On a mission to bring back the best in boxing, Chicago Boxing News talks with Bobby Hitz

On Thursday afternoon, while waiting to get a hold of a local boxer for a phone interview, I received information from our team that Sergio Montes de Oca (5-1 1KO) had been added to Saturday’s Fight Night at the Horseshoe boxing series (Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, IN) promoted by Bobby Hitz.  As Sergio was originally supposed to fight Friday, February 17^th, 2012, in Cicero, IL…we obviously had some questions how/why this happened.  We weren’t complaining; heck, this was good news!  Sergio is an exciting athlete to watch…and being added to an already-stacked line-up was a bonus.  But we still had questions…

So, like any good reporting entity hungry for news, we reached out to the man himself – veteran promoter Bobby Hitz – to see how this came about, and we were lucky enough to take a few moments of his time.  What we weren’t prepared for was that Bobby had a heck of a lot to say: about the fighters on his card, the state of the Chicago boxing scene, the Angel “Toro” Hernandez debacle, of course-Sergio Montes and even the success of the UFC.  While this was more information than we expected; we were quite pleased to capture it all and will deliver it to you below.

Bobby Hitz is not just a veteran promoter in the Midwest; he’s a former professional heavyweight boxer, compiling a (15-5 10 KOs) record; even fighting the likes of ring legend George Foreman back in 1988.  While we’re not here to discuss the details of that fight (let’s just say that very, very few fighters did well against Big George)… we will say this: Bobby has a renewed, true passion to bring the best boxing to the fans, and his experience in different areas of the sport seems to give him the ability to do so.  Most importantly?  He’s an avid fan and historian of the sport.

But enough banter from me.  Enjoy.

Ben:  Saturday’s card appears to be nicely put together: we’inve got a mix of a few Chicago fan-favorites and some exciting up-and-comers.  Can you comment a little bit about the highlights of this card and what fans should expect on fight night?

Bobby:  I think what they can anticipate is a great night of boxing seeing some of tomorrow’s stars today, I think it will be a showcase for a lot of these up-and-coming local guys trying to make their way in the business.  We’ll see them make some of their first steps you know, on their way through their professional career.

Ben:  Aside from the better-known Chicago fighters on the card, what do you think we can expect from [Aslanbek] Kozaev and [Prenice] Brewer?

Bobby:  You know, those two fights unfortunately…we had to go in a different direction on those two bouts.  We couldn’t settle upon an opponent for Brewer, and we didn’t get some paperwork in time for the Kozaev fight, so those are two fights that are probably not going to be on the show.

Ben:  That’s too bad…but we hear that the exciting Sergio Montes is now going to be on the card, after originally being scheduled to fight in Cicero on Friday…

Bobby:  Yeah, I’m excited to see him.  He’s been talked about to me for quite some time…so you know, the opportunity presented itself for him to be available to fight when the other promoter, I guess, could not secure an opponent for him.  So, within literally five minutes [laughing] I found an opponent for him.  That’s no bullshit; within five minutes I had an opponent for him!  Fight all done, within five minutes!  (Sergio will be fighting Salvador Perez (1-0-1 1KO))

Ben:  That’s a nice pickup… a lot of people are thrilled that he’s been added to the card.

Bobby:  Yeah, so you know… I know I’m losing something [in Brewer and Kozaev being scratched], but I’m gaining something [in Montes].  You know, in this business, it’s very tricky; you kind of have to roll with the punches.  You know the old adage: ‘the show must go on’ you know… if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  There’s not much else you can do.  But we’re just trying to make the best with what we have.  But I am disappointed that those two other guys are probably not going to be part of the show, but you know there’s much more boxing to come in 2012 for us.  It’s like, everything in the business happens for a reason.  So I don’t ever try to put a square peg in a round hole, so to speak.

Ben:  Well, even with those two fights off, I think it’s still a really good line up…you’ve got [Mike] Jimenez, David Latoria, Russell Fiore, Genaro Mendez…

Bobby:  Yeah, everyone [on the card] is very competitive; I don’t think there are any walkover fights on the show.  And I think every fighter has been matched up with an opponent in accordance with their ability; which is, you know, [something that] should make a good night of boxing.

