By Daniel Lane
December 11, 2010
AUSTRALIAN boxing champion Vic Darchinyan has received extra motivation to destroy Mexico's Abner Mares in Washington today from the most unusual of sources - the hard-nosed American bookies.
Darchinyan, the IBO's super-flyweight champion, has moved up a weight division to fight the highly rated Mares for the IBO's bantamweight crown and the WBC's silver title, a new belt that replaces "interim" world titles.
However, Armenian-born Darchinyan was incensed to realise the US bookies had no faith in him when the betting market opened earlier in the week and they'd installed him as the underdog.
"Can you believe?" the devastating southpaw fumed down the phone. "I cannot believe it. I could not believe it. I fought for the world title 16 times, Mares has fought for it once. You know how it works, the Mexicans have Mexican money placed on him, but this I cannot believe. The bookies have no idea."
Darchinyan and Mares are competing in a Showtime bantamweight tournament which also features Ghanaian warrior Joseph Agbeko and Columbia's Yonnhy Perez. Between them the quartet has a combined total of 76 KO victories from their 109 bouts, and Darchinyan vowed to improve his 71.05 per cent KO rate by flooring Mares.
"It will be an early Christmas present for Australia," said Darchinyan, who is known internationally as the Raging Bull. "He is a good kid, very good. He drew with [Yonnhy] Perez in his last fight but that has only made me focus more on the job.
"They [Mares's supporters] see him as fast and a big puncher but I will punish him. I will make him look silly and I will then knock him out. The bookies will look silly, too."
Darchinyan, who until only recently included 1000 sit-ups, as many push-ups and 1½ hours of skipping in his daily training routine, said those who expected him to falter had placed too much of an emphasis on his age. At 34, the Sydneysider is nine years older than Mares.
"They count my age," he said. "They think I am too old for him, but boxing is not about age. My speed is good, and he will feel my power."
While Mares is assured of vocal support at the Emerald Queen Casino from the local Mexican community, Darchinyan was buoyed by the thought many Armenian-born Americans, and a healthy contingent of Australian supporters, would be present to cheer him. However, he's promised to convert Mares's supporters by brute force.
"After a couple of rounds the [Mares] crowd will change, they will turn to me," he said. "They will see I have come to fight, and they will respect that."
Darchinyan said he was as "pumped" for this bout in much the same as he was in 2004 when he was granted his first shot at the world title against Irene Pacheco. The Columbian was battered into submission over 11 brutal rounds.
"I was the underdog then too, but I knocked him out," he said. "My preparation for this fight has been very good. I am excited by this fight."
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Amir Khan looks for success in the ring, acceptance outside it
The world champion boxer hopes a win against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas on Saturday will raise his profile and help dispel negative images of his Muslim faith.
Amir Khan
By Lance Pugmire
latimes
December 11, 2010
Amir Khan of England will be fighting in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but not simply to defend his World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight belt.
He's in the U.S. to also test his faith that a Muslim athlete of Pakistani heritage can win the hearts of American fans.
"Politics is a lot different than sport," Khan said last week as he hurried out of his Hollywood apartment complex to attend Friday prayers at a Los Angeles mosque. "I can break barriers with my skills and change things about the way people think of Muslims.
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"We're all equal, we're all trying to succeed and we should all get along. That's what sport does: brings people together."
His optimism is rooted in his youth — on Wednesday, he turned 24 — and in his success. At 17 he became an overnight sensation after winning the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and today is a world champion in the talent-rich, 140-pound division.
Yet he knows firsthand how in Britain, as in the U.S., the fears that come with the war on terror can be triggered in an instant, and have occasionally made him a target of vitriol just because he is Muslim.
As one online critic wrote recently on a British boxing site: "We constantly have to fear Muslims. … It's always Muslims that blow our loved one[s] up. Why on earth wouldn't we hate a guy that supports the same faith as those guys?"
Khan, who in an interview last year said if he were white "maybe I'd have been a superstar in Britain," says he no longer believes that.
"You get past that," he said of the rants directed at him online and from some fight fans when he's in the ring. "You want to prove those people wrong."
He knows winning can help do that. To that end, Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) successfully defended his belt in his U.S. debut in May, scoring a technical knockout of Brooklyn's Paulie Malignaggi in New York. On Saturday he will face hard-punching Argentine Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs).
Khan is eager to own the spotlight here.
"I'm the youngest British fighter ever to defend a title in America," he said. "I want to be known all around the world. To do that, you have to fight everywhere and prove yourself."
At morning prayers last week, Khan arrived late and kneeled outside the mosque in the overflow crowd of worshippers, some of whom were aware a rising sports star was in their midst.
"A lot of bad things are happening when a lot of good things should be" the focus, said John Shiakh, 48, a Bangladesh native who prayed with the boxer at the mosque that day. "So it's nice to have someone like him from our community promoting peace and how we really are."
Time spent with Khan offered a glimpse of that. Being in the U.S. is also quality family time. On one recent day, Khan's father, Shah, and his mother, Falak, are with him. As Falak irons her son's dress clothes, Amir's brother, Haroon, 19, chats on Skype with his two sisters in England — one of whom is pregnant.
Khan heads to the kitchen but avoids the Frosted Flakes atop the refrigerator. Instead, he devours a breakfast of eggs, beans, tomatoes, mackerel and coffee. He tells of the first time he walked into a boxing gym in his hometown of Bolton, England. He was 8 and his parents were looking to provide an outlet for his hyperactive behavior.
"I had something to divert my energy and I was willing to learn," Khan said. "I loved boxing — hitting the bag, the sweaty smell, even being punched."
As he talks, it is hard to miss the plaque nearby, given to him by a friend. It reads, "May Allah give you the strength to succeed in all that you do."
"Amir's religion is his religion," said Shah Khan, who moved to Britain from Pakistan as a boy. "He stands behind it 100%. We, as Muslims, have had a lot of negativity in this country, but everybody's not the same and Islam doesn't tell you to kill people. I would hope people could believe that and point to someone like Amir and say, 'Look what he's doing.' More guys like Amir can bring people together.
"Amir sets himself goals you don't think are possible and he achieves them. Now he wants to be the best in his sport, a legend as a sportsman in this country."
Two years ago, Amir Khan looked done after losing at home to an unknown, Colombia's Breidis Prescott, who flattened Khan twice in a fight that lasted 54 seconds. Khan fired his trainer and hired Freddie Roach, the renowned teacher who has guided the ascent of Manny Pacquiao.
When Khan became world junior-welterweight champion last year, he hit a crossroads: fight in larger arenas for larger purses in Britain and the rest of Europe or head to the U.S.
Against Maidana, Khan will be relying on his ring speed but perhaps even more on his training. He spent a lot of time sparring with Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
"He's the only guy I know who can keep up with Pacquiao," Roach said. "He's the best listener I've ever had. Maidana was third on my list of the three guys they presented to him to fight, but Amir said, 'I want the best one first.'"
Khan worked hard to recover his career, more than willing to bend with the ever-shifting training camps from the Philippines to Texas to Hollywood to accommodate Roach's work with Pacquiao — "never complained once," Roach said.
Salam Al-Marayati, the president of the L.A.-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, said not since Hakeem Olajuwon has a Muslim athlete been capable of such unifying impact.
"The sports arena is where the Muslim athlete is completely integrated into society as the rest of us struggle to become integrated," he said. "I remember [former Laker] Jamaal Wilkes came to our mosque here back when he was playing, telling us the best way to overcome discrimination is success — in business, sports, whatever you do. Our job is to become part of American society, and Amir Khan represents that."
Sports marketing expert David Carter of USC's Marshall School of Business has looked at Khan's career too.
"He is a long way from the big time, but if he has a clear positioning statement — this is why I'm here — and if he wins, he has a chance to exact change, even if it starts in small and incremental ways," Carter said.
"There are signs of hope. He's a young kid who might be a little naïve, but who can fault him for wanting to send a positive image? That resonates at any age."
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Amir Khan
By Lance Pugmire
latimes
December 11, 2010
Amir Khan of England will be fighting in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but not simply to defend his World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight belt.
He's in the U.S. to also test his faith that a Muslim athlete of Pakistani heritage can win the hearts of American fans.
"Politics is a lot different than sport," Khan said last week as he hurried out of his Hollywood apartment complex to attend Friday prayers at a Los Angeles mosque. "I can break barriers with my skills and change things about the way people think of Muslims.
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"We're all equal, we're all trying to succeed and we should all get along. That's what sport does: brings people together."
His optimism is rooted in his youth — on Wednesday, he turned 24 — and in his success. At 17 he became an overnight sensation after winning the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and today is a world champion in the talent-rich, 140-pound division.
Yet he knows firsthand how in Britain, as in the U.S., the fears that come with the war on terror can be triggered in an instant, and have occasionally made him a target of vitriol just because he is Muslim.
As one online critic wrote recently on a British boxing site: "We constantly have to fear Muslims. … It's always Muslims that blow our loved one[s] up. Why on earth wouldn't we hate a guy that supports the same faith as those guys?"
Khan, who in an interview last year said if he were white "maybe I'd have been a superstar in Britain," says he no longer believes that.
"You get past that," he said of the rants directed at him online and from some fight fans when he's in the ring. "You want to prove those people wrong."
