The Lampkins: A Boxing Story by Bernie McCoy
(APR 24) If sports were months, boxing would be April, which T. S. Eliot labeled as the "cruelest month." That's because even the rare "feel good" tales in the sport have a hard edge to them. This one is about the Lampkins, father and son, out of a once great fight town, Portland, OR. The son, at 18, commenced a four year amateur career that took him to national prominence and, two weeks ago, at age 28, began a comeback with his debut bout as a professional boxer. The back story is of the father, one of the top ranked lightweight fighters of the 1970s, who stormed out of the clean, clear air of the Northwest and fought his way to the heat and humidity of Panama in a valiant attempt to unseat a champion who may have been the best lightweight of all time. And, of course, as with most boxing Read more [...]