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Friday, December 17, 1999 By Chuck Finder, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Tonight, this one-time City of Champions welcomes its first professional title fight in 18 years.
The organizers hope they don't have to wait so long for another.
"Pittsburgh is a great boxing town," said Andy "The Kid" DePaul, chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission and a fighter during this city's ring heyday, when Billy Conn (the original "Pittsburgh Kid"), Fritzie Zivic, Sammy Angott, Jackie Wilson and Billy Soose all won titles in the eight classifications between 1939-41. "And this is going to bring it back up.
"We're happy to have the fight in Pittsburgh. I can see after this, we'll be in the Civic Arena or another bigger place [than the David L. Lawrence Convention Center] with another championship fight."
For tonight Paul Spadafora of McKees Rocks, the modern-day "Pittsburgh Kid," makes his first defense of his International Boxing Federation lightweight championship against wizened Australian Renato Cornett. It is the main event of a deep card that begins at 7:30 p.m. on the convention center's second floor. ESPN2 televises the lightweight title defense along with possibly both another lightweight match and a heavyweight bout that includes former North Side resident Gary Winmon.
The card contains a handful of other Western Pennsylvania boxers: Aliquippa's Scott McCracken, North Side's Richie Fellsing, Pittsburgh's Sam Aspiotis, Altoona's Dave Thomas, and Sharon's Willie Phillips. But only one carries a championship belt. Only one carries the box-office oomph to help to attract 5,000-plus fans and a national cable-TV audience.
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"I think I could bring a lot more, if we had a bigger place," Spadafora said. "I think I could push the Civic Arena, no questions asked. Not maybe. After this fight, for sure."
Several people are in his corner, among them Mayor Murphy, City Council, DePaul and Greg Serb with the state athletic commission, Executive Director Steve Leeper of the Sports and Exhibition Authority, the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau, and on and on. Those were a few of the offices and bodies represented when the time came to discuss bringing Spadafora's first title defense to his hometown.
"We won the title at Mountaineer Park, and Mountaineer Park is a great facility," said Spadafora's manager Al McCauley, referring to the Chester, W.Va., track and casino where his fighter won the belt from Israel "Pito" Cardona on Aug. 20. In fact, that site made a strong bid to host this fight as well. "But he's 'The Pittsburgh Kid,' and we wanted to defend in Pittsburgh. This is something that has been a goal of ours and a dream of Paul's. And, believe me, they don't want to see Paul go to Foxwoods [Casino in Connecticut] or somewhere.
"We could have gone to casinos or a lot of other places where the money is better," said promoter Mike Acri. "It's been a real tough month and a half looking to make this night happen in Pittsburgh. Channels on top of channels on top of channels."
Yet he and Spadafora's camp agreed to withstand the 5-percent amusement tax and a variety of other taxes that the promoter claims knocked 15 percent off the top.
Al Monzo is a boxing benefactor to Spadafora in particular and Pittsburgh in general, staging about the only local matches anymore at his Palace Inn in Monroeville. He escapes the dread amusement tax because his cards take place outside City of Pittsburgh limits, though faces the other local, state and federal assessments.
"But it's worth it -- the taxes are nothing in comparison to the money it will bring in when you have a championship fight," Monzo said. "Hell, I can only hold 2,500 people, so you can't bring it out here.
"I'd like to see it all go to Pittsburgh. In fact, I'd like to see some go to the Civic Arena, too. This one could have been there, whether it brought 6,000 or 17,000. ... That's the right place for it."
The tale of the tape
Wherever in Pittsburgh a ring goes up -- the Arena, Duquesne University's Palumbo Center, the convention center -- it needs a drawing card. Spadafora appears to be one nowadays.
Promoters originally bandied about possible attendance figures of 3,000 and 3,500. On Wednesday, they announced the sale of an additional 300 reserved seats, which could shove them past the 5,000 mark.
What's good for the pugilist is good for Pittsburgh, too.
Officials with the convention and visitors bureau compare landing a nationally-televised fight to an important convention, only easier (despite the promoter's protestations otherwise).
"Because Spadafora wanted to fight here, it helped our cause," said Jerry Schreibeis, national sales director for the bureau. "It wasn't difficult this time around working with all those organizations making it happen, from our standpoint. There were a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life who wanted to see this happen.
"It's especially appealing to us, having Paul Spadafora, a local guy. And it's on national television. Anything we can do to get our name out there in the limelight."
Early next week, the bureau will monitor the economic impact from the event -- not only convention center concessions and parking, but traffic at local hotels, eateries and other types of businesses. "Especially since this is the first time we've had something like this in a long time," Schreibeis said.
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Tonight: Paul Spadafora makes an International Boxing Federation lightweight championship defense against challenger Renato Cornett.