Thursday, October 29, 2009

Olympians, Borders & Guns

Seem like whenever I have to take a week off, we come back with a tremendous show. This week we've got IBO light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson and Freddie Roach.

I'm also going to talk about the Hall of Fame ballot. It was an incredibly weak field this year. One of the nominees is Naseem Hamed. I've already sent my ballot in so you won't affect my vote. But I want to hear your thoughts. Is Hamed a Hall of Famer? Vote and leave your comments.

As I've mentioned before this blog is also meant to give you a peek at my life in boxing.

Last week, I was in Laredo, TX announcing ShoBox. If any of you saw it, feel free to leave the snarky comments about my hair below. I deserve it. In my defense, I had to plaster my hair down with gel because I got the worst haircut of my life, right before I left. I looked like Balloon Boy's dad. Seriously.

Anyway, the problem has been solved and those of you watching DonKingTV this weekend will see my repaired coif back in all its glory.

Laredo was a weird place. Our hotel was literally a 30 second walk from the border crossing. The area around the hotel did not feel like the United States. From the merchandise in the stores, to the service in the hotel (and it was a nice place), I felt like I was already in Mexico.

The day before I arrived there was a big shootout between the Federales and the drug cartel, right at the border on the other side. Five people were killed.

The highlight of the trip was hanging out with Gary Russell Jr. You'll recall that he was the Olympian that passed out the day before his fight and wasn't able to box in the tournament. Even before that night, he was not too happy with his Olympic experience. From his standpoint, the coaches did more harm than good.

We walked around the town and at one point stopped in a store that sold guns and hunting equipment. Gary is an avid hunter. At that point, my phone rang. It was my wife. I told her I was hanging out with an Olympian in a gun store in Laredo.

At no point in my life did I expect that to be the answer to the question, "What are you doing right now?"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude Marc, what's up with the hair? I hope you could still get some work on local Florida cards because I doubt Showtime will ever put you back on the air again with a 'do like that. Wow, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But think of the positives. Maybe when Showtime needs a creepy neighbor for a new mini-series they'll cast you.

Marc said...

All I can say is it was better than the Balloon Boy Dad hair I was rocking earlier in the day.

Anonymous said...

I know you said Williamson is a friend and the are rooting for as you host the undercard on DonKingTv... but I had tickets to see Williamson-Byrd. I think Williamson owes me money to ever see him fight again.