Cus D'Amato's KO Boxing Gym South

Why Muhammad Ali Is The Greatest Of All Time 🐐 📹: TheAlikoca . . . . . . #reels #trends #instatrend #lagos #reelsexankara #fyp #search #page #videogram #newpost #videoinstagram #foryoupage #lagosweddings #bbnaija2023 #gossipmill #chiomadavido #gossipmillnaija #lagosnigeria #shimanoreels #foryou #instavideo #spinningreels #nationalmuseumlagos #reelskin #city #reelsnot #reelsinstagram #flyreels #reelseat #kimola __________________________________________________ Click the link on bio 🥺

'As I've grown older, I've also become a much more spiritual person than I was when I was young. I now believe that this life we lead on Earth is but a mosquito's wing compared to eternity and life is the hereafter. And I've learned that whatever time we spend on Earth should be spent helping others and creating justice and equality for all people, not out of pity or shame, but out of love for all people with the knowledge that we belong, not to many races but to one race - the human race.'

- Muhammad Ali

'One day he looked at me and said, 'Would you like to change your life?' I nodded yes, 'From what I've seen and if you listen to me, with no distractions and not allowing people to mess your head up, you will be the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.' I was thirteen years old and he thought I was invincible! Of course, I told him that I wanted to be the world champion, and he liked that, But mostly it was Cus doing all the talking. He'd talk to me about my feelings and then he'd tell me why I was feeling that way. Cus wanted to reach me at the root. It wasn't just about the physical aspects of boxing: it was getting at the mental side why a fighter got bubble guts, why our minds play tricks on us so that some thing seems more difficult than it is. I didn't understand everything he was saying, but I did. Cus knew how to talk my language. Cus was really a street kid who had improved himself as a person.'

- Mike Tyson

'They did not know me before I was a success. Everything I got, I worked for. I went home and practiced punches in the mirror. I dedicated myself to being the best.'

On this day in 2021, the boxing world lost one of it's toughest warriors and one of the greatest middleweights to ever grace the sport; Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Salvador Sánchez, 1980s featherweight champion who is often ranked as the greatest Mexican fighter of all time despite dying at only 23-years-old.

"I pulled up to the hardware store and watched this take place right in front of me. This guy sees two kids walking in the pouring rain while one is pushing his broken bicycle and he stops everything he is doing and spends 5 minutes getting drenched with rain while he fixes this little boy’s bike. These kids rode off so happy and the man left with a smile on his face from ear to ear. This is the America that I know. High five to you good sir!"

On this day...

'Let’s move on Chris, it’s all right, it’s ok bruv. Let’s move on in life. Peace and love. I love you Chris. It’s all in the past, let’s move on in life Chris. We’re here together. Let’s live and love. I love you Chris. Let’s move on. We are born warriors, we are real. God bless you Chris.' - Michael Watson

21st September 1991 - White Hart Lane, London

Eubank comes back from the brink of defeat to retain his WBO Super Middleweight Title with a 12th round stoppage of Michael Watson. The celebrations were cut short however, when triumph turned to tragedy.

The pair had previously met in the ring on the 22nd June 1991 and saw both men put on a terrific display of boxing. As the final bell rang to bring the highly competitive contest to a close, the general consensus around ringside was that Watson was just moments away from being crowned the new WBO middleweight world champion, but when the result was announced Eubank had been awarded a majority decision victory to retain his title.

The result sparked outrage and the following morning the back pages of the British newspapers were dominated by disgruntled sports writers' frustrations at what many of them had perceived as a robbery. With the country up in arms, a rematch seemed the only option and Watson was set to face Eubank once again, this time for the vacant super middleweight version of the WBO crown.

In the build up to the fight, Watson trained harder than he'd ever done before, closing himself off from the public and leaving no stone unturned in preparation of body and mind for the challenge ahead.

The rematch took place at White Hart Lane stadium, the former home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on the 21st September 1991. The atmosphere was electric inside the stadium as 22,000 eager boxing fans cheered Watson making his ring walk with LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out' pumping through the air.

The rematch saw a dominant performance from Watson, who comprehensively outboxed and outworked Eubank for 10 rounds. As the battle entered the 11th round, Watson was comfortably ahead on the scorecards and just 6 minutes away from glory and avenging the loss from 3 months previous.

