1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS, Boston's news radio. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 2: Well, a few weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago, 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 2: I had a guest on during the eight o'clock hour, 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 2: and I was really intrigued in it and interested in 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 2: his experience, and I also thought some of you might 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 2: like an opportunity to speak with that guest. His name 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 2: is Danny O'Connor, former Olympic boxer and a professional boxer. 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 2: He's just turned well, actually he hasn't turned it yet. 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: I think you hit forty in a few days, Dan, 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: how are you tonight? 11 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 3: Oh, I'm doing great. Thanks for having me back. Yeah, 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 3: I'll actually be forty one in a couple of days. 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 3: So I already have a forty milestone last year. 14 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 2: So okay, well I'm looking they got they gotta correct 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: the Wikipedia page. 16 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I don't believe the internet. It always lies 17 00:00:58,360 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 3: to you. 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, you had Well, there's a lot of truth in that. 19 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 2: So how did you become a boxer? I mean, they're 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 2: are It's probably I think the single toughest sport, including 21 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 2: football and basketball. It is the ultimate contact sport. You 22 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 2: you fought, I assume at many at several. 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 4: Levels. 24 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 2: But but you were light well toweight and you had 25 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 2: a pretty impressive record as a professional boxer thirty and three. 26 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 2: That's that's not bad. 27 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 4: Yet. 28 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 3: I mean I started, I started a little bit late 29 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 3: in life. I didn't start boxing until I was about 30 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 3: nineteen or twenty years old. And uh so I started 31 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 3: boxing in two thousand and five. In two thousand and four, 32 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 3: the Olympic team went to Athens, and so I started 33 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 3: in two thousand and five, and then I made the 34 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 3: Olympic team for the United States for the two thousand 35 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 3: and eight Games. 36 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 4: So my rise, you know. 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 3: Multiple national champion back to back in the same year 38 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 3: than only other people who have ever done that in 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 3: the history of boxing are Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonards. 40 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 3: So that's a pretty legendary class to be a part of. 41 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 3: So my rise kind of came really fast. Listen for 42 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 3: all the heartache and hardships that the weight class my 43 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 3: my my own weight issues, the sport of boxing has 44 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 3: brought me over the span of my whole career. Like 45 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 3: I never I love the sport of boxing. It saved 46 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 3: my life, truly. I had a falling out when I 47 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 3: was in my adolescence that could have led me either, 48 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 3: you know, down a path that there was not going 49 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 3: to be able to come back from, whether it was 50 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 3: jail or death. And walking into a boxing gym, like 51 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 3: many other people in this world, truly saved my life. 52 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 3: And I had already wrestled, so you know, I was 53 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 3: used to the one on one sport, to the to 54 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 3: the way classes, and so you know, it's funny, I'm 55 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 3: not like your typical boxer. I didn't. I didn't. I 56 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 3: don't love fighting. I still don't. I actually don't like 57 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 3: it at all, Like the fact that you have to 58 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 3: hurt another person or somebody hurts you, and the more 59 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 3: you do that, the higher up and you're kind of lifted. 60 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 3: Like that was never why I got into the sport. 61 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 3: I got into the sport because I was searching for 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 3: something internally. I loved training. It gave me a safe environment. 63 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 3: I had really good mentorship when I first came into 64 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 3: the gym, and so kind of like that that training 65 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 3: aspect of like a martial arts, like I would say, 66 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 3: it was kind of like a martial arts for me, right, 67 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 3: Like I was learning as much about myself and overcoming 68 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 3: resiliency and accountability and and all these things. So that's 69 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: really what what where my love for the sport came. 70 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 3: I didn't even follow boxing until I walked into a gym, 71 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 3: so you know, all the old time fights and stuff like, 72 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 3: I was not around to watch those. I just you know, obviously, 73 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 3: I've invested in my life in the sports, so I 74 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 3: followed the business now and it's ever changing. But yeah, 75 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 3: boxting kind of came out of nowhere for me. 76 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean your great, great tradition here in Massachusetts. 77 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 2: You know Rocky Marciano, you know Paul Pender from Brookline, 78 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 2: Marvelous Marvin Hagler, some of his fights with. 79 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 4: Tommy Hitman hearns. 80 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 2: I mean, there's it's it's kind of interesting that that 81 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 2: New England has produced Tom McNeely, you know who fought 82 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 2: Floyd Patterson for the world championship in Toronto. 83 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 4: Uh, the the the entire. 84 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 2: McNeely family who you know, the the younger McNeely family 85 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: family members. 86 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 4: So yeah, it's it's it's a great tradition. 87 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 2: I think it's a tough sport, uh, because you're out there, 88 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 2: you're in the ring, it's just you and that other person. 89 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 2: The ref is there, but he's supposed he she's supposed 90 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 2: to stay out of the way. You You're you also 91 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 2: were managed by a pretty known guy, Ken Casey of 92 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 2: the Drop Cake Murphy's. 93 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,239 Speaker 4: How did that work? I never realized. 94 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 2: That that Ken Casey had been involved as a as 95 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 2: a manager. You you you apparently met him. 96 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 4: Tell us how that story evolved. 