Respect your elders.
In Japan, it’s said to be a national trait and one key problem that country has now is an imabalance between a large majority of old, many very old, people and its minority of younger folks.
In boxing, I’m wondering if we have the same issue because five of the most important and influential people in boxing are octogenarians.
On the other hand, how about some roses for the living?
Here’s to the Fantastic Four.
New York trainer-cutman-saloon keeper Jimmy Glenn marked his 81st birthday on Aug. 18 and there was no swinging soiree at his always filled Jimmy’s Corner Bar near Times Square for a good reason. Glenn was out of town on his natal day, on a boxing assignment. (For his birthday last year, Mike Tyson stopped by to pay homage.) When Jimmy reminisces about sparring with heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, it is fact, not some oldtimer’s fantasy.
Two days later, Don King, whose stable of fighters is rather thin, marked his 80th birthday with a small party in South Florida. You would think the grandiose DK would’ve wanted a bash to end all bashes but he opted for a low key marking of his milestone. Never let it be forget that King muscled his way to the top as a promoter playing by the same rules (or lack of same) as all the white guys he competed with.
