Ali vs. Wolfe: Make It Happen – 2003

(OCT 13) My dad was never a rich man; you didn’t get to be a rich man jockeying subway cars around New York City. But, he kept what he made and did so by adhering to a simple adage: “when someone tells you they want to help you make money, the first thing you do is move your wallet into your front pocket”.

I thought about that as I was reading a quote from a matchmaker by the name of Chris Middendorf, who, not surprisingly, is associated with Absoloot Entertainment, the promotion company who handles Laila Ali. Mr. Middendorf states that one of Absoloot’s primary goals for the future is to “…hopefully make Ann extremely well known and allow her to make some good money”. The “Ann, in this case, is Ann Wolfe, who on Saturday night in a casino near Lake Charles, LA , decisioned Sunshine Fettkether over eight rounds. This decisive win further establishes her “bona fides” as the next logical opponent for Laila Ali. Make that the only logical opponent for Laila Ali. The “good money” was a $200,000 figure Mr. Middendorf blithely tossed around as Wolfe’s “end” of a couple of proposed bouts with Laila Ali.

This propitious attitude towards Wolfe represents a sea change for Absoloot, which for a number of months seemed to take the position that Ann Wolfe was hardly worth a passing thought. While largely ignoring Wolfe, Laila Ali sandwiched two bouts with an undersized Valerie Mahfood around a mismatch with a talked-out-of-retirement Mary Ann Almager, while pointedly ignoring calls from the boxing community for a bout with Wolfe. This was followed by the much ballyhooed Christy Martin matchup, a bout that Ali won handily exploiting her size and weight advantage over Martin to the fullest. On the undercard of the Ali/Martin bout, Ann Wolfe decisioned Valerie Mahfood, indicating, that finally, Absoloot Boxing was aware of Wolfe’s presence as a force in the sport.

Reports had recently circulated that an Ali/Wolfe bout was tentatively scheduled for early December. Nigeria had been mentioned as a venue. Again, Middendorf, with what can be deemed as only the best of intentions in mind for Ann Wolfe, states “…. in the process (of finalizing the details of the bout) I said to the Wolfe camp, ‘be careful here Yahya (Johnny McClain, Laila Ali’s husband and manager) is the type of person where once he decides something, then that is it, and you are putting the whole fight in jeopardy’ “. It seems, according to Middendorf, that the ungrateful Wolfe camp did not agree to the details of the match in a time deemed satisfactory by Absoloot Boxing and thus the early December match went missing. This is basically known, in negotiating circles, as the “be reasonable and do it my way” school of bargaining.

To be fair, Absoloot Boxing has the strongest hand in this game. They have the fighter with the biggest name in the sport and it is not only her last name that has brought her renown. Laila Ali’s skills in the ring, as much as her famous name, have established her as the current “face” of Women’s boxing. Ali has beaten every fighter who has been put in front of her. It is through no fault of her’s that this particular weight division has a relative dearth of talented competition, unlike some of the lighter weights in the sport. It is likewise true that the Ali/Wolfe fight has been out there on the “front burner” of the Women’s boxing world for over a year and for various reasons has yet to happen. Finally, it is most assuredly true that there is only one group that can make this bout a reality and that group is Absoloot Boxing.

Absoloot, thru people like Chris Middendorf, can attempt to position themselves as beneficent benefactors, professing that they’re interested in making money for “all God’s children” and parceling blame for Ali/Wolfe fight not happening on everyone but themselves. In point of fact, Ann Wolfe deserves the chance to challenge the best fighter in her division and the best fighter in her division, Laila Ali, deserves the chance to validate that position against her most talented competition. All the drivel about egos and selfishness and arrogance is just that, drivel. Its standing in the way of a good bout. Put it aside, get out of the way and let these two good athletes do what they do best.

RPM Boxing said it would not hesitate to take whatever legal actions are appropriate if Laila Ali refuses to honor her contract.  Pardo said he feels Laila Ali is doing a disservice to women’s boxing if she refuses to fight a title unification bout in the Super Middleweight Division.