Met any boxers or fighters? Tell us your experiences.

mozfonky said:
you met two of my greatest heroes, alexis and macho, god it killed me when macho died, i wanted to meet him someday and told him so on his facebook.
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I was definitely fortunate to meet both of them, definitely honored I can say that.
 
mozfonky said:
yeah, true boxing characters, each and every one of them. I never got to see the Eagle gym, it was a bit before my time and Joe West retired leaving me with no gym and I wasn't going to catch 3 buses every day just to train. Sad for me but seattle never did have many options for boxers. Say, do you happen to to know John David Jackson's history? Were close to the same age yet I never came across him or heard about him and in a small boxing community like seattle, i always thought that was odd. Today, there are a few boxing clubs but I haven't gotten around to seeing any of their events, Bumblebee has a gym but I don't think he's had any one of note come out of their. Other than that, nothing but amateurs and kids hold events here. Sometimes the casinos have boxing, i keep meaning to go see some.
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I never met John David Jackson but he cam along at a time of perhaps the greatest amateur era in U.S. history out of the Pacific Northwest. . .from the timeframe of the 70's through the 80's two clubs in particular Tacoma Boys Club and the Everett Firefighters. Tacoma's Joe Clough produced a mega wealth of great amateurs that became national champions, Olympic team members and professional champion s. . .including Sugar Ray Seales, his half-brother Dale Grant, Leo Randolph, Davey Lee Armstrong, Johnny Bumphus, Rocky Lockridge and John David Jackson among others. . .I believe that under Clough's development that the Tacoma Boys Club was superior to the Kronk Gym in Detroit. . . .about the same time and about 60 miles to the north in Everett Troy Summers put together a great program that included several national champions Joe Belinc (who actually defeated Pernell Whitaker for the spot on the 84 Olympic team only for the powers that be later calling for another box off which Sweet Pea won), two time Olympian and '84 team captain Robert Shannon and multi-national champion Brett Summers.. . .Troy's teams and his stature was so respected that Emmanel Steward told me that it was a travesty that Summers was not named the head coach of the '84 team. . .Interestingly his son blond haired, blue eyed Brett went to Detroit and joined the Kronk Gym to be trained as a pro under Emmanuel.. . . John David Jackson was a a great representative of the region and of the era.. . .clearly the successes of his long career and his pedigree is a deep one.
 
i know a ton obviously. here are just some that are the nicest/coolest

kali meehan
jessie vargas
j'leon love
jeff mayweather
larry holmes
celestino caballero
tommy hearns
dewey cooper
art jimmerson
kevin johnson


meehan and vargas are real standouts. just really cool, totally class people
 
mozfonky said:
yeah, true boxing characters, each and every one of them. I never got to see the Eagle gym, it was a bit before my time and Joe West retired leaving me with no gym and I wasn't going to catch 3 buses every day just to train. Sad for me but seattle never did have many options for boxers. Say, do you happen to to know John David Jackson's history? Were close to the same age yet I never came across him or heard about him and in a small boxing community like seattle, i always thought that was odd. Today, there are a few boxing clubs but I haven't gotten around to seeing any of their events, Bumblebee has a gym but I don't think he's had any one of note come out of their. Other than that, nothing but amateurs and kids hold events here. Sometimes the casinos have boxing, i keep meaning to go see some.
Click to expand...

I never met John David Jackson but he cam along at a time of perhaps the greatest amateur era in U.S. history out of the Pacific Northwest. . .from the timeframe of the 70's through the 80's two clubs in particular Tacoma Boys Club and the Everett Firefighters. Joe Clough produced a mega wealth of great amateurs that became national champions, Olympic team members and professional champion s. . .including Sugar Ray Seales, his half-brother Dale Grant, Leo Randolph, Davey Lee Armstrong, Johnny Bumphus, Rocky Lockridge and John David Jackson among others. . .I believe that under Clough's development that the Tacoma Boys Club was superior to the Kronk Gym in Detroit. . . .about the same time and about 60 miles to the north in Everett Troy Summers put together a great program that included several national champions Joe Belinc (who actually defeated Pernell Whitaker for the spot on the 84 Olympic team only for the powers that be later calling for another box off which Sweet Pea won), two time Olympian and '84 team captain Robert Shannon and multi-national champion Brett Summers.. . .Troy's teams and his stature was so respected that Emmanel Steward told me that it was a travesty that Summers was not named the head coach of the '84 team. . .Interestingly his son blond haired, blue eyed Brett went to Detroit and joined the Kronk Gym to be trained as a pro under Emmanuel.. . . John David Jackson was a a great representative of the region and of the era.
 
