Not a lot of people know this but...

What was her impression of him, M?

 

Unfortunatly she didn't spend much time around him. As her story went she was a very young child and her aunt was dating someone who was friends or aquantainces with Liston. She went to his house for a short time for some kind of social function, she met him breifly and then went off to play with the other kids there. She didn't say much else. I was kind of disapointed that she didn't have anything to say on the man himself, but it was still interesting hearing that she met him. This information came to light when I was watching Michael Mann's Ali biopic.

 

My mum met liston to in hammersmith london,got his autograph to,she said he was with a group of other men in hammersmith broadway,was wearing a trenchcoat and suit,and was frigging huge,his hands were like shovels,also said he was smiled the whole time and came across as a really nice guy,sadly she lost the autograph years back before i was old enough to make sure it was keep safe

 

When John L Sulivan was buried it was so cold that the frozen ground had to be dynamited to dig his grave

 

Got to ask you Big Jake why didn't you take up his offer.

 

John your stories are the business!.You are worthy of your name!The original JG was a good guy who wouldnt rat on his friends,for the Mcarthy hearings a street boy with street boys honour .Keep them coming!

 

That's the finest tribute anyone could pay me, M. He was a boyhood hero -- a neighborhood no-bull****-guy that made good. What you saw on the screen was what he was.

I'll put up part two of the Fortune interview shortly.

 

Part two of my Justin Fortune interview:

What are your recollections of boxing in Australia?

“The promoters were colorful. We had some good fighters then, too. My third or fourth pro fight was a title fight -- so, you don't really get much time to build a record like they do over here, because there's not that many fighters...So, they sort of jump in at the deep end -- sink or swim. If you swim, great! If you don't, you're ****'n out.”

What's the key to getting a guy in shape?

“Nothing is ever the same. They never ever get used to anything we do. The body is constantly being shocked with different exercises. That's boxing. Guy wants to tear your head off standing in the other corner. So, you gotta be ready. That's what we do. We make them ready.

How much of defense is setting traps? Or is it just reflexes?

“To a certain extent, it's reflexes; but it's more about the strategy of making the fighter do what you want him to do...It's controlling the ring and controlling the fight.

You do that with feints, movement-to set up punches. Some combinations will make him move into another combination.”

What fighters did you admire when you were growing up?

“My fighters are old school. All the old guys. I appreciated their fitness, just the sheer grit and tenacity of them.

I was a heavyweight. I don't really watch heavyweights anymore. They're boring. Heavyweights throw like one-two-three punches and grab and clinch and grab and clinch.”

How do you deal with lazy or reluctant fighters?

“I don't! I don't deal with them. If they're not willing to put in the work, then don't waste my ****'n time and I won't waste theirs. I got no interest in them. I don't chase a fighter, and if I get a fighter that doesn't want to do it - ****'EM! There's plenty of other fighters I can put my time and effort into. They don't want to do it, I tell them once -- probably. Ask them twice. Third time: Never! Ever! If you don't do it, **** OFF!”

A great many fight fans judge fighters and their place in history by losses. How do you feel?

“You're as good as your last fight, that's it. You fight 20 fights and then you lose a fight. And, that's what fans see.

Morrison had a lot of great wins. But the fight they always judge him by was when he was beaten by Mercer. They continue to re-emphasis that fact. He got a good beat'n off Mercer. That wasn't his only ****'n fight. Fighters have bad days and bad ****'n fights. It happens to every ****'n sportsman. You can't be a winner 100% of the time, especially at the high level that these guys are. It's impossible. They'll more readily accept that in other sports than boxing. They're more brutal and judgmental on boxers than anything else.”

How were you treated by the English press after your loss to Lennox Lewis?

“The English press absolutely murdered me. I don't give a ****. It doesn't bother me. The English press, they crucify their own ****'n people, their own fighters. They crucify everybody. The world knows that.

Anyone can get knocked out if you get hit on the button. Anyone can knock anyone out. You're supposed to go in and fight for your life, and that's it. You can't have a bad day, or they crucify you. After you cop a beat'n, the last thing you want to hear is a whole bunch of ****'n armchair sportsmen telling you how bad you were. You know how bad you were. You were the one that got beat'n up, for ****'s sake. Give'm a break.

