Favorite/Least Favorite Fighter/Fighters you have met in person

I have had a long love affair with this sport. Almost 30 years of my life and I'm in my mid thirties now. I did not know how small the fraternity of boxing was until I began to put my all in it as a teenager. I did not go on to be a good pro, I was barely a good amateur, but I won some stuff. I know what it means to train, diet, suffer, hurt, endure a week long tournament, know what it feels like to take a real punch with pro gloves and give one. All of that helped me move on to better things without the sport and now in my mid thirties, I don't have to work for a living. But what I want to know is who are some of the best personalities in the sport and gone from the sport that you have met? Livingstone Bramble - I met him along with Lederman at my pro debut. Down to earth but missed putting on the gloves. I could see it in his eyes. Harold Lederman - Always carried that cheerful voice even in a regular conversation. Teddy Atlas - I love him but he has a strange way of not giving you a clue of what hes talking about until the last sentence. Zab Judah - Was real cool and down to earth when I met him. Would drive his Lambourghini to the amateur shows in NY sometimes to show us what it means to be a champ. Meldrick Taylor - Was asking to spare with us and none of us wanted to get in the ring with him because this was after legendary nights came out on HBO. But he is going to die loving this sport. Mark Breland - Wasnt very personable when I met him. Junior Jones - Very relaxed personality when I met him. Shane Mosley Sr. - The nicest fighter I have ever met. Hit me with a body shot from hell when we sparred. Riddick Bowe - Loved being around the amateur fights in NY. Would come out and let us perform for him. Demetrius Andrade - Were in the amateurs and later fought on his undercard in Rhode island as a pro. A very confident fighter. Nothing diminishes that. Danny Jacob's - was in the amateurs with him. I remember one year in the NY Golden Gloves he had to fight a fighter named Livingston Joseph and Danny seemed nervous before the fight. I took a bye that round so I didnt fight but as I walked to the back dressing area I asked him if he was cool. Danny just winked his eye at me. He won his fight convincingly and he is the epitome of NY swag. Mike Tyson - I will never look in the direction of Iron Mike if we are in the same room. Not out of fear. Just his personality when I met him. I dont care for any pictures or autographs from Mike Tyson. Paulie Malignaggi - Back in the early 2000's Paulie was a hot dog. You could just take a look at him with his spiked hair and tell he was full of himself. But what I will never take away from Paulie was that he came off as a true student of the sport in every aspect. Very knowledgable about boxing which is why it did not surprise me when he became a commentator. Just alway know who Paulie likes and doesnt like. Alicia Napolean - I knew Alicia way back in the day when she was training to get in shape to help her singing career. Now she is a world champion. Go get em. Raynell William's - I have to say having the opportunity speak to Raynell personally, he is a very genuine person. Hes taking a break or possibly gone from the sport now but I will always show my support behind him. Edgar Santana - One of my favorite fighters to go see back when Lou Dibella was holding fights at the Manhattan Center in early 2000's. He was always cool in the environment. Just certain decisions derailed him. Ishe Smith - I used to never like Ishe Smith. I had him picked for contender season 1 then he let me down. I thought he was loud and obnoxious until I heard him speak in person. The business will chew you up and spit you out. I know that. Ishe just had a way of letting the business aspect know what he was going to do and what he was not going to do. Ishe kept it real. And changed my mind. Jessie Vargas - Very soft spoken. Seemed to get along with everybody in the building. I guess because he wasnt fighting the night I met him. But he was good money. Erickson Lubin - Didnt really talk. He just went into the ring and got a stoppage victory almost effortlessly. How can you not like someone that is business first. Adrien Broner - Flashy, hyped, hes gonna entertain. We didnt speak personally but I observed him. He loves the attention on him. But he wasnt annoying at all. He wants everyone to know who he is. Hes wants his mark on the world to last forever. Jamel Herring - Class act. I maybe know a lot more about Jamel than the next. But he holds himself to a standard. Semper Fi isnt a gimmick. It's his life with boxing. Love the dude. There are countless other male and female fighters I have met. Refs, judges, tv production people, commentators. But these are the ones that jump out to me when I met them. Who have you met and what were they like?