i met amir khan once, my daughter (she was 18 months at the time) tried to steal his ear phones which were hanging over his collar. pretty funny/embarrassing. he seemed a nice guy, it was just after the salita fight.
 
not sure if it was posted do not want check the whole thread right now. I remember someone here saying they met Oliver McCall at the wrong time.it started out as just friendly stuff like when will he fight the big names next. all the sudden Oliver starts yelling about how the champs NEED TO FACE HIM the whole time Oliver is screaming at the guy and sticking a finger in his chest
 
Wait, has Cuban come in here and regurgitated that bullshit story about how mean and cruel Freddie Roach was?
 
thru old pms here I talked to Rocky Batastini

at youtube I made a support video about Mike Bourke that he commented on a few times

also talked to Dave Fox a few times in youtube pms
 
Oops. . double posted
 
SilvawillRise said:
Met Hector Camacho a few times at my uncles gym and he was always great to me really nice guy who had a real aura about him. Always cool when fan's came up to him, at least in my experience.

Genaro Hernandez - This was back when the Brooklyn Boxing Gym was still open in East Los Angeles. My dad would work out of there and one day when I was working out Gernaro showed up to shadow box and do some other work in the gym. He was a really super cool guy. He was all business for the most part but he would give pointers when he would break.

Alexis Arguello - My uncle was training him for a come back years ago (Which never happend) and during a BBQ that my uncle threw I got a chance to meet Alexis. Another cool dude who I was in awe of.

Mikkel Kessler - Very cool guy, very respectful, and a crazy hard worker.
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Arguello? Nice.
 
Met my favorite Tito Trinidad in Sacramento with Don king who was a dick n roy jones.

Met a bunch more through out the years.
 
ProBoxingInsidr said:
i know a ton obviously. here are just some that are the nicest/coolest

kali meehan
jessie vargas
j'leon love
jeff mayweather
larry holmes
celestino caballero
tommy hearns
dewey cooper
art jimmerson
kevin johnson


meehan and vargas are real standouts. just really cool, totally class people
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Is Larry Holmes how people expect he would be? Whats Tommy like?
 
zuffa zack said:
Is Larry Holmes how people expect he would be? Whats Tommy like?
Click to expand...

not at all i would think. since i expected him to be a jerk. i was reluctant to even speak to him the first time. now i have been around him on at least a half dozen occasions. he is as friendly as it gets. at the wbc pension fund thing was a perfect example. he was the first to get there and last to leave. he was singing and joking with everyone. a young fighter (15 y.o) was there with me and larry gave him like a 10 minute lesson on the jab. i expected him to be grumpy and mean, he is the total opposite. he gave me his phone number for future use and just asked that i dont give it to anyone else


tommy was really cool too. i am from detroit, so he is a big hero for me. i have been around him 4 times and he was always friendly and fun. he was like Holmes at the wbc thing. early there and left when it was over. he joked a lot, especially with iran barkley. just seems like a great guy and what i like is that he comes across as totally honest without being arrogant. i had an interesting conversation with him about his son boxing that perfectly illustrates it. he loves him but realizes he doesnt quite have the same talent the he did
 
