Was there a certain fighter that got you interested in boxing? If so, who?

Duran
Tyson
Pac

 

Tito, Jones, Hamed, Mosley, and Tyson they were all beast, but at the time I was in High School in their Primes, But I never kew styles make fights. Remember Hameed beat Cheyenne High graduate Auggie Sanchez from Vegas. To this day that was my Top 3 KO. also when Jones beat Hall, when tMerchant said the ref should be pistol whipped. Mosley was probably and still the fastest fighter I seen besides M. Taylor. Tito was a warrior

 

Tyson
Eubank
Benn

 

mike tyson

 

Growing up when the few blocks around the Brooklyn Navy Yard was the entire universe and sports heroes rose above the sky scrappers, Sugar Ray Robinson was the supernova that fired my imagination and life-long love for boxing.

All New York was a hotbed of boxing. Robinson’s name was magic. His picture with gloves held low was on fight posters all over the neighborhood. Grainy shots of him in dinner clothes, hob-knobbing with celebrities, graced the tabloids daily.

We elbowed for a glimpse of his fuchsia Cadillac and crowded around the radio for his fights.

When we play-fought, we all wanted to be him. He was movie-star handsome, gracious to opponents, soft-spoken, feted by kings, always with beautiful women...and the best fighter on the planet.

The first time I saw him in the ring, my dad took me to the old Garden in ‘46 to see him against Tommy Bell for the vacant welter title.

Bell was no slouch -- not the least cowed by Robinson's reputation.

Sugar glistened in his corner waiting for the bell. He was sleek, with a dancer’s legs and long supple arms that looked even longer because of his sloping shoulders. While the introductions were given, he windmilled his right arm like David readying to smite Goliath.

Robinson and Bell were mirror images -- both standup boxer-punchers, though Sugar enjoyed a few inches in height.

Bell fought with hands high and a tighter stance. Robinson's guard was lower. He was turned slightly to the side, in concession to defense, but his stance gave him more leverage.

They dueled evenly for 15 rounds, but to me, Robinson's punches had more authority; his combinations were the repeated crack of a bullwhip.

Some thought Robinson lost... it was that close. Bell dropped him in the 2nd round with left hooks, but Tommy hit the canvas in the 11th, and was almost stopped in the 12th.

It was near impossible not to watch Robinson exclusively – every move as elegant as Fred Astaire. Even in the bitterest exchanges, he had the baring of royalty. His fusillades were flashes of fire.

The die was cast: I couldn't wait to get to the gym the next day.

After the Bell fight, we went to all Robinson's bouts in New York, Philly, New Jersey, Wilkes Barre, Scranton and Connecticut, as well as watching any on TV we couldn't get to.

There were no end-zone dances when he KO'd some one. Usually, he was almost turned away headed for a neutral corner while they were falling…like a hit man that knew his job.

Whether it was third-tier guys like Floyd Sebastian and Gene Buffalo, or the very best around, like Georgie Abrams, Kid Gavilan, Steve Belloise, "Sugar" Costner, Charley Fusari and Bo Bo Olson, Sugar struck with the same lightening suddenness, electrifying.

We'd have paid to see him hit the heavy bag.

But what defines Robinson for me is something very accessible: He was able to rage back through blood and adversity to win …A parable not lost in the cheap seats.

Certainly, he was head and shoulders above the competition, but it still made you want to root for him: Nobility’s always been in short supply...and he was thrilling.

When Ray dramatically ended a fight... as he usually did, I couldn't wait to get home and relive the moment in front of the mirror, supplying the roar of the crowd myself.

At the Uptown Gym and Stillman's -- the General Motors of fight factories -- where legends, amateurs and journeyman went about the daily grind in a democracy of sweat, everybody stopped what they were doing to watch Sugar spar and do floor exercises.

He was always cordial, calling me by name, showing me how to extend my jab by dipping a knee, how to draw a right hand and counter over it...and countless other tips and encouragement.

At best, Sugar was a friendly acquaintance; I wasn't part of his clique. I was a kid; he was a man -- a giant figure on a world stage. I could only fantasize about the richness of his life.

I tried to emulate everything about him, from what he wore in the gym to his stance in the ring. But, it did me no more good than copying Ted Williams’ stance trying to hit home runs. And, no matter how I pulled and tugged, Sugar’s gym gear never looked quite the same on me.

Once, after sparring a round, I looked down and saw Ray ringside. He gave me an approving nod. I couldn't have been prouder if I'd won a title.

I saw the arc of his career, from welter to middle -- all of his title victories and losses, the ticker tape parade after regaining his middleweight crown from Turpin, and every other glorious moment...until time and too many fights reduced him to a mortal and he was only a look-alike in his final days in the ring, eking out a payday for the use of his name on a marquee.

Even in his last fight in ‘65 against Joey Archer, he showed flashes of the old Sugar...and I was on my feet hoping for a miracle, but it was not to be; he couldn't pull the trigger often enough.

True, he was far less heroic as a human being than as a fighter...but, I still get chills thinking of ring announcer Harry Balough, with his shellacked hair and shiny tuxedo, grabbing the mic center ring in the old Garden, trying to raise his voice over the 17000 fans straining on the edge of their seats to hear him say:

"IN THIS CORNER...SUGAR...RAY...ROBINSONNNNN!!"

 

nice introduction there john garfield! i know sugar ray robinson is the greatest boxer of all time but sad to say i haven't seen him fight. i was only 5 when he died in 89 lol.

 

Jeff Fenech and Mike Tyson.

That simple really.

 

being a young irish lad i'd have to say Mccullough and collins, they really brough boxing back in Ireland

 

I had always watched boxing and enjoyed it as a kid, one of my earliest memories is of Tyson beating Berbick but it was Chris Eubank that really got me into the sport. I loved his showmanship.

 

:hi:

Nas for me - the first fight I watched was Benn-McClellan, and while that was amazing, Nas was unbelievable. Truly amazing viewing.

 

the first bowe-holyfield fight got me hooked

 

Muhammed Ali, due to a action figure I got when I was a kid, and also the Superman album with Ali in it.

What got me more hooked was Marvin Hagler and Ayub Kalule.

And even more so, was Mike Tyson.

 

Barrera

 

Larry Holmes, Rudy Koopmans , Bep Van Klaveren , Marvin Hagler...

 

Amazing... Thanks for sharing