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"The
Emmet Eliminator"
is a fitting ring-moniker for
former WBF World Cruiserweight
Champion Kenny Keene.
It pays tribute to his hometown,
a small sawmill town not far
from Idaho state-capital Boise,
and to his no-nonsense,
crowd-pleasing fighting-style.
Keene was born on July 21, 1968
and started boxing at fourteen.
While his father Jim encouraged
him to box, he did not push him
into the sport. It was more due
to the fact that one of his
older brothers was a boxer, and
Kenny wanted to win trophies
too.
He went on to win much more than
trophies, but boxing initially
wasn’t easy for Kenny. In fact,
he lost nine of his first ten
amateur bouts, and the Idaho
amateur boxing commission
informed him that unless he
improved significantly he would
not be allowed to fight.
So Kenny worked hard, fueled by
his fathers undying support and
motivating mantra that it takes
a special individual to succeed
in boxing, and he improved so
much that he compiled a win-loss
amateur record of 86-21, won the
National Junior Olympics,
represented his country in
various tournaments, and
eventually turned professional.
Fighting at the Hawks Memorial
Stadium in Boise, home of the
Boise Hawks Minor League
Baseball team, a 22-year-old
Kenny Keene beat Ray Pacheco
(1-1-1) from Albuquerque in his
first paid outing, scoring a
four-round unanimous decision on
August 11, 1990.
By the end of 1992, Keene had
compiled an impressive 19-0 (13)
record, and with fifteen of
those fights taking place in
Idaho, his entertaining style
had attracted a large local
fan-base. But, while he had
graduated to ten-round level, he
had yet to fight someone who
could seriously threaten him.
Opponents such as Jerome Hill
(9-3-1), Ivan Rukavina (8-2),
Willie Jake (7-1-2), and Grover
Robinson (22-19), were decent
enough tests at the given time,
but when he was matched with
former WBF and IBF World
Champion
Rickey Parkey (22-14) in
February of 1993, it was a step
up to the next level.
Parkey was two years removed
from his last world championship
victory, and his career had seen
better days. But, having shared
a ring with the likes of Dwight
Muhammad Qawi and Evander
Holyfield, he was still a cagey
and experienced operator, and
expected to at least give the
young prospect some problems.
However, topping the bill at the
O´Conner Fieldhouse in Caldwell,
Keene passed the test with
flying colors and won almost
every round for a unanimous
decision. Parkey had enough in
the tank to show glimpses of
what he was once capable of, but
Keene was too strong and
aggressive, and largely
out-worked the former champ.
Five more victories followed in
1993, including a fourth round
stoppage of former WBC Light
Heavyweight world champion J.B.
Williamson (26-10) and a
decision over teak-tough former
contender James Pritchard
(28-10-2). With twenty-five
victories against no defeats, he
was deemed ready to challenge
for the vacant WBF World title.
On March 5, 1994, back at the
O´Conner Fieldhouse, Keene took
on experienced veteran Bobby
Crabtree (48-27-1) in his first
world championship contest. With
his loud fans cheering him on,
“The Emmet Eliminator” left no
doubt and steamrolled Crabtree
to score a fourth round
stoppage.
While waiting for his first
title-defense, the new WBF
kingpin kept busy with a
non-title decision victory over
quality operator John McClain
(17-2-1) in May. His first
challenger, on August 11 in
Boise, would be perennial
contender Vincent Boulware
(27-7-1) from Philadelphia.
Boulware had unsuccessfully
challenged for IBF world titles
at Super Middleweight, Light
Heavyweight and Cruiserweight,
but won the lightly regarded IBC
Cruiserweight crown in 1993.
After trading punches with some
of the best in the world, and
coming off a decent victory, he
wasn’t exactly a lay-up for
Keene.
But, with his continuously
increasing throng of fans making
things lively and spurring him
on, Keene fought like a true
world champion that night, and
thoroughly dominated his
opponent. He came out strong
from the first second, and
knocked Boulware down in the
first round, bringing the crowd
to a frenzy.
Boulware showed great heart in
continuing to fight his chance,
but halfway through it was clear
that he would probably need a
knockout to take the WBF world
title. The champion had no
problems taking his punches, and
when Keene scored another
knock-down in round ten, referee
Vic Drakulich stopped the fight.
Not sleeping on his laurels,
Keene agreed to make a quick
return for a second defense of
his world title less than two
months later, on October 8. And
this time he ventured outside of
Idaho, as he traveled to the
back-yard of challenger Terry
Ray (25-1) in Terre Haute,
Indiana.
And what a fight it was!
With a packed arena going
bananas as the action unfolded,
and viewers of CBS Sports glued
to their television screens,
both boxers showed tremendous
heart and determination as they
went to war. Taking turns
hitting each other with massive
shots, it often appeared as if
the fight was just one clean
punch away from being over.
As legendary Angelo Dundee gave
Ray instructions between rounds,
the local hero was without a
doubt proving to be the toughest
fight of Keene´s career at that
point. When the bell sounded for
the twelfth and final round, it
was anybody’s guess who would
come out victorious.
The twelfth was just as wild as
the previous eleven stanzas, and
with the crowd on their feet
both men somehow found enough
strength to have their share of
success. But in the end, after
one of that years best fights,
Keene retained his world
championship by majority
decision.
Amazingly, after such a grueling
affair, Keene returned to the
ring only five weeks later,
stopping journeyman Martin Lopez
(4-6) in the third round of a
non-title bout. The win took his
ledger to 30-0, and he was a
clear favorite as he again went
into enemy territory to defend
his WBF belt in a rematch with
Bobby Craptree (50-29-1).
On February 10, 1995, at the Ft.
Smith Civic Center in Arkansas,
Keene didn’t look himself as he
struggled to take control of the
fight. As it went to the
scorecards, many felt he had
still done enough to remain
champion, but two of the judges
scored it for Craptree and the
upset was a reality.
Kenny would eventually set the
record straight, stopping
Craptree in nine rounds in 1996
without the WBF world title on
the line. Before that he had
also beaten Terry Ray again, and
when he retired in 2006 his
record stood at a very
impressive 51-4 (28).
Besides Craptree, his only other
losses came at the hands of
former WBA world champion Robert
Daniels (34-3-1) by split
decision, Mexican danger-man
Saul Montana (29-6) by close
decision, and former IBF world
champion Arthur Williams
(42-14-1), who, although he was
still on his feet, was the only
man able to stop Keene.
Inducted into the Idaho Hall Of
Fame in 2010, Kenny Keene became
an institution in that part of
the United States, and it was
not uncommon to see crowds of
7000 or more at his fights in
Boise. He was a TV favorite on
platforms such as CBS Sports,
the USA Network and ESPN, and he
rarely disappointed.
“Kenny
Keene is the best boxer Idaho
has ever had,” promoter Dave
Elsberry told Brian D´Ambrosio
of boxing.com in 20013.
“The
interest in boxing in Idaho
started with Kenny, peaked with
Kenny, and vanished after Kenny
retired. He had so many offers
and opportunities to leave the
state, but he always chose to
stay close to home”.
“He
was a great fighter and he was
always proud to exhibit the
sport in Idaho.”
Since hanging up his gloves for
good, following the loss to
Arthur Williams, Keene has
worked as a bails-bondsman in
Emmet. Still in great physical
condition, he enjoys family life
but admits that the adrenaline
rush he got from fighting is
something that he still misses.
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