actjac said:
I never met John David Jackson but he cam along at a time of perhaps the greatest amateur era in U.S. history out of the Pacific Northwest. . .from the timeframe of the 70's through the 80's two clubs in particular Tacoma Boys Club and the Everett Firefighters. Joe Clough produced a mega wealth of great amateurs that became national champions, Olympic team members and professional champion s. . .including Sugar Ray Seales, his half-brother Dale Grant, Leo Randolph, Davey Lee Armstrong, Johnny Bumphus, Rocky Lockridge and John David Jackson among others. . .I believe that under Clough's development that the Tacoma Boys Club was superior to the Kronk Gym in Detroit. . . .about the same time and about 60 miles to the north in Everett Troy Summers put together a great program that included several national champions Joe Belinc (who actually defeated Pernell Whitaker for the spot on the 84 Olympic team only for the powers that be later calling for another box off which Sweet Pea won), two time Olympian and '84 team captain Robert Shannon and multi-national champion Brett Summers.. . .Troy's teams and his stature was so respected that Emmanel Steward told me that it was a travesty that Summers was not named the head coach of the '84 team. . .Interestingly his son blond haired, blue eyed Brett went to Detroit and joined the Kronk Gym to be trained as a pro under Emmanuel.. . . John David Jackson was a a great representative of the region and of the era.
Click to expand...
ya, tacoma boxers were phenomenal, they left when they went pro and that seems to be the difference between kronk and them. I've said it without shame several times, when I was a kid, Joe West never really did any teaching, I'd see those tacoma kids fight way beyond their experience and just knew that I wouldn't be able to compete with them. I don't know what Joe was like before I knew him but he never taught any of us anything (almost never, so I just say never) I have to give myself credit, i was always smarter than the people around me and so I'd see them get beaten to a pulp by tacoma boxers (mylon watkins slaughtered one of our guys without breaking a sweat). when I told bumblebee of my youthful apprehension he said "that shows a lot of intelligence" and he didn't seem to think highly of Joe. Jarvis, when I met him, I told him how it was when I was a kid and unbeknownst to me, Joe had been dead for a good five years when we had this conversation and Bob did the decent thing of just saying he really didn't want to say anything about Joe. I ran into an old boxer, clubfighter by the name of Al Foster who was a Duran sparring partner, he seemed to think joe was alright. Fraser Scott wrote a pretty good book on his career and had some interesting stories between him and joe. I do remember Brett Summers, I think he may have trained at my gym but I never met him. Chemeres and West seemed to have a contempt for each other, I remember, when I was 13, i'd overhear each saying things about the other when they weren't around. Chemeres, I recall, had that characteristic boxing paranoia and I'd walk in the locker room and hear him say "ok, we're not alone now, we'll talk later". Like I said, characters.
 
I bet Holmes really wanted you to give out his number. He seems like a guy who wants people to pay attention to him. Not that he doesn't deserve it or anything, just saying.
 
tankfan said:
not sure if it was posted do not want check the whole thread right now. I remember someone here saying they met Oliver McCall at the wrong time.it started out as just friendly stuff like when will he fight the big names next. all the sudden Oliver starts yelling about how the champs NEED TO FACE HIM the whole time Oliver is screaming at the guy and sticking a finger in his chest
Click to expand...

That's earlier on in this thread, when Mccall stepped to Barman lol.
 
I met perennial fringe contender, the heavy handed Bert Cooper in Florida around 1992. He was very approachable and down to earth, easy to talk to.
 
Around 2000 at a mall I worked at in Florida, Roy Jones Jr showed up. I had 2 thoughts: First, he looked very small in his jogging suit yet I knew he could knock me out, and 2nd, he had an enormous entourage around him, which if he didn't have no one would have even given him a second look. It was almost like he wanted to draw attention to himself.
 
Seano said:
I bet Holmes really wanted you to give out his number. He seems like a guy who wants people to pay attention to him. Not that he doesn't deserve it or anything, just saying.
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well, i cant speak for him obviously. maybe i should just post it here and see if he gets pissed. lol
 
very few boxers need entourages. even legends like tommy hearns can move around without too much problem. i would say besides tyson, manny, floyd and ali, nobody really needs one.

some like leonard, hearns, hagler, etc will get some attention, but nothng too crazy. floyd sr and roger do ONLY if they are at the mgm during fight week. i know because i had to escort them along with jeff through the mgm from the lobby to a restaurant by the arena the day after jr. beat canelo. took almost an hour to get there.

i wish i could talk about the fighters who are dicks, but gotta keep that to myself for the most part.
 
