[As told by former light heavyweight champion Montell Griffin] In '92, I lost in the Trials in the championships to Jeremy Williams. It was a controversial fight. I thought I won the fight, you know what I'm saying. I made it to the championships by beating Terry McGroom in the semifinals. Even after I lost, I'm thinking to myself, "I'll get a chance to fight him in the box-offs." I was actually sitting in a restaurant eating lunch or whatever and Chris Byrd came in and talked to his father and he said, "That's a damn shame that he's not going to the box-offs." Well, his big brother Pat was in the Trials and he had lost a close fight, so I thought he was talking about Pat. So I said, "Pat not going to the box-offs?" And he said, "No, you not going." So I just ran down the street crying like a baby. It was like my amateur career was over and I didn't have no control over it. So they ended up catching me and talking to me. I just went to my room. I was out of it the whole day. My guy, Charles Walker, who was my buddy, came down there to support me because he worked for my lawyer. He was like, "Come downstairs, man. You can't just be sitting up here in this room crying and everything. So I go downstairs and everybody partying and having fun and I'm just sitting down, and I saw Jeremy on the dance floor dancing with this girl and he looked over at me and walked over and got in my face and was like, "It's a shame. I heard you not going to the box-offs." But as he was saying it's a shame, he was smiling (laughing). He telling me he can't believe I ain't make it, but he got a smile on his face. So I just went back upstairs and was crying again. It's some more to the story, but I ain't gonna get into that part.
So anyway, I went upstairs to my room and everything. The crazy part about it is that I trained at Chris Byrd's house for the box-offs, so my returning flight was going back to Flint, Michigan. But the next day, Chris was flying to go to camp for the box-offs. So I'm flying back to this man's house by myself. I'm sitting as his house just out of it. A friend of mine lived not too far away, so I went over there for a little while and I got a phone call and she was like, "Coach Byrd is on the phone. How does he know my number?" And I'm like, "What?" so I get on the phone and Coach Byrd was like, "Man, we need to talk. As a matter of fact, bring yo ass home." That was the first time I ever heard him curse. So I was like, "Alright." I jogged all the way back home and I'm sitting there and Coach Byrd said...well, I was fortunate that my agent/sponsor was a big time lawyer. So Coach Byrd was like, "Mitch called USA Boxing threatening a lawsuit and it ain't over; you got a chance. You gotta fight Terry McGroom again. And if you beat Terry McGroom, you gonna fight in the box-offs against Jeremy." I said, "I just beat Terry McGroom. I ain't fighting him because I just beat him." At the time, I was a little arrogant asshole. I was like, "I ain't doing nothing." So Mitch called me and the best thing he ever did was, he never lost his cool and he was smooth. I told him the same thing I told Coach Byrd. I'm like, "Man, I'm not doing nothing. I already beat Terry McGroom." He was like, "Man, don't even worry about it. Just fly back home." That's all he said. And that was cool because at that time, I just really didn't feel like being bothered.
So I jumped on a plane and went back to L.A. I get picked up and instead of me going back home, my man was like, "I gotta make a stop." I went to L.A. Sports Club where all of the big-time athletes and actors hung out and I get there and my buddy was like, "Man, Magic Johnson over there. You wanna go meet him?" And this is in '92; the Bulls just beat the Lakers in '91, so I'm like, "Fuck Magic Johnson." Like I said, I was an asshole at the time. I was mad and upset with the world. I was like, "I don't give a damn about meeting Magic Johnson. I met Michael Jordan." So I just sat there and I was actually talking to my man Lorenzo, who played for USC. So we sitting there talking and everything. So the guy comes back over and he's like, "Look man, this Magic Johnson man, he would like to meet you." So I'm like, "Alright, whatever." So I walked over there and I'm like, "Hey, what's going on Magic." We talking and everything and Magic said, "What weight do you fight at?" I said, "Light Heavyweight." He was standing next to a guy named Tony West, who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Tony West was like, "You not going to the Olympics at light heavyweight. My boy Jeremy Williams going as a light heavyweight." I looked at Magic and I said, "Magic, I bet you money you will see me in Barcelona." I turned around and told my agent, "Get my plane ticket." I flew to the box-offs and I beat Terry McGroom again and beat Jeremy Williams two times. So when I flew to Barcelona, we went to the NBC Studios with the "Dream Team" and Magic was facing the other way and I tapped him on his shoulder and I said, "I told you I was gonna be here." He smiled and was like, "Damn, you made it." That was a big story for me in my amateur career.
They had 24 guys there and I made 25. There is a host team and an alternate team and I told them, "I wasn't a trouble maker. I just feel like I was cheated out of my chance." I won the fight and I felt like they were picking somebody I beat to represent the country. So I got a second chance and beat Jeremy two times, man. Most of the guys were pretty cool and friendly with me, but I had to train with the host team because I had to fight McGroom, who was with the alternate team, so I trained with Jeremy every day. We were talking and laughing almost every day. We actually had the fight in the gym while people were training. They flew 3 judges in from Colorado and we fought in the gym while the guys were training. I dominated him. I was on point. It was like one of the best fights I ever fought. I beat him so easy. So I was officially on the alternate teams, the box-off teams. We were in Arizona and we hopped on a bus and drove to Phoenix and I had to fight Jeremy again in like 2 days. I fought 3 times in 4 days to make the team and that was a story that really meant something to me because it was Magic, you know, and I went right up to him and told him, "I told you I was gonna be here." And he laughed. It's kind of funny because the day I walked over to meet him, you know they got that documentary out chronicling his rivalry with Larry Byrd on HBO and they got a clip of me standing next to Magic Johnson. It's only like a second, but I made it on there. That was the greatest thing I ever did with my life. My biggest accomplishment is making the Olympic Team!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]