Whether you love him or hate him, Dan Rafael has done a lot for boxing. He may be a controversial figure at times but he provides fans on social media with breaking and exclusive boxing news.
Rafael has been in boxing for 18 years – he started as a full-time writer at USA Today before moving to ESPN 5 years later. His journey has been remarkable and he took some time out his busy schedule to share some of his best moments.
Rafael added:
“18 years ago (March 19, 2000) was my 1st day of work as a full-time boxing writer when I was at USA Today before going to ESPN in 2005. It’s been a life-changing experience.
“Who knew when I started what would happen, but I’ve dined with Don King; partied with Oscar De La Hoya; been yelled at, threatened, hugged and high-fived by Mike Tyson; been given the finger and hugged by Bob Arum; been screamed at and laughed with Conor McGregor; got a lift in Floyd Mayweather’s stretch Escalade and watched as he pulled $60,000 in cash out of the glove box and also had him show me his check for $100 million after a fight; been in the presence of Muhammad Ali; hung out with George Foreman; had Joe Frazier sing to me in a press room; been kissed by Angelo Dundee; watched DVDs with Manny Pacquiao; spent hours at a bar chillin’ with Roberto Duran; had the great Emanuel Steward cook me dinner; had Anthony Joshua playfully throw a punch at me that almost caught me on the chin; had breakfast overlooking the River Thames with Bernard Hopkins; worked on SportsCenter with Marvin Hagler; covered 232 HBO cards and counting; covered fights at small clubs to big Las Vegas casinos, Yankee Stadium and Cowboys Stadium; made thousands of deadlines, missed a few too; written literally millions of words and probably seen as many punches; been splattered with blood (more than once); made hundreds of TV appearances and even more on the radio around the world; covered fights in 22 states, approximately 54 U.S. cities (including more than 100 trips to Las Vegas and New York apiece) and five countries (including in a bullring in Cancun and at Wembley Stadium in London with a crowd of 90k for the heavyweight championship); called fights on TV with Lennox Lewis and Sugar Ray Leonard; lived more than 1 year of my life at the MGM Grand; flown around 1 million miles; collected a lot of freakin’ posters and programs; seen a lot of wild and crazy shit — and had the absolute time of my life!”
Had my first official day on the #boxing beat 18 years ago today. What a ride! pic.twitter.com/3qLyR7wYTF
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 19, 2018
Readers can follow Dan Rafael on Twitter @danrafaelespn.
Keep up with Dan’s latest articles on espn – http://www.espn.co.uk/blog/dan-rafael
