By Anthony Bosco
It was supposed to be so sweet.
More than a decade after he left his home in Holland, fresh off his appearance in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Regilio Tuur was back in Queens, back in the place where he started his professional boxing career. Saturday night at Aqueduct Racetrack, Tuur was supposed to rise like the proverbial phoenix, taking his first step on the long road back to the championship.
But hours before the card was scheduled to begin, Tuur heard the news he had been dreading for more than a day, that his opponent, Freddy Cruz, failed his physical and was deemed not medically fit to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission.
All Tuur could do was roll with the punches.
“Very,” was the only thing Tuur could say when asked how disappointing it was to have the fight postponed. “I knew that the problem was there [Friday]. We started looking for a doctor that could test [Cruz]. I know it’s Saturday in New York. I knew we wouldn’t find a doctor who could do that.”
Saturday’s fight was supposed to be the first for Tuur since he retired in 1996. At the time, Tuur sported a record of 43-2-1 with 28 knockouts and was the reigning World Boxing Organization junior lightweight champion of the world.
The native of Dutch Surname — by way of the Netherlands — Tuur came to the United States after knocking out gold medal favorite Kelcie Banks in the first round in the 1988 Olympics and going on to lose in the quarterfinals. Tuur signed with manager Bill Bikoff and set up shop in Whitestone.
While based in Queens Tuur, then a stablemate of former featherweight champion Kevin Kelley, ran up an impressive record and won the New York state and European Boxing Union 130-pound titles before winning the WBO crown in September 1994. Tuur made six defenses of the crown before retiring.
A celebrity in Holland, Tuur spent the almost four years since his last fight doing television work, modeling and working in the fashion industry.
The allure of the ring, however, pulled him back to the sport. He will just have to wait a little longer than planned.
According to a ringside official from the NYSAC, Cruz’s blood test for hepatitis came back with questionable results and, with no follow-up test that would have more conclusively established Cruz’s condition available, the commission was forced to deem Cruz not medically fit.
“One of the tests came back the wrong way,” the official said. “There was nothing else we could do.”
According to fight promoter Tommy Gallagher, this is not the first time Cruz has had this problem, citing a recent fight in Connecticut. When Cruz retested, it was established that he did not have hepatitis and he was allowed to fight.
“They know every time they take the test he’s in the gray area,” Gallagher said. “And then he goes back and it’s clear. I spent $500 to get him tested. We couldn’t get a place to [retest Cruz] on Saturday.
“I blow the whole thing,” the promoter continued. “I spent $40,000, I end up blowing $40,000. As soon as [the fans] found out Reggie was out, that was it.”
But Gallagher commended Tuur, who showed up at the fight, shook hands with fans and refused to place the blame on anyone.
“Reggie is such a professional,” Gallagher said. “He just did everything right, He didn’t cry like a baby.”
Tuur may still end up making the debut fight of his comeback in Queens later this month, when Gallagher’s Thoroughbred Boxing returns to Aqueduct on Aug. 25.
“That spot is guaranteed [to Tuur],” Gallagher said. “Cruz has to take that fight. He can’t fight anybody else. It’s a great fight. [Cruz] fights everybody in the world. He’s a good, durable opponent. We’re going to keep doing it until we get in right.”
Tuur, though visibly upset that he was not able to fight, wrapped his hands, donned his trunks and worked out in the dressing room as if he was going into the ring. He even worked the pads for one round in the ring before the sparse crowd.
“I’m going to go through the motions,” he said. “I’m going to wrap myself up and hit the pads. I’ve got to unload. I got to get the load off my shoulders and put all my anger into the pads tonight.”
Tuur worked himself back into fighting condition for 10 months, the last two with Cruz in mind. And despite the disappointment, Tuur said he won’t let this setback spoil his plans.
“I’m going to back to the drawing board,” he said. “I’m going to relax for a few days and set something new up. I’m ready to fight next week. We got to see. Tommy got another card on the [25th]. That’s a likeliness. If I can fight before that I will. I’m ready.”
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedgr@aol.com or call 299-0300, Ext. 130.
