Instead, Blyweiss made a living sparring the likes of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe. After a small fire had broken out in his house earlier in the day and under the threat of a tornado warning, Blyweiss spoke with The Jewish Boxing Blog about his harrowing life. Alan believes he threw away his opportunity to achieve more in boxing, but the difficulties he endured have allowed him to pass on his hard-earned wisdom to the next generation of fighters.
Alan's father Harold was a mensch, but his mother was "mean and abusive." The unrelenting physical and emotional abuse shaped Alan's entire life. An angry kid, he began boxing at seven years old. By nine, he was the first Jewish white kid jumped into the Bloods. "I stayed in that life far too long," he admitted. In Barry Farm, crime increased exponentially during the 1970s and by the 1980s, it was widely regarded as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. At the age of 13, Alan and his family moved north to Columbia, Maryland.
Shortly after his Bar Mitzvah at Beth Shalom, Blyweiss was sent to juvenile detention for two years after holding his abusive mother at knifepoint for 16 hours. He wasn't going to kill her, but he wanted her to feel something akin to what she had put him through. When he got out of juvie, he showed promise as a high school soccer player. Alan hated to run, but his dad felt soccer would force him to get in shape for boxing. But Alan was never far from trouble. He was kicked out of Atholton High School and didn't last much longer at Mount Hebron.
After getting in trouble, a school official told Harold that his boy needed some tough love. Harold strongly disagreed, but the official quickly discovered the importance of listening Mr. Blyweiss the hard way. As the bloody official expelled Alan for good, Harold quipped, "I did warn you."
At 15 years old Alan was sent to Cus D'Amato in Catskill, New York. He sparred a few rounds with Tyson when he was the heavyweight champion of the world. Throughout his career, Blyweiss learned from other such luminaries as Emanuel Steward, Kevin Rooney, Eddie Futch, and Angelo Dundee.
He said he had over 100 amateur fights although different sources give varying numbers as is customary with records in the unpaid ranks. He said he rose to be the third ranked amateur heavyweight in the country. He took on Tommy Morrison in Kansas in the final of a big tournament. He fought smokers at the Hillcrest Heights Boxing Gym.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank showed interest in Blyweiss and gave him a $125,000 signing bonus. Alan blew through the money in three months. Instead of training, he partied and used cocaine. "I was given everything, and I blew it," he said.
Trained by Vardell McCann and sporting the nickname "The Rock," Blyweiss had his pro debut on April 18, 1990 against Gus Linver at the Pikesville Armory. Even in the amateurs Blyweiss suffered from anxiety, but it came to a head in his debut. His mother's constant criticism contributed to his crisis in confidence. The anxiety would build as the fight approached. "I felt anxiety because I knew I hadn't trained properly," Blyweiss said.
Pikesville, Maryland was a hub of Jewish life at the time. Alan and his dad used to go to Pikesville on Sundays to get bagels and herring. He came to the ring wearing a tallis and a yarmulke. About 800 Jewish fans packed the armory, roaring for Blyweiss. "The crowd was awesome. I was ready to take care of business. Except I wasn't." He was stopped in the second round.
After a first round stoppage loss to George Harris in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania on November 15, 1991, Blyweiss says Arum froze his contract for six years, effectively ending his pro career. He then became a full time sparring partner.
Blyweiss had been a southpaw, but an elbow injury forced him to switched to an orthodox stance. He sparred Terry Ray under the watchful eyes of Kevin Rooney. As a small speedy heavyweight, Blyweiss fought in the style of Evander Holyfield. "I hit like a mule, and I could take a punch," he recalled. "Against big heavyweights, I boxed their ears off."
Jerry Rabinowitz, a cantor from Pikesville who loved boxing, gave Alan a salary of $850 a week and he also made $100 a round to spar. He was often used as a sparring partner for Holyfield's opponents, including for Riddick Bowe during his trilogy with the cruiserweight and heavyweight champ. Blyweiss said he traveled for three years with Lennox Lewis working with him.
At one point, Blyweiss was offered another $600 a week and a hundred a round to travel up to Philadelphia and spar with James Thunder. "He had muscles on top of muscles," Alan said of Thunder. "I looked at him and said to myself, 'I'm not too sure about this.' I sparred six rounds with him and then I told them that my beeper went off. When I came back, I said my grandmother had just died. I had to go home."
She hadn't. "Over the years, I've had a lot of grandmothers die," he deadpanned.
In 2000, Alan was near death himself. While staying in Boston, he was shot and stabbed. In the hospital, he was induced into a coma. He needed eleven abdominal surgeries. His dad was told to come up to Boston and say his last goodbyes.
Despite many health challenges, things are looking up. Alan and his wife have remarried after previously divorcing. He works at 5 Stones Fight Club in the Hershey, Pennsylvania area. There his Jewish, Muslim, and Christian pupils have an opportunity to safely talk about their differences and similarities. The world, hopelessly divided, needs more of what Alan is giving his charges.
In addition to his boxers' recent success at the Central PA Golden Gloves, he advises popular MMA star Natan Levy, an Israeli who is recovering from knee surgery. Alan reports the plan is to get Levy back into the UFC or the PFL. In the meantime, Levy is on tour speaking out against the rising wave of anti-Semitism.
Alan's life has been a struggle since the beginning. Some of it has been self-inflicted and some the result of inexplicable misfortune. Those difficulties have provided the necessary experiences to help the next generation of fighters learn from his mistakes.
