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Michael Nunn In His Own Words: His Boxing Career, Early Life, and Influential People – RSR Exclusive Interview

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MNExclusive Interview by Chris “Man of Few Words” Benedict

“I grew up with a loving family,” begins former World Middleweight Champion Michael “Second To” Nunn in a letter sent to me from the Hazelton Federal Correctional Institution in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. “My cousin Marshall Jackson always was supportive of me in all of my affairs. My mother Madies, she was my leader and guide.”

Michael’s hometown of Davenport, Iowa-better known for turning out John Deere tractors than world class boxers – is part of an urban region known as the Quad-Cities which also consists of Bettendorf, Iowa as well as Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline, Illinois just across the Mississippi River. “All of my friends were boxing, so I decided to give it a try and when I did Mr. Pena told me that if I trained and worked hard, I could be a world champ.”

The Mr. Pena that Nunn mentions – and maintains such high regard for – is Alvino Pena, founder and head coach of the Davenport Boxing Club that Michael’s cousin Marshall directed him toward. “He loved my talents, he had a great eye and with all of his experience, he saw my gift. Mr. Pena was a good man and a heck of a coach.”

With ten children of his own to love and care for, Alvino made space in his life and in his heart for the youth of Davenport who he embraced as though they were sons who shared his very blood. “He saved a lot of young men in the Quad-Cities. Black, white, Mexican,” Nunn elaborated upon the caring and patient man who passed away in March 2014 at the age of 82 but left the Davenport Boxing Club in the custody of his son Pat. “He devoted a lot of time with a lot of us. The Quad-Cities will miss his presence. He was the real deal and he did not take no shit from anybody. He helped raise boys to men.”

“Mr. Bob Surkein was a God-send to me,” said Michael about the one-time referee and Chairman of the Amateur Boxing Federation who lived in Moline and took the youngster from Davenport under his protective wing. The two could be seen walking hand-in-hand, such was the paternal influence Surkein, who was later given a Rolex watch by Michael which was engraved “To My Father, From His Son”, had on Nunn who emphasized several times to me the indestructible nature of their bond. “He is always going to be a special part of Michael Nunn, and me becoming World Boxing Champion. He was my mentor and he will forever be my friend.

He spoke up for me with the U.S.A. Boxing Committee and told them that they had a kid from the Quad-Cities that could beat the best boxers in the world. I remember back in 1983 they gave me an invite to Colorado Springs, to where the U.S.A. boxing team trained at and before I left the Quad-Cities to fly to Denver, Colorado, Mr. Surkein told me to give them what they’re looking for, and when I got there that was my mission, to show all the boxers from all over the country that they had a boxer coming out of the Midwest that folks was gonna have to recognize. It was really a big deal for Mr. Surkein because he went on the line for me and I was not gonna blow my chance. I took advantage and impressed all of the folks that were involved. It was my honor to give it my best shot and that’s what I done. It made myself and Mr. Surkein very proud, he got a lot of phone calls about me after I went to Colorado and put on a great performance for the head folks of the U.S.A. Boxing Committee. It made Mr. Surkein look good, also myself. It was a great show case for us both.”

Nunn compiled a staggering 168-8 amateur record under Surkein’s tutelage, the highlights being three consecutive Golden Gloves titles from 1982-84 as he stepped up in weight each time out, beginning at 147 and growing into the 6-foot-1 southpaw with a 77-inch reach who would soon take the middleweight division by storm. Before that, however, he earned the opportunity to secure a spot on the famed 1984 U.S. Olympic squad that featured Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, and Mark Breland. “The Olympic Committee thought it would be best if I moved up to 165 pounds,” Michael recalls of being asked to essentially clear room for eventual Gold Medal winner Frank Tate to compete at 156. “Frank and I had boxed a couple of times. I want to say he won one and I won one. All I wanted was to box and did not care, just wanted to show that I was the best boxer in the world no matter what weight I fought at.”

At the Olympic Trials in Fort Worth, Texas, Michael would lose a 4-1 decision to Virgil Hill, who would take home the Silver Medal, then come back to shut him out 5-0 at the Box-Offs in Las Vegas, only to suffer a first-round knockdown and the points loss in their decisive rubber match. Nunn did, however, attract the attention of Dan and Joe Goosen who were on a scouting mission for their Ten Goose Boxing Team operated out of Van Nuys, California.

A “mom and pop” alternative to impersonal “big box store” establishments such as Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Main Events run by Shelly Finkel, Ten Goose was literally a family affair that welcomed Michael into the fold with Dan acting as manager, Joe the hands-on trainer, Larry conducting public relations, mothers and daughters selling and ripping tickets, kids and grandkids selling programs and concessions at their shows. “Joe Goosen and Mr. Dan Goosen will always be people that I was glad to be teamed up with. We took it to the top, we completed our mission.”
The first major accomplishment of that mission was a commanding performance against then undefeated IBF Middleweight Champion and former Olympic foe Frank Tate, claiming his first world title on July 28, 1988 with a 9th round TKO at Caesar’s Palace. “I really wanted to beat Frank Tate when we fought. I felt like if I would have boxed at 156, I would have beaten him and took the Gold Medal, so I was motivated to beat him for the World Middleweight Championship. That was my mission, to not just beat him but show the world that I was the best middleweight on the planet, bar no one.”

“Not being known as a puncher can be a good thing,” Michael said in response to his starching of Sumbu Kalambay with a brutal first-round knockout (Ring and KO magazine’s 1989 Knockout of the Year), despite not being renowned as a power puncher. “Guys make mistakes then you take advantage. I was a sharp puncher, I was very consistent with my shots. Wear you down then knock you out. Kalambay was about Ray Leonard’s size in height and weight and a great boxer who happened to get caught by a power left hand I threw that night. It would have knocked out any middleweight in the world that night.”

