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.

Scott LeDoux
Statistics
Real nameAlan Scott LeDoux
Nickname(s)The Fighting Frenchman
Weight(s)Heavyweight
NationalityAmerican
Born(1949-01-07)January 7, 1949
Crosby-Ironton, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedAugust 11, 2011(2011-08-11) (aged 62)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins33
Wins by KO22
Losses13
Draws4
No contests0

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 from the ring with a record of 33-13-4 (including 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 knocked off broadcaster Howard Cosell's toupee 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 Ken Norton, who won the first 8 rounds clear but then tired. But Scott nearly knocked out the 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.

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, the Minnesota Board of Boxing having gone out of existence in 2001 with the retirement of longtime Boxing Commissioner and Executive Secretary Jimmy O'Hara, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_O%27Hara. (LeDoux and O'Hara had served together on the Minnesota Board of Boxing for 18 years.) 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 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or "Lou Gehrig's Disease" in August 2008. A 2010 study, see Wikipedia link to, questioned the diagnosis in athletes who had 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 34–12–4 Frank Bruno TKO 3 03/05/1983 Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Win 33–12–4 Ken Arlt UD 10 07/04/1983 Marriott Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Win 32–12–4 Larry Ware TKO 7 28/02/1983 Edmonton, Alberta
Win 31–12–4 Steve Ward KO 8 13/11/1982 Gillette, Minnesota
Win 30–12–4 Marlo Malino KO 5 27/10/1982 Schollander Pavilion, West Fargo, North Dakota
Loss 29–12–4 Gordon Racette SD 10 23/09/1982 PNE Agrodome, Vancouver, British Columbia
Loss 29–11–4 Gerrie Coetzee KO 8 27/03/1982 Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Win 29–10–4 Steve Sanchez KO 8 25/02/1982 Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Loss 28–10–4 Greg Page TKO 4 12/11/1981 Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas IBF USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 28–9–4 Arnold Sam PTS 10 30/07/1981 Gillette, Minnesota
Win 27–9–4 Reggie Fleming KO 2 24/04/1981 Billings, Montana
Loss 26–9–4 Larry Holmes TKO 7 07/07/1980 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota For WBC heavyweight title
Win 26–8–4 Marty Monroe UD 10 09/03/1980 Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Loss 25–8–4 Mike Weaver UD 12 24/11/1979 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota For IBF USBA Heavyweight Title
Draw 25–7–4 Ken Norton PTS 10 19/08/1979 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Loss 25–7–3 Ron Lyle SD 10 12/05/1979 Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 25–6–3 James J. Beattie TKO 3 20/02/1979 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win 24–6–3 Joe Donatto KO 3 15/12/1978 Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska
Win 23–6–3 James Brown KO 2 10/11/1978 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 22–6–3 Sylvester Wilder KO 2 03/10/1978 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Draw 21–6–3 Bill Sharkey PTS 10 26/09/1978 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Draw 21–6–2 Leon Spinks PTS 10 22/10/1977 Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 21–6–1 Duane Bobick TKO 8 28/07/1977 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota For Minnesota Heavyweight Title
Win 21–5–1 Tom Prater TKO 7 23/06/1977 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win 20–5–1 Pedro Soto SD 10 02/03/1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City
Loss 19–5–1 Johnny Boudreaux UD 8 13/02/1977 Halsey Field House, Annapolis, Maryland
Win 19–4–1 Rocky Bentley KO 2 30/11/1976 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Loss 18–4–1 George Foreman TKO 3 14/08/1976 Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Loss 18–3–1 John Dino Denis UD 10 26/06/1976 Providence, Rhode Island
Loss 18–2–1 Duane Bobick UD 10 22/04/1976 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota For Minnesota Heavyweight Title
Win 18–1–1 Larry Middleton PTS 10 09/03/1976 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 17–1–1 Bill Carson KO 9 07/02/1976 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 16–1–1 Ron Stander UD 10 10/12/1975 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win 15–1–1 Brian O'Melia UD 10 23/09/1975 Saint Paul, Minnesota
Draw 14–1–1 George Johnson PTS 10 14/08/1975 Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota Decision for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response.
Win 14–1 Terry Daniels TKO 6 08/07/1975 Orlando Sports Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Win 13–1 Rodney Bobick UD 10 23/04/1975 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Loss 12–1 Roy Wallace TKO 2 14/03/1975 University of Minnesota Armory, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Win 12–0 Larry Renaud TKO 6 29/01/1975 Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, Minnesota
Win 11–0 CJ Bar Brown PTS 6 18/01/1975 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Win 10–0 John L Johnson KO 5 22/11/1974 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 9–0 Lou Rogan PTS 10 08/11/1974 Crosby, Minnesota
Win 8–0 Ron Draper KO 10 08/10/1974 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 7–0 Tom Berry KO 4 13/08/1974 Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 6–0 Joe Batton KO 6 31/07/1974 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win 5–0 Larry Penniger KO 5 23/05/1974 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 4–0 Reggie Fleming KO 3 15/05/1974 Saint Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Win 3–0 Steve Patterson PTS 6 23/04/1974 Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 2–0 Floyd Cox TKO 3 14/03/1974 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win 1–0 Arthur Pullins KO 3 04/02/1974 Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

References
  1. "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. Archived from the original on November 2, 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. 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 August 17, 2012.
  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 August 17, 2012.
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