Jimmy Burchfield, the CEO of Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES), is a man who always shows respect to fighters, active or retired, and on Saturday night, he paid tribute to one of the biggest names in Connecticut boxing. Former light heavyweight title challenger “Iceman” John Scully was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from CES during a Hartford show that brought boxing back to the city for the first time in years. It was apropos that Scully was honored in the state’s capital, as he used to train out of Hartford, in numerous gyms, including Bellevue Square, the San Juan Center and the Charter Oak Boxing Academy (COBA). “I really appreciate this award very much,” said Scully, standing alongside Burchfield, Hartford-based attorney Jeffrey Dressler, and longtime friend Sammy Vega, one of a handful of fighters Scully closely mentored and led on the right path. Vega is the Chief Operating Officer of Dressler Law. A big boxing fan, as well as ring announcer in his spare time, Dressler used to make significant donations to the San Juan Center to pay for trips, building repairs and equipment for fighters, according to Scully.
In addition to his ring career, Scully was coaching kids while fighting and has become quite the pro trainer as well since hanging up the gloves. In fact, he was in Chad Dawson’s corner when Dawson upset the legendary Bernard Hopkins in April 2012. However, more than working corners of big fights, Scully has been a positive force across different gyms for decades, giving pointers, taking young boxers on trips to tournaments, advising healthy habits, you name it. He has literally impacted hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
Pat Sullivan, CES’ director of operations, said at Saturday’s fight card, “John has shaped these fighters into not just better athletes but people…He’s always giving his time, his energy and his heart to the sport of boxing…so tonight we don’t just celebrate a career, we celebrate a legacy.”
Vega was a top notch amateur boxer in the 1990s, winning, among other titles, the 1997 National Junior Olympics at 95 pounds, as well as the 1998 National Silver Gloves at 106 pounds. “He’s the reason I’m here today,” Vega said of Scully. In addition to his law work, Vega is president of the Board of Directors for the CICD Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade. There is also a belief Vega may run for mayor in the future.
“He’s the one that taught me how to be who I am today,” said Vega, “Not only as a boxer, but as a great mentor and father figure.” He described Scully’s honor as “well deserved.”
When Burchfield had a hand at the microphone, he noted what impresses him the most about Scully is “what you have done after your boxing career.” Besides his role as a trainer and mentor, Scully has also been raising funds for fighters in need for the better part of a decade now. Money raised goes directly to the families of former world champions Wilfredo Benitez, Gerald McClellan, as well as lesser known fighters in need of assistance.
When Scully, who had a career mark of 38-11 with 21 KOs, was asked to say a few words, he said he was impressed by the fight night turnout, adding, “When I was boxing, there were shows at the Hartford Civic Center every two months...Guys like Cuda Leeks, Troy Wortham, Papo Figueroa, Tyrone Booze and Maron Starling, these were the guys. There were 60 or 70 professional fighters just in Hartford.”
Scully, rather than merely accepting his award with standard thank you remarks, used his moment in center-ring to inform the crowd about his fundraising efforts, and to contact him if they’d like to assist. Sullivan noted that Scully “represents everything that this sport of boxing is supposed to stand for.”
Reflecting on his award, Scully told BoxingTalk.com, “It was a great honor to receive the plaque in front of all those Connecticut people and especially people like Sammy Vega, who played a major role in my coaching career.” He added, “When I first started boxing, I wanted to first be on big stages in Hartford, and then in Connecticut, and last night was kind of like me coming around full circle.”
