Just curious, more interested what everybody's background is in or around the game. I'd bet many of you box or did, train or did, were boxing writers or are, and that many of you are self-taught scholars of the game. For myself, I've never fought in the ring, though as some of you know by now my father was a pretty good MW in the forties, and though he retired years before I was born, that's where my familiarity with the game began. My dad used to joke that he wanted to make me a fighter, a boxer/puncher he used to say, 'cause I'm about 6' tall and naturally rangy, have a snappy, loose jab, and because of a strange birth defect, (my left shoulder is an inch or two higher than my right), I have a pretty good right hand, get good leverage when I rotate my shoulders from the right. And not just in throwing a punch either; I can throw a baseball a mile! Most of my personal experience as an athlete was on the baseball and football fields, though I'm a black belt in Shotokan Karate and did a little kickboxing a few years back. Anyway, just have a hunch that everybody on this board has a story about themselves, as they relate to the game. If you were a fighter, I think a lot of us would like to hear about your experiences in the ring, what your style is/was, what your strengths and weaknesses are, etc. If you've worked the corner, that is a perspective I would find particularly interesting. Were you a manager? Talk about some of the boys you handled, the ones that drove you crazy, the ones that touched and inspired you. I know some of you are writers and have not only seen more than most, you have had to process it if you were to communicate it to others in any enlightening way. And then, if you are a student of the game past and present, as I know many of you are, you bring something to this subject that is invaluable. Let's get into it, it might be worthwhile.
