From the corner of my eye I saw this guy throwing straight rights, hooks, shadow boxing, yelling at what the guy in the ring should have been doing. Initially, I did not give the guy much thought as I was making an effort to cover the fight inside the ring.
However it then became increasingly difficult to do as the guy in the corner was actually not a part of the fighter’s corner, rather an intense fan that almost seemed to want to be in the ring more than the two guys actually fighting.
It was during one of the exchanged between the corner man and the guy I realized it was Paul Spadafora (45-0, 19 KO) who was making the ruckus in the corner. It was a little surprising to see Spadafora in the corner not because he looked bad or out of shape, but because Spadafora has been away (national) for quite some time.
But on this night, Spadafora was invested in a good majority of the local fighters as he was near the ring cheering on most of the fighters all night. It seemed the only time he was taking a break was when he was called into the ring to salute the crowd. That was last November.
This Saturday it’s his time in the ring as he looks to make himself a name once again in the fight game. Spadafora, 37, has seen himself fight more outside of the ring than inside the ropes the past few years, from his 2003 shooting incident involving his then girlfriend to his arrest for a DUI in 2011, he has seen his share of the law the last nine years.
This Saturday Spadafora has a chance to once again pick up where he left off, with an undefeated record, the city of Pittsburgh behind him and a new promotional company TNT Promotions and Roy Jones Jr Presents.
Where will Spadafora ends up is up to him, but for now it looks like he has a sound team behind him and perhaps a renewed vigor to fight, not only for himself, but for his family and in the end as the saying goes “once a fighter, always a fighter”; Saturday night, Spadafora gets to fight, the one thing he loves to do.
And then…
USA Boxing had a poor performance in the Olympics, very bad performance. Rau’shee Warren made three Olympic team and never medaled, he was the first to ever make three teams which is pretty impressive but he will also be known for never placing. That has to be the best and worst feeling. Good luck to Warren and the rest of the 2012 Olympic team as most will likely turn pro.