Chris Dundee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cristofo Mirena (1908-02-23)February 23, 1908 |
| Died | November 16, 1998(1998-11-16) (aged 92) Miami, Florida, US |
| Occupation(s) | Boxing manager Boxing promoter |
Chris Dundee (bornCristofo Mirena; February 23, 1908 – November 16, 1998) was anItalian-American boxing manager and fight promoter for 63 years. He was an older brother ofAngelo Dundee.[1]
Cristofo (Christopher) Mirena was born on February 23, 1908, inSouth Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, United States.[2] He was the second eldest son of Philomena and Angelo Mirenda who had 11 children.[3]
As a young boy, he sold candy and newspapers ontrains running from Philadelphia to New York.[4] Dundee dropped out of school and left home at 13.[2][3] He later worked for astreetcar company alongsideFrank Palermo, who became known as an associate of thePhiladelphia crime family.[5]
He changed his last name to Dundee as a teenager, following the lead of his older brother, Joe, who had taken the name of their boxing heroJohnny Dundee.[2] To avoid revealing his boxing career to his parents, Joe adopted the name Dundee.[4]
Inspired by his older brother, aSouth Philadelphia club fighter, he entered boxing in 1926.[6] Chris Dundee started managing and promoting boxers in 1928.[7] FlyweightMidget Wolgast was his first world champion, whom he managed in 1930.[8] Between 1932 and 1950, he promoted fights inRichmond,Washington, andNew York.[2]
He moved toNorfolk, Virginia, in 1932, discoveringKen Overlin. Overlin became world middleweight champion in 1940, giving Dundee his first national exposure.[2] His stable of fighters in Norfolk included Phil Furr,Izzy Jannazzo, Irish Jimmy Webb, and Jimmy Bell.[9] Shortly afterWorld War II, he pulled out of Norfolk.[10]
His brothers joined him in the boxing business after returning from the war in the mid-1940s.[10] Angelo went to work for Chris in 1947, sleeping in his office at the Capital Hotel in New York.[4]
His entry intoSouth Florida boxing began in 1946 with two shows at the Coral Gables Coliseum (nowMiami Coliseum).[6]
He managed American boxerGeorgie Abrams until his last fight in 1948.[11] Dundee also managedEzzard Charles, world heavyweight champion in the 1950s.[12] Dundee helped Charles claim a historic world titlevictory overJoe Louis in 1950.[7]
In 1950, he moved from Philadelphia and established a headquarters in Miami Beach to make matches and promote boxing.[2] That year, he began staging Tuesday night boxing cards at the oldMiami Beach Auditorium (Jackie Gleason Theater), where he held exclusive promotional rights of boxing and wrestling.[6] His cubicle in the auditorium had two desks, two telephones, and a wall covered in pictures.[13]
Chris Dundee opened the5th Street Gym in 1951 inMiami Beach, Florida.[7] Less than two miles from the auditorium, he turned the second floor of 501 Washington Ave into a gymnasium.[14] The gym had a bareplywood floor, one ring, a few heavy bags, a light bag, and rubbing tables.[13]
Dundee promoted 43 boxing events at the Miami Beach Auditorium in 1955 and arranged fights inCuba, selling tickets with airfare and hotel accommodations in Havana.[15] By 1957, he had promoted 256 fights since 1950 and was making more than $20,000 a year, becoming one of two U.S. promoters with a consistent weekly program. Dundee creditedJames D. Norris of theInternational Boxing Club for "saving Beach boxing" by assigning 23 televised bouts to the venue.[5]
His younger brother Angelo moved to Miami after spending four years in New York.[10] Angelo handled the development, training, and management of most talent on Chris's weekly cards.[7]
Chris Dundee negotiated a deal with businessmen fromLouisville to bringMuhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, to train and fight in Miami.[15] In the winter of 1960, Ali started training at Dundee's 5th Street Gym.[16] In the 1960s, the Miami Beach boxing promoter became thegeneral manager of Muhammad Ali.
