Life Was Like A Box of Chocolates But My Dad Told Me Also That There Was A Time When Boxing Was Once Really Great .
My Dad , God rest his soul was a great man. But unfortunately once he saw fit to leave my Mom myself and my two younger siblings when we were at a tender age. He became nothing more than a person whom I no longer respect. But that didn’t mean that the man who was my father wasn’t a mean individual. It was just the fact that he really didn’t have what it took to commit to his wife and family. However if he did instill anything in me , it was my love for the sport of boxing . From there I gravitated towards not only the sport of boxing but also the martial arts in particular.
Having competed within the genre at a young age and gradually becoming proficient enough. Where upon having joined the military I actually taught martial arts (karate) to members of the military. As a member of the British Royal Marines for 6 ½ years , I’ve got to admit that those years may well have been some of the most fulfilling years of my adult life. And from the age of 18 until I was 25 it was one of the real highlights of my life. Military life for anyone who seeks an interest in seeing what it really is all about .
Suffice to say it can be really exciting and fulfilling . For me it was something where the memories will definitely live with me for the rest of my life. And that includes the ones where I’ve been on the battlefield and actually faced death serving my country during a conflict. To put it mildly those two year spent on the front in Ireland in the waning years when the IRA was still something to be reckoned with now brings back memories of what the coalition forces are said to facing in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But with regard to the situation that they’re now facing. Let’s just say the sooner this episode is over the better off we’ll all be. Fighting an enemy that in some respects we really know nothing about is one thing. But the temerity to believe that an invasion of both countries would indeed bring it democracy was as asinine a case anyone would wish to hear or witness. But this piece isn’t meant to be a political rant. That’s best left for another day and time.
As alluded to earlier my father brought into my life the sport of boxing. One of the fighters he always espoused was that of Archie Moore. This legendary fighter was one of the alltime greats and to say his resume’ was long and filled with moments of history and infamy could be viewed as something extraordinary would be an understatement. And as a fighter Moore credentials speak more of a pugilist whose status as one of the best light heavyweights ever to grace the sport. And the fact that he held the title for close to a decade spoke volumes of him as a fighter during that particular era. From 1952 to 1962 as the light heavyweight champion Moore reigned supreme over the division for what many deemed was an indeterminate period.
