07.07.05 – By Scoop Malinowski:
Status: Boxing promoter.
DOB: January 21, 1953 in: Southwark, London, ENG
Childhood Heroes: “Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Bobby Moore, Millwall
Football team.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Reading, politics, movies, theatre.”
Nicknames: “Shorty – from school. Leprechaun. Mental Midget – from Don King. Pugilistic Pygmy.”
Favorite Movies: “Danny DeVito and Whoopi Goldberg movies, Other People’s Money.”
Musical Tastes: “Soul, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, George Benson.”
Early Boxing Memory: “When I was 10, I was the smallest kid in the school. The PE instructor took me to the gym and told me I should learn to defend myself. And I fell in love with the sport. A one-on-one sport, just you in the ring with your trainers preparing you. I was an amateur – had about 60 fights, won about 40. I discovered girls at 15 and my career went down [laughs].”
First Job: “Apprentice jockey in Epson, England. Lousy job. I left it after three weeks (age 15).”
Favorite Meal: “Chinese.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butter pecan. I’m an ice cream freak. I could be in a HBO board room and I’ll order out for ice cream. Before every one of Lennox’s fights I’d walk around eating ice cream, to calm me down.”
Greatest Career Moment: “Lennox Lewis beating Razor Ruddock. I can’t explain the feeling. When he defended the title, there wasn’t the same feeling. I was on a high for two weeks. I was out of mind with excitement and adrenaline. It was better than being in bed with Julia Roberts and Sharon Stone [smiles].”
Most Painful Moment: “Paul Ingle. The accident in his IBF title fight in December 2000.”
Embarrassing Boxing Moment: “I can’t recall one.”
Funny Boxing Memory: “Meeting Don King for the first time. Just Don King…I heard this voice just hollering and screaming and I went around and it was King, larger than life. (Where was that?) I think that was in Florida, Miami at the IBF convention. I was only just starting on boxing. It was about ’86 I believe it was.”
Favorite Boxers To Watch: “I like Floyd Mayweather Jr. I like Ricky Hatton. And I like watching Barrera. (Past?) Larry Holmes and Roberto Duran in their primes. Pernell Whitaker. Evander Holyfield – he had everything. He proved it against Bowe.”
Most Treasured Possession: “The original contract Lennox signed in 1989. I’ve got it framed on the wall at home.”
Favorite Fights: “Duran-DeJesus II, Duran-Buchanan, Lewis-Ruddock.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty, heart, loyalty.”
www.thebiofile.com