People that have a go at a fighter are people that only dream--or wish--they could ****'n do what a fighter's doin'. Simple as that.”

 

When I was in high school, I started dating a really attractive, bright, lively girl.

And , like every kid, you pick up your date at her house and say the obligatory hellos to her parents while you wait.

Her dad was in the "rag trade," a bald little-bear-of-a-man who sat in the livingroom in a three-piece suit -- the vest of which, he couldn't button -- reading the paper, a thick stogie stuffed in his mouth, his feet on an ottoman.

He barely did more than peer over the top of his paper and grunt when I said hello.

He had a perpetual sour expression, like a retail merchant used to haggling about prices.

One night, waiting interminably, her father broke the silence: "My daughter tells me you're a boxer?"

"Yes, I train at Stillman's. Izzy Blank's my trainer."

He told me he knew Izzy very well and that he was the manager of a top heavyweight contender ( who later gave a still-named Cassius Clay fits ) and an undefeated Long Island middleweight. I was stunned -- had no idea.

It opened the floodgates; we launched into an animated conversation about boxing.

Thereafter, he insisted on having his daughter and I at ringside for all his fighters' bouts at Madison Square Garden and in Long Island, and he introduced me to all the most important people in the game.

After a few months, the girl broke up with me: "YOU'RE MORE INTERESTED IN MY FATHER THAN YOU ARE IN ME!!"

 

I belive this story was from New York. There was a slow point in Boxing. So a local promoter thought of a quick gimmick to get fans into the arena. He found the two worst fighters he could find. One was 0-24 and the other was something like 0-21. So the promoter went around and promoted this fight as "The worst fighters of all time" And the loser Agreed to give up the sport. It worked the arena was packed on fight night. And everyone was shocked to see that these two fighters stumbled around eachother to a ten round Draw! Well that's Boxing!

 

Brilliant! Shrewd promoter. That's takin' lemons and makin' lemonaid.

 

terry norris's right arm was 2 inches bigger than his left or his left hand was smaller...but point was that he had smaller and bigger arms. somthing he was quite resentful of.



the best story of terry is this

norris was a star baseball player. earning unconditional offers from many colleges and alot of interest at teams in the area of lubbock, texas. but that finished after one time during a high school match a white backstop heckled norris. norris kept his head but the guy started to really jeer norris.

(i dont know who had the innings) it was terry's turn to bat again it started to get dark and near the end of the game this punk then said "it's getting dark aint it"?, "can you smile for me,I cant see you"

norris flipped turned round and proceded to batter the guy.

due to the flurry the whole of the other guys team came to look,help or join the scuffle....norris thinking he was going to be rushed by the team did the thing that any guy would do....stand and trade with them. beating the whole team up sending 3 guys into hospital and knocking down anyone (supposdly every one was at least knockedown once) who came near...who ever said boxing isnt practical.

in turn norris was dropped offers from many teams and began to focus on his amatuer boxing career, he played baseball after...but his path was set and never looked back it seems.

 

JG, this is just one example of what I was writing you about the other day. You would have easily graced the pages of Ring, or the other boxing periodicals back in their heyday, when they had great anecdotal articles like this.

 

michael olajide was also a incredibly fine sax player.he got to the age where his father baiscly gave him a choice.

"be poor but a great musician or be a rich man but be a punk"

a very strange thing to say to your son. anyways point was back then you could be rich instantly with boxing or at least have a decent amount of cash at hand. where as being a musican was a very low respected job.
also he is blind in his right eye...good choice of proffesion?....you decide




also motown session drummer 'pistol' allen was a very accomplished boxer-puncher in his amatuer days...but when he was young he was a trumpet player as well...after many sparring sessions he used to come home with a swollen lip and play trumpet...due to his injury he couldnt get his lips around the mouthpiece...and used to play it "like you would a flute" that makes me laugh all the time. i play sax and the same thing hits me (pun wasnt intended...but it will do nicely) that if i have been hit in the mouth i aint playing sax for a while

 

in only 2 fights danny o'sullivan had been knocked down 25 times

and 30 times in his entire career