Years Ago the Fight Game Was Big Business in the South Bay, but Television Scored a Knockout and Now a Redondo Promoter Is Trying to Revive It : BOXING IS BACK

There used to be a time when boxing held an honored spot among other major sports in the South Bay area.

But to remember those days you would have to be a senior citizen with a great memory.

It was nearly half a century ago.

“They used to have packed houses,” says Red Shannon, a boxing manager who grew up in Watts and in the ‘30s fought most of his 186 amateur fights in places like Torrance, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. “Just about every day there was boxing going on.”

Times indeed change, and the sport has withered locally in terms of number of fights, fighters and fans.

Shannon says the interest was siphoned away by television.

“When they started putting boxing on TV, people didn’t go out to see fights. They stayed home and watched instead,” he said. “That’s when the matches cooled off here.”

But a rekindled enthusiasm for live fights in the South Bay is evident.

“A lot of people didn’t think there would be that much interest in this area for boxing,” said John Ellis, a boxing promoter based in Redondo Beach.

“There are a lot of boxing fans, but they don’t want to travel to the other side of town. Here in the area, I have had good turnouts for all my shows.”

One of Ellis’ shows featured ex-World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champ Tony Tubbs in a four-bout card at a Redondo Beach night club last year. The attraction was so popular that people had to be turned away.

“Redondo Beach could be a good boxing place because the fans are there,” says Shannon.

In fact, many people believe that fan interest didn’t really die but that other factors brought it down.

Shannon says there were plenty of fighters, managers and promoters in the heyday of South Bay’s ring. Most important, though, there were plenty of gyms.

“Now kids have to go to L.A. to work out. Then kids would rather just fight there, where they’re working out,” he said.

“And I guess things like baseball and football have made most of the kids want to play other sports.”

But, Ellis counters, “boxing is making a comeback,” and to help its revival, he plans to open a gym in Redondo Beach before the end of the year.

Ellis is working on a card slated for Aug. 17. If things go according to plan, some of boxing’s marquee names may grace the promo posters.

“I am hoping to possibly get George Foreman on that card. I’m also working on getting (1988 Olympic light-middleweight silver medalist) Roy Jones.”

Whereas television may have hurt boxing in the area once, Ellis hopes to use the medium in his favor. If Foreman and Jones fight on Ellis’ card, he hopes to have the matches televised on cable.

The biggest obstacle is securing a venue for the event.

The California Boxing Commission warned Ellis about the overcrowding for the Tubbs fight, so Ellis is making a bid to hold his Aug. 17 show at the much larger Redondo Beach Marina parking lot. Ellis’ brother Jimmy, a heavyweight with a 3-0 record and managed by L.A. Raider Howie Long, will appear on the card.

Ellis, whose operation is titled South Bay Promotions, is the only promoter in the area. And he gets his share of criticism.

“His prices are a little too high,” said Shannon. “He has to meet the working man’s price. He should charge kids under 12 about $5 or $6 so they could get in.”

Ellis says the Tubbs fight prices, $25 to $35, were aimed at a more select crowd, and since the nightclub holds only 500 people, the admission was scaled to meet costs.

“We wanted an affluent crowd, a la Las Vegas,” said Jeff Color, the owner of The Strand, the club where the matches took place. “The people who came were well-dressed. They drank champagne.” Some in the South Bay say that for the sport to generate the interest of days past, there should be more emphasis on local fighters.

“That’s the best way to go,” said Carson boxer Alan Santana. “When they put local guys on the posters, there is usually a good crowd.”

When asked if members of his family become boxing fans when he fights in the area, Santana laughed.

“The whole family comes out to the fights. When I fight here, I can sell 200 to 400 tickets to family and friends. And it’s like that with all of the other local fighters,” he said.

Said Shannon: “Matchmaking is very important. You have to have local talent on your cards to make the event successful.”

In the ‘30s, boxing was more of a way of life than a sport.

“At Depression time, a lot of kids would go hungry if they didn’t fight. After a while, kids heard about boxing from other kids, and interest got real high,” said Shannon, who manages only a handful of boxers in the area.

Fabela Chavez, a former pro fighter who now runs a boxing center for youths, agrees that youngsters nowadays have changed in attitude.

“The kids aren’t into it like they used to be. Now it’s mainly for recreation,” he said.

But with the paydays of Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Mike Tyson out there, the number of potential boxers who stroll into gyms may turn into rush-hour traffic.

“It’s starting to draw huge interest,” said Ellis. “There are lots of fighters who want to box on the shows I am putting on. Eventually, I would like to have several shows each year.”

Santana says that would suit him and his fellow boxers just fine. “I hope they would. If they build up the right fighters, the local fighters, boxing can go up around here. And once it’s in your blood, once you’ve got it, you can’t get rid of it.”