It’s always a pleasure and honor to to talk boxing with the Hall of Fame great Angelo Dundee. Here’s the latest observations from the one and only Angelo, read on as he talks about Sam Peter, Jones-Tarver III, Ricky Hatton, Corrales-Castillo, Tyson and much more:

August 2005

Boxinginsider.com: How did the movie turn out (Angelo was a consultant for Cinderella Man, the life story of James J. Braddock which was released earlier this summer)?

Angelo Dundee: “Oh, I had a ball. I spent a month in Australia, three months in Toronto. I had a great time. I never met such fine people in my life. Russell Crowe was a sweetheart, a family guy, a real class act. Ron Howard – I can’t say enough about. All the guys in the movies – I respect them. They work hard, they get up at 5 o’clock in the morning everyday, work all day. Kind of like the fighter’s life. They grind.”

Boxinginsider.com: Did you enjoy the film when you saw it the first time?

Angelo Dundee: “I cried. I seen it three times, cried three times. I had a great time. I really enjoyed myself working with such talent. Russell asked me one day, Want to be in the movie? I can try. That’s how I got in there.”

Boxinginsider.com: Hopkins vs. Taylor, what did you think of that fight, how it turned out?

Angelo Dundee: “I gave Taylor a real shot to win, on account of his awkwardness, his plodding jab. It was a close fight, naturally. I wasn’t surprised, it’ll be that kind of fight again, if they go. He’ll be even better next time – having that crown on your head makes you a better fighter. I’m very respectful of Hopkins. My kid David Estrada worked with him once. (Hopkins) don’t do a number on the guys he works with. My kid learned from Bernard Hopkins. He’s a very nice guy. I see him all the time when he comes down here.”

Boxinginsider.com: Very close fight, who did you think won?

Angelo Dundee: “I didn’t keep score. I’ll look at it again. Innately you don’t want to root. I knew he’d give him a good fight. Don’t know if he did enough to beat Hopkins. Wasn’t sure who won.”

Boxinginsider.com: I know you’re a big admirer of Kostya Tszyu so were you surprised about his fight with Ricky Hatton?

Angelo Dundee: “Amazed. Forget surprised, amazed [laughs]. It just shows you…Isn’t this a terrible life, that there’s always someone out there that can do a number on you? This kid Ricky Hatton just had Kostya Tszyu’s number. To me, Kostya Tszyu was pound-for-pound number one. Hatton had the strength, push and desire to offset Tszyu, because Tszyu is such a good technical fighter. He’s only a kid, that believes in himself, it was a great performance. He did everything to offset what Tszyu tried to do. I was suprised he controlled him physically. Ricky Hatton must be a very strong kid.”

Boxinginsider.com: Who can beat Hatton do you think?

Angelo Dundee: “I don’t know who’s gonna lick this kid.”

Boxinginsider.com: Floyd?

Angelo Dundee: “Oh man, Mayweather can offset so many people. He’s unbelievable. He fights to beat you.”

Boxinginsider.com: Tito Trinidad and Winky, did you see that? Winky pitched a no-hitter.

Angelo Dundee: “No hits, no errors [laughs].”

Boxinginsider.com: Were you surprised? I mean, he totally dominated a great fighter Tito Trinidad…

Angelo Dundee: “Nothing surprises me in boxing. It’s always interesting and intriguing. Each fight you learn a little more. I’m always watching fighters and trying to analyze, okay, what would I have my guy do to offset this guy.”

Boxinginsider.com: Corrales-Castillo, what a fight.

Angelo Dundee: “What an exciting fight. What a nice kid Corrales is, he came to the Hall of Fame. He looked out of it. He came back, one punch ended it, a hook.”

Boxinginsider.com: How do you see the rematch playing out?

Angelo Dundee: “Same kind of fight. Survival of the fittest. It’s that kind of fight.”

Boxinginsider.com: Should Corrales use a strategy next time that takes advantage of his four or five inch height advantage? I mean, shouldn’t he box and jab more from the outside?

Angelo Dundee: “Corrales likes to fight. It’s how he likes to fight [laughs]. It’ll be survival of the fittest, whoever gets the lucky shot in. He got it in last time. Who knows, maybe he has the style to beat Castillo ten times out of ten.”

Boxinginsider.com: Jones and Tarver will go at it for the third time…

Angelo Dundee: ‘Interesting, very interesting. I think Jones wants it. He can taste it. But maybe Jones isn’t with us anymore. We’ll find out soon enough. If he’s there he can beat Tarver. Being away maybe gave him the desire to get back. They miss it. The glow was taken away, the spotlight. They’re just another guy.”

Boxinginsider.com: What do you think of this power-punching Nigerian heavyweight prospect Samuel Peter? Did you see him?

Angelo Dundee: “I watch all the fights on TV. So I can keep up with you guys when you call [laughs]. I watch all the fights and I go to the gym twice a week. He’s looking awesome. But we’ll see. The heavyweight division is getting rejuvenated.”

Boxinginsider.com: Peter’s fighting Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother in September in what will be a very interesting heavyweight showdown…

Angelo Dundee: “Klitschko can’t take a rap. Peter can punch like hell. He figures to hurt Klitschko. He folds real easy. Runs out of gas easy. It’s an interesting fight. Maybe it’ll show how far Peter’s going, he’s an awesome banger, steady. He feels like he’s the man, This is MY domain. He looks it too.”

Boxinginsider.com: Were you sad to see Tyson go out like he did?

Angelo Dundee: “He had a great life. He was a happy kid. He was explosive, exciting. He got people excited. He even got people excited about the last fight. They expected. But the explosion wasn’t there any more. The old movements, the old wiggle-waggle was gone.”

Boxinginsider.com: The fire was no longer there.

Angelo Dundee: “You can’t re-light it. Once it goes, it goes for good.”

April 15th, 2008 Mr. Dundee answers BoxingInsider.com readers’ questions…

Q – Angelo, pound for pound who is the best between Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson? You have trained two of them and I’m sure you’ve seen Robinson fight many times. And Angelo, if you had to fit Roy Jones into the pound for pound picture, where would you rank him?-Carl Sims

Angelo says: “Well you see, I explain it this way…You can’t connect anybody to Ali. Then you’re being unfair to people. Muhammad Ali changed the whole scenario. He was the first boxer to do all the talking in and out of the ring. Before Ali, the managers used to do the talking for the fighter. Ali changed all that. The first four years of Ali’s career, they thought I was a mute [laughs]! A lot of guys can fight in the ring but they can’t handle the stuff outside the ring. I think the newspaper guys made Ali sharp. Jimmy Cannon, Shirley Povich, all the great writers back then…they made Ali glib and sharp. He had to be…to deal with their questions. That’s why Muhammad Ali got better and better at it. He wasn’t that sharp as a kid. But he got much better as he went along.
I don’t like to do that (rate the all-time greats). It’s unfair. Each and every one of the boxers you named…they were the best of their time. The best. Hypothetically, Ray Robinson, how can you fault him? He was incredible. So was Jack Johnson.

Q – Do you think Roy Jones Jr. learned/gained heavyweight power in his fight with John Ruiz? -Robert Jackson

Angelo says: “Not really. He learned he can handle strength from a big guy. In other words, he offset him. I don’t think he looked to level him with his punches. If he tried to level him, he may have hurt his hands.

Q – Dear Mr.Dundee. I am currently preparing for my first amateur fight as a middleweight. in your opinion, what are the qualities of a successfull boxer? What does it take to become a champion? Dimitri from Greece

Angelo says: “I wish you luck in your first amateur boxing match! To be a champion, it takes so many qualities. You gotta persevere. You gotta train. You gotta abstain. You can’t be one of the bunch. You’ve got to really give it 100%. Just like in any profession. You graduate kindergarten, then grade school, then high school, you keep going up, up, up. Boxing is the same way. It’s a daily learning. When I go to the gyms now, I see some new things, some different things. It makes me feel good. The learning experience never stops.”

Q – Mr. Dundee. Suppose you had the chance to go back in time and train any great boxer of the past century (not just heavyweights) who would you choose and why? Thank you, George

Angelo says: “Willie Pep. ‘Cause I would have enjoyed myself every minute. Because he was such a great boxer. I had the fun experience of working with Eddie Machen. Sid Flaherty – his manager – asked me if I could give him a hand in his fight against Doug Jones in Miami Beach. After the 10th round, I gave him like a sermon, Let’s look good here, this round is important. And Machen says, Okay, Ang, I’ll try not to get knocked out! I enjoyed Eddie Machen. He had a great sense of humor.

