?Even though I never made it as a fighter, I still am a winner. I never was in trouble with the law or messed around with drugs or alcohol. My life is good??
I asked professional fighters to finish this sentence: ?MY FAVORITE BOOK IS?? Their responses were fascinating and illuminating; sometimes surprising and sometimes just plain funny.
If the adage, ?We are what we eat? is true, then ?We are what we read? might also be true.
Read the responses of these tough guys, (and tough girls), and peek into the soul of a prizefighter.
Their book could be fiction, nonfiction, memoir, autobiography, history, sport-related, or not. We simply wanted to peek into their soul and see what book?as a kid, or now?knocked them out!
Below, are their responses. Enjoy!
1. Mando Ramos?Popular WBA Lightweight Champion, WBC Lightweight Champion (Feb. 18, 1969 ? March 3, 1970), WBC Lightweight Champion (Feb. 18, 1972 ? Sept. 15, 1972)
o Defeated Pedro Carrasco for WBC title (SD 15) o Defeated Carlos Teo Cruz for WBA & WBC title (TKO 11) o Defeated Sugar Ramos (SD 10) o Defeated Hiroshi Kobayashi (UD 10) o Defeated Frankie Crawford ((UD 10) o Defeated Raul Rojas (SD 10) o Won 37 (KO 23) + lost 11 (KO 6) + drawn 1 = 49
Mando Ramos?s Favorite Book: Ring Magazine
?I wasn?t much of a reader. But my dad would bring home Ring Magazine and I?d read that. All I like is boxing. I still try to keep up with all of the boxers.?
2. Eddie ?The Flame? Mustafa Muhammad?WBA Light Heavyweight Champion (March 31, 1980 ? July 18, 1981)
o Professional trainer of many champions and contenders o Defeated Eugene Hart (KO 4) o Defeated Matthew Saad Muhammad (SD 10) o Defeated Jesse Burnett (TKO 10) o Defeated Dave Conteh (TKO 8) o Defeated Marvin Johnson (TKO 11) o Defeated Rudy Koopmans (TKO 3) o Won two Welterweight New York City Golden Gloves Championships: 1971 & 1972 147-lb Open Championships o President of boxing union, the Joint Association of Boxers (JAB), which is affiliated with the Teamsters o Won 50 (KO 39) + lost 8 (KO 1) + drawn 1 = 59
Eddie ?Mustafa Muhammad?s Favorite Book: The Holy Quaran
?The Quaran. It?s the way to a peaceful life.?
3. Yaqui ?Indian? Lopez?Highly-Touted Light Heavyweight Contender of 1970 and ?80s
o Fought two ring epics with Matthew Saad Muhammad o Defeated Andy Kendall (KO 5) o Defeated Mike Quarry (W 10) o Defeated Jesse Burnett (2x) (W 10) & (MD 15) o Defeated Tony Mundine (TKO 3) o Defeated Karl Zurheide (KO 6) o Defeated Mike Rossman (TKO 6) o Lost thrillers to: Carlos Deleon, John Conteh, Michael Spinks, Victor Galindez & James Scott o Inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame: 2005 o Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame: 2007 o Won 63 (KO 40) + Lost 15 = 78 bouts
Yaqui ?Indian? Lopez?s Favorite Book: ?Reader?s Digest?
?I always liked reading Reader?s Digest. I read it both in Spanish or English. I enjoy the true, uplifting stories as well as the humorous stories. I also like ?The Living Healthy? section about medicine and stuff.?
4. Armando ?El Hombre? Muniz?NABF Welterweight Champion 1972
o Represented the USA in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in the welterweight class o Muniz was the National AAU Welterweight Champion in 1969 and 1970 o Defeated Percy Pough (KO 2) o Defeated Pete Ranzany (TKO 6) o Defeated Jimmy Heair (W 12) o Defeated Hedgemon Lewis (10) o Defeated Clyde Gray (KO 9) o Defeated Ernie ?Red? Lopez (TKO 7) o Defeated Adolph Pruitt (KO 8) o Dave Oropeza (K0) 3 o Won 44 (KO 30) + lost 14 (KO 2) + drawn 1 = 59
Armando ?El Hombre? Muniz?s Favorite Book: ?Life Cycle Completed? by Erik Erikson
?Erik Erikson interests me. He writes with wisdom and he?s a keen observer of human beings. As a former pro fighter, and now, as a high school math teacher, the psychosocial stages of people have always interested me. The night before I fought a tough 10-round draw with Oscar Albarado in The Olympic Auditorium in LA, I was reading?studying for my finals. It might?ve been Erikson I was reading. Boxing is the most elemental of sports. It offers a most unique vision of human beings.?
5. Larry Merchant?Outspoken commentator for HBO Sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts
o Former sportswriter and columnist for the New York Post o Born February 11, 1931
Larry Merchant?s Favorite Book: ?The Killings of Stanley Ketchel? by James Carlos Blake
?I got a big kick, or punch, out of a recent read, the novelization of the life and times of the James Dean of boxing, ?The Killings of Stanley Ketchel? by John Carlos Blake. A century ago, before Jack Dempsey exploded out of the west, Ketchel was already a mythic figure for his middleweight-heavyweight melodrama with Jack Johnson, and for his wild life and tabloid death. As John Lardner wrote, ?He was shot dead having breakfast with a woman not his wife.??
