My first press conference!!!
This morning, I went to Manhattan to attend my first press conference. It was for the upcoming David Tua fight this Wednesday. Him and Shannon Briggs were signing autographs for the fans at Modells across the street, and they were mad cool. I talked to Briggs first and told him to bring the heavyweight title back to America, he was really nice. Then I got to speak to Tua, and he was cool as hell! We talked for a few minutes and he autographed some stuff for my brother.
After that, I was talking with someone I thought was an ordinary fan, but instead he turned out to be the manager for Shannon Briggs, McCline, Eliseo Castillo and a few others, Ricardo Rizzo. He was mad cool, we debated about boxing and he said he was very impressed. He was the first of three boxing personalities to tell me that he never saw a young kid who knew the sport like I did. He gave me his business card and introduced me to his business partner, Luis Perez. I looked at the card and found out he is the WBO ranking committee chairman, go figure. He hooked me and my little brother up with tickets for the fight Wednesday at Hammerstein Ballroom right next to him, which was mad cool.
Then after I talked to him, TV ONE News from New Zealand interviewed me and asked what David Tua's prospects were. I was mad nervous, but considering I had just been talking to Tua about the same subject, I handled it remarkably well. It was a rush, I mean I was just talking about the same shit I talk about all day except on TV. It was pretty fucking cool. So after the instore, me and Tua were talking for a little while, hes a really nice guy. He was telling me about how his kids play rugby and how he didnt want them to box and stuff. Hes a really nice guy.
Outside, I was talking with Brian Adams, the black dude who commentates for Broadway Boxing. I knew him from a couple amateur shows we had been at simultaneously, but I told him now Im a journalist. We talked about the sport and I gave him props for being a commentator with boxing experience. Hes another cool doo.
So then I went off to the press conference at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. It was packed with a few journalists, but they were all asking homo thug questions. When I took over the questions, I ripped it up. I was asking all the right questions, about Rahman and who he wants to face next. After seeing a WBO exec and he slipped the tongue about the WBO, Im thinking hes going for Lyakhovich next. Briggs was funny cuz I told him I couldn't believe how much bigger he was than Tua, and he said "You know it."
Then after the press con, I saw Emanuel Steward! He was mad cool, I told him how much I respect him and how hes one of my boxing heroes, and he gave me a hug. We talked, and he had some really good stuff to say. He told me that Mayweather is ducking Margarito, no question about it, that hes been handpicking his opponents. Then we were talking about the sport and he said he was impressed also with my boxing knowledge. To keep score, thats Rizzo, Tua and Emanuel Steward who told me :cool: He autographed my brothers hat, and then he gave me an autographed pic of himself. On the back, he wrote his cell phone number and told me to call him whenever I had a question! After chatting with him, he gave me another hug and I went to talk to Cedric Kushner. He asked me who I was writing for, and then he told me all press has to sign in. He said to put my name and phone # down so he can add me to the list. Not sure what list it is, but with all those writers whose names I saw, I wanted to be on that list! After chatting with Shannon Briggs a little, I said my goodbyes. Damn, press conferences are fun!
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