Why do you like boxing?

I'll tell you a story, and this story represents a microcosm of all that is good and righteous, and all that is wicked, about prize fighters, the playground they play on, and the prizes they fight for.

The red headed guy in my avatar is half Irish, half Yute indian, and has a Mexican name. He had the roughest of rough childhoods, and in spite of his small stature became a genuine bad ass on the street. At one point he was placed on probation for threatening his much older brother inlaw with a rifle. The judge made it a condition of his probation that if he got in any street fights, he would have to quit the amatuer boxing team.

Danny "Little Red" Lopez stayed out of trouble, built a respecatable amatuer career, and turned pro on May 27, 1971. Three years and 23 fights later an opponent finally made it past the 8th round, and for the first time Danny won a decision. A short time later Little Red fought his former amatuer team mate Bobby Chacon in a title eliminator. Bobby beat Danny half to death, and handed him his first loss. After that Danny won his next fight, but lost two fights he should have won. So, there sits Danny, with 3 losses in his last 4 fights, and word on the street is, "Danny Lopez is shot."

Enter one Sean O'Grady. A handsome young knock out artist with a trumped up record, and a father looking to build his son's reputation on the back of a fading star. Danny never got the O'Grady memo. O'Grady quit on his stool at the end of the 4th round.

Danny won his next two fights by knocking out two very respecatable opponents. He then traveled to Ghana for a fight with the featherweight champion David Kotey. The kind folks of Ghana dumped Little Red in the scroungiest hotel they could find. The joint did not even have hot water. The president of Ghana told Danny, to his face, "You won't leave this country with our title." Danny said, "We'll see."

On the night of November 6, 1976 Danny "Little Red" Lopez became the true featherweight champion of the world by grinding out a 15 round decision in front of an estimated 100,000 Kotey partisans. The kind folks of Ghana held Danny incommunicado for 3 days. He could not even contact his family or his manager to tell them he won the fight.

Danny went on to rule the featherweight division for nearly 4 years in an era when 126 was stacked with talent. It took no less a fighter than one Salvador Sanchez to knock Danny off the top of the mountain. Sal stopped Danny in the 13th round, and then in the 14th in the rematch, and then Danny retired.

Today Danny Lopez enjoys a quiet life in Southern California. He remains married to Bonnie, his wife of 40 years, and takes great delight in spending time with his grand children. Earlier this year he was inducted in to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

If that story does not take your beath away, and make your pulse race a little, you will never understand boxing. The thing of it is, there's a thousand more stories that are just as good.

 

You can't hide!!!

 

:good

 

For the amount of money a boxer makes and pretending I get a cut of that money because I'm a fan.

But in all seriousness I watch for the drama and unpredictability that comes with boxing.

 

Muhamed ali/ formerly known as Cassius Clay!

 

The punching combinations, the head movement in avoiding your opponents punches from connecting, the sliping, and ducking, making your opponent miss and making him pay dearly by countering...The punching to the body, wearing down your opponent slowly breaking him down, killing his legs so you can finish him off at any givien time...The diffrent styles involved, whether it's throwing punches from all angles with blinding speed, and pin point accuracy, or moving your head, bobbing and weaving, using your footwork to avoid contact, to make your opponent miss and counter them...The Technique, the timing, the speed, and power...Boxing, whats not to love???? :bbb