Pep…oh I loved him. 1948…I had the pleasure of watching him in Madison Square Garden. The Sandy Saddler fights…such great fights. Pep had moves so smooth, such agility. Pep was like watching an artist. Like watching Fred Astaire dance. Pep was the kind of professional, he was kind to a lot of guys. He could have got them out of there. But he would go ten with a lot of guys. Those young kids would just try to knock him out and he’d absolutely frustrate them with his great boxing ability. He was beautiful to watch.”

Q – Greetings Mr. Dundee, it’s a great honor to have the chance for you to answer my question. Here it is: As a long-time boxing fan, I often wonder how Muhammad Ali would have fared against some of the other great heavyweights, particularly Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and Larry Holmes (had the two fought when both were in their prime). With the exception of Holmes, I think Ali would have dominated them all. He would have beaten Holmes but it would have been a tough, close fight. What do you think? Thanks so much, Tim Begany, Trumansburg, NY

Angelo Says: “Scoop you’ll like how I handle this [smiles]…he would have beat that style. But I’ll never say it about a fight. Rocky Marciano won the computer fight with Ali in America but lost in England. Machines make mistakes. So what does that tell you? I think Ali could play with Tyson’s style. He could keep him in the center of the ring, keep him turning and slap that style all over the ring. I don’t like to compare person to person. But style to style…you can get away with that.

There’s talk of adding a new super heavyweight division. I don’t see it. I think this era of big guys will pass on. Because they go into different fields of endeavor. After Lennox and the two (Klitschko) brothers, I think the heavyweight division will be back to normal, with normal size heavyweights. We have a ‘big’ evolution right now.”

Q – Dear Angelo, Can you please tell me anything about your former heavyweight Lee Canalito? I saw him fight once and I was very impressed….what happened?? Could he have been a top ten? I wanted to know the answer to these questions for a long time. Also, do you have a fansite? Thank you for your time. Jerry Giovinazzo, Tampa, FL

Angelo says: “What a nice kid that was. I felt bad. I screwed up. I made him go in a movie called Paradise Alley. He was 10-0, he was a genuine talent. I had him at the point, he just fought at Madison Square Garden. Sylvester Stallone called me up, (he said) I need a nice big kid for a movie. Lee could box for a big guy. I had fun with Lee. As a matter of fact, Lee just called me this week. We talked for a while. He has his gym in Texas. I felt he could have had a career as a heavyweight. He never lost. But he got in that Hollywood scene, did Paradise Alley. They wanted him to do a Tarzan movie but he couldn’t because he was too big.

(Could he have made Top 10?) Oh yeah. He was coming along. Like I say, it’s a different time today, guys are getting better and better. That kid we have Attila Levin won my KO (Saturday night) in Tampa. He just got back from a shoulder operation for bone spurs. He’s coming along very well. He’s working really hard, training like a dog, he ready to go. He’s 27, 6-foot-5, 240 and he’s agile. He’s ready to shoot.”

(Note: Angelo does have a website, it’s www.angelodundeeinc.com.)

Q – How do you see the Toney-Jirov fight playing out? And do you think Klitschko can come back from that loss to Corrie Sanders? Can he be champion again? Yevgeny, Russia

Angelo says: “That’s a helluva fight. That’s a murderer’s fight. That Jirov is some banger. He’s a great, great body puncher. I’ve never seen a better body puncher than Jirov. Toney is fighting better than ever now. But it might be too late. He’s in great shape now. It’s going to be a sensational fight. Toney’s a great guy, he’s happy now. I saw him a lot, making the Ali movie. He was smiling for a change. He used to be a miserable guy. Now he’s much happier. I got along with him famously. We – me and Michael Olajide – choreographed him, we had to make Frazier. It was a lot of fun.

(How about can Wladimir Klitschko come back from his devastating loss to Corrie Sanders and be champion again?) “You could throw out the window most first-round knockout losses. If you go out cold, you’re not ready, it means you didn’t warm-up properly…if you get nailed in that first round, your body doesn’t react as well as if it’s warmed up. You had a guy like Emile Griffith (former Welterweight and Middleweight champion) knocked out in a round (by Ruben “Hurricane” Carter in 1963 at the age of 26). It never happened (to Griffith) again. It’s a lesson learned. It’s a tough lesson learned if you get hit on the chin like that. You know what the old axiom is: ‘Don’t take no fight cheap.’ I don’t know what actually happened there in Germany, I wasn’t there. I don’t know if he was warmed up properly. I don’t know if his mind was really on the fight, with all those anthems. I think he can comeback, yes. He didn’t get seriously hurt. He didn’t take no physical beating. He didn’t take no shellacking. He can comeback and be a wiser, smarter fighter.”

Another Interview I did with Angelo Dundee…

By Scoop Malinowski

He’s the elder statesman of boxing trainers…a living legend Hall of Famer…Angelo Dundee is always one of the most enlightening and enjoyable interviews in the sport. Here’s the exclusive latest word from one of the premier characters in boxing history:

Boxinginsider.com: you were in Australia as technical advisor for Russell Crowe in his upcoming movie “The Cinderella Man” about James J. Braddock. First time there?

Angelo Dundee: “No, I’ve been there before, with Jimmy Ellis-Frazier. I was there before that. I was there choreographing Russell. I have an assistant by the name of Wayne Gordon who does the day-to-day stuff. Wayne Gordon’s a former fighter of mine, so he’s a clone. He’s now the coach of the Olympic team. Russell Crowe is the nicest guy I ever met. The nicest. And he’s an athlete, easy to teach.”

Boxinginsider.com: Interesting that they’re making a movie about Braddock.

Angelo Dundee: “I think it’s wonderful. It’s such a great story line. I can see Russell Crowe having a ball with this one. Jim J. Braddock was a guy that was going nowhere, he was fighting for the food on the table, was on welfare, he used to work on the docks. that kind of guy. And he won the heavyweight championship. And his wife is gonna be played by Renee Zellwegger. Russell Crowe is the kind of guy – I went up to his farm, he’s got a big ranch up there, his mother and father are up there. He’s got an Olympic size pool on the property. He’s got a chapel on the property that he married his wife in. Beautiful place. we flew up there two times. I was there a month – Christmas and I was over at new Years.”

Boxinginsider.com: he must be a big fight fan?

Angelo Dundee: “yes. He’s very buddy buddy with Kostya Tszyu. And, in fact, I went to Anthony Mundine’s gym there. And I watched. First time I ever saw Kostya Tszyu train. I never saw a guy train like he trains. For two-and-a-half hours he trains…and then he spars. He’s fantastic. he works out at a clip I never saw guys do…bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing…jumping rope, hitting the bag…boom, boom, boom, boom. And he has a little kid beside him, hitting the bag too. He’s something. I didn’t realize what a hard worker Kostya Tszyu was. then the next thing I know was he hurt his shoulder. you know what’s ironic? you know who else hurt his shoulder? Russell Crowe. he did. he missed the punch working out with Wayne Gordon. Wayne slipped (Crowe’s punch)…I said, next time, stop slipping! he had arthroscopic surgery. Gonna be okay. He’s gonna come to Toronto on the 21st. And I’ll be there on the 21st.”

Boxinginsider.com: How do you see the Jones vs. Tarver rematch turning out?

Angelo Dundee: “Good fight. I think Jones’ll beat him better this time. he went down from heavyweight. Moving up and down in weight takes a lot out of you. Now he’ll be a light heavyweight, where he should be. Jones is a helluva fighter. my gosh, he’s got so many tools.”

Boxinginsider.com: What do you think of Emanuel Steward joining forces with the Klitschko brothers?

Angelo Dundee: “The Klitschko brothers are lucky. Emanuel Steward is a good trainer.”
Boxinginsider.com: Could he be the missing ingredient that takes them all the way? To “world domination?”

Angelo Dundee: “The guy’s been all the way already. he was on the way to become champion against Lennox Lewis. The fight shouldn’t have been stopped. But you know, that’s boxing sometimes. The cut wasn’t in a dangerous place. It wasn’t bleeding into the eye. The younger brother, in my mind, is the better fighter. He’s got so many tools. he throws straighter punches. especially that left hand. he must be a converted southpaw.”

Boxinginsider.com: Do you think, mentally, he’ll get over that KO loss to Corrie Sanders?

Angelo Dundee: “oh yeah, he’ll get over that. It was a surprise KO. But don’t forget about that guy Sanders. He’s for real. He’s always been a real good fighter. Tremendous puncher. He’s that kind of a banger. And he’s a southpaw. Southpaws do funny things.”

