BWAA Awards Dinner Rocks NYC

Hey, we've all said it many times before under different circumstances: what a hot night it was at the Copacabana.

The 82nd annual BWAA awards dinner went off without a hitch on a muggy Friday night in New York City, and even Bernard Hopkins didn't question the judging. Master of ceremonies Brian Kenny kicked it off. He ribbed Max Kellerman, who was nominated for a broadcasting award, saying: "Max found out he was nominated and that he lost at the same time. He's young, and has plenty more of these awards to come. He's going to give Susan Lucci a run for her money."

Larry Merchant, who had his contract renewed by HBO just hours before the dinner, after weeks of speculation that the network might drop him, called himself "the former...and new" HBO boxing analyst as he accepted the Walker award for long and meritorious service. "My stay will be longer, if not more meritorious," he said. He said his first exposure to boxing came from reading dispatches from Jimmy Cannon and A.J. Liebling and other greats. He fondly remembered the late Jack McKinney, a former colleague and boxing scribe at the Philadelphia Daily News, who was known to box a bit. Merchant said that reading a line in a newspaper story about a queasy fighter who "gave up his fish dinner" between rounds is really what inspired him to get closer to the action. Hopkins, introducing an award later in the night, said that as long as Merchant wasn't leaving the sport, Hopkins would stick around too -- never mind those ideas of retiring.

Ruslan Chagaev strutted around in a pinstripe suit, looking far too short to have just dethroned Russian giant Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title. Freddie Roach said how proud he was to win the Futch-Condon award as trainer of the year. Eddie Futch had been Roach's own trainer when he was a boxer and had urged him to quit near the end of his career, though Roach wanted to keep going -- and lost four of his last five fights. Manny Pacquiao was charming, apologizing for his (actually very good) English and flattering boxing media, saying without the press "there is no Manny Pacquiao." He was joined onstage by Jake LaMotta, whose hearing isn't what it used to be but who can still deliver one-liners on demand. ("I fought Sugar Ray so many times I should have diabetes!") Steve Albert did a sort of stand-up routine of his own, about the thrills and craziness being an Albert brother. Mahyar Monshipour, representing half of the 2006 fight of the year, said merci to everyone in French. Lee Samuels and Ricardo Jimenez, shared winners of the "Good Guy" award, were good guys, as billed.

Kevin Iole was gracious and still in disbelief over winning the Fleischer award for his boxing journalism. Michael Hirsley accepted two first place writing awards and spilled the beans that he is taking a buyout offer and retiring from the Chicago Tribune. With Hirsley, Iole and Ron Borges leaving newspapers this year, it makes you wonder what the next Larry Merchant will be reading when (and if) he gets inspired to join the next generation of boxing journalists.

Pacquiao-LaMotta photo by Teddy Blackburn