zatoicchi
12.09.08, 11:06
Nate Campbell knows that no matter the challenges he’ll find inside the ring when he climbs between the ropes on Saturday in Biloxi, Miss., to defend his lightweight title belts against unbeaten Joan Guzman, they won’t come close to approximating the difficulties of his late-night strolls as a teenager through Jacksonville, Fla.
Campbell, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight crowns, was essentially homeless for a period as a teenager. After his biological mother went to prison and his biological father was unable to care for him because of alcoholism, Campbell had nowhere to lay his head at night.
And so he would walk around, look for a hedge to sleep under or a window with an awning.
“Always had to sleep with the clothes on to stay warm,” Campbell says.
He was a naturally-gifted athlete who had been a star basketball player in high school. Much of his life, though, was spent simply trying to make it to the next day.
Campbell traveled a long road to glory (http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AkbsGVPM3W1pWL9yQj9xLbmUxLYF?slug=ki-campbell091108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
Campbell, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight crowns, was essentially homeless for a period as a teenager. After his biological mother went to prison and his biological father was unable to care for him because of alcoholism, Campbell had nowhere to lay his head at night.
And so he would walk around, look for a hedge to sleep under or a window with an awning.
“Always had to sleep with the clothes on to stay warm,” Campbell says.
He was a naturally-gifted athlete who had been a star basketball player in high school. Much of his life, though, was spent simply trying to make it to the next day.
Campbell traveled a long road to glory (http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AkbsGVPM3W1pWL9yQj9xLbmUxLYF?slug=ki-campbell091108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)