What made you a fan of boxing?

Tackleberry · Jun 19, 2010

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SportsLeader · Jun 19, 2010

Nigel Benn vs Chris Eubank was my initiation into boxing, the hype, the expectation. The fight was a classic!

p.Townend · Jun 19, 2010

Prince Rodney won the british light middle title,he is a good mate of my dads,i started watching his fights and got hooked on the sport.

john garfield · Jun 19, 2010

demigawd said: ↑

I thought I'd do something a little different on this thread and ask what made you a die-hard boxing fan. What fight or moment in a fight managed to stick with you and affect you so profoundly that your passion reached a fever pitch and made boxing your favorite sport?

I was a little kid in the 80s, and while I liked Mike Tyson, I wasn't a "fan" of the sport at the time, probably because I was too young to be allowed to watch regularly. But watching Rocky IV sparked a curiosity in me that I hadn't previously felt because of the drama and grandiosity of it. Only a year later, I heard my family talking about Sugar Ray Leonard fighting a "giant".

I saw some of the press and the photos, and was instantly struck by what I saw. Sugar Ray Leonard (who I knew about and liked), was about to fight the guy who nearly killed Superman in Superman IV!

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He just seemed to tower over Sugar Ray. To make matters worse, my mother was terrified because she read that Sugar Ray was almost blind, so would have a hard time seeing punches coming. If he gets hit in the eye just one time, she said, he'll go blind permanently, and Nuclear Man will take advantage of this and kill him. I never knew anybody could die in the ring until I saw Rocky IV. Ironically, it was the one with the smaller black guy being killed by the huge blonde. An omen?

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If those advantages weren't enough, in came the big kicker. I don't remember where I heard this, and I don't even know if this is true, but I heard that Nuclear Man was being hypnotized before the fight to not feel pain and to only think about destroying Sugar Ray. :admin

I had to see this fight. I needed to, because I thought this poor man needs as much support as he can get, and I wanted to do my part to will him to victory - or at least survival. I begged and pleaded with my parents to get the fight, and my father, over my mother's objections, was able to get us to a friend's house who was showing it for $5 or some beer.

Nuclear Man - the huge, hypnotized Superman-slayer, looked focused and a little bit crazy. I just kept picturing him saying, "Destroy Superman" over and over while emerging from the locker room.

Sugar Ray Leonard - small, vulnerable, almost blind and one punch away from death, looked a little worried, like he knew what was coming.

I actually started to cry because I wasn't sure I was ready to watch a man die for real. Sugar Ray entered the ring dancing to Michael Jackson and what sounded like...James Brown, the same James Brown who ushered in Apollo Creed with "Living in America". Not a good sign. Nuclear Man made his ring entrance in a black cowl, no doubt to hide his crazy eyes from the hypnotism. Like Ivan Drago, there was no music as he entered. I knew I had to be strong for Ray, so I composed myself, sat down and watched in silence.

Then the bell rang.

I never felt that sort of anxiety, that sort of fear, or that sort of excitement watching anything. Not baseball, not basketball, not football, not even watching Hulk Hogan. Any time Nuclear Man hit Ray in the face, I jumped out of my seat, screaming for Ray's eyes not to explode on the canvas. But even after several hits to the face, Ray's eyes were still there.

So was the rest of Ray.

With each passing round, my faith in Ray grew and I started to believe that Ray could do it, that Ray could really survive this hypnotized villain who was programmed with sorcery to destroy Ray.

And then Round 4 came.

I remember this vividly - Leonard hit the giant square in the face a few times in the beginning, and the announcer said, "It has no effect on him". My fears were confirmed. Nuclear Man was completely brainwashed into a killing machine. My hopes started to fade from hearing that. That's when the other shoe dropped...and Ray went down. Ray hit this machine with everything, and it had no effect, and just like that, as though he was through toying with him, he knocked Ray down with one punch.

I jumped up, and started screaming at the TV - begging God to make Ray get up, still be able to see, and to be alright. God was merciful that time, but with tears streaming down my eyes, I knew that next time Ray was on his own. In between rounds, as if my anxiety couldn't get worse, I saw blood coming from his eye. Was this what happens right before someone goes blind? Was Ray about to lose his sight? "Please stop the fight", I said quietly, "I don't want him to die".

