European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 6, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 6,1993 sports the stars and stripes by Joe Gergen new Day new York a on behalf of Madison Square Garden which is staging the Long awaited welterweight championship bout Between buddy Mcgirt and Pomell Whitaker saturday night the spokesman promised More substance and Jess glitter a at wednesday s final pre fight news conference. Bad idea. From a table of cynical reporters at the Back of the room arose a chant in tune with the times a More glitter Jess  in boxing As in so Many other endeavours these Days bread May be satisfying but circuses arc better for business. Just one month after a crowd in excess of 16,000 was drawn to the Arena for a technical Knockoff of a heavyweight title contest fewer than half that number of tickets have been purchased for what promises to be the fight of the year. The problem with Mcgirt and Whitaker is that neither Man is inflated beyond the 147-Pound limit. It matters Little that Dan Duva Whitaker a promoter May have been right on the Money when he declared that the Winner deserved the unofficial designation As the Best fighter Pound for Pound in the world and that the bout itself would be a classic. The fact is it Wasny to until wednesday that sales inched past the 7,000 Mark and officials Are predicting no More than 10,000 will attend the 12-round bout for Mcgirty a world boxing Council Belt. A i think there s going to be 10,000 in the Arena saturday night Quot Duva said at a Manhattan restaurant wednesday Quot and in 10 years there a going to be 100,000 who say they were there. The additional 90,000, however will not have ticket stubs that denote a Cash contribution to the livelihood of either Boxer or their associates. Not that anyone involved in the show is crying poverty. Indeed Duva pronounced it a successful promotion. The fighters got Well paid and the promoters made a Little Money Quot he said. For Mcgirt the Long Island native whose career was nurtured in the gardens Felt forum and its pre Pemco Whitaker left and buddy Mcgirt shake hands now come out fighting tonight sent incarnation the Paramount it represents his first $1 million payday As Well As his first live appearance on Hob. Still there is something inherently wrong when Riddick Bowe can cause so much greater activity at the Box office at double the prices just by taking a Bow Over scandalously under trained and Over matched retread Michael Dokes than can such consummate professionals risking their reputations. If this is the second coming of Willie Pep is. Sandy Saddler As some have intimated Why in t the Garden sold out a1 Carto the trash talking tailor who manages Mcgirt pointed a Finger at Whitaker the former olympic Champion and reign no International boxing federation Junior welterweight titlist who has Tost Only once in 32 professional bouts. Quot you re the Star a Carto said. Quot you re supposed to fill up the  Whitaker noted his birth certificate and Driver s License carried the state Seal of Virginia. Quot in a not from new York Quot he said. Quot you re from new  perhaps As Duva claimed the fight would have sold out the building in Norfolk but then there is to building in Norfolk to compare with the Garden. Nor docs that City offer As Many diversions. The Duva family patriarch Lou who will be in Whitaker a Corner said the embarrassment of Doc so one round dismissal by Bowe cast a pall on this event. Quot i think its a bad reaction to the Bowe fight Quot the Veteran Trainer said. Quot reverse the dates and this would sell  that May be a trifle optimistic. For whatever reason the heavyweight Champion is regarded As Public property in this country while lighter fighters Are assigned roles As cult figures. Occasionally someone with the Talent and Charisma of a Ray Leonard Wilt wrest the spotlight and amass a Fortune. While Mcgirt undefeated since he lost the if Junior welterweight Crown to Meldrick Taylor in 1988, and Whitaker Are Rich in ability neither has that Aura. They Are craftsmen boxers who in another Era might have filled the old Garden on 50th Street. But they Aren t celebrities like George Steinbrunner who held the new York Media hostage this week by his very presence at Yankee Camp or even Bowe recently shaking hands with the Pope. Quot some audience Dan Duva huffed. Quot Bowe and 6,000 other  the Impact of 1993 a genomics should not be dismissed. After All even if the $200 top tickets arc half the Price charged for the Bowe exercise that s not pocket change for the majority of new yorkers. Quot this is a Tough town a said Duva whose offices Are just across the River in new