Most of our celeb sightings involve at least a four hour drive but a couple of weeks ago our region was paid a visit by the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Mike Tyson, and the brothers who inspired the Mark Wahlberg film The Fighter, Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund.
This eclectic group was in Upstate new York for the induction ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame is located in the town where I grew up, Canastota, NY, but when I was a kid it was nothing more than a small kiosk outside of McDonald’s. Now, the Boxing HoF has a proper space and the ability to draw celebs, along with crowds of fans.
We decided to check out the parade which runs through town prior to the actual ceremony. We scored a great spot along the route in hopes of grabbing a few minutes with Sylvester Stallone but he was a no show at the parade (word on the street was that he felt he was “too big” for the parade) though he did speak at the ceremony where he was honored for his Rocky movies.
We were glad to see Tyson did participate in the parade and that he seemed genuinely humbled to be there as he waved to fans while holding his daughter (and her Dora The Explorer balloon) on his lap.
During his induction speech, Tyson said, “I’ve got to be goofy about this or I’ll get emotional up here,” before honoring the late trainer Cus D’Amato, who became his legal guardian after his mother died.
Along with the dozen or so other boxing inductees, Micky Ward was a Grand Marshal of the parade, just days after taking the stage at the Spike Guys’ Choice Awards.
Check out a few of photos below and be sure to let us know if you have an unusual celeb sighting in your area!