Comments (20)

That's a dope video. I never saw his award ceremony but his story along with a couple others are in your SMART book when you go to Army Basic Training. I have never been shot and I dont want to be. Have been shot at, and have had my position bombed directly, not indirectly. Not fun. I just stay calm during the hell. For him to endure all of that and still fight shows an inherited warrior spirit. It wasnt made with brainwashing. I like his story and MSG Woodrow Keebles story. I had to do a report on him in the NCO academy. Yea. The symptoms from these ailments are despicable. I didnt notice anything was seriously wrong until I started going blind in my left eye. I saved my vision but it's not what it used to be. I have migraines, chest pains, joint pains to go with the muscles aches. I cant walk upstairs without feeling pain. I cant bend at the knee without feeling pain. My liver is going bad... which means I should probably stop drinking so much but such is life. I go through periods when I am bed ridden for a couple of days. I have inflammation flare ups all over my body. My head is all screwed from my medications and my PTSD. I can be a real shytbag at times. I keep getting these weird spots and skin tags all over, and I am just waiting for it to be over. To the naked eye I look fine and normal as I am only in my mid thirties, but inside I go through hell in a different way all the time. Most days are not the same with this condition. But I dont have to work anymore, and my kids can go to their first 4 years of college for free so I guess it will work out in some way. Thanks for sharing the vid. stay stong brother. stay strong.. i know it is hard, but do it. peace

6y ago

chrisJS

I’ve been fortunate to have met quite a few high profile fighters. Some in passing and some for conversations. I don’t speak much Spanish so some of the Spanish speakers like Rafael Marquez or Nacho Beristain speaks zero English luckily my friends who I go to fights with all speak Spanish. In passing most have been cool enough perhaps the ones who seemed to have least time for folks were Berto, Khan, Judah and Roger Mayweather was a miserable piece of crap. Floyd Sr was nice. Chavez SR didn’t seem to have time for folks. Sometimes you see them when they got somewhere to be though. I felt Crawford just doesn’t have a ton of personality but he’s nice enough. Lomachenko could be the difference in culture seemed not to have much time and I met him at an after party for the Rigo fight. He wasn’t a dick but just very short if you didn’t speak Russian. The nicest ones I’ve met were Felix Trinidad and Juan Manuel Marquez. Tito you just feel such a genuine warmth out of the guy. So much charisma, so happy and you can see how nice he is to everyone. Makes you really proud of boxing. I can’t speak highly enough of Tito. Marquez is great too. I’ve had the pleasure of being around him at Romanza gym, some of his big fights. Marquez is really cool. I’d met him a few times but in Houston for Diaz I a friend of ours (Rudy Hernandez daughter) was bringing his robe, trunks etc; and we met Nacho in the lobby the later afternoon Friday and she asked if two of her friends (me and my boy javier) could come up and deliver them since we are big fans and Nacho was like “I’m not sure he may be resting” so he calls Marquez and Marquez said send EVERYBODY up I don’t care if there 20 of them. So we are in his room shooting the **** for a good hour. James Toney is cool too. Roy Jones, you can just feel he loves the game and the fighters. I spoke to him for a good while and had a few drinks with him at a bar at MGM. Hopkins not that cool. Diego Corrales was another good man. Very nice. I can echo the Porter comments too. Such a warm and nice man.

