Boxing
Johnny Tocco
A neighborhood gym behind the city’s championship fight business.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileRingside Gym at Charleston Boulevard and Main Street.
PROMOTERS & BUILDERS
The people
behind the event.
The matchmakers, executives, organizers and resort partners who helped make Las Vegas a sports destination.
14 profiles
Boxing
Kenny Bayless
The third person in the ring at some of boxing’s biggest nights.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileUNLV graduate and referee for major Las Vegas bouts.
Sports media
Al Bernstein
A familiar voice explaining the fights to audiences outside the arena.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileBoxing broadcasting and Las Vegas charitable involvement.
Sports administration
Marc Ratner
A long local career on the rules-and-officials side of sports.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileLas Vegas High graduate; Nevada commission and UFC regulatory work.
Boxing
Bob Arum
The promoter behind decades of major fights and a Las Vegas-based boxing business.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileMoved Top Rank’s headquarters to Las Vegas in 1986.
Boxing
Don King
A national and international promoter central to the city’s heavyweight business.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileRecurring major Las Vegas promotions, including the Tyson era.
Boxing
Oscar De La Hoya
A headline fighter became a promoter of the next generation.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileMajor Las Vegas bouts as a fighter and Golden Boy promotions as an executive.
Boxing
Leonard Ellerbe
The business figure beside the fighter at many of the city’s biggest fight weeks.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileLongtime executive and adviser in Mayweather’s Las Vegas-centered business.
MMA
Dana White
A local operating base behind a worldwide fight schedule.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileLas Vegas-based UFC executive during its expansion into a global business.
MMA
Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta III
The owners who financed a major phase of the UFC’s development.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileLas Vegas casino-business family; former UFC owners and local sports donors.
Sports business
Richard Sturm
The resort-side dealmaker behind major fights and arena programming.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileMGM entertainment and sports executive; later Las Vegas Live Entertainment & Sports.
Boxing
Richard Steele
An official who also helped create opportunities beyond the main event.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileChampionship referee, Las Vegas promoter and youth-gym organizer.
Rodeo
Shawn Davis
A champion rider became an architect of the city’s December rodeo season.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileHelped move the NFR to Las Vegas; general manager from 1986 through 2018.
Sports business
Pat Christenson
The organizer connecting university buildings to a citywide event calendar.
THE VEGAS CONNECTION
Read the profileUNLV venue management and longtime Las Vegas Events leadership.
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A selected, researched directory. “Born / raised locally” includes people raised in the Valley who were born elsewhere; the biography states the specific tie. Historical milestones are not live career totals.