BoxRec

Im talking pro, amateur or even sparring. Can imagine some pretty impresive names popping up here my own rap sheet not out of this world but am still proud of it is as follows-
Noel wilders
Alex moon
Adey lewis
Keith knox
Dave coldwell ( not the best but like to point him out to my mates when he on telly ! )

Sugar Ray Seales...Louis Acaries......Gene Wells......Mike Baker, they were all good.

James quick tillis,alfonso Ratliff,Lenny Lapaglia,Johnny Lira, louie Mateo. In the gym. My fights as a pro were all four rounders so no main event guys.

Only sparred with one current pro boxer - Robbie Bryant. David Letizia and Andrew Green also trained at the same gym, but I never sparred with them. Daniel Dawson and Naoufel Ben Rabah also came along to train sometimes.

Jeff McCracken

BoxBuzz wrote:Jeff McCracken

Nice. I remember him. Fought for The Marine Corps as an amateur. He was from Sandpoint Idaho.

spared Dwight Muhammad Qawi

boxed Buster Drayton in '77 Mid Atlantic AAU novice finals. Buster later went on to become IBF jr middle weight champ.

As a referee, I was an AIBA R/J and worked the Beijing Olympics so over the years in the US and in international bouts, I ref'd many future great boxers.

JMac wrote:spared Dwight Muhammad Qawi

boxed Buster Drayton in '77 Mid Atlantic AAU novice finals. Buster later went on to become IBF jr middle weight champ.

As a referee, I was an AIBA R/J and worked the Beijing Olympics so over the years in the US and in international bouts, I ref'd many future great boxers.

Wow! What was Qawi like?

Ezzard wrote:

JMac wrote:spared Dwight Muhammad Qawi

boxed Buster Drayton in '77 Mid Atlantic AAU novice finals. Buster later went on to become IBF jr middle weight champ.

As a referee, I was an AIBA R/J and worked the Beijing Olympics so over the years in the US and in international bouts, I ref'd many future great boxers.

Wow! What was Qawi like?

I mentioned it in the Bennie Briscoe thread. I had not had my 1st amateur fight yet and my trainer put me in for 2 rounds with him. It was like sparring Joe Frazier plus I only weighed around 154 lbs. He tried to kill me and I just jabbed and ran for 2 rounds. He caught me in a corner and dropped me with a double hook to body and then head. I can laugh about it now but that day I was like, WTF.

JMac wrote:

Ezzard wrote:

JMac wrote:spared Dwight Muhammad Qawi

boxed Buster Drayton in '77 Mid Atlantic AAU novice finals. Buster later went on to become IBF jr middle weight champ.

As a referee, I was an AIBA R/J and worked the Beijing Olympics so over the years in the US and in international bouts, I ref'd many future great boxers.

Wow! What was Qawi like?

I mentioned it in the Bennie Briscoe thread. I had not had my 1st amateur fight yet and my trainer put me in for 2 rounds with him. It was like sparring Joe Frazier plus I only weighed around 154 lbs. He tried to kill me and I just jabbed and ran for 2 rounds. He caught me in a corner and dropped me with a double hook to body and then head. I can laugh about it now but that day I was like, WTF.

Was it worth it? For the great story? And hats off to you, JMac.

Buster Drayton had some good wins over in the UK. Good fighter

nice story JMac

Expug wrote:

BoxBuzz wrote:Jeff McCracken

Nice. I remember him. Fought for The Marine Corps as an amateur. He was from Sandpoint Idaho.

In Phoenix early 80's It took Jeff only two rounds to admit that I was way "too fast" for him. I know he got a kick out of my attitude.
I was pretty much rendered useless in about 3 rounds, whereas he was really looking for someone who could go at least 4 rounds with him before swapping out...lol.

He was a very cordial fella, easy to like. And I was definately not pro sparring class material, but I was no pushover either. However I wasn't overly willing to "pay the price for wisdom". I knew folks at the gym and was just clowning when I was offered the genuine option of stepping in the ring with him....so once invited I accepted the invitation. I Thought it was an honor to be even allowed the option actually. He warned me it was serious stuff, and....that it was! I was purely scab labor, and did not receive my union wages lol.

He was pretty generous in his remarks at the post mortum. But that was the beginning and the end of my informal sparring experience with pros.

"]

JMac wrote: I mentioned it in the Bennie Briscoe thread. I had not had my 1st amateur fight yet and my trainer put me in for 2 rounds with him. It was like sparring Joe Frazier plus I only weighed around 154 lbs. He tried to kill me and I just jabbed and ran for 2 rounds. He caught me in a corner and dropped me with a double hook to body and then head. I can laugh about it now but that day I was like, WTF.

I always thought Qawi was about as close to Frazier in style as anyone I had ever seen. I can't imagine why anyone would want to offer themselves up for the sort of thrashing he or Joe would impose on their sparring partners. Is their really enough money to make that worth the pain? lol.

BoxBuzz wrote:"]

JMac wrote: I mentioned it in the Bennie Briscoe thread. I had not had my 1st amateur fight yet and my trainer put me in for 2 rounds with him. It was like sparring Joe Frazier plus I only weighed around 154 lbs. He tried to kill me and I just jabbed and ran for 2 rounds. He caught me in a corner and dropped me with a double hook to body and then head. I can laugh about it now but that day I was like, WTF.

I always thought Qawi was about as close to Frazier in style as anyone I had ever seen. I can't imagine why anyone would want to offer themselves up for the sort of thrashing he or Joe would impose on their sparring partners. Is their really enough money to make that worth the pain? lol.

Money for sparring? Hell I was a novice boxer and was just doing what my trainer told me. I didn't know sparring partners for pros got paid but I also didn't know who he was at the time and to be be honest, at that time he really wasn't anybody. He had done a few years in prison and I think had only just turned pro. As I said in the Briscoe thread, my trainer told me I was sparring that day and when I asked with who and he said Briscoe and I asked him if he was crazy. He said it's not Briscoe but somebody just as good. After getting spanked around for two rounds, I wish it was Briscoe I sparred. He was friendly with me and I think he probably would have taken it easy knowing I was a novice. Oh well, like I said, I can laugh about it now. I was young and dumb then.