what was your take-away after meeting a fighter...

I met George Foreman in 1999. I was expecting him to be bigger than he actually was. He was, of course , a big guy, but his size was not overwhelming. And I'm of average size.

 

Not a fighter or a writer, but I had occasion to sit next to Leroy Neiman, the artist, at a function prior to Tyson-Spinks. He was doodling and sketching on a pad (probably the equivalent of a writer taking notes) and had a hot young female assistant there to fetch whatever he liked.

I thought he would be unapproachable and way off into his own head with no time for a young chap like I was at the time, but he was very chatty and down-to-earth. We talked about Ali and some others he had painted and he was more interested in talking about the fights than his art.

 

Met and spoke to Fenech and found him very cold and stand-offish.
Kostya Z. very respectfull and easy to talk with.
Best off all the Aussie fighters would be Barry "Boy" Michael. Gave the impression you were a mate.

 

Tyson fury is obviously a giant but in person seems even bigger than he looks on tv,was very down to earth and seemed actually a bit shy

 

I met Mike Tyson when I about 12.

I was at the laundry mat with my mother, and I saw this crowd of guys around a slick white Mercedes with gold trim. This is the late 80's and that how guy hooked up their cars back then. I got a peek and saw the fade with the half cresent part on the side and knew it was Mike. I ran in the laundry mat, like "ma, ma, you gotta see....", and she was like, "get yo bleep back in here, I don't know that crowd". Finally someone in the laundry said, ma'am Mike Tyson is out there...So my mom is like..OH..then she drags me out and I shook his hand.

He did not seem all that big. He had on a sweat suit but he looked like a normal, tall guy from the block....that would knock your freakin block off. He nice, smiling, meeting a little kid. I played it cool. Ya'll would have been proud. Hahaha.

 

Not really. George was wearing his jovial, nice-guy, buy-my-grill face that night at South Coast Plaza, so there was no hint of any of the old, mean George. I took a picture with him; If I can find it and scan it, I'd love to post it on here.
George's nephew, however, looked huge. He's the big guy with glasses that often accompanied George into the ring before a fight. He could have passed for George's bodyguard!

 

In my golden glove days Earnie Terrell trained in our gym for awhile and he was just bitter. He was adament that Ali purposely turned him from the ref. and thumbed him in the first round. At least up to them he wasn't over it.

 

When was this? I always find it crazy when guys never get over decisive loses and still make excuses.

 

met hopkins...couldn't have been nicer.
spoke with roy...very cool moment for me and he was very friendly
met jm and rafael marquez...language barrier but both very friendly
bert sugar...very pleasant met in vegas at the sports betting line at the mgm
carl froch...good guy, hard not to like

there's a few more but no bad or even close to bad meetings with fighters. after all of these guys were so nice to me, it's hard not to pull for them every time they're in the ring.

 

Archie Moore was crotchety and cantankerous. Reminded me of Henry Fonda in "On Golden Pond". You could tell he was a likable guy underneath and I was able to get to that side of him by disregarding the "crotchety" and joking around (I got him to smile and chuckle), but I saw him embarrass some people and treat them less than nicely. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sugar Ray Leonard made me feel like I was a marsh fly that had just been shrugged off by a water buffalo. Aloof and snobby. So much so that I found the whole interaction humorous.

Those are the only two fighters I've met- and I've met scores- who were less than friendly.

 

Greg Haugen was hilarious. Very candid.

My friend: "Hey Greg, I saw you mouthing to Vinnie Pazienza in your fight. It looked like you called him a 'f****n' p***y!' Did you?"

Haugen: (laughing) "F**K yeah! I called him a pizza-faced guinea and every awful thing I could think of!"

(he admitted he liked and respected Vinnie, though)

 

Met Barry McGuigan and had a photo with him. Seemed a really decent guy. John Conteh was the same. I think it's because fighters have nothing to prove, so they don't have to act tough. Even fighters who I don't particularly rate in comparison to others still get my respect because of what they do.

 

I also met Paulie Malignaggi last summer and he was a great guy. Chatted with him a bit and watched as he posed for photos with dozens of fans after a fight where he was doing commentary. Really handled himself well.

Of course, I wasn't messing with his side piece.