Last week markedthe 30th anniversary of the historic fight between Pernell Whitaker (pictured) and Julio Cesar Chavez. The fight was officially draw but anyone who saw it knows Whitaker won the the battle of prime Hall fg Famers. Here is the story of the fight, as told by someone who worked on the promotion, the respected Lester Bedford:
I've been waiting to post this gem. It will be long, but fun sharing. So here we go...30 Years ago, September 1993, at the new Alamodome, in San Antonio. The stage was set for Texas' greatest boxing event ever. Julio Cesar Chavez (87-0) vs Pernell Whitaker (32-1) at the new Alamodome. "The Fight" was a rare showdown between the #1 and #2 Pound for Pound fighters in the world. It was truly one of the most anticipated fights in Boxing history. Additionally, the young undefeated star that I managed at the time, Jesse James Leija (24-0-1, San Antonio), would challenge the legendary Hall of Famer, Azuma Nelson for the world title on the undercard. A crowd of 65,000 would witness what would turn out to be one of boxing's greatest and most bizarre events ever.
I was hired by Boxing's premier promoter of that era, the flamboyant Don King, to market the live gate event and assist he and his staff on many fronts.
THE CRAZIEST OF A WILD RIDE TO FIGHT NIGHT
OK, from start to finish, let's just say-- this was a wild ride. I remember meeting Don for the first time. Immediately, upon introduction, he anointed me LESTER BEDFORD, KING OF TEXAS BOXING. Many times, he would just shorten it to KING. But I’m sure I was one of many Kings he anointed. Everything with Don was BIG, as I would find out.
First order of business was for Don's staff and myself, to literally move into the famed La Mansion Hotel three months prior to the event. It was here where we would live/sleep till fight day. During the day, the hotel's elegant ballroom is where we would establish our offices/war room. Maybe 25-30 of us were hunkered down to brainstorm and deal with the vast logistics of a major event like this. You'd think we were trying to build a nuclear bomb, Manhattan Project style. But for sure, there wasn't a nuclear engineer in the group.
PRESS CONFERENCE THAT WENT SIDEWAYS
There were many crazy things that happened along the way, but I will share the most bizarre. Our first order of Business was planning the Official Announcement of the event. I strongly recommended it to take place in front of the historic Alamo. Don liked it and assigned me to make all arrangements for the setup. It was quite a scene with a 42 foot stage with a long row of tables draped with white table cloths on top. The Alamo as the backdrop was stunning, visually. All was going well. There were media from all over the world, plus about 2000-3000 fans in Alamo Plaza to witness the spectacle. But two problems-- it was hot as hell (101 degrees) and-- oops, no Julio Cesar Chavez. Don kept delaying the start, promising Julio would be there anytime. After an hour of everyone waiting on Julio, Don went back to the podium and announced-- "I just spoke to the pilot and WHOOO LEEE-OOO is about to land and will be here shortly." Well, another 1.5 hours goes by and still no Julio. Finally, Don stepped back up to the mic and announced that we will have to end the press conference without Julio. He promised to deliver Julio in public later in the day. Immediately after, Don asked me to set something up that night for Julio to meet with the public. I put my crazy thinking cap, because I knew it was gonna get crazy. Still in Alamo Plaza, I walked over to the open air tourist trolley that just happened to have a giant sombrero on top of it. The trolley would pick up tourist in Alamo Plaza and take them on a tour around downtown San Antonio. I asked the driver if we could rent him and the trolley, later that evening. So I called Don in the hotel 30 minutes later and told him my plan.
We would have he and Julio on the trolley, leave from the Alamo and drive up Commerce Street about a mile and then have a Julio rally in front of a large Community Center. A friend ran the Community Center, so that was easy to setup. We had to get a stage and sound there. The I had to notify all media and provide information to the public about Julio's plan to make it up to the fans, but had to get it out to the media in time for the 5:00 and 6:00 TV news. Done. It was all over the TV news casts and radio. Lastly, we had to get security as well as notify SAPD of our plan. They were awesome and all on board. Now we were just hoping the fans would show up by 7:30 pm.
