset but not with
myself just the outcome. I fought hard I was still standing at the end of the night and I was never hurt. He did not put any
combinations together against me. I just got caught up in trying to get a knock out. I hurt him on several occasions during
the fight he never did that to me," said Santos.
The 22-year-old Santos sees his first loss as a pro as a mere
hindrance and wake up call. With the loss his record dropped to 10-1 and many people questioned whether or not Santos went
from being an over hyped prospect to an average fighter.
"The fight against Reese has been a blessing in disguise.
I’m hungrier now, I’m more motivated, I’m practically starving to get back into the ring and pursue my goal
of being a world champion," stated Santos.
"I would love a chance to fight Reese again. But I don’t
think it does much for me, if I beat a guy that I was supposed to have beaten anyway. If he keeps winning that would be great.
But coming back and beating Reese does nothing for me as far as climbing up the rankings", stated Santos.
As has been documented before Santos is a full time student
at Hofstra University and is well on his way to completing his degree in education while maintaining a GPA of 3.0. After his
January setback many speculated if being a full time student and pro prizefighter maybe too much for Santos.
Santos adamantly denies such a notion. However he did reveal
to boxingtalk that it is a struggle in some aspects. For example having to stay up until the wee hours of three in the morning
to finish term papers and study for finals does take its toll on his body, now throw into the mix waking up at the crack of
dawn to get his road work in.
"School is a challenge for me but I don’t regret being
a student one bit, it helps keep me focused and grounded," said Santos.
It’s now a new chapter for Santos just to remain on
the same scholastic theme. It’s a chapter in which we find out who and what is Santos. Is he simply an over hyped young
fighter that got caught out there and exposed i.e. Ricardo Williams? Or is Santos going to bounce back on track like i.e.
Panchito Bojado did and countless others have. Only Santos has complete control of how the pages in his book known as his
boxing career are to be written.
"Its an important fight for me. I want to get back into the
rhythm of winning that I am used to. I will use this fight to get myself to where I am supposed to be," said Santos.
The bout against Harris who came in with a record of 6-3 with
4 K.O.’s was slated for a 6 round affair. Santos vowed to show those in attendance a more relaxed and more complete
fighter.
"If the knockout comes it comes. I will let my punches go
and just let the bout come to me naturally. I don’t feel any pressure at all and I am completely focused on wining and
showing the real Aneudi Santos. I am happy to be a part of what Lou (DiBella) is doing in bringing good boxing shows back
into New York City, said Santos.
"I don’t have to impress anyone but myself, my amateur
record speaks for itself and as a professional I had one setback. The past is the past and I’m all about the present
and the future", said Santos.
Santos stopped Harris by a TKO in round number two.
Santos was set to face Tyrone Glover of Philadelphia, when Santos was sidelined during the third instalment of 'Broadway Boxing,'
at the Manhattan Center after Glover failed to get his clearence to fight.
Santos watched the fight and cheered for stablemates Jeff
Resto and Edgar Santana from ringside with his fiancee Anna Gonzalez.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thank you, Mister DiBella, for spending a few minutes with
us today. We thought this series should kick off with a local
guy and were unaware that you were raised in Brooklyn. So
as a former Brooklynite, it delights me to have you here today
to share some of your insights into yourself and the sport of
boxing.
1) DG: So tell us about your days in Brooklyn. Did you box?
Remember the first fight you ever watched?
LD: My days in Brooklyn. Did I box? No. The first fight I ever
watched on television was Nino Benvenuti with my
grandfather and I was probably four or five years old. The
first fight I ever saw live was Salvador Sanchez against
Azumah Nelson at the Garden, probably in the late 70's.
2) DG: So how does a kid from Brooklyn go on to graduate
from Harvard Law School? Did you actually dream as a kid
you wanted to be a sports lawyer?
LD: I was smart. I dreamed
as a kid that I wanted to be in
sports and entertainment, so that's always what I wanted
to do. I figured law school was a way of getting there, that's
why I went to law school but I always did want to get into
sports and entertainment.
3) DG: In your decade of service at HBO, what were some of
the matches that you made that you were most proud of?
LD: I go through
the first few years of Boxing After Dark and
I was proud of almost every show. I was proud of all those
Gatti fights, Gatti/Wilson Rodriguez; Gatti/Manfredy,
heavyweight fights, (Ike) Ibeabuchi. We had a lot of great
fights and we had a lot of consistency. I'm pretty proud of
my tenure there and I'm proud of most of the matches.
4) DG: Is there a secret to good matchmaking? What do you
look for in a pair of fighters that would make a fight
competitive?
LD: Yeah, make a fight you wanna see. Make a fight
where
the outcome is in doubt, make sure there is competitiveness.