6y ago

Freeworld124

Pacquiao - Baguio Philippines 2009 preparing for Cotto fight. I visited my cousin in a military school. I didnt know Pacquiao was there for his cardio training. My cousin told me that they are going to run up in the mountain together with Manny and his team. Quickly I went to their location and I saw Pacquiao shadow boxing, and I was amazed. He was very fast, crazy fast... He was like a super saiyan and I saw smoke coming out all over his body. I didnt managed to go near him because of tight security, but that was very unforgetable moment. They ran in a mountain and my cousin told me that the whole army students gave up running while Pacquiao reached the top of the mountain. They thought Pacquiao is a DemiGod and not an ordinary man. Pacquiao himself is a physical enigma. I wouldn't know what to ask him if I had a chance to talk to him. There is so much to his life besides boxing. I remember being in a hotel on the east coast US for aviation school. The hotel had HBO and I think I caught a replay of the Pacquaio vs Cotto fight. I thought Cotto had it. I was proven wrong. Thanks for adding to the thread.

6y ago

Freeworld124

Have met David Haye through some charity he is or was affiliated with . Very nice guy and I can say he does a lot of stuff isn’t for publicity. Spoke to Prince Patel a few times and thought he was actually ok and affable , nothing at all like in his interviews, that’s an act. Met Calzaghe once in a TV studio . Pretty unassuming and laid back but it was a very brief meeting. Seemed like a decent guy though You've met some pretty notable U.K. fighters. Has there been any word on Patel trying avenge the loss to Banquez? I dont know if Patel is going to take over the Bantam division but we will see. David Haye would be very cool to meet. I would have to put together a question or two to ask him. I dont talk fighters heads off. I usually have one or two questions. Strangely some fighters end up asking me questions. I dont get it. Calzaghe would be a dream to meet. I would let him know that he beat every fighter I picked to beat him, and I have a vast amount of respect for skills as a fighter. Thanks for sharing to the thread.

6y ago

Freeworld124

I saw Carl Froch at a supermarket in Mansfield, near Nottingham. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a wanker and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him mumble something about "80,000 people at Wembley Stadium" as I walked off. When I came to pay for my shopping I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like six bags of onion rings tucked under his arms without paying. The girl at the till was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them over. When she took one of the bags and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in bags and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly. That is a bizarre Carl Froch story. Pretty funny in my eyes. No humor towards you at all, he just sounds like he came off like an oddball. Fighters are some crazy people deep down inside. I wonder how many fighters or regular people wished they could have a idgaf moment like Mike Tyson. And have a microphone and an audience willing to eat up every word. But you always need to move with a certain thought of caution when approaching fighters. They do punch people for a living. Why is BJ Penn still getting into scuffles with people you know. But that was a good story that I found to be pretty funny. Thanks for sharing.

6y ago

Freeworld124

respect.. i got radiation from the fukushima post quake ... lost all my hair.. but it grew back.. my buddies in the navy, yokosuka were ordered to move away.. out of ten of us, 4 volunteers like me are dead... radiation, and cancer.. i go to the hospital ever other month.. my wife and neighbors think.. he is crazy and fearless.. i head back to the dr next week to get my latest results. i am sure.. i will be fine.. my family has a long long history of service... marines usually.. or special forces.. chicanos gotta go hard... warriors.. my uncle mike.. bronze star buried at santa nella.. you might like this.. it is from my era.. he came to my high school..independence. hs. san jose..east side. mexican american medal of honor winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yJKzEzX54 That's a dope video. I never saw his award ceremony but his story along with a couple others are in your SMART book when you go to Army Basic Training. I have never been shot and I dont want to be. Have been shot at, and have had my position bombed directly, not indirectly. Not fun. I just stay calm during the hell. For him to endure all of that and still fight shows an inherited warrior spirit. It wasnt made with brainwashing. I like his story and MSG Woodrow Keebles story. I had to do a report on him in the NCO academy. Yea. The symptoms from these ailments are despicable. I didnt notice anything was seriously wrong until I started going blind in my left eye. I saved my vision but it's not what it used to be. I have migraines, chest pains, joint pains to go with the muscles aches. I cant walk upstairs without feeling pain. I cant bend at the knee without feeling pain. My liver is going bad... which means I should probably stop drinking so much but such is life. I go through periods when I am bed ridden for a couple of days. I have inflammation flare ups all over my body. My head is all screwed from my medications and my PTSD. I can be a real shytbag at times. I keep getting these weird spots and skin tags all over, and I am just waiting for it to be over. To the naked eye I look fine and normal as I am only in my mid thirties, but inside I go through hell in a different way all the time. Most days are not the same with this condition. But I dont have to work anymore, and my kids can go to their first 4 years of college for free so I guess it will work out in some way. Thanks for sharing the vid.

6y ago

lemuel27

6y ago

Zaroku

I have not met Deontay Wilder yet so you have a one up on me in the heavyweight division. I met Shannon Briggs back when he won a portion of the Heavyweight title and he was cool enough to take a picture with me. Sadly I lost that picture. As a matter of fact I took pictures with Briggs and Dmitry Salita that night. This was back when Salita was still fighting. Shawn Porter I would love to meet. I dig his swag. He has a quiet confidence like an Army Green Beret. I would like to ask the Charlos questions together as a pair and see how it makes them feel as brothers to both achieve success in the sport. Tim Bradley is on my list of fighters I am dying to ask questions to. I would just want to know what was going through his mind when he fought Provodnikov. Or was his mind even there at all. That was beyond a gutsy performance, that fight was Bradley's D-Day at Normandy. Not to disrespect or discredit any WW2 vets. It just put Bradley through hell is all I am saying. Lennox Lewis is another I would like to meet and ask how has he adapted to retired life. He was still on top when he left. I met Jack Reiss at a show that showtime did on the west coast. He like his ref style. He doesnt get it right all the time but close enough for me. We didnt talk long, it was just a hello. But I respect what he does. I cant wait to run into Steve Willis again. He reffed some of my amateur fights.. back when he still had the thick classes and hi top fade. my nephews, my son, and others in my family say.. this is Z https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZYlXEUo-Lo

6y ago

deathofaclown

6y ago

Freeworld124

Wilder- One of the nicest boxers I've ever met. I was taking pics with some fighters and the security guard wouldn't let me get close to the front row where Wilder was, he basically told the guard to f*uck off and pulled me in to take a picture. Porter- Maybe equal to wilder. I was just walking and happened to see Porter getting to his seat. Asked for a picture he gave his dad all his stuff so he can pose Malignaggi- Cool as could be, met him a few times at Barclay's, always takes time for fans Bradley- I met at a charity event (so I'm sure he figured he'd have to talk) but he spoke boxing with me for like 20 mins The Charlos- Jermall was chill, Jermell was wild. Lennox Lewis- Super nice, took pictures with the whole lobby Broner- Was exactly what you would expect, people were asking him for pictures but he put on an act to avoid it. He would start dancing away from people. Yelling with the people he was with Kovalev- Also what you would expect, he took the picture but didn't seem especially happy about it Honorable mention Jack Reiss- Also met him at a charity event, I just wanted to say hi and he wanted to talk boxing. Saw him afterward at the event and he struck up another conversation because he was with another referee that he wanted to introduce me to. I have not met Deontay Wilder yet so you have a one up on me in the heavyweight division. I met Shannon Briggs back when he won a portion of the Heavyweight title and he was cool enough to take a picture with me. Sadly I lost that picture. As a matter of fact I took pictures with Briggs and Dmitry Salita that night. This was back when Salita was still fighting. Shawn Porter I would love to meet. I dig his swag. He has a quiet confidence like an Army Green Beret. I would like to ask the Charlos questions together as a pair and see how it makes them feel as brothers to both achieve success in the sport. Tim Bradley is on my list of fighters I am dying to ask questions to. I would just want to know what was going through his mind when he fought Provodnikov. Or was his mind even there at all. That was beyond a gutsy performance, that fight was Bradley's D-Day at Normandy. Not to disrespect or discredit any WW2 vets. It just put Bradley through hell is all I am saying. Lennox Lewis is another I would like to meet and ask how has he adapted to retired life. He was still on top when he left. I met Jack Reiss at a show that showtime did on the west coast. He like his ref style. He doesnt get it right all the time but close enough for me. We didnt talk long, it was just a hello. But I respect what he does. I cant wait to run into Steve Willis again. He reffed some of my amateur fights.. back when he still had the thick classes and hi top fade.

