What made you a fan of boxing?

I thought I'd do something a little different on this forum and ask what made you a die-hard boxing fan. What fight or moment in a fight managed to stick with you and affect you so profoundly that your passion reached a fever pitch and made boxing your favorite sport?

I was a little kid in the 80s, and while I liked Mike Tyson, I wasn't a "fan" of the sport at the time, probably because I was too young to be allowed to watch regularly. But watching Rocky IV sparked a curiosity in me that I hadn't previously felt because of the drama and grandiosity of it. Only a year later, I heard my family talking about Sugar Ray Leonard fighting a "giant".

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I saw some of the press and the photos, and was instantly struck by what I saw. Sugar Ray Leonard (who I knew about and liked), was about to fight the man who nearly killed Superman in Superman IV!

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He seemed to tower over Sugar Ray. To make matters worse, my mother was terrified because she read that Sugar Ray was almost blind and might have a hard time seeing punches coming. If he gets hit in the eye just one time, she said, he'll go blind permanently, and Nuclear Man will take advantage of this and kill him. I never knew anybody could die in the ring until I saw Rocky IV. Ironically, it was the one with the smaller black guy being killed by the huge blonde. An omen?

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If those advantages weren't enough, in came the big kicker. I don't remember where I heard this and if they were just trying to frighten me, but I heard that Nuclear Man was being hypnotized before the fight to not feel pain and to think only about destroying Sugar Ray. :admin

I had to see this fight. I needed to, because I thought this poor man needs as much support as he can get, and I wanted to do my part to will him to victory - or at least survival. I begged my parents to get the fight, and my father, over my mother's objections, was able to get us to a friend's house who was showing it for $5 or a six pack.

Nuclear Man - the huge, hypnotized Superman-slayer, looked focused and a little bit crazy. I just kept picturing him saying, "Destroy Superman" over and over while emerging from the locker room.

Sugar Ray Leonard - small, vulnerable, almost blind and one punch away from his demise, looked a little worried, as though he knew what was coming.

I actually started to cry before the ring introductions because I wasn't sure I was ready to watch a man die for real. Sugar Ray entered the ring dancing to Michael Jackson and what sounded like...James Brown; the same James Brown who ushered in Apollo Creed with "Living in America". Another ominous sign. Nuclear Man made his ring entrance in a black cowl, no doubt to hide his hypnotism-rendered crazy eyes from the public. Like Ivan Drago, there was no music as he entered. I knew I had to be strong for Ray, so I composed myself, sat down and watched in silence.

Then the bell rang.

I never felt that sort of anxiety, that sort of fear, or that sort of excitement watching anything. Not baseball, not basketball, not football, not even watching Hulk Hogan bodyslam Andre the Giant. Any time Nuclear Man hit Ray in the face, I jumped out of my seat, screaming for Ray's eyes not to explode on the canvas. But even after several hits to the face, Ray's eyes were still there.

So was the rest of Ray.

With each passing round, my faith in Ray grew and I started to believe that Ray could do it, that Ray could really survive this hypnotized villain who was programmed with sorcery to destroy Ray.

But then Round 4 came.

I remember this vividly - Leonard hit the giant square in the face a few times in the beginning, and the announcer said, "It has no effect on him". My fears were confirmed. Nuclear Man was completely brainwashed into a killing machine. My hopes started to fade from hearing that. That's when the other shoe dropped, and with a right-hand to the forehead, Ray went down. Ray hit this machine with everything, and it had no effect, but just like that, as though he were through toying with him, Nuclear Man knocked Ray down with one punch.

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I jumped from my seat once again, and screamed at the TV - begging God to make Ray get up, still be able to see, still be alright. He did get up, and he was alright. God was merciful that time, but with tears streaming down my face, I knew that I just spent my answered prayer allowance for the year, and next time Ray was on his own. In between rounds, as if my anxiety couldn't get worse, I saw blood coming from his eye. Was this what happens right before someone goes blind? Was Ray about to lose his sight? "Please stop the fight", I said quietly, "I don't want him to die".

Amazingly, he didn't die. He didn't quit. Shot after shot he took from the mindless beast, but he would not fall. In fact, he seemed to be getting...stronger? More than once, I heard the announcer say, "Ray hurt 'em right there!". How could he hurt a man hypnotized into not being hurt?

That was when I finally realized it. Ray wasn't Apollo Creed fighting Ivan Drago. He was ROCKY fighting Ivan Drago. Cautiously, I crossed my fingers so tightly they turned blue, and hoped for a miracle. With each passing round Ray survived, I lept from the couch and cheered. But I also knew what he was up against. This wasn't Drago. This was Nuclear Man - the monster who almost killed Superman. SUPERMAN. But Superman won in the end, didn't he? He found a way to hurt him. He found a way to beat him. Would Ray become Superman?

The answer would finally come in the 9th round. Nuclear Man was hurting Ray, punching him around the ring. The crowd, smelling blood, worked up to a frenzied roar. The announcers exclaimed that Ray could be in trouble. I was praying for Ray to survive, I was praying for his sight to remain intact. I was praying for Ray to finish without being too badly hurt. But instead, I was given a far greater finish. Ray, whose will would not be broken, roared back that very round. Superman would not be denied this day. Punch after punch rained down on the monster until....

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Sugar Ray Leonard KO9 Donnie LaLonde

I could not believe the suddenness of the turnaround, the ability for a man, not an actor, to turn the tables on a seemingly invincible opponent and in just a few dramatic seconds, look defeat square in its maw and rip victory from it. I felt a surge throughout my body seeing Ray's armed raised, and a days-long euphoric high followed that I wanted to feel over and over again.

I fell in love with boxing November 7, 1988 and I never looked back.

Tell me your story.