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Page B2-The Chronicle, Thursday. June 14. 1984 > Joins pro ranks Kennedy ends to pursue yet a By ROBERT ELLER Chronicle Sports Editor Local fighter William Kennedy decided he wanted to M n box after watching Muhammad AIL. F square.off in the "Thriller in Manila'-some years back. A little over six years ago, he told Bobby Giles at the Salvation Army Boys Club that he wanted to be a boxer -not just any boxer, but an Olympic gold medalist and champion of the world. Kennedy gave up on one of those dreams last month when he decided to turn pro after, winning 75 of 85 "The five days I spent in there (jail) did a lot for me. That's when I decided that hard work and dedication were what it would take to reach my goals. Each day I became more determined. " - William Kennedy amateur fights. Along the way, he had earned numerous Golden Glove awards and three national titles. But after waiting in vain to hear from the Olympic boxing committee, then hearing of the boycott of the 1984 Olympics by the Soviets and other communist-bloc nations, Kennedy decided to give up on the gold medal and go for the green. Kennedy made a successful debut into the light heavyweight ranks of pro boxing on May 24 in Nashville, * . H|K| >' * WnBSwd&; *S>. ; n ' <* '?? w * ~ ? BPB fc jj| a E* b V ^^B #i ,/^|#SHHH a^a a Jj^T^ ^r . 'fJgralflj^^Bj^^HL 9 9 jtf^fj/H Kju|^^^Jj^l B^fHiBl^^B*^^^^^B^BK!lf!<:,^K2EBB>** ^mt S*>^ ^ WJWMW^WTj MK Ftoottno wjmmft <E??"mi< * yi?jHBthi tt - w i i i?wtrpgrti wmrawpii wit ?n?>? inJ Though Corey Belton managed to float to the b Roanoke, Va.t his 15-and-under AAU team won phis, Tenn. The team, sponsored by the Patl soliciting tax-deductible donations from the publ AAU Regionals there June 14-16. Approxima finance the 15-and-under team's trip, and the 1' phis for its regional competition. For more inf Dunlap at the Patterson Y (photo by James Pai Block On Sports Pond Giants, By ROBERT ELLER Chronicle Sports Editor Up until the late 70s, when one thought of semi-pi baseball in Winston-Salem, he thought of the Winsto Salem Pond Giants. And why not? The Pond Giants, now entering the 68th season of continuous baseball, are the oldest senpro team in existence. They've also been one of the most successful. * Sports .* Scores, Standings, Olympic quest nother dream Tenn., when he outpointed Dan Allen, a former Missouri State football player, in a four-round bout. He's now in training for his second pro outing, set for June 14 in IMVIIiiiVilU . Kennedy's coach and trainer, Whit Lowry^who ha$? Xnrl tiding Ertrmft* . Shavers and frvin Hines, says Kennedy has a chance to become the light heavyweight champ over the next four years. Though both fighter and trainer know the task won't be easy, the 23-year-old Kennedy already knows plenty about hard work ? and hard times. First, he was charged with accessory to armed robbery and placed on probation. Then he had to halt his boxing career for more than six months in 1983 to have a series of operations on his face to remove cysts. But the 178-pound power-puncher is not discouraged. "The last year or so has been difficult for me," he says. "1 had never been in any serious trouble before but I started hanging with the wrong crowd and wound up in jail. The five days I spent in there did a lot for me, however. "That's when 1 decided that hard work and dedication were what it would take for me to reach my goals. Each day 1 became more determined." As for the operations, Kennedy says, "I knew the cyst problem would have a detrimental effect on my career so 1 decided to get it out of the way. Now that the operations are over with, things are beginning to turn around for me. Kennedy, who is short for a light heavyweight at 5-10, _ _ ? I ! 1 I I - ^ - i ? says nc win make up lor nis iacK 01 neignt witn strength, power and intelligence. Black College Black Sjfi^ Syndicated Columnist m ? On June 19, some of the ^ country will tuck their lor them and settle in front of a P|li|| the telephone. It will be dra B?|yg| tional Basketball Associatio best F?r pla>'ers suc^ as Hou If juwon and North Carolina If there will be little suspense. m PPW be among the first players K&-; ...:n ? 1.:. jjg^ UlClCClllCI will Mgll IIlUllll mjj^M v Jfc tracts. ,: jL The picture is not so especially those from smalle ./ **% ly black schools. Because sit J nored by TV networks -!?- ... ... 1 newspapers, not much is I j players. '* '"" ; -v ^ Correction: Let's say that .,> jf 4 Black College ^mmAMmmm. BY BARRY COOPER Bpr Ji~j Syndicated Columnist """"" TorEaKiDC>, Fia7~^ All _?L?4 u a A c o i? tv of CVntral Florida an r asnci a u*?*jo will uv?r " ? " ? 't be able to float to Mem- Cookman College are expe terson Avenue YMCA, is discuss forming a new con lie to pay for the trip to the " had lon8 been rumorec tely $3,000 is needed to '"AA league might be in t f-and-under's trip to Mem- sources say, preliminary p ormation, contact Robert ference could come within I 'ker). * Though they deny it, Indians may play Up until 1979, they pretty much handled any team tha ? dared take them on with ease. But a not-so-funny thinj happened to them in the 1979 season. ro A former semi-pro player by the name of Melvii "Rip" Wilkins had taken over the Winston-Salem In n dians a few years earlier. Each year Wilkins managed t< . come up with new talent to go with the veterans he begai his team with. During the 1979 season Wilkins* Indians finally brok the Fond Giants' stranglehold on baseball in the Tria< when they beat them out of the Winston-Salem Basebal 4 Week Columns, Features MF* _!' 