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'Cowboy' had arm
SOLID QUARTERBACK
As Brown's football coach at Forest Lawn high school, Rogers saw how athletic the boxer was.
A quarterback for the Titans, he led them to the playoffs.
"He had a great arm," recalls Rogers, now the assistant principal at Dr. E. P. Scarlett high school. "We had a really good passing game.
"He was a strong all-around athlete. He could have gone on with (football) if he wanted to, but his true love -- and he didn't digress from that -- was boxing."
As talented as Brown was, even Rogers is pleasantly surprised to see him vying for the IBF Cruiserweight title tonight.
It's not that Rogers didn't think Brown would be able to achieve his dreams -- after all, he saw the dedication and desire when he was a teenager.
It's just he realizes how few get to a point where they can become the best in the world at something.
"That's quite a few rungs up the ladder he had to climb," Rogers said. "It's exciting."
But the fact Brown is a success comes as no shock. In fact, Rogers had a feeling Brown would go places.
"Dale was a strong person. Kids followed him because he had such good leadership skills," Rogers says. "They respected what he did and respected Dale. I don't think anyone in the school ever thought of even trying to challenge him because he was so well respected."
As a teacher, Rogers can't help but follow past students in their endeavours. Therefore he plans to find out the outcome of tonight's bout as soon as possible.
"It's neat to know and see these kids as they grow up, and see them carry on," he says. "I'm going to try to watch, but if I can't I'll definitely read the paper first thing in the morning to see how he did."
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