Amazingly, he didn't die. He didn't quit. In fact, he seemed to be getting...stronger? More than once, I heard the announcer say, "Ray hurt 'em right there!". How could he hurt a man hypnotized into not being hurt?

I finally realized it. Ray wasn't Apollo Creed fighting Ivan Drago. He was ROCKY fighting Ivan Drago. Cautiously, I crossed my fingers so tightly they turned blue, and hoped for a miracle. With each passing round Ray survived, I lept from the couch and cheered. But I also knew what he was up against. This wasn't Drago. This was Nuclear Man - the monster who almost killed SUPERMAN. But Superman won in the end, didn't he? He found a way to hurt him. He found a way to beat him. Would Ray become Superman?

The answer would finally come in the 9th round. A round I never, ever, would have seen coming. I was praying for Ray to survive, I was praying for his sight to remain intact. I was praying for Ray to finish without being too badly hurt. But instead, I was given a far greater finish...

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Sugar Ray Leonard KO9 Donnie LaLonde

I felt a surge throughout my body, and a days-long euphoric high that I wanted to feel over and over again.

I fell in love with boxing November 7, 1988 and I never looked back.

Tell me your story.
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Beautifully told, d.

nip102 · Jun 19, 2010

watching floyd sent hatton into a ringpost, then a few bernard dunne fights

Boxed Ears · Jun 19, 2010

I saw Nikolay Valuev training in the eighties at the same gym he gave ALI ALL-HE could handle for the upcoming Holmes match. This was in SNV's amateur days. It was a thing of pugilistic beauty and I've been hooked ever since.

Squire · Jun 19, 2010

As a kid my dad would have guys like Lewis, Eubank, Benn and Hamed on the telly. When I got older I watched Rocky films and the Contender. About 4 or 5 years ago I started watching Lewis fights on youtube, and in particular I found the Klitschko fight fascinating. Started following the Klitschkos, then other heavyweights, then all of the other big fights. I've always watched British fighters when I had the chance, but it was around 2006 I became a 'harcore' fan

I've been geting in shape for a few months now and intend to go along to a gym in 2 or 3 weeks to start boxing. Until recently I thought 22 was too old to start, but I've read some encouraging threads on here. Can't wait!

stevexx28 said: ↑

Woooww.. What a post, man I am so jealous, you knew the great SRR. God I wish I could see some of his prime welterweight bouts in clear video.
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+1

bulakenyo · Jun 19, 2010

Heavyweights: Tyson-Spinks, live
Middle weights: Leonard-Lalonde, live
Lighter weights: Gatti-Ruelas
Local fights: Lusito Espinosa

For many years, the only pro boxing division that existed, in my eyes, was heavyweight.

Nothing else mattered.

Plus, HW international fights were shown a lot more frequently, than lower weight fights, (except for the really big names) so I never really saw a lot of MW, CW, WW fights.

Badlok · Jun 19, 2010

really nice stroy demigawd! i love it :good

Xerant · Jun 19, 2010

dhralf said: ↑

For me it was lennox lewis in 97, I was only watching him, few time a years. But this fight was the real hook for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpdGFK_mqZI
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lol.. Hold the head and BOOM...

slantone · Jun 19, 2010

kostya tszyu.

his back to back wins over judah and mitchell. it was the time i saw an athlete- and thought- **** - that guy did what nobody thought he could- dominantly and twice. i was inspred by his ability to shut up two cocky and brash athletes while personoifying a spartan approach. i never stopped being a fan since kostya .

uglyandproud7 · Jun 19, 2010

watching saturday afternoons on occasion with my father was the original seeing (besides Rocky )

but the first cat that had me waiting for, buying magazines, etc and into a real fan of was:

JOHNNY TAPIA

emallini · Jun 19, 2010

Roy jones jr , mike tyson and naseem hamed made me a fan of the sport

Da Chin Chekka · Jun 19, 2010

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Ilesey · Jun 19, 2010

The Bowe - Holyfield fights.

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