97 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,799 Speaker 3: Uh, he wasn't involved in the sport of boxing before 98 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 3: I met him. I was his first fighter. Ultimately, he 99 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 3: came in as a managerial role for me to kind 100 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 3: of help guide my career. You know, the industry, I'll 101 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 3: say the entertainment industry. It has a lot of parallels, 102 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 3: so you know music, you know, running the show, the logistics, 103 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 3: it's similar to boxing in a lot of ways. So 104 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 3: you know, He's obviously had a very grassroots with the 105 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 3: band and and and the self promotion. So he was 106 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 3: kind of a good leader in how to build a 107 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 3: brand and and get me a good following and get 108 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 3: people to to take notice of me, especially in the 109 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 3: city of Boston. So he was a huge boxing fan 110 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 3: before you know, truly coming into the business for boxing. 111 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 3: So when I met him, he was already a fan 112 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 3: and I ended up doing a guest bartending at McGreevey's, 113 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 3: which was he was a part owner of and so 114 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 3: we ended up striking up a friendship and one thing 115 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 3: led to the next. He became my manager in the sport, 116 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 3: and then he transitioned into a promotion company and I 117 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 3: would have been the first boxer signed to Murphy's Boxing 118 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 3: who went on to sign a lot more talent. I mean, 119 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 3: there was a bunch of guys Spike Sullivan thought for 120 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 3: a world championship belt and you know, so we had 121 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 3: a whole stable of fighters under Murphy's Boxing, which honestly, 122 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 3: it kind of revived the whole sport of boxing back 123 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 3: in the East Coast because if you look at the 124 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 3: model now in the business of boxing, and you have 125 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 3: someone like Jake Paul and all these influencers, and you know, 126 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 3: different type of events where they play music and it's 127 00:06:57,440 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 3: a whole it's a whole show. It's not just to fight. 128 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 3: I mean, Ken and I were doing that back in 129 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 3: twenty fourteen when we were running shows at the House 130 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 3: of Blues, and you know, I feel like there's so 131 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 3: much rich history. I mean I looked up to hear 132 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 3: the haggler I used to run in my in my 133 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 3: work Boots to try to like emulate him. So I 134 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 3: feel like there's so much rich history on the East Coast, 135 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 3: especially in Boston, that when I met Ken, there was 136 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 3: like a gap in that. And so when I met 137 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 3: Ken and Murphy's boxing and we kind of he was 138 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 3: steering my career. We got to revive the sport in 139 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 3: the city. I was the main event at the Boston Garden. 140 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 3: There hadn't been boxing in there in a long time, 141 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 3: you know, Gillette Stadium with the with the Patriots, we 142 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 3: were the only fight to take place in that venue 143 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 3: on the Concourse and you know againis Arena. I went 144 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 3: there a couple of times. So I feel like we 145 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 3: really were able to kind of revolt, like revive the 146 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 3: sport in the city and hopefully it would have led 147 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 3: to more opportunities for the for the young ones coming 148 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 3: through that sport in the East Coast. 149 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 2: Well, you know, there was there was one guy who 150 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 2: you probably have never heard of, but you would have 151 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 2: enjoyed him, a fellow named Wilbersketa McClure. 152 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 4: He was He was a boxing teammate in nineteen sixty 153 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 4: along with then Cassius Clay, and he lived in the 154 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 4: Boston area. Uh. And he taught at Northeastern University's the 155 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 4: only person who was a college professor and a and 156 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 4: a gold medal winner in boxing in the Olympics in 157 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,959 Speaker 4: nineteen in nineteen sixty and I had the good fortune 158 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 4: to meet him, uh, and we became fast friends. He 159 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 4: was a few years older than I was at the time, 160 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 4: but I learned a lot from him. 161 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 2: And I love to tell the story that one time 162 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 2: we were we were taking a walk in the afternoon, 163 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 2: and there was a guy coming in the opposite direction. 164 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 4: It was about ten years older than us. I probably 165 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 4: was somewhere, you know. 166 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 2: In my closer to middle age, you know, sixties or something. 167 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 4: And h and Skeeter was a little older than me. 168 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 2: And this guy was a little older than Skeeter, and 169 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 2: he was kind of a little guy, and he looked 170 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 2: at us for some reason. 171 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 4: And Skeeter was like just a wonderful human being. 172 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 2: And the guy looked at me and I don't know 173 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 2: if he was a little crazy or whatever, a little off, 174 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:27,599 Speaker 2: but he said to me, you know, he said he 175 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 2: used to be a boxer, and he says, I'm young, 176 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 2: I'm older than you, but I could whip your butt. 177 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 4: Uh. 178 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 2: And I said, yeah, you probably could. I wasn't looking 179 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 2: to have a fight with an old guy. And he 180 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 2: turned to Skeeter and he says, and I could probably 181 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 2: whip your butt two. 182 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 4: I said, I think you're wrong there, sir. 183 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 2: And once you know, once you know the sweet science, 184 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 2: as they say, you're never going to have a problem 185 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 2: in a bar. 186 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 4: Danny. 187 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 2: I want to I want to get to your book, 188 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 2: and they also want to get to the crusade that 189 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 2: you're on. 190 00:09:58,320 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 4: Your book is called weight. 191 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 2: Class A Fighters a fighter's life or death battle with. 192 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 4: An eating disorder. And I when we. 193 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,439 Speaker 2: Talked a couple of weeks ago, I felt I wanted 194 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 2: to give my audience an opportunity to ask you questions. 195 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:14,680 Speaker 2: I'm sure you've got a lot of people out there 196 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 2: who remember you as a fighter. You're still a young guy. 197 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 2: You've hung the gloves up though, right You're not. 198 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 4: You're not. 199 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 2: I know that everybody comes back, and they make these comebacks. 