I haven't actually personally met that I can remember, but I probably have, but it's not of importance, Angel "Cholo" Espada, although I'm unsure of his popularity.

He lives in the same town as I do. He trains fighters at a local gym close to my house and I see him frequently jogging and walking around town and at the public square.

I do know both of his sons though.

I also went to school with Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera and with female weight lifter Rizelyx Rivera who wasn't all jacked up and was a lot prettier when were in school together, but that's another topic for another day.
 
nac386 said:
Moz, I know you are an honest guy, but I probably wouldn't buy what actjac is selling you right now. He has never given the impression that he knows anything about boxing at all in the past.

"Camacho is small"
"King is smart"

Let me guess, Pac was nice? Mayorga smoked?
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You suddenly went from being on the attack to very quiet.
 
Met Luis Resto two times also. His son opened a wing place in my area. He was quiet and just sat there but everybody else was talking, I didn't know what to say to him.

MMA side of things i met Tito Ortiz who was damn nice..i disturbed him while he was having drinks and he let me be a fan boy for a minute. Donald Cerrone seemed cool, Matt Hughes isn't half of the dick I thought he was and Richie Hightower isn't a complete tool like he appeared to be on the tuf season he was on.
 
actjac said:
You suddenly went from being on the attack to very quiet.
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Why would I repeat myself? My views on actjac:

*Worst thread creator on the boxing forum
*Absurd views on weight classes that nobody agrees with and show a general lack of understanding.
*Lies and or exaggerates his "vast" experiences with legends of the sport.

The first two are self-evident. The last one is because you make lots of claims, but inexplicably avoid giving any foundation for your claims. You said you spent enough time with Don King to recognize him as an extremely intelligent and aware man, how's that? Explain.

You said Floyd Mayweather was a really nice guy. That's great. Explain that story.

You said you were "out and about" with Randy Coutour. Sounds fun. Why were you hanging out with Randy Coutour?

I asked what the situation was that put you around sports figures, and you said you don't have to justify yourself. How oddly defensive lol

You have this strange idea that people might not believe you because of your experiences. No, not at all. It's because you tell your stories without necessary support. I have no reason to doubt your stories, except for the fact that they sound like stories made up by a 10 year old. You can change that, if you want.

I won't be hanging around repeating myself, so whenever you wonder, just re-read this post.
 
met floyd patterson plenty of times as a kid...he used to train my dad back in the 70s when he was boxing in the amateurs..great guy

met marlon starling, sean fitzgerald, jose antonio rivera, evander holyfield (dude nearly broke my hand when he shook it), tomasz adamek, glen johnson, etc etc...ive known chad dawson since i was in high school
 
nac386 said:
Why would I repeat myself? My views on actjac:

*Worst thread creator on the boxing forum
*Absurd views on weight classes that nobody agrees with and show a general lack of understanding.
*Lies and or exaggerates his "vast" experiences with legends of the sport.
Click to expand...

seconded
 
^What was Patterson like? (according to your dad)
 
Attended the Hall of Fame weekend two years in a row and will be going again this coming June. Met more greats from the past and present than I care to list. It's always an amazing experience as a fan to go and I've always encouraged fans to go. I'll answer any question about my experiences though. You're not just seeing them up on stage either. You get to mingle and hang out. Take pictures and get autographs. They all hang at the local bars where you can mingle and talk shop with these guys over a couple beers. Every fighter I've met has been to welcoming with the exception of one. Other than that it's a great time.
 
Will list just the champions and top contenders that I have actually shook hands with and spoken to:

Larry Holmes
Michael Spinks
Leon Spinks
Sugar Ray Leonard
Hector Camacho
Alexis Arguello
Roy Jones Jr.
Bobby Chacon
Marvin Camel
Bruce Seldon
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Mike Tyson
Joe Mesi
Roger Mayweather
Virgil Hill
Gene Fullmer
Jersey Joe Walcott
Earnie Shavers
Gerry ****ey
David Tua
Peter Quillan
Greg Page
Joe Frazier
Muhammad Ali
George Foreman
Vassiliy Jirov
Bobby Czyz
 
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slimpickenz84 said:
Attended the Hall of Fame weekend two years in a row and will be going again this coming June. Met more greats from the past and present than I care to list. It's always an amazing experience as a fan to go and I've always encouraged fans to go. I'll answer any question about my experiences though. You're not just seeing them up on stage either. You get to mingle and hang out. Take pictures and get autographs. They all hang at the local bars where you can mingle and talk shop with these guys over a couple beers. Every fighter I've met has been to welcoming with the exception of one. Other than that it's a great time.
Click to expand...

did you get to meet calzaghe?
 