A fight that doesn't have one moment of give and take is not
a fight. Also, styles makes fights, it's an old adage but it's
true. Everybody and their uncle knew that Oquendo against
John Ruiz was going to be a piece of shit... and what was it,
a piece of shit. But I think if you went to every good
matchmaker in the country they could have told you no way
was it going to be a good fight. Sometimes (promoters) are
not making the fights for the right reasons, they're not making
fights to entertain the public, they're making fights for political
reasons, they're taking advantage of ratings and who's got
certain titles as opposed to making fights the public would
actually like to see. It's one of the reasons why I think our
industry is self-destructive. Because we don't make the fights
people want to see often enough. People want to blame the
television networks, but I think you also have to blame
promoters, managers and the fighters themselves. Fighters
are entertainers, fights are supposed to be entertaining.
5) DG: Behind every successful businessman is a great staff
so tell us about some of your employees. Are they people you
grew up with or regular business people or are they from the
boxing world?
LD: I have a great staff.
They're not people I grew up with,
they're people who grew up with me. I tend to have young
kids around me. Dave Itskowitch, who is like my number-two
guy, has been with me since he got out of college and he was
my assistant at HBO. Ron Rizzo used to be with Cedric
Kushner Promotions, he's sort of like my on-site coordinator,
he handles the details with my local boxing series and he's
also a young guy in his 20's. Y'know, my staff for the most
part, I mean Dave's about to turn 30, Mike Marchionte just
turned 40, ya know, we got a young staff... I'm the oldest guy
here and I'm in my early 40's. And I have Meredith Kessler
who works for me and she's great, she handles all of our
travel and a lot of our PR stuff. I've got a good staff, I'm very
happy with my staff. I'm not the easiest guy to work with in
some ways but at the same time I think that they know I care
about them and I appreciate what they do. I got good people
working for me and we managed to become a factor pretty
quickly.
6) DG: Tell us the truth... what was it like starting out at HBO
and dealing with some of the top promoters, managers and
boxers of the day? Was it everything you expected it to be?
Do you have a funny story to share?
LD: I have a lot of funny stories
but you're going to have to
wait for my book. Some people aren't gonna find them so
funny. I mean, there are a lot of scumbags in boxing but
there are also a lot of good people and I think one of the
things I learned is you can't be friends with everybody and do
your job appropriately if you're a television programmer. You
have to upset some people some of the time, ya know. I think
I was always honest and that people always knew I wanted to
make the best fights, and I think that served me well.
6A) DG: Do you have a name for the title of the book?
LD: The title for the book is 'Phony Gloves and Other Lies,'
that relates to (Bernard) Hopkins giving me the fake gloves
after he fought Trinidad. But the name of the book is 'Phony
Gloves and Other Lies', look for it in about five years.
7) DG: Since the launch of DiBella Entertainment in 2000, you
have staged countless edge-of-your-seat bouts, no question.
that says the company intended to, "Shift the balance of
power from promoters to the fighters themselves." So I'm just
wondering how do you give your fighters more of a balance
of power? Is it more money? Fewer options?
LD: I gotta say something. I'm still as pro-fighter as I always
was. My fighters receive information about their fights. I
mean they know what everyone's getting paid, including me.
With that being said, I've also learned that you can't be blindly
pro-fighter. And a lot of the times promoters and managers
do the right thing and a fighter has no loyalty and no decency.
So what I've learned the hard way is, it's not always the
promoter or the manager that's the bad guy, I'm seeing that
more clearly now that I'm a promoter. It's a business where
there is so little honor that everyone thinks that everyone
else is trying to fuck them and there is very little civil and
decent behavior by everybody and that's one of the things
we have to change if we're going to clean the sport up.
8) DG: Since you exploded on the scene a few short years
ago, you have staged countless fights in Manhattan like the
last fight Thursday night at the Manhattan Center. With all
the expenses and taxes and the fees that fighters get today,
how easy is it to run a successful show in New York and
make a profit?
LD: That's a very good question. It's really hard to run a
successful show in New York, 'cause it's just more expensive.
With that being said, I'm a New York City kid, I grew up in
Brooklyn and my company's in New York City and my heart's
in New York City, so I'm not gonna stop staging fights in
Manhattan and New York City. I've made a commitment with
my new Broadway Boxing Series, that I'm gonna be in the Tri-
State area regularly and I'm gonna be in New York City
regularly and I'm intending on keeping that commitment. The
State athletic commission is trying to be easier to work with. I
think they're making it clearer that they want shows in New
York. I'm very happy with the New York commission and with
Commissioner Ron Scott Stevens. I also think that with
respect to New York, I'm very happy when I see a big show at
the Garden but the way that New York boxing is going to
succeed and reinvent itself is going to be from the bottom up,
through the grass roots and that's why I think it's so
important to do Broadway Boxing.
9) DG: In the last two years New York has given Las Vegas a
run for the money in staging fights. What do you think the
reason for the upsurge in live events has been?
