Rough Upringings

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Shahpoor Saiq, Sep 9, 2020.



  1. Shahpoor Saiq

    Shahpoor Saiq Member Full Member

    191
    198
    Mar 2, 2020
    Which boxer had the roughest upbringing?
     
  2. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

    36,654
    16,430
    May 4, 2017
    The two guys in my profile pic maybe, I know that Tyson was in reform school when D`Amato stepped up and became his father figure and mentor at the age of 12, he grew up in a rough part of Brooklyn.
     
    Toney F*** U likes this.
  3. Shahpoor Saiq

    Shahpoor Saiq Member Full Member

    191
    198
    Mar 2, 2020
    Wasn't Tysons mom a prostitute?
     
    Toney F*** U likes this.
  4. dmt

    dmt Hardest hitting hw ever Full Member

    6,388
    6,956
    Jul 2, 2006
    Matthew Saad Muhammad

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Saad_Muhammad

    "Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant,[1] and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed his brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then ran away. Saad Muhammad was taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the parkway where he was found). Matthew lived in foster care until a couple from Philadelphia adopted him, raised him, and took care of him like he was their own.[2]

    Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew."
     
    MURK20, sasto, Jamal Perkins and 7 others like this.
  5. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    20,232
    19,855
    Jun 26, 2009
    MSM is a great call.

    I’d also add Johnny Tapia to this discussion.

    Mother was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed and left for dead.
     
  6. Shahpoor Saiq

    Shahpoor Saiq Member Full Member

    191
    198
    Mar 2, 2020
    Damn, that's very dark...
     
    Toney F*** U likes this.
  7. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member Full Member

    51,551
    63,485
    Aug 21, 2012
    That would have ****ed me up for life
     
    The Funny Man 7 likes this.
  8. dmt

    dmt Hardest hitting hw ever Full Member

    6,388
    6,956
    Jul 2, 2006
    Unfortunately, it did to Matthew as well. I think he died in a homeless shelter. One of the few times i have teared up when reading about a boxer. Hope he finds happiness in an afterlife. Out of all the athletes i have ever seen, he deserved a happy life more than anyone else. RIP.
     
    sasto, Shahpoor Saiq, Fergy and 8 others like this.
  9. Gazelle Punch

    Gazelle Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

    6,112
    7,532
    Aug 15, 2018
    I’d say Jack Johnson is a strong candidate as well. Hearing some of those stories with him...crazy
     
    mark ant and Toney F*** U like this.
  10. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    20,232
    19,855
    Jun 26, 2009
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
    MURK20, sasto, Shahpoor Saiq and 3 others like this.
  11. LoadedGlove

    LoadedGlove Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,526
    4,252
    Dec 6, 2019
    Tommy Farr's early years were beyond anything Charles Dickens could have invented. His Father died when he was a boy, in the First World War I think. Tommy started work in the coal mines at 12 years old to support his Sisters. Finding fighting easier than mining, he walked from South Wales to London at 16 to try to earn a living as a professional Boxer.
    Some of the South Americans had staggeringly tough up bringings. Reading about Sonny Liston's childhood makes you wince.
     
  12. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

    36,654
    16,430
    May 4, 2017
    I don`t know.
     
  13. The Funny Man 7

    The Funny Man 7 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    7,859
    2,002
    Apr 1, 2005
    Kassim Ouma was a legit child soldier in Uganda:
    This content is protected


    Wasn't Barney Ross' dad shot dead in front of him during a robbery in Chicago? That's rough, although probably not as bad as what Ouma or Tapia went through.
     
    sasto likes this.
  14. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,451
    2,707
    Oct 19, 2012
    God rest his soul and i hope he and his mother are reunited. To compound the horrific story i think the murderer of his mother was never found and johhny spent his life trying in vain to track the p.o.s down. I hope the p.o.s burns in hell.

    Tapia "s life and saads really break me down beyond words how sad
     
  15. WAR01

    WAR01 In the 7.2% Full Member

    1,776
    1,527
    Aug 19, 2019
    Tyson’s was the most tragic from an artistic point of perspective one of the saddest people period...