Following high school, Brenner worked as a shipping clerk and salesman for a
Manhattan shirt manufacturer. In his free time, he spent weekends at
Lou Stillman's Gym in Manhattan. 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 recalled Norris saying, "What are you worried about? If I ask you to use certain fighters every once and a while, don't ask any questions," to which he replied, "Jim, one day the ---- is going to hit the fan. And when it does, I don't want to be here." The matchmaker left and started a club in Brooklyn.
Boxing from Eastern Parkway changed networks in May 1954, moving from DuMont to the
American Broadcasting Company.
St. Nicholas Arena After ABC ended its broadcast deal in 1955, Brenner returned to St. Nicholas Arena, where the Du Mont network aired its Monday night fights. This time, he handled both promotion and matchmaking duties as the New York Boxing Club Inc. using his own funds. 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.
Vice President After seeking a $10,000 raise in 1969, the Garden matchmaker was instead given a $5,000 raise and promoted to vice president of Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc. As the main figure in selecting and negotiating with fighters, Brenner was given considerable freedom by Markson, who held the final responsibility for the Garden's boxing shows and their financial outcomes. Brenner considered himself the best matchmaker in the business. He understood the fan appeal of closely matched, unpredictable bouts. One-time fight manager Marv Jensen said, "Teddy will match a guy you wouldn't think had a chance against another. But he knows different. He knows this guy has a style or an asset that will offset advantages of the other guy. And he also knows the drawing power of the fighters. He can predict within a few dollars what a match will draw. He knows the heartbeat of a fighter—and the fight fan." 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". Through the matchmaking of Teddy Brenner, the Garden saw
Emile Griffith,
Floyd Patterson,
Roberto Durán,
Earnie Shavers, and Ali take their first loss. Markson said, "Teddy Brenner is the best man in boxing today. There is no one who knows the game as well as he. If anyone can keep boxing at a top flight at the Garden, Teddy Brenner can." 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.
Top Rank The longtime matchmaker joined
Bob Arum's
Top Rank, Inc. in 1979. ==Personal life==