by Sean Crose
Paige Stover is an accomplished person.
An award winning publisher and author, she is also licensed attorney who operates several businesses in the communications industry.
And that’s just where some of her interests can be found. Stover, who has dealt with such subjects as fencing and equestrian pursuits, and is also fascinated by the sport of boxing.
“I got hooked on boxing as a storyteller,” she explains.
There’s little doubt Stover has told some interesting stories about the fight game. Her book, Rumble! How Boxing’s Greatest Match Was Made caused tsunami-sized waves in the independent publishing scene upon its publication.
What’s more, Stover’s latest work deals with no less a boxing luminary than the iconic and mysterious Cus D’Amato. Confusing the Enemy: The Cus D’Amato Story offers insights into the man who trained Floyd Patterson, Jose Torres and Mike Tyson that few have been privy to.
“He was an incredibly secretive individual,” says Stover.
Yet D’Amato was also incredibly famous, creating a peek-a-boo style that served protégés like Patterson and Tyson extraordinarily well.
That style may well have been the result of a beating the young D’Amato took in a street fight. “He got real focused,” Paige states, “not so much on how do you not get hit, but how do you protect your head, and how do you protect your body?”
Sure enough, D’Amato’s most famous fighters can be said to be wildly under-rated in regards to their defensive skills. Just look at footage of prime Mike Tyson and ask if he looks easy to hit.
Stover also makes it clear that D’Amato wasn’t the mafia-battling crusader many have made him out to be – at least not entirely. Stover argues that some have “wanted to present him as this white night,” yet the reality was something quite different: “There was really nothing further than the truth.”
Stover admires her subject, however, and makes it plain that D’Amato was no mobbed-up hack. Not so long ago, the entire sport of boxing was affected by organized crime, after all.
“They controlled Madison Square Garden,” Stover points out. As a man who Stover says cared deeply for his fighters, D’Amato had no choice but to be practical.
“He only put his toe in the water the least little bit that he had to,” she says.
Indeed, it seems D’Amato’s love for the young men he trained was more than just the stuff of legend: it was the honest truth.
“Cus was absolutely committed,” Stover says. “His fighters were not going to get hurt, they were not going to get brain damage.”
Stover argues that D’Amato did more than turn young men into effective boxers, he turned young men into respectable individuals. “He didn’t just teach them how to fight,” claims Stover, “he taught them to be men… in Floyd’s case, in Mike’s case, he taught them to read.”
It seems D’Amato’s greatest gift to the troubled youths he worked with may have simply been being there for them. “He gave them a role model,” Stover says of D’Amato’s very presence.
One thing that the amiable Stover makes clear is that D’Amato was more than just a pug hanging by ringside. “He read deeply” states Stover, “deeply.” In fact, it was that quest for knowledge, that hunger for depth of thought, which seemed to have made D’Amato such a great trainer.
Even now, the author remains clearly impressed with D’Amato’s “understanding of the science and getting down to the actual physics of fighting with your fists.”
Stover claims that D’Amato was so good at, well, being D’Amato, that he even had a “very deep relationship with Muhammad Ali.”
Just how deep?
Well, Stover believes that Ali’s “whole leaning on the ropes thing,” during the classic Rumble In The Jungle, “was something he and Cus came up with.”
“His (Ali’s) head is out of reach all the time,” Stover explains of the “rope-a-dope” tactic Ali performed in Zaire that night. “He’s not getting hit in the head.”
Stover’s right. Footage of the fight clearly indicates Ali isn’t.
Of course Stover makes it clear that her rope-a-dope theory is just that – a theory. Still, it’s interesting to think about. Not that D’Amato would have found it to be his greatest achievement.
“He was such a man of principle,” Stover claims. “He took fighters that were good and made them champions.”
Yet being a champion meant more to D’Amato than it might for others.
“In Cus’s mind,” says Stover, “part of being a good champion is being a good man.”
CharlesSet
10/29/2024 at 10:26 am
https://mexicanpharm1st.com/# pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa
Thomasanext
10/29/2024 at 4:36 pm
mexican pharmaceuticals online: pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa – п»їbest mexican online pharmacies
Ремонт Айфонов в Москве
10/29/2024 at 6:12 pm
Профессиональный сервисный центр по ремонту Apple iPhone в Москве.
Мы предлагаем: мастер ремонта apple
Наши мастера оперативно устранят неисправности вашего устройства в сервисе или с выездом на дом!
Ремонт ноутбуков в Москве
10/29/2024 at 7:55 pm
Профессиональный сервисный центр по ремонту сотовых телефонов в Москве.
Мы предлагаем: ремонт ноутбука адреса и цены
Наши мастера оперативно устранят неисправности вашего устройства в сервисе или с выездом на дом!
Robertober
10/30/2024 at 12:25 am
ed pills cheap: prescription drugs online without – which ed drug is best
Michaelovack
10/30/2024 at 4:54 am
http://pinupzerkalo.fun/# Пин Ап Казино Официальный Сайт в России
DerekMalty
10/30/2024 at 7:27 am
http://pinup-az.bid/# pinup az
pin up win
Jasonkit
10/30/2024 at 7:37 am
пин ап казино онлайн: пин ап казино онлайн – пинап казино
Ремонт Айфонов
10/30/2024 at 1:03 pm
Профессиональный сервисный центр по ремонту Apple iPhone в Москве.