200 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 2: Mike Tyson made a bunch of them. You're you're fully retired. 201 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 4: I assume. 202 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:37,319 Speaker 3: I am fully retired. I you know what, I'm fully 203 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 3: retired from any type of combat sport because you know, 204 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 3: obviously I have different issues with the weight class, so 205 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 3: that that puts me a little bit more of jeopardy. 206 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 3: And at the end of the day, even though now 207 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:52,079 Speaker 3: it is the best time to be in combat sports 208 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 3: because there's so many different platforms and more opportunities for fighters, 209 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,679 Speaker 3: but I feel like I have a different path. I've 210 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 3: closed that chapter of competition in my life and I'm 211 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 3: happy with with everything that I went through and the 212 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 3: career that I had. But you know, anything further in 213 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 3: that realm would kind of hold me back from from 214 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 3: my path now, which you know, with the book coming 215 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 3: out and my story and the ability to kind of 216 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 3: shed light on a whole demographic and have a conversation 217 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:22,719 Speaker 3: that no one's really talking about. I think it's it's 218 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 3: kind of my mission now. So you know, I'll never 219 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,559 Speaker 3: say never, but there's a great chance you'll never You'll 220 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 3: never see me back, you know, in in combat again. 221 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 3: And I still got calls every once in a while, 222 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 3: people still still make offers, and you know, I think 223 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 3: the fighter and me will always like take a second 224 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 3: and say, wait a minute, you know, how do I 225 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 3: feel right now? But you know, then then rationale takes over. 226 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 3: You know, my my health, my my happiness is the 227 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 3: most important. And you know I am forty one now, 228 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 3: so it's uh, you know, I'm happy. 229 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 4: That's okay. We're going to talk about your book, Danny. 230 00:11:59,000 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 4: I got to take a break. 231 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 2: My guess is Danny O'Connor, a former Olympic boxer, professional 232 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 2: boxing champion, Massachusetts guy managed by Ken Casey of The 233 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 2: Drop Kick Murphy's author of a book weight Class, a 234 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 2: Fighter's life or death battle with an eating disorder. We'll 235 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 2: focus down on that, and if you'd like to talk 236 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 2: about your battle with not Danny's, but your your battle 237 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: or your questions about how you get yourself out of 238 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,959 Speaker 2: a bad cycle, there's probably no one better to talk 239 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 2: about it than Dannie O'Connor. Will be back if you'd 240 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,559 Speaker 2: like to jump on board six one seven or six 241 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:40,839 Speaker 2: one seven ninety. My name is Dan Ray. This is 242 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 2: Nightside on a colder than earlier in the week, Thursday 243 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 2: night Hope. Wherever you are, you're nice and warm, and 244 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 2: if you're driving, you got the heater going and stay 245 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 2: with us. We'll take you all the way to midnight. 246 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 2: Coming back on Nightside, Night Side with Dan Ray. 247 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: I'MBZ Boston's news Radio. 248 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 4: I guess this. I'm Dannie O'Connor. Danny fought for many years, 249 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 4: but not only in the Olympics. 250 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 2: Not many years in the Olympics, but fought at the 251 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 2: Olympics and then many years as a professional boxer. But 252 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,199 Speaker 2: during that time he was dealing with what he considered 253 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 2: to be eating disorders. He has written a book. It's 254 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 2: called Weight Class, A Fighter's Life, A Fighter's Life or 255 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 2: death Battle with an eating disorder. Dan, I want to 256 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 2: go back to the beginning of this. Okay, you you 257 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 2: fought as a well to weight I assume is that? 258 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 4: Is that correct? 259 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 2: Or did you fight in different classes at different times? 260 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 3: I fought at a junior world weight one hundred and 261 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 3: forty pounds from the age of nineteen to thirty eight 262 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 3: years old. 263 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 4: Okay, so you so you were able to maintain your weight. 264 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,319 Speaker 3: For the most part. I mean when when the ladder 265 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 3: in my career, when the eating disorder took over, I 266 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 3: was able to maintain it. And there was obviously so 267 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 3: because you have two parallels going on here, and there 268 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 3: are two separate things. The insane weight manipulation I was 269 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 3: doing to my body to make a weight class, right, 270 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 3: that's one parallel in itself, you can still compete in 271 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 3: a weight class, breathe a eating disorder and never develop one. 272 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 3: But because of the tactics I was using, I also 273 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 3: developed an eating disorder, which wasn't an overnight thing. I 274 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 3: mean it was a thing that developed and strengthened. And 275 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 3: so I had kind of like two things. And because 276 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 3: making the weight was my job, my livelihood in my career, 277 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 3: those two things kind of directly conflicted with each other 278 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 3: for a lot of years. Like if the eating disorder 279 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 3: was more out of control, the weight tactics had to 280 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 3: be more extreme, and vice versa. 281 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 2: So so you in order to make weight, did the 282 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 2: weight classification stay the same or during your career did 283 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 2: it fluctuate at all? 284 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 3: The weight class was one hundred and forty pounds junior 285 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 3: at that. 286 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 2: Period for you attack correct, Okay, so you had to 287 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: come in, you had to commended the day of a 288 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: fight at one forty or under correct. 289 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 4: Correct. 