Most famous boxers you have met

Robinson
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Most famous boxers you have met

Post by Robinson »

Hey guys I am curious to know who are the more famous guys you have met, dealt with or crossed paths with.

For me it has been

Joe Bugner - Nice funny guy, who is a giant of a man
Sam Soliman- Real humble, seemed quite but a cool guy not a giant of a man.
Anthony Mundine- Though I spoke with him briefly he seemed pretty cool and easy going.
Danny Green - Came across as a tad arrogant but looked damned fit
Jeff Fenech - I shall remember him for his ring exploits and his personality these days.
oliverfennell
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Post by oliverfennell »

Worked with Audley Harrison.

Through this work, I have met Lloyd Honeyghan, Tim Witherspoon, Kenny Croome, Thel Torrance, Jess Harding, Audley's opponents and undercard fighters.

Most notable interviewees: Greg Page, Gary Mason, Cliff Couser, Shannon Briggs, Maurice Harris, Scott Gammer, Enzo Calzaghe.

Met a fair few at shows and press conferences, too.
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Post by Dirk Kelly »

The one and the only Thomas 'The Hitman' Hearns. Met a lots of local boxers like Colin Kenna and Steve Ede.
jimglen
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Post by jimglen »

in order of who they were and popularity during thier day...

Roberto Duran
Gene Fulmer
Carloz Ortiz
Emile Griffith
Rudolpho 'El Gato' Gonzales
Julian Jackson
Ken Buchanan
Ricky Hatton
Bert Gilroy - grandfather
Eddie Perkins
Greg Haugan
Mike Weaver
Harry Scott
Pat Lawler
John Cowboy McCormack
Wilf Greaves - great Canadian fought an aging SRR
Manny Sobrel
Eddie McIntosh new British L-HW prospect, Cousins (his Dad & me)

and I know I'm forgetting some, in the same compamy of Ken Norton, Ernie Tyrell, Mathew Saad Mohammod (spelling), but never approached them and scores of British fighters mostly ex-fighters throughout the country.

Great boxing people and at the end of the day for all our armchair observation, these men "No The Score," and can often tell you different!
Robinson
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Post by Robinson »

Some damned talented guys there.

Would have been an honor to meet or know such men.
EriqS
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Post by EriqS »

Pinklon Thomas
Ray Mercer
James Bonecrusher Smith
Kelvin Seabrooks
Harold Brazier
Buck Smith
Mike Tyson - met by chance at a hotel at which he was staying
squarering
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Post by squarering »

One trip to Canastoda during the Hall of Fame inductions and you will meet a lifetime full list of guys in a very friendly envirement.
enrique
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Post by enrique »

I've probably met over 100 champions. Those that standout are Dempsey, Coulon, Ali, Pep, Charles, Conn, Liston, Patterson, Fullmer, Luis Rodriguez, Emile Griffith....
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Post by HomicideHenry »

Evander Holyfield, I was seven years old at the time and had won a sweepstakes to New York to meet Holyfield, Schwarzenegger, and MC Hammer and eat out at Planet Hollywood. Only thing I can remember is how much paparazzi there was, and how I wasn't even able to get up and say "hi" to the man who was to meet Mike Tyson for the first time, due to the press.
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Post by elmersalsa »

I have seen Roberto Duran a couple of times in the street, but I have never met him face to face.

Of fighters that I have met face to face:
1. Hilario Zapata
2. Meldrick Taylor...He even gave me an autograph. He was way past his prime and beat up. You can tell that the punches did a lot on him. I was going to asking about the Chavez fight, but I was afraid.
3. Carmen Basilio...He made may day.
4. Livingstone Bramble...A very humble guy
5. Buck Smith...Very humble too...He was surprised that I knew his pro record and that I told him also that he had more than 100 KOs in his resume

I have seen Eusebio Pedroza driving his Mercedes Benz
I have seen also: Jorge Lujan and Ravea Springs and Laila Ali...What a beautiful woman!!! She should be a model more than a boxer. :TU: :TU: :TU:
joe kurtz
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Post by joe kurtz »

Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Ken Norton

Floyd Patterson

Jersey Joe Walcott

Mike Tyson

Evander Holyfield

Larry Holmes

Earnie Shavers

Tommy Morrison

Razor Ruddock

George Chuvalo

Ron Lyle

Ernie Terrell

Tim Witherspoon

Tony Tubbs

Greg Page

Bonecrusher Smith

Riddick Bowe

Though I honestly hope that this doesn't label me as some sort of a blowhard, off the top of my head those are just the majority of the most notable heavyweights I've met or worked with over the years. If you want I could keep going on & on down the line of each weight class & list men like Ray Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Carlo Palomino, Alexis Arguello, Julio Cesar Chavez, Billy Conn,Archie Moore, Bob Foster ...

My list goes into the hundreds. But, this is the accomplishment of a lifetime in the game. From the time I began boxing at 17 WAY back in 1978, to being a sparring partner, to then being a promoter's assistant for Don Elbaum & Mike Acri for years which got me work on bigger shows put on by King, Arum & Main Events ... All this over the course of a couple of decades.

Plus, I attended every IBHOF Induction Weekend in Canastota from the very first in 1990 right up until 2001. Which accounted for many of my meetings with the elder statesmen of the sport like Ray Arcel, Jimmy McLarnin, Sandy Saddler, Ike Williams, Kid Gavilan & so on. Many of whom are no longer with us.

Being a lifelong, rabid boxing fan as well as a fighter & boxing "Jack of All Trades" like I've been for the vast majority of my 46 years on this planet, I made it a point to have a camera with me on almost every occasion that I've met or worked alongside these men, so as you can imagine, my single most prized possession is the photo album that I've kept going for all these years of photos of myself with these gentleman ( & a couple of ladies as well like Christy Martin ). Needless to say, it documents many of the most thrilling moments of my life. And other than the births of my three children, they're the proudest moments of my life as well.

My life has pretty much been a bit of a wreck these past couple of years, what with my separation from my wife, Some knee injuries & a surgery that have left me whoafully out of shape & unemployed on top of it. This being basically the nadir of my life as I see it.

But, you know what? Even if I kick off tomorrow, I've got that photo album to leave behind to my kids as evidence that I accomplished something. You know?

I wasn't great. But, at least I got to spend time with men who definitely WERE great. And on each occasion it made me proud to be able to do so.
elmersalsa
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Post by elmersalsa »

joe kurtz wrote:Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Ken Norton

Floyd Patterson

Jersey Joe Walcott

Mike Tyson

Evander Holyfield

Larry Holmes

Earnie Shavers

Tommy Morrison

Razor Ruddock

George Chuvalo

Ron Lyle

Ernie Terrell

Tim Witherspoon

Tony Tubbs

Greg Page

Bonecrusher Smith

Riddick Bowe

Though I honestly hope that this doesn't label me as some sort of a blowhard, off the top of my head those are just the majority of the most notable heavyweights I've met or worked with over the years. If you want I could keep going on & on down the line of each weight class & list men like Ray Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Carlo Palomino, Alexis Arguello, Julio Cesar Chavez, Billy Conn,Archie Moore, Bob Foster ...

My list goes into the hundreds. But, this is the accomplishment of a lifetime in the game. From the time I began boxing at 17 WAY back in 1978, to being a sparring partner, to then being a promoter's assistant for Don Elbaum & Mike Acri for years which got me work on bigger shows put on by King, Arum & Main Events ... All this over the course of a couple of decades.

Plus, I attended every IBHOF Induction Weekend in Canastota from the very first in 1990 right up until 2001. Which accounted for many of my meetings with the elder statesmen of the sport like Ray Arcel, Jimmy McLarnin, Sandy Saddler, Ike Williams, Kid Gavilan & so on. Many of whom are no longer with us.