Boxinginsider.com: Hopkins vs. de La Hoya looks like it’s finally made for September.

Angelo Dundee: “That’s gonna be the fight. they should just on and fight each other next. Because anything can happen. you never think ahead. Something, anything could go wrong. they should just fight each other next.”

Boxinginsider.com: Golota vs. Byrd looks like it could be a very interesting battle. who do you see winning?

Angelo Dundee: “The style Golota fights is terrible for Byrd. Aggressive. Rough. He’s gonna give Byrd ulcers. He’ll take that trickiness of Byrd away with ruggedness. I don’t think Byrd hits hard enough to hold him off. It’s gonna be like he’s throwing pineapples at Golota. Gonna be interesting. Who’s training Golota now?

Boxinginsider.com: Sam Colonna of the Windy City Gym in Chicago.

Angelo Dundee: “Sam Colonna – I know him a long time. I root for Sam, he’s a good guy. that Golota, he’s a lot of fun. he likes to have fun. he used to train down here in West Palm Beach. I used to run into him.”
Boxinginsider.com: Could be Golota’s last shot at the title. He’s 36.

Angelo Dundee: “I hope he makes it. then it’s like a dream come true.”

Boxinginsider.com: last question. who was a great fighter that you saw in your career, who couldn’t miss, but did miss, for whatever reason. Like, from your memory, who is the best fighter we, the public, never got to see?

Angelo Dundee: “Back in 1948, 49, 50. a kid from Utah or Kansas City was 40-0. I can’t remember his name. Hank Kaplan would. he was a real 40-0. In that era it was different. he was a real 40-0. they brought him to the Garden. And he got knocked out and that was the end of him. Took a beating, got flattened. by Tony Janeiro, I think. Kid couldn’t miss. he was 40-0. he was a rough, tough, good credentials, good lookin’ kid. Rough…and he wasn’t sloppy, he was smooth. And he got flattened. never fought again. Broke his heart. The guy had never got licked before. Boxing is the toughest profession you can get in. As a fighter, you got to be so careful. It’s like living in a glass house. if they see you walkin’ down the street with a chick, you’re a womanizer. if you have a Coke in a bar, he’s a boozer! Someome said to me, your fighter was seen coming out of the Eden Rock Hotel in Miami with a girl…I said, by the way, that’s his wife! you think it ain’t tough being Mike Tyson? It must be murder! Everything goes wrong.

Boxinginsider.com: He’s actually been a real gentleman since losing to Lewis. I saw him at the Klitschko fight and in Atlantic City for Hopkins-Joppy and Tyson was a perfect gentleman both nights, taking pictures, shaking hands, time for everybody.

Angelo Dundee: “That loss to Lewis made him a human being. he doesn’t want to fight anymore.”

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 238

DOB: August 10, 1958 In: Akron, Ohio

Childhood Heroes: “Muhammad Ali was a favorite of mine, of course. Martin Luther King was also a very strong role model. He showed no fear.”

Favorite Movies: “The Great Gatsby. That’s the one that sticks out in my mind. I felt it was such a great movie, the whole thing, the suffering he went through. It’s similar to my life, the highs and lows.”

First Car: “1974 yellow Ford Pinto.”

First Job: “Picking up and delivering lunch for workers at a construction site during summer (age 8). I also had jobs of hauling bricks. Then I was a busboy at Holiday Inn when I was 13.”

Favorite TV Shows Of All-Time: “Game shows. I’m a game show fanatic. Cosby. Wild Wild West. Rat Patrol.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “When I won the Heavyweight championship (KO 1 Mike Weaver in Las Vegas in December 1982). My greatest sports moment ever. The second-fastest KO in heavyweight history (63 seconds). I’m still in the record books for that.”

Most Painful Moment: “Losing the title (by KO 10 to Gerrie Coetzee in second title defense).”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Australia. No doubt about that. The beaches, the wine country, the reefs. I’m just so enchanted by Australia. Almost the same land mass as America but only 12 million people. Lots of undeveloped land. I love the place.”

Pre-Fight Meal: “Fish, pasta, some type of vegetables, water, maybe hot tea.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Grits.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate and vanilla.”

All-Time Favorite Fights: “Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Tony Zale, Jake Lamotta, all of his fights were so great. Each fight was a different plateau for him. He was so versatile. He could adapt to so many different styles. The best boxer I ever saw.”

Nicknames: “Thor. Baromus – my cousins used to call me that when I was a kid. I had no idea what they were talking about. (Also Michael went by the popular ring name – Dynamite.)”

Favorite Book: “Eastern Star. Muhammad Ali gave it to me when I was 17. That is probably one of the most knowledgeable books that I’ve read. It gave me insight on life. Ali took me under his wing. He taught me more about life than boxing.”

Musical Tastes: “Jazz, George Howard, James Ingram, Ronnie Laws, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, so many that I like. I could go on for days [smiles].”

Early Boxing Memory: “I had one win and two losses when I first started to box when I was 11 [smiles]. My friend Randy McGrady started with me, he used to tease me about that. He used to call me ‘One and two.’ He made me work harder, train harder. Then I went like 50 fights without a loss. I owe a lot to him.”

Favorite Sport Outside Boxing: “Basketball. So fast, so many dimensions to it. You need a great center, a great guard, forward, great depth, a great rebounder. And you need to have great offense and defense.”

People Most Admired: “Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King. Don King. Cricket Miller – she’s a little girl that’s paraplegic that I know. Here’s a person that is confined to a wheelchair for life and she has so much energy, vibrance, vigor. Every now and then when I talk to her, she’s depressed. But she always wants to do things. I just admire her so much for her strength. My mom.”

Future Ambition: “To get the most coveted prize in sports – the Heavyweight championship of the world. Say a prayer for me and I’ll do the rest.”

(Note: This interview was conducted at Madison Square Garden in 1992 after Michael’s KO 3 win over Danny Sutton in the Paramount Theater.)

First Tennis Memory: “Watching the Davis Cup final in 1964 in my father’s apartment, Fred Stolle and Dennis Ralston playing their five set match. I got the bug a little for tennis then. Then the real turning point came in June 1965 when my father had moved to London. One day he said, ‘We’re going to Wimbledon.’ I watched Rafael Osuna play Ingo Buding of Germany on a cloudy day. I felt like I was immersed in that match. After that match, every day in the newspaper the first thing I looked for was the tennis agate results. From that point forward I’d go to Wimbledon and the U.S. Open each year. That day with Osuna drew me in completely. Osuna was a beautiful player, very elegant, so smooth and stylish, he made it look easier. He was the right guy to see at the time.”

Last Book Read: “Was the biography of Howard Cosell. A very compelling story.”

Favorite Movies: “I just saw the Clooney film The Descendents, which was excellent. The Apartment with Jack Lemmon. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. I’m leaving out a few.”

First Job: “My first job was with my father who was running a business in London. I did a lot of errands, delivering packages all over London. It was a great way to learn your way around London, taking all the subways. I was 17 or 18.”

Favorite Meal: “Either an excellent hamburger or steak. I’d say steak with baked potato with spinach. I never lost my taste for steak though I don’t eat it as much now.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Coffee. And I don’t drink coffee by the way.”

Greatest Career Moment: “It’s so hard to narrow it down. I would single out…I’d say the two Wimbledon finals of Borg and McEnroe in 1980. And Federer-Nadal in 2008. I was lucky enough to have been there to experience those. Then, I’d have to say, for a lot of reasons, the Sampras win over Agassi for his last major. Knowing what he’d been through and endured the last two years of his career. I thought that was an exhilarating moment to see him do that. So it’s a three-way tie.”

Most Painful Moment: “I think it was the 1984 U.S. Open final when Chris Evert lost to Martina Navratilova for the 13th time in a row. It looked like she was going to win, she won the first set but lost in three. I’d known her for a long time. I thought that was going to be one of her golden moments. She played some great tennis, the crowds were behind her that day. I found that painful.”

Favorite Tournament: “Is Wimbledon. Maybe because it’s the first major I’d went to. The eyes of the world are watching that tournament, even the casual sports fan.”

Funniest Player(s) Encountered: “Nastase was. He could drift from humor to anger very swiftly. He was a multi-faceted character. He was a natural comedian at times, when he was not losing his temper. Obviously, there were a lot of scenes that were not funny. He’d lose emotional control and get nasty. But there were times he was very, very amusing.”