He knows winning can help do that. To that end, Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) successfully defended his belt in his U.S. debut in May, scoring a technical knockout of Brooklyn's Paulie Malignaggi in New York. On Saturday he will face hard-punching Argentine Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs).
Khan is eager to own the spotlight here.
"I'm the youngest British fighter ever to defend a title in America," he said. "I want to be known all around the world. To do that, you have to fight everywhere and prove yourself."
At morning prayers last week, Khan arrived late and kneeled outside the mosque in the overflow crowd of worshippers, some of whom were aware a rising sports star was in their midst.
"A lot of bad things are happening when a lot of good things should be" the focus, said John Shiakh, 48, a Bangladesh native who prayed with the boxer at the mosque that day. "So it's nice to have someone like him from our community promoting peace and how we really are."
Time spent with Khan offered a glimpse of that. Being in the U.S. is also quality family time. On one recent day, Khan's father, Shah, and his mother, Falak, are with him. As Falak irons her son's dress clothes, Amir's brother, Haroon, 19, chats on Skype with his two sisters in England — one of whom is pregnant.
Khan heads to the kitchen but avoids the Frosted Flakes atop the refrigerator. Instead, he devours a breakfast of eggs, beans, tomatoes, mackerel and coffee. He tells of the first time he walked into a boxing gym in his hometown of Bolton, England. He was 8 and his parents were looking to provide an outlet for his hyperactive behavior.
"I had something to divert my energy and I was willing to learn," Khan said. "I loved boxing — hitting the bag, the sweaty smell, even being punched."
As he talks, it is hard to miss the plaque nearby, given to him by a friend. It reads, "May Allah give you the strength to succeed in all that you do."
"Amir's religion is his religion," said Shah Khan, who moved to Britain from Pakistan as a boy. "He stands behind it 100%. We, as Muslims, have had a lot of negativity in this country, but everybody's not the same and Islam doesn't tell you to kill people. I would hope people could believe that and point to someone like Amir and say, 'Look what he's doing.' More guys like Amir can bring people together.
"Amir sets himself goals you don't think are possible and he achieves them. Now he wants to be the best in his sport, a legend as a sportsman in this country."
Two years ago, Amir Khan looked done after losing at home to an unknown, Colombia's Breidis Prescott, who flattened Khan twice in a fight that lasted 54 seconds. Khan fired his trainer and hired Freddie Roach, the renowned teacher who has guided the ascent of Manny Pacquiao.
When Khan became world junior-welterweight champion last year, he hit a crossroads: fight in larger arenas for larger purses in Britain and the rest of Europe or head to the U.S.
Against Maidana, Khan will be relying on his ring speed but perhaps even more on his training. He spent a lot of time sparring with Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
"He's the only guy I know who can keep up with Pacquiao," Roach said. "He's the best listener I've ever had. Maidana was third on my list of the three guys they presented to him to fight, but Amir said, 'I want the best one first.'"
Khan worked hard to recover his career, more than willing to bend with the ever-shifting training camps from the Philippines to Texas to Hollywood to accommodate Roach's work with Pacquiao — "never complained once," Roach said.
Salam Al-Marayati, the president of the L.A.-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, said not since Hakeem Olajuwon has a Muslim athlete been capable of such unifying impact.
"The sports arena is where the Muslim athlete is completely integrated into society as the rest of us struggle to become integrated," he said. "I remember [former Laker] Jamaal Wilkes came to our mosque here back when he was playing, telling us the best way to overcome discrimination is success — in business, sports, whatever you do. Our job is to become part of American society, and Amir Khan represents that."
Sports marketing expert David Carter of USC's Marshall School of Business has looked at Khan's career too.
"He is a long way from the big time, but if he has a clear positioning statement — this is why I'm here — and if he wins, he has a chance to exact change, even if it starts in small and incremental ways," Carter said.
"There are signs of hope. He's a young kid who might be a little naïve, but who can fault him for wanting to send a positive image? That resonates at any age."
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Right Is Might
August 04, 1958
Lightweight Champion Joe Brown retains crown despite leftish plot
By Martin Kane
S I
The prejudice against southpaws, held so firmly by prizefighters of orthodox right-handed style, is a sound indication that all is not rotten in boxing. Any boxer of strict upbringing follows a moral code handed down from Jim Figg and written on the tablets of Pierce Egan. The code commands that a jab be delivered with the left hand and a cross with the right. Thrown into the intimacy of the ring against a man who perversely jabs with his right and crosses with his left, who sticks his right foot forward when in all decency he should have his left out front, the proper boxer will feel unclean and hate himself in the morning.
Thus we have the judgment of Lightweight Champion Joe Brown, a fellow of good instincts, who says: "They should take all southpaws and drop them in the river."
Joe took a vow the other night after engaging southpaw Kenny Lane in a title defense witnessed by 11,500 sporting sinners, 10,994 of whom paid $69,203.50 in sordid cash to lick their lips at a spectacle that, in all truth, was exciting. The gate was a record sum for Houston, which segregates the toilets of white and colored but ignores the southpaw problem.
Joe's vow was brief and sincere. "No more southpaws for me," he said, holding up his left glove in forgivable confusion.
It is believed here that his regeneration is now solidly established and that never again will Joe Brown consent to enter the ring against a southpaw, especially Kenny Lane, unless the price makes it morally right. Lane clunked him good in a very close fight and furthermore withstood some of Brown's finer punches with saucy indifference, whamming him back with right hooks and left crosses until you would have thought the forces of righteousness would surely be defeated at this prelude to Armageddon.
The experience must have left a bad taste in Brown's mouth because he began immediately to talk of taking on welterweights in his next crusade. As for Lane, he howled that he had been robbed. His part-time manager, Jack Kearns, did not quite make this claim, holding only that he had given the fighter the bad advice to coast through the 15th round and thus cost his boy the fight. Later he confessed under torture that it is better for a manager to take the blame for a lost fight than let his fighter's reputation suffer.
A couple of nights later at Los Angeles, the Rademacher- Zora Folley fight was not so inspiring as the Brown-Lane affair, although again good style and good punching came through. Zora Folley had the style. The Veep was tense, awkward and feckless.
He was either trying to counter-punch a counterpuncher or he was remembering those seven knockdowns at Seattle and scheming to avoid a repetition by changing his style—an awkward word in this connotation. Folley promptly turned stalker, which is against his nature, and knocked Rademacher down four times in four rounds. Rademacher now has an EKA (earned knockdown average) of 5.5 in two fights, and the International Boxing Club is asking waivers on him.
There are a couple of television fights coming up which will be worth watching for essentially the same reason. They will present promising newcomers against old hands on the TV screen. At Chicago Stadium on August 6 (a Wednesday) Sonny Liston, whose maiden TV appearance last May resulted in a knockout of Julio Mederos, as anticipated, will take on the much-tougher Wayne Bethea, who this year has won over Young Jack Johnson and lost to Nino Valdes. A couple of nights later (Friday, August 8) unbeaten but nationally invisible Gene Armstrong will fight none other than Rory Calhoun, an enormous step up in class for Armstrong, even though his 14-fight streak includes victories over Charley Joseph, Rudy Sawyer and Randy Sandy. Boxer Armstrong has only one TKO victory on his record and will be up against one of the heavier punchers so that it seems sensible to pick Calhoun. Glancing at the other side of the coin, we will choose newcomer Liston over veteran Bethea.
Lightweight Champion Joe Brown retains crown despite leftish plot
By Martin Kane
S I
The prejudice against southpaws, held so firmly by prizefighters of orthodox right-handed style, is a sound indication that all is not rotten in boxing. Any boxer of strict upbringing follows a moral code handed down from Jim Figg and written on the tablets of Pierce Egan. The code commands that a jab be delivered with the left hand and a cross with the right. Thrown into the intimacy of the ring against a man who perversely jabs with his right and crosses with his left, who sticks his right foot forward when in all decency he should have his left out front, the proper boxer will feel unclean and hate himself in the morning.
Thus we have the judgment of Lightweight Champion Joe Brown, a fellow of good instincts, who says: "They should take all southpaws and drop them in the river."
Joe took a vow the other night after engaging southpaw Kenny Lane in a title defense witnessed by 11,500 sporting sinners, 10,994 of whom paid $69,203.50 in sordid cash to lick their lips at a spectacle that, in all truth, was exciting. The gate was a record sum for Houston, which segregates the toilets of white and colored but ignores the southpaw problem.
Joe's vow was brief and sincere. "No more southpaws for me," he said, holding up his left glove in forgivable confusion.
It is believed here that his regeneration is now solidly established and that never again will Joe Brown consent to enter the ring against a southpaw, especially Kenny Lane, unless the price makes it morally right. Lane clunked him good in a very close fight and furthermore withstood some of Brown's finer punches with saucy indifference, whamming him back with right hooks and left crosses until you would have thought the forces of righteousness would surely be defeated at this prelude to Armageddon.
The experience must have left a bad taste in Brown's mouth because he began immediately to talk of taking on welterweights in his next crusade. As for Lane, he howled that he had been robbed. His part-time manager, Jack Kearns, did not quite make this claim, holding only that he had given the fighter the bad advice to coast through the 15th round and thus cost his boy the fight. Later he confessed under torture that it is better for a manager to take the blame for a lost fight than let his fighter's reputation suffer.
A couple of nights later at Los Angeles, the Rademacher- Zora Folley fight was not so inspiring as the Brown-Lane affair, although again good style and good punching came through. Zora Folley had the style. The Veep was tense, awkward and feckless.
