Don King, on Mike Tyson


"Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter?
He went to prison, not to Princeton."



"To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music
and the dancers hit each other."

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Self Confidence

   Dr. Ivan Joseph - The Skill of Self Confidence 


Uploaded on Jan 13, 2012
 
As the Athletic Director and head coach of the Varsity Soccer team at Ryerson University, Dr. Joseph is often asked what skills he is searching for as a recruiter: is it speed? Strength? Agility? In Dr. Joseph's TEDx Talk, he explores self confidence and how it is not just the most important skill in athletics, but in our lives.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)







Source
TEDxRyersonU - Dr. Ivan Joseph - The Skill of Self Confidence - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-HYZv6HzAs




Bully get the message: To This Day Project - Be mindful that actions have consequences


Published on Feb 19, 2013



Shane Koyczan "To This Day" http://www.tothisdayproject.com Help this message have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying. Please share generously.

Find Shane on Facebook - http://on.fb.me/Vwdi65
or on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/koyczan

I send out one new poem each month via email. You might like to join us. http://www.shanekoyczan.com

"My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life but standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways.

Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. This piece is a starting point." - Shane

Find anti-bullying resources at http://www.bullying.org

Dozens of collaborators from around the world helped to bring this piece to life. Learn more about them and the project at http://www.tothisdayproject.com

Buy "To This Day" on BandCamp http://bit.ly/VKGjgU

or iTunes http://bit.ly/W47QK2








Source:
To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan - YouTube

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ltun92DfnPY#!





Sunday, February 24, 2013

Life of a fighter:

Note: This is a story that has been repeated many times because few people arrive at their destination of being a champion and making a fortune in the business of boxing....

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda" pays no bills and most boxers end up back in the labor force, forgotten like they were never in the game....

The various halls of fame serve a few interests...
 
Teddy Atlas has been trying to improve the lot of individual boxers who give so much of themselves to the game of boxing. But professional boxing is a difficult sport to organize for the benefit of the athletes....
.........................................


DAVISON, MI -- Arnie Wells Jr. tells his story of soaring to the heights of the boxing world and the end of his amateur and pro career nonchalantly.

“It is what it is,” says the Davison native, a former pro boxer and one-time rising star who now, at age 50, works as a security guard in downtown Flint.

His story is one of near-misses, prideful accomplishments, misfortune and survival.


Wells Jr. grew up a fighter. His father, Arnold Wells Sr., and four brothers were a boxing family.  He trained with the likes of Joe Byrd, Emanuel Steward and a long list of fighters from the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit.

As an amateur, Wells had a record of 126-12. In 26 professional fights, he had just five losses and one draw. He is a winner of 15 national amateur titles -- including four championships at the Ohio State Fair -- and 30 state amateur titles. He might have been an alternate for the 1980 Olympics.

Wells graduated from Davison High School in 1980 and at age 17 was invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Ga. He lost his 139 weight class fight to Joe Manley by a split decision and left the trials with a bronze medal. He could have been an Olympic alternate had the U.S. not decided to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

Wells opted to turn pro in 1981 instead of pursuing a spot on the 1984 Olympic team. He also chose not to join the USA boxing team on a trip to Poland in March 1980.

The plane carrying the USA boxing team crashed in Warsaw, Poland March 14, 1980. All 87 people on board were killed, including 14 amateur fighters from the USA boxing program.

Turned Professional:

For his first three professional fights, Wells was managed and trained by Emanuel Steward, the late boxing icon credited with helping groom some of the world’s best fighters.

He left Steward once he was told that his dad could not be a part of his training.

That decision may have cost Wells a chance at a more prosperous professional career.
 
Wells' last fight was in 1996.
 
Serious injury in a vehicle accident resulted in five surgeries, kept him in a wheelchair for three years and permanently ended his boxing career...

Wells never earned major money in the ring. He’s not enshrined in any boxing Halls of Fame.

He’s a security guard during the day and voluntarily helps his dad train aspiring boxers at their gym at night.





Source:  By Ross Maghielse

Life of a fighter: Davison boxer's tale is one of near misses, soaring achievement, survival | MLive.com

http://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/index.ssf/2013/02/life_of_a_fighter_davisons_arn.html





Saturday, February 23, 2013

Harrison wins second Prizefighter title


Note: Audley looked washed-up after David Haye KO'd him with a phantom punch and then David Price ko'd him ......

Audley Harrison scored two knockouts en route to victory in Prizefighter's third 'International Heavyweights' one-night tournament at York Hall, London.



The success is the 2000 Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medallist's second in the Prizefighter concept following a British Heavyweights win in 2009, and saw the 41-year-old bounce back from a first-round mauling at the hands of David Price last year. 

Harrison took home the trophy and a grand total of £36,000 in prize money (£32,000 as tournament winner and £2,000 for each knockout win) after stopping American Derric Rossy in the third and last round of the final.




