I did not follow boxing much those days, but I DO remember where I was and what I was doing 08/08/88, because of the date. (I was on the University of Boulder, Colorado, campus for a week's training. It was a nice, hot, sunny day.) But I can't recall what I was doing 09/09/99.
I did follow boxing back then. Iron Mike was thought to be by some as the greatest heavyweight of all time at 22 years of age.
On 8/8/88 nonetheless, I was coming back from an Iron Maiden concert at the Holywood Sportatorium to my home in North Miami Beach. I'm not sure if that's when I heard the news of Chocolate, but I remember thinking about the date and the fact that someone mentioned that the thermometer had hit 88 degrees at some point of the day.
As for my musical preferences, they have changed dramatically over the years. So has my physical appearance, unfortunately.