http://www.courier-journal.com/localnew ... 14755.html
The promoter of convicted rapist Mike Tyson's heavyweight fight Friday at Freedom Hall has his own history of abusing women and other brushes with the law.
Chris A. Webb — a 10th-grade dropout from DeSales High School and former amateur boxer who has worked as a carpet cleaner, male stripper and real-estate investor — has a record of abusing three women over the past 15 years.
He is scheduled to appear in court three days after the Tyson bout for allegedly violating a domestic-violence order and threatening the mother of his child, according to a warrant that claims he called her and her family repeatedly last December to say he was in a state of mind that he could "kill someone or hurt someone really bad." He has pleaded not guilty.
Webb, who said he has staged more than 10 fights in three years as a promoter at venues that include Louisville Gardens, Caesars and Broadbent Arena, acknowledged he has had "problems in the past."
But he said: "I don't understand what any of my past mistakes have to do with this event. This is about bringing boxing back to Louisville."
Webb, 33, also has been under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for failing to report income, according to six people who say they have been questioned by the agency. Webb confirmed he has been interviewed by the IRS.
He has been charged four times with theft in the past three years in cases that were dismissed — three of them when he paid last-minute restitution — and he has been named as a defendant in more than a dozen lawsuits.
He also was convicted of felony cocaine possession in 1994, which has barred him from getting a liquor license but did not stop the Kentucky Athletic Commission from licensing him as a promoter.
Doug Hogan, a spokesman for Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who previously distanced himself from the Tyson fight, said the disclosure of Webb's background "reinforces the governor's decision not to embrace the event and to re-evaluate the athletic commission ... so that we can have an aggressive agency that secures sporting events all Kentuckians can be proud of."
Webb supporters, and local financial backers of the Tyson fight — including one of Louisville's largest law firms and two of its best-known venture capitalists — describe him as a tenacious, charismatic man who has overcome huge personal obstacles to pull off an event that will focus world attention on Louisville.
Tyson will face Danny Williams, a former British heavyweight champion, in the main bout on a nine-fight card.
Todd Blue, whose family firm, Cobalt Ventures LLC, is helping finance the event, said: "We don't conduct background checks on everyone we transact business with. But my impression is that Chris is a very hard worker, and he wants what is best for Louisville."
Lawyer Michael Tigue of Middleton & Reutlinger, whose firm is representing Webb's Straight-Out Promotions, said Tyson and Webb both are "individuals trying to build a future."
Several boxing enthusiasts say Webb is driven by a true love of the sport. He has helped fund a free boxing program for children at Louisville Legends, a Portland neighborhood gym, where he has trained young fighters and counseled them how to avoid the mistakes he made, said trainer and manager James Doolin, who runs the club.
"He has a lot of heart," said Ward Plauche, owner of five nightclubs at O'Malley's Corner, including Coyote's, where Webb staged his first fight. Plauche discounted questions about Tyson's background — and Webb's.
"This is boxing," Plauche said, "not cheerleaders' camp."
Tyson's New York manager, Shelly Finkel, said he initially was wary that Webb had so little promotion experience but found Webb to be persistent.
"He's got a lot of aggression, in a positive way," Finkel said. "He kept calling and doing and running and getting it done."
`A good tactician'
"One-Punch Webb," as he is known, started fighting at 16, at St. George Boxing Club in the basement of an Episcopal church at 26th and Oak streets.
He stands 5 foot 5 and fought at 119 pounds — about 65 pounds less than he currently carries, although he still gets in the ring to spar.
He never lost as an amateur and scored his biggest win over Angel Manfredy of Hobart, Ind., later a world super featherweight champion, Doolin said.
"He was smart fighter, a good tactician," Doolin recalled. "He didn't like to get hit."
Webb said he grew up in "less than ideal circumstances." His mother was a cashier. He said he never knew his father, who was convicted in the 1980s of marijuana trafficking.
His older brother, whom Webb said he has seen only twice in 20 years, was paroled in May from an Indiana prison after serving time on a trafficking charge.
At 16, Webb said, he left home to live on his own, quitting school to support himself and help two younger siblings.