6y ago

Zaroku

I remember watching Chavez Jr. on his 24/7 specials leading up to the Sergio Martinez fight. He just seemed so entitled and barely wanted to train at all. I can see him getting under a persons skin in person. I've traveled a little. I've seen most of the 50 states. Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, and Iraq. I have got to get to Tokyo and check it out though. I had a lot of family join the military back when. I am probably one of the few of our younger generations to lace up some boots. I was training to enter the special operations world before I got diagnosed with a respiratory disease from Iraq. It went auto immune and I got medically discharged. Besides boxing I would have to say military life is another thing I miss everyday. I like M4s/ARs. I like AK47s also but I'm small in stature. I'm only 5'7". But I am very big on precision. I like using weaponry that is big enough to do the job that needs to be done. The most I do now is target shooting so I shoot a lot of 22lr when I do shoot. Thank you and your family for serving and sacrificing. respect.. i got radiation from the fukushima post quake ... lost all my hair.. but it grew back.. my buddies in the navy, yokosuka were ordered to move away.. out of ten of us, 4 volunteers like me are dead... radiation, and cancer.. i go to the hospital ever other month.. my wife and neighbors think.. he is crazy and fearless.. i head back to the dr next week to get my latest results. i am sure.. i will be fine.. my family has a long long history of service... marines usually.. or special forces.. chicanos gotta go hard... warriors.. my uncle mike.. bronze star buried at santa nella.. you might like this.. it is from my era.. he came to my high school..independence. hs. san jose..east side. mexican american medal of honor winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yJKzEzX54

6y ago

Freeworld124

Coolest.. was SOG andre ward. met him at fentons ice creamery.. oakland https://www.yelp.com/biz/fentons-creamery-oakland-2 i met him and was all over him.. he was probably thinking.. this guy is a stalker freak.. he had just won the super six. and i was all over him.. he was with his wife and kids.. and i probably bothered him.. he said froch had him hurt several times. and winning the super six was not easy. my wife was like... wow... you look so gaye sucking up to him.. anyway.. he was kind to my old azz. and i am a big fan of his work. I was at a summer tournament the year Ward was in the Olympics and won the gold. We were glued to his performance. I also am a big fan of his. Hes so smart in the ring it's ridiculous. I think it is Lee Wiley on youtube that makes the breakdown videos of fighters techniques. He did one on Andre Ward that just showed off his feints and fakes he uses to land punches. Made me wish I had a ring IQ like that when I was scrapping. Meeting fighters you respect in person person is always a joyous feeling, especially if they are humble and willing to talk. You dont always catch them at the right time. You should have just told your wife it's a man thing, she wouldn't get it lol.

6y ago

Freeworld124

"Charismatic" is the last word I'd use to describe Crawford. Watching him in interviews is painful. Not everybody is comfortable with cameras and microphones. I just mean in person. The people that I know that have talked to Bud say hes real cool when he opens up.

