BoxRec

Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

I read about Naz turning down a few, quite harshly too

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Herbie Hide...rude as fcuk

Actually it was a photo...

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Not me, I haven't, in person. Through the mail, several: Arturo Gatti 4 times, Terry Norris, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Jorge Paez Sr., Yori Boy Campas, Curtis Cokes, both Donald and Bruce Curry, John Ruiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Alexis Arguello, Macho Camacho Sr., Gaby and Orlando Canizales, James Buster Douglas, Ivan Robinson to name but a few.

George Foreman denied me one ttm but his reasoning was I sent him an All-World card and he had a contract with Kayo cards so he could not. But he made up for it after I re-sent him the letter with a kayo card instead, not only did he sign my card but he sent plenty of stuff for free too like a coffee cup and some other items.

To their credit also, Camacho Sr., Tyson, Paez Sr., Campas, Ruiz, De La Hoya and Chavez Sr. did give me their autograph in person when I finally got to meet them after writing them so they turned me down ttm but not in person! And most of them were super friendly about it in person except for De La Hoya and Chavez Sr.

Correction: Now that I remember, Evander Holyfield did turn me down in person. He did, however, sign a bunch of stuff for me ttm and another time when my dad met him, he did sign for my dad in person so he might just be an on and off kind of guy I guess.

Also, Bob Arum was super nice in person and signed my Bob Arum trading card. As far as Don King, however, unless he is on trial and the cameras are on, I'd recommend you rather approach a lion before approaching him and his goons for an autograph!

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 13:57

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Not me, I haven't, in person. Through the mail, several: Arturo Gatti 4 times, Terry Norris, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Jorge Paez Sr., Yori Boy Campas, Curtis Cokes, both Donald and Bruce Curry, John Ruiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Alexis Arguello, Macho Camacho Sr., Gaby and Orlando Canizales, James Buster Douglas, Ivan Robinson to name but a few.

George Foreman denied me one ttm but his reasoning was I sent him an All-World card and he had a contract with Kayo cards so he could not. But he made up for it after I re-sent him the letter with a kayo card instead, not only did he sign my card but he sent plenty of stuff for free too like a coffee cup and some other items.

To their credit also, Camacho Sr., Tyson, Paez Sr., Campas, Ruiz, De La Hoya and Chavez Sr. did give me their autograph in person when I finally got to meet them after writing them so they turned me down ttm but not in person! And most of them were super friendly about it in person except for De La Hoya and Chavez Sr.

Correction: Now that I remember, Evander Holyfield did turn me down in person. He did, however, sign a bunch of stuff for me ttm and another time when my dad met him, he did sign for my dad in person so he might just be an on and off kind of guy I guess.

Also, Bob Arum was super nice in person and signed my Bob Arum trading card. As far as Don King, however, unless he is on trial and the cameras are on, I'd recommend you rather approach a lion before approaching him and his goons for an autograph!

What a great guy Foreman is!

Very interesting-Foreman is the guy I heard that doesn't sign-my friend asked him in person and George flipped out.

goose 5 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 19:13 Very interesting-Foreman is the guy I heard that doesn't sign-my friend asked him in person and George flipped out.

Was that the 1974 Foreman ?

Onamastus wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 15:01

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 13:57

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Not me, I haven't, in person. Through the mail, several: Arturo Gatti 4 times, Terry Norris, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Jorge Paez Sr., Yori Boy Campas, Curtis Cokes, both Donald and Bruce Curry, John Ruiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Alexis Arguello, Macho Camacho Sr., Gaby and Orlando Canizales, James Buster Douglas, Ivan Robinson to name but a few.

George Foreman denied me one ttm but his reasoning was I sent him an All-World card and he had a contract with Kayo cards so he could not. But he made up for it after I re-sent him the letter with a kayo card instead, not only did he sign my card but he sent plenty of stuff for free too like a coffee cup and some other items.

