Nice article in my local newspaper about my friend Boone Kirkman. I set up the interview with Boone and reporter Scott Hanson and was there for both the interview and the photo shoot. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports...s-a-mural-to-match-his-larger-than-life-past/
Great read. I spent some time in the Puget Sound area back in the 90's. Boone was still something of a legend then. Seems like legit bad @ss.
I still have a copy of "The Ring" magazine with Kirkman on the front in a square-up pose. The title read "Boone Kirkman - heavyweight title threat?" I think it was a 1968 issue.
Foreman gets zero respect for beating this guy when both were on the way up. We seldom get the undefeated prospects fighting each other since the loser takes such a big step back. But in the late 60's and through the 70's, you had a pretty fair amount of regional fighters that had decent enough careers but could not quite reach the national spotlight. And with an Al/Frazier/Foreman around, it was not an easy task becoming a national boxing name. And very few were signed with big promoters---most of the promoters were regional as well.
I enjoyed that. A really good article. Nice to see him in such good physical nick too (Bells palsy aside). Climbing Mt Rainier 8 times is nothing to sneeze at either. When I was in Canada I took a trip over the border to Washington state and drove all the way down to Tacoma over a few days and saw Mt Rainier first hand. It was a big arse , formidable looking volcano (I'm not sure if it's active or not) and would take some climbing.
I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity when it did. I'm still in awe watching Mt St Helens footage and the resulting devastation that caused. Mother nature is a scary ***** sometimes.
It's not far from Rainier, and in the same mountain range. They say that based on the geological record, Rainier is about 300 years overdue to go off. My place is in the path of the lahar flow, though I am on a hill. Let's just say I too hope it doesn't go anytime soon.
Seeing the pyroclastic flow from Mt St Helens I'm hoping you're on a big bloody hill. Seriously though if you feel any rumblings just get the hell away fast! The exclusion zones for those volcano's are huge but I'd want to be further away still. That said it's a very beautiful part of the world too. I'd risk the odd volcanic eruption every couple of hundred years to live my life there. A bit like that old guy who lived and perished at Spirit Lake. If I was his age I'd probably do the same.
Boone was like a rock star when he beat Jimmy Ellis in Seattle, I heard it was a great razor thin decision, Big George Foreman might have got the DQ had the referee been Mills Lane in 1970! Especially running across the ring and pushing Boone down at the bell. kirkman had a great record was ranked in the Worlds top ten (# 7 at best) a coupla differant years. Fought tough against Lyle and Norton. Nothing to be ashamed of BOONE KIRKMAN!
