Mike Weaver had no interest in boxing, a sport he hated as a kid because his father turned off The Flintstones every week to watch the fights.
Weaver’s boxing career was sparked when he punched out the heavyweight champion of the Marine Corps (who was drunk at the time) over a song on a jukebox.
He was a stand out amateur but lost three of his first four fights (and six of his first 12) as a pro.
In 1980, with a 21-9 record, he somehow got a fight with WBA champ John Tate, who was miles ahead on all cards with a minute to go in the 15th round when Weaver knocked him out cold — for a full minute.
Those are merely a few of the colorful stories we extracted this week from the fighter who got his nickname — “Hercules” — from none other than Ken Norton — who was known as “Black Hercules.”
Our interview with Mike Weaver is preceded by a conversation with expert analysts Rizwaan Zahid and John J. Raspanti, who gauge the impact of Robert Helenius’ upset KO over previously unbeaten Adam Kownacki, unpack Buddy McGirt’s offer to resurrect Deontay Wilder, consider the likelihood of Tyson Fury’s plan to retire after just too more fights, evaluate whether Floyd Mayweather can get the$600 million he wants to box two MMA stars, and preview three interesting matchups: Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia, and Leo Santa Cruz vs. Gervonta Davis.
Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of “Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy,” an Amazon bestseller.
