Documentary Highlights Life And Career Of World-Champion Boxer Paul Vaden

Boxing fans are preparing for what is called the fight of the decade. That is the much anticipated right this weekend between [ Name indiscernable ] and [ Name indiscernable ]. Boxing has been on the decline for decades but the showdown has thrust the sport into the national conversation. A new documentary shows tomorrow tells the story of a world champion boxer and the fight to change his life. It was 1999 and his opponent was Johnson. Here's a clip of the film. I would hit him with a shot and he would wobble back. He fell to the floor and as he held to the floor, he hit the bottom rung pick He has still down. Is he okay? [ Indiscernible - multiple speakers ] Johnson died 15 days later. Joined me now is Paul Vaden. Welcome to the program . Thank you for having me. We heard a clip of the scene you knocked out Johnson. The point of boxing is to win the fight, what you did. Did you think it was possible at that time that could lead to his death? Not at all. I knew he was down and he was down for a while. I was concerned but I was told that they saw him move so no, I did not think until I got back to my dressing room and I saw the corner and the team had a grim look on their faces. He was still down. He was taken out in a stretcher. I thought that was a precautionary measure. So later on when I went back to my dressing room, a came out and I saw individuals with grim looks on their faces. I was told by my manager that things did not look good. Yet the irony is that the training aberration that you put into the fight was supposed to be a way for you to leave another death? Absolutely. My uncle passed away August 9 through a suicide. He had a hard time dealing with his son who committed suicide earlier that year in 1999, January 3. Boxing has been my therapy for dealing with torrential storms. Now, I had an additional horrific episode. In the film, we hear an analyst to says to careers died that night. Did you know immediately that night or in the days afterwards that would cause you to step away from boxing? Yes. I was done. Once it happened and that transpired, I was done as a boxer. I wanted him to be okay but I was done. You go back into the ring one more time. What made you want to go back? I was having a difficult time living. Boxing has been my therapy. I need to find an answer but it was not winning or losing but living or dying. I needed to find out if I was going to die. So I put myself in a match in a hostile environment against a good opponent, a Mac and I found out my answer. The answer was? Back the answer was I was alive and because I was alive, I knew there was a purpose and responsibility why was is still here. Those are the things that I am doing today. You started boxing when you were 8 years old after your dad and rolled you into the YMCA. What drew you to boxing? Back I saw Mohammed Ali. It was equivalent to seeing Superman. I would mimic him and get animated. Any time I saw him, that was, you know, that was what what drove me to it. It seems so far away for me. I am a little kid and boxing gloves. There is a microphone and, you know, once I got the Avenue, the outlet with the YMCA, I did not think I would be able to anticipate. I thought I was too young. I was not. That gave me the start but it was Mohammed Ali. You have done volunteer work since you retired for the final time, including medical research for nonprofits. One way you could have taken your career after the Johnson fight, it would have been to spread awareness about boxing and the health risk that can come from that, especially concussions. As you have been talking about, you have a deep love and appreciation for the sport. How do you reconcile those things? For me, when I got away from boxing, I was always in my script that I would fully away from it. I love it. I love watching from afar. I get the buzz. I am not a bitter boxing. I do not need to be in the gym but I do work out there that took a while to get back to that but my boxing was my talent. People is my purpose. I am able to use boxing as the vehicle for the things I am doing today. Dealing with diabetes, as far as finding a cure to help eradicate that disease and to deal with individuals as the conflict resolution center and trying to get kids, you know, as far as a pipeline, the blueprint to going right, that is what I am here for. That is why it was sent. Boxing gave me the vehicle to understand a bigger responsibility. This will be screened tomorrow night at 7:00 at the Jewish community center. I am in speaking with . Thank you for being with us. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it .