How did you guys start to follow boxing?

In the late 90s - 2000 I saw Fernando Vargas on TV. It wasn't of him fighting; it was documentarylike stuff. To me, he looked like a tough, cool-looking dude. A bad boy with an aggressive personality. At the age of 9, I watched Trinidad-Vargas live at my aunt's house. She was hosting a fight party. In my family fight parties were big in the early 2000s - 2007. I bet 3 dollars on Vargas to win... against my uncle. He was a casual fan too and said, "The brotha is going to win." He didn't know Felix Trinidad was Puerto Rican; he just viewed him as a black guy (or "brotha") and picked him based on that. I guess growing up in the old school days he saw a lot of Moors win street fights. After that fight I lived my life. I mean, after all I was a kid still. The next fight I remember watching was De La Hoya-Mayorga in 2006. My dad, brother, and I watched the buildup on Direct TV. I clearly remember my father being very, very pumped up for this fight. The buildup was great. Ricardo Mayorga called Oscar De La Hoya a f*ggot in Spanish. He talked a lot of sh*t. It gave us casual observers the feeling that it wasn't going to be a boxing match... That it is was going to be a street fight. We watched that fight at a fight party at my aunt's house. Then, we watched the big one: De La Hoya-Mayweather. Once again, the buildup was great. Mayweather -- who I never heard of before -- was the bad guy that everyone wanted to see get knocked out. Oscar was the good guy who was the likable boxer -- charisma, good looks, and could fight has ass off. I stopped following boxing after that. I was more into football. I watched Mayweather-Hatton in my neighbor's living room. I didn't even know he was fighting that night. I was just hanging out with my neighbor. I watched that fight not paying attention fully to it. After that, I stopped watching boxing until late 2011. I was on my computer and somehow found a livestream for Mayweather-Ortiz. Eight months later I dropped out of college and started watching boxing religiously. Through Floyd Mayweather I discovered Victor Ortiz. Through Ortiz I discovered Marcos Maidana and fell in love. I will follow Chino's career until he retires. Been watching his fights live since Jesus Soto Karass in 2012.

Hanging with my grandpa after school and watching his old boxing vids. The earliest fight I saw I believe was foreman/norton in the late 90s on an old chuvalo interview on ESPN

I've always been a fan of fighting in general but the fight that really got me into it was Corrales-Castillo I. That's still one of the greatest fights I've ever seen

I was a young Marine stationed at 29 Palms back in 1989. I was bored out of my mind and one day I was at the PX and for some reason I picked up a Boxing illustrated and read it cover to cover. Started watching fights at the E-Club. Then I went to college and watched a ton of it with my roommates…Tuesday nights on USA and Thursday nights on ESPN. I've been hooked ever since. Also in college I started working out at a boxing gym, and have ever since (various places around the US). I feel privileged to now call Wild Card my home gym and I'm there 3x per week, which really makes boxing a personal thing since I now know so many professional trainers and fighters. That's sweet, tell Freddie we say whats up!!!

I couldn't believe the Tarver and Johnson fights, I just couldn't. I was at the Johnson fight and waited the ten mins for Roy to get on the stool in disbelief. Roy sadly was faded by those two losses as evident in the first Tarver fight. Had he retired after winning the HW title, he would be reguarded in the top 10 P4P ever. It's okay though, I know I havn't forgotten.

hell yeah bro! When I was a kid he was a god to me. "Cant be touched"! haha. Jones will always be my fav fighter and will always be a boxing god to me. At his peak, nobody was better. He did things no other boxer ever could. He was truly unique and there will never be another RJ. And still!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a young Marine stationed at 29 Palms back in 1989. I was bored out of my mind and one day I was at the PX and for some reason I picked up a Boxing illustrated and read it cover to cover. Started watching fights at the E-Club. Then I went to college and watched a ton of it with my roommates…Tuesday nights on USA and Thursday nights on ESPN. I've been hooked ever since. Also in college I started working out at a boxing gym, and have ever since (various places around the US). I feel privileged to now call Wild Card my home gym and I'm there 3x per week, which really makes boxing a personal thing since I now know so many professional trainers and fighters.

Jones was a beast in that game at LHW and HW. hell yeah bro! When I was a kid he was a god to me. "Cant be touched"! haha. I couldn't believe the Tarver and Johnson fights, I just couldn't.

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/fc/07/fc075eff8045726e230551fe7bcf0d57.jpg?itok=MJJDvCX5 best game of all time :boxing: :boxing: the new games fight night games are garbage. Jones was a beast in that game at LHW and HW.

I started watching boxing after I first played Mike Tyson's punch out back in the 80's. So really Tyson's rise is the reason I fell in love with the sport and SRL, Tommy Morrison and RJJR took it to another level. Then came Hatton and the Klitschko's. UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot the Rocky movies and JCC Sr. those were huge influences as well. I've pretty much always loved boxing and always knew how to throw proper punches growing up with 3 older brothers.

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/fc/07/fc075eff8045726e230551fe7bcf0d57.jpg?itok=MJJDvCX5 best game of all time :boxing: :boxing: the new games fight night games are garbage.

My family loves boxing, they always tried to get me into it. I was never interested though, I even had an amateur fight when I was 9 but I didn't like it. Then when I was around 12 years old I got Fight Night with Roy Jones Jr as a gift. I swear to god that sh1t changed my life forever. From there came backyard boxing, my grandpa started training me and I had a few amateur fights. I stopped amateur boxing when I was 18 because of a bad wrist (thinking about getting back in it now though) but I still love watching boxing. My favorite sport of all time, the boxing world is my passion haha

watched the big fights as a kid but turned hardcore after watching corales castillo 1 .....who wouldnt lol

Tyson vs Berbick was the first fight that hooked me as a young kid

Boxing is a not really a mainstream sport right now as in most friends circle people talk about the nba kobe vs lebron and Kd , football about micheal vick and stuff and If you as them about floyd they say tmt or talk about money.I found boxing through a friend who introduced me into knowing some great fighters.How did you guys start to follow boxing? I was interested all my life about boxing but once I heard it's relation to chess, it really turned me on. Then one day I walked into a gym and the rest is history. Been an amateur athlete and a fan ever since. I watch many sports but everywhere I go I tell people boxing is #1.

I started following boxing watching fights with my dad when you had to slap that black and white TV to bring the image back! Early 80s, that was some time to be a boxing fan!

Jones Jr in his early days fighting in Pensacola. Then along came Mike Tyson and by that time I was hooked.

TYSON , EL TERIBLE , luisito espinosa

The first fight I can recall was Tyson-McNeeley. Imagine that. :lol1: Didn't get hardcore into boxing until 2000. My family was big on Tito, so watching the Vargas fight was one of the more memorable experiences I've ever had.

Warrior instinct inside, wouldn't think to look at me. I'm a blues musician, it gets expressed that way I guess. First fight was ehh Khan Peterson, got absolutely hooked on the hype, knew very little, though Khan was absolute top dog. After that I guess the next that really hooked me was Calzaghe. When I saw the way he moved, that grace, I recognised beauty - the same deep feeling I might get from a particularly profound piece of music, or some nice literature, an almost mystical feeling. So that's what I'm hooked on, I try to recognise and suck it up wherever I see it, then hopefully it'll find its way out of me again somewhere down the line. Speaking of Hamed, I was a big fan, still am a little, but yeah, once I seen the Barrera fight with my 2 years practiced eyes and feeling for the sport I thought less of him. Though coming back to that Grace thing, I think he had it in spades, made poetry with his body. Unfortunate for him I suppose that his teasing style wasn't enough to match a great technical warrior like Barrera.