Lou Savarese Steps Up

Keith Goldberg: His father loved the fights. And sons have a way of sharing their fathers' love.

Lou Savarese fell in love on trips to Madison Square Garden with Dad and uncle Lou and uncle Jimmy to see the Golden Gloves.

He fell in love listening to Dad's tales of Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano — son, you should have seen him take out LaStarza at the Polo Grounds in '53, Dad would say — and watching Muhammad Ali trade one-liners with Howard Cosell.

And he fell in love feeling the sting of leather against his face, the force of his own muscles powering a fist into his older brother John, in a basement setup his father crafted so they'd learn to defend themselves.