Мы предлагаем: сервисный центр по ремонту айфонов в москве
Наши мастера оперативно устранят неисправности вашего устройства в сервисе или с выездом на дом!
Michaelovack
10/30/2024 at 2:37 pm
http://pinup-az.bid/# pinup
HarryPogma
10/30/2024 at 3:41 pm
sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r [url=http://sweetbonanzatr.pro/#]sweet bonanza tr[/url] sweetbonanzatrpro
DerekMalty
10/30/2024 at 4:56 pm
https://pinupzerkalo.fun/# пин ап
pinup bet and casino
Jasonkit
10/30/2024 at 5:20 pm
пин ап кз: пин ап казино – пин ап кз
Ремонт iPhone в Москве
10/30/2024 at 6:37 pm
Профессиональный сервисный центр по ремонту Apple iPhone в Москве.
Мы предлагаем: сервисный ремонт айфонов в москве
Наши мастера оперативно устранят неисправности вашего устройства в сервисе или с выездом на дом!
DerekMalty
10/31/2024 at 2:19 am
http://biznes-fabrika.kz/# пин ап 634
pin up casino
Jefferynof
10/31/2024 at 2:33 am
sweetbonanzatr.pro: sweet bonanza oyna – sweet bonanza oyna
Jasonkit
10/31/2024 at 2:51 am
pin up kz: пины – Пин Ап Казахстан
Michaelovack
10/31/2024 at 3:58 am
https://pinupzerkalo.fun/# Официальный Сайт
HarryPogma
10/31/2024 at 5:50 am
пин ап кз [url=https://biznes-fabrika.kz/#]пинап казино[/url] pin up kz
Jefferynof
10/31/2024 at 8:38 am
pin up 306: pinup az – pinup
Jasonkit
10/31/2024 at 12:48 pm
пинап казино: пин ап казино – pin up zerkalo
Jefferynof
10/31/2024 at 2:22 pm
pin up 306: pinup-az bid – pin-up
HarryPogma
10/31/2024 at 6:26 pm
sweetbonanzatrpro [url=http://sweetbonanzatr.pro/#]sweet bonanza[/url] sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r
Jefferynof
10/31/2024 at 7:30 pm
sweet bonanza oyna: sweet bonanza – sweet bonanza oyna
Jasonkit
10/31/2024 at 8:24 pm
sweet bonanza tr: sweetbonanzatrpro – sweetbonanzatr.pro
Jasonkit
11/01/2024 at 4:21 am
sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r: sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r – sweet bonanza tr
HarryPogma
11/01/2024 at 5:40 am
пин ап кз [url=https://biznes-fabrika.kz/#]пины[/url] пин ап 634
Jasonkit
11/01/2024 at 12:27 pm
sweet bonanza: sweetbonanzatr.pro – sweet bonanza oyna
DerekMalty
11/01/2024 at 1:30 pm
https://pinup-az.bid/# pin up casino
pinup bet and casino
HarryPogma
11/01/2024 at 5:43 pm
sweetbonanzatrpro [url=http://sweetbonanzatr.pro/#]sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r[/url] sweetbonanzatr.pro
Jefferynof
11/01/2024 at 6:03 pm
sweet bonanza nas?l oynan?r: sweetbonanzatr.pro – sweet bonanza oyna
Jasonkit
11/01/2024 at 9:46 pm
pin-up casino giris: pinup az – pin up
profi-teh-remont
11/02/2024 at 3:03 am
Сервисный центр предлагает ремонт explay surf в петербурге ремонт explay surf в петербурге
Williamcok
11/03/2024 at 1:50 am
buy gabapentin: compare the best prices – buy gabapentin
Williamcok
11/03/2024 at 6:25 am
shop: amoxil – buy amoxil online
TommyBunty
11/03/2024 at 6:44 am
gabapentin best price: Neurontin online – compare the best prices
RamonScene
11/03/2024 at 12:38 pm
http://amoxil1st.shop/# shop
Williamcok
11/03/2024 at 1:24 pm
stromectol online: stromectol store – stromectol
RussellBlole
11/03/2024 at 1:34 pm
http://stromectol1st.store/# stromectol
TommyBunty
11/03/2024 at 4:11 pm
amoxil online: amoxil – buy amoxil online
RobertReirl
11/03/2024 at 9:34 pm
shop: amoxil – amoxil online
RussellBlole
11/03/2024 at 11:31 pm
https://paxlovid1st.store/# Pills Paxlovid
профи тех ремонт
11/04/2024 at 12:41 am
Сервисный центр предлагает отремонтировать холодильника polair адреса ремонта холодильников polair
Williamcok
11/04/2024 at 12:42 am
amoxil price: amoxil online – amoxil 1st shop
TommyBunty
11/04/2024 at 1:06 am
gabapentin pro: Care provides – licensed gabapentin
Williamcok
11/04/2024 at 6:30 am
shop: buy amoxil online – amoxil
WilliamTit
11/04/2024 at 10:48 pm
prescription drugs canada buy online https://indianpharm24.pro/# buy medicines online in india