Toughest Competitors: “I think Nadal, to me, is a standout. Without his ferocity, he’d have won maybe four or five Grand Slam tournaments, not ten. He’s shown more resilience to me than anyone else. Pancho Gonzales would lose his temper and play twice as well. He was an incredible competitor. He would impose his will on a match. It was very hard for even players like Rod Laver to play Gonzales – they knew how fearless he was. Sampras learned to dig very deep. The best example was the Corretja match at the U.S. Open. He was in just terrible shape, sick, dehydrated, yet he found a way to win. I don’t think he was given enough credit for his competitiveness, because Pete was more low key compared to Nadal and Gonzales. Chris Evert had the ability to draw on mental fortitude to win matches. She was going to be there until the very end. And she would never lose her cool. Another very tough competitor I thought was Monica Seles. There was an intensity and a fierceness to her that was intimidating to all her rivals, including Graf, at times.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Rod Laver would be one. I was lucky enough to watch him when I was very young, in 1969, when he won the Grand Slam. Laver was so dazzling, such a shotmaker, so complete. I liked watching Arthur Ashe, he was electrifying, so adventurous, sometimes to his own detriment, especially in his younger days. In his latter days he was much more or a strategist than a flashy shotmaker. His most brilliant strategic performance was winning Wimbedon in 1975 against Connors. I liked watching Sampras, he had the most beautiful serve I’ve ever seen. Who am I leaving out? There’s just so many. I like watching Nadal and Federer, for different reasons. The grace and elegance of Federer. I loved watching Maria Bueno. She was like a ballerina on the court. Goolagong as well. I like watching Serena Williams, when she’s in the best of shape and is competing at her best and fully into it. I like the spunk and spirit she brings to it. The list could be endless.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “I think it was – in 1976 Nastase been disqualified in Palm Springs for bad behavior by Charlie Hare, a great, dignified British chair umpire. Then later in the year Hare was back refereeing a U.S. Open match with Nastase and Hans Pohmann. Again, the worst side of Nastase came out, he spit at photographers, almost got into a fist fight with Pohmann. I wondered why Charlie Hare didn’t disqualify Nastase again, like he had earlier in the year. After the match I went to see Charlie in the office and asked him about it. And he replied, in his British accent, ‘You must understand that what we saw out there today was great human drama. For me to interrupt that would have been the wrong thing to do.’ I had trouble containing my laughter, that was one of my more amusing moments.”

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Baseball. I enjoy a lot of games over the summer. (Mets or Yankees?) Yankees.”

Favorite Tennis Books: “Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes was a beauty. I loved the Fireside Book Of Tennis. It culled all the great articles from newspapers by Allison Danzig, the British writers, Bud Collins, it covers the spectrum, from the 1920′s to the 70′s. That was a treasure. I still love to go back to it. Joel Drucker’s Jimmy Connors Saved My Life was a great book. And I thought Steve Tignor’s book High Strung (Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe and the Untold Story of Tennis’s Fiercest Rivalry) was beautifully done and the best written tennis book I have ever read. I thought it was excellent.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Dignity. Composure. Earnestness. True to yourself, no pretenses. Decency. Integrity. Humor. Compassion.”

Education: Stetson University

Career Accomplishments: Inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010; Former Editor World Tennis Magazine; Contributing Editor Tennis Week magazine; Author of “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of The Twentieth Century” and “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of All Time” which will be published in June 2012.

DOB: Sept. 27, 1983 In: Edmonton

Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 215 pounds

First Hockey Memory: “In Canada, it’s just kind of something you grow up with. I remember being a little kid and going home and skating outside, that sort of thing.”

Hockey Inspirations: “I was a Detroit fan growing up so I liked Steve Yzerman.”

Last Book Read: “Into The Silence.”

Current Car: “Is a Chevy pick-up.”

Nicknames: “I don’t have too many. ‘Bo,’ that’s the obvious one.”

Greatest Sports Moment(s): “Probably won a couple of world championships, played in one of the Olympics. So that’s probably the highlights.”

Most Painful Moment: “Haven’t had too many. Broke my foot one time, that was my worst. (Who shot it?) Brent Sopel I think.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Chicago.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “Probably Steve Montador, he’s playing for Chicago right now.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Sean Hill was a funny guy. Jamie McLennan.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “There’s different guys who do different things. There’s a lot. There’s not too many guys who you would say aren’t. To get to this level you have to have some sort of drive.”

Strangest Game: “Nothing too crazy. I’ve had a couple of pretty lopsided games where the score got out of hand, but that’s about as crazy as it gets. One of my first years we lost to Washington 12-2 I think. That was the worst beating I’ve ever been a part of.”

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “Baseball.”

Funny Hockey Memory: “Lots of stuff, like every day. If you’re not laughing and you’re doing this then something’s wrong. But nothing really stands out. Lots of stuff.”

Last Vacation: “Went to Nepal last summer.”

Favorite Player(s) To Watch: “Crosby. Corey Perry, Getzlaf, those guys in Anaheim, they’re good. The guys in Detroit – Datsyuk, Zetterberg. In defenseman – I appreciate guys like Nick Lidstrom, those sort of guys.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “I guess honesty. And good-natured people.”

Mike Schreck (Boxing Fan): “I met Ali on a promotion tour for his own brand of cologne. It was at Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, CT in 1990. Muhammad was signing memorabilia at a table and when the line got to me, I said to him, ‘God Bless you champ.’ And at that, he stood up and motioned me to come around the table to him. Then he went into a boxing stance. As I did, my wife snapped a picture of us. It was a true highlight of my life. Muhammad Ali is a very gracious man.”

Bob Foster (Ali opponent and former Light Heavyweight champion): “I was on the same card at Caesars with Muhammad Ali. He fought Jerry Quarry and I was fighting his brother Mike Quarry (billed as “The Quarry Brothers vs. The Soul Brothers”). Before the fights that night, Ali bet me $1,000 that he could stop Jerry Quarry before I could stop Mike. I said, ‘I’ll take that bet.’ Because I knew Ali couldn’t punch that hard. And Jerry was tough. I ended up winning the bet. I knocked Mike Quarry out with one shot. And Ali paid me too. ‘Cause he knew if he didn’t, I’d have kicked his ass, right there in Caesars Palace!”

Marion Boykin (New York-based boxing TV show host): “I once traveled with Ali on a book tour many years back in New York City. I was glad to be included on the bus of writers and will always be beholden to super-writer, Tom Hauser for making sure I was there. Tom had helped Ali with a big photo book and a book of Ali quotations and thoughts. We were all a part of the push to get the books out there to Ali’s millions of fans. During the ride I spent most of the time in the back of the bus, wouldn’t you know it, with another great champion, Roy Jones Jr. It was fun as we went from school to school for ceremonies hyping the books. But the most interesting part of it was stopping at one high school and having a little lunch. Ali sat with my photographer, Terrence Nelson and I and we shot-the-breeze a bit. He was in the beginning strains of his coming battles with Parkinson’s but he was still very alert and quick. As we ate, the conversation got interesting…I happen to love magic and sleight-of-hand and so, of course, does Ali. He took out a little handkerchief and made it disappear and was quite proud of himself about it. But then I pulled out a few coins and made them go from this hand to that hand invisibly and he was blown away, I had absolutely floored the champ on what was perhaps just another routine day for him – or so he might’ve thought. He immediately asked me how I did that and I responded, ‘Champ, you know us magicians can’t reveal our secrets.’ He bent over and begged me closer, and as I did to hear what I thought would be a secret whisper between Magis, he grabbed me by by my collar, flashed that old Ali battle snarl and said, ‘I said…HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!’ He startled me at first, as I quickly thought I had become Joe Frazier or George Foreman to him but he immediately then flashed his big playful smile as he released me and said, ‘Man, that was a good one…You’re even faster than me.’”

Mrs. Deanna Dempsey (Wife of former Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey): “We met Muhammad Ali in San Juan, Puerto Rico after he beat Jean-Pierre Coopman in 1976. He was young and handsome and vital and so full of life. After the fight, as he was coming down the steps from the ring, Ali spotted Jack and he said, ‘Mr. Dempsey, can I call you Jack?’ Jack said, ‘Everybody calls me Jack.’ Then Muhammad said, Oh Jack, you were the greatest!’ And Jack said, ‘But Muhammad, I thought you always said YOU were the greatest?’ Ali said, ‘Jack. When I say I’m the greatest, it’s all bullshit!’”

