Freddie “Pit-Bull” Liberatore: Boxing & So Much More…
Exclusive Interview by Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci
“Throughout my boxing career even as an amateur I never had it easy.”–Freddie “Pit-Bull” Liberatore
Freddie Liberatore grew up in Bayside and in 1988 won the New York Golden Gloves at featherweight. A promising pro career lay before him with his crowd pleasing brawling style. An under rated boxer who got inside the pocket and was a perpetual windmill of aggression. He’d climb over contenders and ignore setbacks in his quest for title belt. Many of his battles and hard fought journey to number one contender status were nationally televised. In 1995 he unsuccessfully challenged Gabriel Ruelas for WBC featherweight title and of his own accord decided to never lace up the gloves again. He finished his career with a very respectable 20-4-1, 11 KO’s.
VL: Let’s start at the beginning. We met shortly after you won the New York Golden Gloves featherweight title. I remember the night you turned pro at the Felt Forum against a kid named Joe Mitchel who was 6 foot and had a tremendous reach advantage. After the first round I was wondering who in your corner had the kamikaze death wish of getting you bumped off in your pro debut. I even remember shooting your friend commissioner Randy Gordon the “evil” eye as if to say “why did sign off on this fight letting a house fighter take such a risk?” Midway through the fight in typical Pit-bull fashion you got inside the pocket and found your range and won a majority decision. Did you ever think that it was an omen of some of the hard luck that would follow?
Throughout my boxing career even as an amateur I never had it easy. My first amateur fight was against a 2nd ranked fighter in the USA and I lost by a close decision. I would meet him again a few years later and beat him in the finals of a tournament called the Spanish Gloves. When I fought against Mexico at MSG I fought their top fighter from the team from which I was told by one of the trainers and I won. When I fought in Montreal for a Country Box off I won the Gold Medal but not before beating 1984 Bahamian Olympian boxer in the finals. He wanted a rematch against me and flew me along with the NYC boxing team to the Bahamas where I would win a majority decision again. When I fought in London I fought and beat their Top fighter from the team who later became the featherweight WBO World Champion Colin McMillan. In 1997 I was competing to get into the 1988 Olympics. First I had to beat everyone in the Metropolitan area, which I did. Then I had to go Upstate NY and beat everyone in the Regionals, which I did. Now for the first time this ever happened, the NY Golden Gloves and the National Tournament were going to happen at the same time.
I had to make the choice to continue fighting for a spot on the Olympic team and go for the Nationals or do I go compete in the 87 Golden Gloves where I know I will win being that I beat everyone in the metropolitan area already. My coach talked me into going for the Olympics and off to Buffalo for the Nationals we went. My first fight would be against the 2nd ranked fighter in the USA who happened to be from Buffalo. The night I fought him I dropped him in the 2nd round and the ref took points off for slapping, not hitting with the white portion of the gloves. Did I mention that the referee was from Buffalo, along with the judges? So you know where this is going. I later lost the decision which I should of clearly one, so much that it was mentioned in the Buffalo times the next day. He then made it to the finals where he got robbed and lost the decision to the fighter would made it into the 1988 Olympic Team. When I fought in the NY Golden Gloves in 1988 all the fighters picked from a hat to see who they are going to fight that night, of course my first pick from the hat was the former two time golden glove champ and we both fought real hard and I won by decision and also got fighter of the night award. I later won the 1988 NY Golden Gloves. That in a nut shell was my amateur career and you can see why I am not surprised that my pro debut would be against a six foot southpaw who runs and had six pro fights under his belt.
VL: In a seven year career that seemed all too brief for your fans you were matched tough with several contenders on your way to a title shot. Wins over Benny Amparo, Frankie Toledo, Ricardo Cepeda, Harold Warren, and Calvin Groove established you as a legitimate contender and threat to anyone at 130 pounds. I was there to share the joy and beam with pride but what was the adrenaline rush like when you were closing in on your dream?
I have to say that it was a little surreal. I beat the number one ranked fighter in the world and did it despite not having my original trainer whom I really liked and had for my last five fights and that wasn’t by choice. I finally felt that all my hard work was finally paying off and fight fans are starting to notice me as a real contender who deserves to get a shot at the title. I am closing in on my dream and hopefully fight and win the world title! I will finally establish some financial security in my life and I will be able to secure a good life for my family. Now I will finally getting some decent money for my fights. It was definitely one of the most gratifying and happiest times of my life.