6. Ron ?The Butcher? Stander?Courageous Heavyweight Contender 1972-05-25 o Joe Frazier beat Ron Stander by 5th round TKO for the WBC & WBA heavyweight title. Stander required 32 stitches after title fight. o Defeated Morris Jackson for Iowa & Nebraska State Heavyweight Titles o Defeated Ernie Shavers (KO 5) o Defeated Thad Spencer (W 10) o Defeated Manuel Ramos ((D 10) o Defeated Jack O?Halloran (UD 10) o Won 37 (KO 28) + lost 21 (KO 9) + drawn 3 = 61
Ron Stander?s Favorite Book: ?The Godfather? by Mario Puzo
?FUGGEDABOUTIT! This book packed a heavyweight punch?like Ernie Shavers! Yeah, boxing?s got plenty of colorful characters, but nothing like the characters in this book?like Don Vito Corleone and his sons Sonny, Fredo and Michael. Yeah, The Godfather?s got plenty of pop. And this guy Puzo punches out a good sentence.?
7. Pete Ranzany?Tough NABF Welterweight Champion
o Defeated Sean O?Grady o Defeated Jimmy Heair o Defeated Clyde Gray o Won 59 (KO 38) + lost 8 (KO 3) + drawn 2 = 69
Pete Ranzany?s Favorite Book: ?Somebody Up There Likes Me? by Rocky Graziano
?When I was a teenager I read ?Somebody Up There Likes Me? by Rocky Graziano and Rowland Barber. I was inspired by Rocky overcoming so many hurdles in his life, to become a world champion as well as being successful outside the ring. Rocky appeared to be a humble person. I wish I had met him and heard some of his stories.?
8. Alex Miteff?Perennial heavyweight prospect in the early 1960s
o Noted for his vicious body attacks o Defeated Archie McBride SD 10) o Defeated Willi Besmanoff (W 10) o Defeated Nino Valdez (SD 10) o Defeated Harold Carter (TKO 2) o Defeated Alonzo Johnson (2x) (W 10) & (W 10) o Had a small part in the movie, ?Requiem for a Heavyweight?, starring Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason o Won 26 (KO 16) + lost 13 (KO 8) + drawn 1 = 40
Alex Miteff?s Favorite Book: ?New York Post?
?I?ll be honest?I don?t read too much. But I do look at the New York Post.?
9. Alex ?The Bronx Bomber? Ramos?Talented Middleweight Contender in the 1980s and ?90s
o Lost to Jose Fernando Castro for WBA Middleweight Title (KO 2) o Defeated Curtis Parker o Defeated Fred Hutchings o Four-Time New York City Golden Gloves Middleweight Champ o 1979 National AAU Champion o 1979 Intercity Golden Gloves Champion o Founder & President of the Retired Boxers Foundation o Won 39 (KO 24) + lost 10 (KO 6) + drawn 2 = 51
Alex Ramos?s Favorite Book: ?Sugar Ray? by Sugar Ray Robinson
?My favorite book is ?Sugar Ray? by Sugar Ray Robinson with Dave Anderson. Dave Anderson was a writer with The New York Journal-American. He tape-recorded hours and hours of interviews with Sugar Ray Robinson. He started writing this book at a time when, like too many retired boxers, Sugar Ray was boxing?s version of a sideshow. He was making money at exhibitions taking on anyone who showed up for a couple hundred dollars. I liked this book because it?s the closest thing to an autobiography. It?s Ray?s words and they mean something very special to me. I also loved the book ?A Clenched Fist: The Making of a Golden Gloves Champion? by Peter Wood. A fighter himself, Wood brought back a lot of Golden Glove memories! It was great writing from a first-hand perspective. Of course, I also like the idea that my name is included in back on a comprehensive list of ??The 10 Greatest New York City Golden Gloves Champions!??
10. ?Irish? Johnny Turner?Formidable Brooklyn Welterweight Contender
o Defeated Danny McAloon o Defeated Frankie Benitez o Defeated Alfonso Haymon o 42 Wins (KO 32) + 6 Losses + 2 Draws = 50 bouts
?Irish? Johnny Turner?s Favorite Book: ?Somebody Up There Likes Me? by Rocky Graziano
?My favorite book?… ?Somebody Up There Likes Me.? Even though I never made it as a fighter, I still am a winner. I never was in trouble with the law or messed around with drugs or alcohol. My life is good. My wife of 25 years is an amazing woman, and I have two absolutely wonderful daughters. One of them, Dee, was recently the winner in the CBS reality show called ?The Amazing Race.? She won herself a ton of money. Both my daughters are simply the best. Like I said?somebody up there likes me.?
11. Gary Stark Jr.?Held the New York Super Bantamweight Title (2006)
o Defeated Andres Ledesma (W 10) o Defeated Luis Bolano (W 8) o Won 23 (KO 8) + Lost 3
Gary Stark, Jr.?s Favorite Book: ?The Contender? by Robert Lipsyte
?I was always into sports. Baseball was my first sport. I was shortstop and second base. I guess I?m blessed with pretty good hand-eye. And bat speed, too. I got good bat speed. Boxing helped my baseball, and baseball helped my boxing. I played for Kingsboro Community College and could?ve gone further, but boxing took over. Now watch out?I?m gonna hit a home run?in boxing!?
