Charlie Magri tells an awful story from the dressing room at the end of his career, the bitter end of his fighting days. He had just lost to Duke McKenzie in five rounds at Wembley Arena in 1986. It was a bad night and then Terry Lawless, who had been with Magri for 10 years, sat down next to the swollen and broken little fighter. The dressing room was grim before Lawless sat down for his little chat. Magri was only 29 and it was his last fight, his 35th.
“You are going to have to get up off your arse and go out and get a real job now,” Lawless told a stunned Magri. The truth, I guess, but the wrong time to deliver it.
Nobody would have said that to Kiko Martínez before he got his six or seven wounds stitched. I’m not quite sure he has reached the same place as Magri had that night, but I would like to see Kiko stay on his ranch with his dancing horses.
By midnight in the corridors, the dressing rooms were empty, their doors were open, their floors covered in the debris of a fight night; there was laughter elsewhere. Bloody towels and empty bottles, sweet wrappers, old bits of bandage on the floor and new bits of tape still on the wall. A few random cans of beer. And on each door the names of the men and women who had arrived for work six or seven or even eight hours earlier.
There is a little tale that I love about the stuff left behind in dressing rooms on fight nights. It was one night in Munich in 1976 and Didi Hamann, the footballer, was just a little boy. However, his father was part of the security detail assigned to look after Muhammad Ali on the night that he met Richard Dunn in the Olympic boxing hall. Ali won; Dunn lost.
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watch-costa-rica-vs-usa-live-stream-tv-channel-185470299/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/live-costa-rica-vs-usa-livestream-31-march-2022-185470301/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/uefa-costa-rica-vs-usa-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470300/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/streamofficialcosta-rica-vs-usa-live-streamreddit-185470303/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-costa-rica-vs-usa-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470302/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-costa-rica-vs-usa-stream-reddit-185470304/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watchfree-costa-rica-vs-usastream-uefa-online-tv-185470307/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/cracksusa-vs-costa-rica-live-reddit-2022-185470308/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watch-jamaica-vs-honduras-live-stream-tv-channel-185470441/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/live-jamaica-vs-honduras-livestream-31-march-2022-185470440/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/uefa-jamaica-vs-honduras-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470443/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/streamofficialjamaica-vs-honduras-live-streamreddit-185470444/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-jamaica-vs-honduras-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470445/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-jamaica-vs-honduras-stream-reddit-185470446/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watchfree-jamaica-vs-hondurasstream-uefa-online-tv-185470448/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/crackshonduras-vs-jamaica-live-reddit-2022-185470450/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watch-mexico-vs-el-salvador-live-stream-tv-channel-185470573/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/live-mexico-vs-el-salvador-livestream-31-march-2022-185470574/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/uefa-mexico-vs-el-salvador-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470575/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/streamofficialmexico-vs-el-salvador-live-streamreddit-185470576/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-mexico-vs-el-salvador-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470577/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-mexico-vs-el-salvador-stream-reddit-185470578/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watchfree-mexico-vs-el-salvadorstream-uefa-online-tv-185470579/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/cracksel-salvador-vs-mexico-live-reddit-2022-185470580/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/crackscanada-vs-panama-live-reddit-2022-185470660/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watch-panama-vs-canada-live-stream-tv-channel-185470661/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/live-panama-vs-canada-livestream-31-march-2022-185470663/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/uefa-panama-vs-canada-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470665/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/streamofficialpanama-vs-canada-live-streamreddit-185470666/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-panama-vs-canada-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470668/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/free-panama-vs-canada-stream-reddit-185470669/
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/watchfree-panama-vs-canadastream-uefa-online-tv-185470670/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watch-costa-rica-vs-usa-live-stream-tv-channel-185470299/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/live-costa-rica-vs-usa-livestream-31-march-2022-185470301/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/uefa-costa-rica-vs-usa-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470300/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/streamofficialcosta-rica-vs-usa-live-streamreddit-185470303/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-costa-rica-vs-usa-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470302/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-costa-rica-vs-usa-stream-reddit-185470304/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watchfree-costa-rica-vs-usastream-uefa-online-tv-185470307/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/cracksusa-vs-costa-rica-live-reddit-2022-185470308/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watch-jamaica-vs-honduras-live-stream-tv-channel-185470441/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/live-jamaica-vs-honduras-livestream-31-march-2022-185470440/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/uefa-jamaica-vs-honduras-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470443/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/streamofficialjamaica-vs-honduras-live-streamreddit-185470444/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-jamaica-vs-honduras-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470445/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-jamaica-vs-honduras-stream-reddit-185470446/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watchfree-jamaica-vs-hondurasstream-uefa-online-tv-185470448/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/crackshonduras-vs-jamaica-live-reddit-2022-185470450/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watch-mexico-vs-el-salvador-live-stream-tv-channel-185470573/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/live-mexico-vs-el-salvador-livestream-31-march-2022-185470574/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/uefa-mexico-vs-el-salvador-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470575/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/streamofficialmexico-vs-el-salvador-live-streamreddit-185470576/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-mexico-vs-el-salvador-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470577/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-mexico-vs-el-salvador-stream-reddit-185470578/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watchfree-mexico-vs-el-salvadorstream-uefa-online-tv-185470579/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/cracksel-salvador-vs-mexico-live-reddit-2022-185470580/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/crackscanada-vs-panama-live-reddit-2022-185470660/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watch-panama-vs-canada-live-stream-tv-channel-185470661/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/live-panama-vs-canada-livestream-31-march-2022-185470663/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/uefa-panama-vs-canada-live-streams-free-on-reddit-185470665/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/streamofficialpanama-vs-canada-live-streamreddit-185470666/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-panama-vs-canada-stream-reddit-31-march-2022-185470668/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/free-panama-vs-canada-stream-reddit-185470669/
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/watchfree-panama-vs-canadastream-uefa-online-tv-185470670/
Late that night, Didi’s dad was doing a final check of the dressing rooms; people had cleared the building, Big Richard had gone back to his hotel to lick his wounds and Ali was off entertaining people somewhere. Didi’s dad popped his head into Ali’s room and there was a white towel stained with the champ’s blood. Didi’s dad thought that it would be a great memento for young Didi. He took it home, getting in late because of the fight and left it on the side for his son to see in the morning. “That towel belonged to the Greatest,” he would tell him.
However, Didi’s dad was late up, Didi’s mum was up early and the towel was now sparkling white and neatly folded.
There were plenty of bloody tales and towels in the dressing rooms in Leeds and I left every single one of them there. I had taken enough from the night.
