Scott LeDoux

Alan Scott LeDoux, nicknamed "The Fighting Frenchman," (January 7, 1949 – August 11, 2011) was a politician, professional heavyweight boxer, professional wrestler and referee.

Career

Boxing

LeDoux began his professional boxing career in 1974. His first boxing match was a knockout victory over Arthur Pullens. LeDoux's final bout in 1983 was a technical knockout loss to Frank Bruno. LeDoux retired with a record of 33-13-4 (22 knockouts).

LeDoux's opponents included Ken Norton, Ron Lyle, Gerrie Coetzee, Leon Spinks, Greg Page, Frank Bruno, George Foreman, Mike Weaver, and Larry Holmes. In his match with Leon Spinks, LeDoux earned a 'draw', just months before Spinks defeated Ali. He also scored a KO over broadcaster Howard Cosell's infamous toupee knocking it off in front of millions of ABC network viewers in a scuffle that followed a losing effort with Johnny Boudreaux. LeDoux insisted the fight was fixed by Don King and he ranted to Cosell to "Tell it like it is" mimicking Cosell's famous catch phrase. A pushing match ensued and in the process, Cosell's headset along with his toupee was dislodged by an errant LeDoux shove in front of live ABC cameras. Cosell quickly retrieved his hair from the floor and replaced it on top of his head. LeDoux also took part in a five round exhibition match with Muhammad Ali. LeDoux over the course of his career also sparred with Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.

LeDoux's best achievements were that he scored draws against Leon Spinks and an ageing Ron Lyle. He also nearly knocked out a past his peak Ken Norton in round ten, when after some confusion as to whether the ref had signalled the fight over or not it was declared a draw. Never a 'fancy dan' fighter style-wise as they say in the trade, Ledoux was probably underrated in much of his career- he had met many tough top-name opponents.

On April 22, 1976, LeDoux lost to fellow Minnesotan Duane Bobick before a crowd of 13,789, which is still a Minnesota record.^[1]

LeDoux later worked as a ringside commentator for ESPN and in 1986 as a referee for the American Wrestling Association.

It was announced on July 5, 2010 that LeDoux would be a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.^[2]

Politics

LeDoux was elected to the Anoka County, Minnesota Board of County Commissioners^[3] and re-elected in 2008, defeating challenger Becky Fink.^[4]

In 2006, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the creation of a state Boxing Commission. LeDoux was appointed boxing commissioner by the state Governor Tim Pawlenty. In August 2006 LeDoux was also named Executive Director of the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission.

Controversy

• In 2007, the Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Melanie Benjamin, objected to LeDoux's public criticism of her band and their boxing matches at the Grand Casino Hinckley Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota.^[5]
• In November 2007, LeDoux was accused by boxing promoter John Hoffman of "insulting and assaulting" him at a boxing event in Maplewood, Minnesota.^[6] LeDoux claims that Hoffman was intoxicated and fabricated the story.^[6]
• In December 2008 a state investigation revealed that LeDoux, in his capacity as head of the Combative Sports Commission, accepted free tickets to an MMA event, some of which had a face value of $600. This was determined to be a violation of state ethics rules.^[7]
• In January 2009, commission member Chad Ridler resigned in protest "of the inaction of the commission in providing oversight of Scott LeDoux...He's unaccountable".^[8]

Personal life

LeDoux was diagnosed with ALS or "Lou Gehrig's Disease" in August 2008. A point of note however is that a 2010 study, see Wikipedia link to, questioned the diagnosis in athletes who'd experienced head trauma or repeated concussions. It suggests some may have a variant of Dementia Pugilistica, known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or Boxer's Syndrome.^{[9] [10]} LeDoux was a member of the National Board of Directors of the Wishes and More.^[11] He was also honorary chair of the American Cancer Society. LeDoux founded a golf tournament called the Scott LeDoux Long Haul Classic.

LeDoux died of his illness on August 11, 2011.^[12][13]