290 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 3: But in boxing, boxings are very everything's negotiable. So unless 291 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 3: you're fighting for a world championship belt or some sort 292 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 3: of form of that organization's belt, they don't make you 293 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 3: make scratch. So you know, it could be a catchweight 294 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 3: of one hundred and forty two pounds, It could be 295 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 3: one forty six, It could be one forty on the dots. 296 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 3: So every weight class, every weigh in was a little 297 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 3: bit different depending on where my eating disorder was at, 298 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 3: how I was able to make weight, or what the 299 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 3: weight class was contracted for in the contract. 300 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 4: Okay, fair enough. 301 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 2: So let's assume you came in a couple of pounds heavy, 302 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,359 Speaker 2: or four or five pounds heavy would be would your opponent, 303 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 2: who might have been weighing in at one thirty nine, 304 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 2: would he have to agree to go to go go 305 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 2: along with the fight that night in order for everybody 306 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 2: for the thing to work and everybody get paid. 307 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 4: Is that why it's negotiation right right? 308 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 3: So, I mean that's that situation happened multiple times to me, 309 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 3: even the Boston Garden fight. I didn't make wait for 310 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 3: the Boston Garden fight. I was so depleted and half 311 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 3: dead that I had to do that same thing. I 312 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 3: came to the way and I was overweight. And now 313 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 3: that you know, multiple things can happen. Sometimes you have 314 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 3: time to go run, you know, maybe lose a couple 315 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 3: of pounds, come back, make the weight, and then go 316 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 3: on with the fight. Sometimes the fights in jeopardy because 317 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 3: now it's the opponent's objection, like, hey, do I want 318 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 3: to fight? You know, yep, And then yes, you can 319 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 3: renegotiate the pound, which is what I did at the 320 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 3: Boston Garden. I renegotiated the weight for a couple of 321 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 3: pounds heavier and the fight went on and again. You know, 322 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 3: that was one of the most important nights of my 323 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 3: life for me because it was a Boston Garden, So 324 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 3: you know, that's gonna trump a lot of these other 325 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 3: you know, I think Fenway would probably be the only 326 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 3: venue I didn't get, which would have been the number 327 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 3: one on my list out of all venues in the 328 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 3: world you could have possibly, but the Garden was right behind. 329 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 3: It was number two. And you know, there's no way 330 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 3: that I could have recovered in twenty four hours from 331 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,719 Speaker 3: how depleted I made myself to make that weight that 332 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 3: ultimately on you know, the night that meant the most 333 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 3: to me. Even though I did win, it was not 334 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 3: a good showing. You know, I had a black eye 335 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 3: that was swelled shut for a week after the fight, 336 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 3: so that means I took too many punches because your 337 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 3: body just when you deplete it in that fashion to 338 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 3: make weight in all these unhealthy ways I was doing it. 339 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,919 Speaker 3: Just it just can't recover. I've never walked into the 340 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 3: ring and competed at one hundred percent. Your body just can't. 341 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 3: It just can't recover that fast from what I was doing. 342 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 3: And if you look back to twenty thirteen, I started 343 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 3: myself so aggressively that I made myself a kneemic, and 344 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 3: that basically is an iron deficiency in your blood, which 345 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 3: the way that it manifests it just makes it really 346 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 3: lessargic and tired. So I made myself a knemick to 347 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 3: then go into fight on Showtime Sports, which was really 348 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 3: the first breakout fight I would have had. It's on 349 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,199 Speaker 3: national TV in front of the whole world, and I 350 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,239 Speaker 3: got my butt kicked. I mean I couldn't get out 351 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 3: of first gear. I broke I broke my nose pretty drastically. 352 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 3: I had to get a nasal reconstruction. So, you know, 353 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 3: you just can't put yourself and your body through the 354 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 3: things I was doing and then expect to compete at 355 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 3: one hundred percent at an elite level. It's not possible. 356 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 2: So let me do this. I want to come back 357 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 2: and I got to break the news. I want to 358 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 2: get to the process, and I want to figure out 359 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 2: how it started. I mean, obviously you were an Olympic boxer, uh, 360 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 2: and then you turned pro in uh in two. 361 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 4: Thousand, I guess two thousand and eight. 362 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 2: If I'm not mistaken, if I'm reading this correctly, right, Okay, 363 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 2: So so you turn pro, you fight up in New Hampshire. 364 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 2: Assume that probably was Manchester, your debut. Yeah, And I'm 365 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 2: trying to figure out and maybe you'll be able to 366 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 2: tell us where it kind of went off the rails 367 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 2: and then what impact it had on you. And we'll 368 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 2: also take phone calls and questions from people who may 369 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 2: want to talk about their own sort of eating disorder. 370 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 4: My guest is Danie O'Connor. Danny. 371 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 2: We got about three four minutes here for the newscast. 372 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 2: You get a chance to stretch your legs or whatever, 373 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,639 Speaker 2: but we'll be right back. We'll go to right to 374 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 2: the to the eating disorder and how it evidenced itself, 375 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 2: how it developed, what you did to battle it, and 376 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 2: and the impact. You just told a pretty dramatic story 377 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 2: that in that fight at the Boston Garden, you will 378 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 2: find a guy named Derek Silveria and you won that fight, 379 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 2: but apparently you took some additional abuse in that fight, 380 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 2: that that it was a costly fight for you in 381 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 2: terms of, you know, to win it, but that you 382 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 2: went ten rounds in it. And so sounded to me 383 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 2: as if that was one that although you're at the 384 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:08,239 Speaker 2: garden in retrospect, it was a it was a it 385 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 2: was even though you won, it was a rough night, 386 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 2: is what I'm trying to say. Am I am I 387 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:13,640 Speaker 2: am I reading you on that correctly? 