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January 21, 2003:
How to Win a Fight Without throwing a Punch

I was walking along Third Ave. in New York one evening past PJ Clarke's, a bar-hangout for the sport's crowd and the media, and a booming voice hails me, "John!, John! Over here!'

I looked over in the direction of the voice and I saw a guy as big as building in a huge suit standing in Clarke's doorway. He was easily 6-6 and over 350 pounds, and his barrel chest and tree-trunk arms were straining against the seams of his jacket. He was as big around as he was wide, and his neck was like a thigh.

He was frightening, like a collector from "The Godfather."

But, he came away from the building and lumbered over to me. "John, it's me, Mark...Mark Tendler."

As I looked at him, I could see something about his facial features that was vaguely familiar inside that mountain. Then it struck me: This guy, I used to train with at Stillman's years before. But at that time, he was a tall, rangy heavyweight, barely 200 pounds.

He explained to me, after he stopped fighting, he became a powerlifter, and for years he was a professional wrestler, and now he was the bouncer here at Clarke's.

So, he walked me back just inside the entrance to Clarke's and we reminisced about the good old days.

Over at the bar -- about 15-feet away -- was an Ivy-League looking jock and his girl. The jock clearly had too much to drink; and he said to his girl in a voice intended for Mark: "See the bouncer at the door? He thinks because he's so big, he scares people. He doesn't scare me!"

Now, the people in the bar are starting to inch away, sensing the tension, but Mark doesn't even look at the jock; he continues talking to me, as if the guy didn't exist.

The jock gets even louder: "HE THINKS HE CAN PRETEND I'M NOT HERE. I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT A PHONY HE IS. HOLD MY COAT!" He says to his girl.

Now, everybody in the bar clears away, but Mark keeps talking to me. I'm getting more nervous by the moment.

The jock, full of bravado, heads towards us. Mark still doesn't acknowledge him. When the jock gets almost an arms-length away, Mark turns to him and says gently: "If you hit me and I find out about it, you're gonna be in a lotta trouble."

The jock turned ashen... and slunk away.

- John Garfield

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