Luxor Hall of Fame puts focus on fighters
Add another boxing hall of fame to the list. This one is located at the Luxor.
The recently formed Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas, part of a multihall venture inside SCORE! on the Luxor’s mezzanine level, will honor boxing legends and also feature the ESPN Classic/Cayton Sports Fight Film Library.
“We want to reach out to the mainstream boxing fan,” president Steve Lott said. “We’re using social media to promote our Hall of Fame and display our honorees.”
The inaugural induction class of 25, which was announced Friday, comprises Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong, Tony Canzoneri, Ezzard Charles, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jack Dempsey, Roberto Duran, Joe Gans, Harry Greb, Eder Jofre, Jack Johnson, Stanley Ketchel, Sam Langford, Sugar Ray Leonard, Benny Leonard, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Archie Moore, Willie Pep, Sugar Ray Robinson, Barney Ross, Sandy Saddler, John L. Sullivan, Gene Tunney and Mickey Walker.
Plans are in the works for a black-tie gala this year.
“If you notice, we only have boxers in our Hall,” Lott said. “We don’t have promoters or managers. We want this to be about the fighters.”
Lott said Las Vegas, because of its connection to the sport and the fact 40 million people visit annually, was the ideal place for his Hall of Fame.
“The Boxing Hall of Fame is just one component,” Lott said. “We have halls of fame for baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer and NASCAR. So when you visit the Luxor, you get all the exhibits, not just boxing.”
For more information, see boxinghalloffame.com.
■ RECORD GATE? — The Sept. 14 megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the MGM Grand Garden could produce a record gate for Nevada. The fight sold out last week.
According to Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer, the live gate is $18,664,000. Schaefer said depending on the number of complimentary tickets that get distributed, the gate could exceed $19 million.
The record gate is the 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya at the Grand Garden, which produced a live gate of $18,419,200 and had a paid attendance of 17,078.
“We knew the record was a possibility,” Schaefer said. “But it shows you how big a fight this is when it sells out as quickly as it did and all the interest it continues to generate.”
Closed-circuit TV seats at the MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Aria, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage, priced at $100, are on sale at each property’s box office. Closed-circuit seating at New York-New York will go on sale at noon Monday.
■ LOVE SUSPENDED — Middleweight J’Leon Love was suspended for six months and fined $10,000 Friday by the Nevada Athletic Commission after admitting he used a diuretic before his 10-round split-decision win over Gabriel Rosado on May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Love told the commission he had to break from training a month before his fight because his brother was murdered in Detroit. In an attempt to lose weight, he admitted taking Hydrochlorothiazide, which is banned for use in competition in Nevada.
“It was hard for me to lose the weight,” an emotional Love told the commission. “I take full responsibility for what I did.”
The NAC showed some leniency toward Love, a first-time offender. It could have suspended him for one year and fined him 30 percent of his $100,000 purse. His win over Rosado was changed to a no contest, and he must provide a clean urine sample before he fights again in Nevada.
The NAC also suspended super middleweight Matt Garretson for nine months and fined him $900 after he tested positive for the diuretic Furosemide after his May 4 loss to Lanell Bellows. Garretson did not show up to the disciplinary hearing or participate via telephone. His $3,000 purse was docked 30 percent.
■ SMITH-MOLINA OFFICIALS — Vic Drakulich of Reno was named the referee for the July 19 IBF junior middleweight title fight at the Hard Rock Hotel between Las Vegas’ Ishe Smith and Carlos Molina. The judges will be Dave Moretti and Glenn Trowbridge, both from Las Vegas, and Californian Barry Druxman.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.