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Post by Mauler on Aug 21, 2013 14:18:41 GMT -5
The BT Express. Drove a dump truck as his regular job. Heck of a boxer from what little I recall.
Used to pass the ol dude about everyday going to UT.
Random thought for the day.
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Post by Magnum on Aug 21, 2013 14:25:59 GMT -5
He was riding high for a little while. Good contender.
I have autographed pictures of him, as well as John Tate.
Knoxville was a player in the boxing world in the early 80s with him and Big John.
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Post by Mauler on Aug 21, 2013 14:31:43 GMT -5
I have a picture somewhere with me and Big John when he came to Rush Strong. I'll try and find it sometime.
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Post by Magnum on Aug 21, 2013 14:34:00 GMT -5
Jimmy Carter and his boycott of the 80 Olympics screwed him.
"But for more than 200 of them like Djerassi, Drewsen, Kemp, basketball player Isiah Thomas, and boxer Bernard Taylor, 1980 was their only opportunity. “I spent eight years training and it was just swiped away with a pencil,” says Taylor, who was favored to win the gold in the featherweight class that went to East Germany’s Rudi Fink, whom Taylor had beaten."
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Post by Lone Nut on Aug 21, 2013 14:35:09 GMT -5
I vaguely remember Taylor but I really remember Tate. I got Big John's autograph one day at Chilhowee Park. Can't remember if there was another event going on or not. As I recall he had run in one of the early editions of the Expo 10K and I was geeked up that I had done something this behemoth of a man had done as well. He was a helluva athlete. Wonder where that autograph is?
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Post by gramps on Aug 21, 2013 14:46:01 GMT -5
Saw the BT Express fight many times. His hands were as quick as a hickup.
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Post by Magnum on Aug 21, 2013 14:55:28 GMT -5
He just couldn't get passed John John Molina.
And that pastie Irish dude.
He was a great amateur. The flyweight division just doesn't stir a lot of excitement.
But dang, I love boxing.
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Post by 404whore on Aug 21, 2013 14:57:02 GMT -5
Talk about a sport that killed itself...
How do you build a following among mass audience with $79 PPV?
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Post by Magnum on Aug 21, 2013 15:03:04 GMT -5
Talk about a sport that killed itself... How do you build a following among mass audience with $79 PPV? Rasslin and MMA do it. It is just not exciting enough for the little attention spans out there. It really is a sport that takes a lot of strategy. Mike Tyson's dominance, with all his first round knock outs, ushered in the beginning of the end as well. But putting the high dollar PPV on top of that, you make a good point. I watched a Ray Mancini - Hector Camacho fight on classic the other day. That sport will never be like that again. |
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Post by 404whore on Aug 21, 2013 15:05:23 GMT -5
WWE is free every Monday night on USA. They have very smartly used a variety of distribution strategies that allows them to build & cultivate a fan base...& make $$$
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Post by TNCOWBOY on Aug 21, 2013 15:17:35 GMT -5
I agree with Whore. That model is dumsassery of the highest order. Cocksuckers like Floyd Mayweather making 10 zillion a year while 90% of guys starve and gyms shut down all over the country.
Remember when Olympic boxing was a HUGE deal? Arguably the biggest draw of the Games. Now, it's buried on the fringe channels and an American can't seem to buy a medal.
Bob Arum can burn in hell.
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Post by TNCOWBOY on Aug 21, 2013 15:20:17 GMT -5
BTW--Speaking of Mancini, dial up that match of he and Du Ku Kim. Lord, was that brutal.
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Post by Magnum on Aug 21, 2013 15:42:38 GMT -5
Yeah. I was scared to watch boxing for a short time after that fight. I was just a kid.
I remember staying up really late on a Friday night to watch a replay of the Larry Holmes - Gerry Cooney fight.
HBO used to have great fights LIVE back in the day.
ESPN Top Rank Boxing was great when the young heavyweight Mike Tyson was coming up.
Yeah Whore, that is a good point about WWE. They are actually smart because they have the ongoing story line and the morons eat it up to the point the HAVE to get the PPV.
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Post by Thunder Good-Oil on Aug 21, 2013 17:16:43 GMT -5
BT and Big John were from the Ace Miller camp. Seems like there might have been another with some national success around that time frame.
Ted Ray Miller and ACE were brothers. TRM was as corrupt than the Butchers. He did the tax payers a favor in 1989 when he used that shotgun backwards.
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Post by wolfgang on Aug 21, 2013 18:23:05 GMT -5
I vaguely remember Taylor but I really remember Tate. I got Big John's autograph one day at Chilhowee Park. Can't remember if there was another event going on or not. As I recall he had run in one of the early editions of the Expo 10K and I was geeked up that I had done something this behemoth of a man had done as well. He was a helluva athlete. Wonder where that autograph is? My only contact with Taylor was also at an Expo 10K. He must have started toward the front, because I started about midpack and I'm pretty sure we were at least halfway through when I passed him. I recognized him by the "BT EXPRESS" logo on the back of his shirt and by the choppy little boxer steps he was taking. He probably wasn't doing much better than a 10 or 12 minute mile at that point. Guys, with all the focus on football head trauma, what chance does boxing have of hitting it big again? |
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