Lol Gerry ****ey.
 
ironfist05 said:
did you get to meet calzaghe?
Click to expand...

Yeah, last year. Briefly. They have a cocktail hour where you dress up nice and go hang out with them in this like castle. It's beautiful. Unfortunately, there are a lot of autograph seeking whores whore there to make money off of getting shit signed. Most of the fighters keep their calm through it all but Joe got overwhelmed and spent most of the event in a back room with his people. It was too much for him.

Luckily after it was over we were walking to my car and I saw him and his people coming out of the back door to his limo. I felt bad because I knew he had had a tough time in there but he was very gracious anyways and posed for a picture. I told him he would've schooled Froch and he got a good laugh out of that.

That's my Joe Calzaghe story lol
 
Seano said:
Lol Gerry ****ey.
Click to expand...


Literally I was not allowed to post the word ****ey.....I guess it could be considered politically incorrect or racist.

C o o n e y
 
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nac386 said:
Why would I repeat myself? My views on actjac:

*Worst thread creator on the boxing forum
*Absurd views on weight classes that nobody agrees with and show a general lack of understanding.
*Lies and or exaggerates his "vast" experiences with legends of the sport.

The first two are self-evident. The last one is because you make lots of claims, but inexplicably avoid giving any foundation for your claims. You said you spent enough time with Don King to recognize him as an extremely intelligent and aware man, how's that? Explain.

You said Floyd Mayweather was a really nice guy. That's great. Explain that story.

You said you were "out and about" with Randy Coutour. Sounds fun. Why were you hanging out with Randy Coutour?

I asked what the situation was that put you around sports figures, and you said you don't have to justify yourself. How oddly defensive lol

You have this strange idea that people might not believe you because of your experiences. No, not at all. It's because you tell your stories without necessary support. I have no reason to doubt your stories, except for the fact that they sound like stories made up by a 10 year old. You can change that, if you want.

I won't be hanging around repeating myself, so whenever you wonder, just re-read this post.
Click to expand...



You have mis-represented my previous post....Here are my quotes about Mayweather and Couture..."even though I don't like who he is in the ring Floyd Mayweather is ok.. . .My impression of MMAers is that they are a different breed. . .a genuine good guy that I have been around in and out of the gym is Randy Couture though.

I didn't say Mayweather was a "really nice guy" and I did not say that I have been "out and about" or "hanging out" with Randy Couture.
I have spent a number of times with Don King over the years. He WAS probably the smartest guy in boxing.

Regarding weight classes: I have a great deal of understanding given my background and awareness of the history. It is clear that you do not know the background of boxing and how it evolved to where its at today....For more than 100 years there were only a handful of weight classes and fans could name and keep up with the champions and contenders...but during the 80's especially when Don King got a stranglehold on the heavyweights and manipulated rankings, TV deals and championships it froze the other promoters out of the biggest deals including Bob Arum....when Arum had the chance to sign Oscar De La Hoya he shifted away from most boxers above welterweight to smaller weight classes (which meant Mexican) and moved his headquarters from NewYork to Las Vegas...One of the matchmakers that Top Rank worked with at the time was Jimmy Montoya who provided their shows with opponents from southern California gyms but especially from Mexico....The demographics on ESPN's Top Rank Boxing shifted and the show lost the more typical viewers while gaining in Hispanic viewership...During the same time the ratings organizations expanded the weight classes to include more divisions and that is why today there is ten classifications at 140 lbs. and below....Don King kept his focus on the heavier weights and particularly black American fighters, Bob Arum had shifted to the lighter weights which Latino's dominate and the other big player was Main Events (Duva's) who had the foresight to get involved with Olympians and national amateur champions (Johnny Bumphus, Alex Ramos, Bobby Czyz) and popular Northeastern boxers which they rode until they lost titles and got older. Now currently Golden Boy continues with the Top Rank formula of focusing on Mexican, Mexican-American and lighter weights. Oscar has begun to realize that there is value in expanding to heavier more traditional weights like Davis Lemieux and Luis Ortiz.

