In the bowels of the building, Nave and Haugen sit in their respective dressing rooms, getting their hands taped, going through those final thoughts. Both have been divorced, injured, and bankrupt. Each has children, and could use another couple of big paydays. Before the main event, the lobby fills with blond Marin men and women and an abundance of high school girls in slinky black dresses. People seem almost freakishly attractive, complementing the image of event promoter Peter Howes.
Guys scream out their home phone numbers.
Howes knows that 60 percent of his audience comes for the girls. Tonight's crowd may be the beautiful people, but Greg Haugen is not one of them. Before turning pro, the boxer from Auburn, Wash., fought over 300 amateur fights, often taking on guys twice his size. But most of his juice was in the '80s and early '90s. Bad investments wiped out all his money.