@Buka
Every time I read posts about the guys in the MA and fight world you know, have known, or trained with...I get INCREDIBLY envious
Hardly as cool as it might sound. But -
Here's the story about....that story.
And @FrankRaud might get a kick out of it.
Around the turn of the eighties, Bill Wallace retires as PKA middleweight champion. There's some fight offs amongst the ranked contenders. Jean-Yves is right up there.
So....one of my guys, Jeff White, is going to fight Jean-Yves in Detroit. Myself, Jeff, our trainer Joe Vassalo, and my friend Bruce [Massachusetts promoter] and his wife Cindy all make the trip. The promoter from Detroit, who's setting this whole fight card up, is Tiger Whatshisface. I don't trust promoters, period. But especially ones with jungle cats in their God damn name.
Our party arrives at the Pontchartrain Hotel. I immediately ask for the manager as we're about to sign in. I want to make sure everything is as was agreed to. We have three rooms, and all meals at the hotel paid for, just sign my name. The manager says, "yes, the rooms are waiting, but uh oh, there's no mention of paid for meals, they will not be provided"
Okay, call us a cab to the airport, and tell Tiger his main event is going back to Boston. Thanks for the plane ride."
The manager panics, gets Tiger on the phone, and the manager tells me okay, meals paid for. I ask for it in writing, and get it.
Quick side sory - The strangest thing of the night.......
The match is Saturday night. During that day, TigerPromoter holds a karate tournament, big one, over a thousand competitors. Come the night of the matches, the under card is over, the main event is about to start. But - Tiger is going to do a Karate demonstration, in the ring, before the main event. Okayyyyy.....
They bring a bunch of guys into the ring. And a bunch of glass. Storm door windows, like you put on your door when screen season is over. I'm thinking WTF? Then they bring in some chairs.
Guy stands on a chair, another guy sits on his shoulders, then they carefully hand up five windows to the top guy. TigerPromoter does a double front jump kick and smashes the panes of glass. Which break into a jillion shards.....all over the ring. They they sweep it up. Now, I'm standing right beside the ring, and even after it's swept up I can see glass pieces everywhere. I ain't letting my fighter walk on that. Would you? So I ***** and moan, and the hotel finally gets some vacuums and sets to cleaning the ring. Which takes about forty minutes.
The fight goes on, Jean-Yves wins.
After the fights I'm talking to Jean-Yves and Mister Therien. Jean had fought some of his earlier fights in Boston, hadn't really spoken to him since then. So, we're talking.....and I learn that no good, son of a ***** promoter, put all of them, including George Gouvreau.....in one small room with a small double bed. Someone had to sleep on the floor. And they got no meals provided. So I had them join me for dinner that night, and signed my little fingers off. Heh, heh, heh, and we ate well.
They might not remember me in particular, but they'll probably remember the circumstances of that fight night. And Tigerwhats-his-name. But when you see them, please give them my best.
And to Frank Raud....Frank, did Jean-Yves have a younger brother who also fought in the ring? I seem to remember something like that.
