WASTED TALENT
How a controversial defeat to a former Mike Tyson opponent led me to one of the best – and least known – boxers I ever shared a ring with
AMID THE SPARRING I HAD NOT REALISED THAT EVERYONE WAS WATCHING
WHEN a boxer decides to become a professional, their plan usually is to become a champion or to make lots of money. Sometimes, the journey hits a bump and changes direction. I had some experiences that triggered new and unexpected pathways and, along the way, witnessed other boxers’ journeys that have come to a full stop.
I enjoy sharing my boxing journey with boxing people. I can express my thoughts and opinions of past experiences and I get to address current boxing issues, which is always a hot pick.
This week I reflect on a boxer who I shared a boxing ring with. I must add that I think he was one of the best boxers that I ever came across during my boxing journey.
In 1993, I was in New York preparing to fight in a new heavyweight tournament. It was billed as, The Heavyweight Superfights People’s Choice Tournament. It was staged at Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, USA, a venue that was intended to rival the big casinos in Las Vegas.
The tournament was comprised of a selection of 16 heavyweight boxers. The set up was the first of its type. The model which Matchroom later used for their Prizefighter tournaments would be very similar.
So, in each round, the fights were scheduled for three-threes. A win in the first round would progress you to the quarter-finals and so forth. The quality of the competitors was of a high standard consisting of former world champions, contenders, and a few undefeated heavyweights. I was one of the favorites and I was invited to the television promotional broadcast of the tournament.
The prize fund was $1m for the winner and a $10,000 bonus if you kayoed your opponent in the first round. We were all ready to put on a good show and, of course, eager to make some serious money.
My first opponent was Jose Ribalta. He had been an outstanding amateur in Cuba, and he had gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. I was focused and looking forward to not only kayoing Ribalta in the first round and getting the bonus, but blasting out all of my opponents that night.
The fight started exactly as I had planned. After taking in data for the first few seconds of the first round, I landed a beautiful right hand that rocked Ribalta and then a barrage of punches that knocked him down.
Ribalta beat the count, but I attacked him again. I was on target to get the one-round KO bonus as Ribalta staggered around, dazed and on the brink of defeat. But somehow, he survived the round. In the second, I was again on top as Jose struggled to stay upright. I could see why he had gone 10 rounds with Tyson. In the third and final round, Ribalta showed a lot of heart, and began to fight back.
After three rounds, the judges scored the fight a draw and because they had to decide a winner, they gave the decision to Ribalta on styles. I didn’t understand. I was furious. I asked myself, how could I knock my opponent down in the first round, dominate him in the second round and then lose on points to him in a threeround fight?
Disillusioned, and disappointed, I went backstage. Boxing promoter, Murad Muhammad and former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes came backstage to see me. They thought I had won. They came to encourage me.
After exchanging details with Murad, he introduced me to a trainer in Philadelphia, ‘Slim’ Jim Robinson. Robinson was the man behind a lot of champions including Tim Witherspoon. Slim and I worked well together at Passyunk Gym for a few weeks and it was here that I introduced the left hook to my game. Philadelphia was well known for their left hookers, with Joe Frazier arguably the most famous of them all. I worked with the heavyweights that were around the gym, but I needed a greater challenge.
One day I arrived at the gym ready for training. Slim had arranged sparring, but the boxer had not yet arrived. After some time, we decided that we would do some work on the heavy punch bags. Eventually, the mystery heavyweight turned up.
His name was Kasson Saxton (Kassan Messiah). Slim informed me that he was undefeated in four pro fights but the interesting part for me was that he was also undefeated in 56 fights in the prison system. Kasson, when just 15 years old, had been incarcerated for 10 years, after being accused of shooting someone during an attempted carjacking.
Kasson and I got in the ring to spar. After the first few seconds of collecting data, I moved around him and attempted to set him up with a lazy jab and then follow through with a crisp hard right hand, but Kasson did not fall for it.
We boxed six rounds. Amid the sparring, I had not realised that everyone else in the gym had stopped and surrounded the ring to watch. At the end of the session, there was a round of applause and everyone praised the quality of what they had witnessed.
We sparred for a few weeks and then, out of the blue, Kasson did not turn up anymore. We later learned that he had been arrested for an alleged murder.
There have been a few boxers through time whose talents have been wasted, but from my personal experience, Kasson Saxton is a boxer that I would say could really have been an outstanding champion.
Today he is 57 years old and serving a sentence of 37-and-a-half years at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. He will be eligible for parole in 2032.