By: Sean Crose
“I’ve been doing these events for seven or eight years now,” says coach John Scully. He’s talking about amateur boxer reunions, where the likes of him, Marlon Starling and Michael Olajide gather to reminisce and often have a good time among their peers. their. 54-year-old Scully is known for the many hats he wears. Former world title challenger, broadcaster, tireless supporter of boxers who have fallen on hard times – the Connecticut native is all of this. He is also a true lover of the sport of boxing who knows it well. It’s not just about the action inside the ring, but also about the personalities, eras, and even locations that make up boxing’s rich legacy.
One place that Scully was particularly interested in over the years was Muhammad Ali’s training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been reading about it since I was a kid,” he said. After successfully helping out the light-heavyweight unification title Artur Beterbiev distributing the famous Joe Smith in big fashion in June, Scully held one of his amateur reunions last weekend at the where “The Greatest” trained to face the likes of Joe Frazier, George the Foreman, and others. “I know Mike Madden, son of John Madden, who owns Deer Lake,” Scully said. “Mike is all for it.”
Those who gathered with Scully last weekend had to spend a few days where Ali had worked so hard to fight physically and mentally. As the Deer Lake website states: “Muhammad Ali’s training sessions are open to the public and many have fond memories of Champ’s generosity and accessibility. In the face of people, he is quite quiet and soft spoken, not the loud and boisterous figure that appears on American TV screens.” Its sense of authenticity, as well as its connection to the past, certainly drew Scully and hundreds of others to Deer Lake for a reunion.
Scully was so impressed with Deer Lake that he once wanted a sticky note to prepare there. “I wanted to train there when Chad fought Hopkins for the first time,” Scully said, referring to former light heavyweight athlete Chad Dawson, whom he coached. Unfortunately for Scully, his boxer had other ideas. “Chad is more of a modern guy,” says Scully. Perhaps Artur Betterbiev would be more receptive to the idea of training in the camp of a legend.
