Bundini Dont Believe the Hype By Todd D. Snyder

Published: Oct. 6, 2020, 2:57 p.m.

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\\u201cFloat like a butterfly, sting like a bee.\\u201d Everyone knows the catch phrase, but few know who coined it\\u2014much less anything about him. His name was Drew \\u201cBundini\\u201d Brown, and in Bundini: Don\\u2019t Believe the Hype, Todd D. Snyder tells his story.

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One of boxing\\u2019s most intriguing characters, Bundini was literally and figuratively a constant in Muhammad Ali\\u2019s corner, working forty-four of his sixty-one professional bouts\\u2014including all of his most significant ones. As his trainer, Bundini woke him up every morning and shadowed him in the gym every day. Over time, he became one of Ali\\u2019s closest confidants. He also served as Ali\\u2019s \\u201chype man,\\u201d firing up the legendary boxer during every fight with interjections and exclamations that were as fierce as they were poetic.

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While his impact on \\u201cThe Greatest\\u201d cannot be overstated, Muhammad Ali was not the only fighter shaped by Drew \\u201cBundini\\u201d Brown. Before ever meeting Ali, Bundini was a member of Sugar Ray Robinson\\u2019s entourage for seven consecutive years. As a primary figure in the lives of two of the biggest icons in the history of the boxing, Bundini\\u2019s impact on the sport is undeniable.

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Todd D. Snyder is the son of a West Virginia boxing trainer and the author of 12 Rounds in Lo\\u2019s Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from Marshall University, and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Ohio University. An Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Siena College, he lives in Albany, New York.

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