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Starling recalls title fight


WelshDevilRob
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Marlon 'Magic Man' Starling Still Resides in Hartford, site of the Saturday, November 7, Dawson-Johnson Rematch at Hartford's XL Center Live on HBO World Championship Boxing

 

 

HARTFORD, CONN., (Oct. 30, 2009) - The memories come flooding back when Marlon "Magic Man" Starling

sits back and recalls the last world title fight to take place in Hartford, Conn., more than 20 years ago.

 

The East Hartford resident who turned 50 years old in August can still

remember specifics of the night he won a unanimous decision on Sept. 15,

1989, against Yung-Kil Chung to defend his WBC Welterweight World title

at the Civic Center in Hartford now known as the XL Center, the site of

the Nov. 7 rematch between another of Connecticut's favorite sons as

Chad Dawson battles Glen Johnson in a rematch for the WBC interim and

IBO light heavyweight title.

 

The victory over Chung that night in Hartford was also one of Starling's

final fights and last victory as a professional boxer.

 

"What I remember about that night was that Marlon Starling put on a

show," said Starling, who routinely refers to himself in the third

person. "I did everything I wanted to do but knock him out. The thing

about me and this was true throughout my entire career was I never did

anything great. I did everything good. I turned professional in 1979 and

my first year in the Top 10 was 1980. I finished my career in the Top

10."

 

The current president of the Connecticut Hall of Fame, Glenn Feldman,

also has fond memories of the last world title fight in Hartford. "I

just remember an electric atmosphere, a buzz around the city," said

Feldman. "The Civic Center used to be the hub of the city. Starling was

huge in Hartford. He was the man. People loved him and when he fought it

was the talk of the town."

 

In 1989, Starling knocked out Lloyd Honeyghan to win the WBC World

Welterweight Championship. After his first title defense against Chung,

Starling challenged Michael Nunn for the IBF World Middleweight

Championship, but lost by decision. In his next fight, Starling lost his

welterweight title on a close decision to Maurice Blocker in what would

be Starling's last fight. He retired with a record of 45-6-1-1 (27 KOs).

He was 32 years old.

 

"I never retired from boxing. I quit," Starling said. "Every other boxer

retires and then comes back for the all-mighty dollar. When Marlon

Starling was the WBC Welterweight Champion of the world he wasn't just

the best welterweight fighter, he was one of the best fighters in the

world, period. There were only one or two or three other fighters in the

world who were better than me. There was Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez

and Evander Holyfield."

 

Starling said he knew he was finished with boxing after flying to Los

Angeles to train five months after his final fight and sparring with a

20-year-old. "I slept for two days after that. I knew right then and

there I was too old for this sport. I was 32. I thought maybe I could

come back and still be a champion but Father Time caught up with me.

You have to love this sport to do it and to do it well.

 

"I don't ever regret quitting early. I don't think it was early. Look at

Sugar Ray Leonard and Larry Holmes. They all came back and they got

beat by mediocre fighters and that tarnished their careers."

 

Starling fought numerous times on network television and was a popular

fighter, despite never using a promoter. He did train with a young

Freddy Roach, who is now considered one of the best in the world and

currently trains Manny Pacquiao. "Marlon was always business-like when

it came to training and boxing," Roach said recently.

 

"Freddy Roach trained me but you know who trained Marlon

Starling better than anyone was Marlon Starling," Starling said. "He

worked with me but I'm tough. Ninety-five percent of boxing is

conditioning and I was always the best conditioned fighter."

 

Starling still lives in East Hartford and said that after 20 years of

odds and ends jobs like driving a limo and serving as a host at a

restaurant, he has finally found a job he loves. He currently works with

people with special needs at Catholic Charities. "I was still trying to

find what I wanted to do when I grew up," he said. "About eight months

ago I found it. I think I finally found a job that I can love more than

I love boxing. You do this for the love of it. But what I really want to

do is to train fighters. That's what I know best. Training boxers is

more of love of mine and a goal not or a dream. The dream for me was

winning the world title."

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