Professional boxing record

33 Wins (22 knockouts, 11 decisions), 13 Losses (7 knockouts, 5 decisions), 4 Draws[1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	14-0	Frank Bruno	TKO	3	03/05/1983	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London	Referee stopped the bout at 1:35 of the third round.
Win	17-8	Ken Arlt	UD	10	07/04/1983	Marriott Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Win	7-7	Larry Ware	TKO	7	28/02/1983	Edmonton, Alberta
Win	--	Steve Ward	KO	8	13/11/1982	Gillette, Minnesota
Win	--	Marlo Malino	KO	5	27/10/1982	Schollander Pavilion, West Fargo, North Dakota
Loss	31-2	Gordon Racette	SD	10	23/09/1982	PNE Agrodome, Vancouver, British Columbia	95-96, 97-94, 97-98.
Loss	26-3	Gerrie Coetzee	KO	8	27/03/1982	Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Win	--	Steve Sanchez	KO	8	25/02/1982	Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Loss	17-0	Greg Page	TKO	4	11/12/1981	Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas	IBF USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win	4-17-1	Arnold Sam	PTS	10	30/07/1981	Gillette, Minnesota
Win	4-13	Reggie Fleming	KO	2	24/04/1981	Billings, Montana
Loss	34-0	Larry Holmes	TKO	7	07/07/1980	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	WBC World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:05 of the seventh round.
Win	21-0-1	Marty Monroe	UD	10	09/03/1980	Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Loss	20-9	Mike Weaver	UD	12	24/11/1979	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	IBF USBA Heavyweight Title. 110-118, 114-117, 108-117.
Draw	41-6	Ken Norton	PTS	10	19/08/1979	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	95-94, 94-95, 95-95.
Loss	36-5-1	Ron Lyle	SD	10	12/05/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada	45-44, 44-45, 45-46.
Win	40-7	James J. Beattie	TKO	3	20/02/1979	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win	4-5	Joe Donatto	KO	3	15/12/1978	Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska
Win	0-1	James Brown	KO	2	10/11/1978	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Brown knocked out at 1:42 of the second round.
Win	4-32	Sylvester Wilder	KO	2	03/10/1978	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Draw	17-2	Bill Sharkey	PTS	10	26/09/1978	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Draw	5-0	Leon Spinks	PTS	10	22/10/1977	Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada	46-46, 46-45, 45-47.
Loss	38-1	Duane Bobick	TKO	8	28/07/1977	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	Minnesota Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the eighth round.
Win	18-5-1	Tom Prater	TKO	7	23/06/1977	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win	15-3-1	Pedro Soto	SD	10	02/03/1977	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Loss	19-1-1	Johnny Boudreaux	UD	8	13/02/1977	Halsey Field House, Annapolis, Maryland
Win	3-1	Rocky Bentley	KO	2	30/11/1976	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Loss	42-1	George Foreman	TKO	3	14/08/1976	Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York	Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the third round.
Loss	27-0-1	John Dino Denis	UD	10	26/06/1976	Providence, Rhode Island
Loss	34-0	Duane Bobick	UD	10	22/04/1976	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	Minnesota Heavyweight Title. 92-100, 91-99, 92-100.
Win	22-7-2	Larry Middleton	PTS	10	09/03/1976	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	10-5-1	Bill Carson	KO	9	07/02/1976	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	27-7-2	Ron Stander	UD	10	10/12/1975	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	99-94, 99-90, 100-90.
Win	14-25-2	Brian O'Melia	UD	10	23/09/1975	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Draw	22-26-4	George Johnson	PTS	10	14/08/1975	Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota	Decision for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response.
Win	34-19-1	Terry Daniels	TKO	6	08/07/1975	Orlando Sports Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Win	33-4	Rodney Bobick	UD	10	23/04/1975	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota	100-94, 100-90, 99-90.
Loss	18-19-2	Roy Wallace	TKO	2	14/03/1975	University of Minnesota Armory, Saint Paul, Minnesota	Referee stopped the bout at 1:45 of the second round.
Win	19-14	Larry Renaud	TKO	6	29/01/1975	Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, Minnesota
Win	1-0-1	CJ Bar Brown	PTS	6	18/01/1975	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Win	8-5	John L Johnson	KO	5	22/11/1974	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	7-4	Lou Rogan	PTS	10	08/11/1974	Crosby, Minnesota
Win	1-1	Ron Draper	KO	10	08/10/1974	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	8-4-1	Tom Berry	KO	4	13/08/1974	Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	6-4-2	Joe Batton	KO	6	31/07/1974	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win	2-0	Larry Penniger	KO	5	23/05/1974	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	4-3	Reggie Fleming	KO	3	15/05/1974	Saint Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Win	--	Steve Patterson	PTS	6	23/04/1974	Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	1-3	Floyd Cox	TKO	3	14/03/1974	Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	--	Arthur Pullins	KO	3	04/02/1974	Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

References

1. 1 2 "Scott LeDoux". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
2. ↑ "The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame Announces Inaugural Class of 2010". Minnesotaboxing.com. July 5, 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
3. ↑ "Former prize fighter Scott LeDoux upends incumbent Anoka County Commissioner Dave McCauley". Former prize fighter Scott LeDoux upends incumbent Anoka County Commissioner Dave McCauley. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
4. ↑ "County board incumbents re-elected". County board incumbents re-elected. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
5. ↑ Levy, Paul (October 16, 2007). "Scott LeDoux: Still fighting". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
6. 1 2 Demko, Paul (March 19, 2008). "Beer as combat sport: Boxing commissioner Scott LeDoux unleashes "Miller Lite Technique"". City Pages. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
7. ↑ Pugmire, Tim (December 19, 2008). "Investigation: head of Combatitive Sports Commission violated ethics". Minnesota Public Radio News. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
8. ↑ Von Sternberg, Bob (January 16, 2009). "Boxing panel member resigns over dispute". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
9. ↑ Former Boxer LeDoux Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's NY Times, January 27, 2009
10. ↑ "Scott LeDoux fighting his toughest foe: Lou Gehrig's disease". Scott LeDoux fighting his toughest foe: Lou Gehrig's disease. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
11. ↑ "AboutUs/Directors". Wishesandmore.org. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
12. ↑ Hevesi, Dennis (August 12, 2011). "Scott LeDoux, Gritty Heavyweight Boxing Contender, Dies at 62". The New York Times. 
13. ↑ "LeDoux's legacy is his charity work, friend says | BrainerdDispatch.com | Brainerd, Minnesota". BrainerdDispatch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 

External links

• Professional boxing record for Scott LeDoux from BoxRec