He was either trying to counter-punch a counterpuncher or he was remembering those seven knockdowns at Seattle and scheming to avoid a repetition by changing his style—an awkward word in this connotation. Folley promptly turned stalker, which is against his nature, and knocked Rademacher down four times in four rounds. Rademacher now has an EKA (earned knockdown average) of 5.5 in two fights, and the International Boxing Club is asking waivers on him.
There are a couple of television fights coming up which will be worth watching for essentially the same reason. They will present promising newcomers against old hands on the TV screen. At Chicago Stadium on August 6 (a Wednesday) Sonny Liston, whose maiden TV appearance last May resulted in a knockout of Julio Mederos, as anticipated, will take on the much-tougher Wayne Bethea, who this year has won over Young Jack Johnson and lost to Nino Valdes. A couple of nights later (Friday, August 8) unbeaten but nationally invisible Gene Armstrong will fight none other than Rory Calhoun, an enormous step up in class for Armstrong, even though his 14-fight streak includes victories over Charley Joseph, Rudy Sawyer and Randy Sandy. Boxer Armstrong has only one TKO victory on his record and will be up against one of the heavier punchers so that it seems sensible to pick Calhoun. Glancing at the other side of the coin, we will choose newcomer Liston over veteran Bethea.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Amir Khan is three days away from the biggest test of his chin
By Bennie
Amir Khan is three days away from the biggest test of his chin since it failed alarmingly against a wild Colombian by the name of Breidis Prescott in September 2008.
It looked all over for the Bolton youngster, smashed inside a minute, but Khan was brought back with remarkable speed as he busted up Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, linked up with trainer Freddie Roach in the States, moved up a weight and won the WBA light-welterweight title, then retained against two non-punchers.
Now comes Marcos Maidana, a big-hitting challenger from Argentina who brings a 29-1 (27) record to Las Vegas on Saturday night for his long-awaited showdown with Khan. Maidana, 27, earned his chance 18 months ago with a thrilling six-round stoppage of the much-touted Victor Ortiz in Los Angeles, climbing off the floor three times to outlast and outgame Ortiz, since when he has fought and won three times.
He could not be avoided forever. The 24-year-old Khan has definitely improved since Prescott and he goes in as the betting favourite - but what happens when Maidana tags him on the chin?
Amir Khan is three days away from the biggest test of his chin since it failed alarmingly against a wild Colombian by the name of Breidis Prescott in September 2008.
It looked all over for the Bolton youngster, smashed inside a minute, but Khan was brought back with remarkable speed as he busted up Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, linked up with trainer Freddie Roach in the States, moved up a weight and won the WBA light-welterweight title, then retained against two non-punchers.
Now comes Marcos Maidana, a big-hitting challenger from Argentina who brings a 29-1 (27) record to Las Vegas on Saturday night for his long-awaited showdown with Khan. Maidana, 27, earned his chance 18 months ago with a thrilling six-round stoppage of the much-touted Victor Ortiz in Los Angeles, climbing off the floor three times to outlast and outgame Ortiz, since when he has fought and won three times.
He could not be avoided forever. The 24-year-old Khan has definitely improved since Prescott and he goes in as the betting favourite - but what happens when Maidana tags him on the chin?
Through the Eyes of a Child
By Barbara Murray
When I was seven years old in 1941, my family sat in the living room to listen to President Roosevelt speak on the radio. He was announcing the invasion of Pearl Harbor by Japan. He spoke of the losses the United States had suffered. The numbers had not yet been determined of the dead, but the President spoke very grimly of the event. My recollection of that evening was watching the reactions of the men in our family. I was scared because I could tell this was very serious. The President had declared war against Japan.
Of course a lot of the men in our country began enlisting to serve in the military. Dad had told Mother he wanted to enlist with one of his friends. They proceeded to go to Ft. Olgethorpe to enlist. Daddy's friend was accepted. They sent Daddy home to gain some weight. He ate bananas until he hated them. He went back after a month and he lacked a very few pounds and still could not get accepted.
The women began filling the jobs the men had vacated. Just about all women, if they did not work, joined in making things to send the soldiers, such as first aid kits, sweaters, sox etc. Two women rented the house next door to us about that time. They each had one child. One of the women went to work and the other kept the children. Both of their husbands had been sent overseas.
Our uncle C. L. came by our house one day from work and said that the Peerless Woolen Mill was making wool blankets to send over seas to the soldiers. I am sure these were sent to the soldiers in places like Germany and other very cold countries.
The railroad at the foot of our hill stayed busy delivering and taking soldiers from Ft. Oglethorpe. I remember when we would hear a train coming, my sister Ruth and I would run down to the crossing and watch the train pass. We would wave to the soldiers and were very happy when they waved back at us. We did this until Mother found out what we were doing and we had to stop our greetings.
This was the time Polio had become an epidemic. While attending Bible School at our church I had become acquainted with one of the sweetest girls. We played together for two or three days and on the fourth day she did not attend. The next day we learned she had polio. She died within the week. The asfitity bags we had to wear around our neck like a necklace was what my parents said saved me from the disease. The odor alone would of should kill germs.
Our knowledge of what was going on during the war was kept up by our family radio times every evening. At times we would hear how many ships the U. S. had sunk. Sometime the news would not be good on our side. We seldom got to go to the movies, but I remember the newsreels and how terrible they were. That's when I realized how bad it was for our soldiers.
In 1943 Daddy got a job in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He had informed us they would be making buttons for the soldiers’ uniforms. Little did we know what would take place after that. He found us a house to rent, which was government housing. We were enrolled in school, me in the fourth grade and Ruth in the second. I did like my school and was delighted because we had a gym. On Saturdays, Mother would let us go to our school and swing by ourselves. This was a treat because on the way home we would stop in where Charles was working in a drug store and he would make us an ice cream cone. We would make our way home, enjoying our treat.
One day we came home from school to find out that Daddy was in the clinic at the plant where he worked. He had gone to the area where he was to work that day and found two men there who were sick. He called for help and they were all three put to bed in the clinic. I don't know if they were sent to the hospital from there, I just know Daddy did not get to come home until the next day. It seems somehow they had a leak of radiation and one of the men died, and the other was alive when we moved. Dad had survived because he did not stay in the room long enough to be affected. He announced immediately that we were moving back to Georgia.
While in Oak Ridge, Charles became acquainted with a friend of his boss at the drug store where he had worked. He came home one day and mentioned this friend of his boss had a camera and enlarger he would sell him or give him. I not sure about the transaction but Charles did get both of them. After the war was over, the Chattanooga News Free Press had a picture on the front page of a man and his wife who had been arrested in Atlanta for spying for the enemy. The man was Al Slack, the same man who had befriended Charles with his camera and enlarger. He had worked for the Kodak Company.
We continued to keep up with what was happening either by radio or listening to the men in our family. The war had become very wide spread by now, the bombings by Hitler and his army and it looked as if there would never be an end. I remember hearing about the atom bomb being dropped on Japan. After some time we realized the deaths and ruins it had caused. It did stop the Japanese but I hope is never is used again.
The happiest of days was the day the war ended. I am not sure what time of day we heard it but it was good news. The lady who lived alone further up the hill from us had three sons in the Army. She ran down the hill crying and shouting, "the war is over!" Everyone was outside, including the two women next door to us and everyone was crying and yelling. The war was over.
Barbara Murray grew up as Barbara Jean Rice in Rossville, Georgia, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.. She now lives in Bradenton, Florida. Her brother Charles is the author of The View from My Ridge (Canopic Publishing 2003)
When I was seven years old in 1941, my family sat in the living room to listen to President Roosevelt speak on the radio. He was announcing the invasion of Pearl Harbor by Japan. He spoke of the losses the United States had suffered. The numbers had not yet been determined of the dead, but the President spoke very grimly of the event. My recollection of that evening was watching the reactions of the men in our family. I was scared because I could tell this was very serious. The President had declared war against Japan.
Of course a lot of the men in our country began enlisting to serve in the military. Dad had told Mother he wanted to enlist with one of his friends. They proceeded to go to Ft. Olgethorpe to enlist. Daddy's friend was accepted. They sent Daddy home to gain some weight. He ate bananas until he hated them. He went back after a month and he lacked a very few pounds and still could not get accepted.
The women began filling the jobs the men had vacated. Just about all women, if they did not work, joined in making things to send the soldiers, such as first aid kits, sweaters, sox etc. Two women rented the house next door to us about that time. They each had one child. One of the women went to work and the other kept the children. Both of their husbands had been sent overseas.
Our uncle C. L. came by our house one day from work and said that the Peerless Woolen Mill was making wool blankets to send over seas to the soldiers. I am sure these were sent to the soldiers in places like Germany and other very cold countries.
The railroad at the foot of our hill stayed busy delivering and taking soldiers from Ft. Oglethorpe. I remember when we would hear a train coming, my sister Ruth and I would run down to the crossing and watch the train pass. We would wave to the soldiers and were very happy when they waved back at us. We did this until Mother found out what we were doing and we had to stop our greetings.
This was the time Polio had become an epidemic. While attending Bible School at our church I had become acquainted with one of the sweetest girls. We played together for two or three days and on the fourth day she did not attend. The next day we learned she had polio. She died within the week. The asfitity bags we had to wear around our neck like a necklace was what my parents said saved me from the disease. The odor alone would of should kill germs.