The rise of Eurpoean organizations like the WBO was due to the need for foreign boxers to be recognized on the world stage and thus allowed many of the champions currently to gain status and opportunities.....It has taken time to shift and only in the past few years has boxing regained a popularity that it had lost during the Top Rank-De La Hoya focus as well as King's continuing dominance.

You claimed that I lied and exaggerated ...I will make THIS claim: I probably have spent more hours in boxing gyms, actual boxing events and known more boxing people from fighters to trainers to managers to media types to broadcasters than 90% of the people on this forum COMBINED!...my posts are true and I am articulate enough to sound well beyond those coming from a 10 year old. Your way of attacking my validity is like a 10 year old in a schoolyard who says prove it when you cannot match their story or experience. I do not have to explain or justify anything to you.

Clearly you Mr. nac386 do not have a background or knowledge of boxing to recognize the reasons that I have explained above. I attribute it to the fact that the average poster in boxing forums is 26 years old and believes that boxing was invented with Oscar De La Hoya and that Floyd Mayweather is the greatest of all time.

My main reason for much of the criticism that I use in my threads is to point out how boxing has DE-volved in this generation and lost popularity due to the proliferation of lower weight classes, many multiple champions and now I attack this stupid debate of P4P which has risen and replaced actual conversation about real fights as a way to fill the void left by good head-to-head matches.
Boxing is a great sport and can continue to make a come back but must get back the attention and discussion to focusing on great and real matches involving bigger fighters.....hopefully ignorant fans like you can be informed and educated and actually contribute some positive things to the sport.

btw...I will wave to you when the camera hits me from both the Cosmo on Friday and Saturday from Mandalay in November...and I predict that Canelo will dominate Cotto just like Golovkin did Lemieux setting up a super fight in 2016.
 
actjac said:
Will list just the champions and top contenders that I have actually shook hands with and spoken to:

Larry Holmes
Michael Spinks
Leon Spinks
Sugar Ray Leonard
Hector Camacho
Alexis Arguello
Roy Jones Jr.
Bobby Chacon
Marvin Camel
Bruce Seldon
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Mike Tyson
Joe Mesi
Roger Mayweather
Virgil Hill
Gene Fullmer
Jersey Joe Walcott
Earnie Shavers
Gerry ****ey
David Tua
Peter Quillan
Greg Page
Joe Frazier
Muhammad Ali
George Foreman
Vassiliy Jirov
Bobby Czyz
Click to expand...

Was Gene an approachable guy? I read he kept a chip on his shoulder. What about Jersey Joe? I've never heard a thing of his personality.
 
That is one of the more amusing attempts at backtracking that I have seen. And wouldn't ya know it, still inexplicably avoiding giving any actual details about these meetings.

Tell us, what was your interaction with Mayweather and why did it leave you with a positive impression? What interaction did you have with Don King that lead you to tell us that he was "very aware and smart"? Tell us about your time with Randy "inside and outside of the gym", and why you think he's a good guy?

You won't, because you've overstated or fabricated your interactions with these people. If you had any real stories you would have told them by now.

Also, you're giving yourself too much credit by claiming you are more articulate than a 10 year old. I think it depends on the 10 year old.
 
zuffa zack said:
Was Gene an approachable guy? I read he kept a chip on his shoulder. What about Jersey Joe? I've never heard a thing of his personality.
Click to expand...

I met Gene and his brother Don along with several members of their sizeable family who were involved in different aspects of boxing in Utah....he was approachable and courteous.

Jersey Joe was at an Atlantic City casino greeting guests and posing for pictures.....he was very congenial.

