By David Weinberg
Most of Mario Maldonado’s 42 professional fights occurred during the heyday of boxing in Atlantic City.
The Vineland resident fought 21 times on the boardwalk. The vast majority of the bouts took place between 1982 and 1985, when Atlantic City was considered the “Boxing Capital of the World.” It’s hard to dispute that title, considering the resort staged an incredible 521 bouts in that four-year span, including 139 in 1982 and 143 in 1985.
He actually enjoyed two careers. Maldonado, whose given name is Marvin Walker, staged an incredible comeback in 2005 after a 20-year layoff.
He will be back in Atlantic City once again in September, when he will join 20 other former fighters, trainers, referees and other officials at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino September 27-29 as the newest inductees into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame.
Maldonado is among nine former fighters to be chosen for induction, along with Mark Breland, Gerry Cooney, James “Buster” Douglas, Tyrone Mitchell Frazier, Sergio Martinez, Sharmba Mitchell, Paul Williams and Eva Jones-Young.
Martinez and Williams staged two epic fights at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. Williams won the first meeting via majority decision in 2009. Martinez scored a stunning, second-round knockout in the rematch a year later.
In between, Martinez won the WBO and WBC middleweight belts with a unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik there and also scored an 11th-round knockout over Darren Barker in the same ring in 2011.
Cooney had memorable fights with Michael Spinks and George Foreman in Atlantic City in 1987 and 1990, respectively. His final fight was a second-round loss to Foreman at Boardwalk Hall on January 15, 1990. Both Spinks and Foreman are in the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame.
Trainer Bruce Blair of Egg Harbor Township and local boxing writer Guy Gargan from Ocean City were chosen in the special contributor category with trainer James “Buddy” McGirt, manager/promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, matchmaker Eric Bottjer and media member Randy Gordon.
Blair worked with a number of local fighters in his career, including former junior-lightweight and lightweight contender John Brown of Atlantic City, who is in the ACBHOF. Gargan, a longtime writer for the Press of Atlantic City, covered bouts with fellow Hall of Famers and Press writers Dave Bontempo and yours truly.
McGirt was a staple in Atlantic City as both a fighter and trainer. He fought 14 times there in the 1980s and 1990s, then later served as the late Arturo Gatti’s trainer during his memorable bouts at Boardwalk Hall.
Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis, longtime Showtime Boxing executive Jay Larkin and referee Eddie Cotton will be honored posthumously.
Boxers Joey Giardello, George Godfrey and Eric Seelig will be inducted in the new Pioneer category that was created last year.
Giardello won the world middleweight title with a 15-round decision over Dick Tiger at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall on Dec. 7, 1963.
Local NFL update
Vineland High School graduate Isiah Pacheco is headed back to the Super Bowl.
Pacheco, a second-year running back for the Chiefs, will be playing in the big game for the second straight year when Kansas City faces the 49ers in Las Vegas in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
He played a major role in the Chiefs’ 17-10 victory over the Ravens in last Sunday’s AFC Championship game. His 2-yard TD run in the second quarter broke a 7-7 tie and proved to be the winning score.
Pacheco rushed for a game-high 68 yards and a TD and also caught four passes for 14 yards.
Pacheco will become the first local player to appear in more than one Super Bowl. Wildwood’s Randy Beverly (SB III, Jets), the late Brison Manor of Bridgeton (SB XII, Broncos) and Ocean City’s Doug Colman (SB XXXIV, Titans) all played in one Super Bowl.
Eagles add coaches
The Eagles began their offseason rebuilding project earlier this week by opting to retain head coach Nick Sirianni and add two new coordinators.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman decided to keep Sirianni despite the team’s late-season meltdown that resulted in six losses in their final seven games, including a jolting, 32-9 loss at Tampa in the first round of the playoffs.
“I think the important thing to look at is how we can move forward,” Roseman said. “I’m not diminish the 1-6 stretch at the end, but we were 26-5 over the last 31 games. That is hard to find a head coach in this league who has that record of success.
“I think we were 33-11 up to that point with Nick. We’ve made the playoffs three straight years. Again, not OK finishing 1-6, but it is hard to find somebody who can do those sorts of things.”
Instead of canning Sirianni, they fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai, defensive play-caller Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson in favor of Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore, respectively.
Fangio served as the Dolphins defensive coordinator this season after working with the Eagles as a consultant in 2022 and a three-year stint as the Broncos’ head coach (2019-21).
Moore was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator this season after serving in that role for four years with the Cowboys.
Today the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame (ACBHOF) unveiled 21 honorees chosen for induction into its Hall of Fame. The 8th Annual Awards & Induction Weekend is scheduled to take place from Friday, September 27th, to Sunday, September 29th, 2024, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.
Fighters: James Buster Douglas, Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams, Gerry Cooney, Mark Breland, Sharmba Mitchell, Tyrone Mitchell Frazier, Mario Maldonado and Eva Jones-Young
Contributors: James “Buddy” McGirt {Trainer}, Bruce Blair {Trainer}, Sampson Lewkowicz {Manager/Promoter}, Eric Bottjer {Matchmaker}, Randy Gordon {Media}, Guy Gargan {Media}
Posthumous: Howard Davis Jr. {Fighter}, Jay Larkin {TV Executive}, Eddie Cotton {Referee}
Pioneers: Eric Seelig {Fighter}, George Godfrey {Fighter}, Joey Giardello {Fighter}
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
Send comments to weinbergd419@comcast.net.
