Gary Shaw, the gregarious fight promoter who produced some of the best cross-promotional fights of the early 2000s, has died at age 79 from complications from a heart attack, multiple boxing officials confirmed Thursday.
A colorful former inspector for the New Jersey State Boxing Commission, Shaw led his fighter Diego Corrales to an unforgettable come-from-behind loss to Jose Luis Castillo in 2005, a bout that remains one of the most entertaining bouts of the century. Even considered, I accepted the minimum compensation for it. help. Shane Mosley touts his repeat victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.
The promotional masterclass, which deeply angered both De La Hoya and his veteran promoter Bob Arum, was presented by Fred Sternberg, longtime publicist for Shaw, who is awaiting induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June 2016. It is considered his most valuable match memoir.
“It was all about Gary. He loved things and was always open to new ideas,” Sternberg said of Mosley De La Hoya II’s antics. Because he made it easy for me to start. ”
After nearly 30 years with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, following the appointment of former heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott, Shaw made the leap into the promotion field, initially working as a top executive at his family’s advertising firm Duva. Worked as an executive officer. . He lost to Kathy Duva, now the wife of company founder Dan Duva, in a Hall of Fame power play for main event control, in 2002’s Memphis, the biggest-selling pay-per-view. supervised ticket distribution for the game. At that time, competitive play was being held. Greatest fight of all time: Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis.
By forming Gary Shaw Productions, Shaw represented a refreshing departure from the usual business, where promoters were tied to networks and there was little cross-promotion.
“He was able to work with other promoters, he had no problem working with Showtime and HBO, and he did that,” Sternberg said.
The show promoted fights with Manny Pacquiao and Arturo Gatti, and helped shape the careers of Hall of Famers Ronald “Winky” Wright and Timothy Bradley Jr.
His dedication to his fighters was special, and his patented symbol of that connection was to outfit fighters and their teams in specially designed matching tracksuits.
“Everyone laughed at the tracksuits, but the concept of creating a team mentality was great,” Sternberg said. “Everyone was treated special. All the fighters loved her.
“He made me wear a jersey once during fight week, and his pants were so long that I tripped over them. I just couldn’t do it anymore.” It looked really bad in light blue. So I just wore a jacket…
Shaw always wore formal attire, told stories to fighters in hotel lobbies, media rooms and fight week dinners, and rolled with the punches of business.
However, it wasn’t all laughter and fun.
At the 2011 Pontiac Silverdome, Bradley’s late manager Cameron Dunkin slammed Shaw for withholding $600,000 so Bradley could fight 140-pound rival Devon Alexander. The total amount of fraud was $1.1 million.
“If you’re in boxing and some people don’t say bad things about you, you’re not doing your job,” said veteran fight manager Sean Gibbons. “As a promoter in this business, you can’t be friends with everyone.” However, Gary had more business friends than non-friends.
“Obviously he did what was best for Gary, but he also did what was best for a lot of fighters. That’s the nature of the business.”
In fact, Shaw’s interest and concern for fighters was rooted in his 2003 fight with Mosley against De La Hoya. Shaw was so keen on Mosley that he moved to the fighter’s mountain home in Big Bear Lake, California, and secured him a sparring partner. He tended to the training and promotion needs of fighters and spent his nights sleeping on Mosley’s couch.
Mosley was upset by two consecutive losses to Olympic selection rival Vernon Forrest, and after Mosley’s upset win over De La Hoya in 2000, losses to De La Hoya and Arum marked his first time boxing at Staples Center. It was a match. Mosley was present and Muhammad Ali was considered damaged goods. Mosley didn’t want Arum to push the fight alone, so he called the show.
“We did this as a cost-cutting measure to gain a foothold into a major promotion.” “It couldn’t have been more practical,” Sternberg recalls. “We were on Oscar’s butt from day one. It was literally just Gary and me.” This was the only time I stood in the corner of the show just because Shane wanted some people to be there. It was a wonderful time. All the interviews that Oscar turned down, we accepted – and we really surprised them. ”
Convinced that Mosley would win again, Show sent Sternberg into a frenzy, and they reacted nicely to De La Hoya’s statement that if he lost, he would retire and give Mosley $50,000.
At the press conference, they showed off giant props: a $50,000 deposit receipt sent to Shane from De La Hoya’s bank account and a giant AARP card with De La Hoya’s name on it.
“The pictures were going around and we were holding them over Oscar and Aram’s heads,” Sternberg said. “Arum got into a big fuss because no one had ever taken over Oscar’s press conference before, and Oscar didn’t want to touch it because he felt it was radioactive misfortune.”
When Mosley came off the scorecards with a narrow victory, Arum demanded an investigation.
Meanwhile, Shaw, who became very emotional, sobbed with joy. “He might be the kindest man in the world,” Sternberg said.
Shaw enjoyed two showdowns between Mosley and Wright in 2004, with Wright winning both times.
In 2005, Shaw’s previous support of Corrales was rewarded when Corrales made a legendary attempt to stop Castillo in a dramatic thriller film and was released from prison.
“The best part was when he was in court,” Gibbons said. “He loved to eat, he loved to tell stories and he loved to be with the fighters.” He was very practical. The fighters were like family to him. He spent a lot of time with them. Jersey Good Guy – A man with a personality that took over the room.
Mr. Shaw’s compassion for all was evident in the warning he gave before his press conference, encouraging adult men to get prostate exams to avoid the health crisis he experienced.
As his boxing success began to wane, Shaw turned to mixed martial arts promotion, founding Elite . While retiring to Florida, Shaw occasionally texted or called friends in the boxing industry to offer his opinions on various news events.
Before his death, Dunkin’ said Shaw was wrong to be so harshly critical of the way he ran the company. Dunkin apologized to Shaw and said he was forgiven.
“He will be missed by many,” Gibbons said of Shaw. “He’s a fun guy.”
