I’m sure by now you’ve read all the obituaries and the tributes regarding Jay, his eclectic background in the theater and the arts, how he first landed the boxing gig at Showtime, his famous quote about “pork chops growing on the palm trees in Tel Aviv” before Mike Tyson would ever fight Lennox Lewis on HBO. Everything you may have read about Larkin is true- he was a good guy, one that was friendly, funny, humorous and caring.
I first met Jay around the spring of 1998 at a press conference. If I recall correctly, it was at the “House of Blues” on Sunset Blvd. out here in Hollywood and it was to announce Evander Holyfield’s bout against Henry Akinwande (which never took place because Akinwande caught a case of hepatitis) and it was during that time that rumblings of a Holyfield-Lennox Lewis fight were starting percolate- but with the usual hindrance of network associations. Back then, I was doing a weekly radio show (the original “Main Event”) on 1150 AM in Los Angeles, which aired for three hours on Sunday night. It was during this stretch where HBO was still putting on compelling fights on a regular basis with Seth Abraham and Lou DiBella running their ship. Showtime…well, they were doing a lot of Fabrice Tiozzo and Frankie Liles doubleheaders from France because of they were being held hostage by their exclusive deal with Don King and Mike Tyson.
During that press conference, I asked if Holyfield would be willing to fight Lewis on HBO during the open mic session. Larkin clearly stated that Holyfield could face Lewis on their network, standing his ground firmly. Afterward, I happened to cross paths with Larkin, who must have been tipped off about the comments I had been making on Showtime’s boxing programming. He comes up to me and says, "I hear you’ve been killing us on the radio." I confirmed that I had. His response was, "Hey, can you stick around? I’d like to talk to you about this."
So here I was; some green radio guy (it would be a few more years before I even began writing for House of Boxing) and the head of Showtime’s boxing division was willing to take time out to some kid that thought he knew it all. After everyone had cleared out of the room, it was just me and Jay. I explained to Jay that I saw waaaay too many shows that were lopsided and devoid of action and my last straw was a show that had taken place about a year before in the boxing hotbed of Shreveport, Louisiana where Bernard Hopkins and Frankie Liles took on John David Jackson and Segundo Mercado, respectively- who were both coming off rather embarrassing losses the fights before. The outcomes of the fight weren’t just expected (easy KOs for both favorites) but almost preordained.
Larkin’s response?
"I can’t disagree with you one bit."
I almost fell off my chair.
He said he had no arguments with anything I told him or might have said on my show. "Listen, I’ve been begging Don, ’Please, you gotta put on better stuff than this. This is embarrassing to all of us.’ But Steve, we’re stuck in this deal with Tyson; there’s nothing I can do about this. It’s killing me and it’s killing our program. You don’t know how many times I’ve begged him for better stuff." From there, we chatted about different things and it was truly one of the early eye-opening experiences of my career covering this sport.
As we ended things, he told me, "Listen, if you ever want to do an interview or anything, here’s my number; I’d be glad to do it. Just want to make sure we get a fair shake here."
And from there, our relationship was hatched. I can’t lie; he was instrumental in how I looked at HBO’s influence in boxing (when I first came in- like many others- I thought they could do no wrong and were single-handedly keeping the sport alive), the power of promoters and sanctioning bodies and many other aspects of this business. He was one of my teachers; I have no problems in admitting that. He always felt like he was fighting an uphill battle with “the guys across the street” (as he called HBO) and the inherent bias from the media. But through it all, he kept fighting the good fight.
Till the very last time we spoke, he always referred to me as “kiddo” or “Stevie.” I got a kick out of that. I’ll remember how proud he was of his concept of “Great fights, no rights” back in 2004, when Showtime decided to move away from exclusive contracts with boxers and staging one-off fights on the first Saturday of every month (as a counterpunch to what he believed was his competitor’s deliberate counter-programming of their shows).
What I appreciated about Jay was just how accessible he was and if you had a criticism of his cards, he could take it like a pro. But what I’ll always remember about him were the times spent on the road, where he would host media dinners. There was a particular one where my former colleague at Maxboxing, Doug Fischer, was seated next to me. He had yet to meet Jay (I believe this was in October of 2003, the night before Holyfield fought James Toney at the Mandalay Bay) and when Jay asked me who was next to me, he was very excited that it was him. "That’s Doug?! Hold on, one sec, Stevie..." and proceeded to get out of his chair and introduce himself and tell him how much he enjoyed his mailbags. That was Jay in a nutshell.
There was the time after one fight in Las Vegas at the Caesars Palace where a group of boxing fans- which included Darryl and Kirk, the two gringos who are the world’s biggest Juan Manuel Marquez fans- were at the bar and by two or three in the morning, it was just Darryl, Kirk, Doug, myself and Jay. We were sitting around a table smoking cigars and enjoying our drinks, having a discussion on what fights we’d like to see. Just like regular boxing fans but also mindful of which fighters were on the respective networks. The one we’ll never forget that had all us bursting out laughing at our own genius was a fight between Erik Morales and Diego “Chico” Corrales in Texas at the American Airlines Arena.
Why there?