Our knowledge of what was going on during the war was kept up by our family radio times every evening. At times we would hear how many ships the U. S. had sunk. Sometime the news would not be good on our side. We seldom got to go to the movies, but I remember the newsreels and how terrible they were. That's when I realized how bad it was for our soldiers.
In 1943 Daddy got a job in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He had informed us they would be making buttons for the soldiers’ uniforms. Little did we know what would take place after that. He found us a house to rent, which was government housing. We were enrolled in school, me in the fourth grade and Ruth in the second. I did like my school and was delighted because we had a gym. On Saturdays, Mother would let us go to our school and swing by ourselves. This was a treat because on the way home we would stop in where Charles was working in a drug store and he would make us an ice cream cone. We would make our way home, enjoying our treat.
One day we came home from school to find out that Daddy was in the clinic at the plant where he worked. He had gone to the area where he was to work that day and found two men there who were sick. He called for help and they were all three put to bed in the clinic. I don't know if they were sent to the hospital from there, I just know Daddy did not get to come home until the next day. It seems somehow they had a leak of radiation and one of the men died, and the other was alive when we moved. Dad had survived because he did not stay in the room long enough to be affected. He announced immediately that we were moving back to Georgia.
While in Oak Ridge, Charles became acquainted with a friend of his boss at the drug store where he had worked. He came home one day and mentioned this friend of his boss had a camera and enlarger he would sell him or give him. I not sure about the transaction but Charles did get both of them. After the war was over, the Chattanooga News Free Press had a picture on the front page of a man and his wife who had been arrested in Atlanta for spying for the enemy. The man was Al Slack, the same man who had befriended Charles with his camera and enlarger. He had worked for the Kodak Company.
We continued to keep up with what was happening either by radio or listening to the men in our family. The war had become very wide spread by now, the bombings by Hitler and his army and it looked as if there would never be an end. I remember hearing about the atom bomb being dropped on Japan. After some time we realized the deaths and ruins it had caused. It did stop the Japanese but I hope is never is used again.
The happiest of days was the day the war ended. I am not sure what time of day we heard it but it was good news. The lady who lived alone further up the hill from us had three sons in the Army. She ran down the hill crying and shouting, "the war is over!" Everyone was outside, including the two women next door to us and everyone was crying and yelling. The war was over.
Barbara Murray grew up as Barbara Jean Rice in Rossville, Georgia, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.. She now lives in Bradenton, Florida. Her brother Charles is the author of The View from My Ridge (Canopic Publishing 2003)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Jose Napoles
By Rick Farris
Throughout boxing history the welterweight division has been blessed with exceptional prizefighters. Names such as Walker, Ross, McLarnin, Armstrong, Robinson, Griffith and Leonard are just a few of the greats that come to mind. However, another name cannot be overlooked when considering great 147 pounders, Jose Napoles.
Napoles' nickname "Mantequilla" is the Spanish word for butter and anybody who had the pleasure of watching this brilliant boxer perform understands that Napoles’ style was as smooth as butter. It was a style that combined great boxing skill, devastating punching power and cool control of the ring. It was a style that created trouble for any opponent he faced. I'd have to say the best way to describe Napoles’ style is "timeless". It was a style that could unravel the old timers and the new breed as well.
I had the opportunity to watch this great welterweight's career evolve into a world championship during the years I was boxing. Napoles started out as a lightweight, but had to take on the best junior welterweights and welterweights in the world in order to get fights. Napoles beat them all in convincing fashion until finally, with the help of a great promoter, a champion finally gave him a title shot.
I'll give a brief run down of Napoles early career, however, my story begins in 1968, about a year before he won the title. Although I never boxed with Napoles, I know three men who challenged Mantequilla for the title. Ironically, all three of these welterweight contenders challenged Napoles for the crown twice. Much of my opinion of Napoles is based on the words of these three men who know him far better than those of us who saw him from ringside or watched him train in the gym. You get to know exactly how great a fighter is, or is not, after banging it out with him for fifteen rounds.
The three contenders whom I am referring to are Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, Hedgeman Lewis and Armando Muniz. All three were talented and tough welterweights during the 60's and 70's, and all three agree that they never fought anybody better than Jose Napoles.
Jose Napoles was born in Cuba on April 13, 1940. He made his pro boxing debut in 1958, at the age of 18, and fought the first four years of his professional career in Cuba. Between 1958 and 1961, Napoles put together a record of 17-1 (8 KO's) before fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro and making his home in Mexico. Without the perils of living in a communist country, Napoles would now have a chance to make a name for himself in the world of boxing.
Mexico was almost perfect for Napoles, a Spanish speaking culture and rich in boxing talent. Many of the world's best boxers under 147 pounds hailed from Mexico and the Cuban lightweight would have the opposition necessary to take him to the next level. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. Napoles wasn't a Mexican.
After sixteen months of inactivity, Napoles resumed his boxing career in Mexico in July of 1962. Napoles quickly scored three straight knockouts before winning a ten round decision over Tony Perez. In a rematch, Perez was awarded a controversial decision over Napoles. Napoles scored two more victories including a decision over the highly regarded Baby Vasquez before losing again, this time in a ten rounder to Alfredo Urbina, one of the greatest lightweights Mexico ever produced.
After losing to Urbina, Napoles went on a rampage and won 18 straight with 17 knockouts, including KO's over Urbina and Perez in rematches. He also defeated Junior Welterweight champs Carlos Hernandez and Eddie Perkins, Adolph Pruitt and scored two knockouts over L.C. Morgan. After losing on a cut to Morgan in their third fight, Napoles KO'd Morgan for the third time. From there, Napoles put together a string of victories that would lead right up to a shot at the welterweight championship.
In 1968, the legendary George Parnassus became the boxing promoter for the newly built "Forum" in Inglewood, California. Parnassus had promoted boxing for years in the Los Angeles area, as well as in Mexico. Parnassus had a connection that would allow him to bring the very best talent up from below the border to Los Angeles. He would feature the very best Mexican stars at the Forum and it was here that many would become world champions. Champions such as Ruben Olivares, Chucho Castillo and Carlos Zarate won world titles in Parnassus promotions at the Forum, and so did Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles.
Napoles made his U.S. debut at the Forum in Parnassus' initial promotion that featured bantamweight contenders Jesus Pimentel and Chucho Castillo. I was anxious to see Napoles and was at the Forum that night. However, Mantequilla didn't give us a long look. He KO'ed Lloyd Marshall half way thru the opening round.
A few months later I got a little longer look at the future welterweight king when I saw him flatten Ireland's Des Rea in five rounds on the undercard of a featherweight main event featuring Dwight Hawkins and Frankie Crawford at the Forum.
Hawkins was the number one rated featherweight at the time and helped train me for manager Johnny Flores. I had heard Flores and Hawkins talk about how great a fighter this Napoles was and after seeing him in person at the Forum and in the gym I had to agree. Anybody amazed by the talent of Roy Jones Jr. would be a lot less impressed had they seen Jose Napoles up close.
In April of 1969, Jose Napoles would finally get a shot at World Welterweight Champion Curtis Cokes. Napoles was 29-years-old and had been fighting professionally and defeating the best for 11 years when he stepped into the ring at the Forum before a sellout crowd of more than 18,000. Many of the spectators had come up from Mexico in buses that Parnassus had chartered and the sound of mariachis filled the arena. Mexico had adopted the transplanted Cuban as one of their own and when Napoles climbed thru the ropes the Forum exploded with excitement.
Napoles had his way with Cokes and battered the champion at well. After 13 rounds referee Dick young stopped the fight to save Cokes from further punishment. Jose Napoles had escaped communism, defeated the best in three divisions and now, after 11 difficult years was the Welterweight Champion of the world.
Less than three months after winning the title, Napoles gave Cokes a rematch and again stopped the former champion in the 13th round. Like most champions of the era, Napoles didn't sit on the title between title defenses and stayed sharp with several non-title fights, which he won by knockout. Mantequilla finished out 1969 with a unanimous fifteen round decision over former welterweight and middleweight champ Emile Griffith in his second defense of the title.
In 1970, Napoles KO'd number one rated Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez in fifteen rounds and scored two more knockouts in non-title matches. Napoles closed out 1970 with his fourth title defense in Syracuse, New York against Billy Backus, the nephew of former champ Carmen Basilio.
Backus was given little chance of beating Napoles. However, after opening a cut over the champion's eye with a head butt in the 4th round, the bout was stopped and awarded to Backus.
Six months later, on June 6, 1971, Napoles would regain his title by destroying Backus in six rounds at the Forum. I was 19-years-old at the time and had been fighting professionally for exactly one year. I was scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Napoles-Backus rematch and remember all the excitement in the dressing room after Napoles had regained the title. I had won my fight that night but the biggest thrill for me was not my win, but having Carmen Basilio compliment me after my fight. Basilio had worked his nephew's corner that night and was kind enough to recognize that I had done well in my fight.
My most vivid memory of Napoles took place six months later, as he trained for his next title defense against Hedgeman Lewis. This would be one of two championship fights at the Forum along with a World Bantamweight title fight between champion Ruben Olivares and Jesus Pimentel.
