Where do boxing promoters find fighters?
A boxing promoter discovered at two o'clock that he was short a fighter for a card he was putting on that night. He hurried out to see whether he could find somebody to fill in for the missing fighter. On the street corner he saw a tough-looking kid.
"Hey," said the promoter to the kid. "Haven't I seen you hanging around the gym?"
"Yes, sir," said the tough kid.
"I have a spot in the preliminaries for a willing young fighter tonight. Want to fill in?"
The tough youngster hesitated. "Can I have a couple of hours to make up my mind?" he asked.
"Let me know at five o'clock," said the promoter.
Promptly at five, the tough kid reported to the promoter that he would take the fight. Later he stepped into the ring and, to everyone's surprise, knocked out his opponent in a couple of rounds. As the promoter paid him off he could not conceal his curiosity.
"Tell me, kid," he asked, "what were you doing in the couple of hours you needed to make up your mind this afternoon?"
"I wasn't feeling sure of myself," answered the tough kid, "so I went out picking fights with everybody I met. Knocked off a few guys easy, so I figured I could do all right in the ring. After all, I was going in there for the first time in my life and I had to make sure I could do it!"