Because as Jay would state, "Wait, Morales versus Corrales- in Dallas!" I’ll never forget the look on his face as he said that. Yeah, we cracked ourselves up that night. He wasn’t your classic “boxing guy” but Jay had no problems mingling with boxing people. Too many executives today in the business don’t like dealing with those in the industry, much less its fans.
During his frequent visits to the West Coast, Larkin and I would go out to dinner and he’d tell some of the funniest stories about his dealings with Dan Duva, Bob Arum and, of course, King, and whoever else he came into contact with (We’d joke that he did a better job of cultivating stars for HBO than they did for themselves, as it was during his reign at Showtime that the American public was introduced to the likes of Felix Trinidad, Naseem Hamed, the Klitschkos and Joe Calzaghe, among others). To me, these moments are priceless and invaluable. You can go to a lot of places to learn how to write and be a journalist; you have to have experiences like these to really become a boxing scribe.
The last Showtime fight I covered while Jay was still with the network came in November of 2005 in Lake Tahoe, which was a doubleheader that featured Jeff Lacy’s stoppage of Scott Pemberton and Rafael Marquez’s first encounter with Silence Mabuza. I remember Jay giving some prime tickets to Darryl and Kirk, who came up to the fight with Doug and me. After the fight, we were having drinks once again with Larkin, who got a call from Frank Warren- Calzaghe’s promoter- and talk immediately turned to a fight with Lacy and Calzaghe (which eventually took place the next year). It was great; here we were getting the straight scoop on this fight, which, at the time, was highly anticipated, and we get to eavesdrop on this conversation between two power-brokers of the sport. Larkin, in the middle of his chit-chat, turns to me and says, "Hold on, you want to talk to Frank?" I didn’t see the harm in it, so I nodded my head."Frank, here’s Steve Kim from Maxboxing; he wants to ask you a few questions." Warren assured me that he was doing everything in his power to make that fight a reality.
Doug joked that the way I was kicking my feet on the table and smoking a cigar, I actually looked like an executive making fights. Darryl and Kirk- who got to have dinner with the Marquez brothers earlier that night thanks to Gary Shaw- call it the most memorable boxing trip they have ever experienced.
That next Monday, around 6:00 in the evening, I received an email from Jay. I got the stunning news that he would be leaving Showtime due to some corporate shake-ups. I was stunned. Just like that, he would be leaving his post after 22 years. The last words of his short email are something I’ll never forget: “I need a hug.”
We’d talk sporadically from that point on. He wasn’t the easiest guy to get a hold of; he was either getting cancer treatments, on a family vacation or traveling on business. He landed a gig running the short-lived IFL, an upstart MMA organization. If he thought he was facing steep odds at Showtime against HBO, he was in for something else in competing with the UFC. I’ll never forget him telling me during the last days of this company, "Stevie, you know what I found out during my time here? There’s a market for the UFC but not a market for the MMA." Jay also did some consulting work with Warren booking U.S. fights for Calzaghe but he never did find his way back to boxing or television.
To me, this was a shame. As I see the landscape at other networks and the state of this sport, boxing needs a guy of his ilk. One that knew the intricacies of the business but, more than that, had great people skills and could weave those two seamlessly. Most importantly, he loved a good fight and cared about what the viewers would be getting. I’m not sure everyone across the board even considers that anymore.
He was a devoted husband and father, a respected television executive, and, to me, a friend who taught me so much. For that, I will be eternally grateful.
Jay, you will be missed.
TRIBUTES
Here’s what some in the boxing business had to say about Larkin...
Bob Arum: "Jay was a good friend of mine, great friend of boxing. I met Jay for the first time when I opened up Showtime to boxing. They did the delay of the Hagler-Mugabi fight and I’ve always found him to be a terrific guy, fun guy, and all things good. He was a great human being. He had great interests aside from boxing and he always conducted himself tremendously well and I considered him, like most people in the business, to be a very good friend."
Jody Heaps (Creative Director at Showtime): "Jay was a good guy. And this is just so unfortunate. He was 59 years old. I’m so sad about it. But Jay was very bright. The Jay that I really particularly liked had nothing to do with boxing. The Jay that I liked was when we talked about theater or we talked about books. This was a guy who was well-read, smart, charming and fun."
Gary Shaw: "A guy with an absolute great sense of humor. I mean, to me, very, very social. Just a tragic loss one once again; it proves to me that you should love your friends, your family and cherish the people that are around you. Just cherish every day."
RIP
The Larkin family has requested that any donations made in his honor be sent to The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, c/o Duke University Medical Center, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, North Carolina 27710
FNF
While Chris Arreola did more than enough to outpoint Manny Quezada on Friday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, he certainly didn’t do much in the way of changing the perception that many have about him (And judging by the rather sparse crowd, I think the whatever bandwagon there was is now almost empty). But once again, he came in heavy, fought lethargically and just gave the general impression he doesn’t care all that much about the sacrifices and discipline that it takes to succeed in this sport.