I was one of Ruben Olivares' sparring partners for the Pimentel fight and each day we would workout immediately following Napoles before a paying audience. Promoter George Parnassus had his office at the old Elks Building, located right off Wilshire Blvd. near Alvarado St. in downtown Los Angeles. Today the Elks Building is the Park Plaza Hotel and sits right across from Macarthur Park.
Parnassus had a gym set up in the ball room of the Elks Bldg. with a ring at one end of the room against the stage and a couple of heavy bags, a speed bag and double-end bag on the stage. People would pay $1 admission to watch the boxers train and we'd usually have several hundred spectators for each workout. I recall that former lightweight champion Lauro Salas, one of Parnassus' friends who'd fallen on hard times, would collect admission at the door and Parnassus would let Salas keep the money so as the former champ could pay his rent and feed himself. Parnassus was a legendary promoter and had a legendary soft spot in his heart for ex-boxers.
Boxers are some of the friendliest people you could meet but people don't realize that most boxers, regardless of how nice, have a mean streak. This was especially true of Jose Napoles.
One of Napoles chief sparring partners was an L.A. club fighter named Baby Cassius. Baby Cassius (Eric Thomas) knew this all too well after sparring with the champ. I remember talking with Baby Cassius in the dressing room following one of his sparring sessions with Napoles. Both of Eric's eyes were swollen and his nose was bloody. Cassius would moan, "All I wanna do is earn a little Christmas money, but this guy is killing me". He also told me that he knew Napoles was drinking because he could smell alcohol on the champion as they were sparring. I didn't feel sorry for Baby Cassius because he didn't receive any worse an ass whipping from Napoles than what I (or any sparring partner) receive when trying to punch it out with a great world champ. That's the business. However, one incident involving Napoles between rounds of a sparring session will always stick out in my mind.
Napoles had an assistant trainer in L.A. named Phil Silvers. I never cared much for Silvers personally and it was obvious that Napoles didn't either. Silvers job was to tie the champions gloves and give him water between rounds of sparring sessions. One day, after pouring some water into Napoles mouth between rounds of a sparring session, the champ spit the water back into Silver's face. He then smirked and turned around. Not even the wildest fans watching the workout made a noise. I remember how surprised I was to see this, and obviously, so was everybody else. "What a jerk", I thought.
A couple of days later I had a strange experience with Napoles myself. One day after he finished sparring, I was warming up for my sparring session with Olivares. I was punching one of the two heavy bags on the stage and had my eye on Napoles as his trainer helped him slip on his bag gloves. I wanted to see if Napoles was ready to hit the bag that I was warming up on and if he was I'd move to the other bag. Napoles was the champ and he could hit whatever bag he wanted to hit. It was his show, not mine. When I saw Napoles moving my way I assumed he wanted the bag I was punching and I respectfully moved to the other bag. Napoles started banging away at the bag and I began doing the same on the other bag.
As the next round started I saw Napoles approaching me out of the corner of my eye and he tapped me on the shoulder. When I looked at him he motioned for me to move away from the bag and pointed at the other bag. "No problem", I thought to myself, and moved to the other bag. As I'm punching the other bag I see Napoles heading toward me again and noticed a few of his friends smiling. It occurred to me that Napoles was either trying to play a joke on me, or intimidate me, or whatever. Napoles again tapped me on the shoulder and waved me off the bag. When Napoles began to hit the bag, I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the other bag, then stepped in front of him and began hitting the bag again. Napoles grabs my arm and I turn to face him.
In my mind, I had set myself up for an ass whipping by the welterweight champion of the world. However, a fighter does not let himself get pushed around by another fighter and I looked him directly in the eyes. We stood face-to-face for a few seconds that seemed like hours to me. Napoles had a very serious look on his face and I didn't know what was coming next. My trainer, Mel Epstein, saw what was going on and quickly stepped in. "C'mon Ricky, let's get ready for Olivares", he said, trying to pull me out of the situation. All of a sudden Napoles begins to smile and turns toward Epstein, motioning that it was Ok for me to continue working on the bag.
I will never know what Napoles was doing but I assume he was having fun trying to see how much I would take. One thing I did notice was that Napoles reeked of alcohol. I was surprised, despite having this told me earlier by Baby Cassius.
A couple of weeks later, Olivares stopped Jesus Pimentel in twelve rounds and Napoles won a very close fifteen round decision over the flashy Hedgeman Lewis. Lewis was a very flashy welterweight along the lines of a Sugar Ray Leonard, but not the class of Napoles. I realized that Napoles partying had affected his performance. three years later, Napoles and Lewis fight again and this time Mantequilla would ruin Hedge. Lewis was never the same after the beating he took from Napoles in this title fight.
The same was true with Ernie 'Indian Red" Lopez. Three years after losing to Napoles in his first bid for the welterweight crown, Lopez was given a second chance in 1973. After the beating Lopez took from Napoles in this fight he was never any good again. I remember talking with Lopez at the Main Street Gym in Los Angeles just a few days after his second fight with Napoles. I told Ernie I thought he gave Napoles a good fight and was shocked by Ernie's response. "I'll never fight that guy again . . . for any amount of money!" These aren't the kind of words that came out of the mouth of Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez.
At 34, Jose Napoles, a blown-up lightweight who had become one of the greatest welterweight champs in history, challenged another great fighter, Carlos Monzon for the undisputed Middleweight title. Napoles was stopped in seven rounds.
Napoles defended the welterweight title fifteen times and when he was the undisputed champ, something that no longer exists. His last two title defenses were against a friend of mine, Armando Muniz.
Like Lewis, Muniz caught Napoles out of shape in their first match and almost won the title. However, in the rematch held three months later in Mexico City, Napoles had his way with Muniz and scored a unanimous fifteen round decision win.
On December 6, 1975, after holding the welterweight title nearly eight years, Jose Napoles would make his last defense of the title at age 35. Englishman John Stracey would stop Napoles in his hometown of Mexico City.
After the fight, Napoles would announce his retirement from boxing after spending more than half his life in the professional boxing ring.
When thinking about the great welterweights in boxing, don't forget the guy they called 'Mantequilla". He was a true all-time great.
Throughout boxing history the welterweight division has been blessed with exceptional prizefighters. Names such as Walker, Ross, McLarnin, Armstrong, Robinson, Griffith and Leonard are just a few of the greats that come to mind. However, another name cannot be overlooked when considering great 147 pounders, Jose Napoles.
Napoles' nickname "Mantequilla" is the Spanish word for butter and anybody who had the pleasure of watching this brilliant boxer perform understands that Napoles’ style was as smooth as butter. It was a style that combined great boxing skill, devastating punching power and cool control of the ring. It was a style that created trouble for any opponent he faced. I'd have to say the best way to describe Napoles’ style is "timeless". It was a style that could unravel the old timers and the new breed as well.
I had the opportunity to watch this great welterweight's career evolve into a world championship during the years I was boxing. Napoles started out as a lightweight, but had to take on the best junior welterweights and welterweights in the world in order to get fights. Napoles beat them all in convincing fashion until finally, with the help of a great promoter, a champion finally gave him a title shot.
I'll give a brief run down of Napoles early career, however, my story begins in 1968, about a year before he won the title. Although I never boxed with Napoles, I know three men who challenged Mantequilla for the title. Ironically, all three of these welterweight contenders challenged Napoles for the crown twice. Much of my opinion of Napoles is based on the words of these three men who know him far better than those of us who saw him from ringside or watched him train in the gym. You get to know exactly how great a fighter is, or is not, after banging it out with him for fifteen rounds.
The three contenders whom I am referring to are Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, Hedgeman Lewis and Armando Muniz. All three were talented and tough welterweights during the 60's and 70's, and all three agree that they never fought anybody better than Jose Napoles.
Jose Napoles was born in Cuba on April 13, 1940. He made his pro boxing debut in 1958, at the age of 18, and fought the first four years of his professional career in Cuba. Between 1958 and 1961, Napoles put together a record of 17-1 (8 KO's) before fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro and making his home in Mexico. Without the perils of living in a communist country, Napoles would now have a chance to make a name for himself in the world of boxing.
Mexico was almost perfect for Napoles, a Spanish speaking culture and rich in boxing talent. Many of the world's best boxers under 147 pounds hailed from Mexico and the Cuban lightweight would have the opposition necessary to take him to the next level. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. Napoles wasn't a Mexican.
After sixteen months of inactivity, Napoles resumed his boxing career in Mexico in July of 1962. Napoles quickly scored three straight knockouts before winning a ten round decision over Tony Perez. In a rematch, Perez was awarded a controversial decision over Napoles. Napoles scored two more victories including a decision over the highly regarded Baby Vasquez before losing again, this time in a ten rounder to Alfredo Urbina, one of the greatest lightweights Mexico ever produced.
After losing to Urbina, Napoles went on a rampage and won 18 straight with 17 knockouts, including KO's over Urbina and Perez in rematches. He also defeated Junior Welterweight champs Carlos Hernandez and Eddie Perkins, Adolph Pruitt and scored two knockouts over L.C. Morgan. After losing on a cut to Morgan in their third fight, Napoles KO'd Morgan for the third time. From there, Napoles put together a string of victories that would lead right up to a shot at the welterweight championship.