Even as a teenager, he was a consummate promoter and leader, recalled Plauche, who then ran a teen club called Troubadour's.
"We did a beach party, and I brought two semi-trailers full of sand," Plauche said. "Chris helped round up 100 kids with wheelbarrows and shovels who wheeled every bit of sand in and out of the building."
In his own enterprises, Webb has known both success and failure.
He has sold swimming pools, opened a carpet-cleaning business, distributed products for an Internet marketing company and owned a stake in Shakey's Lounge, a South End bar known for its "Thong Thursdays." The businesses are all now defunct.
Webb said he toured as a stripper for Hunk Mania, a New York-based company that bills itself as "the hottest male revue," catering to women and bachelorette parties.
"I was at a point that I had to do what I had to do," Webb said. "I was never totally nude. I don't know if that makes a difference."
His greatest business success came in real estate. From 1999 through 2002, he said, he bought and sold "several hundred properties," including federally subsidized Section 8 rentals he purchased, rehabbed and then quickly "flipped" for a profit.
For a time, he lived in a $500,000 home with an Iroquois Park view and drove a $67,925 red Mercedes convertible. But he was forced to sell the home, the car was repossessed and many of his properties were foreclosed upon, because he and investors couldn't pay the mortgages, according to Jefferson Circuit Court records.
In lawsuits and interviews, two of his investors alleged that Webb conspired with others to inflate the value of properties so Fifth Third Bank would lend more money than the properties were worth — and so Webb could take some of the loan proceeds.
They also contend Webb exaggerated their potential rental income. He denied any wrongdoing, and the corporate counsel for Fifth Third, John Rippy, said the cases were settled before any determination was made on the merit of the claims.
Mike Lake, the stepfather of one of Webb's ex-girlfriends, said Webb "has a heart of gold — he'll give money to everybody. But you don't want to deal with him. He gets over his head. He takes on too many things."
Four former investors, as well as Lake and his stepdaughter, Christi Barr, said in interviews or through their lawyers that they had been interviewed over the past year by an IRS agent asking about the sources of Webb's income.
Investor Golden K. Jackson said he had spoken with the agent as recently as two weeks ago, and Jackson's lawyer, Wallace Rogers, said he and his client also had discussed the matter with federal prosecutors.
Special Agent Tere Mynatt, who has served as a spokesman for the agency's criminal investigation section, said he could neither confirm nor deny the investigations. But he added: "Let me put it this way. I am very familiar with that situation."
Webb said he reported all of his income to his tax preparer.
"I think I always in my mind try to do the right things by other people," he said.
Three women in his life, however, have claimed otherwise in court.
Webb was convicted in 1989 of assault and terroristic threatening of one woman, and received a year sentence that was conditionally discharged.
In 1995, he was convicted of menacing and harassing communications of a second woman, Susan Martion, who alleged in court papers that Webb pulled a knife on her.
He has pleaded not guilty to pending charges in Jefferson District Court filed by Barr, with whom he has a daughter.
Webb wouldn't comment on the charges.
"I love my daughter too much and have too much respect for her mother to discuss my family business publicly," he said.
`Much more than Tyson'
Webb acknowledges that Tyson is no role model. And he said he can understand the concerns about bringing the volatile fighter to Louisville.
The former champ served three years in prison for the 1991 rape of beauty queen Desiree Washington in an Indianapolis hotel room.
In 1997, after Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear during a bout, his Nevada boxing license was suspended for a year and he was fined $3million.
In 1999, he was released from a Maryland jail after serving 3½ months for assaulting two motorists, and in 2002 he threw a punch at Lennox Lewis' bodyguard at a news conference, setting off a brawl between the boxers.
But Webb said the nine-card match on Friday in Louisville is about "much more than Tyson," noting that Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila, is on the undercard, along with other title matches.
Webb said he has wanted to bring a major fight to Louisville since he promoted his first, a pro-amateur event in which the youngest boxer was 7.
He might have gotten his biggest break about a year ago, when he staged a match outdoors at Shakey's and met Jonathan Blue, a lifelong fight fan.
