Yes, I was very surprised too about the boxing. But, I must say, it gives me a certain respect for him. Boxing is one tough sport.
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Reid's self-effacing style belies his strategic political abilities. He has said that growing up among miners taught him how to settle things with a fight if need be. He was a middleweight boxer in high school and has admitted to getting "called out" a time or two for an old-fashioned fist fight.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/108th/bio_reid.html
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