Unavoidable comparisons between the fighting styles and facial characteristics of Michael Nunn and “Sugar” Ray Leonard-the hand speed, the foot work, the million dollar smile-had fight fans and sports scribes screaming for a matchup between the two, what many assumed would represent a sort of ceremonial passing of the middleweight torch. Nunn harbors no animosity over the fact that, for any variety of reasons, it was just not meant to be. “It was never a problem with folks trying to compare Ray and myself. It was a good thing to be mentioned in the same breath as a legendary boxer like Ray Leonard. He was a classy man and super champion and a friend, so it was all a plus on my side. I wish I would have been able to test my skills with Ray’s skills. I think after Ray saw me knock out Kalambay in the first round, he had a different view. I don’t think Ray believed the hype about how I could not punch. He commentated the fight that night, he got a chance to see me at my best. I sure wish me and Mr. Leonard could have set the (Vegas) Strip on fire, it would have been a fight for the ages. Who knows?” Michael added jokingly, “we might be able to still make it happen.”

Nunn had more than his share of harsh critics after the implementation of his more cautious, defensive-minded strategies against Iran Barkley and Marlon Starling. To his nay-sayers, Michael states defiantly that, “I won both of those tough bouts. People are going to talk, it’s the way of the world. I done what I had to do.” One familiar face in the growing entourage of “Second To” Nunn supporters was Lawrence Tureaud, better known to you and me as Mr. T, the man with the Mohawk and gold chains who played Clubber Lang in Rocky III and B.A. Baracus on The A-Team.

“I met Mr. T through Dan Goosen, they were good friends and business partners. Mr. T was a big supporter of myself and the Ten Goose Boxing Team and a good friend, a real good guy. I enjoyed hanging out with him, I also had him come to the Quad-Cities to watch me fight a few times. The fans loved that. As you know when you are on TV a lot of folks don’t get a chance to see actors, so what we done was bring Hollywood to Davenport, Iowa. It was a great joy for me to be in a position to make something like that happen for the family, friends, and fans in the Quad-Cities and, believe me, Mr. T enjoyed his visit to the Quad-Cities and the city showed him a lot of love. Those were the good old days. When I call Joe Goosen, I will ask and hope that Mr. T is doing well. Real cool man, friends for life.” Michael was even persuaded by Arsenio Hall to do his Mr. T impersonation during an appearance on the late night talk show just prior to the Barkley fight, one which went along the lines of T’s answering a phone call by growling, “Hello? Who’s this? Hush fool. Who? Iran Barkley? Nunn’s coming to get you. Reno, Nevada, August 14th. Be there.” Barkley, seated front row in the audience, was laughing hysterically. The fight itself would be no trifling matter.

Nor would Nunn’s split with the Goosens following the outing against Starling which appears to have been predicated upon both contractual and familial disputes, though Michael is not keen to discuss the particulars, suggestive of old wounds that time has yet to heal. Dan Goosen died of liver cancer in October 2014 but not before having reconciled with Nunn who, as alluded to earlier, still speaks with his old trainer Joe on occasion. Angelo Dundee was brought in to prepare Michael for his October 18, 1990 bout with “The Lone Star Cobra” Donald Curry in Paris and beyond. “It was a great experience working with Mr. Angelo Dundee. He was a great man and a super trainer. He had a lot of knowledge and wisdom. He worked with a lot of great champions-Ali, Ray Leonard, myself, and a whole lot more. He never missed nothing in a training workout or during a fight. It was like he had six eyes, always sharp and aware. He knew how to get the best out of his men. He was the type of man that could have taken a 100-pound weak man and turned him into one of the strongest men in the world if he had six months to work with you. He was the best.”

“I don’t make no excuses, he was the best that night,” Michael says of James “Lights Out” Toney plunging Nunn and all of Davenport into the darkness on what should have been a celebratory homecoming for the 35-0 Middleweight Champion who was a 20-1 favorite on May 10, 1991 at John O’Donnell Stadium, an outdoor ballpark boasting a modest capacity of just over 4,000. “You never hear me complain. Fights are one thing in the ring, excuses are excuses. Don’t make them in boxing, you must get results that separate men from boys. I wish we could have had a rematch but it never happened. James is a good friend of mine. We boxed ten years later and it was at a sparring session. His guy never showed up, so we boxed a round. I put him on his wallet, so they stopped the session. Me and James used to train together in L.A. in the late 90s, early 2000s. Good man and a good friend.”

When his career was ended by his 2002 arrest and incarceration, Nunn’s stats stood at 58-4, 37 KO’s (a respectable 60% ratio for a supposed non-power puncher) with the NABF and WBA Super-Middleweight belts added to his trophy case alongside the WBO/NABO and NABF Light-Heavyweight straps. Credentials which surely must earn him a place (and a plaque) among the all-time boxing elite.

Although he is not at liberty to do any more than hint at the possibility of an early release, Michael Nunn is anxious to transition from prison corridors to the halls of fame. “I give Mr. Surkein and my Moms and my cousin Marshall Jackson a lot of credit for my success because they helped keep me in order, so when I go to the Hall of Fame here in the short future, their names will forever be mentioned.” More than anything though, Michael looks forward to simply being free. “I can’t wait to get home to my family. Moms, children, and grand-babies. My family is my world.”

I would like to take a moment to thank Michael Nunn for his cooperation, generosity, and kindness. And to his legal consultant Eric D. Murphy, a debt of gratitude for helping make this happen. Free M2N!

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