VL: There were also some notable fights put on the bargaining table that failed to materialize like Jesse James Leija, Tracy Harris Patterson, and Angel Manfredy come to mind. What was that frustration like?
Yes, I would of love to have fought Jesse James, Azumah Nelson. There was even a time when Oscar De la Hoya was on the table as well. It was even more frustrating when I got a chance to fight against Pete Taliaferro for the USBA Title and had to pull out because I hurt my right hand during a sparring session against Regilio Tuur. Arturo Gatti would then jump into that spot and win the USBA Title instead. That was a heart breaking moment for me. Seeing Arturo bring the USBA Belt into the gym to show it off to fellow stable mates. Even though I was happy for him, I still thought to myself, that Belt should have been mine and would have been mine if I had not reinjured my damn right hand.
VL: Your gym had quite a stable of young bucks in your weight class. You came up from Golden Gloves with Kevin Kelly but on any given day Junior Jones, Willie Wise, Jake Rodriguez, Regilio Turr, Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson and most notably Arturo Gatti were training there. Anyone looking for a day of boxing action needed to go any further than park themselves there to enjoy the gym wars. What was that like knowing you were in such good company and “giving as well as you got?”
At the time I really didn’t pay any attention to it. I felt that I was just as good as them so I didn’t look at them in awe. It was business as usual, where you wanted to work with the best and you wanted to leave the gym knowing that you did a great job. Sparring was never easy, you always had to fight your best because there was always someone trying to prove that they were just as good as you, and you can’t let that happen. Looking back at it now, it was a great experience being in the ring with all these champions and it makes me proud knowing that I was in the ring with such great fighters and held my own and some. Funny story, I went to the gym to hit the bag and this older gentlemen came up to me and started telling me and everyone in the gym that he saw me spar against WBO world champion Regilio Tuur, who happened to be the fighter who knocked out the 1988 USA Olympian, the fighter in my weight division they chose to go to the Olympics. Anyway he began saying how he got to watch me and Regilio exchanging blows and how it was one of the best fights he ever saw and he got to see it for free! I can’t speak for everyone but I know that when ever I sparred, there was a crowd of people around because they knew that there was going to be some good action going on over on that side of the gym.
VL: Speaking of Arturo I know you were as shocked and gutted by his loss as the rest of his legion of fans. I’ll remember him as a soft spoken guy with thick accent who like yourself never wore the tough guy imagine on his sleeve. I remember one time discussing with him your pre-decision to fight Alexander Artemiev. He was genuinely concerned it was a bad match up style wise with no upside to the promotion. His looking after a stable mate like a brother was some of the everyday behind the scenes moments that the boxing community never hears about. How did his passing effect you, and is there any doubt in your mind it wasn’t a suicide as reported?
Yes he was right about that and another reason why it is important to have good management and a good trainer. Arturo was a good friend. We had some good laughs and we had some great sparring sessions together. We often teased each other when we did some photo shoots in the gym. Before sparring Arturo or getting to know him, I saw him in the gym doing a photo shoot and I thought to myself that he was just another pretty boy. Our first sparring match would turn out to be a war, where both our trainers had to jump into the ring at the end of the bell and break it up. When leaving the ring I said to him, wow your pretty tough and laughed and said I thought that you were just another pretty boy, he cracked up and said that’s funny, I thought that you were just another pretty boy as well, man you can fight! From that moment on we became friends and had total respect for each others boxing ability. He even gave me a call to congratulate me on my win against Calvin Grove. As far as Arturo committing suicide, I don’t believe it and I believe that he loved his kids as well as loving life. He had too much to live for to throw it all away.
VL: You had a few management changes a well as trainers. Any regrets how those changes unfolded and played out through your career?
I decided to leave my Trainer/ Manager when I came to the realization that he did not have the connections to get me the right fights and I thought that he didn’t have the training experience to bring me up to the next level. I definitely didn’t have an easy road fighting for Top Rank Boxing. It seemed as if they were not really interested in helping me grow as a fighter but interested in putting me in tough fights to make for an exciting show. I knew this and didn’t care because I didn’t want to waste my time fighting easy opponents, but thinking back, it would have been nice to have a couple of tune up fights for some easier paydays. The straw that broke the camels back and made me find a new trainer and manager was when I lost a fight against John Brown, a fight I should have won if I had a trainer who knew a little something about fitness and leaving your fight in the gym.