 




Source:
Boxing - Harrison wins second Prizefighter title - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/boxing-harrison-wins-second-prizefighter-title-022259687.html




Boxing - Price stunned in second-round defeat - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 

Boxing - Price stunned in second-round defeat

British heavyweight star David Price suffered the first defeat of his career in a shock second-round defeat by Tony Thompson in Liverpool.





Price, widely considered Britain's best heavyweight prospect since Lennox Lewis, was caught by a fairly innocuous-looking shot to the temple and went down.

He got to his feet but was clearly still reeling and the referee had no option but to declare Thompson the winner.

Price had got off to a solid start, using his height and reach advantage to control the opening round.

But Thompson went all out from the start of the second round and soon had Price on the ropes before sending him to the canvas.

The result throws Price's future career prospects into disarray after defeat in what he said before the bout would be "a pivotal fight in my career".

According to the Telegraph, Price's promoter Frank  Maloney sunk to his knees after the card at the Echo Arena and had to be taken to hospital.

Price had got off to a solid start, using his height and reach advantage to control the opening round.

But Thompson went all out from the start of the second round and soon had Price on the ropes before sending him to the canvas.

"I've been doing that to other people since I turned professional," a philosophical Price said after tasting defeat for the first time as a pro. "It's heavyweight boxing, nobody's invincible. I'll come back from it.

"I didn't take a beating in there tonight - it was one of those shots. It caught my ear and my balance had gone. Sometimes it's best to come back as quickly as possible.

"I'm still the British and Commonwealth champion and, three fights down the line, this will be ancient history."

Thompson said: "I knew I would do this, it's no shock to me. They thought I was just a name for his record but I showed everyone that I've got a lot left."

Strange things happen in Boxing:
In London's Bethnal Green earlier in the day there was another major surprise as former Olympic heavyweight champion Audley Harrison beat Martin Rogan by unaninmous decision on his way to making the Prizefighter final against Derric Rossy.






 Source:
Boxing - Price stunned in second-round defeat - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/boxing-price-stunned-second-round-defeat-222943399.html




Monday, February 18, 2013

Mike Tyson hugs Evander Holyfield 15 years after BITING part of his ear off | Mail Online

Mike Tyson hugs Evander Holyfield 15 years after BITING part of his ear off | Mail Online



From the warm hug, they appear like old friends.
But it was a different story in June 1997 when Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.
The infamous confrontation appeared to be ancient history as the former boxers greeted each other at a promotional event for Holyfield’s Real Deal barbeque sauce at Chicago grocery store Jewel-Osco.
Friends again: Former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield hugged in Chicago
Friends again: Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson fellow former champion Evander Holyfield hugged in Chicago on Saturday
Almost 16 years on the pair seem to have no hard feelings but 50-year-old Holyfield was probably a little apprehensive about 46-year-old Tyson’s mouth going anywhere his head.
Tyson kept his teeth where they should be as he smiled while making contact with Holyfield at the photo call.
Putting his face out there as support for the brand, it was probably the best way Tyson could say sorry for the outlandish and aggressive attack at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas all those years ago.
Condiment fans: They teamed up at a promotional event for Holyfield's Real Deal barbecue sauce inside a Jewel-Osco grocery store
Condiment fans: They teamed up at a promotional event for Holyfield's Real Deal barbecue sauce inside a Jewel-Osco grocery store
Holyfield – who donned a white polo shirt - was also supported by Henry Tillman, heavyweight gold medallist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Tyson – who has appeared in films such as The Hangover since reaches the height of success with his boxing career - just happened to be in town performing his one-man show when he popped by to help out with the launch.
He gushed: ‘I just wanted to see Evander, man. I love Evander. I'm forever linked with him for the rest of my life.’
Plenty of pals: They were also joined by Henry Tillman, heavyweight gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
Plenty of pals: They were also joined by Henry Tillman, heavyweight gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
His stage presentation documents his rise from Brooklyn's streets to the heavyweight championship and then fall from grace. 
Even his former rival has seen it and thinks it reveals how much his has changed for the better.
‘The show is good. The show is showing his way of coming back, being able to come to an agreement, come to an acknowledgment of what he'd done good and what he'd done wrong and to get over it. When people don't get past their problems, they never come to an understanding.’
High spirits: Tyson smiled and waves to fans
High spirits: Tyson smiled and waves to fans
Here for business: The 46-year-old is in the city with his one-man show
Here for business: The 46-year-old is in the city with his one-man show
The act is being taken to 36 cities after a run on Broadway and features a part where Tyson acknowledges THAT moment with Holyfield.
Holyfield continued: ‘I think he was letting people know that he was wrong and what happened, happened. He appreciates that I forgave him. He's forgiven himself. That's how you make adjustments in life.’
THAT fight: Evander Holyfield (L) and Mike Tyson (R) trade punches in 2007
THAT fight: Evander Holyfield (L) and Mike Tyson (R) trade punches in 2007

Ouch! Holyfield left with a chunk taken out of his ear
Ouch! Holyfield left with a chunk taken out of his ear


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2280242/Mike-Tyson-hugs-Evander-Holyfield-15-years-BITING-ear-off.html#ixzz2LJoPITet
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook