I was amazed by the athleticism. I had seen him fight so many times on tv that I thought I knew what to expect, but it was so different seeing him in person. A truly great athlete.
Roy Jones v. Bernard Hopkins I I was the only white dude in my lower upper deck seating area. RFK was in a mostly black neighborhood. Simon Brown v. Vincent Pettway Clubfighter Bobby Butters hung out and got drunk after his ko loss to Maurice Blocker. We had great seats near the floor. Frankie Randall was in attendance walking around with his cellphone on his ear the whole time. Some A$$ was taunting Michael Spinks about the Tyson loss even though it was seven years later. I was hoping Michael would lay him out with a Spinks Jinx. He looked like he wanted to
A few I can think of off the top of my head: Tyson-Spinks in Atlantic City (That weekend was like a boxing convention — the main show was on a Monday IIRC — and we saw George Foreman fight in a USA Network special one night and Hector Camacho the next, plus I went and caught Azumah Nelson vs. Lupe Suarez on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon) Holyfield-Qawi I Holyfield-Bert Cooper Holyfield-Vaughn Bean Others I’ve seen live include Michael Nunn, Simon Brown, Julian Jackson (Brown and Jackson on early-evening undercards of long Don King shows), Larry Holmes (in his 40s), Deontay Wilder, Shawn Porder-Andre Berto, Tommy Morrison, Joe Hipp … I’d have to think about it but the list goes on and on.
probably the most significant fight was froch vs ward and the uk fans were dead quiet in the arena that night. the boisterous fans from the glen johnson fight had the air taken out of them by wards dominant performance i went to two wilder fights at barclay and while they were not huge fights they were WBC heavyweight title fights and the crowd went nuts when he knocked out breazle and szpilka. the polish fans did not take it lying down either a few squabbles in the crowd between fans i went to provodnikov vs algieri and from my seat thought provodnikov was kicking his ass and laughed at the people in algieris camp acting like he was winning only to hear the decision and have to sprint to the subway and through penn station to catch the last train home
Electric is the only word I can think of. You could feel the buzz in the last 90 seconds before the bell and the 91 seconds after it. The coolest was Muhammad Ali entered somewhere during the undercard and we all got to chant ‘Ali! Ali! Ali!’ The undercard, by the way, included Truth Williams beating Trevor Berbick as well as this big guy with a helluva jab named Buster Douglas, Donovan Ruddock, Maurice Blocker and more.
Being selfish-----But it was a great night even though i did not attend.. Sorry. April 15th 1985. Hagler-Hearns. Went to the Hartford Civic Center by courtesy of a teacher with our fathers and schoolmates. Never in my life have I heard such a noise after the first round. Been to 8000 football and hockey games. A few Wrestling matches. I could not describe the level of energy in that arena that night, Cannot imagine in a bigger marketplace. As the eight minutes continued it just louder and louder. Mostly a pro Hagler crowd. Such a buildup before the fight and it delivered. When i watch it today I still get nervous about how Hagler is going to Handle TH's right hand. Bad note-------to be honest---- snuck off from parental guidance to gulp a few beers. No ID then. Got so sick that night I swore off beer for life. Dummy that I was -----hot dog inflected about 300 people that night. I still kept to the dogs and beer . Oh well Boxing gym years later. Instructor showed us that tape.... " this is how you fight"
Was that the Hartford showing with a live card that was supposed to feature Moochie Starling in the main event but Hearns broke his jaw in sparring, or was that maybe Hearns vs. Leonard I or Duran? I saw Hagler-Hearns with a local live undercard in an arena in a town about an hour away from where I lived.
Do not know the undercard..... unfortunately 4 beers put me away from reality. ( please no comments} Enjoyed Starling but he was not in the caliber of McCrory or McCallun. Well, maybe for one night, ..... U were in Springfield I imagine St Pat? Irish man
