In the sport of boxing there are a lot of “shady” people trying to get over in one way or another; and clearly the majority of these people don't have the fighters best interest at heart. Lou DiBella isn't one of these people. Ask anyone on the inside or outside of the sport about him, and what comes to mind is a good guy who's trying to better the sport for the most important people in it, the fighters. The Brooklyn born native was the main man at HBO Boxing, purchasing boxing matches that were shown on the network as well as recruiting boxers to fight on it for eleven years before he started DiBella Entertainment. The thing that I can tell you about Lou DiBella is that he is a very honest man, a characteristic that you don't find everyday in boxing, I could tell after talking with him for two minutes that there was no B.S. or hidden agendas with Mr. DiBella. Today I had the pleasure of discussing his life in and around the sweet science. BRC: Lou, how did you get involved with boxing, did it having anything to do with your roots, having grown up in Brooklyn? DiBella: I think it had something to do with growing up in Brooklyn, because when I was kid growing up in the 60's and 70's, boxing was huge. I also think it had something to do with the fact that it was both my grandfathers favorite sport. They loved boxing. I grew up loving boxing and baseball. From the time I remember watching sports, when I was seven or eight years old I was already an Ali fan. I worshipped him, he was my hero and that made me want to get into sports. I went to law school to become a lawyer and from the first second I became a lawyer, I was trying to figure out a way to use that law degree to get into sports. I got lucky and stumbled into the job as a lawyer for HBO sports and at the time HBO sports was the most powerful boxing company in the United States, so things worked out well that way. BRC: You mentioned Ali... How much of an effect did he have on your drive to be involved with boxing? DiBella: I loved heavyweight boxing and Ali was so pretty in the ring and no one ever talked like him; he could speak in poetry and blow people's minds with what he was saying as well as with what he was doing. Muhammad Ali for me was the ultimate athlete and he also stood for something which was nice, I think that if I look at the factors of why I'm working in boxing today, Muhammad Ali is a big part of it. BRC: Now for you, growing up in an age where you had athletes like Ali, Jim Brown, and Bill Russell, guys who stood for much more than just sports where they took a stand on issues, is it hard to deal with guys who now only care about the money and not really the betterment of sports and people in general? DiBella: I mean it'd be nice if there were some boxers that came out and stood up and tried to change the game. I do think there a few guys out of the stars that have certain ideas, they want to be in on the business side, like Oscar de la Hoya, and Roy Jones, Jr. In the future, hopefully from having been on the inside, they'll be able to help clean the sport up. When you're fighting and you achieve a certain level of success in this business you also achieve knowledge and an understanding of what's wrong with the sport; if you don't do anything to fix what's wrong, then you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. So hopefully some of these guys, who are working in the right direction, will give back to the sport that was good to them. I think it's not surprising though, and athletes are like anybody else, especially when you take a young person who probably never had big money before, because boxing is not a sport for the rich, it's a sport for the poor; so many times you're taking a kid who has never had financial success, it can be a hard thing to deal with and adjust to. At the same time, when you are skilled and lucky enough as a fighter to achieve the level of success that brings you millions of dollars and a big time television contract then, you also have -in my view- an obligation to the guys at the bottom of the ladder in boxing to understand that they are fighters to and they need help also and that you're in a better position to give them help. I won't say form a fighters union, but some sort of organization of active fighters for active fighters would definitely be beneficial to the sport as a whole. BRC: Jumping back to HBO, what are some of the things that you are the most proud of in your eleven years as HBO Boxing Senior Executive? DiBella: I think the whole “Boxing After Dark” series is the thing I'm most proud of. For years I feel there have been great fights on those cards, between guys who are great fighters but maybe not at the 'superstar level. "Boxing After Dark" also proved that people wanted to see great fights, if you make a great fight even if it's not a household name people will tune in to watch it. People know what they want and what's competitive; action packed fights where you don't know who is going to win at the onset. The public isn't so interested in seeing a great fighter against a nobody or a guy that doesn't have a chance; the public is smarter than that, a mismatch isn't good television or fun to watch. I'm proudest of the fights that were fun to watch… BRC: Way too many for me to mention but they were usually very exciting bouts like Arturo Gatti vs. Ivan Robinson or Maurice Harris vs. Derrick Jefferson… DiBella: Yes, but I'm also proud of some of the signed fighters like Oscar De La Hoya as a young kid, Roy Jones, Lennox Lewis. I'm proud of that stuff as well, but I actually think I'm proudest of “Boxing After Dark.” BRC: Why the cross over into the world of Promoter/Advisor…I mean I know you don't like the term promoter but… DiBella: At this point, it's not a matter of being called a promoter…I really don't believe that the laws work. I believe that the laws were written in a whole different age and the roles of promoter and manager overlap to an extent and the definition in the laws really doesn't work, and they should be re-written. I'm now going to be licensed as a promoter because it's going to be easier for me. If people call me a promoter they call me a promoter. I have a different idea about how business should