Jersey. Quot but if the fight was priced like a Knick game we d sell 18,000  of course at those prices the fighters  be compensated As Well. And they deserve As much As they can get. Mcgirt has Laboured More than 11 years for this moment. Whitaker who began his pro career at the Garden on the Quot night of Gold Quot card honouring the 1984 . Olympic champions has the Opportunity to join Barney Ross Henry Armstrong and Roberto Duran As Champion in both the lightweight and welterweight , Sailor hit ring finals Colorado Springs Colo. A the Soldier the Sailor and the Schoolboy Are each one Victory away from defending . Amateur boxing championships. Arturo Hoffman an 18-year-old senior from Dade City Fla pressured Troy Porter of Milwaukee until Porter was disqualified for holding in the third round of their Liz Pound semifinal Bradley Martinez of the Arney at fort Hua Chuca ariz., outfoxed Peter Frissina of Tarpon see Page 29 for Complete results a a life. Quot 1 Springs Fla 3-0 at 106 pounds. Voting was done manually by backup judges because of a computer malfunction. Wheeler an olympian serving with the Navy at Virginia Beach va., overwhelmed 16-year-old Chris Martinez of san Antonio Texas 53-10 at 125 pounds Wheeler s final opponent will be 17-year-old Frank Carmona of los Angeles who swarmed Over David Turner of St. Louis 57-27. The other three 16-year-Olds in the semifinals of the Competition also lost but two other 17-year-Olds also advanced to the finals saturday night at the Broadmoor world Arena. In a slug est that had the crowd roaring Shane Swartz 17, of fort Collins Colo., beat 18-year-old Michael Dupree of Dallas 47-45 on the strength of a three Point penalty against Dupree for butting in the 165-Pound bout. Nappi focused on not boardroom infighting by de Schuyler or. A boxing writer Colorado Springs Colo. It was Tongue in Cheek but Veteran coach Larry Ramirez s response said a lot about Pat nappies place in Amateur boxing on an information Sheet for the 1992 Western olympic boxing trials coaches were asked to list top boxers they had coached. It. Ramirez wrote Quot a lot but they really wanted Pat  Quot weve lost a great Man Quot Ramirez said this week at the . Amateur boxing championships. Quot he contributed Many Many years of dedication to the  the old army Man who died last saturday at 75, coached three . Olympic teams numerous other International teams and was National coach from 19791992. Nappies world was Amateur boxing and that world is changing. He despised the computer scoring system because he thought it was turning boxing into fighting encouraging Power punching and reducing safety. He Wasny to much into things like sports science either. The politics of boxing made Nappi uncomfortable and he often ruffled official feathers. Quot he did no to please everybody the Way he did things Quot said Roosevelt Sanders the Marine corps coach who was an assistant to Nappi at the 1984 olympics. In the gym in the Corner on the Road with his boxers. That a where Nappi was comfortable. Quot nobody was More for the athletes Quot Ramirez said. Concern for the boxers an Eye for ability and teaching skill were what Nappi brought to the sport. Said Julian und Cham was one of Quot he was a great coach to be around Wheeler an olympian and National 125-Po Pion in 1992. A the took care of his Guys. He the Guys who stood up for the boxers. Nappi fought for the Best equipment travel conditions food and per diem he could get for boxers. Nappi liked boxers. Quot he had a unique Way of dealing with athletes Quot Sanders said Quot it was a fatherly sort of thing but also strict. He also had the unique ability to identify potential in an  col. Don Hull a former Usa boxing president and former president of the International boxing federation once recalled that when Nappi was coaching at fort Meade md., Nappi thought he had a Good Prospect though the Boxer had had just three fights. The Boxer was Jose Torres who lost to Lazio Papp of Hungary in a great 156-Pound olympic final in the 1956 olympics and went to become world Light heavyweight Champion As a pro. In 1983, there was a talented teen Ager from philae phia who was boxing at 132 and 139 pounds. Nappi told him that he would do better in the 1984 olympics at 125 pounds. Meldrick Taylor won the Gold medal at that  the was a Leader Quot Wheeler said of Nappi. Quot he made sure the coaches did their jobs and he made sure the athletes did  a the was a wonderful coach a said Israel Acosta who with Joe Byrd was selected 1992 coach of the year and who was a respected International Boxer for the United states. A i miss that old Man. He cared a lot for the boxers. Nobody will replace