Sam Watson and sons with Paul Williams(wheelchair)
If you're a boxing fan, you know the faces of Sam Watson, 58, and his sons, Brandon, 31, and Marcus, 28, even if you don't know their names or exactly what it is they do. Boxing publicist John Beyrooty, a one-time sports writer at the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner, calls them each '99'. It might seem an odd name, but as Beyrooty said, "When they're in a fighter's corner, he wins 99 percent of the time."
The Watsons work for high-powered boxing adviser Al Haymon, a long-time friend of Sam Watson's. They are tasked with making life easier for Haymon's fighters, and tend to their every need, during camp and during fight week.
Part of their job, they said, is to show their support for the fighter at all times. And so whenever one of their fighters is being introduced, or whenever he's being interviewed on HBO or Showtime following an event, the Watsons are sure to be in the background of the shot.
Sam Watson began working for Motown Records years ago because he was a close friend of the late singer, Marvin Gaye. Gaye was a friend of Muhammad Ali's and introduced Watson to "The Greatest" late in Ali's career. A friendship between them quickly blossomed.
"Marvin and I used to go over to Ali's house and we would want to talk boxing and he'd want to be talking music," Sam said. The job in promotions for Motown Records led to a meeting with Haymon, a concert promoter, in 1980. Watson and Haymon have been almost inseparable ever since. When the late Vernon Forrest hired Haymon as his boxing adviser in the late 1990s or early 2000s, Sam Watson immediately had a new job.
Meeting Ali for the first time, though, was like meeting royalty, he said. With all the stars in sports and entertainment he's met through the years, Sam Watson said he only had that feeling twice. It had happened first when he met Ali and later when he met Mayweather Jr.
Brandon Watson joined the family business after retiring as a professional baseball player. He briefly made the majors with the Washington Nationals in 2005, hitting a home run in his first game.
He was a superstar at the Triple-A level, but didn't get much of a chance in the majors. He hit .198 in 40 games with the Nationals and the Reds with one homer, seven RBIs and two steals in limited playing time.
He had an International League-record 43-game hitting streak in 2007 while playing for the Columbus Clippers. He broke a 95-year-old league record set in 1912 by Jack Lelivelt of the Rochester Hustlers.
"A lot of pitchers I got hits off of in that streaks, including guys who won 20 games, are in the majors," he said, sounding almost wistful.
They're around stars all the time, in both boxing and music, but they've become mini-celebrities of their own accord among those who religiously watch boxing on television.
Hope this helps and was informative, Peace Out!
If you're a boxing fan, you know the faces of Sam Watson, 58, and his sons, Brandon, 31, and Marcus, 28, even if you don't know their names or exactly what it is they do. Boxing publicist John Beyrooty, a one-time sports writer at the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner, calls them each '99'. It might seem an odd name, but as Beyrooty said, "When they're in a fighter's corner, he wins 99 percent of the time."
The Watsons work for high-powered boxing adviser Al Haymon, a long-time friend of Sam Watson's. They are tasked with making life easier for Haymon's fighters, and tend to their every need, during camp and during fight week.
Part of their job, they said, is to show their support for the fighter at all times. And so whenever one of their fighters is being introduced, or whenever he's being interviewed on HBO or Showtime following an event, the Watsons are sure to be in the background of the shot.
Sam Watson began working for Motown Records years ago because he was a close friend of the late singer, Marvin Gaye. Gaye was a friend of Muhammad Ali's and introduced Watson to "The Greatest" late in Ali's career. A friendship between them quickly blossomed.
"Marvin and I used to go over to Ali's house and we would want to talk boxing and he'd want to be talking music," Sam said. The job in promotions for Motown Records led to a meeting with Haymon, a concert promoter, in 1980. Watson and Haymon have been almost inseparable ever since. When the late Vernon Forrest hired Haymon as his boxing adviser in the late 1990s or early 2000s, Sam Watson immediately had a new job.
Meeting Ali for the first time, though, was like meeting royalty, he said. With all the stars in sports and entertainment he's met through the years, Sam Watson said he only had that feeling twice. It had happened first when he met Ali and later when he met Mayweather Jr.
Brandon Watson joined the family business after retiring as a professional baseball player. He briefly made the majors with the Washington Nationals in 2005, hitting a home run in his first game.
He was a superstar at the Triple-A level, but didn't get much of a chance in the majors. He hit .198 in 40 games with the Nationals and the Reds with one homer, seven RBIs and two steals in limited playing time.
He had an International League-record 43-game hitting streak in 2007 while playing for the Columbus Clippers. He broke a 95-year-old league record set in 1912 by Jack Lelivelt of the Rochester Hustlers.
"A lot of pitchers I got hits off of in that streaks, including guys who won 20 games, are in the majors," he said, sounding almost wistful.
They're around stars all the time, in both boxing and music, but they've become mini-celebrities of their own accord among those who religiously watch boxing on television.
Hope this helps and was informative, Peace Out!