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I thought this may be fun.
If you could meet any one fighter in history and ask him three questions which he would would have to answer honestly, who would be the fighter be and what would the three questions be.
Or you can choose three fighters with just one question each.
joe louis- he is my boxing idol as a person. outside the ring-pretty much a laid back southener with a fine sense of humor. right now cant think of a question- anything but lame-maybe-when he fought and was knocked down by galento-was he more concerned with galentos head and thumds-than his left hook.
Rocky Marciano
Not sure what to ask him. I comment he impove a long ways from Layne to Moore, and you have a real underated defense, and was not as crude as they belive him to be.
The two Jacks are my favorites: Johnson and Dempsey ...
Sam Langford would be another.
I don't know what to ask, it would be more to observe them in and out of the ring.
For me, hands down & nobody even close, it would have to be the Ol' Mongoose, Archie Moore ...
I wouldn't have any questions. I would just soak up ANYTHING he would have to say.
GorDoom
Dick Tiger - looking back, would you still support the Biafran cause as vehemently as you did?
Rocky Graziano - Could you have beaten Jake La Motta?
Sugar Ray Robinson - What would you have done in the ring in a face off with Charley Burley?
Hello - LONG time lurker to this fabulous forum, now I finally have something to contribute!
I'd like to meet Sonny Liston and ask, perhaps obviously, 1) What happened in both Ali fights? 2) What happened against Leotis Martin? and 3) How did you really die?
Great topic -- sadly, my response may seem a bit mundane. The fighter I'd like to grill is still alive and my three questions for Roberto Duran are:
1) What the hell happened to you in New Orleans?
2) No really, why did you quit?
3) Are you serious?
Hmmm... seems reminiscent of that Simpsons episode when Homer and Apu visited the Quickimart HQ in (I believe) India.
For the record, Los Manos De Piedra is my all time favourite to this day, but in the fight game, it is difficult to hold onto one fighter as an all-time fave with so many compelling and charismatic men and their stories and achievements.
BTW, all the other posts have been wonderful.
-Peter
OK -- three serious questions for three different fighters:
1) Jack Johnson -- did you throw the Willard fight?
2) Aaron Pryor -- what was in that bottle?
3) Randolph Turpin -- what happened that tragic day and why?
Really tough question.........
How about Sonny Liston.....was it a dive against Ali?
Again Liston...was it heroin?
For Ali....did you think Sonny took a dive?
Really could be a lot more................
damn...just saw sweetsci's questions!..He must be a brilliant guy since brilliant minds think alike.
OK....mind is working here....
Max Baer.....How many women? What was the most at one time? Who was your favorite?
damn...just saw sweetsci's questions!..He must be a brilliant guy since brilliant minds think alike.
Jimmy Wilde: "How in the ever-loving hell could you hit so hard?"
Rocky Marciano: "If you were to pick one guy who could have beaten you in the ring, who would it be?"
Marty Clayton: "For God's sake, kid, why did you point your empty hand at those cops and mime firing a gun?"
PeteLeo.
Jack Dempsey
1. Tell me how you truly feel a fight between you and Harry Wills would have panned out.
Joe Louis
2. You always behaved in a cool manner in and out of the ring but did you ever feel the modesty you were so known for as something that was sometimes forced on you for social reasons? Did you ever feel extremely angry at certain fighters (Galento for example) for comments they made directed at you yet bit your tongue when you really wanted to let him have a piece of your mind? What would you have said to a Galento or Baer if you didn't have to worry about your image?
Rubin Carter:
Did you assist in the murder of those three people in that bar that night?
Lloyd Marshall
Lloyd Marshall IS an all-time great, his great career demonstrates that. He fought the best on both sides of the Atlantic, plus he was such a 'slick' beautiful boxer and he was said to have worn the 'cuffs'!
I'd ask him "who he thought was the best?"
- who he thought was the best fighter he ever fought?
- who he thought was the best fighter he was supposed to fight?
- and who he thought was the best fighter he ever heard about or knew about (others that had to "tow-the-line" or were cheated out of equal opportunity)?
I think Lloyed Marshall would know as well as anybody about such matters, I'd love to have met him!
For Mike Tyson:
At what point in Tokyo did you realize Buster was handing you your ass and you were headed back to the states without the belt?
Do you ever look in the mirror and think the tattoo looks as bad as Leon Spinks' dental work and that maybe people think of you like they do about Leon?
Do you wish you could have a "do over"?
Yes it is.I thought this may be fun.
For Buster Douglas:
Why did you eat your way out of the greatest prize in sports?
What buffet/smorgasboard did you gain the most weight at?
Did seeing what your dad went through as a fighter, and he was a tough one that really came to fight, make you have a certain amount of disdain for the sport? (I wouldn't blame you if it did)
Carlos Monzon. How did you do it? You look like you had no skill and beat them all in a tough era.
Great thread.
My picks would be Luther McCarty, Arthur Pelkey and Tommy Burns. And I'd ask each of them for their take on the tragic event in Calgary on May 24, 1913.
