April 16, 1977 – Theresa Kibby vs. Lavonne Ludian in Rematch on National Television

This photo was in the Boxing Illustrated Magazine, dated September 1977

On April 16, 1977 on Wide World of Sports, in a rematch of Theresa “Princess Red Star” Kibby and Lavonne Ludian, in a four rounder, Kibby won by a four-round unanimous decision.   The two had previously fought at the Silver Slipper Casino, where Bob Arum of Top Rank was caught by the attention of these two and decided to put them on a televised card.

The day before the fight, Bob Arum met with Kibby, and Sue TL Fox, offering both a one-year contract for 15,000 for three guaranteed fights, and even if the fights did not take place that they would still be paid the $15,000.  Fox hesitated at a lunch with Arum, with her representative (but not a signed manager, Dee Knuckles) and Fox said she wanted to consult a lawyer first about the contract.

Fox had had a controversial draw with Lavonne Ludian in Ludian’s hometown that most thought she actually defeated Ludian when she almost knocked Ludian out in the first round, but the scoring was in favor of the much more popular Ludian who had the National Enquirer at their fight in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and so Fox had tried with failure to have a rematch with Ludian.

Fox was brought in to Las Vegas as a sub if either Kibby or Ludian could  not fight this day.  Two days before the fight—Fox’s representative, Dee Knuckles said that since Fox was going to be at the fight anyway that she could do an “Exhibition” with a much heavier fighter, Darlene Buckskin who was way out of Fox’s weight class.   Fox agreed to do an exhibition with Buckskin, just to later find out that even though Fox was instructed to place enough silver dollars in her pockets, her bra to bring her weight up 10 plus pounds that this “Exhibition” was counted as a fight.  Fox lost by a very controversial decision with a four-round Split decision.

After this fight that was televised with Kibby and Ludian the female boxers were told at the time that the media and boxing fans gave such negative responses to the fight between these two.  That none of the female boxers signed contracts for the 15,000 at the time.

(noted that Lavonne Ludian and Sue TL Fox was very sick with the flu the day of this fight, and the only “medical” that Fox received was, a guy coming into the dressing room just prior to the fight, and checking her wraps on her hands, saying “Your Alive”.  No other medical was performed on Fox—even though she was sick running a fever and so was Ludian sick at the time. )

Fox attempted through the years to tell in specific details that her fight that was told to her that it would only be an exhibition or to at least note the accuracy of what occurred on this card to Boxrec and it was never changed.  Darlene Buckskin was way out of Fox’s weight class and these are the troubling incidences that pledged the early times with the pioneer boxers in the sport….Also it should be noted that Fox vs. Buckskin was never recorded with the official record keeping of boxing, “Fight Fax” and was told by Fight Fax that  they were in fact either “unsanctioned” or in many cases “exhibitions.”