Sorry, I can’t go along with a man who wanted to beat Muhammad Ali to “bring the championship back to America” — this about a man who also wore the red, white and blue and the Olympics and stood for his beliefs at great personal cost (about the most American thing a person could do) — and who also disparaged the Islamic religion while being a devoted, lifelong member of the Catholic Church (which had perpetrated war atrocities, set up torture chambers — see the Inquisition — and in more modern times served as a cover for pedophiles and shuffled them from place to place to keep allowing them to damage innocents while the church covered it up) … like that religion had anything for which to claim superiority over any other. Sorry, hard pass on Floyd as a nice guy.
I’ve met many well-known boxers. Among the nicest in my encounters were Larry Holmes (who I met twice) and David Reid. My second encounter with Larry was when he was boxing an exhibition (after his second career, or maybe way late along in it) and I had a guy on the undercard (four real bouts as I recall, I think all four-rounders so these guys were not stars, club fighter types) and I stuck my head in Larry’s locker room and said ‘hi champ’ and he invited me in. We chatted briefly and he asked me to take him to the locker rooms where the other fighters were and he came in and said hello and met all of them and thanked them for being there and gave them a little ‘let’s’ put on a good show’ type pep talk. He didn’t have to do any of that but it meant the world to those guys to hear a great champion take time to recognize them and you could feel the energy in that locker room after he left. Reid I met after his fighting career at a National Golden Gloves. He was there with a fighter (or maybe a few) and I recognized him and said hello and we ended up watching two or three fights together, sharing observations and such. Just absolutely no big-time about him. Just a couple of boxing guys watching some bright amateurs and trading thoughts on what we were watching.
Have met many nice guys & become friends Paulie Ayala, Gene Mad Dog Hatcher, all the Dave Gorman stable really. Dave himself was a real gent too, Curtis Cokes. Lennox Lewis was a really nice guy too Guess I was born Lucky
Interesting. Johnson appeared to physically shrink somewhat overall after his serious boxing career was over. Not to be funny or insulting but, illusory, relative head/body factor accounted for, Johnson’s head still appeared to have also gotten larger over the years.
Pugguy, the ravages and vicissitudes that result when inflicted upon us by a vengeful Father Time very greatly from man to man, as you yourself will surely find out.
Hahahaha at 64 and with arthritis in both knees and hips my half marathon times have suffered a bit. I also don't think I'll be weighing in at 143lbs ever again.
LOL, yes, these are things to look forward to, NOT. Haha. I do consider myself lucky thus far and do not take anything for granted, that’s for sure. Good health to you!