In 1968, the legendary George Parnassus became the boxing promoter for the newly built "Forum" in Inglewood, California. Parnassus had promoted boxing for years in the Los Angeles area, as well as in Mexico. Parnassus had a connection that would allow him to bring the very best talent up from below the border to Los Angeles. He would feature the very best Mexican stars at the Forum and it was here that many would become world champions. Champions such as Ruben Olivares, Chucho Castillo and Carlos Zarate won world titles in Parnassus promotions at the Forum, and so did Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles.
Napoles made his U.S. debut at the Forum in Parnassus' initial promotion that featured bantamweight contenders Jesus Pimentel and Chucho Castillo. I was anxious to see Napoles and was at the Forum that night. However, Mantequilla didn't give us a long look. He KO'ed Lloyd Marshall half way thru the opening round.
A few months later I got a little longer look at the future welterweight king when I saw him flatten Ireland's Des Rea in five rounds on the undercard of a featherweight main event featuring Dwight Hawkins and Frankie Crawford at the Forum.
Hawkins was the number one rated featherweight at the time and helped train me for manager Johnny Flores. I had heard Flores and Hawkins talk about how great a fighter this Napoles was and after seeing him in person at the Forum and in the gym I had to agree. Anybody amazed by the talent of Roy Jones Jr. would be a lot less impressed had they seen Jose Napoles up close.
In April of 1969, Jose Napoles would finally get a shot at World Welterweight Champion Curtis Cokes. Napoles was 29-years-old and had been fighting professionally and defeating the best for 11 years when he stepped into the ring at the Forum before a sellout crowd of more than 18,000. Many of the spectators had come up from Mexico in buses that Parnassus had chartered and the sound of mariachis filled the arena. Mexico had adopted the transplanted Cuban as one of their own and when Napoles climbed thru the ropes the Forum exploded with excitement.
Napoles had his way with Cokes and battered the champion at well. After 13 rounds referee Dick young stopped the fight to save Cokes from further punishment. Jose Napoles had escaped communism, defeated the best in three divisions and now, after 11 difficult years was the Welterweight Champion of the world.
Less than three months after winning the title, Napoles gave Cokes a rematch and again stopped the former champion in the 13th round. Like most champions of the era, Napoles didn't sit on the title between title defenses and stayed sharp with several non-title fights, which he won by knockout. Mantequilla finished out 1969 with a unanimous fifteen round decision over former welterweight and middleweight champ Emile Griffith in his second defense of the title.
In 1970, Napoles KO'd number one rated Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez in fifteen rounds and scored two more knockouts in non-title matches. Napoles closed out 1970 with his fourth title defense in Syracuse, New York against Billy Backus, the nephew of former champ Carmen Basilio.
Backus was given little chance of beating Napoles. However, after opening a cut over the champion's eye with a head butt in the 4th round, the bout was stopped and awarded to Backus.
Six months later, on June 6, 1971, Napoles would regain his title by destroying Backus in six rounds at the Forum. I was 19-years-old at the time and had been fighting professionally for exactly one year. I was scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Napoles-Backus rematch and remember all the excitement in the dressing room after Napoles had regained the title. I had won my fight that night but the biggest thrill for me was not my win, but having Carmen Basilio compliment me after my fight. Basilio had worked his nephew's corner that night and was kind enough to recognize that I had done well in my fight.
My most vivid memory of Napoles took place six months later, as he trained for his next title defense against Hedgeman Lewis. This would be one of two championship fights at the Forum along with a World Bantamweight title fight between champion Ruben Olivares and Jesus Pimentel.
I was one of Ruben Olivares' sparring partners for the Pimentel fight and each day we would workout immediately following Napoles before a paying audience. Promoter George Parnassus had his office at the old Elks Building, located right off Wilshire Blvd. near Alvarado St. in downtown Los Angeles. Today the Elks Building is the Park Plaza Hotel and sits right across from Macarthur Park.
Parnassus had a gym set up in the ball room of the Elks Bldg. with a ring at one end of the room against the stage and a couple of heavy bags, a speed bag and double-end bag on the stage. People would pay $1 admission to watch the boxers train and we'd usually have several hundred spectators for each workout. I recall that former lightweight champion Lauro Salas, one of Parnassus' friends who'd fallen on hard times, would collect admission at the door and Parnassus would let Salas keep the money so as the former champ could pay his rent and feed himself. Parnassus was a legendary promoter and had a legendary soft spot in his heart for ex-boxers.
Boxers are some of the friendliest people you could meet but people don't realize that most boxers, regardless of how nice, have a mean streak. This was especially true of Jose Napoles.
One of Napoles chief sparring partners was an L.A. club fighter named Baby Cassius. Baby Cassius (Eric Thomas) knew this all too well after sparring with the champ. I remember talking with Baby Cassius in the dressing room following one of his sparring sessions with Napoles. Both of Eric's eyes were swollen and his nose was bloody. Cassius would moan, "All I wanna do is earn a little Christmas money, but this guy is killing me". He also told me that he knew Napoles was drinking because he could smell alcohol on the champion as they were sparring. I didn't feel sorry for Baby Cassius because he didn't receive any worse an ass whipping from Napoles than what I (or any sparring partner) receive when trying to punch it out with a great world champ. That's the business. However, one incident involving Napoles between rounds of a sparring session will always stick out in my mind.
Napoles had an assistant trainer in L.A. named Phil Silvers. I never cared much for Silvers personally and it was obvious that Napoles didn't either. Silvers job was to tie the champions gloves and give him water between rounds of sparring sessions. One day, after pouring some water into Napoles mouth between rounds of a sparring session, the champ spit the water back into Silver's face. He then smirked and turned around. Not even the wildest fans watching the workout made a noise. I remember how surprised I was to see this, and obviously, so was everybody else. "What a jerk", I thought.
A couple of days later I had a strange experience with Napoles myself. One day after he finished sparring, I was warming up for my sparring session with Olivares. I was punching one of the two heavy bags on the stage and had my eye on Napoles as his trainer helped him slip on his bag gloves. I wanted to see if Napoles was ready to hit the bag that I was warming up on and if he was I'd move to the other bag. Napoles was the champ and he could hit whatever bag he wanted to hit. It was his show, not mine. When I saw Napoles moving my way I assumed he wanted the bag I was punching and I respectfully moved to the other bag. Napoles started banging away at the bag and I began doing the same on the other bag.
As the next round started I saw Napoles approaching me out of the corner of my eye and he tapped me on the shoulder. When I looked at him he motioned for me to move away from the bag and pointed at the other bag. "No problem", I thought to myself, and moved to the other bag. As I'm punching the other bag I see Napoles heading toward me again and noticed a few of his friends smiling. It occurred to me that Napoles was either trying to play a joke on me, or intimidate me, or whatever. Napoles again tapped me on the shoulder and waved me off the bag. When Napoles began to hit the bag, I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the other bag, then stepped in front of him and began hitting the bag again. Napoles grabs my arm and I turn to face him.
In my mind, I had set myself up for an ass whipping by the welterweight champion of the world. However, a fighter does not let himself get pushed around by another fighter and I looked him directly in the eyes. We stood face-to-face for a few seconds that seemed like hours to me. Napoles had a very serious look on his face and I didn't know what was coming next. My trainer, Mel Epstein, saw what was going on and quickly stepped in. "C'mon Ricky, let's get ready for Olivares", he said, trying to pull me out of the situation. All of a sudden Napoles begins to smile and turns toward Epstein, motioning that it was Ok for me to continue working on the bag.
I will never know what Napoles was doing but I assume he was having fun trying to see how much I would take. One thing I did notice was that Napoles reeked of alcohol. I was surprised, despite having this told me earlier by Baby Cassius.
A couple of weeks later, Olivares stopped Jesus Pimentel in twelve rounds and Napoles won a very close fifteen round decision over the flashy Hedgeman Lewis. Lewis was a very flashy welterweight along the lines of a Sugar Ray Leonard, but not the class of Napoles. I realized that Napoles partying had affected his performance. three years later, Napoles and Lewis fight again and this time Mantequilla would ruin Hedge. Lewis was never the same after the beating he took from Napoles in this title fight.
The same was true with Ernie 'Indian Red" Lopez. Three years after losing to Napoles in his first bid for the welterweight crown, Lopez was given a second chance in 1973. After the beating Lopez took from Napoles in this fight he was never any good again. I remember talking with Lopez at the Main Street Gym in Los Angeles just a few days after his second fight with Napoles. I told Ernie I thought he gave Napoles a good fight and was shocked by Ernie's response. "I'll never fight that guy again . . . for any amount of money!" These aren't the kind of words that came out of the mouth of Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez.
At 34, Jose Napoles, a blown-up lightweight who had become one of the greatest welterweight champs in history, challenged another great fighter, Carlos Monzon for the undisputed Middleweight title. Napoles was stopped in seven rounds.
Napoles defended the welterweight title fifteen times and when he was the undisputed champ, something that no longer exists. His last two title defenses were against a friend of mine, Armando Muniz.
Like Lewis, Muniz caught Napoles out of shape in their first match and almost won the title. However, in the rematch held three months later in Mexico City, Napoles had his way with Muniz and scored a unanimous fifteen round decision win.
On December 6, 1975, after holding the welterweight title nearly eight years, Jose Napoles would make his last defense of the title at age 35. Englishman John Stracey would stop Napoles in his hometown of Mexico City.
After the fight, Napoles would announce his retirement from boxing after spending more than half his life in the professional boxing ring.