6y ago

Freeworld124

you are a young punk to me.. ok.. i am 20 plus years older. i met chavez jr. and he was a bish. met him in Tokyo. i wanted to beat his azz.. i am not a small mexican.. i like young dudes sharing their love of the sport. carry on. i never been to NY.. i have been to Europe. Latin America, asia. etc.. i wonder what it is like.. I am in Tokyo.. way way bigger than NY.. 32 plus million? some of my lil primos are in the IDF...Israeli defense forces.. one uncle gomer is probably mossad. he says no.. but.. we know. my uncle mike, bronze star winner korean war. my uncle john..vietnam combat veteran. my nephew michael.. his pic is in my picture USMC... combat vet.. Iraq, and then afghanistan. me.. i am a veteran of the hoe wars.. filipina hoes riding my dong. .. my hk91 in my pics gets a lot of love.. i love that round.. beercules.. my boy.. he likes the m4... too small.. carry on I remember watching Chavez Jr. on his 24/7 specials leading up to the Sergio Martinez fight. He just seemed so entitled and barely wanted to train at all. I can see him getting under a persons skin in person. I've traveled a little. I've seen most of the 50 states. Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, and Iraq. I have got to get to Tokyo and check it out though. I had a lot of family join the military back when. I am probably one of the few of our younger generations to lace up some boots. I was training to enter the special operations world before I got diagnosed with a respiratory disease from Iraq. It went auto immune and I got medically discharged. Besides boxing I would have to say military life is another thing I miss everyday. I like M4s/ARs. I like AK47s also but I'm small in stature. I'm only 5'7". But I am very big on precision. I like using weaponry that is big enough to do the job that needs to be done. The most I do now is target shooting so I shoot a lot of 22lr when I do shoot. Thank you and your family for serving and sacrificing.

6y ago

6y ago

6y ago

6y ago

Only seen Winky Wright in person. In the late 90s, used to train at the park, would run, jump rope and play basketball. He had more than one car, had a bmw and had a dodge viper. He was always nice to all the kids and seemed to know everybody. I knew he was a boxer but it wasnt until a few years later that I saw him on HBO vs vargas after I got into boxing that I discovered he was world level and was already a champ back then. Mind was blown because he just acted like a regular person, I assumed he was an amateur or something. I think I was used to pro atheletes being like those baseball player phaggots that charged kids $5 to sign a ball. Saw Jeff Lacy in traffic if that counts. Some phaggot in a chrystler 300 with the windshield blacked out was tailgaiting me, then cut me off. After he was in front of me realized it was Jeff Lacy (or someone in his car) based on his license plate and that I knew that was his car from myspace. i hate those putos.. they do not respect their fans.. they are garbage.. no japanese guy baseball player would ever charge. and if they do.. it would be major news.. japanese people require their sports idols to sign until they can't sign.. for free.

6y ago

BennyBlanco

When it comes to Bud personally. The biggest thing I have heard is that he doesnt play games. Hes personable. Hes charismatic, but people forget Bud was shot and hopefully left for dead. I dont think the angry face was personal. It's just he has to feel on guard. You dont need to be in Iraq or Afghanistan to have PTSD. Hes just a public figure and hes very guarded. "Charismatic" is the last word I'd use to describe Crawford. Watching him in interviews is painful.

6y ago

Zaroku

I grew up in the state of New York, and New York City was long named the mecca of boxing long before I was born. I did not know how true that name rang throughout the world and how privileged I was until I left for the military. I ended up in places where nobody appreciated boxing but everyone loved MMA as a more entertaining combat sport. I started taking the die hard MMA guys to the gym and showing them how much they were lacking on their standup. It may be reverse for you. You may decide to leave home some day and find yourself in an area where boxing is common place and you will be able to come in contact with other boxers. I just helped a fighter join the all Army team and I hope I see him on tv some day. You just never know. You have to immerse yourself and travel to where the sport is taking place. But yes I would love to visit Australia some day. It is on the bucket list. you are a young punk to me.. ok.. i am 20 plus years older. i met chavez jr. and he was a bish. met him in Tokyo. i wanted to beat his azz.. i am not a small mexican.. i like young dudes sharing their love of the sport. carry on. i never been to NY.. i have been to Europe. Latin America, asia. etc.. i wonder what it is like.. I am in Tokyo.. way way bigger than NY.. 32 plus million? some of my lil primos are in the IDF...Israeli defense forces.. one uncle gomer is probably mossad. he says no.. but.. we know. my uncle mike, bronze star winner korean war. my uncle john..vietnam combat veteran. my nephew michael.. his pic is in my picture USMC... combat vet.. Iraq, and then afghanistan. me.. i am a veteran of the hoe wars.. filipina hoes riding my dong. .. my hk91 in my pics gets a lot of love.. i love that round.. beercules.. my boy.. he likes the m4... too small.. carry on

6y ago