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Teddy Brenner (1918 – January 7, 2000) was an Americans boxing matchmaker and promoter of boxing matches at Madison Square Garden. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
Growing up in Borough Park, Brenner played sports like punchball, stickball, and craps. At James Madison High School, he excelled in basketball and befriended boxers at Crystal Gym in Brooklyn. His interest in boxing grew after meeting Irving Cohen, a boxing instructor at the Jewish Community Center of Bensonhurst.
Teddy Brenner entered boxing in 1937, but his career was halted by service in the Second World War. After serving in the Pacific as a Seabee with the United States Navy in World War II, he returned home in 1946 and transitioned back into boxing.
He and Irving Cohen, who was a matchmaker at a small club in New Brunswick, New Jersey, made the weekly trip to N.J. for the club's fights. On the drive back to Brooklyn, he often asked, "Why did you match so-and-so with so-and-so?" Cohen, busy managing fighters like Rocky Graziano, passed matchmaking duties at the New Brunswick boxing club, to him that year. His expertise in matchmaking soon brought him to Manhattan's 3,500-seat St. Nicholas Arena, operated by Madison Square Garden.
Brenner matched Joe Louis against Jersey Joe Walcott which was hosted at the Garden in December 1947.
Brenner and promoter Emil Lence cut a deal with the DuMont Television Network in 1953 to televise fights on Monday nights from the arena. Boxing from Eastern Parkway changed networks in May 1954, moving from DuMont to the American Broadcasting Company.
During his time at Eastern Parkway and St. Nicholas Arena, he "discovered Tommy Hurricane Jackson, introduced Gene Fullmer, and nurtured Joey Giardello."
Accused of prejudice by boxer Jimmy Dupree in 1965, Brenner faced pressure from the NAACP. Given ticket sales' importance in matchmaking, Brenner agreed to match Dupree with Johnny Persol when the organization offered to sell $10,000 in tickets. He later claimed only two $3 tickets had been sold by them and the rest were returned.
Brenner was instrumental in the development of Joe Frazier. He made the match of Frazier against Jimmy Ellis at the Garden on February 16, 1970. In 1971, he staged the first heavyweight championship bout between 26-0 Joe Frazier and 31-0 Muhammad Ali, dubbed the "Fight of the Century". The Garden saw the two undefeated fighters collide on March 8, 1971, with 7-0 Rahaman Ali headlining the co-main event. The next morning, Brenner quipped, "I got both Alis knocked off on the same night," referring to Rahaman and Muhammad Ali's losses. Through the matchmaking of Teddy Brenner, the Garden saw Emile Griffith, Floyd Patterson, Roberto Durán, Earnie Shavers, and Ali take their first loss.
In the summer of 1973, Teddy Brenner was introduced to heavyweight contender Earnie Shavers by Don King, who proposed a title bout at the Garden with Jerry Quarry. Instead, Quarry pulled out, and Shavers faced former champion Jimmy Ellis, securing a first-round knockout victory. Shortly after, Brenner invested $7,000 in promoting the Quarry vs. Shavers fight at Madison Square Garden, only for it to be postponed after Shavers fractured his jaw while sparring. Brenner rescheduled the postponed bout for December 1973, ending in Shavers' defeat. King resented Brenner for refusing to give Shavers a redemption fight at the Garden. Years later, Brenner staged the September 1977 Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers fight for a sell-out crowd at the Garden. Brenner, heading Madison Square Garden Boxing, thought Ali should step away from the sport even though he had beaten Shavers and remained a major draw. He had made the suggestion to Ali's manager Jabir Herbert Muhammad. Brenner vowed to never make Ali an offer to fight at the Garden again, stating "if Madison Square Garden wants him (Ali) back, they will have to replace me to do it." He said, "I never thought I'd live to see the day when Muhammad Ali's greatest asset was his ability to take a punch."
When Sonny Werblin became head of the Madison Square Garden Corporation in January 1978, the boxing program at the legendary arena was in a state of decline. Disagreements over match decisions and Brenner's displeasure with Don King's move into the Garden led to Werblin dismissing Brenner and replacing him with Gil Clancy.
In September 1978, the Garden's longest-serving matchmaker's tenure ended and he became an independent boxing promoter. His plan was to put together fight packages for television, targeting either a well-established network or Teddy Brenner Fights, Inc. The following month, he finalized a three-year promotional contract with Alexis Argüello and his manager, Dr. Eduardo Roman.
Brenner is credited with coining the phrase "Styles make fights."
In 1981, he released an autobiography titled Only the Ring Was Square in collaboration with sports writer Barney Nagler.
Brenner was later inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. Promoter Bob Arum said, "There will never be another matchmaker like Teddy Brenner."
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