A lot of fighters I think are taking unnecessary abuse and getting seriously injured from having gym wars day after day because they have a trainer who does not know anything about the human body. I was finding myself getting sick before every fight and thought how weird this was. After the second round I had nothing but heart to keep me going and a cut under my left eye from a head butt. When meeting my new manager he said that he felt terrible to see that happen to me because he knew the reason why I didn’t have anything left when I fought his fighter. He said he admired that despite not feeling well that I continued to keep coming forward, he admired my heart, my never give up attitude. He said that he would love to be my new manager. He told me that we will train at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn and look for an experienced professional trainer. From then on things were looking up. I was getting the fights that were not just tough but were actually going to do something for me in my career if I win. My manager and new trainer were a great fit for a new beginning. He was getting me back to moving my head, slipping punches, not just relying on my power but all the things I used to do back in the amateurs. My new trainer knew how to get me motivated and what to say when I came back to my corner. We began to build a bond and I had confidence in his ability to train me. Together we were unstoppable.
VL: I’m looking over some notes and memories with a huge grin on my face. Wasn’t Bob Arum of Top Rank interested in promoting you early on and wanted to bill you as the “Italian Assassin” instead of “Pit-Bull?”
The match maker told me that Bob Arum is very interested in signing me but thinks that I should change my name to The Italian Assassin. I thought first what does being Italian have to do with being an assassin and it comes off like I am racist and I am against any other nationality. I get it, there are many who call themselves the pit bull but in my mind I really was The Pitbull. I owned pit bulls, I fight like a pitbull and I never give up, just like a pitbull.
VL: Many fans think boxers walk around all day with the swagger and the Mr. T collection of gold chains but usually miss the essence of who their hero’s truly are. For me you were always Ferris Bueller when the leather gloves were off. Nobody who didn’t know you could ever image that aside from the assassin you were in the ring hid a childish bad boy who loved to play pranks and crack people up. Your “who me” grin already gave it away but are you still like that? Would you mind me telling the readers the story when we were private investigators and you answered the service phone at Staples? Lol Wish I could high lite more we could write a book.
Yes and no. I have calmed down a bit because I am not in my twenties anymore and I am not as crazy or as silly as I used to be, at least that’s what I think, others may beg to differ. I always try and make my wife and daughters laugh but every once in awhile they’ll shake their head at me. I may answer the phone in a department store or assist someone who needs help because they think that I work there, so I act as if I really do work there and sometimes I help them more then the people who actually do work there. When telemarketers call my home I may change my voice and act as if l am an old man who is hard of hearing and I need the person on the other end to keep repeating the question only to give them an answer that has nothing to even do with the question they asked me, that usually gets a good laugh from my family. I do like to make jokes because I like to make people laugh or simply because I am just bored and need to amuse myself, just kidding.
VL: Sadly nobody knew the title fight would be your last fight. As friends I was crushed for quite some time because I wanted it so badly for you. Please recap the difficult decision and events that made you decide to hang up he gloves?
A couple of weeks have gone by and after licking my wounds I reminded myself who I am. I am a fighter and I have lost before and I have come back big. I will get the operation on my hand and continue where I left off before my title shot. I had my hand looked at by an Orthopedic specialist who worked on many fighters and told me that he needs to take a piece of my hip bone and fuse my metacarpal bones to the bones before the wrist bone. During the operation and being able to see that almost all my metacarpal bones had to be fixed, the doctor told me that he was amazed that I was even able to fight with this injury for so long. I healed up quick and started to run after two months and started to hit the bag after four months. I started to spar after six months and my right hand felt great and I did not have to whole back with my right hand anymore. Things were looking up once again and my wife and I had a baby on the way as well. I was back in the ring sparing and during my sparring matches I even dropped a couple of guys in the gym with my right hand, I was ready to fight again. A couple of months go by and now my wife and I are blessed with a beautiful baby girl.
Not too for longer I receive a phone call from my manager to tell me that he got me a 10 round fight on ESPN for Top Rank Boxing at the Mohegan Sun Casino against a fighter who is in the top ten and is 17-0 and goes by the name Angel Manfreddy. He tells me that if I beat him that it will put me in the top ten again and that he is the perfect style for me because he comes to fight. Remind you that I haven’t fought for a year now but I never had it easy so why start now? I say great, I’ll fight him especially now with my right hand feeling as good as it ever felt. One other question I ask, how much is the purse? My manager tells me that it will be for 2,000 dollars, but he will not take his cut. He then tells me not to look at the money but look at the opportunity. Once again my heart dropped when he told me the amount of money and I told him that I think that offer is ridiculous and he said If I want, I can call the match maker myself and see if I can get more money.
