Your experience meeting boxers/boxing personnel (good and bad)

Great post mate.

 

Met Nigel Benn and as we'd both served, had a bit of common ground, his missus was nice, although he got annoyed about Prizefighter tournaments that were running at the time, "£32 f***ING grand for a few rounds and people are throwing JABS"?!

Had a photo with Sugar Ray Leonard, got totally star struck when he shook my hand and said "hey man how're you doin"?

Think I mumbled some unintelligible bollocks hahaha, he must have thought I was some sort of moron (he'd be right)!

I grew up watching him, boxing royalty!

Met Joe Egan a few times, hilarious bloke, full of blarney and always laughing.

 

Joseph Parker. Top bloke. When they all say he's the nicest guy in boxing, it's probably true. Really polite and takes just as much interest in what a nobody like me was up to haha. Kevin Barry, his old trainer was with him too. Could tell he's quite a hard nosed, no nonsense character, but had a good chat to him, really passionate about his boxing.

 

Used to have chats with Alex Arthur when we used the same gym roughly around 2010, nice guy who always had time for folk and loved talking boxing

 

Come on mate spill. It was Kugan, wasn't it?

 

The one I did want to meet was Iron Mike Tyson but he got banned from entering the UK.

Yet they let all these terrorists in.

 

Mayweather, Pacman, S Mosley, F Roach, T Fury, Bruno, Benn, Eubank, Joshua, Watson, Frampton, Spencer Oliver, Lee Selby, Kevin Mitchell, Herol Graham, Degale, Chisora, D Haye, Don Charles the Conlan brothers, Graham Earl, Katsidis, J Smyle to name a few. Not a bad word to say about any of them, all of them were top top blokes, all very engaging.

 

Really interesting thread and great that most people’s experiences are positive. I’m both lucky and old enough to have knocked around boxing gyms for years and have met, trained alongside and even shared a ring with some good professionals.

 

The only boxer I've met - and he was a real old skool gentleman - was Brian London.

I was aged about 16 or 17 and he signed my Boxing Programme that I'd bought at the event.

Lovely bloke (RIP).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_London

 

I met Tim Witherspoon and Joe Egan, years ago I was working behind the bar and it was a sportsmans dinner type thing. Both sound,and both tipped well. Still waiting for someone to say they met someone and they were a bellend....

 

Would love to hear more mate. Who have you shared a ring with?

 

He used to own a nightclub in Blackpool

 

Oleksandr Usyk - saw him in the middle of New York the morning after Joshua v Ruiz. Asked him for a photo to which he smiled and said yes. What a man.

Ricky Hatton - been in the same bar as him in Tenerife a few times and he's always hammered and just coming across a nob. Was on his own telling random people their clothes were crap and stuff. Bit strange.

Kid Galahad - surprisingly sound.

Ohara Davies - stayed in the same hotel as him in Dubai. Also sound.

 

Met and or worked with loads of fighters/promoters/trainers/managers over the last 15 or so years.

If you ignore their on screen / in the ring persona most are really likeable.

Of the 100's I've met, there are only 3 I'd say I don't like.

 

Liam, Callum and Stephen Smith, Ernie Shavers, David Price, Derry Mathews, Bellew. All just out and about nothing too major but all sound. Dodson at a weigh in and then during an application for the Fire Service he was my guide during the blind, crawling, through a rat run with mask on test. Not the best test for me as I’m tall and you are blind and have to squeeze through tiny gaps which almost knock your apparatus off etc. anyway got stuck/lost half way and almost cocked it up with time ticking. He was proper shouting and willing me on haha.

Anthony Fowler is sound and has time for you doesn’t think he’s above you.

My mum and dad bumped into Nigel Benn in Majorca in 2001 and spent ages with him had a meal with him etc. They said he was very pleasant and was talking about both having a son called Conor/Connor. My dad was immune to bull ****, no arse licker and a cynic so for him to say how sound he was he must have been a genuine fella.

Pre Ruiz Joshua came into my old work as he was sponsored by them and everyone melted. I’m talking fella’s with kids older than him running to take a peek. I wasn’t interested.