Webb said he tracked down Tyson through a friend and had no trouble convincing him he was serious about the Louisville fight. "Mike was already aware of who I was at that point," Webb said.
Webb said he approached three or four potential financial backers — "only people who I knew were capable of facilitating a deal of this magnitude" — before the Blue brothers signed on.
Last week, Todd and Jonathan Blue said they had heard rumors about the problems in Webb's past, although they thought he had been pardoned for his felony conviction. He hadn't.
In a written statement to The Courier-Journal and in an interview, the brothers said Cobalt is not investing in Webb's company, Straight-Out Promotions, or promoting the fight, but instead investing in a company that has agreed to provide a portion of the crediting financing for the event.
Citing confidentiality agreements, they wouldn't say how much money they are providing.
They say their role arose out of a prior business relationship with Showtime Pay Per View, which will offer the fight live in 84 countries.
In the interview, the brothers acknowledged they hope to make a profit on their investment, but said they love the sport and have crisscrossed the country to watch it.
"There is nothing like the excitement of fight night, wherever it is," Todd Blue said.
Tyson's allure
Why does he still draw fans? "People are looking to see if he implodes," one boxing journalist says.
Tyson-Williams promoter has his own dubious history
As of today Webb claims there are 7000 tickets left to seel for the fight this Friday.
When Mike Tyson last appeared in Louisville, he smiled at 10 TV cameras and spoke softly to a tribe of scribbling reporters. He accepted a birthday cake and muttered, "Oh, these birthdays." He signed a boxing glove for an adorable child.
This peaceful tableau was briefly shattered when a large young man — presumably not with the media — yelled to Tyson, "You represent all the street people that ain't never had nothin' — and want to git somethin'!"
Tyson did get something — earning perhaps $400 million. Now he is bankrupt and fighting to pay off $27million in debts. The road to solvency will begin Friday night against Danny Williams in Freedom Hall. The house holds 19,900, with about 7,000 tickets remaining, promoter Chris Webb said.
Boxing experts have likened Tyson to a train wreck, a Michael Jackson in boxing trunks, even Darth Vader. Tyson has called himself the kind of person who scares little old white ladies going into the Dairy Queen.
But the fans keep coming back — to the arenas and the pay-per-view screens. When Lennox Lewis knocked out Tyson two years ago, the fight grossed a record $103 million in domestic pay-per-view.
Why do they pay millions to see a man who has spent almost as much time behind bars as he spent as a champion? A man who said he wanted to eat Lewis' children — and actually tried to eat Evander Holyfield's ears?
"Some people would argue that his PR baggage helps him," said boxing authority Max Kellerman. "What's he going to do next? And that's the appeal. I think there is an element of morbid curiosity."
Al Bernstein, who will analyze the fight for Showtime Pay Per View on Friday night, said, "Many, many people find him to be a compelling figure and are always curious to see him in a boxing ring. After the Lewis fight, you might have thought that since the aura of invincibility had gone away... that the interest would be considerably less. It might be a little less, but not significantly. People are curious. People are interested.
"Part of it is people are curious about a train wreck. ... And to some degree, that's what this is all about."
"People are looking to see if he implodes," said Bert Randolph Sugar, the boxing journalist and historian. "They're looking to see a boxer hyphen celebrity. It's the reason we're watching Laci Peterson trials and O.J. trials and Michael Jackson trials. I mean, they could hold this fight on Court TV.
"Mike Tyson has transcended the sports page. He's now front-page news — tabloid news, really."
Sugar recalled a lawsuit that arose after Lewis bit Holyfield's ears, causing referee Mills Lane to stop the 1997 fight after three rounds.
"Some cable customers who had bought the fight on pay-per-view sued," Sugar said, "because they didn't get their money's worth — they had paid for a fight, and it descended into an ear bite. At which point the judge dismissed the suit, saying if you knew there was going to be an ear bite, you would have paid more."
When Tyson enters the ring, mystery is certain and mayhem is possible.
That's part of the appeal for Troyce Stamey, a North Carolina building contractor who will occupy a $751 seat at Friday's fight.