LD: I don't really think there have been more. I think the
Garden has always been an alternative for the bigger sites. I
don't think that there've been more shows in New York.
We've been competitive with the biggest show, the Garden a
couple times a year brings something in, in a big way and
then it's a matter of which promoters want to take chances
and make an investment in New York boxing and I welcome
it every time I see it. I'm happy when Cedric does a show
here, I'm happy when DiGuardia and other people do shows
here 'cause I think they're necessary.
10) DG: I know many of your shows are co-promotions,
unheard of in boxing. So I'm wondering: How easy is it
dealing with a competitor? Does it make the promotion
easier sharing some of the tasks or do you have to work
twice as hard to insure the other promoter isn't trying to steal
your fighter?
LD: I believe strongly that in order to make the sport work, in
order to make fights people want to see, we have to all work
together. I gotta admit there are people I don't fuckin' like, but
I try to work with everybody. Other than a very few people
that I just don't trust, I'll work with just about anybody. I've
done co-promotions with everybody from Don King and Bob
Arum, y'know the big guys, Murad Muhammad, Dan Goosen,
Cedric Kushner, Artie Pallula. You can go through the list,
I've probably co-promoted with as many people in recent
years as anybody. And I think in order to make the fights
people want to see, I think that's important. There are some
promoters that have no respect for anybody else and it's
pretty obvious who they are but I think among the lot of us
there are certain unwritten rules and if a guy's doing a good
job, certainly if a guy has a contractual relationship, you don't
interfere with a contractual relationship... that's not how it's
supposed to work. And also, if a guy's done a really good job
with a fighter and for no apparent reason that fighter's looking
to fuck him, that's not a situation I'd want to get involved in.
Though, fighters, when they become free agents, are allowed
and should be encouraged to take the best offer available to
them. I think competition is important but I think at the same
time there're certain ethical guidelines that every decent
person should operate under. If you're working with the right
person it's no harder, but there are some guys that are
impossible to work with and the best thing you can do is work
with them as infrequently as possible.
11) DG: With the recent hurdles passed in Washington,
legislation on boxing is closer to passing than ever before.
What do you think the chances are of its passage and
what would you like to see it address?
LD: I don't view what's happening in Washington as a
hurdle, I think legislation should be passed, I think a
national commission is necessary, I think State regulation
is too uneven and stinks, particularly with respect to health
and safety, where there should be uniform rules across the
board, instead of the hodgepodge of nonsense that exists.
12) DG: As a New Yorker, I'd like to ask you where were you
were on September 11, 2001? Any personal memories of the
Twin Towers? Do you think New York has recovered from
the attacks or are we still recovering?
LD: As a New Yorker, on September 11th, I was leaving my
house to come into the city, I was in my car already when I
heard the first tower was hit, I turned around and watched the
second tower being hit from my TV. I was coming into the
city for a public workout by Bernard Hopkins, who was then
my fighter. My first summer jobs were working as a
messenger Downtown when I was 12, 13-years old. When I
was 13, 14-years old I worked in the Trade Center, I was a
messenger in the towers. I think that we've done a great job
bouncing back but I don't think that we will ever fully recover
and I hope certainly we don't ever forget.
13) DG: It's an election year so if President George Bush and
Senator John Kerry stepped in the ring, would it be
competitive? Who would win?
LD: I'm sorta of the anybody-but-Bush school. I think Kerry's
a bigger guy, I think he'd have him in size so I'd have to go
with Kerry, but certainly in the election forget about it being a
boxing match but as an election, I don't like lying in boxing, I
certainly don't like lying in the White House, so I'm a Kerry-
guy, I'm a Democrat and proud of it. I think it may be a close
election but I think in the ring it would be a mismatch. I think
Kerry's too big for 'em.
14) DG: DiBella Entertainment recently branched out and
purchased an interest in the Pittsburgh Pirates AA farm team,
the Altoona Curve. How is it going? How's the team been
doing? You're not going to leave boxing for baseball, are
you?
LD: I purchased an interest in the Altoona Curve a number
of years ago, it was a great investment but I'm looking now
to be general partner in the Norwich Navigators and I'm
raising money right now to purchase the Norwich Navigators
which is the San Francisco Giants AA-team in
Norwich,
Connecticut, which is right near the Mohegan Sun and
Foxwoods. When I do that I'll have to divest myself from my
interest at Alttoona and I would take a more active role,
because I would have a bigger role in Norwich and no, I'm
not going to leave boxing but I'm certainly going to split my
time a little bit more. I think it will be good for my mental
health and it will be good for my boxing business that I do
something else also.
15) DG: With such a great stable, which includes Leonard
Dorin, Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer, Kofi Jantuah and
Emmanuel Clottey, who do you think will be your next fighter
to capture a world title?