'B f ^^>1 V ^ R *? | i M B Jlfibv " h4K r^l B I - -*BWi i. W ATfrt^m, f I BL_ Sl V^F' - nc* Those Powerful Hands... A brush with the law and a brief, but sobering, st them out of trouble and in boxing gloves (photo I Lowry agrees. "William can be a champ," Lowry says. "He is willing to work hard and he has already sparred with people like Mike Spinks (the current light heavyweight champ) and James Shuler, the number one contender in the middleweight class. "If he learns to pace himself and box more using his combinations, he can be a legitimate contender." 44I learned a lot from Spinks and Shuler," says Kennedy. 4'They worked on me pretty good but they also helped me determine my strengths and weaknesses." Kennedy says his biggest strength is his punching i Sports ^m?m college alumni ma; of some players byjhe public. While Jo might not know who Napoleon Johnso NBA sure does, and that's the only th tallest men in this counts. ig legs underneath Because NBA scouts scour the cou television or beside players and leave no rock unturned, Jol ft day, and the Na- 6-foot-9 center for Grambling, can expi n will be taking the taken within the first three rounds. Alabama State forward Lewis Jackso ston's Akeem Ola- handful of other black college stars, 's Michael Jordan, To find out how black college pla They are certain to likely to turn out in the draft, I turned t picked and shortly Blake, director of scouting for the NB million-dollar con- Blake, who sees about 150 college ; year, figures it will be a good year for t clear for others, colleges. r and predominant- "There is a lot .of talent at some < taller schools are ig- schools, no doubt about it," says and the major "Lewis Jackson can play forward or g mown about some the NBA) and he is a great shooter. from Grambling (Johnson) hit for 50 \ not much is known one game. He is a great offensive play i Briefs tools pondering a nen reportedly being pushed by Florida - Rattlers, who quit the Mid-Eastern Con f erencet s a m-gd?*pufew+<4v ar-eh-rival Bethufw-C ither n, BttlwyeK? wi1 mtnrr 1 possibly Bethune- member of the MEAC, may follow FA cted to meet soon to the new league, sources say. ference. It would be the first I-AA conferet i that a new Division elude predominantly black schools he works, and now, A&M, B-CC) and predominant! lanning for the con- , schools. Also said to be interested in t [he next few months, are Troy (Ala.) State and Valdosta (G the conference is Thefe was even speculation that regular-season gat t League title. I When 1980 rolled around, the aggressive Wilkins kept at it, getting commitments from at least two former Pond *[ Giant players, and heating the rivalry even more. Since the 1980 season, however, the Indians and Pond 3 Giants have played each other only twice. Both times the n games took place in Roxboro as part of the state semi-pro tournament with the Pond Giants winning 3-2 in '81 and e the Indians taking a 4-2 decision last year on their way to i the state title. II This year that may change. Both Pond Giant Manager * ? SHr^P^ ^HIK'jy t **^^E* % 1 ? jjwiF - .^ P^fcf v. v^V ay in Jail convinced Kennedy that he should keep )y James Parker). power. "I know I can punch like a light heavyweight," he says "but I need to throw more combinations. You don't always take a guy out with one punch, but, if you put them together, then he has to fall." Now in training four days a week and running three to five miles each day, Kennedy says he has a timetable for reaching the top. "By the time I am 27,1 want to see guys like Spinks and Shuler again," he says. "By then, I'll have the experience and will have perfected my technique." , Please see page B3 y go high in draft e B. Fan Blake says NBA clubs also are likely to take a n is, the good look at North Carolina A&T forward Joe ing that Binion, Norfolk State forward David Pope and Florida A&M center Michael Toomer. ntry for Like teams in other sports, the NBA likes to inson, a take one last look at the nation's top seniors ect to be just before the draft. "There will be a lot of So can kids invited to the special NBA camp in n and a Chicago about two weeks before the draft," Blake says. "A lot depends on what a kid does yers are at the camp. What we look for from the kids o Marty from the smaller schools is how they do against A. the tougher competition. Take Lewis Jackson, games a for example. Before you can say where he is gohe black ing to be drafted, you have to see how he does at the camp. Df those "Sometimes it's still tough to tell, though. Blake. The last time I saw (Hampton Institute's) Ricky uard (in Mahom before he got drafted, he looked The kid awful. Now he's one of the top players in the joints in league. Clemon Johnson needed some work er." Please see page B3 > 1-AA league i A&M's State, a predominantly black school that is an Athletic associate member of the Southwestern Athletic ? srhftfiid Conference^ would, consider joining-the ^ ookroaftr? l.?c-"faggesL -stumbling- blocking-proposed ? kMU into tive members are still Division II schools, and would have to decide to move up to 1-AA ice to in- status. (Florida Package Created y white he league DALLAS, Tex. - The College Football a ) State Association, whicfc includes every so-called Alabama Please see page B3 . ties this year Nelson Petree and Wilkins say the two teams will play possibly twice with each team having a home game. "We will definitely play the Indians this year," said Petree recently when announcing a 40-game schedule foi the Pond Giants. "We are pretty booked up but the two of us will get together and work out the games. Hopefulls we can play at least once before the state tour _ > it. July." Wilkins, who, over the past two seasons has repeated I > challenged the Pond Giants to games, will cooperate, he Please see page B3
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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June 14, 1984, edition 1
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