CIRCLE OF LIFE
THERE were plenty of things Robert Daniels wasn’t allowed to do in March 1984. He couldn’t vote, or drive a car. He couldn’t legally drink a beer, or buy cigarettes, or have sex. He wasn’t allowed to work full-time. This was because he was just 15 years old. But one thing he was allowed to do was get punched in the head for pay.
It may sound immoral, but don’t blame the adults. This absurdly early debut in this hardest of professions was at Daniels’ own insistence – and thanks to a little forgery.
“I’d already had more than 100 amateur fights. I started boxing when I was eight years old, so by then I was well advanced and I wasn’t going to wait for the [1988] Olympics,” he says. “I wanted to turn pro right away, but nobody would let me fight. They said you’re too young, come back in two years, but no way I was going to wait that long, so I faked my ID.
“There’s a local street festival in Miami, Calle Ocho, that runs every