388 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 3: Correct? 389 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 4: All right? 390 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 2: Perfect, back with Danny O'Connor. Your calls and questions. If 391 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 2: you're on the line, stay there, we'll try to get 392 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 2: calls quickly. Six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty 393 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 2: six one, seven, nine, three, ten thirty. Danny's book is 394 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 2: entitled Weight Class, A Fighter's Life or Death Battle with 395 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,920 Speaker 2: an Eating Disorder. You would never associate an eating disorder 396 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 2: with a professional boxer who was making his living, uh 397 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,639 Speaker 2: fulfilling his career with an eating disorder. Most of these guys, 398 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:46,120 Speaker 2: You'll look at him in the ring and you say, 399 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 2: those guys are as toned as they're ever. 400 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 4: Going to be. 401 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,959 Speaker 2: Well, we'll we'll we'll discuss the rest of the story, 402 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 2: as they say with Danny O'Connor right after the news 403 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:55,400 Speaker 2: at the bottom of the hour. 404 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 4: Here on a Thursday night. 405 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: It's Night Side with yas Boston's news radio. 406 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 2: My guess is Danny O'Connor, local guy from the greater 407 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 2: Boston area. 408 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 4: Danny, you grew up in what what what part of Boston? 409 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 4: I grew up in premium Premium. 410 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:16,160 Speaker 2: Okay, So that's Boston area. That's a that's that's a great, 411 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,119 Speaker 2: great community. And his book weight class A fighter his 412 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 2: life or death battle with the with an eating disorder. 413 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 4: Okay. 414 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 2: So in terms that all of us can perhaps really 415 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 2: easily understand, you're fighting at a at approximately at one 416 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 2: hundred and forty pounds. How many fights into your career 417 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 2: did you kind of stay in that range and and 418 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 2: when did you start to lose control? How how long 419 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:45,680 Speaker 2: into your career? 420 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 5: Well? 421 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 3: I never stayed in that range, and I think that 422 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 3: that was a problem. Like whenever you go against the 423 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,639 Speaker 3: normal functions of your body, when your body tells you 424 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 3: to eat and you don't eat, or your body tells 425 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 3: you to stop eating and you keep eating, or you 426 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 3: don't have to go to the bathroom and you take 427 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 3: a laxaive to make yourself go to the bathroom. Whenever 428 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,679 Speaker 3: you go against these normal functions that your body has, 429 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 3: you're really threatening some consequences, not only in the moment, 430 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 3: but maybe down the line. And so I never really 431 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 3: asked myself. I knew that the tactics that I was 432 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 3: using to make weight were unhealthy and they put my 433 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 3: life at risk. And I normalize that because I never 434 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,959 Speaker 3: stayed at my weight. What I did was, you know, 435 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 3: I had a real fluctuation. Like there were training camps, 436 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 3: I went up to two hundred pounds. So now you're 437 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 3: talking about in the span of six to eight to 438 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 3: ten weeks, I just lost seventy pounds. So like when 439 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 3: I tell you these numbers, a lot of people fixate 440 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 3: on the number, like I've lost double digits overnight and 441 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 3: double digits in one day, right, But I don't look 442 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 3: I look at like how many pounds have I lost 443 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 3: over time? Right, because there's a clock on stuff. You know, 444 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 3: There's been hundreds of pounds that I'd be either lost 445 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 3: or gained. And I think that that's where like it 446 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 3: was always kind of off the rails. But here's the thing. 447 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 3: There was no awareness about what a eating disorder was. 448 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 3: I didn't know what it was. There was no talk 449 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 3: about it, you know, and so I just assumed I 450 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:23,400 Speaker 3: was manipulating my body and putting myself at risk acutely 451 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 3: because in the moment, I'm at risk. But when my 452 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:29,120 Speaker 3: career is over and I've achieved my dreams and I've 453 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,719 Speaker 3: won my World championship out, I'll just go back to 454 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,120 Speaker 3: what you would think a normal person would when they eat. 455 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,879 Speaker 3: And I didn't ever want stop to think like, maybe 456 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,159 Speaker 3: that won't be an option, maybe that's not even a choice, 457 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 3: because I've been practicing these negative habits and extreme things 458 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 3: to my body that after so long, I lost control 459 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 3: of it. And I think that the biggest thing to 460 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 3: realize here is even though it was unhealthy, it still 461 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 3: takes an insane amount of discipline to do some of 462 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,479 Speaker 3: the things that I was doing to restrict right. There 463 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 3: was days, weeks, months that I didn't eat, and there 464 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 3: was days when sometimes I didn't drink water for four days, 465 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 3: even after you know, they threatened it you might die 466 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 3: at three. So I was putting myself through these extreme 467 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:19,400 Speaker 3: tactics to lose weight in training camps, to then weigh 468 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 3: in and compete, and then as an athlete, really the 469 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 3: most optimal is it's your lifestyle. As an elite athlete, 470 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 3: it's your lifestyle, and so you always live that lifestyle. 