"I don't like what he has done or necessarily what he said ... but he is exciting," Stamey said. "You never know what you are going to get ... a KO, an ear lost or just a fight. Tyson makes any match exciting. He comes in and just goes crazy with punches, and for me, a fan, that is exciting. He is like a professional tough man."
Kris Farmer, an Arizona on-line ticket broker, said, "Tyson is not the huge draw that he once was, but his name alone will at least sell a decent amount of tickets. Most boxing enthusiasts would probably skip the fight. The average fan may go out of curiosity. Tyson is very unpredictable, and at his fights anything can happen."
Everett Ezell of Louisville, who bought his $76 ticket the first day of sales, explains Tyson's appeal.
"He is the Dennis Rodman of boxing," Ezell said. "Dennis Rodman brought a lot of controversy, but at the same time, people that didn't care for the way Dennis acted, they bought his book, they read his book, they wanted to see him play. No matter the controversy, he loved the game of basketball, and on the court he played hard. Mike Tyson loves the game of boxing and plays hard in the ring."
At age 38, does Tyson still matter to boxing, as anything more than a money-making oddity?
"Oh yes," Sugar said. "Were he anything but a heavyweight, probably the answer would be no. But the heavyweight division is on the cusp of being called off on account of lack of interest. If the four heavyweight champions — that's how many there are, four — were to walk down any Main Street in any city in America in their robes, gloves and trunks, not only wouldn't you know who they were, you wouldn't know what they did for a living.
"Lamon Brewster. There's one. John Ruiz. These guys are not even household names in their own households. And so, yes, Mike Tyson makes a difference in the heavyweight division.
"The heavyweight division is that pathetic."
That fuels the notion that Tyson could be champion again, Bernstein said.
"When people ... look at the champions right now and they say, `Is it out of the question that even a 38-year-old Mike Tyson, whose skills have eroded but still has power — is it out of the question that he might beat one or two of these people' — I think the answer comes back, absolutely. it's not out of the question. It could happen."
If it did happen, Tyson would somehow have found his way back to the future — or ahead to the past.
"The real appeal of Mike Tyson is that once upon a time, he knocked everyone out," Kellerman said. "So he captured the imagination of the American sporting public in a way that no boxer has since, really, Joe Louis. Ali was bigger, but he wasn't blowing everyone out in the first round."
Sugar is even more emphatic: "He did what a heavyweight champion should do, and that's knock out people in a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am manner. Not a decision. Not looking as if you're walking on eggs. Come right out and fire. ...
"We've got heavyweight champions who shouldn't be — or who win 12-round decisions — versus a man who laid them out endwise. And there's still some of that echo in appreciation, not only because of this Michael Jackson in boxing trunks, but because he actually exhibited great skills in doing what a heavyweight champion should. A Marciano, a Louis, a Dempsey. He knocked them out."
Beyond the tabloid appeal and the nostalgia for the old Tyson, many boxing fans yearn for the return of a great, charismatic heavyweight champion.
"There are a considerable amount of fans and people out there," Bernstein said, "who still think that somehow he's going to recapture that magic — that it only has been dormant, and they feel like he can get it done again, so they sign up to see him."
Stamey is one of them.
"If he is serious and looks good fighting," Stamey said, "I think that he will make a serious run for the titles. ... This is what boxing needs — a fighter that can pack out the coliseums — and Tyson is basically alone in that category, in my eyes."
Is this simply a fractured fairy tale at work — a wistful attempt to turn Tyson's story into the stuff of magic?
"I think there's more to it than that," Kellerman said. "I think it's like `Star Wars.' It's Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader: The kid with all the potential in the world gets seduced by evil ... and in the end redeems himself.
"I think people hope that Mike Tyson is Darth Vader — that he starts out as a young savior of the boxing universe, that circumstances conspire to act on his personality in a way where he travels down the wrong path and that ultimately at the end, there's redemption."
Kellerman, star of the "I, Max" show on Fox Sports Net, said that such a scenario — however unlikely — puts Tyson in a position to claim the greatness he couldn't find the first time around.
