By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Whaddya know, I almost forgot my favorite day of the year last week.
Well, OK, maybe it’s fourth behind of my birthday, my son's birthday and Christmas ?but still, it's pretty big: Sept. 16. The date when, over the course of seven years back in the 1980s, my life changed forever.
First, it was Sept. 16, 1981. Tommy Hearns. Ray Leonard. The "Showdown" at 147 pounds. Any fight fan in my age group remembers it like it was yesterday. And as I glance at the calendar and realize it's now been 33 years (last Tuesday) since it happened... I'm amazed.
It was that fight more than any other that got me revved-up. I was a gigantic Tommy fan. I was sure he'd win. I couldn't wait until the next day, when I'd go to Edward Town Junior High School and lord it over all the "Sugar Ray" fans while collecting on a bevy of lunch money bets.
A quarter here. Fifty cents there. Enough funds to keep the Pac Man machine going for hours with a belly full of ice cream sandwiches.
Ahhh... those were the days.
Needless to say, it didn't go how I wanted. Tommy is ahead, then in trouble, then ahead again, then stopped in what's still as dramatic a late rally as you'll ever see, featuring as compelling a message from trainer to fighter as has ever been delivered in any corner.
"You're blowin' it now, son. You're blowin' it."
Thinking about it gives me goose bumps even now.
Thank you, Angelo Dundee. [Click Here To Read More]
Well, OK, maybe it’s fourth behind of my birthday, my son's birthday and Christmas ?but still, it's pretty big: Sept. 16. The date when, over the course of seven years back in the 1980s, my life changed forever.
First, it was Sept. 16, 1981. Tommy Hearns. Ray Leonard. The "Showdown" at 147 pounds. Any fight fan in my age group remembers it like it was yesterday. And as I glance at the calendar and realize it's now been 33 years (last Tuesday) since it happened... I'm amazed.
It was that fight more than any other that got me revved-up. I was a gigantic Tommy fan. I was sure he'd win. I couldn't wait until the next day, when I'd go to Edward Town Junior High School and lord it over all the "Sugar Ray" fans while collecting on a bevy of lunch money bets.
A quarter here. Fifty cents there. Enough funds to keep the Pac Man machine going for hours with a belly full of ice cream sandwiches.
Ahhh... those were the days.
Needless to say, it didn't go how I wanted. Tommy is ahead, then in trouble, then ahead again, then stopped in what's still as dramatic a late rally as you'll ever see, featuring as compelling a message from trainer to fighter as has ever been delivered in any corner.
"You're blowin' it now, son. You're blowin' it."
Thinking about it gives me goose bumps even now.
Thank you, Angelo Dundee. [Click Here To Read More]
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