Take a Break: Hit Me With Your Best Shot

At 45 years old, an age when many boxers consider retirement, Todd Poulton of Pittsfield, MA is starting a career on the celebrity boxing circuit. He's too old to go pro. No one will grant him a boxing license.

And while he may not have the kind of name recognition of his opponents, like Vanilla Ice and Sugar Ray Leonard Jr, his story has star quality written all over it.

When Todd was a kid, he used to tell his father he wanted to box. But dad shot it down and Todd gave up.

That is, until he found some old photos of his dad in the ring.

"I found them one day in the attic and goes, 'dad you were a fighter?'" Poulton recalls.  "And he's like 'no son I just messed around with it'. Well come to find out he was a champion in the service. An Army boxer."

Todd was more determined than ever to lead a life in the ring.  But life nearly knocked him out. He suffered with extreme obsessive compulsive disorder for years before it was finally diagnosed.

"I was in the process of losing my children. I couldn't parent," he says.  "I was a mess. Nervous, nervousness, panic attacks. All from OCD they found out."

Todd got some help managing his condition but when he finally got back to boxing he was 40 years old.  He started thinking any hope for a career in boxing might be lost.

As luck would have it, that's when he walked into a store and into the life of CBS 6 News fill-in sports anchor, AJ Vittone.

"I'll never forget it, Vittone says. "He comes in like Ali and he's like 'I want to fight somebody. Get me a fight'." First thing I thought was 'This guy's crazy'. What's this guys deal?"

Todd's ''deal'' was enough to make AJ his promoter.  He's been helping to orchestrate a boxing career that even local pros, like Shawn Miller, find inspirational.

Miller says "anything can happen if you put your mind to it and set your goals. That's what Todd's doing and it's great."

Todd's living up to expectations, being an italian southpaw, winning most of his bouts by knockout.

And the man who once told him to stay out of the ring, is now firmly in his corner.

"My dad," Poulton recalls, "was proud as any dad can be watching his 45 year old son come out of the dressing roomg... holding my jacket and my belt and it was my dad who brought me into the ring."

Poulton has won 2 bouts in a row by first round knockout and is predicting the same result for a September matchup against former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco.