Boxing

As I make a valiant attempt to pay attention to the world around me, I can’t help but notice that it’s Football season. Hey, how ‘bout them (insert your favorite team here). We are about to embark on the yearly snowball’s path from this past weekend’s opening kickoff to the national frenzy surrounding Superbowl Sunday. It’s now the national pasttime. A title it usurped from Baseball somewhere between the Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams and the steroid infested home run derby we have today. I was in Philly when Dick Vermeil guided the Eagles to the Superbowl. I moved to Chicago as ‘Da Bears were perched on the rim of world domination. Ahhhh Sweetness. Walter Payton was as fine a human being as he was a running back. By the time I got to Dallas, the holy triumvirate ruled the gridiron. Troy, Michael & Emmett. I like football. It’s OK.
My favorite sport is Boxing. I’ll take Boxing over` Football any day of the week. I guess it goes back to all the Boxing I watched with my Dad back in the 50’s. Great names still resonate when I think Boxing. Archie Moore, The undefeated Rocky Marciano. And the fighter that I consider to be, pound for pound, the greatest ever; Sugar Ray Robinson.
I kept following the game as I got older. I lost money on the first Cassius Clay/Sonny Liston fight. Some clown in High School was taking Clay and giving odds. Who knew ? I think I lost 6 dollars on that one. By the 70’s I was living in Philadelphia and one of my best friends was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. I got the picture of the uppercut that knocked him out at the Meadowlands in his third title defense. With HIS camera. I love Boxing.
Boxing is a wonderful union of mind and body. The mind has to be able to control your strategy as you defend, anticipate your opponents next move, try to hit him and come up with your own next move. The body has to withstand extreme punishment while providing the stamina and power to go from beginning to end.
I’ve taught my girls to Box. My oldest was at a party with her now husband (they were engaged at the time) and her ex kept bothering her. She made a number of attempts at resolving the issue, but he made the mistake of touching her in some way. She broke his nose. Good girl. You’ve learned well.
When I first arrived in Dallas nearly 20 years ago, I was in great shape and was working out at the North Dallas Boxing Gym. One of my workout buddies was another disc jockey from the network where I worked. He was doing Heavy Metal and went by the name Mad Max, but I knew him as Dave, another boxing fan. One day I asked him if he wanted to spar for a couple of rounds. He said sure and we laced up and started to go at it. I threw a right cross. That’s about all I remember……until I found myself being sat up in the corner and hearing a voice ask, “Didn’t you know Dave had 12 professional fights and spars with heavyweights in Forth Worth?” I never got in a ring again. I try not to even get into a shouting match these days. And yet………..I love Boxing.

THAT’S HOW I FEEL………………………………...WHAT CAN I TELL YA’