471 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,520 Speaker 3: But instead I always felt like I was making up 472 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 3: for all the starving. So I would completely go the 473 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,119 Speaker 3: other way. And if you know this, one fighter's name 474 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:44,119 Speaker 3: is Ricky Hatton, and he had this Ricky Fatten persona, 475 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 3: and you know, he always blew up in weight and 476 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 3: it was normalized. But really that's really unhealthy. And so 477 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 3: that's what I was doing. And so I would have 478 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 3: these training camps, I was lose all this weight. Then 479 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 3: I would have a little bit in between a fight, 480 00:24:58,080 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 3: I'd gain all this weight, and it would just be 481 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,959 Speaker 3: this this back and forth battle with my own body. 482 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 3: And ultimately how it manifested is my discipline was so 483 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 3: extreme in everything in my athletics, in my diet and 484 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 3: anything that I needed to do to maintain the lifestyle 485 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 3: of trying to be elite and to train and to 486 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 3: compete at the highest level. And then all of a sudden, 487 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 3: one day it just wasn't it just stopped. No matter 488 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,120 Speaker 3: what I tried, I couldn't make changes that I knew 489 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 3: were like, you got to understand my health was on 490 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 3: the line, the Boston Garden was on the line. There 491 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 3: were so many things at stake, and still those things 492 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 3: didn't eat. They didn't like equate to being able to control. 493 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 3: And that's when I you know, we're looking at twenty thirteen, 494 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 3: is when I realized, like I had felt like I 495 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 3: starved myself so long and so aggressively that I literally 496 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 3: broke myself. Because then it got to a point where 497 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 3: no matter what I told myself, I couldn't stop eating. 498 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,680 Speaker 3: And so now the on button is just stuck, right, 499 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 3: and I got a binge eating diagnosis. And so I 500 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 3: went from one extreme of being able to control every 501 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 3: aspect of my athletic life to really not being able 502 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 3: to control anything when it came to the to the 503 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 3: eating disorder or my consumption of food. And Dan, you 504 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 3: got to understand, like, this isn't like Thanksgiving, where like 505 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 3: I just eat too much and now I'm stuck. No, 506 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 3: Like you got to understand what what a binge? Some 507 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 3: of these binges were forty eight hours and you can 508 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 3: only fit so much food in your body. I used 509 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 3: to be so fearful because I didn't understand where the 510 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 3: food was going. I thought, like, it's gonna have some repercussions. 511 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 3: My stomach's gonna rip. I couldn't understand how this amount 512 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 3: of food I could fit in knowing that I'm ignoring 513 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 3: every que that my body's telling me to stop in 514 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 3: the in the nine to one one signals right, and 515 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 3: then your body can only hold so much. So then 516 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 3: now it's really a biting eating episode of forty eight hours, 517 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 3: but it's intervals of eating and vomiting uncontrollably because your 518 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 3: body can't maintain all the food. So, like I've been, 519 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 3: cycle is a really really scary, chaotic, uncomfortable place to be. 520 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 3: And the one thing that I realized about like talking 521 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 3: with people, is I think eating disorders are really misunderstood. 522 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 3: I think that there needs to be more awareness and 523 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 3: more education to what they really are and also how 524 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 3: people are affected. Like it's kind of it's insanity, Like 525 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,880 Speaker 3: it still bends my mind today that you know, half 526 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 3: of my days were spent trying not to binge eat, 527 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 3: and then half of my days were spent being uncontrolled 528 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 3: binge eating, and it would just wake up every day 529 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,600 Speaker 3: in a new negative cycle. But I was just even 530 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 3: more defeated because yesterday I was trying to do something 531 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 3: I couldn't do, and so it was an extreme mind ben. 532 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 3: And the thing you guys got to realize, eating disorders 533 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 3: are so complet They affect your mental, they affect your 534 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 3: physical because when you go against those systems of your body, 535 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 3: you are causing serious harm to your body systems, your 536 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 3: your digestive tracks, your your urinary systems, and so your 537 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 3: body only has so much wear before you wear it out. 538 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 3: You understand what I'm saying, so. 539 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 4: Totally No, I totally get it. 540 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 2: And I understand that there are people who you know, 541 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 2: there are people who eat and and they become over 542 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,879 Speaker 2: time it obe so more morbidly abes. 543 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 4: But you're you're like on a yo yo where you 544 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 4: got to be. 545 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 2: One hundred and forty pounds on a certain date, certain 546 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: for a fight, and if you if you've blown up 547 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 2: to two hundred pounds, you got to somehow get sick 548 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 2: get rid of sixty pounds in a relatively short period 549 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 2: of time. 550 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 4: Uh. 551 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 2: And I just wonder if that was the cycle that 552 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 2: you there was kind of like a reward factor that 553 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 2: maybe I have no idea what was going on in 554 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 2: your mind at that point, But they must have come 555 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 2: a point where you said this is dangerous, this is dangerous. 556 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 2: How long during your career, which again you know, lasted 557 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 2: from uh, you know, two thousand and eight to two 558 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:23,239 Speaker 2: thousand and eighteen, were you were fighting for you know, 559 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 2: ten years and during that time you had this didn't 560 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 2: even include the Olympic stuff. What percentage of your pro 561 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,480 Speaker 2: career do you think the eating disorder was in play 562 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 2: for the entirety of your pro career or did you 563 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 2: slide into it at some point during. 564 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 4: Your pro career? 