Behind the scenes (and quietly) you get the sense that members of his own team have had enough- but have no choice but to go along for the ride. Dan Goossen told me that his goal is to start having Arreola (along with the rest of his stable) start fighting four, five times a year. He’d like to get his heavyweight back in the ring by November, one way or the other. Since Arreola’s become an “HBO fighter,” he’s fought less and less, while weighing more and more, with diminishing results.
But let’s be clear, even though he won this past weekend, the only big guy that I want- or need- to see on HBO right now with a potty-mouth is Rex Ryan.
(Also, the KO Taco Truck, which is run by Goossen’s son, which was parked outside the CBBA, was excellent. The young man knows how to do a taco. And of course, Arreola was out there afterward, getting his share. C’mon, did you really think he wouldn’t be there?)
PASSION-LESS OF THE DAWSON
I read where Gary Shaw will insist on a different referee and judges for the rematch between his guy Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal. Honestly, I think he should request a much better version of Dawson with an actual sense of urgency. For some reason, Dawson fought with a certain sense of entitlement. For a guy who has to fight like hell to gain fans, he did none of that on Saturday night in losing to Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title.
It’s very simple; Dawson has more tools than Pascal. However, Pascal gets more out of his. He was the guy willing to give of himself and take chances. Dawson? Well, he fought like a guy who knew he had a rematch clause in his back pocket (Sorry, but if I’m Pascal, I go straight to a Canadian showdown with Lucian Bute in one of the biggest events that can be made in boxing).
Dawson is a passion-less fighter. One that, like too many of his other modern day colleagues, is afraid to take risks and endanger himself in any way, shape or form. That’s why the whole notion of “pound-for-pound” lists and the like are so damaging in my opinion. You have too many guys, like Dawson, and Winky Wright and Roy Jones before him, who are more interested in protecting their pristine records and some mythical status, than actually entertaining the fans (which, yes, is a part of it. It isn’t just about notching 40 non-descript victories and saying you’re one of the ten best boxers in the world).
That’s the exact reason why I don’t do those lists anymore or participate on those voting panels. To me, it’s not important; what’s important is do we have ten (or more) guys who are exciting, can draw crowds and create memories? That’s what will sustain this business, not guys like Dawson and his supposedly prodigious set of skills that often get wasted.
Let’s hope that HBO (which could learn and thing or three from the guy that they honored on Saturday night before their fight in a classy move) understands this. Dawson has become the quintessential “HBO fighter,” one that doesn’t fight all that much, can’t sell out a phone booth and is a fighter so averse to taking risk, lest he lose his contract with the network. Shaw has done one of the great sales/snow jobs in recent memory in getting HBO to buy into Dawson as one of the game’s future stars. Just think about it; in three fights, they have paid him a few million dollars and what’s really been their return on this investment? Two wins over old guys (neither of which were particularly enthralling) and a fight where he was put up as the B-side where he put up a desultory effort.
Hey, HBO, this shouldn’t be about guys who you feel are skilled or have big, undefeated records. It’s about passion. Having fighters willing to lay it on the line, roll the dice and leave us breathless once in a while (And in that vein, thank God that Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward were working the broadcast and not Max Kellerman- who, while greatly improved, might have waxed eloquently about the beautiful southpaw stylings of Dawson this weekend. Merchant and Steward wanted to see a fight and they were just a tad impatient with Dawson and his unwillingness to consistently engage).
If the trilogy between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward didn’t teach you guys that, then nothing will. Stop with the fixation on perfect records or who is with a certain promoter/adviser. Just start rewarding boxers who are willing to engage and sacrifice a bit of themselves. That’s why we (and yes, I said “we,” because whether I write about this sport or not, I’ll always be a fan of this game till the day I die- or till it’s killed off) become followers of the sport. We want real fights that take place between our modern-day gladiators who fight with honor and nobility till the very end.
Nowadays, we have prizefighters who perform more or less like guys who keep themselves out of harm’s way in collecting their bi-annual annuity.
FINAL FLURRIES
Not to pile on (well, maybe) but, in adding to my point, in the last two weeks we saw four light heavyweights in Pascal, Dawson, Tavoris Cloud and Glen Johnson on HBO. For my money, I’d pay to see any combination of Pascal, Cloud and Johnson. Dawson? Well, he can go back to the Chumash Casino for all I care...Don’t care what anyone says but I thought the HBO A-team was on its game this weekend. But Merchant (who finally opened his eyes- and didn’t like what he saw from Dawson) and Steward were really good. They kinda reminded me of Statler and Waldorf (the two old guys on the balcony of the old “Muppet Show”)...Best fight of the weekend was the “FNF” opener between Josesito Lopez and Marvin Cardova, which Lopez took in a tough eight-rounder...I thought both Eloy Perez and Carlos Molina took positives steps in winning at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena on “Solo Boxeo” on Telefutura. If Molina can make 135, he could develop into an all-action lightweight...Mickey Garcia looked solid in dismantling Cornelius Lock. He’s now in line to fight for the IBF featherweight title. Meanwhile, my cousin (who’s REALLY not my cousin) Ji Hoon “Mexi-” Kim was taken back to reality by the always-difficult Miguel Vazquez...Speaking of ol’ Larry, his line about Dawson and his dog breeding had all of us cracking up...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet atwww.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
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