Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
In June 1961, Muhammad Ali, with matchmaker Mel "Red" Greb at his side, gave a local radio interview in hopes of drumming up interest for his seventh professional fight -- his first in Las Vegas.
Ali, then known as Cassius Clay and yet to develop the charismatic style that bolstered his legendary status as three-time world heavyweight champion, was to fight Duke Sabedong at the old Convention Center.
The night before that 10-round boxing match was a professional wrestling card, which would draw a sell-out crowd at the same site. However, despite Greb's promotional efforts, Ali's Las Vegas debut would be before a half-empty house.
"Muhammad watched in awe as wrestler Gorgeous George, who was on the same radio show, boasted that he would win his match because he was the prettiest wrestler," said Gene Kilroy, a longtime Ali aide.
"Muhammad asked Mel to take him to the wrestling matches so he could watch more of George in action, which Mel did. After Muhammad's first Las Vegas fight, he told reporters he won because he was the prettiest fighter -- that's where all of that started."
Ali's brash image was born, thanks in part to Greb, and rarely -- if ever again -- did Ali perform before half-empty arenas.
Mel Greb, who as a dedicated matchmaker helped mold the careers of Ali and hundreds of other fighters over five decades and became "the father of professional boxing in Southern Nevada," died Monday. He was 75.
Greb, who despite declining health in recent years still kept a hand in the fight game, suffered a stroke Saturday and was taken from his Henderson home to Columbia Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he died.
Services for the 45-year Southern Nevada resident, who got his colorful nickname for his orange-red hair that faded to gray as he slowly aged, were to be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Palm Mortuary on Main Street.
"The key to Mel's success as a matchmaker was that he would put together fights he would enjoy seeing -- he was foremost a boxing fan," said former Las Vegas SUN boxing writer Mike Marley, today director of publicity for fight promoter Don King.
"Mel was the father of professional boxing in Southern Nevada. He was widely-respected for his knowledge of the sport. As matchmaker, he did everything from putting together the bout to going around town hanging signs to promote it."
In the 1970s, Greb often would meet Marley for lunch at a local pizza parlor, where Greb would scribble on a napkin the best matches he could put together, then ask Marley his opinion of them.
"Mel disliked the politics of boxing," Marley said. "It rankled him that one fighter could not be matched against another because they were controlled by different promoters.
"Mel never made a fortune as a matchmaker, but his mere evolvement in the sport kept him going."
For 14 years, Greb worked in the dice pit at Caesars Palace to earn enough money to allow him to pursue his other career as a matchmaker -- an avocation that often ran his phone bill upwards of $900 a month.
During his storied career, Greb worked for Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing, where he was credited with arranging more than 60 world championship fights, mostly during the 1970s and '80s.
"When I told Muhammad of Mel's death today, he was saddened because whenever he came to Las Vegas, the first thing he would ask was, 'Where's Mel Greb?'" said Kilroy, senior credit executive with the yet-to-open New York-New York.
"The two would sit down and have a great time talking for hours about boxing. Muhammad said God gave boxing a great gift in Mel Greb, and today called him home to make matches in heaven."
Born Sept. 19, 1921, in Newark, N.J., Greb got an early start in the sport, hanging around a gym his father once owned.
"I've been enraptured with boxing since the days of my misspent youth," Greb once said in an interview with the SUN. "I can't imagine doing anything else. The itch will always be with me."
A World War II Army infantryman, Greb participated in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. But he rarely discussed his years in the military, even with his closest friends.
After operating a bar in California, Greb moved to Las Vegas in 1951. He was for many years the Las Vegas correspondent to Ring Magazine at a time when the national publication was the bible of boxing.
By the end of the '50s, Greb was promoting fights at the Las Vegas Convention Center, working with his partner Dick Russell in the Mel Greb Promotions Co.
Among the hundreds of fights Greb put together in Las Vegas rings were Ali vs. Jerry Quarry II (June 27, 1972), Leon Spinks vs. Scott LeDoux (Oct. 22, 1977) and Ron Lyle vs. George Foreman (Jan. 24, 1976).
His favorite bout was Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson II for the world heavyweight title on July 22, 1963. That fight served not only as a springboard for Greb's career, but also established Las Vegas as a premier site for world title fights.
Among his many honors, Greb is an inductee in the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Greb is survived by his wife of 32 years, Dixie Greb of Henderson; a son, Marc Greb of Henderson; a daughter, Melissa Greb of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; and three brothers, Harold Ginsburg of Bradley Beach, N.J., George Ginsburg of Pinebrook, N.J., and Don Ginsburg of Elizabeth, N.J.
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