I called the match maker up and he asked me how much do you think you should get paid and I said well at least 8,000.00 figuring that he will come back with a counter offer, but he just said no, you don’t want to fight anymore and I said not for that kind of money and he hung up the phone before I can tell him my mind. I then had another offer from another well known manager/trainer who offered me a 10 round fight against Tracey Patterson for 15,000 dollars at Madison Square Garden. I of course said yes I began training hard for that fight. Needless to say the contract never showed up and I knew that they were going to do the old bait and switch on me. This is when they pretend to get you a good money fight and days before the fight they tell you that the fight fell through. They then tell you that they have another opponent for you but for a lot less money. Knowing that you now need the money you’ll say yes and you will then fight some tough journey man making their card but gaining nothing if you beat your opponent. I looked over at my daughter in her crib quietly sleeping in our one bedroom apartment and thinking what kind of life am I going to be able to provide for this little angel? That is when I said it’s time to get out of this business and say good bye to this dream of winning a world title and start a new chapter in my life while I still have my health and mind and I am not too old to start a new career.
VL: For about two decades you’ve been successful at a new career that has become the stability in your life that boxing lacked. What is your job title and a typical day at work? Do you think retiring one day from this job will be easier than walking away from the ring wars?
I believe it will be difficult to retire. I will miss the camaraderie amongst my fellow co-workers. The people I work with really care about doing great job and having a flawless show. I am a video engineer who is responsible for setting up and operating the video system which consist of a video switcher, playback devices, recording devices, computers, cameras and sending video signals to their destination. When not engineering I am also a camera operator and a video projectionist. My day starts by meeting at the dock and off loading gear, pushing gear to the venue and setting up the gear. Then once we are all set up and ready to send video to the Screens, LED Walls, Satellite Truck or any other destination, we start rehearsing the show with the presenters or with the talent. We then do a show and then after the show we stay and break down all the gear, pack it up and push it to the truck and then load the truck. Needless to say the work days are long. If we get out after eight hours, we consider it a short day, a half day. Unfortunately getting out after eight hours rarely happens.
VL: Back in your heyday you admired Roberto Duran the most for being such a feared and respected boxer/puncher. . Are there any of todays boxers you enjoy following? Careful of your answers because fans have changed and now we have “haters!” Loll
I don’t have any particular fighter that I look forward to, maybe Gennady Golovkin. Watching someone like Marquez, Barrera, Morales fight was always exciting. I am not surprised when a fight turns out to be all hype because styles make fights and if you get the right two you’ll have a great fight and if you get the wrong two or someone who doesn’t want to fight that makes for a long night. There are times when I turn on to watch a fight where the two fighters weren’t well known but they put on a terrific fight. To be honest, I don’t get to follow boxing like I did back when I was in the game. I kind of stick my head in and out of the game. Once in awhile I will get together with some fighters/friends and go to the fights or maybe attend a boxing dinner.
VL: Finally, if you could do it all over again would you?
Looking back I had a great time, I met some great people and sparred with some of the best fighters in the world. I got to fight internationally and nationally. I’ve beaten former world champions or opponents who later became a world champion. I might not be known by many but many that do know me speak highly of my boxing ability. I made it far in boxing and got my name out there before there was a thing called social media. My fights were televised on National and International television. I got to fight in some of the most prestigious places in the world. I got to see the proud expression on my friend’s and my family’s faces when they raised my hand in the middle of the ring. So looking back, I would have to say yes I would do it again.
VL: Last question……….. Your one of the rare bred of fighters who years after retirement looks like he can step into the ring tomorrow? I just proposed the same question to Mike Weaver. How do you keep in shape these days?
Well, to be honest I never really stopped working out. Of course my work outs are not as intense as they used to be when I was fighting but I still run and hit the bags as often as I can. I believe in sweating out the impurities and keeping everything in moderation. You do not have to deprive yourself of things you love in life, such as eating good food not fatty foods or processed foods but good food and having a drink once in awhile, a glass of wine or a bottle of beer is ok just as long as you keep it in moderation. Keep everything in moderation and try to sweat it all out when you exercise, that I think is the key to staying fit.
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