and shouldn't be conducted but under the laws that exist right now if people are more comfortable with me getting licensed as a promoter then that's what I'll do, but it doesn't change the fact and I'll repeat myself: TAKE A LOOK AT THE LAWS, THEY DON'T WORK; MANAGERS AND PROMOTERS DO DIFFERENT THINGS THAN THEY DID 50 YEARS AGO AND THE LAWS NEED TO BE RE-WRITTEN. BRC: All the while the fighters are the ones losing out or getting hurt in the process… DiBella: Sometimes they get hurt sometimes they don't, because they are giving a third of their money to a manager who often isn't bringing anything to the table anymore. The promoter is now the person negotiating with television people, the site, and the sponsors. Point blank the promoter is the one negotiating with the money not the manager; it used to be the manager dealing with the money because the money back then was the promoter's money…but now the money is the television networks' money, the site's money and the sponsors, so now the promoter has no choice but to function in a fashion and a capacity that was once managerial. BRC: I read the speech you gave to several Senators about the state of the sport and I felt that you were very candid and honest with your view… DiBella: By the way, you can use any of that speech in this because I stand 100% behind the speech and the statements in it. I mean I've read some of your wish list and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand how the sport can be made better. BRC: There's no national commissioner, there's no uniform interest of promoters… DiBella: I mean promoters are worried about staying alive economically. It's very difficult for promoters to actually sit there and function on the betterment of the sport itself. Everyone tends to be short sighted as a result, and the sport continues to suffer. I know when I was a young kid, that the sport as a whole was a much bigger and more popular sport than it is today. When Muhammad Ali was active in the 60's and 70's boxing was huge; if you go back a couple of decades before that in the 1940's and 50's boxing was bigger than it was in the 60's and 70's. So, the sport isn't enjoying a rocket ship up in popularity like some others are; if anything, there's a leveling off of its popularity and aging of its fans. The sport and when I say the sport I'm saying the promoters, the television networks, business people, and the fighters, need to realize that there are things that need to be done and we must focus on them and try to achieve them. BRC: I know there are some very simple things that could affect fights in huge ways like the selection process for judges to start off with ... DiBella: Well, there hasn't been a big outcry to fix the way judges are selected but I'd agree with you, it's a simple thing that could have huge ramifications… BRC: You're telling me! Lennox Lewis probably would have only had to fight Holyfield once, Mosley vs. Forrest II who knows, Tapia vs. Medina and so on… DiBella: Despite efforts by Senator John McCain and the Ali bill, you don't see managers, promoters, and fighters getting together and demanding a forming of a National Commission, you don't. It's very difficult for a sport to get better when there isn't really anyone looking out for it's long-term health. BRC: Lou, thanks for you views on the state of the sport; I know the readers will enjoy it. Let's switch topics and talk a little bit about the trial with Bernard Hopkins. Now it's well known that -and I can back it up by saying I haven't talked to a person in the sport from Al Mitchell, Shane Mosley, Bob Arum, Mickey Ward, James and Bouie Fisher and the list could go on and on- that has ever had a bad thing to say about you, including Bernard Hopkins right after the fight that made him a first ballot Hall of Famer; the first words out his mouth were “Thanks to Lou DiBella.” I guess I want to ask what happened? I mean, from the outside looking in it seemed that as soon as Hopkins won the Middleweight tournament and then broke Carlos Monzón’s record that he started to change. Now, I know he's had trouble with promoters, managers, and guys before, but it really did seem like when he went after you and the Fishers that he forgot his roots. DiBella: I have to be honest, I think what you said is very accurate. I think he not only forgot his roots but he forgot any help he got along the way. He became incredibly self-centered, short sighted and basically his own worst enemy, something he was in the past. I truly thought in the last few years, if there was anything that I had accomplished while I had been working with Bernard, was to try and convince him to do what was best for him and his family and don't stand for principle when there is no principle involved. If you really have to stand for principle, then fine, do it, but when it's not needed don't do something stupid and then blame it on principle, and don't be your own worst enemy. When you look at his dumping me, and libeling me, dumping Bouie Fisher and the whole Fisher family who have been nothing but wonderful to Bernard…I can't explain it…and I guess only Bernard can…I can firmly tell you this, nobody could have ever accomplished less and benefited less from a victory over Félix Trinidad than Bernard has done…He had the world in the palm of his hand when he stood in the ring with his team together and he destroyed all of it. Now, yeah I beat him in court -and I deserved to beat him in court- and I want to collect my money and I'm shocked by, not only Bernard's behavior, but I'm even more shocked by his lawyers and their lack of any kind of sense of right and wrong. It was an eye opening experience for me, but I'll tell you this, I'm not wasting my time or energy wishing bad things for Bernard Hopkins; he's already hurt himself worse than anyone could have hurt him and right now, I think he's a smart enough guy that if he takes the time and reflects back on the last couple of years of his life, he'll know he blew it. BRC: Would you ever consider doing business with Bernard Hopkins again or are you done? DiBella: I wouldn't do business with the people around him. At the moment, I have no great desire to do business with Bernard either, but the people