Show An FBI sting operation may soon lead to indictments for fixed fights and forged medical documents It's the latest blow to a sport already riddled with corruption Is it time to throw in the towel? By Jack Newfield OXING IS DIRTY from top to bottom” says outspoken fight promoter Lou DiBdr I la "The spore is dylike It’s a cancer ing cherno" on patient For at least a decade boxing’s sun has been setting with an epidemic of indictments bad decisions fixes btutal mismatches absurd ratings and occasional deaths in the ring The latest blow came in January when the news broke that the FBI -' : had run a sting operation probing Bob Arum’s Top Rank second-bigge- st Company-boxin- g’s promotional company Indictments involving fixed fights deliberate mismatches and forged medical records may come this summer (Top Rank insists it has done nothing wrong) The result is that booting is now at low in popularity-exce- pt an when Oscar De La Hoya fights or when the Tyson circus comes to all-ti- town And Mike Tyson’s slide sadly mirrors the sport's decline: The man who could have been a great champion has turned into a pathetic loser Where should we point the finger for the slum boxing has become? Squarely at promoters like Bob Aram and Don King who have had a stranglehold on die sport “Arum and King are killing the golden goose" says one veteran manager who doesn’t want his name used “There’s a race going on: Do Aram' union and no health or pension plan for its athletes Unless that changes many believe besting is going down for the count One More Tragic Story and King retire first or does hosting expire first?” Boxing is still die only national sport without a national commissioner to enforce safety standards rules and integrity Unlike baseball basketball football and hockey boxing has no labor IRJ The most recent boxing travesty took place when Brad Rone entered die ting last July 18 Rone 34 had lost 25 fights in a row To protect his health and safety the basting commission in Nevada would not approve him to fight Then his mother died and he didn’t have die money to pay for her funeral Even though Rone had high blood pressure and many believe he could not have passed a com- PAGE 4 May 2 2004 PARADE |