I don’t get all caught up in records, I get more caught up in match-ups

You know, what I’m trying to do is give a good, solid night of boxing.  I get more caught up in guys’ abilities than guys’ records.  I can show you a bunch of big-record, undefeated guys that can’t fight a lick…and in the same breath I can show you guys that have ten losses on their record that can fight their ass off.  So to me, we’re just trying to make good, solid, competitive fights…where anyone can win, and you know, hopefully, that can carry us through.  That’s kind of my mission for 2012: to bring back boxing the way it was done, like back when I was fighting.  That’s one thing I gotta tell you about the UFC, which has made it successful: they don’t get caught up in records, they get caught up in abilities.  That’s probably one of the only things I like about that sport…the fans [can appreciate a good match].  In the same breath, it’s funny that boxing fans hold onto such a higher level, which I don’t understand.  If a fight is competitive, who cares about what the match up looks like on a piece of paper?  It’s [more] about what happens in that ring.  But boxing purists, they frown upon that kind of mentality, you know, where he’s fighting ‘this guy or that guy, he should be fighting [someone else]’ rather than saying ‘it’s going to be a great fight’… you know, again I can show you some guys who have an upside down record who can fight their asses off so I don’t get all caught up in records, I get more caught up in match-ups, you know?

Ben:  It does seem like, historically, a lot of people in the boxing community are mostly concerned with losses.  You know, a fighter loses a bout in boxing, and that loss is more detrimental to their career than a fighter in the UFC for example, where a fighter losing to a good opponent [depending how they look in the fight] is not immediately written off…

Bobby:  …That’s where boxing is held to such a higher scrutiny, because the sport of boxing has been around for over a hundred years now.  But the bottom line is that we really are held to a higher level…and so boxers, you know…every guy has to really come out and perform to the highest ability ALL THE TIME because we are not given that opportunity to sustain too many losses.

I mean, case in point, last weekend everybody was on Angel Hernandez’ ass, and I gotta tell you…you have a guy who, well, first of all, you’ve got a promoter who made up all kinds of stories and lies and fabrications about the kid’s health and well-being, which is just horrible, number one.  But you have a kid who’s been to the mountaintop, he’s fought for a world title and was competitive in it.  Now you take the kid, you take into consideration that he’s in poor management, a promoter that claims to have a promotional contract with him, that never promoted him… the kid was in a bad situation.  Not to mention he’s got nine or ten losses at this point.  So, you take the chance against a [Demtrius] Andrade, because you’ve got everything to gain, and not a lot to lose…and what I saw in that fight, was a rusty fighter. I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s shot in his career, because if anyone knows about how to build a fighter up – if you look back at his record – the older you get, the more active you need to be. And so, when you have a year-and-a-half off now between fights and then have to jump into a fight on two days notice, not to mention one of those days was spent taking all the tests he was ordered to take right before the fight, because this [promoter’s] claims about his health, it gets into a fighter’s head.  I don’t know how anybody can expect anything other than what happened [during his fight with Andrade].

You can’t go from being one of those horses in downtown Chicago that pulls a cart around, to racing in the Kentucky Derby… and that’s what they did to Angel Hernandez.

I’ll tell you, I really thought at first that fight would have gone the distance, and Angel would have had a chance to win…but now once I think back, he wasn’t a sharp Angel Hernandez.  He was a guy who was emotionally beaten down because of what this other promoter did to him.  My whole point is, you can’t go and jump on the bandwagon that Angel Hernandez is over with, until he has a chance to prove himself under the RIGHT circumstances.  The right circumstances are: to bring him back, to put him in with guys who are going to be competitive with him, and let HIM get himself back [to being] acclimated to the ring.  You can’t go from being one of those horses in downtown Chicago that pulls a cart around, to racing in the Kentucky Derby… and that’s what they did to Angel Hernandez.

So, again we’re out to make good fights.  Good solid match-ups with guys.  I may be repeating myself but what needs to be hit home here is: that people need to let this thing rebuild itself, and get into the competitiveness of this.  Get into good, solid match-ups, and let boxing get back to what it was.  I mean, my god, if you look back at the boxing greats, the Archie Moores, the Sugar Ray Robinsons, those guys…they had double-digit losses, those guys.  Now in this day and age, they’d never see television if they were fighting today!  So the whole point is, you need to judge a guy based on his abilities, and that’s going to make it work.  At least, that’s my two cents!  And if you can make a story out of that, good deal.

Ben:  I don’t think I’ll have a problem, Bobby, this is really good stuff…thank you very much for your time it was really great talking with you today.  See you ringside on Saturday.

Bobby:  Thanks guys!

Agree with his views or not, you cannot deny the enthusiasm with which he expresses his desire to put on a great show.  All too often in this sport, fans are robbed of the greatest fights simply because the bean counters cannot make up their minds on how much money they want to make.  Of course, then again, you have the “Mayweathers” of the world – fighters who create circuses out of the negotiating process – but many times the negotiations are beyond a fighter’s control.

With that said, it’s refreshing to hear what Bobby Hitz wants to bring to the local fans, and that is – as he reiterated several times in our conversation – “good, solid match-ups” the fans can appreciate.  But it will be one step at a time…and that first step might just be Saturday, February 18^th, 2012.

-BAM

Fight night at the Horseshoe Series
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, IN
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com and Fanfueled.com