Popular boxer Emanuel Augustus shot, battling for his life
Emanuel Augustus, a quality fighter despite being known by many as the clown prince of boxing, is in critical condition in a Louisiana hospital after being shot in the head on Monday.
Augustus, who formerly fought as Emanuel Burton, was 38-34-6 with 20 knockouts in a fight career that stretched from 1994 through 2011. Police have no suspects or motives.
Floyd Mayweather, the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world, has consistently said that Augustus gave him the toughest fight of his career. Mayweather stopped Augustus in the ninth round of an Oct. 21, 2000, bout at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
Prior to his bout against Miguel Cotto in 2012, Mayweather spoke to FightHubTV and lavished praise on Augustus.
Emanuel Augustus was my toughest opponent thus far. His record didn't show his skillset, but the guy was unbelievable.
To matchmaker Ron Katz, he was unbelievable in many other ways. Augustus was known as "The DrunkenMaster" for his antics in the ring, in which he'd shake his body during a fight as if he were drunk or about to go down.
The antics were only part of Augustus' repertoire, Katz said. Katz compared Augustus to a former Harlem Globetrotters' star.
"He was a damn good fighter," Katz told Yahoo Sports. "To me, he was the Meadowlark Lemon of boxing. He was the clown prince, but with crazy mad skills. He could entertain you and make you laugh like crazy, but if you didn't watch out, he could put you on the seat of your pants, too. He was a good fighter and he did it the old-fashioned way. He fought good guys and he fought often."