When thinking about the great welterweights in boxing, don't forget the guy they called 'Mantequilla". He was a true all-time great.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
De La Hoya on Mosley Leaving: "It's a Slap in The Face!"
By Robert Morales/Boxing Scene
The President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, is not happy with Shane Mosley at the moment. Mosley was promoted by Golden Boy for five years, but recently announced he was a free agent and could fight for the promoter of his choosing. The way De La Hoya sees it, he made Mosley millions of dollars and he's upset Mosley walked.
"I feel hurt by it," De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com. "I mean, obviously, I don't really let my personal feelings get in the way of the job we have to do. We want to do the best job possible for the fighters. When fighters do things like that, it hurts. It's sad because they don't realize what we've accomplished for them. There's a lot of work and you put a lot of energy into it and then you get slapped in the face."
Efforts to reach Mosley were unsuccessful. But the thinking in the industry is he left Golden Boy - in which he apparently still holds stock - to get the fight with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. Since there is ongoing animosity between Golden Boy and Top Rank, who promote Pacquiao, Mosley's chances of fighting Pacquiao are considerably greater if Golden Boy is not involved.
De La Hoya's company is pushing very hard to get Juan Manuel Marquez a third fight with Pacquiao, but Bob Arum, CEO for Top Rank, says Mosley is the likely candidate to land the fight. Arum believes Mosley is a more marketable opponent than Marquez.
"I think Mosley is more marketable, but that's my opinion," Arum said to BoxingScene. "I think Mosley is someone who even non-boxing fans know. Everyone knows Shane Mosley."
Mosley's recent run has been far from spectacular. In his past two fights, he was dominated by Mayweather on May 1, and he did not look terrific in a draw with light-hitting Sergio Mora on a September 18.
The fight with Mora, which took place at Staples Center, also featured rising Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The event drew 13,591, but De La Hoya said most of those fans were there to see Alvarez. De La Hoya calls Arum's logic of Mosley "being more marketable" as an excuse to avoid a third fight with Marquez.
"This is my take on Bob Arum saying that Mosley has more of a household name," De La Hoya said. "Mosley's last pay-per-view in September, I think he drew about a thousand people and `Canelo' drew about 10,000 people. And I think `Canelo' drew probably 95 percent of the pay-per-view.
"So Bob Arum is saying, `Well, Mosley's a more credible opponent because he's more marketable.' That's not true, that's not true at all. Marquez is the fighter who everybody knows and who everybody wants to see against Pacquiao."
While Arum appears high on Mosley at the moment, he was far from impressed when Mosley fought to a draw with Mora in September. In fact, on this very website, Arum downplayed Mosley's marketability as a future Pacquiao opponent.
“Look, he’s going to be 40 and he’s in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He’s on a show with guys old enough to be his son. I read them saying Mosley was huffing and puffing for air in the fourth or fifth round,” stated Arum. “To me, that is the real tipoff for an aging fighter. Even Big George Foreman did that in his 40s but he always had that big, big punch like in the (Michael) Moorer fight."
“It’s like Hopkins, he still knows how to fight but who wants to pay to see him now? His fights are not very scintillating. What you see with Hopkins we’re beginning to see with Mosley. I guess Shane needs the money due to his matrimonial situation. I’ve always considered Shane to be a nice guy but this is what happens to fighters when they age."
Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and BoxingScene.com
The President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, is not happy with Shane Mosley at the moment. Mosley was promoted by Golden Boy for five years, but recently announced he was a free agent and could fight for the promoter of his choosing. The way De La Hoya sees it, he made Mosley millions of dollars and he's upset Mosley walked.
"I feel hurt by it," De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com. "I mean, obviously, I don't really let my personal feelings get in the way of the job we have to do. We want to do the best job possible for the fighters. When fighters do things like that, it hurts. It's sad because they don't realize what we've accomplished for them. There's a lot of work and you put a lot of energy into it and then you get slapped in the face."
Efforts to reach Mosley were unsuccessful. But the thinking in the industry is he left Golden Boy - in which he apparently still holds stock - to get the fight with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. Since there is ongoing animosity between Golden Boy and Top Rank, who promote Pacquiao, Mosley's chances of fighting Pacquiao are considerably greater if Golden Boy is not involved.
De La Hoya's company is pushing very hard to get Juan Manuel Marquez a third fight with Pacquiao, but Bob Arum, CEO for Top Rank, says Mosley is the likely candidate to land the fight. Arum believes Mosley is a more marketable opponent than Marquez.
"I think Mosley is more marketable, but that's my opinion," Arum said to BoxingScene. "I think Mosley is someone who even non-boxing fans know. Everyone knows Shane Mosley."
Mosley's recent run has been far from spectacular. In his past two fights, he was dominated by Mayweather on May 1, and he did not look terrific in a draw with light-hitting Sergio Mora on a September 18.
The fight with Mora, which took place at Staples Center, also featured rising Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The event drew 13,591, but De La Hoya said most of those fans were there to see Alvarez. De La Hoya calls Arum's logic of Mosley "being more marketable" as an excuse to avoid a third fight with Marquez.
"This is my take on Bob Arum saying that Mosley has more of a household name," De La Hoya said. "Mosley's last pay-per-view in September, I think he drew about a thousand people and `Canelo' drew about 10,000 people. And I think `Canelo' drew probably 95 percent of the pay-per-view.
"So Bob Arum is saying, `Well, Mosley's a more credible opponent because he's more marketable.' That's not true, that's not true at all. Marquez is the fighter who everybody knows and who everybody wants to see against Pacquiao."
While Arum appears high on Mosley at the moment, he was far from impressed when Mosley fought to a draw with Mora in September. In fact, on this very website, Arum downplayed Mosley's marketability as a future Pacquiao opponent.
“Look, he’s going to be 40 and he’s in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He’s on a show with guys old enough to be his son. I read them saying Mosley was huffing and puffing for air in the fourth or fifth round,” stated Arum. “To me, that is the real tipoff for an aging fighter. Even Big George Foreman did that in his 40s but he always had that big, big punch like in the (Michael) Moorer fight."
“It’s like Hopkins, he still knows how to fight but who wants to pay to see him now? His fights are not very scintillating. What you see with Hopkins we’re beginning to see with Mosley. I guess Shane needs the money due to his matrimonial situation. I’ve always considered Shane to be a nice guy but this is what happens to fighters when they age."
Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and BoxingScene.com
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Fighting Greg Haugen: An Opening and Closing of My Eyes
By Jeff Bumpus
(as published by The Boxing Historian)
In July of 1985 boxing seemed to have dried up. There were no fights on the professional horizon for me. The gym was pretty dead because all the amateur fighters had been through their tournaments until the fall. A lull had settled in.
The people that my manager and I associated with in order to obtain our fights were famous for “the midnight call.” They weren’t exactly the top agency in the business. They played a more peripheral role in the boxing world. Card falling apart? Call these guys. They can save your show. They had me and another fighter with whom they hoped to break into the upper echelon of respect in the boxing world.
ESPN's Top Rank series was at Resorts International Hotel and Casino that week and the scheduled headline bout was John Wesley Meekins of New York City vs. Greg Haugen of Auburn, Washington. Meekins was an ESPN favorite and Haugen had a solid amateur background, winning over 300 amateur fights and several Rocky Mountain Golden Glove titles.
Turns out that Meekins wasn’t going to make this date for Haugen so we were contacted. If memory serves, the bouts were on a Monday or Tuesday night. The preceding Friday night I got a phone call from my manager that went something like this: "Findem and Cheatem Enterprises called me. They want you to stay ready this weekend. I don’t know what the weight is, so don’t eat too much. They might have an ESPN fight for you. Stay ready! Some guy named Hogan." (I wondered if I would get a leg drop and he would scream "Brother!")
That was a common theme and it’s my own fault truthfully. If you aren’t a proven commodity with an extensive amateur background before anyone ever puts a dime into your career, you end up with seat-of-the-pants promotions. I started boxing as a pro at age 22 after only 20 amateur fights. Most fighters who are smooth and well-schooled have been boxing since they are ten years old. I was on a learning curve that resembled running up a mountainside.
The weekend passed with no more word from management. It appeared to be another one of those “get ready! get ready! never mind” moments. Then on Monday morning I got a call from my manager. "The flight leaves South Bend at 9:00 am. You fly to Detroit and catch another at 11:30 am. Then you fly to Philadelphia and Top Rank will pick you up there."
Fly? You mean in an airplane? I’d never even been in an airplane before and you want me to get into two different planes on the same day, with people driving who hide behind a cabin door so you can’t see them, like they are ashamed of how this is going to turn out and just close the door!?
I wasn’t afraid of flying; I was afraid of crashing. Those are two separate things. One is a jolting stop, the other is pretty smooth. Regardless, I packed my things for overnight in Atlantic City and drove to the airport in South Bend. The world's noisiest twin engine monstrosity flew me to Detroit with the Peter, Paul and Mary recording of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" constantly playing through my mind. Maybe getting punched in the head will be a good thing, I thought; it might change the song.
Detroit airport was just a hair larger than South Bend's. Just a hair. Navigate to the right gate and find the right plane so I don’t end up in Tucumcari. Hey, this is pretty cool. I can handle this.