565 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 3: Well, I think that the extreme weight tactics, the unhealthy ways, 566 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 3: the disordered eating, the abnormal eating, the starving, the overconsuming, 567 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 3: that was a part of my whole career from the 568 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 3: second I picked up a glove, because that's just kind 569 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 3: of what I carried over from from adolescents and wrestling, right, 570 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 3: and so the eating disorder itself I view as the control. Right, 571 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 3: you're talking about this yo yo? Yeah, Well I could 572 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 3: control that yoyo at the drop of a hat my 573 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 3: whole life. That's how I did it. 574 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 4: I went up, That's why I used that's why I 575 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,720 Speaker 4: used the term dating yep. 576 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 3: And so twenty thirteen I lost control of the yo yo. 577 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 3: Now I couldn't stop the up. So that's when I 578 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 3: view the eating disorder as you know, the whole time, 579 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 3: And that's why there's two parallels, is the making weight 580 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 3: and this eating disorder. Making the making weight was always 581 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 3: a negative experience from the second I picked up a 582 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 3: glove until the until that, you know, until I ended 583 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 3: my career. But the eating disorder itself where I view 584 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 3: as something that was uncontrolled. It was it had progressed 585 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,239 Speaker 3: for so many years on such a deep level. And 586 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 3: I mean, the moral of the story here is I 587 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 3: mean you're talking about one aspect. There's fifty other aspects 588 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 3: that also made me success sectible to an eating disorder. 589 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 3: Like the moral of the story here is, I basically 590 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 3: did everything on humanly possible to give myself an eating disorder. 591 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 3: So definitely don't do anything that I did. 592 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 4: Nothing right. All right, my guest, it's Dannie O'Connor. We're 593 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 4: gonna get to phone calls. Uh dn, stay right there. 594 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 2: We got a couple of quick break here six one, seven, two, 595 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 2: five four to ten thirty six one seven, nine three 596 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 2: one ten thirty. Uh, I'd love to have you ask 597 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 2: some questions, make some comments. I think it's a tremendous 598 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 2: amount of courage for Dan to write this book, Weight Class, 599 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 2: A Fighter's Life or death Battle with an eating disorder, 600 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 2: and to tell the story of a guy who was 601 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 2: very successful in the ring but lost control outside the ring. 602 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 3: Uh. 603 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,959 Speaker 2: And that is that's I guess the great irony of 604 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 2: this story, and lost control outside of the ring so 605 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,200 Speaker 2: he could stay in the ring. If you get my drift, 606 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 2: we'll be back with Danny O'Connor phone call six, one, seven, two, five, 607 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,440 Speaker 2: four to ten thirty six one, seven, nine, three, one, 608 00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,959 Speaker 2: ten thirty. We got about ten or twelve minutes left. 609 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,720 Speaker 2: Let's make him count. Coming back on night Side. 610 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio. 611 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 2: My guest is Daniye O'Connor, former Olympic boxer, professional boxing champion. 612 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 2: H that was a pretty serious eating disorder and he's 613 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 2: writing he's written about it. Weight Class, a Fighter's Life 614 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 2: or death Battle with an eating disorder. Let's go to 615 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 2: the phones. Let me go to Robert and Wellesley. Hey, Robert, 616 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:30,720 Speaker 2: appreciate you calling in you with Daniel O'Connor. 617 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 5: Go right ahead, sirp good Even Dan and good even 618 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 5: to your guest author and boxer Daniel O'Connor. Dan, your 619 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 5: questions have been excellent. I want to thank the author 620 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,959 Speaker 5: for writing the book and his answers to your questions 621 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 5: have been excellent. Also, thank you. If you i'd buck 622 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 5: to make the comment that it appears that Danny, you 623 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 5: were involved in three crossover sports, wrestling from which you 624 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 5: crossed over to boxing, but also running for roadwork and 625 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 5: keep wish was any of your distance running you would 626 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 5: have done distance running for roadwork be as you know. 627 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 5: Was any of your distance running competitive. 628 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 3: No, so I've never done any competitive running. Running is 629 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 3: a funny thing. I used to love running. I could 630 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 3: go out and just get lost in my music and 631 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 3: run when weight wasn't an issue. When my weight became 632 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 3: an issue, you got to understand, exercise became the worst 633 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 3: because there was times when I was exercising eight ten 634 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 3: times a day. Sometimes I'm out here running ten miles 635 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 3: and I haven't I'm not probably nutrition to do that, 636 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 3: but I'm only doing it to try to maintain my 637 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 3: weight class. So at the end of my career, when 638 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 3: the eating sort of was out of control, working out 639 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,720 Speaker 3: just became a chure. Something that I had to do 640 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 3: to maintain my weight. So you know, there's a long 641 00:33:57,800 --> 00:33:59,800 Speaker 3: time that I didn't do road work. I didn't do 642 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 3: it running. And that's actually something I do now more 643 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,560 Speaker 3: than anything. That's like my bread and butter right now 644 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 3: is running. I love to do it. I love to 645 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,200 Speaker 3: uh go for a long run and I live out 646 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 3: in the country, so it's it's pretty good. But you know, 647 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 3: I'm not uh I had I had a mission to 648 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 3: win a world championship, beel. I'm not a super competitive 649 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 3: person like I don't need to go race nobody, nor 650 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:24,759 Speaker 3: do I really want to raise anybody Like I just 651 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 3: like to to do my stuff at a leisurely paced 652 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:30,759 Speaker 3: with with no And that's even with the book too. 653 00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:33,600 Speaker 3: I loved writing until I had to write the book 654 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:36,320 Speaker 3: and I had all these timelines and you're kind of rush, 655 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 3: So like, I just like doing my stuff and beating 656 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:40,919 Speaker 3: too my own drum. 657 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 4: Nothing wrong with that, Danny, nothing wrong with. 658 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:45,920 Speaker 3: Okay. 659 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:52,400 Speaker 5: It just has really caught my curiosity of the conversation. 