Sports

At the time, lots of amateur fighters were trying to copy Ali's style. I can say that while the majority of them got their behinds handed to them, a skinny white kid from a small farm in rural upstate New York was actually the best at it. (grin) But Rubin was rightly concerned that, as I moved up in ranks, I'd pay a price. (I only did one time, when at age 15, I saw a former US Marine on Wide World of Sports in the nationals, and thought, "I'll destroy him!" Though I lasted three rounds when we fought, and put some damage on his face, he definitely won the fight!)