Fight at the park: Yankee Stadium may host boxing
CBSSports.com wire reports
NEW YORK -- Manny Pacquiao stood face-to-face with Miguel Cotto on a makeshift stage in Yankee Stadium, the wind whipping off the facade. If only two of the best fighters in the world had gloves strapped on.
Pacquiao, considered the pound-for-pound best, and welterweight champion Cotto were there merely to announce their Nov. 14 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It's a hotly anticipated bout, and certain to lure a sellout crowd to the desert destination known in the boxing world as "Fight Town."
Yet their presence on Thursday was reminiscent of the days when New York City held that mantle, when major boxing events were common at Madison Square Garden and the old Yankee Stadium.
All could be changing, promoters and team officials said, alluding to the possibility of major fights at the new, $1.5 billion baseball stadium next year.
"We have a history of bringing big fights to the Yankee Stadium," said promoter Bob Arum, who put on Muhammad Ali's bout against Ken Norton on Sept. 28, 1976, a fight remembered more for the chaos caused by a police strike than anything else.
"It's something we'd like to do again."
Arum had approached the New York Yankees several times over the past 30 years about staging another event at the stadium, but owner George Steinbrenner and club officials were tepid about erecting a ring and seating on the immaculate infield grass.
With the new leadership of Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, and better means of protecting the field, Arum is hopeful that a fight will happen at the ballpark next year.
"I think one of the reasons we had the press conference here is a precursor for a big, big event," Arum told the Associated Press. "Certainly a big fight is going to happen next year, and it's going to happen at Yankee Stadium."
Arum said it's possible that Cotto could cede his traditional spot at Madison Square Garden on the day of New York's Puerto Rican Day parade to up-and-coming star Juan Manuel Lopez. That would free Cotto, who has a huge following in the Bronx, to headline in the ballpark.
"We're going to get one here at Yankee Stadium," said Melvina Lathan, the head of the New York State Athletic Commission. "We've got to come back and revisit Yankee Stadium."
Great fights have been held in ballparks for decades, including some of the seminal moments for a sport that treasures its history.
Yankee Stadium, of course, is where Ray Robinson collapsed in the heat against Joey Maxim, and where Carmen Basilio shocked the world by beating Sugar himself. Joe Louis not only knocked out Max Schmeling under the twinkling lights, but struck a blow against Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany when he dropped the Black Uhlan of the Rhine in the first round.
Other ballparks have showcased big fights, from Louis winning the heavyweight title against James Braddock at Chicago's Comiskey Park, to epic battles at the Polo Grounds, Griffth Stadium, Ebbets Field and Fenway Park.
Some see those days as a bygone era, a moment in time that can never be replicated. Arum sees an opportunity to return boxing to the forefront of the American psyche, in one of its most hallowed sporting grounds.
"Yankee Stadium had a great tradition of boxing," he said, "and hopefully with the new Yankee Stadium, we'll start a new tradition."
