The chairman of the Illinois Athletic Board will recommend an investigation of the Dec. 14 boxing match in which Craig Bodzianowski, returning to competition 18 months after losing his right foot in a motorcycle accident, knocked out Peoria`s Francis Sargent early in the second round.
Board chairman Gordon Volkman confirmed late Friday that because of questions being raised about the way in which Sargent went down for a 10 count –seemingly without having been hit very hard–he intends to ask the full commission to conduct an inquiry.
”Don`t get me wrong, we`re not out to tarnish any reputations here,”
Volkman said, alluding to Bodzianowski`s valiant comeback, believed to be the first of its kind, from the accident that cost him his right foot and part of his right leg.
”But we have a responsibility to the citizens of Illinois to ensure the credibility of boxing in this state. We`re not chasing any ghosts,” said Volkman, chairman of the board for four years. ”All we`re trying to do is set the record straight on what happened. My recommendation at our next board meeting (in January) will be to call both fighters in, call in the officials, all the principals, and just tell us what happened.”
Volkman`s disclosure comes in the wake of questions in the local boxing community and general public about the outcome of the much-publicized bout, which ended suddenly 1 minute 5 seconds into the second round.
Volkman said he has been questioned by numerous people who either saw the bout in person or on television tapes about when the knockout actually occurred.
Others also have asked how Bodzianowski, who hadn`t boxed in 19 months and admitted after the fight he wasn`t sharp, could so easily defeat a man against whom he won a close 10-round decision in his last fight before the accident. And how could Sargent, who claimed he never was knocked out and who fought credibly for four rounds earlier this year against the world`s ninth-ranked light heavyweight, Yugoslavia`s Slobodan Kacar, be knocked out so quickly?
”Would they be saying this about the next guy if it wasn`t me?”
Bodzianowski responded with some annoyance. ”Would the questions come up if it wasn`t a guy with a missing foot? They wouldn`t be asking how someone else could knock him out in the first round. But with me, they say he can`t do it. Are they always going to be asking that about me?”
What they were asking about Bodzianowski was how he could fight at all.
Bodzianowski`s comeback drew the attention of the national media. He made appearances on the network news programs before the fight, and along with Sargent, on ”Good Morning America” the Monday after the fight. There has been serious talk about a made-for-television movie, dramatizing the brave comeback of the 24-year-old Sandburg High School graduate, from amputee to knockout winner in his first fight.
Before the accident, Bodzianowski had a 13-0 record with 11 knockouts and was a 1981 Golden Gloves champion, but he was considered a good local boxing prospect, not a potential world champion. Much of his acclaim came from his somewhat unorthodox antics, like the time he had an Izod alligator tattooed above his left pectoral muscle after the shirts became popular. Hence his nickname: Gator.
It was with some sadness that the boxing community viewed his May 31, 1984, accident that resulted in the amputation of his right foot. But from the day he told the doctor adios when he was asked if he was ready for the amputation, Bodzianowski has been an inspirational figure, promising he would return to the ring.
He did Saturday, Dec. 14, at Alan Shepard High School in Palos Heights. He won dramatically over Sargent, a journeyman fighter whose official record was 8-10.
Sargent fell after what appeared to be an overhand right and two left hooks, but many ringside observers questioned whether Sargent was hit hard enough to stay down for a 10-count. According to boxing commission sources, one of the ringside physicians–two were present to ensure Bodzianowski`s safety–initially called the result a TKO, thinking the referee had stopped the fight. Sargent was up quickly after the 10-count.
”Sometimes when you get hit in the eye and can`t see well and the count was kind of fast, you lose track of everything,” said Jerry Moore, who manages Sargent.
Other boxing experts were not so sure.
”I can`t say there was anything wrong,” said Ernie Terrell, the former world heavyweight champion and local promoter who was at ringside, ”but it didn`t look like a punch that could do that much damage.”
”I saw some fairly decent punches,” added Jack Cowen, the matchmaker who booked Sargent for the fight, ”but I really didn`t see anything that looked like a killer punch.”
Stanley Berg, the referee who also officiated the previous Bodzianowski-Sargent clash and an impressive Sargent win three weeks ago, added: ”I thought Bodzianowski`s right hand punch put him (Sargent) in trouble. But I must say I was surprised (Sargent was unable to get up).”
Sargent also was not able to analyze the knockout too well, saying only after the fight he was thumbed but failing to explain how that contributed to his being unable to get up. Bodzianowski also was somewhat vague on the knockout, saying he hit Sargent ”with a right and a couple of lefts, but everything happened so fast.”
Boxing remains on the fast track for Bodzianowski, who already is preparing for another fight in February, possibly against Young Joe Louis, a former world-ranked cruiserweight. Berg thought Bodzianowski was a better fighter last week than he was two years ago.
”I had him in the Golden Gloves and he never moved like that or was in as good a shape,” Berg said. ”I was very impressed.”
The pending inquiry, nevertheless, adds a distressing chapter to the Bodzianowski story, one that his backers had hoped to avoid.
”We were all very upset,” said Jerry Lenza, Bodzianowski`s manager.
”This is just what we didn`t want to see happen. That`s why we got Sargent in the first place. We felt he gave Craig one of his toughest fights and felt it would be a good test. What we didn`t want was people questioning the result.”
In the end, even Moore was surprised.
”I know my fighter did not perform anywhere near his ability,” Moore said. ”All I know was I could hardly talk to him before the fight, he was so nervous and upset. I know things were said to him (before the fight), but he would not tell me what. I know he had some calls, people hanging up.”
When asked if anyone had threatened him or tried to influence him in any way before the fight, Sargent said: ”A lot of things threw me off. A lot of things happened surrounding that fight.”
”We had heard that Sargent sometimes gets upset by a big crowd, that he has a tendency to freeze. But we expected him to put up a good fight,” Cowen added. ”In fact, even if Bodzianowski lost, we felt as long as he put up a good fight, he`d be able to continue his comeback.
”Hell, in boxing you don`t have to fix a fight. You can get a fellow of a lot less ability, which nobody would have questioned for Bodzianowski his first fight back, and pay him $400 (Sargent received $1,250) and he`ll look good for a while and then just go out.”
”We`re not saying someone took a dive,” Volkman said. ”But when a lot of questions are raised, like in this case, we want to move quickly to satisfy ourselves and the public about the credibility of the match. That`s our duty.”