Riddick Bowe (Former World Heavyweight champion): “Muhammad Ali is what enticed me to get into boxing. I liked his spirit and I liked his style. And I liked the way he spoke. See, what happened was, I was in junior high school – I was in 8th grade, I was 13 years old – and the reading teacher brought in a tape of Ali. And I just fell in love with Ali from that point on. I said, ‘I wanna be heavyweight champion of the world.’ And in about ten years later it took place and it happened. My teacher, she called around a couple of gyms so I could start boxing. So we finally decided to go to Bed-Stuy Boxing Association Club. And I walked into the gym, fought in the Kid Gloves, the Golden Gloves, the Junior Olympics, and I realized in that time I could be champ. Because I did feel a certain ease, you know? A lot of guys had a lot more experience than I had but I was beatin’ up all them guys like I was there the whole time they were.”

James ‘Buster’ Douglas (Former World Heavyweight champion): “Muhammad Ali made such an impact on boxing and was a beautiful boxer. He had a beautiful jab. I met him on several occasions, kicked it with him, we had a ball. It isn’t like it usually is where your expectations are too high. It wasn’t like that. It was even more than I expected. He said he liked my style. He told me he was jumping up and down, and jumping out of his chair watching the Tyson fight. It was a thrill to bring pleasure to a man who brought so much pleasure to me.”

Ray Lewis (NFL Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl linebacker): “When he fought Sonny Liston and won, some doubted Ali’s athleticism, and they wanted to see him fail. But, he persisted and won, over and over. Later, when he gave up his title based on personal convictions, some doubted his integrity. Today, he is considered to have been the greatest athlete of all time, but it is his integrity, his dedication to peace and civil rights, that defines him. To this day he leads by example, and that says it all…He used his fame to persuade people all over the world to reconsider their views on war and peace and on racial relations. No athlete accomplished more for mankind than Muhammad Ali. No one.”

Bernard Hopkins (Former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion): “I met Muhammad Ali a few times. He came to Ecuador for my first title fight against Segundo Mercado. Don King brought him. He still had his sense of humor. I had goosebumps. When I started my career I never thought I’d be next to guys like that. Me and his birthdays are a few days apart, we’re both Capricorns.”

Angelo Dundee (Ali’s trainer): “I first met Ali when he was an amateur in 1959. I used to go to Louisville with my fighters – Jimmy Beecham, Luis Rodriguez, Willie Pastrano. In fact, the biggest draw in Louisville was Willie Pastrano. And Willie fought Alonzo Johnson. That’s when I met Muhammad. Muhammad called me from the hotel lobby…’This is Cassius Marcellus Clay. I’m the Golden Gloves champ of Louisville. I won the Gloves in Chicago, I won the Gloves in Seattle. And I want to talk with you.’ I said to Willie, ‘If the guy is some nut downstairs and if you want to let him come up and talk with us?’ And Willie said, ‘Ehh, well the TV stinks. Let him come up.’ And Muhammad came up. Very interesting young man. Kid wanted to know about how my fighters train, how they ran. Because he said he watched me a lot on TV. I had a lot of TV fighters back then in those days. It was a ton of fun. He was a student of boxing. He wanted to know the intricate things about it. I worked with the kid. Showed him the do’s and don’ts. Naturally, he had his own ideas and conceptions on what should be done. But I sort of gave him some advice. That was the first time I met him. And when my fighters would come back to Louisville, he would look them up. A lot of times I wouldn’t be with them. Like Luis Rodriguez would fight in Louisville. Muhammad would go in there and come into the fight with Luis. He grew to love Luis. Because Muhammad got to like all my guys. My guys were easy to like, ’cause they’re good kids. You’ll find out something, by the way, 99% of fighters are good kids. Because of the life they’ve got to lead. It’s a tough life. And nobody has bigger respect for the fistic guys than me. ‘Cause I appreciate what they’ve got to go through.”

Melvin “Doc” Stanley (New York City-based print and radio media): “Muhammad Ali, wow. Ali has always been so very special to me for a multitude of unique reasons. Greatest fighter, athlete of our lifetime. Only Pele can be mentioned in the same breath as an international and global figure, both men the most renowned athletes of our generation and quite possible of all times. And in a time where their world wide fame was produced with a fraction of the media methods, tools and outlets that are used today. Word and mouth were major factors, living legends truly befit them both. Ali was both a student of the sweet science and knew its history and the legends and stars that preceded him. They may have said, ‘Screw Babe Ruth,’ during the World War, but nobody knew or heard of the Babe in a Brazil, Suriname, Aruba, Egypt, or a hut in South Africa or a village in Zaire. Ali and Pele can lay claim to such and although they shouted Ruth’s name during the war, only Ali and Pele had wars stopped to see them both perform.”

“The love I have and profess for Ali curtails so many facets. First, the boxer as it is the sport I hold most dearest to my heart. He being the best ever and at his weight class too.”

“But beyond that, also his character, charm, intellect, wit, honesty, mindset and heart inside and outside the squared circle. And him being a great father to all of his children and a true friend to his friends. A man of compassion and forgiveness.”

“And who can ever forget his stand against being drafted, standing on both his religious conviction and also the saving of lives of his multi-racial and ethnic fans, the young, the elder, both black and white.”

“That stand cost him his prime boxing and earning money years and a shot at being undefeated, yet it also propelled him into immortality, stardom beyond superstar status, he surpassed the other renowned gods of boxing – Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Ray Robinson, Jack Johnson and Rocky Marciano. They were leapt over and surpassed. And he too gained the respect, ears, eyes and love of all mankind, here, abroad and any life form on neighboring planets.”

“Jew, gentile, catholic, atheist as well as Muslim, sided, admired, respected and supported him, mentally, physically and spiritually. He may have been a Muslim religion-wise but he was the Peter Pan, the pied piper of all mankind.”

“Emilano Zapata, Che Gureva, Jack Johnson, Zorro, Superman, Batman, Shaft, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Dr. J, Michael Jordan, the Beatles all rolled into one and multiplied by 100, divided by the square root of Ali.”

“The world was his oyster and platform, he was now Muhammad Ali, first, who also happened to be a fighter, who was heavyweight champion of the world, belt or not.”

“Ali is and always will be a People’s champion and is now loved by all aspects of our society.”

“Seen as Ali by most, not as the black fighter. There were those that didn’t always love him, but he was always respected and admired, as both an athlete and a man.”

“Now his taking in the Muslim religion put him in a sphere and status, where he both transcended more than the fight game, but also the religion, although again, he was a Black Muslim, the American made and founded sect, the world and Muslims worldwide, saw him as a Muslim. He did as much for the religion as he did for the sport of boxing.”

“Earnie Shavers once told me, ‘Every fighter and athlete after Ali, owed him. Before Ali came along, guys were fighting for $20,000 dollars for the heavyweight championship of the world. Ali changed the scope of salaries globally and domestically. And also he changed the public relations world and mind set of boxing.”

“The late media boxing icon and public relations legend, John Francis Xavier Condon, told me how he and Ali went out into the streets of New York City, during a newspaper strike and sold out the Garden. He predicted knockouts, recited poetry, appeared on talk shows to talk not about simply boxing.”

“Fighters started copying his gestures – hands low, standing in their corner and not sitting on their stool between rounds, shaking their heads saying they were not hurt when hit, and predicting victory – all unheard of prior to Cassius Marcellus Clay. He was a PR man’s dream. And fight fans loved, were amazed and dazzled by him, nobody boasted of winning, predicted knockouts, nicknamed their foes, ‘The Wash Woman’ or ‘The Bear.’

“The Hall of Fame boxing champion, Jose Torres once told me that everything Ali did in the ring was wrong and exactly what you taught fighters not to do – hands low, backing up, moving your head to avoid punches. Arturo LeConte, legendary Panamanian boxing photographer, told me, that, ‘All you had to do to sell out a boxing magazine was to put Ali’s face on the cover. A story would be nice but not needed.’

“His demeanor was always that of reachable, comic, friendly and humble with the media and fans. Memories? I have so many, but my first. Tommy Kenville, MSG media icon, told me in the press room prior an old Garden card, ‘Mel, the champ is here.’ I knew who he meant. He had no title at the time – he had lost to Norton months prior, but he was,well, Ali. I spotted him sitting near ringside and I asked him to sign a photo and he looked at me with a little mock shock as he turned from looking ringside and said, ‘In the middle of a fight?!’ When the round stopped he signed and then I started my first interview with the legendary Muhammad Ali and as he talked, other reporters joined us. I’ve been blessed by God to meet and be with him and have more photos with him than any other iconic figure of our generation.”

“Other memories? Well, me being the first reporter to interview him and helping hold him back from going after Joe Frazier at their second Ali-Frazier press conference at the Garden at the Hall of Fame club. Another – him autographing a photo for my lady at the time and him saying to me as he glanced at her picture, ‘A fox, where did you get a fox?’”

