Hall of Fame event honoring Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a rare 15-rounder

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L.E. Baskow

The 2015 Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony honorees gather with Rosie Perez on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, at Caesars Palace.

Sun, Aug 9, 2015 (4:38 p.m.)

2015 Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. smiles at the podium after being announced as fighter of the year during the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Caesars Palace on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Launch slideshow »

The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Table 1 at the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame gala at Caesars Palace. Don’t become too impressed too quickly at the numerical distinction of this seating assignment. Table 1 abuts the back wall of the Palace Ballroom and is not in what I like to call “The General Feeding Area.”

And, that’s abuts, not head butts.

Hopefully I’ll make the second assignment of the night, an interview with Olivia Newton-John and her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, at Share. The two collaborated on a remix of “Magic,” Newton-John’s No. 1 hit from “Xanadu,” which Saturday night celebrated the 35th anniversary of its premiere.

No matter. We’re in the room here, and boxing luminaries abound. A favorite moment, thus far (and not news to those who follow me on social media): Lennox Lewis happened by during a mass photo op and asked me, “Can you please find the Internet?” Then he handed me his phone. “I could have a lot of fun with this," I said. He nodded without taking his eyes off his phone and, fast as a Lewis combo, we have intense Wi-Fi connection action.

The night is to honor Lewis, Muhammad Ali, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, Felix Trinidad, Marco Antonio Barrera, Roger Mayweather, Johnny Tapia, Gene Fullmer and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. A “Pioneer Class” is filled out by James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Johnson, Joe Gans and Tex Rickard. The nonboxers being honored are Lee Samuels of Top Rank Boxing, Pat & Dawn Barry, Reno Gazette-Journal sports journalist Steve Sneddon, Chuck Hull, Dr. Donald Romeo and Dr. Robert Voy.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is being honored as fighter of the year, with Sugar Ray Leonard presenting that award. Ali is being presented by Mike Tyson, and I ran into Mike and his wife, Kiki, a bit ago. When I talked with him Thursday, Tyson mentioned his continuing workout program.

“I couldn't be better. I feel awesome," he said. "I’ve been running, training for 30 days. I’m probably about 230. I’m up a little bit, but I’m ripped. I’m shredded.” He does look in great condition.

I spent some semi-idle time earlier on the event’s red carpet (and the next great story you read from the red carpet will be the first, because aside from photos they are typically an untrammeled cluster). I met Earnie Shavers, whom Ali said was the hardest puncher he ever faced. Who was Shavers’ choice as hardest hitter?

“Ron Lyle,” he said. “He might not have been a legend, but he had a great career, and he knocked (George) Foreman down.” (Floored twice, Foreman wound up knocking out Lyle in the fifth round in a Pier 6 brawl at Caesars in 1976). I also asked Shavers about his 1977 loss to Ali, a bout many boxing fans thought he won, and he said, “I’ve seen the replay many times, and Ali won the fight. He outpointed me. I had him in some trouble early, but he did win the fight.”

Class act, that Shavers. Still kind of a scary dude, too.

From the stage — and this event may have lasted until Sunday, given its measured pace — Leon Spinks has been honored and pointed out in the audience. I saw him earlier, and he’s aided by a walker, a bittersweet sight considering the last time I’d seen him was about two years ago during a “Raiding the Rock Vault” show, and he was up onstage dancing. A Las Vegas resident, Spinks is being presented with a USA Olympic team jacket marking his gold medal in the ’76 games in Montreal.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler is up, introduced by Al Bernstein, who along with Al Michaels called the 1985 Hagler-Tommy Hearns fight at Caesars, who says of Hagler, “He’s one of the greatest fighters in history.” Hagler begins to cry onstage, saying, “I didn’t think this would happen to me,” and his remarks recall the late Goody Petronelli, his longtime manager, and he blows a kiss skyward.

Meantime, to my right, the Money Team has arrived. Hagler is speaking, and Mayweather’s imposing entourage is waiting to be seated. “Turn off the lights,” his bodyguards tell those trying to catch video of the Money Man, who is wearing gold-trimmed shades and looking pretty rich.

Fullmer and Tapia have been honored. Fullmer beat Sugar Ray Robinson — twice — and Tapia (nicknamed “Tap Tap”) was among the most exciting lightweight fighters of his era. Beset by drug problems throughout much of his life and career, Tapia died of heart failure in his home in Albuquerque in May 2012, just 45 years old. What a fighter, though.

Just noticed a Twitter update from Ray Leonard, on his @SugarRayLeonard account, showing Richard Steele, Hagler and he with the message, “The 3 in the ring that memorable night here @CaesarsPalace.” Check it out. Total kumbaya-moment action. It’s still amazing that the disputed defeat in June 1987 was the last time Hagler fought.

