The night I became a boxing fan.

Saturday night, June 8, 1985
Barry McGuigan Vs Eusebio Pedroza for the WBA featherweight championship. At my Nan and Gramps, 10 years of age this was the fight that got me into boxing. What was the defining fight that made you a boxing fan?

I can't really pinpoint one night SS, but it was all thanks to ITV showing the fights. It sort of grew and grew from excitement watching the fights, looking forward to fights in advance, until I started devoting time to either watch or read about boxing when it wasn't actually on tv. Recall watching Naz on a family caravan holiday on my own after everyone else had gone to bed as I couldn't miss him. Probably would never have gotten into it without it being on terrestrial TV though.

I remember watching boxing In the early 90s and pretty much all of naz but the one fight I really became a fan was eubank vs Thompson. I remember being about 12 or something like that when it happened i really don't no why That fight made me a fan over the others but it did, I've not seen the fight since but I always remember eubank (I think) faking a injury for then Thompson to come try knock him out only for eubank to throw a uppercut and was said to be play acting. At the time I thought it was an amazing fight and i don't actually want to rewatched it incase I'm disappointed

That pedrosa mcguigan fight, probably got a few into boxing. As Brits/Irish we lost our world champions at the turn of the 80's, and had a bit of a barren patch. Once he became a contender, Mcguigan's career was prime time... I remember even the juan la Porte fight prior to the pedrosa fight being quite big news. Lots of casual fans followed Barry, and he had the stateside Irish support too obviously. I remember watching the bernard Taylor fight in a packed bar after an all day bender at a stag party on Blackpool. Classy!

I don't have a definitive fight that won me over to boxing. I was sports mad as a young kid, my dad was a fan and I loved Ali. My first boxing memory was watching foreman destroy Frazier on 'world of sport'.

Krash85 wrote:I remember watching boxing In the early 90s and pretty much all of naz but the one fight I really became a fan was eubank vs Thompson. I remember being about 12 or something like that when it happened i really don't no why That fight made me a fan over the others but it did, I've not seen the fight since but I always remember eubank (I think) faking a injury for then Thompson to come try knock him out only for eubank to throw a uppercut and was said to be play acting. At the time I thought it was an amazing fight and i don't actually want to rewatched it incase I'm disappointed

Don't think you'd be too disappointed krash. I Haven't seen it since it happened but, it was a Brave performance from Eubank, despite being too old and too small.

I knew about Ali from a very young age as my parents liked him, my father as a fighter and my mother due to his civil rights politics.

I think I got into fighting at about 8 years old. Walking home from school a kid from my class came up to me, followed by a baying pack, saying he wanted to fight me. He started pushing and then threw a couple of punches. I threw my left hand straight out which found the target of his nose which exploded in blood on impact. He ran away. I shouted after him "I'm the Greatest'.

The other kids looked at my differently, they knew if they wanted to mess with me they were going to have to take a punch or two to do it. I liked that and was quick to get struck in if the need arose. I dreamed about fighting as a kid and teenager. Boxing fitted right in.

... and all those years later, people still want to pick fights with him, and strongy still thinks he's the greatest  . Do any of us ever grow up.

milkyboy wrote:... and all those years later, people still want to pick fights with him, and strongy still thinks he's the greatest  . Do any of us ever grow up.

I blame the Hearn bum sniffs.

Strongback wrote:I knew about Ali from a very young age as my parents liked him, my father as a fighter and my mother due to his civil rights politics.  

I think I got into fighting at about 8 years old.  Walking home from school a kid from my class came up to me, followed by a baying pack, saying he wanted to fight me.  He started pushing and then threw a couple of punches. I threw my left hand straight out which found the target of his nose which exploded in blood on impact.  He ran away.  I shouted after him "I'm the Greatest'.

The other kids looked at my differently, they knew if they wanted to mess with me they were going to have to take a punch or two to do it.   I liked that and was quick to get struck in if the need arose.  I dreamed about fighting as a kid and teenager.  Boxing fitted right in.

This sound hand picked from someones autobiography.
Wonder if that kid was Eddie Hearn

Tyson Vs Bruno, Dad taped it on the radio and me and my little bro spent the next few weeks listening to it constantly. Dad used to be a big boxing fan but lost interest as more belts became available.

it's hearn's autobiography? So strongy was the kid who got his nose flattened. It all makes sense now

I sorta switched on the telly and there was a guy with really bright and shimmering shorts beating the sh.it out of another. Think it was Phillip N'dou. Properly got into it when Sanders clubbed Wladimir.

Unfortunately wasn't much of a boxer as a child. I was short and fat with a low centre of gravity, so I won all my fights with some old school grappling. I do remember one occasion when I was about eleven, where I got into a fight, I threw what could, with a bit creative licencing be called a right hook at the guy, and missed, then knocked him down with my trailing left shoulder. At was at that stage I decided I need to have some grasp for WTF I'm doing and got my dad to enroll me into an amateur gym. Lacked the chin for the sport, but it got me in shape... eventually.... and I gracefully moved from prop to outside centre.

milkyboy wrote:it's hearn's autobiography? So strongy was the kid who got his nose flattened. It all makes sense now

When they invent a way of throwing punches down a fibre optic cable we'll see who has the flat nose.

