A8BROOKLYN WELCOMES THE BARCLAYS CENTERSEPTEMBER 21–27, 2012Boxing is backTitle fights return to Brooklyn at Barclays on Oct. 20Benonhurst’s Paulie Malignaggi, the World Boxing Association welterweight title-holder, is set to defendhis belt at the Barclays Center in October.Photo by Derrick LytleBY WILL BREDDERMANThe Barclays Centerisn’t just about basketball— the bell will ring outsidethe squared-circle longbefore the first whistle isblown on the hardwood.The arena has a dealwith Oscar De La Hoya’sGolden Boy promotions tobring up to 12 boxing eventsa year to Brooklyn — andthe action starts on Oct. 20.The title card — tagged“Brooklyn Pride” — willbe a rematch between undefeatedPhiladelphia-bornlight welterweight championDanny Garcia against theman he took the World BoxingCouncil belt from, Mexicanfighter Erik Morales.But the highlight of thenight will be BensonhurstnativePaulie “Magic Man”Malignaggi’s defense of theWorld Boxing Associationwelterweight title, againstsouth-of-the-border challengerPablo Cesar Cano.Also on the card will beMiddleweight Peter Quillenversus French World BoxingOrganization belt holderHassan N’Dam N’Jikam inhis first title shot.The three bouts representthe return of world titleboxing to Brooklyn afteran 81-year absence — andup-and-coming pugilistscouldn’t be happier.“I knew I had to winthere so I could go on andhave my first defense openingnight at the BarclaysCenter,” said Malignaggi,who was born just blocksfrom Barclays in Long IslandCollege Hospital. “It’sa big moment for me and mylife and career, defendingthe world title in Brooklyn,in front of all the fans.”The last title fight in theborough was Maxie Rosenbloom’scontroversial decisionvictory over lightheavyweight champ JimmySlattery at Ebbets Field in1931.The rest of the card readslike a who’s who in Brooklynboxing: Flatbush nativeDmitriy “Kid Kosher” Salita,who had been a favoriteto fight Malignaggi beforethe Cano fight was signed ;Brownsville-bred Daniel“The Golden Child” Jacobs,who’s coming off surgeryfor spinal cancer; and fellowformer world welterweighttitlist Luis Collazo, alsofrom Brownsville. Bronxnative Eddie Gomez is alsoscheduled to fight.Golden Boy has yet toannounce the opponents forthe undercard fighters.Boro’s boxing historyBY WILL BREDDERMANBrooklyn has been lacin’ em up for decades — producingsome of the finest practitioners of the sweetscience the boxing world has ever seen. Here’s a rundownof people and places to make their mark in theboxing world.Israel “Charley” GoldmanBorn in Poland in 1887, Boxing Hall of Famer Goldmangrew up in Red Hook to become a 5-foot-1 bantamweightcontender at age 16. Coming up in an era whenthe regulations of the sport weren’t clearly defined,Goldman claimed to have had over 400 fights and hisfirst-ever bout — held in a neighborhood bar — wascalled a draw after cops broke it up at the end of the42nd round. Goldman is most famous today for havingtrained heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.Floyd PattersonThe youngest undisputed heavyweight championof the world, Patterson was born in North Carolinain 1935 and came of age in Bedford-Stuyvesant wherehe took up boxing at age 11. Patterson became a NewYork Golden Gloves champion and an Olympic goldmedalist at age 17, won his first world title at age 21,lost it at age 24, and recovered it a year later. Pattersonretired at age 37 following a loss to MuhammadAli, and served as chairman of the New York StateAthletic Commission from 1995 to 1998, before dyingin New Paltz in 2006.Mike TysonArguably Brooklyn’s greatest champion, Mike Tyson’snotoriously troubled life began in Bedford-Stuyvesantand Brownsville. Nicknamed “the Baddest Manon the Planet,” Tyson went undefeated for 37 fights, becameWord Boxing Council Heavyweight champion in1986 at age 20 and undisputed Heavyweight Championat age 21, and won the largest purse in history in 91 seconds,with a first-round knockout of Michael Spinks.Tyson is probably less famous today for his skill in thering than for his erratic behavior and bankruptcy.Riddick BoweThe last American to be called undisputed heavyweightchampion, Bowe won the New York GoldenGloves at age 17 by knocking out an opponent in fourseconds. The highlight of Bowe’s career was his epicseries against Evander Holyfield, where Bowe becamethe first fighter to ever defeat “The Real Deal”and the first to knock him out. Bowe was stripped ofhis World Council Boxing belt in 1992 for refusing toface British pugilist Lennox Lewis.Zab JudahBrownsville native and the former undisputedwelterweight champion, the “Super” southpaw cameup through Starrett City Gym in East New York andwon his first belt after defeating Micky Ward of “TheFighter” fame in 1998. Judah and was in talks to takeon welterweight champion Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggion Oct. 20 at Barclays.Gleason’s GymFounded by bantamweight Bobby Gleason in theBronx in 1937, Gleason’s moved to Manhattan in 1974before current owner Bruce Silverglade brought itto Front Street between Wall Street and Old Slip inDUMBO in 1984. Tyson, Bowe, Judah, and Malignaggiall trained there.
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