“Ali winning the first ever Potamkin Award and at the affair, which Howard Cosell attended, I asked him to sign a couple of photos, after he did I started to walk away and he asked me what was in the bag. I told him it was some more stuff but he need not or couldn’t sign everything. He said, ‘Give it to me.’ And he autographed all I had. How can you not love him?”

“I remember him doing magic tricks at the first and only fight card at the Meadowlands arena. And him giving me the last radio interview prior to Ali-Frazier II in his hotel lobby. And as I went to the fight that night, there I was on the back page of the early edition of the Daily News walking down the street with Ali.”

“I say this all the time, If Ali had time for photos, the media, autographs and fans, then every other athlete after him should too. For Ali is number one and all others are a very distant second. Thanks for asking.”

Chuck Wepner (Ali opponent): “The Ali fight, that was the best I ever felt in the ring. Going 15 rounds. It’s the only fight I ever trained for full time in my career, my entire career. I got sent to camp by Don King. The other fights I used to have to run in the morning, work in the day, train at night. It’s tough to really get on top of your game when you have to do that. For the Ali fight, I trained for seven weeks and I showed a lot of people I was better than they thought I was. After the fight Ali said, ‘I told you that guy was a tough guy. I would never fight that guy in an alley, he was a great fighter.’ That’s why he never gave me a name (like) the Mummy. He said, ‘I respect Chuck Wepner.’ He was always a gentleman to me and he always respected me and I respect him back. I love Muhammad Ali. It was not only a great opportunity for me but a great honor to fight him.”

Mario Costa (Boxing trainer): “I was in the dressing room with Mike Tyson after he lost his last fight to Kevin McBride in Louisville. Muhammad Ali was there. After the fight, Ali came to the dressing room to be with Mike. Mike wasn’t talking, you could tell he was sad. I remember they were both sitting on a bench together, just the two of them. Two great champions. It was very quiet. And Ali pulled out his comb and started combing Mike’s hair, like to tell him, You’re still pretty like me. He was trying to make Mike feel good at such a down moment.”

John Scully (Former Light Heavyweight title challenger): “One day in June of 1991, I went to the West Farms Mall to see Ali at the JC Penny store where he was appearing to promote his new cologne. The most memorable thing about that afternoon was that there was such a long line of people waiting to see him and get his autograph. I initially got in line but I took one look and realized that it would be hours of standing just so I could meet him for a few seconds. I am not really an autograph type of person and, really, I just wanted to see the man. So I got out of line and walked up to the counter where Ali was and, I don’t know, when I saw him sitting there it was a very strange thing. Picture the feeling that a five year old boy must get when he sees Santa Claus in the local mall for the very first time. Then magnify that feeling by ten.”

“As luck would have it, at the exact time that I was standing there just looking at Ali, one of his associates came over to talk to the store security guard that was standing right next to me. He asked where the best seafood restaurant in Hartford was. I knew already that it was the Capitol Fish House at the corner of Capitol and Main. I cannot remember if the security guard told him that also or even if a time was mentioned but I just remember going to the Capital Fish House that night and seeing a stretch limousine parked out front. I drove around to the side of the restaurant and there, sitting in the window of the back dining room with his wife and a few other people, was the man himself, Muhammad Ali.”
“I instantly took off on the two mile or so drive back to my apartment where I quickly changed my shirt and grabbed my scrapbook before heading right back to the restaurant. I walked right in to the back dining room and headed to the table where he sat with his small group. They were the only ones back there so there was no disputing who I was there to see. What happened next is the absolute greatest thing that could have happened, a boxing fan’s – and boxer’s – dream. Ali got up slowly and started to head away from me. I remember feeling so bad, so nervous. I thought he was maybe in a bad mood and was going out of the room until I left. He had signed hours and hours worth of autographs that day and I figured he was very tired. I was surprised he would leave so abruptly but I understood, too, I guess. I imagined myself as the only guy in the world that Ali turned down.”

“But, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong in my assumption as Ali came around the table and headed directly towards me. When he got close enough he put his hands up and, making that famous Ali face where he bites his bottom lip and tilts his head to the side – that seems to say like, ‘C’mon Sucker!’ – that I had seen countless times. He got in his boxing stance. I took the hint, put my jacket on the table in mock anger, and set up like we were gonna rumble! It all happened so fast! Everybody was watching and laughing as we moved closer to each other and went right to it. No conversation. No debating. Ali came to me and started snapping his jab out at me and one thing I distinctly remember is that he seemed to be very far away from me when he let it go but his fist still came so close to my face that I briefly felt the apprehension that came with thoughts of him mistakenly smacking me in my forehead with that famous jab. The man has range. The other thing was that I was caught off guard by how fast with the jab he still was. I was surprised at how quickly it traveled and how close it came to my face before it quickly recoiled like a cobra snake.”

“I wanted to show him that I was a boxer, too. It was like I was at an audition. I wanted him to see that I was a real boxer, too, and I specifically remember giving him a feint and when he kind of flinched at it, I ducked down and snapped a straight and sharp left jab into his belly. Then, the greatest thing happened. I am so glad that I was quick-witted enough to catch it and reply properly. After I caught him with the jab he put his hands down a little, bit his lip and widened his eyes like he does and said loudly, ‘What? You called me nigger?!’ Now, when he used to pull that bit on Cosell back in the day when I wasn’t even born yet – I was born the year he went into exile, 1967 – they had a little routine where he would say that to Cosell and Cosell would act all scared and nervous and, after some tense moments, Ali would say, ‘Man, you musta said trigger.’ I had seen the films and read enough books to know the routine. So, I think I shocked Ali and everybody in that room with my reply.”

‘No, no, I said trigger,’ I told him.

“Everybody in the room, especially the man himself, really got a kick out of that one! I have several great pictures from that day and one of them is of me doubled over in laughter after I said that with Ali smiling.”

Boxing Fan: “I was lucky to meet Ali in November 1993 when he was helping promote Howard Bingham’s book ‘A 30 Year Journey.’ Incredibly, Ali was in my hometown of Kingston, just outside of London, England. I even managed to get a laugh when I asked him if he ever found the kid who stole his bike. I remember Ali stayed at the venue until everybody had been seen – eventhough he was, even then, not in the best of health. Unlike so many lesser known celebrities who seem to treat the public and their fans like they’re an inconvenience.”

Eric Bottjer (Boxing matchmaker): “I’ve seen Muhammad Ali a half-dozen times. In my only interaction with him, I followed him to a hotel hallway after he had been introduced at a black-tie boxing event in Washington D.C. Obviously tired and visibly shaking, Ali walked alongside a sole bodyguard. I approached him from behind and timidly asked him to sign my program. The bodyguard shook his head and motioned me away. Ali put a hand on the guard’s shoulder, gently moved him aside and signed the book. He glanced at me to see the look he’s seen thousands of times. He shuffled on and I decided I’d made a damn fine choice for a hero.”

(Note: This feature is currently being developed into a book about Muhammad Ali. Ali & Cosell oil painting by Scoop Malinowski/ Ali scultpure by artist Barrymore Alan Moton.)

Read more: http://www.boxinginsider.com/columns/muhammad-ali-collection-memories-of-the-greatest/#ixzz1jkUihcCB

Hobbies/Interests: “I’m normally pressed for time – I’m the single father of a seven-year-old girl – I’m normally looking after her. If I’m not looking after her, I’m normally riding motorcycles. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

Favorite Movies: “Apocalypse Now – I was in the British Army when it came out. It became like a cult movie for us. Angel Heart is a cracker, with Mickey Rourke. Taxi Driver. 9 1/2 Weeks.”

Musical Tastes: “A little bit of old-fashioned. I like a lot of British ’70s and ’80s stuff – The Jam, Puella, Joni Mitchell, contemporary, Norah Jones. I listen to the Rolling Stones, David Bowie a bit, 10,000 Maniacs.”

Career Journey: “I was an officer in the British Army. We did a tour with the United Nations in Cypress. I did media operations between the U.N., Cypress and the press. When I came out of the army, my journalistic experience that I got in the army, I ended up becoming the editor of a defense magazine in the U.K. I left that then worked in Bosnia during the war in ‘92. I was in Sarajevo for a while, Split. After that, I had a studio in London which was quite successful. Then I made the huge mistake of coming to New York City. And I found that, as a foreign person, it’s almost impossible to get a job over here. And I ended up in the wild and wacky world of paparazzi, simply because I couldn’t get a job in anything else.”

