SI used to cover boxing really well. They delved into the people that we sometimes forget boxers are. Good read with some stuff about Eusebio Pedroza I never knew. His political career, the fact that he was so far above fighting weight shortly before McGuigan (wouldn't have mattered, anyway had he been in better shape, but still)..........found it interesting too, to see him so unapologetic about his fouling. Don't agree with his stance, but a good insight nonetheless. http://www.si.com/vault/1985/05/20/638162/a-champ-with-lots-of-clout
I also like how the author juxtaposed Pedroza's cool with the comparative lack of dignity of Duran, as it was termed.
:goodNice read. Thanks Sal. Funny how the author said McGuigan was from Northern Ireland when he is actually from Monaghan.
:goodCheers. You're so right about the fact that SI used to cover boxing quite well. Looking forward to reading more of those vault articles.
Yes, SI fault is very valuable. When I was a senior in HS, as I cruised toward graduation, I quit my Computer Science class (the programming was the Pascal Language, LOL. This is like 28 yrs ago.) I filled the void by working as an student assistant in the Library. This consisted of about 10 minutes of "work" putting books back on the shelves. This usallly left me with about 30-40 minutes with nothing to do. I had two choices. I could study or........ I opted to "borrow" the key that opened the door to the stacks of old Magazines that were stored away in a corner of the Library. They had SI's going back 10 yrs - every issue between 1977-1987. I spent quite a bit of time reading the Boxing feature stories - most written by Pat Putnam or William Nack. These guys could paint a picture with words. Back then you had to have real talent to get a gig at an elite publication like SI. One of my favorites was one written by Clive Gammon about the first Saad Muhammad/Conteh fight. They also covered Saad Braxton I and II. Sugar Ray Leonard made 1981 Sportsman of the Year after beating Hearns. This year it was 'Sports Person' and Serena Willams won. LOL. Even women's Tennis trumps Boxing in the mainstream press nowadays.
Back in the late 60's when I was in middle school I was doing the library thing too. Go in the back room with all the back issues and read all the boxing articles. It kind of helped turn me into the fan I am today. Ruben Olivares, Nino, Napoles, Griffith, etc... They had microfilms of the old newspapers and you could look up boxing stuff like that too. Pretty cool:happy
I love reading old SI Articles on boxing. I printed out like a ton of them as PDF files to read on my phone.