LD: Jose Navarro's knockin' on the door, he's number one in
the world. Leo Dorrin's knockin' on the door, he's about to
fight Gatti. Kofi Jantuah is knockin' on the door, he's number
3 in the WBO. Charles Brewer's knocking on the door, he's
number one in the WBO at 168 (pounds) but ya know, typical
fashion, the WBO is trying to pull shenanigans and have the
number two guy fight the number three guy and screw
Charles, so I'm in the process of talking to attorneys, then
both Charles and DiBella Entertainment are going to protect
themselves from being screwed and we're not going to let
the WBO get away with screwing him. I think Jermain
Tayloris also knocking on the door and frankly, I expect
Jermaine Taylor to be the next big thing, I really do.
16) DG: You also handled the career of Micky Ward, who was
a machine in the ring until he recently retired. Do you know
what he's doing now? Does he have any plans to train
fighters?
LD: Mickey Ward is happily retired. There is a possibility that
a movie is going to be done about him. He has some plans to
eventually train some fighters and get more involved in
boxing but right now I think he's just enjoying his retirement
and he works heavy machinery now and then, just to keep
busy, so he hasn't given that up totally. Mickey's doing really
well and I'm happy that he retired at the right time.
17) DG: You also handle the careers of local prospects Jeffrey
Resto of the Bronx and Paul Malignaggi of Brooklyn who won
a unanimous decision over Rocky Martinez Thursday night at
the Manhattan Center, What can we expect from them?
LD: Resto, Malinaggi, Chris Smith, Sechew Powell, you can
go the whole list of New York guys I have. I have the
Emmanuel & Joshua) Clottey brothers, I have Resto, I have
Malinaggi, Sechew Powell, Aneudi Santos, Chris Smith. I
have the biggest stable of New York former Golden Glove
talent of anybody in boxing and I think that's appropriate
'cause I think in New York City right now, my company is
going to be the most significant promotional company and it
makes sense that I would work with a lot of major talent.
18) DG: Do you have a prediction for the May 8th showdown
between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao in Las
Vegas?
LD: The May 8th showdown -- Juan Manuel Marquez and
Manny Pacquiao -- I love the fight, I think it's a terrific fight.
Syles make fights, I gotta go with Juan Manuel Marquez on
the style. I think he's too slick, too smart in the ring for
Manny. Manny is a very strong guy, I think he might have
met his match style-wise in this fight.
19) DG: Any blockbuster bouts you'd like to make or see in
2004?
LD: I don't know if it's a blockbuster but I'd like to make
(William) Joppy against Jermaine Taylor, when he gets his
shit together. I'd like to make a rematch of Gatti and (Leonard)
Dorin after Dorrin beats 'em. And in 2005 I want to make the
winner of Hopkins and (Oscar) De La Hoya against Jermaine
Taylor.
20) DG: Since boxing is basically a 24-hour-a-day business,
how does your wife Carolyn put up with it and is she a fight
fan?
LD: Not very well... is she a fight fan? She's an
Oscar De La
Hoya fan, she's a Jermaine Taylor fan and I shouldn't name
just those two 'cause there are others hat she's met and
known and likes them so she roots for them, like Paulie and
my local kids but for the most part she stays away from the
fights, she stays away from fight people and she would much
rather I do something else, probably.(laugh) To be honest,
she's not a big fight fan. The other thing is David, this is a
hard business to be in, I'm gonna stay in it. Anyone that's
prognosticating my exit for baseball is not right and I'm gonna
stay in it for a while, but at the same time I understand the
difficulties of working in this business. I believe you need to
have some balance when you work in boxing and I do think
you have to differentiate between the good guys and the bad
guys because even though there are an awful ot of good
guys, there're an awful lot of bad guys. There's an awful lot
of onsense, corruption and bullshit and the one thing I'm
happy about is whether people like me or not, I'm the same
motherfucker I was five years ago and I intend to stay that
way.
Thank you again mister DiBella for your time. I'm sure my
readers will be fascinated by the insight you have offered here.
Good luck and continued success on all of your endeavors
and thank-you for joining us on Fisticscene.com.
(Editor's note: Look for the maiden broadcast of DiBella
Entertainment's "Broadway Boxing Series" which was taped
Thursday, April 22 at the Manhattan Center in NYC. The New
York vs. The World card featured Edgar Santan of Manhattan,
"Punchin'" Pat Nwama of the Bronx, Chris Smith of Queens,
Sechew Powell of Brooklyn and in the main event Paul
Malignaggi of Brooklyn, (16-0, 5) faced heavy-handed Rocky
Martinez of Chicago, (40-9-1, 20.) Subscribers of Madison
Square Garden Cable can view the fight on Friday, May 28,
at 8 PM/ET and 12 Midnight. Subscribers of HDNet can catch
the action on Sunday, May 8, 12 Midnight.)