"The interesting thing about Mike Tyson is, when he was good, he was so good that you couldn't tell if he was great," Kellerman said. "He was blowing guys out so early that you could never answer questions about how he took a punch. ...
"Now that he is no longer good, he has the chance to prove that he's great."
How?
"America, we equate winning, or at least trying hard, with redemption," Kellerman said. "We don't care so much actually if you win. We care that you keep picking yourself up off the mat and keep going forward. So if he can somehow summon up a courageous performance and make it competitive against a guy like Vitali Klitschko, people will see that as Darth Vader taking off the mask, and there'll be a measure of redemption. And I think that's what people are hoping for."
When Mike Tyson last appeared in Louisville, he smiled at 10 TV cameras and spoke softly to a tribe of scribbling reporters. He accepted a birthday cake and muttered, "Oh, these birthdays." He signed a boxing glove for an adorable child.
This peaceful tableau was briefly shattered when a large young man — presumably not with the media — yelled to Tyson, "You represent all the street people that ain't never had nothin' — and want to git somethin'!"
Tyson did get something — earning perhaps $400 million. Now he is bankrupt and fighting to pay off $27million in debts. The road to solvency will begin Friday night against Danny Williams in Freedom Hall. The house holds 19,900, with about 7,000 tickets remaining, promoter Chris Webb said.
Boxing experts have likened Tyson to a train wreck, a Michael Jackson in boxing trunks, even Darth Vader. Tyson has called himself the kind of person who scares little old white ladies going into the Dairy Queen.
But the fans keep coming back — to the arenas and the pay-per-view screens. When Lennox Lewis knocked out Tyson two years ago, the fight grossed a record $103 million in domestic pay-per-view.
Why do they pay millions to see a man who has spent almost as much time behind bars as he spent as a champion? A man who said he wanted to eat Lewis' children — and actually tried to eat Evander Holyfield's ears?
"Some people would argue that his PR baggage helps him," said boxing authority Max Kellerman. "What's he going to do next? And that's the appeal. I think there is an element of morbid curiosity."
Al Bernstein, who will analyze the fight for Showtime Pay Per View on Friday night, said, "Many, many people find him to be a compelling figure and are always curious to see him in a boxing ring. After the Lewis fight, you might have thought that since the aura of invincibility had gone away... that the interest would be considerably less. It might be a little less, but not significantly. People are curious. People are interested.
"Part of it is people are curious about a train wreck. ... And to some degree, that's what this is all about."
"People are looking to see if he implodes," said Bert Randolph Sugar, the boxing journalist and historian. "They're looking to see a boxer hyphen celebrity. It's the reason we're watching Laci Peterson trials and O.J. trials and Michael Jackson trials. I mean, they could hold this fight on Court TV.
"Mike Tyson has transcended the sports page. He's now front-page news — tabloid news, really."
Sugar recalled a lawsuit that arose after Lewis bit Holyfield's ears, causing referee Mills Lane to stop the 1997 fight after three rounds.
"Some cable customers who had bought the fight on pay-per-view sued," Sugar said, "because they didn't get their money's worth — they had paid for a fight, and it descended into an ear bite. At which point the judge dismissed the suit, saying if you knew there was going to be an ear bite, you would have paid more."
When Tyson enters the ring, mystery is certain and mayhem is possible.
That's part of the appeal for Troyce Stamey, a North Carolina building contractor who will occupy a $751 seat at Friday's fight.
"I don't like what he has done or necessarily what he said ... but he is exciting," Stamey said. "You never know what you are going to get ... a KO, an ear lost or just a fight. Tyson makes any match exciting. He comes in and just goes crazy with punches, and for me, a fan, that is exciting. He is like a professional tough man."
Kris Farmer, an Arizona on-line ticket broker, said, "Tyson is not the huge draw that he once was, but his name alone will at least sell a decent amount of tickets. Most boxing enthusiasts would probably skip the fight. The average fan may go out of curiosity. Tyson is very unpredictable, and at his fights anything can happen."
