Boxing: 'Express' ride to oblivion

THE first time I saw Bruce Seldon he was sweeping through the lobby of the Taj Mahal - the Atlantic City one, not the 17th-century masterpiece. He wore an ankle-length fur coat and looked like a man who believed his own publicity, which was roughly that as the unbeaten heavyweight known as the "Atlantic City Express" he was one of the most important socialites in town.

Impressions are misleading, especially those based on fashion. Seldon is, or was, a nice man, which makes his horrifying freefall in the last 18 months especially sad.

Seldon is currently on $50,000 bail in Camden, New Jersey, awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to supplying a 15-year-old girl with marijuana and having unspecified sexual activity with her at his house. He faces a maximum of 10 years in jail, the sentence to be delivered on 26 June.

His lawyer is hoping for probation, the prosecutors want him behind bars. Whatever the outcome, his disgrace is complete, a path back to a normal life difficult to find let alone negotiate.

The day after I first saw Seldon enjoying his fame, he lost to Oliver McCall, who would also win a world title only to disintegrate into a psychological wreck. Seldon, whose skills seemed fragile, reassessed his lifestyle, signed for Don King and went on to win the vacant World Boxing Association title by stopping Tony Tucker.

When I talked to Seldon properly, it was in Las Vegas in August 1995. He was defending his WBA belt against a blubbery native American southpaw, Joe Hipp, and happily accepting second place to Mike Tyson, making his comeback against the eccentric no-hoper Peter McNeeley.

Seldon told his story with a quiet dignity at a small table in the press room. There were no minders hustling, few taking any interest in him. The boxing world revolved around Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Tyson and Evander Holyfield. In spite of his title, the "Atlantic City Express" was still in the heavyweight sidings.

Raised on the dangerous streets of Atlantic City, he had lived day to day, going nowhere. Then at 15, he and a friend had waved a gun around and mugged two old ladies for the contents of their purses outside Caesars. The sentence was 10 years, and he served four and a half in the Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Annandale, New Jersey. Inside he learned to box, won a state prisons title, and found a new life. "When they let me out, I stood on the beach, looking at the ocean and the tears streamed down my face," he said.

His mother, Joan Graham, had died in 1993, and as well as carrying a photograph of her, he listened to tapes of her singing with the church choir. "She will never leave me," he said. By then he was settled with fiancee Kayshea, and their son, Bruce Samuel Seldon junior, now four. "Getting engaged to be married and bringing my little boy into the world has helped me focus on what I have to do," he said.

But there was still a sadness in him, as if he knew he was a commodity to be manipulated as those who run boxing saw fit, as if what was happening had no true meaning. King called him "the most grateful and appreciative fighter I have ever run across". He was advised by old champion Larry Holmes to negotiate hard and make his money while he could, but that seemed to take more willpower than he possessed. Seldon said: "I understand that Don King is a businessman. Whatever he says has to be done."

He beat Joe Hipp, but unimpressively. And in September 1996 when he was matched with Tyson in another defence of the WBA belt, he knew the score. While he might have set out wanting to win, he was aware of the market forces. He was there to help rebuild Tyson's legend, and there were those who would consider it a commercial disaster if he won.

On his best day Seldon may not have been able to beat Tyson, but he walked to the ring like a condemned man and folded tamely in the first round. He did not attend the post-fight press conference and left Las Vegas a forgotten force. Boxing turned its attention to Tyson and Holyfield, which was to happen two months on. Shattered by the experience, he did not go near a gym for the next 12 months.

It was uncertain whether or not he still lived with Kayshea and Bruce junior, but he had picked up the girl on the morning of the day in which the offences happened. He said he believed she was over 18.

His long-time manager Rocco De Persia insists Seldon is still a nice guy who made a mistake in judgement. But the fact is that police found marijuana and firearms at his home. And whatever the sentence, he will have to register his whereabouts as a convicted sex offender.