To their credit also, Camacho Sr., Tyson, Paez Sr., Campas, Ruiz, De La Hoya and Chavez Sr. did give me their autograph in person when I finally got to meet them after writing them so they turned me down ttm but not in person! And most of them were super friendly about it in person except for De La Hoya and Chavez Sr.

Correction: Now that I remember, Evander Holyfield did turn me down in person. He did, however, sign a bunch of stuff for me ttm and another time when my dad met him, he did sign for my dad in person so he might just be an on and off kind of guy I guess.

Also, Bob Arum was super nice in person and signed my Bob Arum trading card. As far as Don King, however, unless he is on trial and the cameras are on, I'd recommend you rather approach a lion before approaching him and his goons for an autograph!

What a great guy Foreman is!

LOL yes he is!

Marvin Hagler refuses to sign autographs.

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 13:57

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Not me, I haven't, in person. Through the mail, several: Arturo Gatti 4 times, Terry Norris, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Jorge Paez Sr., Yori Boy Campas, Curtis Cokes, both Donald and Bruce Curry, John Ruiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Alexis Arguello, Macho Camacho Sr., Gaby and Orlando Canizales, James Buster Douglas, Ivan Robinson to name but a few.

George Foreman denied me one ttm but his reasoning was I sent him an All-World card and he had a contract with Kayo cards so he could not. But he made up for it after I re-sent him the letter with a kayo card instead, not only did he sign my card but he sent plenty of stuff for free too like a coffee cup and some other items.

To their credit also, Camacho Sr., Tyson, Paez Sr., Campas, Ruiz, De La Hoya and Chavez Sr. did give me their autograph in person when I finally got to meet them after writing them so they turned me down ttm but not in person! And most of them were super friendly about it in person except for De La Hoya and Chavez Sr.

Correction: Now that I remember, Evander Holyfield did turn me down in person. He did, however, sign a bunch of stuff for me ttm and another time when my dad met him, he did sign for my dad in person so he might just be an on and off kind of guy I guess.

Also, Bob Arum was super nice in person and signed my Bob Arum trading card. As far as Don King, however, unless he is on trial and the cameras are on, I'd recommend you rather approach a lion before approaching him and his goons for an autograph!

How did you find out where to write those guys?

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:50

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑24 Sep 2020, 13:57

goose 5 wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 19:09 Anyone here ever meet a boxer and was refused an autograph request ?

Not me, I haven't, in person. Through the mail, several: Arturo Gatti 4 times, Terry Norris, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Jorge Paez Sr., Yori Boy Campas, Curtis Cokes, both Donald and Bruce Curry, John Ruiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Alexis Arguello, Macho Camacho Sr., Gaby and Orlando Canizales, James Buster Douglas, Ivan Robinson to name but a few.

George Foreman denied me one ttm but his reasoning was I sent him an All-World card and he had a contract with Kayo cards so he could not. But he made up for it after I re-sent him the letter with a kayo card instead, not only did he sign my card but he sent plenty of stuff for free too like a coffee cup and some other items.

To their credit also, Camacho Sr., Tyson, Paez Sr., Campas, Ruiz, De La Hoya and Chavez Sr. did give me their autograph in person when I finally got to meet them after writing them so they turned me down ttm but not in person! And most of them were super friendly about it in person except for De La Hoya and Chavez Sr.

Correction: Now that I remember, Evander Holyfield did turn me down in person. He did, however, sign a bunch of stuff for me ttm and another time when my dad met him, he did sign for my dad in person so he might just be an on and off kind of guy I guess.

Also, Bob Arum was super nice in person and signed my Bob Arum trading card. As far as Don King, however, unless he is on trial and the cameras are on, I'd recommend you rather approach a lion before approaching him and his goons for an autograph!

How did you find out where to write those guys?

I don't know about now, but back then, you could write to certain commissions and ask if they could forward a letter to some boxer who had fought there during that year. The Commission would send you a letter saying they could not, but they would send you a list with addresses of every boxer who had fought there for the last 15 or so years.

