Tweet
February 18, 2006: (AT THE MOHEGAN SUN for a fight one of my fighters was involved in. The following happened before the show started)...
The day originally started off on a funny note, one that reminds me how much of a thrill it can be to meet a boxer that you see on TV and admire.
Before the show started I was in the lobby of the casino talking to Mickey Ward, Pat Kelley and Mickey's nephew Sean Ecklund. A few of the guys from my gym arrived and walked over to where I was and when they did Mickey and the other guys kind of turned away and continued talking among themselves. So one of the guys from the gym, Lance "Hangover" Henry, is there and it is a cool night for him because Mike-Mike's fight will represent the first professional match that Hangover will ever attend and he is obviously getting into the atmosphere that most fights in a casino setting can create. He's 22 years old with two amateur fights under his belt and he's happily taking in all that the aura of fight night at the casino entails.
So I ask him, "Do you know who Mickey Ward is?" He looks at me like I am crazy, saying, "What? Mickey Ward?? Of course!!" Obviously he knows who Mickey is and is acting as if I asked him if he knew who President Bush was.
So I turn towards Mickey and say, "Hey, Mick, say hello to a friend of mine from the gym." And when he turned and looked towards Lance, well, the look on Lance's face reminded me all at once what it is really like when you first meet a fighter you respect and admire, especially one as gritty and thrilling as "Irish" Mickey Ward.
I will never forget Hangover looking over in Mickey's direction what seemed like every fifteen seconds or so and literally (quietly, almost in a whisper) saying out loud, to no one in particular, with a look of excitement, disbelief and respect on his face, "That's Mickey Ward!"
The day originally started off on a funny note, one that reminds me how much of a thrill it can be to meet a boxer that you see on TV and admire.
Before the show started I was in the lobby of the casino talking to Mickey Ward, Pat Kelley and Mickey's nephew Sean Ecklund. A few of the guys from my gym arrived and walked over to where I was and when they did Mickey and the other guys kind of turned away and continued talking among themselves. So one of the guys from the gym, Lance "Hangover" Henry, is there and it is a cool night for him because Mike-Mike's fight will represent the first professional match that Hangover will ever attend and he is obviously getting into the atmosphere that most fights in a casino setting can create. He's 22 years old with two amateur fights under his belt and he's happily taking in all that the aura of fight night at the casino entails.
So I ask him, "Do you know who Mickey Ward is?" He looks at me like I am crazy, saying, "What? Mickey Ward?? Of course!!" Obviously he knows who Mickey is and is acting as if I asked him if he knew who President Bush was.
So I turn towards Mickey and say, "Hey, Mick, say hello to a friend of mine from the gym." And when he turned and looked towards Lance, well, the look on Lance's face reminded me all at once what it is really like when you first meet a fighter you respect and admire, especially one as gritty and thrilling as "Irish" Mickey Ward.
I will never forget Hangover looking over in Mickey's direction what seemed like every fifteen seconds or so and literally (quietly, almost in a whisper) saying out loud, to no one in particular, with a look of excitement, disbelief and respect on his face, "That's Mickey Ward!"
Comment