Legendary sports writer’s book recalls heavyweight golden era

Henderson resident Jerry Izenberg covered his 51st Super Bowl and released his latest book in the past week. Not bad for the 86-year-old sports journalist.

Izenberg goes through his stack of notebooks from covering hundreds of heavyweight bouts for his book called “Once There Were Giants: The Golden Age of Heavyweight Boxing.”

The legendary sports writer shares his stories from 1962 to 1997 when world champions such as Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson ruled the division of behemoths.

Izenberg relives his encounters with the fearsome Liston, who had connections to the mafia in Las Vegas. The boxing Hall of Fame writer shares his many tales with Ali, starting in 1963 when the brash boxer then known as Cassius Clay roamed the Las Vegas hotels demanding a fight with Liston.

And for the boxing fans longing for another glory decade of heavyweights, Izenberg says don’t count on it and enjoy the memories. The marvelous era of heavyweights died when Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield’s ear at the MGM Grand Garden in 1997, according to Izenberg.

Izenberg will have a book signing at 2 p.m. March 25 at Barnes and Noble in Henderson.

Here are some of the many positive reviews Izenberg has received for his book:

“I was there. So was Jerry Izenberg. This is the way it was.” — Larry Holmes, a former heavyweight champion.

“I have yet to find someone with as much knowledge of boxing as Jerry Izenberg.” — Joe Cortez, Hall of Fame referee.

“The way it was from the most prolific boxing writer I know.” — Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.

TOP RANK’S OLYMPIC STAR

The most sought-after amateur boxer has finally signed.

Shakur Stevenson, who took silver for the U.S. in the 2016 Olympics, signed with Top Rank on Thursday.

Bob Arum, the CEO and promoter for Top Rank, compared Stevenson to Sugar Ray Leonard.

Top Rank’s future is bright with champions Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford, but the Las Vegas-based company isn’t known for settling.

“Top Rank is the best there is in boxing,” said Stevenson, who is from Newark, New Jersey, and will make his debut as a featherweight. “Look at their champions. Great champions like Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko. This is where I want to be.”

Stevenson, 19, is the sixth Olympian from Rio de Janeiro to sign with the promotional powerhouse. Olympians Robson Conceicao (Brazil), Antonio Vargas (U.S.), Teofimo Lopez (U.S./Honduras), Jeyvier Cintron (Puerto Rico) and Michael Conlan (Ireland) have signed with Top Rank.

Conlan and Stevenson were viewed as the two biggest stars of the Olympics and were expected to meet in Rio, but Conlan was eliminated with a controversial loss in the quarterfinals.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.