Were these fighters good or bad guys outside the ring?

I''ll comment on the two men on this list whom I've met. While this is by no means a complete character assessment, these are my impressions from when i met them. I got a handshake and autograph from each.

I met Jersey Joe Walcott in 1978 at an amateur boxing show in my hometown. He, along with Rocky Graziano and Steve Dudas, were the guests of honor. Jack Dempsey was originally scheduled but illness kept him away. Jersey Joe was very kind and gracious, and also posed with me for a picture.

In 1982 I went to the Larry Holmes training camp to see Roberto Duran train for an upcoming fight. I did not know what to expect going in, but after he had trained, he signed autographs outside. He signed a magazine cover that I had brought and we shook hands. When he finished with the autographs he got into a car and the car rode past me. As he passed, he looked directly at me, smiled, and waved. He may not be a saint, but he was nice to me in that brief moment when our paths crossed.

 

Roberto Duran was a tough guy in the barrio's of Panama.

 

I did read that Nino Benvenuti did visit Carlos Monzon after he was incarcerated.

 

He did...and I saw a documentary on Monzon that shows him warmly embracing Nino...he clearly appreciated this visit from his one time ring foe.

 

Duran was my favourite bad guy

 

I met Duran just at the end of his career when he did a tour of the Uk. A good friend of mine was involved in the tour and travelled with Duran and his team for about a week.

He was good fun. His understanding of English is better than he makes out. Friendly but with a very short attention span. Easily bored. Likes a joke. Childish kind of humour and definitely not sophisticated or at all philosophical. He’s just a guy from where he came from who was very good at something that made him famous.

Absolutely none of his experiences or travel would have changed or educated him at all.

and yes he admitted to the rumour about the horse. He blamed it on a dare to impress a woman. He also found it hysterical when someone mentioned Sylvester Stallone boxing ability from their filming from Rocky 2. The question was translated to him. And it was a comical moment watching the realisation of the question register with him. He put a hand over his face, shaking his head. This was a genuine infectious laugh. “I wasn’t allowed to hit him!”.