Heavyweight Eddie Chambers getting no respect from TV

His last bout was for the heavyweight championship of the world, or at least the IBF and WBO versions of it. He is still ranked No. 4 by the IBF, and a victory in tonight's rematch with Derric Rossy in that organization's elimination bout puts him in position to again swap punches with the best big man in boxing, IBF/WBO titlist Wladimir Klitschko.

So why is Philadelphia-based heavyweight Eddie Chambers dissed more than the late Rodney Dangerfield?

If you want to bring Chambers' manager-trainer, Rob Murray Sr., to a slow steam, mention that Chambers' most recent fight, his losing challenge of Klitschko on March 20 of last year in Dusseldorf, Germany, was not carried by any American television outlet.

But if you want to see Murray's simmering ire instantly heated to volcanic rage, remind him that Chambers' scheduled 12-rounder with Rossy, his first ring appearance since the 12th-round knockout by Klitschko, isn't part of the "ShoBox: The Next Generation" telecast from the sixth-floor ballroom at Bally's in Atlantic City. The suits at Showtime instead will bring viewers across the nation a 10-round main event pitting junior featherweights Rico Ramos (18-0, 10 KOs) and Alejandro Valdez (23-4, 17 KOs), as well as an eight-round co-feature pairing super middleweights Cornelius White (16-0, 15 KOs) and Donovan George (20-1-1, 17 KOs).

Maybe, at 28, Chambers no longer is part of the next generation, but is tied to the generation already past. How else to explain a 12-round, heavyweight elimination bout being passed over for fights involving prospects who have yet to crack the world ratings or are not rated as highly in their respective weight classes?

"It's a slap in the face," Murray said of Chambers' again fighting off TV. "It's another slap in the face."

As Murray sees it, Chambers, who honed his skills during 18 appearances at the Blue Horizon after moving here from Pittsburgh in 2002, is being penalized for being a gentleman in a sport whose biggest names often run afoul of the law or accepted social mores.

"This kid never even gets a parking ticket," Murray said of his soft-spoken fighter. "He isn't smacking women around or getting locked up every 5 minutes. He's not throwing Champagne bottles around in nightclubs.

"Look, he's the only American heavyweight to go to Germany to fight people like [Alexander] Povetkin, like [Alexander] Dimitrenko. Damn, give him a little respect. He's a good human being who also happens to be a very good boxer."

Against the younger of boxing's Klitschko brothers, the man widely considered to be the best heavyweight in the world, Chambers was in the process of losing a clear-cut unanimous decision when he was nailed with a devastating left hook late in the final round. He was counted out with only 5 seconds remaining in the fight, the only time he has lost inside the distance.

At Murray's urging, Chambers then took 3 months off to rest his body and clear his head. Tonight's bout with Rossy (25-2, 14 KOs) - whom Chambers (35-2, 18 KOs) stopped in seven rounds on Feb. 9, 2007 - has resulted in what Murray insists is a new and improved version of "Fast" Eddie.

"Since he went back in the gym, Eddie has trained with champions and contenders like Steve Cunningham, Yusaf Mack and Chazz Witherspoon, and he hasn't missed a beat," Murray said. "He's probably the most athletic and talented fighter I've ever been involved with.

"My most courageous fighter ever was Steve Little [the former WBA super middleweight champion who died of colon cancer in 2000], but Eddie is the most gifted."

There were times, Murray acknowledged, when Chambers resisted his instructions. The beatdown by Klitschko changed that.

"I see him doing things now he didn't do before the Klitschko fight," Murray said. "He's bought in to everything I've been trying to teach him. This is a different guy. He's using all of the ring, using his boxing ability more. I'm really impressed."

Now, if only the TV folks also took as much of a shine to Chambers . . . *