A boxing thrill you had,NOT at a fight ?

nice one and i don't think i have anything that can compete. one of my biggest thrills to be certain was meeting lennox lewis at the airport here in canada. quiet and classy is all i can say. indulged a horribly nervous fan and was very nice about the whole thing. even took a few pictures with me and everything

 

Awesome stories

Someone in my family was/is friends with Ali. I still have an old clown stuffed animal thingy he gave me and my brother. It's tiny but it used to be my size when he gave it to us. I can only vaguely remember having an image of him in standing my old apartment. This was in the early 90's

 

I was a holiday rep a few years back in a hotel in Gran Canaria and I noticed a Mr E Maccarinelli and family were due to arrive. Sure enough it was Enzo and his family and I have to say he was a real gent. I spent a bit of time every day chatting to him about boxing and he always had time to sign autographs for any other guests that recognised him (which admittedly wasn't too many people!). When I took him to the airport, he stood around at 3am signing autographs and having his photo taken with other passengers, long past the point that I would have got annoyed with it. Not in the same league as Robinson or Lewis, but it was a big thrill to be able to talk to a World Champ when he was 'off-duty'. Even on holiday he spent a couple of hours a day jogging up very steep hills in 40 degree heat.

Limited boxer but a top-notch bloke.

 

Mine will pale into insignificance against those already posted, but I met Nicky Cook in a restaurant bar just after he beat Alex Arthur for the title, shook his hand and had a short chat, top fella.

Was the first and only time I've ever met a pro up close and was a good experience thankfully, can only imagine what I'd have been like if I'd met SRR or my hero Jack Dempsey, they'd probably have to scrape me off the floor

 

i remember at the calzaghe-jones fight winky wright was there taking a **** and someone spotted him. someone came back to the seats saying he was outside the shitter signing autographs. about 20 people busted out after him...

 

For me it would be my trips (that I plan on continuing) to the boxing hall of fame's induction weekend. Meeting guys such as Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Jose Torres, Emile Griffith, Angelo Dundee, Bert Sugar, Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Ernie Terrell, and Orlando Canizales. I've met many more aswell, I have a book that has over 40 autographs that i've gotten in just 2 trips to there.

 

****...i've been putting it off for years. i really need to go one of these times!

 

Do it. Angelo and Bert are fantastic with people, even Hagler was having a good time last year.

 

it's just unbelievable the sport that we love. can you imagine being a basketball fan and being able to having dinner with michael jordan or larry bird every year? boxers seem to really appreciate their fans

 

Most boxers are very humble. A big thrill that turned into something very common was going to Larry Holmes's gym and seeing Larry walk in for the first time. Now it has come to the point where Larry walks in and I don't even give a second glance.

 

****! that's awesome. i was in awe just going to gleason's. no big names were there i was just thrilled to be in a proper gym, with proper fighters, knowing zab judah could walk in at any moment

 

I met Carmen Basilio and Gene Fullmer back in 1959 at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. This was about a week after their first fight on August 28. I was 11 years old at the time and was impressed to no end at meeting these two famous boxers. I was with my father and a neighbor and we got to shake hands with Gene and Carmen. Nat Fleischer, the editor of "Ring" magazine was there interviewing the two fighters. Gene brought Carmen two puppies from Utah. They were dogs that could be used for hunting as Basilio was an avid hunter. I have lately seen some photos of Fullmer and Basilio for sale on Ebay that were taken at that 1959 state fair in Syracuse.

 

At first you are in awe that you are working out alongside a very high level fighter, but it wears off quickly and soon you don't even notice unless they are doing something for attention.

 

As Larry Holmes has been one of my all time favorite fighters, I made the trip to watch his last fight in Norfolk at the Scope arena. I arrived a couple days early to be able to watch some training. Larry is a VERY approachable guy and after hanging with him he invited my girlfriend any myself to the after fight party at his hotel. Aside from meeting and talking to Eric (Butterbean) Esch, I was fortunate to meet many of the fellow fighters that attended the fight. Leon Spinks, Gerry Cooney as well as Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Earnie Shavers and many others. Now after Larry came back from the fight we talked a bit and after a little "incident" Diane Holmes has Larry making an early retirement to the hotel room. I was finishing a conversation with Al Bernstein when my girlfriend came over and said she wanted me to meet someone. This "person" was none other than Smokin Joe Frazier. His daughter Jackie was on the undercard and Marvis was there as well. We (Jackie, Marvis, Joe, Debbie (girlfriend) and I) sat and talked for a while. Soon Jackie left to her room. Another hour goes by and Marvis leaves. Debbie, Smokin Joe and myself sit in the bar and talk till nearly 6 am interrupted only by the occasional autograph seeking bellman or taxi cab driver, who's requests were happily fulfilled by Joe. What a man too. Much like Larry in fact. Both have a hilarious sense of humor, tell great stories and can converse on so many subects other than boxing. One never to be forgotten weekend!