In 1961, Dundee promotedFloyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson III held at the Convention Center.[17] He would also promoteSonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay, held at the 8,000-seat Miami Beach Convention Hall on February 25, 1964. The no. 1 contender, Ali, won the world heavyweight title with a knockout.[2] The fight drew Miami into the national spotlight for boxing.[15] At the time, Dundee had promoted close to 400 shows, including 50 nationally televised cards.[6]
Chris Dundee convinced American trainer and matchmakerMoe Fleischer to relocate toMiami, Florida and join him in the 1960s.[18]
For years, Dundee's successful wrestling events kept him afloat as a boxing promoter.[4] In 1967, he promoted 34 boxing events in Miami Beach.[13][4]
WhenJack Kent Cooke, then owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, and entertainment mogulJerry Perenchio sponsored the "Fight of the Century" in 1971. The fight was sold, and broadcast by closed circuit. Dundee, the long-time boxing promoter, secured the Miami-areaclosed-circuit rights from Chartwell Artists Inc.[19]
In the 1970s,Elisha Obed, the junior middleweight world champion, was under Dundee's management.[12] By the late 1970s, Dundee was Miami's leading boxing promoter. Dundee, alongside Madison Square Garden, co-promoted South Africa'sKallie Knoetze, the second-ranked heavyweight in theWBA, for his U.S. debut.[20]
In January 1972, the Miami Beach City Council denied Dundee's request for a 5-year extension to his exclusive boxing and wrestling contract at the Miami Beach Auditorium.[21] His contract expired on November 30 and he was replaced as the venue's promoter after 21 years, withMel Ziegler outbidding him for the exclusive license. He and his brother rented office space in a Miami Beach bank building but continued handling bookings for Ali, wrestlers, and the 5th Street Gym.[10]
After losing his license, he toured through Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean, as general manager and financial coordinator for Muhammad Ali.[22]
In the mid-1970s, the Miami Beach Auditorium closed and Dundee moved his cards to theMiami Beach Convention Center.[14]
He recovered from throat cancer around 1978 after undergoing 34 cobalt treatments and resumed promoting a wide range of events. He even staged wrestling and boxing events on a barge untilDusty Rhodes fell intoBiscayne Bay.[10]
Dundee later sold the once-famed 5th Street Gym to promoterFelix "Tutu" Zabala in 1982 but remained as its operator. He had been forced to make the sale and scale back his fight promotions in Miami.[12]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Chris Dundee Enterprises promotedChampionship Wrestling from Florida at the city's convention center. Dundee, who had promoted pro wrestling on Miami Beach since 1951, began to gross over $300,000-$400,000 a year from wrestling by 1977.[23] Among his local promotions was an April 7, 1976, exhibition atMiami-Dade Community College's North Campus featuringDusty Rhodes. After the show, a fan filed a lawsuit alleging assault by Rhodes, naming Dundee as a co-defendant.[24]
AsRay Minus's sponsor, Dundee played a key role in his 1989 and 1990 title defenses and traveled with the Commonwealth bantamweight champion toGlasgow's Bellahouston Sports Centre in June 1989.[7]
Dundee remained active in boxing until he suffered a stroke in January 1990 at 83 years old.[1] The stroke struck as he drove to a dinner in Miami Beach, causing him to veer off the road. It affected the left side of his brain, impairing his speech and mobility.[10]
Dundee's iconic 5th Street Gym was torn down in 1993.[14]
Chris Dundee was among the four older brothers of the famous trainerAngelo Dundee, who was 15 years younger.[1] In the 1940s, he and his wife, Geraldine Dundee, had a son Michael, and a daughter, Suzanne Dundee Bonner.[7][4]
Chris Dundee died on November 16, 1998, inMiami, Florida, U.S.[1] He died at the Miami Jewish Home at 91 years old.[2]
Dundee promoted eight world championship fights, managed nearly 300 fighters, and staged more than 1000 bouts over four decades.[7] Among the renowned boxers Dundee promoted were George Foreman, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Jake LaMotta, Sugar Ray Leonard, Kid Gavilan, and Ezzard Charles.[2]
Chris Dundee was inducted into theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994.[8]
His leather Everlast portfolio is preserved in theSmithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.[25]