Bert Randolph Sugar

When I lived in New York, I befriended two brothers who had moved from Philadelphia. One was 10 years older than me, and the other was nearly 25 years older than me. What we shared, was a passion for all sports, and, coming from out of town, a desire to talk about the greater sports world (and not just whether Keyshawn Johnson was right about Wayne Chrebet). Aside from the usual talk about baseball, football, hockey, and basketball, we would discuss boxing. They being from the home of Rocky Balboa and I being from the home of Kronk boxing, we had a lot to talk about. Who would be the next great white fighter? What if Hearns didn't have a glass chin? Who was our top 5 pound for pound right now? Of all time? Who was the best in each weight class? Death match: Bob Arum vs. Don King, who would win? What was up with Rock Newman?

The debates were endless, and a lot of fun. There was one thing in which we were in absolute agreement: there is Bert Randolph Sugar, and there is everyone else. He is a boxing commentator by trade, a sports historian and afficianado by destiny. Walk into a sports bar and Manhattan, such as Mantle's near Columbus Circle, and there you might find Bert, in his Kangol and Cuban, with that distinctive voice of his dripping with perspective. He made every fight sound dramataic, and his knowledge, connections, and wisdom made for a rare and unique perspective. Bert knew boxing like others know their bank account. He made it his own. A boxing match was not an event unless Bert Randolph Sugar was there. And he was almost always there. He was everywhere.

And he still is everywhere. For years, I followed his whereabouts, read his books (www.amazon.com), and, whenever I got lucky, heard his interviews. When they talked to Bert Sugar, I became like an extra in an E.F. Hutton commercial. I stopped whatever I was doing. When Bert spoke, life waited. I listened to alot of WFAN back then, and continue to listen to sports radio now. The local stations have national broadcasts at night, and that is when I'll listen intently to shows such as JT the Brick or ESPN Gamenight, waiting for them to talk about the next big fight, and bring on Bert Randolph Sugar to pontificate. In fact, JT just interviewed him a few days ago, talking about the Taylor-Hopkins battle. He also pimped his latest baseball book (buy it now). For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, look him up. Educate yourselves. And if you happen to be a talk show host yourself, invite him on. And let me know...