I'm very late on this, but I just finished reading this book and wanted to wait before I did any kind of review.
Back in December of 2006 at the George Mason University Patriot Center, there was a very memorable bout between one of the Junkies of 106.7 The Fan -- "The Latin Donkey" JP Flaim -- and "The American Dream" Jay Watts. The bout helped made that card (which also featured the first bout between Jimmy Lange and Fontaine Cabell and the great matchup between Dean White and Dorin Spivey) the best card of that year and Flaim's appearance brought a lot of fans who follow the Junkies but may not follow local boxing into the fold -- more than 5400 people attended that card.
In December of 2011, Flaim released a book entitled Chasing Rocky that chronicles in nice detail all the training leading up to the bout. Flaim actually gives a nice inside look of what boxers go through to get ready for ANY bout and how Flaim had to earn his acceptance into the boxing community.
For me, it brought back a lot of nice memories of that night and was indeed a very good and fun read. "Chasing Rocky" is in bookstores or you can buy through the likes of Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
For those who have not seen that bout, here it is in its entirety as "The Fight Doctor" Jerome Spears and I called it on that night.
15 comments:
What is this? This guy only had one pro fight and got his ass kicked by an awful fighter!!!I hope he's a better author than he was a fighter. Seriously!
I wouldnt buy his book if it was only 1 cent. He is a joke.
you people can't be serious.
This guy had never trained until two months before this fight.
The guy he was fighting wasn't that great of a fighter but he had experience and had some fights.J.P. got up in front of thousands of people knowing he was at a distinct disadvantage and he may have lost but he had the gonads to do it and I bet you people talking trash wouldn't have the guts to climb between the ropes under those circumstances
Scott Farmer
How could any true boxing fan not atleast respect what J.P. did? Trash the book, burn it for all I care, but how can your trash a guy for chasing his dream? Sure he went in there and got his ass kicked, but he gave it his best shot and helped bring some positive attention to the sport of boxing in the area.
I'm not saying J.P. can fight his way out of a paper bag, but I absolutely respect his effort and courage.
It may be a great book, but... a professional boxer goes thru the amateurs and years in the gym to train. This wasn't toughman. If he had gotten hurt, I wonder what everyone would have said then.
And also what does it say of the Maryland boxing commission that it let a man with no previous boxing experience actually apply and be granted a professional boxing license?
Wasn't Maryland, it was Virginia, actually.
And actually, that isn't as strange as you might think. If a person is seemed fit to box, they can apply and receive a boxing license.
J.P. did legitimately train and to his credit, took this very seriously. I said this when the fight took place and I stand by it -- J.P. did not make fun of the sport by doing this. He is a big boxing fan. I also said the following after the bout was over.
"I will say two things about JP Flaim's bout: One: Flaim did something that I could never do and I'm twice his size and that's get into a boxing ring. He tried his best by getting up three times and that showed a lot of heart.
Two: Flaim and his 'Junkies' cohorts should be thanked and commended for bringing in a new audience to the area boxing scene. I dare say that there were a lot of people in attendance at the Patriot Center who had never been to a live boxing card. Hopefully, a good portion of those folks will come to more cards based on this show and 'The Junkies' deserve a lot of credit for making that happen. According to the Washington Post, the announced attendance was 5,437."
That was the impact of J.P.'s bout.
Interesting story in book on how he got that federal I'd from VA.
OHHHHHHH! I love Jerome Spears' call when somebody gets nailed! OHHHHHHH!
J p and his junkies he work with all are terrible they don't know shit about no sports a book don't waste your time or money by the way when is Jimmy Lange going to fight a real fighter and not a tough man contender
when you learn how to structure a sentence thats when Lange will fight a legit contender.
Signed
your mother
Yes, he showed heart. Yes, he "legitimately" trained for 2 months (and he looked like he had trained for just 2 months). Yes, he brought in many new fans to watch him. But add all this up and, sorry, No, he is still not qualified to be a professional boxer.
I give anybody respect for getting in the ring, but to write a book about his 2 months experience is a little Pre- Mature!!
We learned he has guts, I'll give you that, but we also learned he does not know how to fight. Definitely not ready for pro, no question.
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