660 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:57,320 Speaker 5: And yeah, you're I mean completely and of you because 661 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 5: you're a legitimate, a very legitimate professional bo are having 662 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,960 Speaker 5: gone through and their boxing of Olympic boxing, and then 663 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 5: you legitimately became a professional afterwards. I'm completely in awe 664 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:16,440 Speaker 5: of your accomplishments there. My feeling is that, well, I 665 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,719 Speaker 5: had a boxing coach who was first who crossed over 666 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,640 Speaker 5: from distance running. He was first a competitive distance running 667 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:28,720 Speaker 5: then came to boxing. My personal I sort of juggled 668 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,600 Speaker 5: the same thing, and I found that distance running put 669 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 5: me in a community. It was very oriented towards nutrition 670 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:40,799 Speaker 5: and weight control was important for running, but it's I 671 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 5: personally felt that I was an environment where there was 672 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 5: a lot of emphasis placed on nutrition. Do you think 673 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 5: that would have possibly helped you when when you were 674 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 5: coming up through boxing? 675 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:59,080 Speaker 3: Was the question if the boxing culture was more if 676 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 3: like nutrition was more of a thing. Is that what 677 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:01,399 Speaker 3: you're saying. 678 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 5: I think you said that, haven't you that that you 679 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:10,439 Speaker 5: just weren't getting solid information about how to go about 680 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:12,880 Speaker 5: nutrition as partly if you're training as a boxer. 681 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 4: I think that's exactly what his question is. 682 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, so I think that that's when I was young. 683 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,719 Speaker 3: I mean we're talking about fourteen years old. Was the 684 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:26,480 Speaker 3: first time I stepped into a weight class and I 685 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:28,640 Speaker 3: didn't know anything about my own body. I was still 686 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 3: in puberty. I didn't know anything about nutrition. I knew nothing, 687 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,239 Speaker 3: and I kept that because back then there wasn't a 688 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,319 Speaker 3: ton of knowledge about making weight. There was there was, 689 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,280 Speaker 3: I didn't know anything about eating disorder. 690 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:40,839 Speaker 5: I had no. 691 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,560 Speaker 3: Idea at the age of fifteen if I if I 692 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 3: start these habits now, they might lead to something. I 693 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:49,560 Speaker 3: never once thought that. And as I progressed in my career, 694 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 3: and you know, stuff became more cutting edge. There was 695 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,839 Speaker 3: more information out there, the Internet became bigger. I mean, 696 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:01,120 Speaker 3: things started to progress where you know, you could get 697 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:05,520 Speaker 3: more educated through trials and tribulations is basically what I did. 698 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,840 Speaker 3: I got more educated as I went further along in 699 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 3: my career, but it came to a point where the 700 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,279 Speaker 3: habits and the stuff it was too late, you know 701 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:15,440 Speaker 3: what I mean. And I've had some of the best 702 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 3: nutritionists in the world. I probably had ten nutritionists. But 703 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:20,759 Speaker 3: if you can't control yourself, it doesn't matter what the 704 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 3: nutrition plant says. If you can't follow it, it's not 705 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:27,279 Speaker 3: going to work. And so when my control issues, the 706 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 3: discipline issues, the lack of control, because the eating disorder 707 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:35,280 Speaker 3: had manifested and developed so much, then it didn't matter 708 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,000 Speaker 3: what I knew or what I didn't know, and I 709 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 3: did try to do different tactics towards the end of 710 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,840 Speaker 3: my career. In the book, I tell you like I 711 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 3: was one way and then I learned some new tactics 712 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 3: and you know, but at the end of the day, 713 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,080 Speaker 3: my view as an athlete is it's a lifestyle. There 714 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,239 Speaker 3: is no up and down. You're always on that lifestyle. 715 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:59,160 Speaker 3: And so my view is, like you feel yourself to 716 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:01,719 Speaker 3: the most optimate, Well, you're not worried about a number 717 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:03,919 Speaker 3: on a scale. You use your skills, you train hard, 718 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,399 Speaker 3: you stay disciplined, and you just compete, all right. 719 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,400 Speaker 2: And on that point, gentlemen, Robert, I'm I gotta let 720 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 2: you run out of time. Great questions. Thanks Robert, didn't 721 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:16,240 Speaker 2: realize you had some boxing in your background. Great questions. Thanks, 722 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 2: appreciate it. 723 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,040 Speaker 4: Danny O'Connor, let's let's hit the book. 724 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:22,640 Speaker 2: The title of the book weight Class A fighter's life 725 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 2: or death battle with an eating disorder. You disorder, you 726 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,400 Speaker 2: have survived, and you have prospered. This book, i assume 727 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,840 Speaker 2: is available on Awaken at Awaken rather than at Amazon. 728 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,880 Speaker 2: Excuse me, I'm looking at one of my commercials at Amazon, 729 00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:40,359 Speaker 2: where else can people get it? I assume bookstores as well. 730 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, Bite like aman dot com. That's the website. It 731 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 3: has all the links to Amazon and Barnes and Nolos 732 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,960 Speaker 3: and all the different things. Yeah, it's out. 733 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,760 Speaker 4: There's Bite Bite like aman dot com. Danny. 734 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:00,560 Speaker 2: Congratulations, thanks for doing the the hour to I think 735 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 2: it was fascinating experience that you have been brave enough 736 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,920 Speaker 2: to talk about. You had to be brave to step 737 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:07,919 Speaker 2: in the ring with all those guys over the years 738 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,839 Speaker 2: who wanted to punch your head off. But I think 739 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,680 Speaker 2: you're bravery to write a book like this and maybe 740 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:16,800 Speaker 2: help a lot of other people who are not dealing 741 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:21,439 Speaker 2: with making weight but have a problem with weight. We'll 742 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,840 Speaker 2: want to take advantage of this book again, Weight Class, 743 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:27,840 Speaker 2: a fighter's life or death battle with an eating disorder 744 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:32,360 Speaker 2: at Bite like Aman dot com, Danny, I really enjoyed it. 745 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,040 Speaker 4: Hope to meet you someday. Yeah. 746 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 3: Same likewise, thanks for having me. 747 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,000 Speaker 4: You bet youam all right. 748 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:42,320 Speaker 2: We get back going to talk about two events today, 749 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 2: pretty ugly events, one in Virginia and one in Michigan. 750 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:47,680 Speaker 4: We'll be back on night side. 751 00:39:47,719 --> 00:39:52,120 Speaker 2: And also the fact that there's a refueling US plane 752 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,239 Speaker 2: that has crashed in western Iraq with a crew of 753 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,880 Speaker 2: five on board, and I hope that their successful rescue 754 00:39:58,920 --> 00:39:59,920 Speaker 2: efforts are underway.