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Saturday, September 16, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Czyz a genius, for real

By KEVIN IOLE

     By KEVIN IOLE

     REVIEW-JOURNAL

      Bobby Czyz won two major world championships as a boxer and is carving a name for himself on Showtime's boxing shows as one of the game's most outspoken analysts.

      He was tough and aggressive in the ring and is opinionated and bold on the air.

      The 38-year-old is not easily typecast, however. He is as articulate as any announcer in the sport and takes pride in using the language properly.

      But even Czyz was surprised when he learned in 1993 that he is a genius. He knew he was smart -- he was sixth in his graduating class at Lakeland Regional High School in New Jersey and normally made straight A's -- but his vision of a genius was, well, something other than himself.

      "I had some stereotypes pervade my thoughts, and I thought, I'm no egghead and I don't talk about these scientific equations or whatever," Czyz said when a public relations aide suggested he have his intelligence tested.

      But Czyz took the test and was admitted to Mensa International, the organization for geniuses whose IQs rank in the top 2 percent of the population. Mensa has 100,000 members, aged 4 to 94, in 100 countries.

      When Czyz passed the test that qualified him for membership in Mensa, scoring in the mid-130s, he joined one of the world's most elite organizations. But certifying his genius didn't do anything to his ability to poke fun at himself.

      "I tease people a lot and I tell them I'm the dumbest genius in history," Czyz said. "I've done a lot of crazy things for a smart guy."

      Czyz began boxing at 10 and turned pro at 18, opting to turn down an appointment to West Point to pursue his dream of winning a world championship. He did that, but it seems his classmates at Lakeland Regional were on to something.

      He was voted the smartest person in his class. He voted for himself as most likely to succeed, but his classmates saw something even back then.

      "When I turned professional, some sportswriters were interviewing me, and they asked me to describe Bobby Czyz," he said. "I said, `Well, I'm the antithesis of the stereotypical professional fighter.' They all blinked. But I've always believed in exercising your mind as well as your body. You have to have balance in your life. I've never wanted to be a one-dimen- sional person."