Heaven is aware of, the game of boxing has given us some actually superb folks, some surreal characters over time. From fascinating personalities to shady figures, to all-out unbelievable people, the Combat Recreation has thrown out some actual gems. Talking of unbelievable, 1970’s heavyweight warrior Bob Bozic has lived a really astonishing life, his 74 years having been crammed filled with sufficient materials to fill some chapters of a ‘Ripley’s Imagine It or Not’ e book.
Bozic’s title will not be a well-known to most individuals, even hardened boxing followers, however Bob fought Larry Holmes at Madison Sq. Backyard in 1973, this his most well-known battle, and Bozic labored for a few years at a New York bar, the place he recurrently left patrons with their mouths hanging open in disbelief. Over time, the writers tracked Bozic down, his story coming to mild. This 12 months, Bob launched his memoir, entitled ‘So, What Occurs Is….’
This week, Bob was form sufficient to talk with ESB, and there was loads of stuff to cowl!
Q: The place do I begin along with your superb life story?
Bob Bozic: “The place are you from initially?”
Q: York, about an hour from Manchester.
B.B: “Do you know Brian London, wasn’t he from round there?”
Q: Sure, Blackpool I met him as soon as, earlier than he handed away…..
B.B: “How previous was he when he died?”
Q: I feel he was 87, age.
B.B: “Yeah, that’s age. Go forward, ask me questions.”
Q: I’ll begin off with this one, it’s true you had been principally by yourself in Canada on the age of 14, after which a gangster bought you into boxing?
B.B: “I used to be by myself at 14, yeah, and simply earlier than I used to be 16, a gangster discovered me on the road in Toronto. He was only a goodhearted particular person, I used to be only a hungry child. He was a bookie, and what you name a gangster right here [in New York], no matter meaning. He fed me for a few months after which he instructed me I had to return to highschool and he discovered me a spot to dwell and he paid for it. To maintain me out of hassle, he owned a boxing fitness center, and I began boxing after faculty. And it turned out I might battle. I had the desire to battle. Should you hit me, I got here again exhausting. It’s the desire to win, not a lot the toughness. Larry Holmes as soon as stated of me, he’s bought a blurb in my e book, and he stated how robust I used to be, that I ‘had the canine in me.’. He was a terrific fighter. The primary jab he hit me with, he broke my nostril. In spherical three he knocked my enamel out. I’d heard about Larry Holmes’ jab, and his very first jab broke my nostril, this in eight seconds. In spherical three, it was like a automotive crash as he hit me as I used to be going proper at him, he timed it. He knocked three of my enamel out, I needed to spit them into the bucket between rounds.”
Q: However you went the gap with Holmes. You fought at The Backyard what number of occasions?
B.B: “I fought at The Backyard 5 occasions. The primary battle I had there, I had simply turned 20, and George Chuvalo, you already know him, proper? We sparred a whole lot of rounds. I sparred George greater than anybody else in my life. George broke my nostril 4 or 5 occasions. My nostril has been broke 9 occasions, however he broke it 4 or 5 occasions. He was combating George Foreman that evening, and Foreman actually clobbered him. However I used to be sparring George [Chuvalo] and my supervisor bought collectively along with his supervisor and he stated, get these two a battle every at The Backyard as an alternative of them combating one another in sparring. That evening, I received the battle and I additionally misplaced my virginity, to 2 women. I used to be extra frightened of them than of the man I had fought! However anyway, I don’t need to get into my intercourse life…….depart that for an additional name (laughs).”
Q: George Chuvalo isn’t in fine condition right this moment, is he?
B.B: “No, he’s bought Alzheimer’s sadly. Nice mates we had been, oh yeah. A number of the writers in contrast me to him, too, we had a really comparable model. He’s from Croatia and I’m from Serbia, which was then Yugoslavia.”
Q: Briefly, who else did you spar throughout your profession?
B.B: “Ken Norton and I didn’t get alongside. He was an excellent fighter and I used to be a really tough fighter, and once I sparred him in Los Angeles, I wouldn’t let him out of the nook, I saved blocking him. He was hitting me so exhausting, I might hear his knuckles cracking in opposition to my cranium, even with the sparring gloves on. However I wouldn’t let him out of the nook. And it was embarrassing for him that I had him trapped, however he was boxing the s**t out of me. However a reporter was there, and he [Norton] stated to the reporter afterwards, ‘f**okay, I hate to owe this child my hire!’ In different phrases, I used to be a ache within the ass and he couldn’t do away with me. And you already know what my nickname grew to become in Los Angeles? ‘The Landlord.’ The owner by no means leaves you alone, he retains on coming again.”
Q: All of the sparring classes you had with Chuvalo and Norton and others had been within the late Sixties and early ’70s?
B.B: “Proper. However why did I get out of boxing? Nicely, I’m combating Larry Holmes and my nostril is broke after eight seconds, then my enamel had been knocked out. The enamel had been hanging by the roots. Nevertheless it didn’t bleed that a lot and I hid it from the referee. However I knew then that I’d by no means be that good, by no means nearly as good as Holmes. I stated to myself I needed to transfer on. I principally retired from boxing 4 or 5 rounds into that battle. Then I went to dwell in Europe, in Spain after which in Greece. Great occasions. Then I went to Istanbul and I met some guys and I began smuggling (Bob actually did smuggle auto elements into Afghanistan, from Istanbul).”