Greatest Career Moment: “The greatest moment of my photography career was getting a front page shot from Sarajevo (‘92) of an old lady gathering from the ruins of some bombed homes. It was on the front page of The Independent which is renowned for its quality of photography. (What did it pay?) About $200, whereas I can make thousands and thousand and thousands of dollars from paparazzi pictures. Thousands.”

Most Painful Moment: “I have to think about it. Because nothing is springing to mind immediately. Most frustrating moment – I can tell you that. And that happens kind of regularly. And that’s the shocking abuse that I get from hotel security, private security, bodyguards, publicists, and not so much cops. The unpleasantness I receive from security and bodyguards who break the law as a matter of course. They grab me, push my camera in my face, push it down, hold my arms down, it happens to me all the time. And I find it very annoying, very frustrating. And I try to tell cops about it and nobody cares.”

Which Celebs are the hardest to deal with?: “I’ve had a number of little run-ins with Gwyneth Paltrow. And to be fair to her, it just genuinely upsets her – being photographed by paparazzi. And she’s been very, very difficult about it. Having said that, she’s calmed down a little bit now and she’s not too bad. Rappers – I avoid them. Because their security is out of control. They’re dangerous people. They threaten to kill you. For what? Taking a picture? Forget about it. It’s not worth it. Sara Jessica Parker – she went through a phase of being very unpleasant. She’s calmed down. This goes in phases with paparazzi. Like someone will become really really super popular and you have to get them. And so the pressure’s on and everybody gets aggressive and nasty. So there’s always this phase of unpleasantness when there’s a big story.”

Which Celebs are the nicest to deal with?: Jennifer Lopez is nice. She smiles and poses up, she doesn’t mind. Madonna is so used to it she finds it…she doesn’t find it anything. She ignores us. She does her thing, she doesn’t smile, doesn’t say hi, she’s not unpleasant, she doesn’t hide her face. She just goes about her business. So she’s nice to deal with. Robin Williams is a very nice man. Jim Carrey can be nice sometimes. Sometimes he’s a little funny.”

Favorite Meal: “Indian food.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Funny Career Memory: “The funniest thing that ever happened to me was being assaulted and attacked by Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother, who set about me with her handbag. A big one. Over and over again. And he was standing in the background going, Leave him alone mom! Leave him alone! (Where and when?) That was last summer, down on 15th Street, outside Milk Photography studio.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Certain level or morality. Politeness. English things – you don’t get that much in New York [smiles].”

Embarrassing Moment: “A lens fell off a camera once. That’s pretty embarrassing. In front of all the other photographers. Just dropped straight off, onto the floor. It was a big lens. (Where?) It was a pop video – Christina Aguilera was shooting down by the Brooklyn Bridge. My most embarrassing moment was I had a fantastic opportunity to shoot the Olsen twins, when they just arrived in New York City. I was in the best position. They came out of the restaurant. I shot my pictures and I looked at them, the camera was just completely out of focus. I had like five or six shots that would have sold for at least $10,000. I mean, at least. They were just so soft they were unusable. And that was right after a culmination of five, six hours of chasing and following them and standing outside restaurants and stuff. And it was a two-second photo opening and it just failed to focus. I should have pre-focused it. And I ended up getting these soft shots. Useless. Blew $10,000.”

Most Valuable Shot: “Personally, the biggest seller for me is Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. It got a set of them right here, right where we’re standing. Heidi Klum – a good set after she had her baby. I have a partner – he shot Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin coming out of a sex shop. That made about $100,000 – enormous amount of money.”

Who are your clients: “We sell all over the world – People, Us, In Touch, Star, all the tabloids, sometimes the newspapers, but not that often. In U.K. we have an agent and sell to all the big London-based gossip paparazzi style magazines, Hello being one. They’re huge. They pay more money. Sell in Australia, Germany, Sweden, we have an agent in France. We have an agent who specializes in South and Central America. Stuff goes all over the world.”

Who’s Hot right now: “Nicole Kidman always. Tom Cruise always. Johnny Depp always. Sara Jessica Parker is always good. Liv Tyler because she’s pregnant right now is a nice little shot. Gwyneth Paltrow always. Especially if she’s with Chris Martin. The ideal scenario is to get a set of these people doing something. Especially if they don’t know that you’re there – like a set of them shopping, or filling their cars with gas. Kissing on a balcony. Oh, the biggest shot in the world right now is Julia Roberts and her two babies. If you get a good shot with all their faces, you would comfortably realize I would say $100,000 for it. If you can get it. You can’t get it. No one can get it. But if you could – $100,000, maybe more, 150.”

Who is the best in the paparazzi business now: “I don’t know, there’s a lot who do it. There’s a couple hundred out in LA. There’s about 20 or 30 in New York City. We all have our successes. We all achieve a certain amount of success financially and actual published images. The best? I don’t know. I don’t think there is one.”

This interview was conducted on 60th Street Central Park South in NYC in 2005.

SCOOP REPLY: Floyd’s tweet could have been mere lip service, substantive action would have been to order Haymon to commence negotiations with Arum or DuBoef. As far as I know, no one from the Floyd camp has reached out to Arum which makes the infamous tweet this week look like another bluff. BTW, Ellerbe himself tried to tell me at the JMM-May conference last year at Empire State Building that Floyd doesn’t know who I am and he doesn’t read my work, which was odd because there was no reason for him to say this to me. Like you suspect Ryan, by the timing of Floyd’s tweet just hours after I wrote of his silence in the previous mailbox, that Floyd is indeed an avid reader of BoxingInsider.com.
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Scoop dont stop my friend..soem great persona become great from thier own perspective becuase of thier ability to turn tides against them…now it is in your hand to continue what you have believeing…i knew it was the greatest fight of all PACs carrer fighting with floyd is not that just easy..but we should hope PACs may put this man into sleep mode so that his bash and trash talking will gone…dont stop writing and criticism againt that team of floyd!!! we are all in your side scoop!!! Bernard Anaujo

SCOOP REPLY: Thank you for support and inspiration my friend. Hopefully the deal is made soon and we don’t have to argue and bicker about it anymore.
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You are entitled to your opinion. Hans Olson is criticising Manny all the time and now this Kirk guy, so full of hate. Don’t worry, Scoop. The truth will be revealed someday, whatever that truth is. — Maciek Michalski

SCOOP REPLY: It absolutely will Maciek, truth always does prevaill over falsehood (African proverb). It seems Arum is now in the position of power. He seems to know that Floyd has no financial backer who will guarantee his purse for the next fight. Schaefer said that Guerrero has been rejected as the next opponent. No way will Floyd fight Cotto or Canelo – too risky. He just might have to face Manny next. And on Arum’s terms which are logical. I believe Arum is constructing this perfectly with all the right moves to make the biggest fight in boxing history a reality.

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What Up Scoop,

After reading all the requisite mailboxes, Boxinginsider being my favorite, I have come to the conclusion the Mayweather vs. Pacman fight will never happen, and should never happen because both guys can make upwords of $20 million fighting almost anyone. Why risk a lost for a one time $50 Million when you an fight five B fighters for $20 Million a piece and keep your market share in tact. As a businessman, that is what i would tell my fighter — hell that what i would do! Both fans and writers should understand this is not actually a sport anymore in the classic sense of the word, where you have to fight/play everyone, this is prize fighting. There is one way i see this fight getting done, that is that one side embarrasses the other so bad that the fact that he is clearly avoiding the fight hurts his market share. That would make the fight happen – but one side has to REALLY press the issue. Hurt the money – the fight will happen. How do you do that – very simple. In each of the popular boxing websites have and BIG advertisement officially stating, from the boxer himself, that you will fight Pac or Money 50/50 split, explain blood test and pick a date and what ever other details that show you are serious, also it wouldn’t hurt to call your target a coward etc. Also it would help to tell your publicist to make sure that this is announce on shows like TMZ, CNN and Talk Shows the other news and news papers. Really wouldn’t even cost that much money. If done properly, the fighter not accepting such a invitation would be disgraced enough to have to fight or lose his market share. For Top Rank, Golden Boy, Pac Man and Floyd – this isn’t about being scared, boxers get punched in the face for a living for petes sake! It is not about blood test, steroids or losing the 0, and no one really cares about the fans or legacy any more, it is about market share. Hurt the other guys market share so he can’t make upwards of $20MM per B and C class opponents and the fight will be made. Look how eager and how discounted Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield is willing to fight for now, relative to what they were getting, now that they know their market share is gone. But random tweets, nasty conference calls or blogs won’t do it, one fighter has to REALLY press the issue. Final question you might ask why doesn’t anyone suggest this — well the answer is obvious — it is in NO ONES BEST INTEREST. Until then expect Mayweather to come in above the WW limit and fight blown up lightweights and maybe Paul Spaddafora or Prince Nassim; and expect Manny Pac to fight Cotto II, Margarito II and JMM IV.