This was in 1994-95 so as you can imagine my list had addresses of people like Wilfredo Gomez, Arguello, Aaron Pryor, you name it! A few things happened through: i also had a Hollywood address book as well as the addresses of every major sports team so my brother and I would run out of money for stamps. Also, im not kidding about this: both me and my brother had fan clubs working as salespeople so we had quite a busy social life all the time, at the same time I became a professional model and actor and we had a crazy nightlife. And after my brother became a ball boy on the Phoenix Suns, we discovered the hotels where everyone who was famous and came to the Talking Stick Resort Arena stayed at, so as we began to meet more and more famous people in person, we wrote less and less. Also, there was Norm Franheimer, the local boxing beat reporter who publicized every boxer's visit to Phoenix and where they were going to be, at what time.

All that led to me not writing to all the boxers I wanted to write to.

Last but not least, through my hotel visits,I discovered that hotels do have a mail service so people who will stay there for at least three days receive mail through the hotel's address. This happened when we were trying to meet Scott Hamilton the skater...I mentioned I could not stay too long and a fellow autograph hunter and friend told me I could just leave my photo there and the mail service would give it to him. Sure enough i did and the next day i returned for my photo (having called Scott by phone and asked him if he could please sign it) and sure enough it was signed! The next time i went to a hotel i asked the clerk to make sure, if I could receive mail through their address when i stayed there and they said of course! So.....whenever there was a major fight in say Las Vegas or New York, if it was held at a hotel, I called a few days ahead to ask to talk to x boxer to make sure he or she was at the fight's hotel, and if they were, I would just write them a letter and send it, asking for an autograph and wishing good luck on the fight. It worked the first time I got Roberto Duran's autograph! Then I started doing the same to singing and acting acts and got a few people from those too!

Keep in mind through, this was all pre-911 and pre-Covid. i dont think anyone is going to be touching fan mail for a while these days..:)

bennie wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:41 Marvin Hagler refuses to sign autographs.

Hmmnn..I emailed him decades ago..he said he could not at that time..

few days later I received a signed photo and letter explaining he couldnt at the time because he was inside an Alitalia jet, flying from Rome to JFK!...

You can get a lot of boxer emails if you join Startiger, a good site for autograph hunting.

Tyson Fury.

Evander Holyfield has the reputation for being unapproachable also. Contrast to, say, Larry Holmes.

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 07:57

bennie wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:41 Marvin Hagler refuses to sign autographs.

Hmmnn..I emailed him decades ago..he said he could not at that time..

few days later I received a signed photo and letter explaining he couldnt at the time because he was inside an Alitalia jet, flying from Rome to JFK!...

You can get a lot of boxer emails if you join Startiger, a good site for autograph hunting.

He turned down a boy by the name of Kevin Mitchell, who later turned pro with a lot of success and revealed that Marvin had snubbed him.

I met Michael Spinks in 2017 at the Atlantic City BHOF pre show. I approached him at the door as he came in. I asked him if he could sign my Book One Punch From the Promise Land. He asked me a few questions about the book Like were did you get it? I told him Barnes and Noble. He reluctantly signed it but told me pretty frankly he had nothing to do with this book. I took that as maybe he and Leon are getting no royalties and possibly it was done without the authorization of the Spinks family an unofficial biography possible. The first time i was ever at the IBHOF in Upstate New York in 1991 Marvin Hagler was a guest. The guy i went with was a big Hagler fan and he walked away several times. He was very unsociable and was not fan friendly. We were very disappointed. There is an old saying that sometimes rings true. Never meet your heroes you may be in for a big letdown.

I‘m deviating here (too lazy to start another thread). Anyway, I stopped asking for autographs years ago. But I still remember the first time I asked a boxer (he was retired by then) for an autograph.

It was Jim Watt. I was a youngster at a show and he was right there. I asked him, he goes - I‘d be pleased to. Then he talked for a couple of minutes. A genuine good bloke.

Autobarn wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 05:25 Tyson Fury.