So Julio's private jet finally arrived about 6:30 pm, almost 5 hours late. His limo was escorted by Police to Alamo Plaza. Once there, he and Don would board the trolley and the show was on. As they headed down Commerce Street, adoring fans were coming out of the woodwork along the route. Somehow, in just two hours, an estimated 10,000 people lined the Commerce St. route to greet Julio. I was on the trolley, along with a few other staff. I grabbed the drivers mic, which he used for tours, and handed it to Don. I asked the driver to turn up the volume as loud as he could get it.
Don then took great pleasure in announcing to the fans from the open back of the trolley. I can still here him, as if he were a carnival barker-- "Julio is here! World champion Julio Cesar Chavez, the world's greatest fighter is here!"Then he would start the chant with the fans-- Who-Lee-oh!, Who-Lee Oh!!!. Fans were chanting and literally running behind the bus, trying to shake hands, high five or whatever to get to Julio. Seriously, funny as hell-- driving down the middle of Commerce St. on a trolley with a giant sombrero on top and Don King puttin' on a show all the way to the Community Center. Once there, we had another 1500-2000 for the impromptu rally. To say the least, the dud of a press conference turned into a crazy wild scene that pumped up the City even more. Don was not just happy, but ecstatic. His only regret, he needed a sombrero. Hey, I offered and had one available. But that would have messed up his famous up-do hair. That's how fans knew it was Don. Of course, the wackiness only continued throughout the promotion. There was Don's 60th Birthday party that started at a Whataburger for lunch and ended with a dinner for 30 that night. If you can imagine Don King getting out of a long stretch limo with 12 staff behind him. It was a shock to the customers and staff when he walked in, shouting "WHATABURGER, I LOVE WHATABURGER. LET'S GET SOME OF THIS WHATABURGER." And of course, the Whataburger staff was not pissed that Don threw a couple of $100 bills down as a tip. This is a small sampling of the bizarre. I just don't have the space for all of it.
Finally, we got to fight night. It was an epic scene with 65,000 fans crowding into the newly crowned jewel of San Antonio- The Alamodome. Even the fights ended in crazy fashion. Jesse James Leija should have been crowned world champion that night, but got a suspicious draw. He would eventually beat Azumah in a rematch in Vegas to win his first of two world titles. Pernell Whitaker appeared to have clearly beaten Julio Cesar Chavez, but that ended up in a draw also. So much anticipation for the event and at the end of the day, nothing resolved. The fans loved the event, but wanted a better conclusion.
JESSE JAMES LEIJA...went on to be a two-time World Champion. I managed him 17 wonderful years. We still talk, all the time, and will always be close.
PERNELL WHITAKER...The Chavez fight was one of 16 fights I worked on throughout his career. Sadly, he was killed about two years ago when he stepped off a curb to cross the street and was hit by a car. Heartbreaker!
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ...I worked on two more of his fights and those were somewhat crazy. To this day, he's still considered Mexico's greatest fighter, ever. He's now a Spanish broadcaster. I also had the pleasure of working on 6 of his son's (Julio Jr.) fights.
DON KING-- He's now 90 and still going, not as strong, but still around. This, despite him saying he was the only male in his family to live past 60. I would eventually work for Don again, but ended up having several disputes with him over broken contracts with Jesse James Leija. Unfortunately, when dealing with Don, the negotiating begins when you sign the contract. Ironically, I would testify against him (in a different matter) in two federal trials in New York City. No sense in going into the details. That's a book in itself. But I do have to share one funny incident that pretty much sums Don up. I was setting in the witness waiting room of the Manhattan courthouse, about to testify and asked to go to the restroom. So I go to the restroom, am standing at the toilet all alone in the room. And who walks in, Don King, in living color. What did he say to me-- "LESTER BEDFORD, KING OF TEXAS BOXING. I'D SHAKE YOUR HAND, BUT I DON'T SHAKE NO MOTHER F__KERS HAND IN NO BATHROOM." That was his last words to me. One minute I was still the King. Ten minutes later, he was starring me down on the witness stand, That’s Don King!!
