Fighting Back: From hospital bed to center ring

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Danny appeared in MEN"S HEALTH June issue.

Street Fighter
A speeding cab dashed Dan Musico's Olympic hopes, but he's a champion now.

    Only three months before he was to compete in the 1992 Olympics, middleweight boxer Dan Musico was hit by a taxi traveling 40 mph. The cab threw Musico 30 feet into a glass shelter, leaving him with full body lacerations, a shattered left knee, a herniated disk - and a hospital-bed view of the Barcelona games. "I was lucky," says Musico, now 29. "When I got hit, I was in the best shape of my life." After three months in the hospital and six months convalescing at home, he started training again.

    Musico turned pro 14 months after the accident. Since then, he's maintained a grueling workout regimen, which includes daily stretches to loosen up his injured knee and back. He also does 2 hours of running and cycling in the morning, followed by 2 hours of heavy-bag work, sparring and rope-jumping in the afternoon. At night, he hits the weight circuit.

    His training is paying off. In February, Musico won the IBC Super Middleweight Championship title. "The championship belt is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," says Musico, who has a record of 20 wins and 2 losses. "Now I need a shot at Hecter Comacho for the IBC middleweight title."

    Musico thinks the accident that derailed his Olympic dreams made him a better fighter. "Once you've been hit by a car going 40 mph, coming out of your corner for another round is nothing."

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