Q: Identical to that!
B.B: (laughs), Yeah, and I robbed a financial institution. I bought caught robbing a financial institution right here in New York. However I by no means went to jail, not even for a day. I had no gun, I instructed them I had no weapon. However I did take hostages, I scared a teller, a man that labored there. I instructed the supervisor I wanted to take a mortgage and we went into the vault. Later, I gave the hostages tickets to some Broadway reveals. It was a problem for them, having to reply questions all day on the police station. They arrested me, the detectives did, and so they had me round to their home for a barbecue, earlier than the trial.”
Q: You had been simply determined for money, is that why you probably did it?
B.B: “Nicely, it wasn’t a passion. Yeah, I wished to generate profits. I had labored for a dwelling, I used to be a bookie myself, and I used to be a smuggler. However sooner or later, my room-mate didn’t provide you with the hire like he was purported to, he stated he’d loaned the cash to somebody, and I stated, ‘s**t, what will we do now?’ So I stated, ‘I’ll go and rob a financial institution.’”
Q: And you actually did! Working on the bar in New York, Fanelli’s, as you probably did for 25 years, is that when folks actually bought to learn about you and your life, with boxing writers interviewing you and so forth?
B.B: “Yeah, I grew to become fairly well-known, the man from The New Yorker who was despatched to interview me, he didn’t need to do it, however after we talked and we had lunch, he stated he was positively gonna do the story. He instructed me my life coated the twentieth century! So later, I wrote my very own e book. Some good folks got here to the bar to see me over these years…Liam Neeson, he appreciated my e book it. He got here to the bar, he wasn’t a giant star on the time, I’d say it was round 1996, or 1997. He’s a giant man, he boxed novice in Belfast. Anyway, I checked out him and I requested him if he ever did any boxing, and it was a sluggish evening, and we swapped boxing tales. I requested him what he did, and he stated he was an actor, and I stated to him, ‘no, what do you do for a dwelling?’ And he stated he’d performed some motion pictures, and about 5 months later out comes ‘Schindler’s Checklist.’ I stated, ‘wait a minute, this man’s a film star…..’ And we’ve stayed mates. He loves to speak about boxing.
“I feel you’ll like my e book, I cowl all of it in there. The tales about Serbia, I feel you’ll like. I used to be roughly tortured in Serbia. I practically died. I’ve had two minor coronary heart assaults, from the ache the place my legs had been burned. However you’ll learn all that [in my book]. However I’m shifting again to Canada, subsequent 12 months. I don’t need to be on this nation any extra. I’ve had sufficient, and never due to [Donald] Trump, however due to the individuals who vote for him. How are you going to probably vote for a person who mimics a cripple and thinks it’s humorous? As a result of years in the past, a reporter, who was disabled, Trump made enjoyable of him, and the group laughed and cheered. Who would chortle at that? I knew gangsters, and they might by no means try this. These individuals are idiots and I’ve had it with common folks. I’m gonna dwell on a farm and browse books. You already know I’m a giant reader?”
Q: Sure, you’ve learn a whole lot of books?
B.B: “Oh, simply. You already know concerning the girl I married, who her boyfriend was earlier than she met me, don’t you?
Q: Barack Obama?
B.B: “Proper.”
Q: No marvel folks suppose loads of stuff about you is made up! Nevertheless it’s all true and verified….
B.B: “Oh, in fact. Anyway, she’s an skilled on T.S Elliot, and we speak practically day-after-day. We’re nonetheless very shut.”
Q: No person’s bought a narrative fairly such as you…..
B.B: “All people’s bought a narrative, a distinct story. Inform the readers, they could like to purchase my e book. It’s learn. You’ll get a kick out of it.”
Q: And yet another factor I examine you, you met Jack Dempsey?
B.B: “Yeah, I met Jack Dempsey two occasions. My managers had been right here in New York and I had dinner with Jack Dempsey. I like to speak, however I didn’t speak a lot on the desk (laughs). What, I’m gonna inform tales to Jack Dempsey? He had a restaurant, and he would stand on the entrance door. However my managers knew him. You already know, it’s such a small world with gangsters and boxing, at the least it was in these days. He was a really attention-grabbing particular person. I knew loads of film stars too. You already know Veronica Lake? She sat moreover me as soon as and I used to be beside myself, she was such a gorgeous girl. It was a good time again then. You bear in mind Bugsy Siegel? I knew the man who was concerned somewhat bit when Bugsy bought assassinated, when he bought shot. He bought shot in his house, whereas sitting on the couch. We speak about this stuff on a regular basis. It’s a small phrase, actually.”
Q: It’s been superb talking with you! I do know I didn’t even get to asking you concerning the smuggling thing!”
B.B: “It’s within the e book, and folks just like the chapter concerning the smuggling. I gotta go prepare dinner for somebody now.”
Bob’s e book ‘So, What Occurs Is….’ is offered now through Amazon. Some extra of Bob’s superb tales will be discovered at bobbozic.substack.com