Everett Ezell of Louisville, who bought his $76 ticket the first day of sales, explains Tyson's appeal.
"He is the Dennis Rodman of boxing," Ezell said. "Dennis Rodman brought a lot of controversy, but at the same time, people that didn't care for the way Dennis acted, they bought his book, they read his book, they wanted to see him play. No matter the controversy, he loved the game of basketball, and on the court he played hard. Mike Tyson loves the game of boxing and plays hard in the ring."
At age 38, does Tyson still matter to boxing, as anything more than a money-making oddity?
"Oh yes," Sugar said. "Were he anything but a heavyweight, probably the answer would be no. But the heavyweight division is on the cusp of being called off on account of lack of interest. If the four heavyweight champions — that's how many there are, four — were to walk down any Main Street in any city in America in their robes, gloves and trunks, not only wouldn't you know who they were, you wouldn't know what they did for a living.
"Lamon Brewster. There's one. John Ruiz. These guys are not even household names in their own households. And so, yes, Mike Tyson makes a difference in the heavyweight division.
"The heavyweight division is that pathetic."
That fuels the notion that Tyson could be champion again, Bernstein said.
"When people ... look at the champions right now and they say, `Is it out of the question that even a 38-year-old Mike Tyson, whose skills have eroded but still has power — is it out of the question that he might beat one or two of these people' — I think the answer comes back, absolutely. it's not out of the question. It could happen."
If it did happen, Tyson would somehow have found his way back to the future — or ahead to the past.
"The real appeal of Mike Tyson is that once upon a time, he knocked everyone out," Kellerman said. "So he captured the imagination of the American sporting public in a way that no boxer has since, really, Joe Louis. Ali was bigger, but he wasn't blowing everyone out in the first round."
Sugar is even more emphatic: "He did what a heavyweight champion should do, and that's knock out people in a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am manner. Not a decision. Not looking as if you're walking on eggs. Come right out and fire. ...
"We've got heavyweight champions who shouldn't be — or who win 12-round decisions — versus a man who laid them out endwise. And there's still some of that echo in appreciation, not only because of this Michael Jackson in boxing trunks, but because he actually exhibited great skills in doing what a heavyweight champion should. A Marciano, a Louis, a Dempsey. He knocked them out."
Beyond the tabloid appeal and the nostalgia for the old Tyson, many boxing fans yearn for the return of a great, charismatic heavyweight champion.
"There are a considerable amount of fans and people out there," Bernstein said, "who still think that somehow he's going to recapture that magic — that it only has been dormant, and they feel like he can get it done again, so they sign up to see him."
Stamey is one of them.
"If he is serious and looks good fighting," Stamey said, "I think that he will make a serious run for the titles. ... This is what boxing needs — a fighter that can pack out the coliseums — and Tyson is basically alone in that category, in my eyes."
Is this simply a fractured fairy tale at work — a wistful attempt to turn Tyson's story into the stuff of magic?
"I think there's more to it than that," Kellerman said. "I think it's like `Star Wars.' It's Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader: The kid with all the potential in the world gets seduced by evil ... and in the end redeems himself.
"I think people hope that Mike Tyson is Darth Vader — that he starts out as a young savior of the boxing universe, that circumstances conspire to act on his personality in a way where he travels down the wrong path and that ultimately at the end, there's redemption."
Kellerman, star of the "I, Max" show on Fox Sports Net, said that such a scenario — however unlikely — puts Tyson in a position to claim the greatness he couldn't find the first time around.
"The interesting thing about Mike Tyson is, when he was good, he was so good that you couldn't tell if he was great," Kellerman said. "He was blowing guys out so early that you could never answer questions about how he took a punch. ...
"Now that he is no longer good, he has the chance to prove that he's great."
How?
"America, we equate winning, or at least trying hard, with redemption," Kellerman said. "We don't care so much actually if you win. We care that you keep picking yourself up off the mat and keep going forward. So if he can somehow summon up a courageous performance and make it competitive against a guy like Vitali Klitschko, people will see that as Darth Vader taking off the mask, and there'll be a measure of redemption. And I think that's what people are hoping for."
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