Being a lifelong, rabid boxing fan as well as a fighter & boxing "Jack of All Trades" like I've been for the vast majority of my 46 years on this planet, I made it a point to have a camera with me on almost every occasion that I've met or worked alongside these men, so as you can imagine, my single most prized possession is the photo album that I've kept going for all these years of photos of myself with these gentleman ( & a couple of ladies as well like Christy Martin ). Needless to say, it documents many of the most thrilling moments of my life. And other than the births of my three children, they're the proudest moments of my life as well.

My life has pretty much been a bit of a wreck these past couple of years, what with my separation from my wife, Some knee injuries & a surgery that have left me whoafully out of shape & unemployed on top of it. This being basically the nadir of my life as I see it.

But, you know what? Even if I kick off tomorrow, I've got that photo album to leave behind to my kids as evidence that I accomplished something. You know?

I wasn't great. But, at least I got to spend time with men who definitely WERE great. And on each occasion it made me proud to be able to do so.
Great post...I wish you the best of luck, brother.
KO Artist
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Post by KO Artist »

jimglen wrote:in order of who they were and popularity during thier day...

Roberto Duran
Gene Fulmer
Carloz Ortiz
Emile Griffith
Rudolpho 'El Gato' Gonzales
Julian Jackson
Ken Buchanan
Ricky Hatton
Bert Gilroy - grandfather
Eddie Perkins
Greg Haugan
Mike Weaver
Harry Scott
Pat Lawler
John Cowboy McCormack
Wilf Greaves - great Canadian fought an aging SRR
Manny Sobrel
Eddie McIntosh new British L-HW prospect, Cousins (his Dad & me)

and I know I'm forgetting some, in the same compamy of Ken Norton, Ernie Tyrell, Mathew Saad Mohammod (spelling), but never approached them and scores of British fighters mostly ex-fighters throughout the country.

Great boxing people and at the end of the day for all our armchair observation, these men "No The Score," and can often tell you different!
Thats some list - WOW - You are right about telling you different - No fight is the same. A guy can go the distance and declare his opponent a massive puncher, then get tko'd in 1 (3kdr) and say I didnt feel a thing.

Met Tim Witherspoon, and chatted to him, he looks real young for his age.

John Mugabi - Lovely guy and real joker

Chris Eubank - Gentleman and great with my kid. Enormous for 16o lbs how he made it I will never know.

Johnny Nelson. - Gentleman.

Tyson - Moody but with a comical side.

Chris Okoh - Nice man

Barry McGuigan - x 2 Superb.

Terry Downes - Nice bloke but swears so much you think he has touretts.

Henry Cooper - Nice man - Left Handed, but not a converted southpaw.

Don Curry - AWESOME

Tony Sibson - Class Fella

And others, some of whom were great amatuers but never made big noises pro, like Tony Velinor, ABA Champ and better than Nigel Benn IMO
joe kurtz
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Post by joe kurtz »

elmersalsa wrote:
joe kurtz wrote:Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Ken Norton

Floyd Patterson

Jersey Joe Walcott

Mike Tyson

Evander Holyfield

Larry Holmes

Earnie Shavers

Tommy Morrison

Razor Ruddock

George Chuvalo

Ron Lyle

Ernie Terrell

Tim Witherspoon

Tony Tubbs

Greg Page

Bonecrusher Smith

Riddick Bowe

Though I honestly hope that this doesn't label me as some sort of a blowhard, off the top of my head those are just the majority of the most notable heavyweights I've met or worked with over the years. If you want I could keep going on & on down the line of each weight class & list men like Ray Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Carlo Palomino, Alexis Arguello, Julio Cesar Chavez, Billy Conn,Archie Moore, Bob Foster ...

My list goes into the hundreds. But, this is the accomplishment of a lifetime in the game. From the time I began boxing at 17 WAY back in 1978, to being a sparring partner, to then being a promoter's assistant for Don Elbaum & Mike Acri for years which got me work on bigger shows put on by King, Arum & Main Events ... All this over the course of a couple of decades.