What age is Eddie? Mid-30's? He wasn't around in my fighting era.

Strongback wrote:

milkyboy wrote:it's hearn's autobiography? So strongy was the kid who got his nose flattened. It all makes sense now

When they invent a way of throwing punches down a fibre optic cable we'll see who has the flat nose.

  The day they invent that, will be the day I put in my onetwo style retirement thread.

I remember trying to use boxing skills in a fight with a bigger lad at school, he just held my head at harms length (I'm a little 'un) and jabbed away. I learnt after that there's no fighting fair in the schoolyard

Strongback wrote:I knew about Ali from a very young age as my parents liked him, my father as a fighter and my mother due to his civil rights politics.  

I think I got into fighting at about 8 years old.  Walking home from school a kid from my class came up to me, followed by a baying pack, saying he wanted to fight me.  He started pushing and then threw a couple of punches. I threw my left hand straight out which found the target of his nose which exploded in blood on impact.  He ran away.  I shouted after him "I'm the Greatest'.

The other kids looked at my differently, they knew if they wanted to mess with me they were going to have to take a punch or two to do it.   I liked that and was quick to get struck in if the need arose.  I dreamed about fighting as a kid and teenager.  Boxing fitted right in.

I wouldn't mess with anyone who was Benching 400 pounds at the age of 8 either.........

We salute you !!

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Strongback wrote:I knew about Ali from a very young age as my parents liked him, my father as a fighter and my mother due to his civil rights politics.  

I think I got into fighting at about 8 years old.  Walking home from school a kid from my class came up to me, followed by a baying pack, saying he wanted to fight me.  He started pushing and then threw a couple of punches. I threw my left hand straight out which found the target of his nose which exploded in blood on impact.  He ran away.  I shouted after him "I'm the Greatest'.

The other kids looked at my differently, they knew if they wanted to mess with me they were going to have to take a punch or two to do it.   I liked that and was quick to get struck in if the need arose.  I dreamed about fighting as a kid and teenager.  Boxing fitted right in.

I wouldn't mess with anyone who was Benching 400 pounds at the age of 8 either.........

We salute you !!

The ghetto kids in your school carrying guns must have been worse. You being the only white boy in the place can't have helped.

I was a casual observer as a youngster, the likes of calzaghe, Lewis and hamed and further afield de la Hoya. I really got interested with Hatton Floyd fight and was hooked

I didn't become a boxing fan after just one particular fight. Like milky, I grew up watching Ali, and I knew the names Frazier, Foreman, Shavers, Norton and Spinks.

Really started following boxing from 1982 when I bought my first boxing magazine which had Mike Spinks and Dwight Braxton on the cover.

I was 6 when I saw Tyson vs Douglas. Dad and older brothers were big Tyson fans and even my mum was excited for the fight.

The shock after Tyson losing was something else. Even though he lost that fight, I became a huge fan of Mike and more importantly of boxing.

I was a big fan of Floyd Patterson and remember being devastated when he was badly beaten by Johansen and having to wait a full year for Floyd to get his revenge.In those days boxing was popular and shown on ITV most Saturdays.

Derbymanc wrote:

Strongback wrote:I knew about Ali from a very young age as my parents liked him, my father as a fighter and my mother due to his civil rights politics.  

I think I got into fighting at about 8 years old.  Walking home from school a kid from my class came up to me, followed by a baying pack, saying he wanted to fight me.  He started pushing and then threw a couple of punches. I threw my left hand straight out which found the target of his nose which exploded in blood on impact.  He ran away.  I shouted after him "I'm the Greatest'.

The other kids looked at my differently, they knew if they wanted to mess with me they were going to have to take a punch or two to do it.   I liked that and was quick to get struck in if the need arose.  I dreamed about fighting as a kid and teenager.  Boxing fitted right in.

This sound hand picked from someones autobiography.

I'd read it, the guy is absolute box office. Love him.

I watched boxing intermittently when I was young. I remember being really, really young and being allowed to stay up to watch a heavyweight fight and being cheesed off that it only lasted a round (I half remember it being Bruno but I doubt I'm old enough for that to be true.)

I was in secondary school when Naz was in his pomp and I remember him being the biggest deal I'd seen at that point. Then I was into Roy Jones and obviously Calzaghe at which point I became a proper fan and started looking back at older fighters.

Never boxed, myself. Never really motivated to do so. Never without a football at my feet for most of my life so no other sport got a look in. Plus, getting punched in the face? No thanks.

AdamT wrote:I was 6 when I saw Tyson vs Douglas. Dad and older brothers were big Tyson fans and even my mum was excited for the fight.

The shock after Tyson losing was something else. Even though he lost that fight, I became a huge fan of Mike and more importantly of boxing.

Yes, it was a big shock to many Tyson losing. I remember going into work and telling people who hadn't heard, that Tyson had lost to Douglas. There was one guy who just wouldn't believe me, no matter how many times I told him that I was being serious.

Even at 6 I was amazed how shocked my house was. I think people genuinely believed Tyson was unbeatable.

Such was the aura of the man