!6" x 20" Acrylic on canvas Private Collection
This drawing is of the first professional prizefight my father and I attended. I had taken up boxing as a kid at the Police Athletic league and was having some success, but my parents were against it. I begged my Dad to take me to see this fight as I had heard that Joe Frazier was the only boxer who could beat Muhammed Ali. Frazier's opponent was Jerry Quarry, who himself was a top contender during the 1960's. Reluctantly my Dad took me and I now realize he did it so I could see for myself how brutal this sport is. The fight was stopped in the 7th round because Quarry had a cut over his right eye. Both of these fighters are now dead. Quarry at 53 (brain damage sustained from prizefighting), Frazier at 67 from liver cancer. I quit boxing because I lacked the killer instinct.
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