{"id":131817,"date":"2023-10-08T08:33:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T08:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=131817"},"modified":"2023-10-08T08:33:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T08:33:55","slug":"im-friends-with-tyson-fury-and-was-trained-by-joe-frazier-but-i-swapped-boxing-for-a-different-kind-of-canvas-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/im-friends-with-tyson-fury-and-was-trained-by-joe-frazier-but-i-swapped-boxing-for-a-different-kind-of-canvas-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I'm friends with Tyson Fury and was trained by Joe Frazier but I swapped boxing for a different kind of canvas | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
ARTIST Richard Slone has painted some of the best boxers in the world – but he wasn't a bad fighter himself.<\/p>\n
Slone has worked on legendary fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Ricky Hatton and Tyson Fury over the years.<\/p>\n
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But at one point in his life, he thought his career was destined for the ring. <\/p>\n
At just 16 he left England and accepted an offer from the great Joe Frazier to live at his gym in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
He also helped Hall of Fame coach Emanuel Steward at the famous Kronk gym in Detroit.<\/p>\n
Frazier's son Marvis phoned Slone to suggest training with the legendary heavyweight.<\/p>\n
Slone told talkSPORT: "As a gift to Joe, I showed up with an ink drawing. <\/p>\n "It got smashed along the way \u2013 and the frame \u2013 but Joe loved the drawing.<\/p>\n \u201cI was Joe\u2019s protege. I idolised him and would have done anything he said. I mimicked his style very, very well, but unfortunately I couldn\u2019t mimic his heart. <\/p>\n "There\u2019s only one Joe Frazier. I knew at one point, internally, so I was the first guy to give up on myself \u2013 and also immigration was an issue, so I couldn\u2019t go pro or fight amateur fights. <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS<\/strong><\/p>\n "We did exhibitions all the time. Joe took care of me [financially], and I had some jobs, cash in hand, and sometimes bartering. <\/p>\n "I was here 90 days the first time; I went home once, and I\u2019ve never been back since." <\/p>\n Slone would later spend more time with Steward at the Kronk, where Lennox Lewis was being coached into the world's best heavyweight.<\/p>\n But after Lewis retired in 2004, Slone relocated to Las Vegas and began spending more time focussing on his art.<\/p>\n Nelson Mandela, Pamela Anderson and Denzel Washington are among those to have paintings from him.<\/p>\n But British pair Hatton and Fury are among self-taught Slone's favourite customers as well as Mayweather.<\/p>\n He said: \u201c[Ricky Hatton\u2019s] probably the one I painted the most and had the most conversations with. <\/p>\n \u201cRicky is just so down to earth and approachable, and he likes a laugh and isn\u2019t ashamed of his actions. Fury\u2019s the exact same thing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great relationship [with Floyd Mayweather]. I\u2019ve a lot of respect for him \u2013 I know people have mixed views \u2013 in my eyes he\u2019s a champion human being, and has always treated me correctly."<\/p>\n Slone is still busy to this day and his artwork of Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo was used for the fight program and on-site poster.<\/p>\n<\/picture>CAN IT BE? <\/span><\/p>\n
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