SuperStar Boxers who are Humble.

You did say SUPERSTARS - I was just thinking Boxers. atsch

 

Ali was when not in front of a camera.....I heard a great story about him the other night. I was talking to a
guy about his personal favorite athletes. And he mentioned Mickey Mantle and Ali...I asked why for both of them and
when I asked about Ali I asked if he thought he really made up rhymes off the cuff......his eyes got a little watery...and he said that in
1968 when Ali was banned from boxing he had come to Oswego NY to give a speech at the college. Denny had gone to the Subshop
to get something to eat and when he entered he saw Ali with his entourage. Denny walked right up to Ali and shook his hand said
"Champ I just wanted to tell you that you're the greatest." He said Ali was very gracious and asked if he'd like an autograph.
So Denny grabbed a napkin from the counter and Ali wrote a little rhyme.....
To Denny,
"I LIKE YOUR TOWN,
I LIKE YOUR STYLE
THE FOOD WAS CHEAP
I WONT BE BACK FOR A WHILE" and signed Muhammad Ali

But it gets better..... Denny ran into Laila Ali at a business gathering a few years ago and relayed the above story. Denny just wanted her to know how much it meant to him that the Champ took time out of his day to be nice to him and that her father was the greatest. Denny told Laila that he was sure Ali would not remember him but wanted her to tell him how big a deal it was to meet the Champ.

About a year later Denny ran into Laila again and she remembered Denny and told him that she talked with her father about his trip to Oswego in '68 and before she got out the whole story, Ali said, "Denny, Subshop."

 

From the boxers ive met, which arent alot mind you most were cool,
Hatton every time ive seen him has been down to earth and very witty

Dean Francis was ok as well not very talkative though, Witter was pretty humble alot more likeable in person and Mikkel Kessler was a sound guy aswell but again not very talkative (although it was about 15min after he lost to Calzaghe).

Oh and Amir Kahn one word:- Knob!

 

Tito Trinidad, Ivan Calderon, Sugar Shane Mosley, Pac-Man, Cotto OH! almost forgot James Toney

 

i dont remember de la hoya blaming his trainers all the time?:huh

the only time i remember was for the tito fight, where he ran the last 4 rounds.

apart from that he is still good with all his former trainers including manny steward, roach and floyd sr.

 

The 2 times I have met Joe Calzaghe he has been both down to earth and humble. Could not have met a nicer guy. Occasionally he does come across on TV as not humble though, but I believe that is more for the cameras and his reaction to finally recieveing the recognition he deserves (which he could still be bitter about?).

Just my 2 pence.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/stories/2001-03-22-delahoya.htm

Fired-up De La Hoya starts anew vs. Gatti
By Dan Rafael, USA TODAY

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This content is protected

Eric Draper, APOscar De La Hoya is pleased with the training Floyd Mayweather Sr. has provided.

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LAS VEGAS — Oscar De La Hoya has a new trainer (Floyd Mayweather Sr.), a new promoter (Jerry Perenchio) and, he says, a new attitude.

But De La Hoya has sung this tune before while changing trainers like hand wraps — Robert Alcazar, Jesus Rivero, Emanuel Steward, Gil Clancy and even more Alcazar. It makes this latest declaration as he prepares for Saturday's welterweight fight vs. Arturo Gatti (HBO, 10:45 p.m. ET/PT).
The bout is De La Hoya's first since losing his title to Shane Mosley last June, embarking on a singing career and dumping promoter Bob Arum in favor of Perenchio, the billionaire Univision TV executive.

"After all these years, we're doing things right now," says De La Hoya, who promises that his new team will bring him to even loftier heights than he already has achieved — an Olympic gold medal, world titles in four weight classes and roughly $150 million in purses.

"We now have a real promoter. I now have a real trainer. We now have the perfect package," says De La Hoya, who refuses to shoulder blame for poor performances or for losing two of his last three fights.

"Don't blame me. Blame all the trainers that I had," he says. "I won a lot of titles on natural talent. I can run as far as I can by myself, but if someone is not teaching me, then I am not progressing."

And De La Hoya readily responds to criticism that he depends on others to do his firing for him. "I have appropriate people to handle my dirty work," he says. "I am the president of my company. I have people working for me to do those jobs like in any other business."

For now, De La Hoya talks glowingly about the no-nonsense Mayweather. "Nobody's ever taught me the way he's teaching me. He's pushed me like nobody else. I thank him for teaching me how to box. I regret not getting a trainer like him before. If I had Mayweather before, I would still be undefeated. I would still be world champion."

In a jab at Arum, one of the premier promoters in history, De La Hoya talks about how he and Perenchio "will show the world" how a "real" promoter operates.

Perenchio muscled HBO into televising the fight against the heart of the NCAA tournament (and because of HBO's schedule, the bout won't be live on the West Coast, where the bulk of De La Hoya's fans are).
Fewer than 5,000 tickets have been sold for an arena that seats more than 15,000. Gatti, a hugely popular fighter, has been virtually ignored. Wednesday's sparsely attended final news conference was more like a funeral than the carnival that normally surrounds a De La Hoya event. And Perenchio did not even attend.

There is also little doubt that De La Hoya (No. 2 USA TODAY, 32-2, 26 KOs) is looking past Gatti. He talks about a June 9 pay-per-view fight vs. 154-pound titleholder Javier Castillejo, rematches with Felix Trinidad and Mosley and even a grudge match with Mexican-American rival Fernando Vargas.

"I think this is the perfect time for me to fight Oscar," says Gatti (33-4, 27 KOs), a one-time junior lightweight champ. "He's not taking me seriously. He's just looking for a fight to get back into boxing."

 

RJJ.I met him, he signed EVERYTHING, took pics, talked to people for hours. He's a cool dude.

 

wow, i guess i was wrong!!

 

Mikkel Kessler seemed very humble before and after the Calzaghe fight. Neither fighter was really trash talking before the fight and seemed out of place staring each other down. After Kessler was very repectful and won a lot of fans because of it.

 

:good

 

I like that story

 

Mosley is the classiest today.