Worse than Saddler?

Could any fighter be dirtier than Sandy Saddler?

In the prime of his boxing career, Saddler was known as the ultimate rulebreaker. He was so vile that the New York Athletic Commission suspended his license after a foul-infested fight against Willie Pep – their fourth in a classic series–in 1951.

International matchmaker Jun Sarreal says there wasn’t a more villainous fiend. He recalls that before Saddler entered the ring to box a certain Kobayashi at a Tokyo exhibition in 1955, a trainer slipped a comb inside his glove. Sarreal, whose father Lope, Sr. or Papa arranged for his apprenticeship in Japanese boxing, couldn’t believe his eyes.

"It was just an exhibition but that’s how Saddler was – talagang marumi," recalls Sarreal. "I couldn’t recognize Kobayashi after they fought. That comb did a lot of damage. It was a foreign object with pointed edges kaya punit-punit ang mukha ni Kobayashi."

Saddler was a master of foul play. He used the laces in the back of his gloves to rake his opponent’s eyes. He thumbed, elbowed, butted, and threw punches below the belt. Nothing was sacred to Saddler in the ring.

The Ring Magazine (Jan. 2002 advance issue) said: "Saddler was nothing but hurt. He came to hurt you. He might have been Sonny Liston if he were 90 pounds heavier. He lived to dig his toes into the canvas and rip off hooks and one-twos, to crack guys with his elbows on the inside, and ram them with his head or drive his shoulder into a guy’s chin. He was a tough, hard guy and mean in that ring. One of the dirtiest fighters around."

In July 1955, Saddler came to Manila to battle up-and-coming featherweight contender Flash Elorde in a non-title bout. Daniel Herbert of Boxing News said Saddler lost several rounds for rough tactics – "his holding, butting, and hitting with the elbows provoked a near-riot among the 10,000 crowd, with one of his cornermen suffering a head gash from a bottle thrown." Elorde beat Saddler on points.

A rematch was held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco the next year, this time with Saddler’s world crown on the line. Elorde and Saddler fought bitterly. Saddler opened cuts over Elorde’s eyes with butts then kept the blood flowing by rubbing the laces of his gloves on the wounds. It was vintage Saddler at his dirtiest. Referee Ray Flores never bothered to admonish Saddler for his dirty tricks. Worse, he stepped in at 0:59 of the 13th round to declare a bloodied Elorde unfit to continue and ruled Saddler the winner by technical knockout. Elorde, who appeared to be gaining ground, protested the stoppage but Flores was unmoved.

Herbert recounted that "the champion was so dirty, television viewers jammed the switchboard at the Cow Palace venue with protests."

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jack Fiske wrote, "It’s highly improbable Saddler could have successfully defended the title . . . if he hadn’t resorted to all the so-called tricks in and out of the rule books." Another writer Barney Nagler said, "When Saddler hits on the clinch, millions see it. Moreover, the TV fan knows there is a listener to his gripes–the sponsor. These letter-writing customers have taken dead aim at Saddler. His TV performance against Elorde drew a flood of mail, all bad."

Flores was castigated by critics for his poor job in the ring and suspended as a referee for life.

Saddler went on to fight only twice more then retired after figuring in a car accident as a taxi passenger in 1956. He lost an eye in the mishap. Saddler later worked as physical director of the National Maritime Union gym in New York and trained pros, including heavyweight George Foreman.

About 10 years ago, Saddler was mugged by thugs in Manhattan and never recovered from the beating. He lived at a nursing home in Riverdale. Blind in one eye and with a cataract in the other, Saddler battled Alzheimer’s disease and died in his sleep at the age of 75 last Sept. 18.

Now comes World Boxing Organization (WBO) superbantamweight champion Agapito Sanchez rivaling Saddler’s claim to ill repute as the dirtiest fighter ever. Sanchez did everything unimaginable in fouling International Boxing Federation (IBF) titlist Manny Pacquiao in their unification brawl at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco last weekend.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said Sanchez should be suspended. What about referee Marty Denkin? Shouldn’t he be suspended, too, for tolerating Sanchez’ dirty tactics? Sure, Denkin slapped a pair of point deductions – which saved Pacquiao’s title in the end. But for what Sanchez did in the ring, Denkin should’ve disqualified the roughhouser.

Boxing scholar Hermie Rivera said the only thing Sanchez didn’t do to Pacquiao was bite his ear.

If Saddler was suspended in 1951 for dirty fighting, Sanchez should also be sanctioned – and stripped of his WBO title.

Roach and fight coordinator Sydney Hall are right. Pacquiao shouldn’t bother fighting Sanchez in a rematch. He’s not worth it. Sanchez belongs in the World Wrestling Federation, not in professional boxing.

Postscript. The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has been cited the last two years as the Most Outstanding Accounting Office under the National Government Sector – Agencies Adopting Centralized Accounting System (small agencies). The 2000 award was given by the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines to Lerina Braga, Accounting OIC and her staff at the Cebu Plaza Hotel last month. The Accounting section was commended and given a citation by the GAB Board headed by Chairman Eduardo Villanueva.