By Nick Skok
It’s behind the scenes where deals in boxing are made.
Glimpses emerge more often than not in the modern social media era when figured promoters appear in video clips or headlines openly discussing terms to win over the public opinion and add pressure to the competition. Routine, this is not if one is honest on the everyday fight deal that's made.
Moving parts that include but are far from limited to the promoter see other players seated at the proverbial table with network interests, sponsors, site representatives, and of course, fighter management all working towards the same goal: a fight card. This engine room that produces fight fans with the shows they watch on a weekly basis is where the real work happens. For the most part we never hear the names of those grinders that keep their work on a twenty-four hour cycle, welcoming multiple rather than adhering to single time-zones for the global sport.
It's here the foundation of the sport land its where I broached the topic of conversation with two of its lifetime members, Mike Altamura and Mike Leanardi, who in their thirties, have created a foundation of their own that will see them through their career in what should be successful fashion if their recent accomplishments piled on top of their sacrifices hold any bearing. Both boxing stalwarts have infused the sport with new blood everyday for over the last two decades and will still be here when the current patriarchs pass on their responsibilities in the not so distant future.
I begin with Mike Altamura who took the time to speak with me recently.
At only eleven years old and contributing amateur results to Ray Wheatley’s “World of Boxing,” the fire was lit early for Mike Altamura (36). His passion for the sport consumed his adolescence and writing was what some would consider an unexpected outlet for a young Australian whose father had worked inside the squared circle as a fighter himself for a brief period of time in the sixties before later relaxing to training pugilists thereafter. No matter, the sweet science DNA was bred into the boy and he began to run with it.
With the time of a teenager, Altamura’s choices were well placed in the case of how to use it as his writing touched numerous publications and websites before he graduated to his own site in 2001, aptly named “Fighter Network.” Not satisfied with simply covering fights, the young prodigy used his creative wit to allow fighters to contact him with inquiries about scheduling bouts, as he kept his age behind a veil of well written articles and coverage of the sport.
The stories that emerged and the challenges that came from within them were plenty and could consume a proper book in itself. Is what’s important to note from his experiences was that Mike Altamura continually proved himself and prospered with the knowledge he gained from them. With each road block removed, Altamura’s confidence grew in himself and his usually much older peers took note of the kid who was still standing.
Today, Mike Altamura holds the role as “International Consultant” for MTK Global, a powerhouse in the boxing management landscape that continues to grow, in part due to the diligence of Altamura and his cultivated stock of resources. While that title sounds pleasantly vague in the sense that it could mean literally anything, it’s because Altamura really does almost anything he needs to. In Macau this past New Year’s Eve for example and again earlier this year in Tokyo you could find the “international consultant” working the corner for his client, the IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane, alongside the head trainer Colin Nathan, who also happens to be the head of MTK Africa (a role Altamura helped create).
Wanting to learn a bit more, this writer sat with Altamura on the steps of a Tokyo Plaza over a coffee and we discussed his past, present, and future:
Nick Skok: You've had an interesting career so far. You started out as a writer and then you made the jump to the business side - a difficult leap to make that only a few have been able to make. Now you have a couple of clients who are world champions. Through this you've had plenty of ups and downs in order to get where you are right now, which is a young veteran, who at thirty-five, is already eighteen years a senior in the sport. That's actually more than half your life. To this point, what has been the defining moment of your career?
Mike Altamura: I think its a combination of everything. I've had eight world champions to date and it's a blessing to have worked with so many fighters at that level. When I started in the game one of my biggest aspirations was just to be a matchmaker on the local Australian scene. If I was matching a main event in my home state of Victoria, I would've envisioned that as a success. To have been able to have travelled the world, something like over sixty countries, and work with some of the best athletes in the world its very, very humbling.
If there's anything that's surmised my journey, its the story from Mthalane's last fight. It's about finding a way and never surrendering and never giving up to ensure that I could arrive in Tokyo on time [for Moruti Mthalane's championship title fight]. I think that I've always had that drive to succeed despite the odds. Sometimes when you don't have the awareness of how tough the obstacle is or how high the mountain you're climbing is, you push on with greater resolve because you refuse to take no for an answer.
NS: A lot of people don't succeed in trying to do what you've done. Sometimes it goes beyond not taking no for an answer because some of the old timers might just tell you to fuck off and give you no choice in the matter. How do you get over these hills?
MA: You're always going to meet resistance. It's about finding a way around the storm. If you're out in choppy waters you circumnavigate any way that you need to. It might take you hours or whatever but you find your way around the storms. When I was starting for example, you couldn't just come in and start at the championship level. At the time I was able to identify that a lot of the current and existing renown managers in the game weren't putting in any ground work to know who the top amateurs were coming through the system. I figured if I immersed myself with knowledge, then knowledge would become power.
NS: Let's talk about money. It's a relatively small sport though there's also a lot of money to be made if you play your cards right. How do you turn a profit after taking so many necessary risks and making so many investments?
MA: It's tough. I worked a lot of side jobs just to stay afloat and survive for a lot of the challenging years. There was one time a number of years ago where I had a kid fighting in my home state and I knew he was struggling with finances so I didn't take my ten percent cut. My ten percent cut was of three thousand dollars so like three hundred bucks. So I didn't take my cut and I left the venue. And I had hardly enough money to catch the train home. I thought it can't possibly get worse than this. If you can find a way to smile when you're at that absolute lowest point and avoid taking money from the athlete who you know needs it more than you even though you're beyond struggling then sooner or later its going to balance up. Fortunately in my case when it did, it all flooded in and as they say, the rest is history.
NS: What would you change in the sport?
MA: I think a bit more transparency in terms of fight purses. A lot of times you see deception in the sport. Whether it’s the fighter or the promoter or promoters to fighters, fighters to managers, or to trainers and vice versa. It’s not just one way or the other.
NS: Where are you going from here and what's the next big goal that you're pushing for? Is it promotions next or do you like the consulting role that you're in?
MA: That's a really good question. I have my promotional entity established which is MJA Platinum. Right now we're just doing boutique events here and there. If the right opportunities present then I'll definitely roll in that direction. I'm open to any concepts but right now we have a lot of projects within MTK that we're developing with fighters, gyms, and expansion into new markets.
For me it's always to continue enjoying the process and not taking myself too seriously. The expectation is just to keep enjoying my time in the game and to give back as much as I potentially can.
** The story that Altamura was referring to earlier about what he thought most surmised his journey in the sport, happened on Sunday May 12th in Tuscon, Arizona. The night prior, his now former client Isaac Dogboe lost his bid to recapture his WBO junior featherweight championship in a rematch with Emanuel Navarrete. Needing to get to Tokyo by Monday to assist another client in IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane, Altamura headed to the airport ready to fly out only to find out that he had accidentally booked a flight for the following day. It wasn't going to be enough time.
Not giving up and ready for any option, Altamura called a shared ride. Actually, he called several because most drivers cancelled on him once they learned he needed a to get to San Diego International Airport where the only flight to Tokyo that wasn't sold out and close enough could get him to the fight on time. Finally one driver took the task and cut more than forty-five minutes off the more than eight hour expected drive time, even after several driver induced "pit-stops."
Close to $600 later, including tip for the speedster, Altamura made it just in time. I met Mike Sunday evening at Korakuen Hall where he arrived with three cases of luggage and with about ninety minutes to spare before the fight. Days later he would pull $300 from his wallet and say, "After the ride and everything else, this is all I have left from my cut." He smiled and you could see he was in this sport for life.