Ultimate decision

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

Ordinarily, the retirement of a boxer with a 4-9-3 record would barely rate a mention.

But Todd Diggs merits at least passing attention for his prowess as a high-school athlete in Las Vegas prior to turning to boxing, and for the likelihood that his athletic career as a whole may be far from finished.

Diggs, 33, said his Monday night loss to Terrance Marbra at Bally's is apt to be his final fight as a boxer. "If someone would offer me something like a six-fight deal where I could train and be prepared for every fight, I'd continue," Diggs said. "But that's not going to happen."

He's right, it's not.

Diggs is a 300-pound, left-handed heavyweight who is something of a definitive example of how difficult it is to make a living in boxing. Say what you will about his talents in the ring, Diggs could always be found in the gym and he doggedly attempted to persevere despite a lack of management, endless injuries and repeatedly having to take fights on short notice and have scheduled fights fall out.

"Five times just this year," he said, when asked how many fights he has had scheduled that were later canceled.

The staccato training -- never knowing precisely when he needed to be in top shape -- was a constant disruption. So, too, were trainers who came and went on one-fight agreements and injuries like the chronic elbow problem that required surgery two years ago and cost him 2 inches off his reach.

"Man, it's so frustrating," he said of choosing to devote some 15 years of his life to boxing. "You sacrifice a lot and people don't realize your body is always breaking down.

"I had great expectations when I started. But boxing is boring to me now."

Diggs was an exceptional high-school basketball player in Las Vegas, a tough, bruising low-post force who dabbled in wrestling as well. But he caught the boxing bug when he accompanied a friend to the Golden Gloves gym and, by chance, met Mike Tyson.

Diggs did well as an amateur and seamlessly advanced into the pro ranks, albeit without a bona fide manager, let alone promoter.

Years of dealing with buck-conscious promoters and trainers has left him at least somewhat bitter.

"Promoters treat us real bad," he said, going so far as to dismiss the pay hike he received for fighting Monday on a card promoted by Cedric Kushner that required each of the participants to donate 3 percent of their purse to the Joint Association of Boxers.

"I got a 6 percent raise and had to give 3 of it to JAB," Diggs said with a chuckle.

Don't get him started on the shortcomings of trainers.

"With the exception of maybe Tyrone Boone, every one of the guys I had for a trainer wasn't interested in anything more than getting their 10 percent (of his purses)," Diggs said. "None of them cared about anything but money.

"I remember talking to Hedgemon Lewis about when he worked with Eddie Futch and how Eddie was like a father figure to all of his fighters. But the guys I had only pretended to be father figures and only acted like they cared.

"That gets to you after a while."

For his fight against Marbra at Bally's, Diggs used a trainer who he had only seen once and who later badgered him for his money.

"I could have gotten someone from the audience," Diggs said, laughing again yet chagrined that the man in his corner was of little or no assistance to the fighter.

Add in the arthritis that has set into his repaired elbow and the perennially damaged hands that have plagued him for years, and Diggs is perfectly willing to walk away from boxing.

"You think about all the money in boxing, but what you don't see is that there are so many of us out there just trying to make a living," he said.

He has supplemented his income over the years by working as a bodyguard and a bouncer, most recently at the Ice House Lounge downtown.

As if he needed more incentive to quit, his father, who lives in Texas and is said to be in failing health, has asked his son to retire.

"It's been my father's wish that I stop boxing," Diggs said. "Well, he's going to get that wish now."

But Diggs isn't finished with sports. He has already begun training and says he has a contract to participate in a UFC (mixed martial arts) fight November in Japan.

"The wrestling part came right back to me," he said. "I've been doing a lot of grappling and working on being relaxed and being able to get out when you're on the bottom.

"I'm very fast on my feet and I'm picking things up fast (with the help of a Brazilian jujitsu instructor)," he said. "But I'll try to keep standing (during UFC fights) because I know I can beat them with my hands."

He has become part of a growing trend of boxers converting to UFC or K1-type competitions.

"They're going to pay me more for the one fight (in Japan) than I've made for my entire career in boxing," Diggs said, bidding one sport farewell while embracing another.