Plus, I attended every IBHOF Induction Weekend in Canastota from the very first in 1990 right up until 2001. Which accounted for many of my meetings with the elder statesmen of the sport like Ray Arcel, Jimmy McLarnin, Sandy Saddler, Ike Williams, Kid Gavilan & so on. Many of whom are no longer with us.

Being a lifelong, rabid boxing fan as well as a fighter & boxing "Jack of All Trades" like I've been for the vast majority of my 46 years on this planet, I made it a point to have a camera with me on almost every occasion that I've met or worked alongside these men, so as you can imagine, my single most prized possession is the photo album that I've kept going for all these years of photos of myself with these gentleman ( & a couple of ladies as well like Christy Martin ). Needless to say, it documents many of the most thrilling moments of my life. And other than the births of my three children, they're the proudest moments of my life as well.

My life has pretty much been a bit of a wreck these past couple of years, what with my separation from my wife, Some knee injuries & a surgery that have left me whoafully out of shape & unemployed on top of it. This being basically the nadir of my life as I see it.

But, you know what? Even if I kick off tomorrow, I've got that photo album to leave behind to my kids as evidence that I accomplished something. You know?

I wasn't great. But, at least I got to spend time with men who definitely WERE great. And on each occasion it made me proud to be able to do so.
Great post...I wish you the best of luck, brother.
many thanks my friend. :TU:
joe kurtz
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Post by joe kurtz »

elmersalsa wrote:
joe kurtz wrote:Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Ken Norton

Floyd Patterson

Jersey Joe Walcott

Mike Tyson

Evander Holyfield

Larry Holmes

Earnie Shavers

Tommy Morrison

Razor Ruddock

George Chuvalo

Ron Lyle

Ernie Terrell

Tim Witherspoon

Tony Tubbs

Greg Page

Bonecrusher Smith

Riddick Bowe

Though I honestly hope that this doesn't label me as some sort of a blowhard, off the top of my head those are just the majority of the most notable heavyweights I've met or worked with over the years. If you want I could keep going on & on down the line of each weight class & list men like Ray Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Carlo Palomino, Alexis Arguello, Julio Cesar Chavez, Billy Conn,Archie Moore, Bob Foster ...

My list goes into the hundreds. But, this is the accomplishment of a lifetime in the game. From the time I began boxing at 17 WAY back in 1978, to being a sparring partner, to then being a promoter's assistant for Don Elbaum & Mike Acri for years which got me work on bigger shows put on by King, Arum & Main Events ... All this over the course of a couple of decades.

Plus, I attended every IBHOF Induction Weekend in Canastota from the very first in 1990 right up until 2001. Which accounted for many of my meetings with the elder statesmen of the sport like Ray Arcel, Jimmy McLarnin, Sandy Saddler, Ike Williams, Kid Gavilan & so on. Many of whom are no longer with us.

Being a lifelong, rabid boxing fan as well as a fighter & boxing "Jack of All Trades" like I've been for the vast majority of my 46 years on this planet, I made it a point to have a camera with me on almost every occasion that I've met or worked alongside these men, so as you can imagine, my single most prized possession is the photo album that I've kept going for all these years of photos of myself with these gentleman ( & a couple of ladies as well like Christy Martin ). Needless to say, it documents many of the most thrilling moments of my life. And other than the births of my three children, they're the proudest moments of my life as well.

My life has pretty much been a bit of a wreck these past couple of years, what with my separation from my wife, Some knee injuries & a surgery that have left me whoafully out of shape & unemployed on top of it. This being basically the nadir of my life as I see it.

But, you know what? Even if I kick off tomorrow, I've got that photo album to leave behind to my kids as evidence that I accomplished something. You know?

