First Fight You Sat and Watched

I watched a lot of fights as a kid before I actually planned to watch a fight. I watched a lot of sports as a kid, especially NFL, MLB and ABC's Wide World of Sports. Sometimes I'd leave the channel on and a fight would be on.

The first fight I remember watching was Ali-Spinks II. I came home from a HS football game (as a fan, I was in 4th grade.) and it was on ABC. I turned on ABC not even knowing it was on and watched it.

The first fight I watched where I actually planned to watch was probably in 1983 - a Larry Holmes prime time fight.

I only became really interested in boxing after the Boza-Chacon II fight. I stumbled upon that one.

So, probably Larry Holmes-Marvis Frazier later in '83.

 

Patterson--Ingo.

 

Foreman Young I believe

 

The first fight I saw was Minter v Hagler and I was 4 years old, my dad was watching it telling me Minter was a racist because he said prior to the fight no black b.....d is going to take my title! My dad told me he hated Minter for this as he was a biracial Jamaican and that he hoped Hagler beat the **** out of him and that was it I became a Hagler fan and watched in awe as he dismantled Minter who seemed bewildered then bottles were thrown into the ring by the racist white British fans that had turned up, and I was introduced to the ugly face of racism, vivid memories, (1980).

 

A replay of Ali-Frazier 1 with my grandpa on WWoS.

 

I had always watched bits and pieces of fights with my Dad, but in '67 I sat with newfound interest and watched Joe Frazier vs George Chuvalo with him and it was the first fight where we actually discussed the fight. He was already a fight nut at the time, but I joined him on the couch after that where we would discuss/argue on every fight we could manage to watch or attend live for the next several decades. Great times.

 

the first one I clearly remember is Gavilan-Basilio.

 

All these threads ever do is make me realize how normal it is for men to have loving fathers that they share fond memories with, and I don't have a single fond one to draw on. You could accurately describe this as making me bitter.

 

Don't be bitter brother it just sucks the life out of you. My Pop God rest his soul watched some fights with me but the man worked a lot to provide. He liked punchers. Frazier & Marciano were his guys. He liked Holmes too but a lot of that had to probably do with how much I liked him.

 

Oldest fight I can remember watching live was Ali-Folley when I was 8.

 

First fight I've watched all the way through was mike tyson vs Sammy scaff

 

I try to not get too down but it's rough sometimes, it's easy to get down on yourself. You know how it is. I certainly understand what it's like to have a father who worked a lot. It really just seems like a genuinely fantastic memory to have... big fights with your dad. That's something special to hold onto. Meh.

 

Tyson vs Spinks