Met at the gym (s) over the years - Have any of you got any? One of the things I LOVE MOST about Boxing is that there are TONS (or was) of old timers that give advice or sit quietly in the shadows, but when they open up they have some terrific tales of days gone by. Anyone got any stories? I figured I'd post this part of the forum would be best for this topic. Apologies if not. :good
In May, 1975, while attending a personal appearance of Chuck Wepner near my home town, I met an old-time fighter by the name of Joe "Butch" Lynch. While I could not find his record in the Ring Boxing Encyclopedia, I noticed that his name came up fairly often in the records of many of the top lightweights and welters of the '30s and '40s. He must have been pretty durable, for while he often lost against the elite, he usually took them the full distance. Anyway, I began talking with him and he told me that he used to hang out with Joe Louis, and said that he was a really great guy. He also mentioned that he knew Jack Johnson pretty well. I asked him what Johnson was like. He tilted his head to one side, and said that when Louis was champion, Johnson went about looking for a white hope.
Im from Bayonne and Chuck Wepner is a hell of a guy. I only met him once at a bar and he bought everyone a round of drinks. Huge hands my buddies and I all commented that his handshake hurt our hands, thats when men were men! A dude I knew much older (im 30) had done prison time but was a pro boxer and said the mob can make you or break yo in the biz, dont know if thats still the case. this goes back 15 years but he commented that a good amateur experience is important and everyone wants to get that title shot noone wants to hone their craft. No cool stories though.