I wasn't great. But, at least I got to spend time with men who definitely WERE great. And on each occasion it made me proud to be able to do so.
Great post...I wish you the best of luck, brother.
many thanks my friend. :TU:
Bobbin & Weavin
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Post by Bobbin & Weavin »

Gowing up and boxing as amatures in the San Francisco Bay area my brother and I had a lot of fun meeting the local talent and the famous fighters that came into town to fight them.
Some old timers we had the pleasure to meet after their careers while hanging out and training at Newman's Gym were and attending local boxing dinners;
Fred Apostle
Small Montana
Henry Armstrong
Buddy Bear
Gene Fullmer
Bobo Olson
California Joe Lynch
Carlos Ortiz
Ernie Terril

Fighters we were fortunate enough to see training;
George Foreman - As an amature and a pro
Emile Griffith
Luis Rodriguez

Local heros we trained around and became friends with some;
Ranked Middleweights in the seventies
Nate Collins - Still see Nate a couple times a year
Jimmy Lester
George Cooper
Ralph McCoy
Mike Nixon

Local Heavyweights;
Henry Clark
Roby Harris

I got to box many rounds with Ray Lunny III during his career, he faced Alfredo Escalarza for the Jr. Lightweight title.

I have some pretty cool pictures of most of these guys that I would love to post if that option is available.
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Post by Minotauro »

enrique wrote:I've probably met over 100 champions. Those that standout are Dempsey, Coulon, Ali, Pep, Charles, Conn, Liston, Patterson, Fullmer, Luis Rodriguez, Emile Griffith....
You got to meet Ezzard Charles? What was he like did you get the chance to talk to him?
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Post by RazorKO »

Mike Tyson, just before his second bout with Ruddock. One of the most friendly and kindest men you will meet.

Gerrie Coetzee - Another class act, I shook his hand in 1984, the year he lost the title to Greg Page.
Norm
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Post by Norm »

Sort of a Montana theme woven throughout my list:

Roger Rouse
Jorge Paez
Gene Fulmer
Marvin Camel
Garing Lane
Todd Foster
Livingstone Bramble
Julio Cesar Borboa
Scotty Olson
Shelley Burton(MT boxer who fought Laila in the Garden)
Jenifer Alcorn
Mills Lane(have to include great ref here)
kikibalt
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Post by kikibalt »

Joe Louis...hanged around with him for 5 days back in 1977.
Robinson
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Post by Robinson »

What was Joe Louis like to be around. That would have been incredible to hang with him.
kikibalt
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Post by kikibalt »

Robinson wrote:What was Joe Louis like to be around. That would have been incredible to hang with him.
This is a copy of a post that I posted on another site.



Here's how I met the man that I think was the greatest heavyweight of all times Joe Louis , in 1977 we, my son Frankie Baltazar , the late Johnny Flores trainer, an myself left L.A to go to Miami Fl., Frankie was going to fight Francisco Villegas on Don King's u.s tournament , Larry Holmes was also going to fight , that was the weekend the scandal broke, anyway getting back to Louis it was a sad & happy experience for me , sad because I was seening Louis working for Don King ,he was suppose to be our driver , happy because I met the greatest heavyweight of all time ,he was to drive us where we needed to go , well I wasn't going to let the great Louis drive the Baltazar's around , him and Johnny were old buddys from back in the WWII days , so I had them sit in the back of the car an I took the wheel an I drove Joe Louis around an that how I met Joe Louis.

Louis was a every quiet man, a man of every few words who never the less was fun to be around, at times he could be funny and be telling jokes.
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Post by Mimmy »

After reading those replies my list seems so insignificent, but i have met and spoken to:

James Oyebola, great character.
Roy Foreman, Georges bro.
Frank Bruno
Paul Ingle
Barry Mcguigan
Ghris Pyatt
Jack 'kid' Berg
Steve Williams (ex jockey and fought for British title)
granberry
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Post by granberry »

mimmy123 wrote:After reading those replies my list seems so insignificent, but i have met and spoken to:

. . .

Jack 'kid' Berg
. . .
There is nothing insignificant about Jack 'Kid' Berg.

Tell us about meeting him.
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Post by kikibalt »

granberry wrote:
mimmy123 wrote:After reading those replies my list seems so insignificent, but i have met and spoken to:

. . .

Jack 'kid' Berg
. . .
There is nothing insignificant about Jack 'Kid' Berg.

Tell us about meeting him.
Image

Jackie "Kid" Berg
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