Steve Bunce writes: Talking to unpredictable boxers is an unpredictable business
There are NO classes or rules available to serve as guidelines for meeting and talking to fighters in the final days before a big fight.
It’s best to avoid having a bored, weight loss, starving, anxious man chewing his head when you ask him how the past five weeks have been. An hour before the Savannah Marshall war ended, Karriss Artingstall could have just eaten a live swan as one wandered through the hotel lobby.
I’ve also watched Mike Tyson lose too many times with the same silly question, at the same silly moment. Josh Taylor in Fight Week is a prime example of a boxer best avoided. I have no problem with that, actually I like it better. There are clear signs and reasons not to ask for too much, and the ability to read the situation is important.
In the gym, under the sea in Hove, Ronnie Davies has been reading fighters for decades. That’s what real boxing men can do; they know what is good and bad as soon as a fighter prowls through the door. “He’s fine today,” Ronnie told me. He can speak at 50 feet.
Chris Eubank Jnr has just set foot in a fancy car that makes people fall in love. Ronnie knew from her first steps what today would look like. It was nearing the end of sparring; It’s almost time to fight. I know I push it when I go to the great gym. It’s the gym where Ronnie sits in the dark and talks to ghosts – he’s been there for 60 years, being his father before him. This Eubank camp is a closed and private camp and that’s understandable.
Apparently I stepped outside during the match, wandered a few steps on the sunny facade and tried the legendary black pasta with crab in Marroccos. Then Eubank Jnr was amazing, open, honest and resolute. Forget trolling, this version is serious. I’m still conscious of a promise to work to a precise time and not lose my welcome time.
Every time I approach a boxer late in their schedule, I think of the great American scribe, AJ Liebling, and his relationship with Floyd Patterson. They met at the Helsinki Olympics; Floyd was a teenager and he won middleweight gold in 1952. So Liebling had some form and that was the important thing.
Liebling has been there through thick and thin, vulnerable and damaged versions of Floyd. A decade together, sticking together while fighting and sharing a history. It happens, it cannot be taught.
So, about 30 hours before Floyd’s third and final fight with Ingemar Johansson in Miami in 1961, Liebling arrived at Floyd’s door. The door to his own house, I should add. The rest of the press team was camped out in Miami for five or six days. It consisted of a large British contingent; The boys have faithfully followed the rules and ethics of our trade. They’ve been hanging around the gym, hitting the bar and scribbling. It was a good week; Patterson’s blend of fragility and strength made him a good clone. Plus, Cus D’Amato has been in town with tons of conspiracy theories and a mouth full of conspiracy. Cassius Clay is also in town and Angelo Dundee is selling the baby. And selling him hard. Probably a few days. In June I had six days of hurricanes, South Beach, the newest gym on 5th Street, beans and rice and Don King in Miami and it wasn’t too bad.
On the afternoon before the battle, Liebling went to Patterson’s battle house. The sleeping champion – he is a legend in mining. Liebling waited in the lobby, sending one of Patterson’s party upstairs to wake him up. Liebling considers the large white mansion, on a beautiful residential street, “pretentious”. There are golf trophies on the side; There are also partners who are sleeping on the sofa. Exactly 33 hours before the first bell rang and Liebling, the master scribe, summoned the heavyweight champion of the world. I find it ticklish that he has enough strength to come and claim an audience.
Liebling wrote: “Patterson, courtesy beyond politeness, came to see me.”
But Floyd wasn’t smiling when he showed up and told Liebling: “The other writers have been here for four, five days, and you just come in at the end. No time to talk now. “
Liebling ignored the mild criticism and wrote a beautiful story about the strange black silk oriental robe Floyd was wearing. They also talk about their dreams, ambitions, and friendships. They speak of glory and sorrow. The first bell rang 32 hours when Liebling left. They’re friends again – I know that feeling. The writer has his story. OH.
Here are a few words from Floyd’s first appearance: “He wore a silk robe of the East – orange and black, like a butterfly – and under his back was a rectangle. unit. There are muscle strings in his throat – he’s a full-blown heavyweight now. “He’s like a proud father after his son takes his first steps.
Floyd went back to bed and Liebling headed back to the wonderful Fontainebleau hotel on Miami Beach. There is an option to eat and watch Frank Sinatra in La Ronde, one of six places inside the hotel that serves food. The city is alive with boxers, make no mistake. During the 60s and 70s, heavyweight fights often attracted up to 600 requests from the global press market.
The next night, Floyd knocked out Johansson, but was knocked down and severely injured. It’s all part of the Floyd Patterson story. Got knocked down and got up. Lying as a witness; a man who understands fighters and fights with people. He will like Ronnie Davies.
By the way, Ronnie was right. Eubank Jr is very good.