Evander Holyfield has the reputation for being unapproachable also. Contrast to, say, Larry Holmes.

That surprises me about Fury. I've seen him at shows standing for ages signing programmes and having selfies - though that was before he reached his current level of fame so maybe that's a factor? I got his autograph after the weigh-in for his fight with Firtha in Belfast.

I've heard the same as others about Hagler not signing.

Got a few autographs from signing events. Friendliest were probably Larry Holmes, Joe Bugner and Herol Graham. Richard Dunn too.

Noxy wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 08:08 I‘m deviating here (too lazy to start another thread). Anyway, I stopped asking for autographs years ago. But I still remember the first time I asked a boxer (he was retired by then) for an autograph.

It was Jim Watt. I was a youngster at a show and he was right there. I asked him, he goes - I‘d be pleased to. Then he talked for a couple of minutes. A genuine good bloke.

I actually got him by contacting his daughter Michelle, who was a talk show star in England at the time, like an Oprah. i asked if she could sign a photo for me and also if it wasnt too much to ask to see if she ciould ask her dad to sign one for me too.

She came through BIG TIME! Two weeks later I received autographs by both. which is why i am so heart broken about what happened to her later on. Depression is a big issue which is sometimes unfortunately ignored by those around the sufferer and even by the sufferer him/herself. if you have depression, get help!

bennie wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 05:39

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 07:57

bennie wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:41 Marvin Hagler refuses to sign autographs.

Hmmnn..I emailed him decades ago..he said he could not at that time..

few days later I received a signed photo and letter explaining he couldnt at the time because he was inside an Alitalia jet, flying from Rome to JFK!...

You can get a lot of boxer emails if you join Startiger, a good site for autograph hunting.

Kevin Mitchell,

Kevin Mitchell the heavyweight??

I heard that Muhammad Ali was turned down by Sugar Ray Robinson after which, Ali promised himself if he ever became famous, he'd never turn anyone down.

(which held true when i wrote to him and then met him in person..I wrote him in 1994, and met him in 1997. He was already severely ill but still signed my Sports Illustrated! His card came back in 2000, signed also!)

I've met Marvin Hagler and he was great, very humble and friendly. Maybe he mellowed as he got older.

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 08:50

bennie wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 05:39

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 07:57
Hmmnn..I emailed him decades ago..he said he could not at that time..

few days later I received a signed photo and letter explaining he couldnt at the time because he was inside an Alitalia jet, flying from Rome to JFK!...

You can get a lot of boxer emails if you join Startiger, a good site for autograph hunting.

Kevin Mitchell,

Kevin Mitchell the heavyweight??

No, he was a super-featherweight who grew into a lightweight.

bennie wrote: ↑27 Sep 2020, 04:31

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 08:50

bennie wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 05:39


Kevin Mitchell,

Kevin Mitchell the heavyweight??

No, he was a super-featherweight who grew into a lightweight.

oh yeah! Fought 3 times for world titles including with Ricky Burns and Jorge Linares!

AntonioMartin wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 08:49

Noxy wrote: ↑26 Sep 2020, 08:08 I‘m deviating here (too lazy to start another thread). Anyway, I stopped asking for autographs years ago. But I still remember the first time I asked a boxer (he was retired by then) for an autograph.

It was Jim Watt. I was a youngster at a show and he was right there. I asked him, he goes - I‘d be pleased to. Then he talked for a couple of minutes. A genuine good bloke.

I actually got him by contacting his daughter Michelle, who was a talk show star in England at the time, like an Oprah. i asked if she could sign a photo for me and also if it wasnt too much to ask to see if she ciould ask her dad to sign one for me too.

She came through BIG TIME! Two weeks later I received autographs by both. which is why i am so heart broken about what happened to her later on. Depression is a big issue which is sometimes unfortunately ignored by those around the sufferer and even by the sufferer him/herself. if you have depression, get help!

Michelle suffered from severe migraine after a supposedly routine lumbar puncture (often referred to as spinal tap) and she couldn't live with the pain.