The Watson Brothers, Explained

There he is, that guy, grinning, while standing behind of the sports' bright lights. Who is that guy? (Hogan Photos)

He has one of those faces that you see, and you say, I know that guy…wait, who is that guy? What does he do? I see him on HBO shows, and Showtime shows, in the corners of the best and brightest, but…who is that guy? And what he DO, besides be present at big fights, and grin broadly and frequently?

Marcus Watson, the guy with one of those faces, was at Crunch Gym in downtown NYC on Tuesday, so I indulged my curiosity, and asked him to fill me in on who he is, and what he does.

We chatted for almost 15 minutes, and I walked away understanding why we always see him in the ring on fight night, standing behind, or whispering in the ears of fighters who are advised by deal-maker extraordinaire Al Haymon.

Watson told me that he, and his older brother Brandon, age 31, another guy with one of those faces who we see in the corners of the sport's bright lights, work for Haymon. And what do they do? “Everything behind the scenes,” said the 27 year-old Woodland Hills, CA resident. “We make sure the fighter is taken care of.”

That means in the leadup to the fight, on fight week, and on fight night. The Watsons got to this place because their dad, Sam Watson, is a Haymon business partner. Sam was in the music biz, like Haymon was, and when Al shifted to boxing, Sam did too. Vernon Forrest was their first fighter, so the Watson boys have been around the game for many moons.

In chatting with Marcus, I figured out why he is entrusted with the role he is in. First and maybe foremost, he does something well that many, if not most of us, do not. He listens. While I went off on tangents, on politics, on this fighters and that, he listened intently, and proved that by countering with responses germane to my thoughts and topics.

So there you go folks; that guy, with that familiar face, has a name, and real-deal role in the game. Now you know.

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