Black's quest: Discover next heavyweight boxing champ

The big planes line up just across the street, a stone's throw away, preparing to depart from McCarran International Airport.

One by one they thunderously lift off, taking people to places and matching realities with dreams.

In an otherwise inconspicuous warehouse off Patrick Lane along the northeast edge of McCarran, John Black sits and contemplates his own dream. It's one that has taken him to seven countries on four continents.

But for all his frequent-flyer perks, Black's quest remains incomplete. He has glimpsed, yet not quite uncovered, the gem he aspires to bring to Las Vegas.

He remains in pursuit of the next heavyweight champion of the world.

"I pray every day that I get a chance to see this through," he said of cataloging the greatest athletes in the world with the idea of turning one or more of them into aspiring heavyweight contenders. At his fingertips: An inventory of muscle-bound behemoths from virtually every corner of the globe.

With a startling attention to detail, Black has compiled his legwork and scouting reports not only in a bound volume but on the Internet. His web site -- http://www.ringstars.com -- went online this week.

"I'm way ahead of my time," he said, albeit modestly. "I haven't met anybody who didn't think this was a great idea."

As it stands, Black has 33 athletes -- each at least 6 feet tall and 234 pounds, and most in the 6-4, 255 range -- who he has earmarked as potential champions if he can get them to the United States.

Waiting for their arrival: A surprisingly well-stocked gym built into the warehouse off Patrick Lane, and a man with expertise not only as a boxing trainer but in the nuances of physiology.

"I measure everything I can," Black said. "I learned how to identify guys I'm interested in out of a whole slew of men. I'm looking at timing, I'm looking at jumping ability, I'm looking at power-to-weight ratios ... everything that it takes to become a heavyweight champion."

The missing ingredient, however, is money. While Black has dipped into his own bank account to finance his efforts thus far, he's in need of investors.

He found one of note in former UNLV athletic director Brad Rothermel.

"I met John in 1986 and I've never failed to be impressed anytime we've talked," Rothermel said. "He has an excellent training facility, the best I've ever seen. And the research he's done is phenomenal."

Black obviously knows his way around the backwoods. His targeted heavyweights range from rugby players to a world champion woodchopper.

All have been tested and chronicled.

"Of these 33 guys, all you need is for one of them to come through," he said. "But right now what I need is investors, as I can't do it efficiently by myself.

"I've been doing this for a long time and I feel I'm just entering the third of three phases, where we actually bring some men to Las Vegas for extensive training. What I need are for some interested investors to agree with me that I'm on to something."

Black, 63 and a Las Vegas resident since 1985, initially targeted professional athletes like NBA and NFL players as potential heavyweight fighters. He soon discovered, however, that those men were too infatuated with their own sports to risk crossing over to boxing.

So he expanded his search worldwide.

"I've done my homework," he said. "While I still have my eye on a handful of NBA and NFL players, I've been places nobody else has and I've seen some amazing athletes.

"I saw a rugby player in Tonga that I once thought would be perfect."

Black follows a guideline first espoused by legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: "I'd rather have talent and inexperience than experience and no talent." Toward that, he says "raw talent is where it's at."

A boxing fanatic from childhood, Black has what he calls "a structured learning process" outlined in which an athletic man can be developed into a fighter.

"It's a component system, a drill system," he said. "You go one aspect at a time and build up to structured sparring. It's scientific and it's also creative."

He just needs the bodies to get started.

"I know how to recruit and I know what to look for," Black said. "But when it's just you and whatever money you yourself have, it's hit and miss. That's why I need investors.

"There are men out there who are coaches' dreams and I've found them. The final step is getting them here."

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