that are representing him I like even less than I like him…I'm never going to say never but that being said, he's a 37 year old man who has destroyed his marketability and I hope for his sake he can do something to turn it around. I'm not sitting here wishing ill upon him; Bernard has done worse things to himself than anyone could have ever done to him. BRC: That's pretty heavy, that you have a law degree from one of the best colleges in America (Harvard), a pretty well known fact, and yet Bernard's lawyers still tried to get one over on you… that must have been a eye opening experience. DiBella: You know the whole experience of not only Bernard's accusations and his behavior but watching people lie and not only him but people who are supposed to be officers of the court, to watch those kinds of people lie it's very difficult to see. I'm just glad the whole experience is over and that I've moved on, and now I hope Bouie Fisher gets his justice. BRC: One more question about the court battle...Do you feel that you got enough money out of the whole situation, having had your name and reputation on the line? DiBella: Not really, I think far more damage was done…I had a year of my life that was totally fucked up. He fucked up my spirit, my business was doing great and he fucked that up a little; this was like a bump in the road, and it was a year of my life that I suffered. No, I don't think the money makes up for it but all that being said it wasn't about the money for me. It was about standing up and proving I'm not a PUNK; that I'm not going to back up to someone's lies and I'm not going to back up to someone who can't be a REAL MAN. I stood my ground and I won and I think I made a pretty big point doing that. BRC: We've talked enough about the past let's talk about some positive things... What do you have on the horizon? DiBella: January 10th I have my new heavyweight fighting, DaVarryl Williamson he's 17 -1… BRC: You can seen him a lot of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights… DiBella: Yep that's him, he's got great knock out power, I believe 16 KO’s. He's fighting on a main event at the Mohegan Sun, and then my great flyweight prospect Brian Viloria is also defending his NABF title on that card and I have some of my other prospects like Yuri Foreman on the card as well. On January 25th I'm helping Vernon Forrest with the promotion of his fight vs. Ricardo Mayorga. I have a lot going on in January BRC: You also signed one of the nicest guys in boxing in Derrick “Smoke” Gainer as well. DiBella: Yes, I just worked out a deal with the featherweight champion "Smoke" Gainer, a fighter really deserving of a big opportunity and also like you said, "Smoke" is a really good guy. "Smoke" is the kind of guy you want to work with because he's hungry, he's a bright guy and he's very realistic. He really just wants a chance and we're going to get him a chance and get him into a big fight. The guy right now who we are looking at is Manny Pacquiao for the featherweight title… BRC: That'd be an action packed fight… DiBella: Yeah, but a couple of other names thrown around Paulie Ayala, Johnny Tapia, are some possibilities, but I think the Pacquiao fight we will try to get done. BRC: That's the thing that fighters always say to me about you, that you're not a bullshitter and you won't hold back the truth from them, good news or bad. DiBella: Well, look, it's a difficult business and sometimes you have to deliver bad news and it's not a great economy right now. HBO and Showtime, their budgets are not increasing at the moment, it's a tough economic time and yeah, you have the ESPN dates, but they only pay what they pay and it's usually less than $50,000 dollars for a whole show. Then there are the FOX dates and they pay even less than that, throw into the mix that a lot of the television dates are on Spanish channels and it's hard for African American fighters to get a big pay day. So you have to be honest with people about what the environment is at the time. However, at the same time, I have to stay positive and be encouraging and point people where to go, athletes need direction. For athletes not to have a goal it's a real problem and fighters can't have a goal that is just to stay active, they have to want to be a champion. When you look at a guy like Gainer who's been a champion, yet not had the big fights in the last couple of years or made the big money to take care of his family, you have to give a guy like that an opportunity. "Smoke" also knows what has to happen, he's got to get out there fight a name opponent, he's got to look good beating that guy, then he has to demand a shot at Hamed, Barrera or Morales. That's really what has to happen for him. BRC: Since you've already been there why don't the networks like HBO and Showtime come together more and have the best fight the best, for example Gatti vs. Tszyu, do you think something like that can be pulled off? DiBella: Well, yes I do think that fight can come off, but I do think from Gatti's standpoint Micky Ward wants to fight one last fight before he retires, those two guys are one to one now. Micky just got fully checked out, CAT Scans, MRI, the works, he's 100% good to go. I think in all likelihood that economics will dictate that Ward and Gatti will fight one more time. BRC: Where do you think that they'll fight? DiBella: Either Madison Square Garden or Atlantic City, the fight was so big that I think the fight could go to Vegas... BRC: Oh, no! Don't take that fight out there. It'd be good to see those guys get some big time exposure out there but the East Coast has much love for both guys and it'd be sad for Ward's last fight not to happen in front of, or at least near his own fans. I'm not a big fan of the Vegas judges either. DiBella: True, but after the fight Ward will retire and Gatti then could go after Tszyu regardless if he's a Showtime fighter or not. BRC: Well Lou, thanks so much for your time and honesty. I really appreciate your views as do most boxing fans. DiBella: Next time you're down here look me up and we'll do lunch. BRC: Cool, thanks and I'll see you later. Questions? Comments? Write Aladdin Freeman   Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2005