This is a great thread.
I have made boxing my life since I was a little kid.
I have been very fortunate to have met and spend time with many of the great ring legends mentioned here. Every name mentioned I had some good conversations with and hundreds of others.
Marciano, Galento, Braddock, Liston, Moore, Ray Robinson, Mickey Walker, Dempsey, Louis, Lamotta, Graziano, Barney Ross, Ali, Frazier, Carlos Ortiz, Pep, Saddler, Foster, Michael Spinks, Holmes, Walcott, Skeeter McClure, Holly Mims, Florentino Fernandez, Jose Monon Gonzalez, Ernie Durando, Basilio,
Tiger, Griffith, Tyson, Bonavena, Hopkins, Hagler, Lewis, Johansson, Floyd Patterson, Ken Buchannan, John Stracey, Jose Torres, Sugar Ramos, Jimmy Ellis, Joey Archer, Giardello, briefly with Henry Hank, and on and on.
I asked them all the questions of a boxing historian and got my fill enough for 10 books.
The guys I would want to meet, that I never did, would have been Zale,
Cerdan, Burley, Hatchetman Sheppard, Greb, Lew Jenkins, Charles, Max and Buddy Baer, Gene Fullmer, Billy Conn, Jack Johnson, Frankie Zamoris who ko's Melio Bettina and a few other guys.
Wow. What a question....great thread.
I'd have to meet Muhammad Ali. The questions? Well, I'll have to think on this; but I know I'd want to get past the showman, the veil that he put on for the press and get a glimpse of his real personality that has yet to be captured on film. Let me think about something specific.
Ron, what was you experience meeting Jack Dempsey like?
If you met him and was to ask,he would probably just glower at you.Originally Posted by sweetsci
Personally if I could go back in time I would rent a van ,park it just outside his house some between Christmas and New Year's Day 1971,and make notes whoever came and went from his house.
Also while I was there in Las Vegas in 1970,I put large bets on who would win the Superbowl and World series in 1971.
Jim Jeffries.
After placing him under oath and loading him up with truth serum, I would ask:
Q-1: What was the story behind the alleged double cross in the Reno fight with Johnson (i.e.: Did Johnson originally agree the throw the fight and then double-cross you at the last minute – as several have alleged)?
Q-2: If the fix wasn’t in for the Johnson fight, whatever possessed you to think you could come back after six-years of inactivity to defeat a talented champion competing at the height of his powers?
And, as a follow-up, knowing that you hadn’t fought a competitive bout in nearly six years, why did you lay off hard sparring with good sparring partners before the fight? Why did you pick “has beens” like Bob Armstrong, Jim Corbett, and Joe Choynski – and a “never was” like Sam Berger – as your sparring partners instead of some young tough heavyweights as you originally promised to do? And then: Why did you spar so infrequently with the sparring partners that you picked? Explain your training regime for the fight.
Q-3: What was the real story of your break-ups with Tommy Ryan, Bill Brady, and Billy Delaney?
Since I am currently researching his life, I have a lot more questions – but these are the ones that came up with immediately.
Last edited by raylawpc; 10-02-2006 at 09:49 AM.
It was a wonderful thing for me as his image, reputation and legend had been a topic in constant heated discussions between my Uncle Ted, my Father and my Uncle Frank all brothers in a big 1940-50's home we all lived in together in Verona NJ. They worked in the City and would come home each night and it was boxing, boxing, boxing, gloves on in the living room, fights with my cousins and Dempsey V Louis.
I wrote about it on my thread awhile back I think perhaps another thread.
My father took me into a place next door to "Dempsey's" in Manhattan called "McInnis's" They had a Super long brass rail bar where everyone stood and came there for the small roast beef sandwiches on freshly baked small sweet rolls dipped in Au Jous gravy, and a beer. It was just fanstastic.
I begged him to take me into Dempsey's everytime we were there which was always after a doctor appointment for me, and a painful experience as I was very sick from ulcerative colitus and wasted away to almost nothing.
My Dad God rest his soul, would always say, "Sorry pal, we have to catch a train, or Dempsey is never really there, they just use his name, it's too expensive to eat there and finally I dragged him into the place and he relented.
The champ was there and my Father really went the second mile going over to him and they talked awhile while I stood off to the side looking at his mural of the snarling Manassa Mauler weaving under Williard.
He walked over and seemed like a Giant to me, I was a very observant boy and loved fighters. His hands engulfed mine and were just like I wrote, the paws of a Lion, hard as rock and powerful. His eyes, alertness was also like a big Lion with a warm heart.
He called me Ron, gave me a hug and made me feel very special.
When I left, I knew forever what the word Champion meant, it was like meeting God to me.
Ron
Great story Ron. Thanks.
Ron,
What was it like meeting Braddock? Despite his weight being at and even below 180 for his early fights, I always thought in frame and dimensions and nearly 80" reach, he looked like a natural heavyweight, especially in the Louis fight.
What kind of man was he, and did you get the impression he was a natural heavyweight, or more of a blown up light heavy?