One of the nicest guys of the list is Earnie Shavers who currently has created a job at different sports memorbilia shops in Las Vegas posing for pictures and signing autographs.
 
actjac said:
You have mis-represented my previous post....Here are my quotes about Mayweather and Couture..."even though I don't like who he is in the ring Floyd Mayweather is ok.. . .My impression of MMAers is that they are a different breed. . .a genuine good guy that I have been around in and out of the gym is Randy Couture though.

I didn't say Mayweather was a "really nice guy" and I did not say that I have been "out and about" or "hanging out" with Randy Couture.
I have spent a number of times with Don King over the years. He WAS probably the smartest guy in boxing.

Regarding weight classes: I have a great deal of understanding given my background and awareness of the history. It is clear that you do not know the background of boxing and how it evolved to where its at today....For more than 100 years there were only a handful of weight classes and fans could name and keep up with the champions and contenders...but during the 80's especially when Don King got a stranglehold on the heavyweights and manipulated rankings, TV deals and championships it froze the other promoters out of the biggest deals including Bob Arum....when Arum had the chance to sign Oscar De La Hoya he shifted away from most boxers above welterweight to smaller weight classes (which meant Mexican) and moved his headquarters from NewYork to Las Vegas...One of the matchmakers that Top Rank worked with at the time was Jimmy Montoya who provided their shows with opponents from southern California gyms but especially from Mexico....The demographics on ESPN's Top Rank Boxing shifted and the show lost the more typical viewers while gaining in Hispanic viewership...During the same time the ratings organizations expanded the weight classes to include more divisions and that is why today there is ten classifications at 140 lbs. and below....Don King kept his focus on the heavier weights and particularly black American fighters, Bob Arum had shifted to the lighter weights which Latino's dominate and the other big player was Main Events (Duva's) who had the foresight to get involved with Olympians and national amateur champions (Johnny Bumphus, Alex Ramos, Bobby Czyz) and popular Northeastern boxers which they rode until they lost titles and got older. Now currently Golden Boy continues with the Top Rank formula of focusing on Mexican, Mexican-American and lighter weights. Oscar has begun to realize that there is value in expanding to heavier more traditional weights like Davis Lemieux and Luis Ortiz.

The rise of Eurpoean organizations like the WBO was due to the need for foreign boxers to be recognized on the world stage and thus allowed many of the champions currently to gain status and opportunities.....It has taken time to shift and only in the past few years has boxing regained a popularity that it had lost during the Top Rank-De La Hoya focus as well as King's continuing dominance.

You claimed that I lied and exaggerated ...I will make THIS claim: I probably have spent more hours in boxing gyms, actual boxing events and known more boxing people from fighters to trainers to managers to media types to broadcasters than 90% of the people on this forum COMBINED!...my posts are true and I am articulate enough to sound well beyond those coming from a 10 year old. Your way of attacking my validity is like a 10 year old in a schoolyard who says prove it when you cannot match their story or experience. I do not have to explain or justify anything to you.

Clearly you Mr. nac386 do not have a background or knowledge of boxing to recognize the reasons that I have explained above. I attribute it to the fact that the average poster in boxing forums is 26 years old and believes that boxing was invented with Oscar De La Hoya and that Floyd Mayweather is the greatest of all time.

My main reason for much of the criticism that I use in my threads is to point out how boxing has DE-volved in this generation and lost popularity due to the proliferation of lower weight classes, many multiple champions and now I attack this stupid debate of P4P which has risen and replaced actual conversation about real fights as a way to fill the void left by good head-to-head matches.
Boxing is a great sport and can continue to make a come back but must get back the attention and discussion to focusing on great and real matches involving bigger fighters.....hopefully ignorant fans like you can be informed and educated and actually contribute some positive things to the sport.

btw...I will wave to you when the camera hits me from both the Cosmo on Friday and Saturday from Mandalay in November...and I predict that Canelo will dominate Cotto just like Golovkin did Lemieux setting up a super fight in 2016.
Click to expand...

don't know why these guys don't believe you but i do for what it's worth. I dunno, just because a fella has a different opinion people gotta put em down.
 
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