BOOK
EM DANO!
Close the file, hang up the gun, grab the tuxedo and head off to the next match. Sean Matheny balances a full time police career with boxing. Sean has been part of the Akron, OH police force for over twenty years. Now working as a detective on cold case files and specializing in polygraphs, the former amateur boxer and sparring partner is a premier ring announcer, cut man and international matchmaker. Traveling from Ohio to Germany and Denmark, Sean has gained a reputation as a organizer and honest man in boxing. After his amateur career was over, Sean stayed in the ring as a sparring partner for Michael Dokes and Earnie Shavers. I used to wear a catcher’s chest protector to take some of the sting off those punches. Many people helped Sean to learn the boxing trade. Don Elbaum and Dean Chance were only a two of many. This experience gave Matheny the background to further his career. During an ESPN bout, Matheny was ring announcer and cut man. Dressed in his tuxedo he was working the corner to stop the bleeding from a cut. During an amateur bout at the Firestone YMCA, someone handed the microphone to Sean and he became a ring announcer. Little did he know that the fighter he introduced in the sub-novice class would rise to a legend. Thomas Hearns became the world welterweight and middleweight champion.
How do you balance boxing and work?
I have been with the department for many years and usually can get
time off. Also, I accumulate time
and can take it when I need it. I
am very lucky.
What is involved in ring announcing?
The most important is to present the fighters in a positive way.
Going to the weigh in and getting their accurate weights, accurate
records and talking to each one.
This helps me with the fighters personality, nicknames and how they want
to be introduced. A form that I use
holds all this information in the right order.
So if I forget something, I just glance at the form.
Preparing helps keep the mistakes to a minimum.
Even with the preparation, have you ever screwed up?
Yes, a number of times. The
biggest one was here at the Roadhouse in March of this year…Ronnie Creer
vs. Weldon Branche. I was
watching Greg Sirb tabulate the cards looking upside down at the numbers.
From what I was seeing it looked like Branche won the fight but not
rechecking the cards it was the other guy that won the decision.
I announced the wrong winner and then had to correct my mistake.
That was embarrassing.
I introduced a girl one time and her nickname escaped me and it was
something girl and I said gorilla. Most
of the time the crowd does not catch the small errors. But in a major bout when you announce the wrong guy and have
to go back and correct it, that becomes a problem. I know all the major announcers and I know it has happened to
all of them at least once. I
won’t mention any names.
As a corner man, what is first thing you look at when a
fighter sits down?
If he has taken any kind of punishment during the round, I look in
his eyes and watch his reflexes as he walks back to the corner to make sure that
he is ok. If he is shaken up, you
must get his head clear. Ice on the
neck, cool him down, end swell on the face, give him water, cool his head and
get him greased up again and try to give him advice.
I try to limit the advice to two or three major points.
When do you make the decision to throw in the towel?
Delayed motor skills, anything funny in the eyes such as pupils
larger or smaller than normal and if he does not respond vocally the way I think
he should, I will pull the fighter.
If the fighter is not in the fight or he does not have a chance, I will
stop it. Fortunately the guys I
work with win a big percentage of their bouts and I don’t have to stop many
fights. I just worked a fight with Robert
West in Forth Worth, TX, he got caught with some vicious body shots early.
The referee stopped the fight as I was getting on the apron to stop the
fight. It was obvious that he was
not going to do well in that bout.
There are no good cuts.
What do you look for in a cut?
The biggest aspect is vision.
If the cut is over his eye and blood is running into his eye and
impairing his vision, you really have to get that stopped.
If you can’t get the bleeding stopped, you have to stop the fight.
With what we have to work with today, Adrenaline Hydrochloride 1-100,
Thrombin and especially Avitene, you
have a good chance of getting the bleeding stopped.
With the old timers, it was amazing on how they stopped the bleeding. They did not have the medicines we have today.
I give them all the credit in the world.
The art of cuts have come along way due to the new medications.
Some guys seem to cut up walking up the ring steps and some never cut
during their whole career. Knowing
the fighter going in and being ready to work on a cut can help keep the damage
down.
What is the biggest problem facing matchmakers in the
US?
It is a problem with the whole sport of boxing.
Not enough club shows. It is
hard for fighters to learn their craft and gain experience in the ring.
Most of the matches I make are fighters that are just starting out or
much bigger fights overseas and here in the country with nothing in-between.
I tip my hat to Greg Nixon and the other guys that are promoting club
shows.
The second biggest problem is the inconsistencies with the state
commissions. We are lucky in PA
that we have Greg Sirb. He
runs a tight ship and I wish all the other states had commissioners like him.
Within a twenty mile radius there are two other states that do things a
lot differently than PA on the way they hold bouts. Each state has its own rules and regulations.
Also, there are not a lot of fighters out there as there used to be.
I have a very small pool of guys to draw from.
It is hard to make competitive matches.
What are the problems you encounter going overseas?
Most of my work is in Germany and Denmark.
I did go to China for the Laila Ali bout.
It is hard keeping the fighters in their time zone.
Not getting caught up in the six or eight hour time difference.
You have to put them to bed early and keep them on the time zone that
they are accustomed to.
There is some confusion on the weights since everything is in kilos
overseas. Calculate weights, help
with the monetary exchange such as 200 Kroners in Denmark sounds like a lot of
money but when converted to dollars it is about $30.00 US.
Most of the promoters I have worked with overseas are very fair and treat
the fighters great but it is tough to win a decision sometimes but not much
tougher than going to some fighter’s hometown.
I would rather take a guy to Denmark and put the decision into the judges
hand than take him to Michigan.
If you have chance to change boxing, what
would you do?
At the risk of sounding like my friend Teddy Atlas, I would like to see a national commission. It would be better for the fighters, safety and all the promoters would know what to expect without any problems. It would stop fighters going over the state lines to a better or worse commission to box. We are the only professional sport that does not have a national commission.
There is more to Sean than a fancy tux and good voice. According to Mike Acri, “Matheny is very organized and on
top of things. He has booked fights
for me overseas and I don’t worry about anything.
….this is a tough racket and he does everything by the book.”
Thomas R. Watts
trwatts@insideboxing.com