meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Boxing Life Stories

Season 4: #12 Bob Hatrak

Boxing Life Stories

Tris Dixon

Sports

4.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2022

⏱️ 113 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Bob Hatrak has one of the most-extraordinary stories in the history of boxing. Hatrak was the warden of Rahway Prison in New Jersey in the 1970s when light-heavyweight contender James Scott rose to prominence in the rankings from behind the prison walls. Scott, who had a long history of legal woes before going down for life, started Hatrak's Boxing Authority programme and managed to miraculously continue his career while serving his life sentence. Hatrak was the man behind it all. With assistance from promoter Murad Muhammad and commissioner, former heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott, Scott was able to fight his way to become the No. 1 contender for the WBA title, beating the likes of Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Richie Kates and Yaqui Lopez in huge fights that were televised from the maximum security prison. This is a story the likes of which had never happened before and certainly will not happen again.  For Bob Hatrak's upcoming book, click and like https://www.facebook.com/NOMW.Book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

People need to know the real James Scott, the only thing they know about James Scott is James Scott the prisoner and that's what I told his sister Laurie. I said, you know, um, I don't want to talk to you about James the prisoner.

0:15.0

I want to talk to you about James the person James the brother, you know, I need to know that side of him.

0:24.0

You've got to help me. I said, well, what can I do to help him around?

0:28.0

I want to charge admission to the general public to come into your prison, maximum security prison to watch a fight.

0:38.0

And in fact, you know, Chris on on the day of a fight.

0:43.0

Walking through that prison was like walking through a section of Madison Square Garden inmates walking around talking about the fight betting cigarettes.

0:53.0

Who's going to win? Who's going to lose and there wasn't a bit of thought about any kind of trouble about anything.

0:59.0

They just couldn't wait till that night till the fight and that's that's the way that the program not only helped help the people in the program.

1:11.0

The people helped inmates because they really changed behavior. A lot of behavior change stress. Really it.

1:19.0

Again, I go back to my apartment. He said it was like talking to kids at camp. It wasn't prison.

1:25.0

Hello and welcome to boxing life stories with me.

1:28.0

What happened in the ring after tasting only good was his child's play compared to that.

1:33.0

Instead of going to this day.

1:36.0

You couldn't take the tears from his eyes or the smile of his face, couldn't you?

1:41.0

I know.

1:42.0

He said, one let's go in back and a baby let me look back. Alconpone.

1:47.0

This is going to be your night.

1:49.0

Is winning and is nothing else.

1:52.0

Hello, welcome back to boxing life stories with me Tristics and I am finding all rather surreal this week.

2:00.0

You know, I often get asked who would be sort of one of the one of my favorite guests or who's on the wish list for guests and boxing life stories.

2:09.0

Yeah, I could say Oscar de la Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard, James DeGale, David Hay,

2:14.2

Frotch, Maclean. There's loads of people that I'd love to speak to and do big deep

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tris Dixon, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tris Dixon and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.