Nathaniel Stanley “Nat” Fleischer was my next door neighbor when I grew up and owned and published RING MAGAZINE when boxing was ‘king’ in America. Little did I know when I viewed the ‘fights’ on my 12″ Emerson B/W T.V. set and saw Nat in the front row I was actually seeing BUZZ there too.

BUZZ saw his first fight, the Songkitrat-Carruthers Bare-footed Title Fight of 1954 (fought in a Monsoon) on Nat’s left shoulder…they had become ‘fast’ friends just a month before.

Boxing and the ‘Friday Night Fights’ were so important to our other neighbor, she would offer to babysit for free if my folks let her over to watch them. A lesser expensive night out so one neighbor could watch another neighbor…my folks were outta dere like a flash…and I got to see BUZZ, although one could barely see her on that small screen.

These days BUZZ and myself are more likely to watch NFL Football games together and see Payton or Tom on the telly…

Although I own a couple of those contraptions, we might call Jeannie and watch at ‘The Lazy’, E & E, That Big Rooster place or a tavern not downtown or on Main.

Football is the “king” these days, but you can still ‘catch’ a fight…just not one with Nat at ringside.

Nat and BUZZ did the wrestling scene too (they do that in a Ring also) and they saw Pete Herman (Gulotta) from New Orleans in some of his 169 fights.

Nat rated him #2 best all time bantamweight.

Today, although there seems to be ‘fighting’ all over the place, they are forgetting the gloves.

More and More these days I’ve heard BUZZ and Missy discussing the ‘Good Old Days’ and wishing they would hop into their trunks and lace up their gloves…like they did back when…

Richard, Jeannie, BUZZ, Missy and Nat