And Mickey Walker? What a legend to be able to meet in person. How fortunate you've been to meet and talk to these guys Ron. Collectively, many of these guys are like a greek god pantheon to me, immortal and completely shrouded in the mists of history.
I can't stress enough how much of a joy this forum is for me, where people like Ron, Rocky, Mike, Gordoom, and the rest, who sweat and breath boxing can share their knowledge with each other and with novices to the sport like myself. This place has done so much for me in regards to expanding my understanding of boxing and boxing history, and in communicating with like minded people who share my passion for this sport of ours.
One more question Ron: Liston was said to have had hands down the biggest mitts of any heavyweight champion. Did you find that to be true? Do you know of any non-champions perhaps who had comparable sized hands? Also what was Liston like, sullen and quiet like his reputation, or different?
Gatti. Love you kid, hang em up.
Thanks Kid,
I have written about my meeting of all three on the Zone.
Here is one story about my meeting with Braddock.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, June 3, 2005
Lipton once met "Cinderella Man"
By Jim Sheahan
Poughkeepsie Journal
On June 13, 1935, James J. Braddock pulled off what many still consider to be the biggest upset in boxing history when he defeated Max Baer for the heavyweight title in Long Island City.
The story of Braddock's life and his incredible upset is the focus of "Cinderella Man," a movie debuting in theaters nationwide today starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger.
Noted boxing historian Ron Lipton, a Hyde Park resident, has his own Cinderella story to tell about Braddock. In 1973 while working as a detective in the Hudson County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office, Lipton was at Embassy Hall in North Bergen to watch a night of boxing, as he'd done many times before.
A three-time New Jersey Golden Gloves champion himself, Lipton was 27 at the time and a student of boxing history. When he saw Braddock sitting at ringside, he jumped at the opportunity to sit and talk with the man who held the heavyweight title from 1935 to 1937.
"We would go to Embassy Hall all the time to watch the fights," said Lipton, who never fought as a pro but was a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali and Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, among others. "There were a lot of empty seats so I sat next to him, introduced myself and shook his hand. It was like shaking the hand of a lion.
"He just had a huge frame and a ruggedness about him, even at that age," Lipton continued. Braddock was 68 and died a year later in 1974. "He was very gentle. Very polite."
Discussed background
Lipton told Braddock about his boxing background and sat with him for nearly three hours. Braddock was respectful and never seemed uncomfortable talking to a stranger at ringside.
Lipton asked Braddock numerous questions about the fight with Baer. He says Braddock told him he was in the best shape of his life and that there was no way Baer was going to beat him that night.
With the movie opening today, Lipton can't help but feel a connection to Braddock.
"When I sit in the movie theater (today) and watch 'Cinderella Man,' chances are I'll be the only one in the theater who met Jimmy," Lipton said. "He spent about three hours talking to me about all his fights and not once did he brush me off."
After the fights, Lipton walked about with Braddock, thanked him, told him it was an honor to meet him and reached out to shake his hand.
"He brushed it aside, gave me a hug and said, 'Ron, it was an honor to meet you, too.' I felt like a million bucks for about a week."
Lipton has since retired from law enforcement. He teaches a popular boxing course at Marist College and offers to train any police officers in the sweet science for free.
Jim Sheahan can be reached at jsheahan@poughkeepsiejournal.com
__________________________________________________ ___________
Liston was pretty tight with Rubin Carter and for the several years I was with Carter I had the chance to meet Liston and Sugar Ray Robinson who both liked him at the time.
Liston believe it or not was someone I made laugh pretty hard and we had a few drinks together where he was relaxed and not mean to anyone. As a matter of fact anyone that came over to him he was polite and tolerant with.
He was a powerful and radiated it. I read of a dream match with Holyfield and Liston in the Ring's dream fights where Holyfield handled Liston.
I refereed Evander twice and saw Liston live, sparring, and in fights in person.
He would have broken Holyfield in half. The only other hands I ever saw like his but were Larry Holmes and Carter himself. At 5'8" Carter had the biggest hands I ever saw for a man his height and weight. A Lion should be so lucky.
Mickey Walker was a figure around Elizabeth all his life, and remained so in his declining years. When I saw him it was just terrible but he still was a boxing legend to me. I saw him quite often and I fought in Elizabeth NJ quite a bit in the 60's. Mickey was in his mid 60's at the time and in serious decline but still strong and very, very much the gentleman.
He tolerated all my questions and like most of the great ones would put his arm around you with affection knowing how much you respected him. Bad bouts with alcohol did the old champ in.
He told me all about Greb, Flowers, Schmeling, Sharkey and I had some time talking with him.
Braddock to me was a big man, a heavyweight all the way when I saw him.
He had Jack Dempsey vibes of toughness to me, and powerful hands although much has been written about them being broken and troublesome.
His grip was like a bear trap and he too was one polite, silver haired Ambassador of boxing.
I loved Mickey and Braddock and was lucky to be the few who made Liston laugh. It was a real dirty joke that did it.
best,
Ron
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