With just 20 seconds left of the 11th round, Watson landed a short right hand that dropped Eubank to his knees for the 1st time in his career. Eubank picked himself up from the canvas and was on his feet by the count of 3. As soon as the fight resumed, Eubank responded in kind, landing a single, accurately placed uppercut that sent Watson back on his heels and he fell to the canvas, catching the back of his head on the 2nd rope as he went down.

Watson also managed to beat the count and the sound of the bell at the end of the round provided him with 60 seconds of valuable recuperation time. As the two men met in the centre of the ring for the final round however, Eubank, who was eager to capitalise on his success of the previous round landed of flurry of unanswered punches before referee, Roy Francis decided he'd seen enough and stopped the fight.

Francis' decision to stop the fight was met with appeals from Watson's corner but their anger quickly turned to concern when Watson lost consciousness. The crowd, who were previously preoccupied with cheering, booing and in some cases brawling, gradually fell silent. Something was clearly very seriously wrong.

After what seemed like an eternity to those who watched, holding their breath, Watson was placed on a stretcher and carried out of the stadium. After an ambulance had wasted valuable time by taking him to a hospital ill-equipped to handle injuries to the brain, Watson was taken to St Bart's hospital where it was discovered he'd suffered a massive bleed to the brain and underwent surgery in the early hours of the following morning before being placed in Intensive Care. The operation would be the first of 6 times Watson went under the knife.

Watson spent 40 days in a coma as the world watched on, praying he'd pull through. Shortly after waking from his coma, Watson received a visit from none other than Muhammad Ali, a visitation that brought a sense of hope and to him and his family. Watson spent a year in Intensive Care and having rehabilitation treatment before being allowed home.

Watson spent the next six years in a wheelchair, while learning to talk again and to write. Watson improved one little step at a time, each day saw him progressively better than the last. Watson was a tremendous fighter in the ring with indomitable courage, something he was able to utilise during his long and arduous battle to recovery.

In April 2003, Watson was able to show the world how far he'd come since that fateful night when he completed the London Marathon. It took him a total of six days, running for 2 hours each morning and another 2 hours in the evenings. The completion of the marathon is a testament to the fighting spirit of a great warrior. Watson was accompanied for the final leg of the marathon by Eubank and Dr Peter Hamlyn - the Neurosurgeon who carried out the life saving operations on Watson. A truly inspiring, beautiful moment.

Despite not winning a world title during his career, his status as a hero among British boxing fans is firmly secure and his story of triumph in the face of adversity serves as an inspiration to us all.

'I'm sorry Joe Frazier is mad at me. I'm sorry I hurt him. Joe Frazier is a good man, and I couldn't have done what I did without him, and he couldn't have done what he did without me. And if God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me.' - Muhammad Ali

'The Butterfly and me have been through some ups and downs and there have been lots of emotions, many of them bad. But I have forgiven him. I had to. You cannot hold out for ever. There were bruises in my heart because of the words he used. I spent years dreaming about him and wanting to hurt him. But you have got to throw that stick out of the window. Do not forget that we needed each other, to produce some of the greatest fights of all time.' - Joe Frazier

🥊 ‘El flaco explosivo’ Alexis Arguello stands with the great Sugar Ray Robinson….
Beautiful free flowing pugilists…they made it look so natural and effortless with their balance,poise and grace in their works.
Two of my favourite fighters of all time.
The explosive thin man…. And the sugar man….champions

Stanley Ketchel was wonderful: a malevolent free-swinging brooding brawler of the like rarely seen before or since.

A man condemned to live and die violently.

Ketchel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1886, and he packed more into his 24 years than most could in a dozen lifetimes.

Ketchel was a by-product of America’s dustbowl poverty. By the age of 12 he was a hobo, homeless and drifting from town to town. His flair for violence was spotted in Butte, Montana where, as a 16-year-old saloon bouncer, he turned to professional boxing to monetise his ability to knock full-grown men unconscious.

He earned recognition as the world middleweight champion when, as a ferocious 21-year-old, he demolished Mike Twin Sullivan inside a round. A year later he destroyed light-heavyweight champion Philadelphia Jack O’Brien and shared four savage fights with bitter rival Billy Papke.

Best remembered for his bold 1909 challenge of world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, when after decking the bigger man, Ketchel was knocked out cold by Johnson.

He was murdered in 1910. Shot through the lung while eating breakfast by a jealous farm worker. He was 24 years old.

They don’t make ‘em like Stanley anymore.