Spinks was quite funny too. At the press conference after the Spinks - EMM no show fight a feud started between Mustafa's group and Dwight Qawi's, there were bikies i think in EMM's group. Spinks was at the head table being interviewed. He says everyone shut up i'm talking and then smiles as everyone arced up yelling knowing full well he'd trolled them before trolling was even talked about
He was hilarious after beating Holmes at the infamous 'jockstrap' press conference. He had a cold and his voice kept going falsetto. And he was so funky after he beat Pops, giving with Saad Muhammad. Great guy.
I'm convinced that Frazier's hatred of Ali intensified over the years and decades as he continued to brood on it. It was literally obsessive and a prime example of someone living rent free in your head.
Most have been very nice people. Tito is as nice a person and a humble a man can be of any person you could ever really meet. He’s truly special. Ortiz and Jofre too, yes, absolutely lovely people. Ruben Olivares, much like Carlos Zárate too. Very friendly people, no ego. A few years ago, I was talking with Zárate at lunch with his son and I was saying I had taken a few days off work and could take him here and there and he said “Chris, I just want to see you.” That’s what he’s like. Also, guys like Israel Vazquez, Yaqui López, Danny López, Michael Spinks you can’t really meet nicer and more genuine people. It’s great to be around such kindness and humility. Roberto Duran is another. Yes, like Tito, he’s a superstar and national hero etc; but he’ll treat you the same as he would a rock star. He’s very friendly and funny. Jeff Fenech too, he’d give you the shirt off his back.
Hi Buddy. Also to continue with the brits, I have met and chatted to , Alan Rudkin, Johnny Clark, Ken Buchanan, John Conteh, both the Finnigan's Johnny Pritchett, Carl Thompson, Mark Rowe, and many more, all were friendly, polite, and giving of their time, only the brooding, surly, Frankie Lucas and Lloyd Honeyghan broke the mold, the rest gentleman one and all. Stay safe Eddie, always enjoy your input,chat soon.
Max Schmeling saved the lives of two Jewish children by hiding them in his Berlin apartment during Kristallnacht, if he had been caught then Max would not have seen another birthday shall we say. Plus Schmeling refused to sack his Jewish manager Joe Jacobs, despite the Reich insisting, refusing orders of Hitler at that time had a high risk of being detrimental to ones life. So i put forward Mr Schmeling, putting your life on the line like that, means you are a decent and brave guy in my books.
Based on a very brief encounter when he was sill champ, Leo Santa Cruz was as nice as could be. It was after the weigh-in when he was defending his title on the Deontay Wilder-Stiverne I undercard in Las Vegas. Of course some of the guys stay around to mix with fans and such and he was as accommodating as I’ve ever seen, taking selfies and whatnot. Well on the way out we end up next to each other and I’m looking at his WBC belt (which he has over his shoulder) and took out my camera to get a pic of it and he stops and says, ‘Would you like to hold it?’ Just out of the blue. So of course, I said sure and he just hands it to me with a big smile. I thanked him and held it and checked it out and he says ‘did you want a picture?’ So I got a shot with Leo and then a close-up of the belt, which is still the screen saver on my phone. I thanked him again and wished him luck and we went on our ways. And I’m thinking, ‘this guy is defending that title in like 24 hours and he’s completely carefree and taking care of his fans and just soaking it all in.’ I mean, who literally asks ME if I want to hold the belt and just hands it over to me like it was a takeout menu? I can tell you he made a fan for life right there.