TJ

SCOOP REPLY: Absolutely brilliant letter TJ. Well said, I think you are pinpoint accurate. If the Pacquiao side were as loudmouthed and aggressive with his talk as say Hopkins or Tarver or Ali, he would have humiliated Floyd into the fight by now. Manny’s niceness out of the ring has contributed to the failure of this fight being made. Like you say, Pac’s side has not REALLY PRESSED the issue and gone after Floyd, like Hopkins did to Oscar and Tarver did to Roy Jones. If Hopkins and Tarver did not talk so much in the media against Oscar and Roy as they did, we never would have saw those fights. Oscar and Roy ducked and wanted to duck Hopkins and Tarver but eventually their pride was battered and they finally accepted those fights which they lost. Pacquiao is just too nice to force Floyd in that manner and Floyd knows it and uses that against Pac. Arum has called Floyd a “psychological coward” in the past but it does not have the same effect coming from the promoter. It’s much more interesting when it comes from the fighters. I think Floyd and Haymon are content to ride it out and as you say, milk the handpicked set ups for the easy $20 million. I truly believe Arum is confident in Manny and really wants to make the Pac-Floyd fight now, as he has the past two years. It only makes sense to stage the fight in an outdoor arena to maximize the revenues.
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Send your letters or comments to mrbiofile@aol.com
Artwork by Michael Canja

DOB: March 10, 1985 In: Plymouth, Indiana

First Running Memory: “The first memory I have of a competitive running situation was not so great. Actually, I didn’t make it to the race. It was at the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, Indiana. They have a mile race every year on Labor day. My dad (Marty) drove me to the start line – I didn’t want to do it and I started crying, pulling a tantrum. He ended up not making me run. I hated to run back in the day. So that’s my first memory. Not a good one [smiles].”

Last Book Read: “The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho.”

Running Inspirations: “When I first got into running – my older cousin had run cross country. I loved basketball but as a sixth grader going into junior high, they didn’t offer basketball. So I was like, I might as well do something – cross country – to keep me active. So that’s when I first started doing cross country. I never really liked running that much. I never really had that many role models in running, other than my family.”

Hobbies/Interests: “Pretty boring. I like to play board games, cooking and reading books. I’m really into watching Dexter, the TV show. My female teammates will have Glee nights together. We don’t do things that are super active because we’re always recovering from running or doing things like that.”

Favorite Movies: “I like all the Die Hard movies, the Alien movies. I have two older brothers so I’m more into action movies. Rocky.”

First Job: “For the grounds crew in our school system. I mowed the lawns or weed-whacked, did lines on the fields and all that.”

First Car: “Was my grandmother’s Grand Marquis (beige). Awesome, it had a huge engine. It was a really neat car.”

Current Car: “I have a 2008 Ford Escape (green). My last three vehicles have been green.”

Favorite Meal: “Rice and beans.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Non-discriminatory [laughs]. I like them all.”

Pre-race Feeling: “I used to get really nervous in high school before races. I feel in control these days. So I don’t get that anxious. I just try to take it all in. I get anxious but not nervous, these days. I look forward to commencing the race. On the start line – I think that’s the worst part. But once the gun goes off, it’s a lot better.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the U.S. Championship title this year, outdoors.”

Most Painful Moment: “Falling. Being on the track in Daegu and realizing that the race was still going and I wasn’t a part of it.”

Funny Memory: “Kind of random – two years ago in London, there was an 800 race and Anna Pierce, my teammate, and I shared a lane. And we were trying to come up with something when the camera is on us, we should do something funny. We were gonna do this air punch thing. Then the camera got on us and we were both just so nervous, deer in the headlights, we just stood there. It made us laugh. Like, afterwards, Yeah, we had it all planned out. Didn’t do anything [laughs].”

Strangest Race: “There was one year at NCAA in the final, we started the race and came around the corner. They still had all the hurdles on the track from a previous race which was kind of a shock. That was like the only weird thing that happened.”

Embarrassing Career Memory: “I don’t think so, not yet [laughs]. Hopefully not. I’m sure it will happen someday.”

Favorite Sport Outside Track and Field: “Basketball. I like to play basketball a lot.”

Favorite Place To Compete: “Anywhere in Switzerland. The country itself is very beautiful, like every race I’ve gone to – Lausanne, Lucerne, Zurich are all cities with a lake nearby, or a river. Very scenic. Really good chocolate. I’ve run a few PRs there so that helps.”

Funniest Athletes Encountered: “Alistair Cragg. He’s really funny to be around. I make fun of him because he’s such a schmoozer and I’m really not that social. He makes me laugh, he loves pulling lines on people, whether they catch it or not.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “There’s a lot. This year’s kind of a weird year. Nancy Langat, Maryam Yusuf Jamal, Jenny Barringer (Simpson). All these women are really great competitors. Jenny has a really great kick, that’s something I never expected from her before. I’m starting to pick up on cues from other athletes and knowing their strengths. Jamal is one of those people who will go to the front and push the pace and make you work for a win.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I love watching Usain Bolt. Such a great athlete, has a great attitude, the charisma he brings is really great for sports. And anyone of my teammates. I see how hard they work, so I like to watch them race.”

Childhood Dream: “Initially I wanted to be a bagger at a grocery store. It seemed so cool to scan stuff which I still like to do at the grocery store. I always have to scan my own stuff [smiles] and put it in the bag. Outside of that, athletically, I wanted to be a WNBA player.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Sense of humor. I think a lot of times in our sport, people take themselves too seriously. It’s funny, especially before a race, and we’re in the call room, I kinda look around: There’s the people that are very confident and sure of themselves. You can tell they’re relaxed. Composed. And then you see the people who are panicking, rushing to try to put their bib numbers on, their shoes. I think having that kind of confidence in yourself. I don’t know the exact word. But being confident in yourself and putting that in your whole package.”

(This Biofile is in the January issue of Track and Field News, page 44.)

DOB: April 15, 1955 In: New Jersey

Residence: Closter, NJ

Inspirations: Seeing Winslow Homers’ “Gulf Stream” at the Met in NYC.

Last Book Read: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

Favorite Movies: Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Deer Hunter, Tale of Two Cities.

First Job: Caddy at a Country Club.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chip Mint ice cream

Greatest Career Moment: Hasn’t occurred yet. it’s coming.

Most Painful Career Moment: Being rejected from an art organization

Pre-Work Feeling/Mindset: Everyday is exciting and could bring great things.

Funny Memory Of Painting: A horse came up behind me and looked as if it was about to EAT the paint

Favorite Quotation: “The sun never rises or sets without my thanks and praise.” – Homer

Favorite Artists: Antonio Mancini, Sorolla, and too many more to list here…

People Qualities Most Admired: Integrity, courage and conviction.

College: Rutgers University, BS Economics.

Ht: 6-foot Wt: 197 pounds

DOB: January 24, 1979 In: Mississauga, Ont.

Early Hockey Memory: “Getting dressed in the car on the way to the rink because we were always late. So I was that kid that had to put on his skates and skateguards in the car and walk into the rink, right on the ice [smiles].”

Nicknames: “TK.”

Hockey Inspirations: “Wendel Clark, my older brother (Chris).”

Last Book Read: “I’m reading the Bible right now.”

Current Car: “Ford Fusion Hybrid (platinum).”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Playing in the playoffs was probably the most fun.”

Most Painful Moment: “Every time I got sent down.”

Favorite Uniforms: “I like all the Original Six sweaters.”

Favorite Arena: “Montreal.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “A bunch. I played for a bunch of teams. So it’s a bunch of guys, too long a list.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Probably Colby Armstrong, Marc Bergevin, Chad Larose.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Iginla. (Why?) I don’t know, when he gets that look in his eye, it’s scary.”

Most Memorable Goal: “Playoff overtime winner game one against the Flyers, second round.”

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “When I was like six, I was a goalie and there was a bird in the rink. And I was watching the bird and the team shot and it went in.”

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “All sports, soccer, baseball, football.”

Strangest Game: “I played in the exhibition game at the MGM Grand in Vegas. Avalanche vs. Kings. When a sheet of glass was broken and Jeremy Roenick started to dance disco at center ice [smiles]. You can find it at You Tube.”

Last Vacation: “Probably Muskoka, Ontario.”

Favorite Player(s) To Watch: “Matt Stajan and Tim Jackman.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty, trust.”