An aside, something I just learned at the silent auction area: Tyson gave up being vegan “quite a while ago,” says Kiki. It’s not an easy lifestyle; I tried it for four months in 2010. I just popped an Altoid while remembering that Altoids are not vegan.

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad’s speech is very tough to decipher, as the sound system in this room is not up to the task. But he looks terrific in a white tux and black tie. He ran the red carpet twice, methinks. Mr. Mustafa Muhammad is a real people person.

Kevin Iole, a Hall of Famer himself, brings up Top Rank Boxing publicist Lee Samuels. Hardly any boxing fans know Samuels, but his influence is felt in every Top Rank card over the past 40-plus years. His most recent major event was the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout, and after talking to Samuels on the red carpet (yes, he walked it), I’m not ruling out a rematch. If a second Mayweather-Pacquiao bout does even half the business of the first, it’s a massive event.

Sneddon up now, also introduced by Iole. His history covering bouts dates 45 years to a card at the Washoe County Fairgrounds.

Leonard’s intro of Mayweather is the most succinct of the night, as he says, “After his victories over Canelo and Pacquiao, he deserves to be the Nevada fighter of the year.” Mayweather’s speech, conversely, is the longest of the night. He has called up his father, Floyd Sr., after reeling off a long list of champs — Leonard, Hagler, Mustafa, Tyson, Holmes, Ali and even Aaron Pryor (“Who no one never talks about,” he says) — and says he had fought thousands of times for free before ever making money. “I am talking from the heart because that’s how I do it, “ he says. “… The object of the game is to hit and not be hit. Be smart. When I retire, I’ll have all my faculties so I can spend time with my family.”

That’s some of the message. Floyd is rolling along, humbly and exhaustively. Somewhere in there, he said that he’d fight Pacquiao again if that’s what the public wants. But he is articulate, and humble, and surrounded by an army of supporters. The speech ends after … I lost track of the time, but it was likely longer than the duration of Ronda Rousey’s entire UFC career.

Mark Antonio Barrera up, thanks his family. The family is his entourage. All variety of Barrera onstage, the kids shooting video of the crowd, which is now thinning. This event apparently has improved in its organization over its first two years, but it still has some serious pace problems. “Snail’s” being chief means to describe those problems.

Lewis is feeling the fatigue. Most of what’s left of the audience is standing, trying to take smartphone pics. “Quiet, quiet, quiet!” he says. “I want to thank my mother. … Hellllo! Trying to make a speech up here!” Of his mom’s influence, he says, “My mother helped get me into boxing. How? I was naughty, and she beat me, and I learned to move and protect myself.” Good line. Would have been better two hours ago …

Near the end, he takes a swipe at Mayweather. “Floyd Mayweather took up a lot of time here tonight. He says he’s the best ever. I have something to say about that. I’m the last undisputed champ. I think I’m the best ever. But Floyd’s right. Every champion should think of himself that way.”

Felix Trinidad accepts through an interpreter, who starts with, “First, I was an embryo …” The crowd gasps. Then he says, “Just kidding.” Trinidad is another fighter who is in good shape, still. He was one of the most bankable champs in the '90s. Trinidad leads a group chant, “Trin-a-dad!” which meets with robust but weary response.

Tyson takes the stage, nearly five hours after he arrived. “OK! Do I start now?” he calls out, to laughter. The sound is cutting out but finally locks in as Tyson declares, “We all have to believe we’re the greatest of all time, but Ali was really the greatest of all time!”

His voice halting, Tyson tells a story about the night Ali was beaten by Larry Holmes. Tyson was 14 that night and cried as Ali was dominated thoroughly. Tyson’s guru at the time was Cus D’Amato, who called Ali’s then-manager, Gene Kilroy, and got Ali on the phone with Tyson. “Someday, I’ll knock him out for you,” Tyson says. “I’m telling him this, and I’m 14 years old.”

Eight years later, Tyson fought Holmes. “Before the fight, Ali says, ‘Kick his ass for me,'” Tyson says. He KO’d Holmes in the fourth round, knocking him down three times.

Before bringing Ali’s daughter Rasheda to the stage, Tyson narrates many of the highlights of the career of “The Greatest.”

“Look at those punches! Every one hits their mark! Oh, Leon! You thought you had him in trouble, right?” And, after Ali is floored by the famed left hook of Joe Frazier in the 14th round of their first fight in 1971, Tyson shouts, “Look at that! He got right back up on his feet!” Bernstein never called a better series of highlights.

Rasheda finally ends the night, thanking the Hall of Fame for honoring her father, who was too ill to make the trip. “When I told him he was being honored, before he said, ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘What took them so long?'" The crowd, most standing by now, laughed at that. The state’s boxing hall still has to work on its timing, but, with these luminaries in the mix, it really delivers a punch.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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