When we landed in Philly I was now a veteran of two flights and very experienced, you see? At the bottom of the escalator was a man in a uniform holding a sign, just as I'd been told he would be. We got in the limo and I thought, this is so awesome. I’m in "Rocky’s” hometown! Right across the road from the airport, basically, was the spectrum and the colossal Veteran's Stadium. How many football games from that spot had I watched on Sunday afternoons? The limo driver kept asking me if I was comfortable and did I want the TV on, etc. You have to understand that I was about as young a 22-year old as anybody has ever been, so this was all met with wide eyes and a "Who . . . me?" kind of attitude.
We commenced the hour-long drive to Atlantic City.
Atlantic City should be divided into two parts. The boardwalk/casino areas and Atlantic City. The money is in the boardwalk. The struggle is in Atlantic City. I couldn’t get over that.
Resorts International is an immense hotel that could probably contain the entire downtown of Elkhart, Indiana in its interior. Later on, right next door, the Taj Mahal would dwarf Resorts, but at this particular time Resorts was huge. We went upstairs on the elevator to where the fighters were weighing in and being interviewed by ESPN’s Al Bernstein. The elevators opened up and there in front of me stood New Jersey state boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard.
"Hi!" I said.
Larry Hazzard looked at me as if a common human had dared to look him in the eye and speak to him directly. He turned his head to one of his lapdogs and gestured for him to take this . . . human . . . out of his eyesight. Perhaps I pained his head. The jerk didn’t say one word to me. Maybe his lapdog had forgotten to put the royal robe on his shoulders. Ah, my introduction to the big time.
I weighed in and was kind of embarrassed because I didn’t really think any of this stuff was going to come together, and here it was happening. I didn’t starve myself like my manager wanted me to, so I weighed in at 139, the highest I had ever been, but so did this kid named Greg Haugen (not Hogan.) Al Bernstein sat down with his legal pad and told me more about Greg than I had learned all the previous weekend. 300 plus amateur fights. Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves Champion. Owned amateur wins over Brett Summers, ESPN's fair-haired golden boy. Alaskan State Lightweight Champ. I would be his first television fight as a pro, of course.
Amazing how none of this information, even the correct pronunciation of his name, could be turned by my management. Maybe they thought I was going to freak. It was of no consequence; I still didn’t know who he was. I had long ago decided to go on with a pro career with the sure knowledge of my own lack of amateur experience. Truthfully, for a chance to be on Top Rank Boxing, I would have fought King Kong on top of the Empire State Building, if you spotted me a parachute.
Al interviewed Greg Haugen and from across the room I saw Greg's head snap up in shock and search my eyes out. I gave him a look like "what?", but he returned to talking to Al. It turned out later that my management team had told Greg that I was a conventional fighter when I am truthfully southpaw, which Al had noted from seeing me fight in Merrillville, Indiana, on the undercard of Donny LaLonde-Carlos Tite the previous summer. I later told Greg that I had nothing to do with that garbage. That was just management trying to act like they make a difference once two fighters are in the ring. That’s a really tricky idea, you know? So we would start the first round and he would look at me and see a southpaw stance. Cat's outta the bag now! Wow guys, that was really tricky of you; now I’m sure to win the fight! Strictly Mickey Mouse stuff.
Television crews wanted a nose-to-nose shot of me and Greg. So of course we obliged. This wasn’t my first stare down but the whole thing is just ridiculous in my view. I started cracking up, which shocked and cracked Greg up, and I had to try hard to straighten myself up for the cameras and business. If I get scared by a mean look, how in the world could I ever get into the ring and exchange punches? It’s silly.
The hours went by, and I called home and told them that this is on, get the family in front of the tube. I had every intention of winning this thing. I had no intention of caving in just because he had about 300 amateur bouts. If I could catch him and hit him hard enough, all that experience wouldn’t matter.
The stare down was much more intense in ring center than at the weigh-in session. At least now we were in the stages of marking our territory. Still, it just ends up being window dressing. The bell rang and it was easy to see that he was far and away the best boxer I had yet fought, amateur or pro. But I could stay with him. His combinations were more educated in the boxing sense and mine were a little too wide, but I was able to put him on the ropes and hit the body pretty well. His jab is what really impressed me. Short, precise, stiff. I remember how hard he was breathing through his nose and thought there is no way, if I can keep the pressure on, that he is going to last. He’s really puffing already. It was a false evaluation.
At one point I pressured him into the ropes and he was bent at the waist and slipping something and I was looking straight down at him thinking that I had him. If he moves this way, he can’t see me and I throw this; if he moves that way, I throw that and he still can’t see me. Greg stood straight up instead. The back of Greg's head, the occipital bone (I can still feel that one), slammed into my left eye socket. No cut. The impact was apparently too straight and centered. But the left eye world went black, and then a few minutes later it looked like the world does when you're crying your eyes out. There's light there but you can't make out anything at all. Not the sort of condition you want when you're in the ring with a fighter like Haugen. At that instant I felt reasonably sure my fight career was over just as it was really getting started. I wish that there was a word to describe how badly the eyeball, just the eyeball itself, can hurt when it is smashed. I don’t ever want to feel that much pain again.
I look at the film now and you can’t even tell that I’m screaming inside. I took it just like a fighter is supposed to take it—pokerfaced. At ringside, Al Bernstein told the television audience that my eye was already looking black. He assumed it was from a counterpunch. I assumed that my head was going to explode.
My crew in the corner went through their usual speech. You’ve got to throw more punches than him. This will be easy if you throw more punches. Oh and hey, one more thing: throw more punches.
Let’s be clear about something. I’m not saying I would have won on points against Greg Haugen if I hadn’t gotten my eye smashed. Greg was probably the finest "pure boxer" that I faced. In his next fight he would KO Freddie Roach, who is now familiar to boxing fans as Manny's trainer. He would knock out Chris Calvin, the Southern Rebel, who my team also represented. (They were going to show me how it was done, since I had wasted their time by looking promising and then failing to beat someone with only 11 pro fights and 300 amateur ones.) His combination punching was more educated and his defense was superior to my own. He would have won a decision from me unless I was able to land that fight changing bomb. (I was so frustrated that when he landed a big right during the eighth round that stirred up the crowd, I stuck my chin out and patted it, as if to say “go ahead, hit it again, didn’t hurt.” Totally classless on my part.)
The fight became a pattern, although I tried to put more pressure on him at the urging of my cornermen. I would pressure him but he would land the most visually compelling punches of the round, show better boxing skills and defense, and win the round. I would amp the pressure up and pound his body, but you couldn’t possibly say that Greg didn’t win that fight. Every round was the same. I would eat punches to get inside, hit the body, land an occasional shot but I would get to take a counter-punch back with me. He held my hand up too when they announced the decision in his favor, a fighter’s way of saying this guy’s a tough dude, but I was just heartbroken. I had let everyone down. Most of all myself. And I still couldn’t see out of my left eye. My career was probably over.
My vision did come back the next day, edging light through a swelled and blackened eyelid. I cried again, but not because I lost the fight. I cried because I could see, and if I could see I could fight again. I couldn’t imagine my life without boxing.
I paced the halls of the massive hotel all night. For a while I was accompanied by my promoter and manager, and my promoter's wife. My promoter admonished me for a perceived lack of effort and kept reminding me that I had just lost in front of ten million people and just made my row to hoe that much longer. But hey, don’t worry about it, he said. He would get me a career of being a last-minute replacement in other fighters’ hometowns, since no one was going to take me seriously as a contender anymore. His wife elbowed him and told him that he wasn’t helping the situation at all, but people like that aren’t prone to taking advice from their wives.
In the elevator the next morning, I found myself standing with legendary Las Vegas trainer Johnny Tocco, who had worked Greg's corner the previous night. He nodded at me in the silence. Finally, before the elevator reached the bottom floor and let us both out, he reached across and patted my shoulder. "Listen kid, somebody had to win, somebody had to lose that one. That was a tough fight. You’ll be back and you’ll be fine. He’s got an awful lot of experience, my kid has. You just have to straighten your punches up, not be so wild. You’re a damn tough kid."
It was like someone had died though. The sense of loss was heavy, all the way home, at home, training, everywhere. Visiting my parents’ house, I decided to take a training run out on the course that I had run as a fifteen year old, dreaming of being a big time pro boxer. An old high school friend's father, who was the farmer that owned cornfields that I could look out my parents’ front window and view, pulled up alongside me. He rolled down his window. "You better get your ass running faster, loser! If you don’t you might get your ass kicked again!" Then he drove away.
And that, my friends, is how you go from being a contender to a tomato can in less than an hour of your life. Fortunately, I’ve learned since then that the people who make those decisions and levy their own stern judgment on others don’t really matter anyway.
Looking back on that night in Atlantic City, I don’t feel cheated by fate or anything resembling that, and I’m proud of that kid. That was one damn fine fighter he was facing and that kid was in one hell of a lot of pain, and he didn’t show it, didn’t fold, and fought his heart out. That kid was me, and I don’t mind saying that I’m proud of him.
Jeff Bumpus boxed professionally from 1984 to 1993, compiling a record of 31-8. He lives and works in Union, Michigan.
(as published by The Boxing Historian)
In July of 1985 boxing seemed to have dried up. There were no fights on the professional horizon for me. The gym was pretty dead because all the amateur fighters had been through their tournaments until the fall. A lull had settled in.
The people that my manager and I associated with in order to obtain our fights were famous for “the midnight call.” They weren’t exactly the top agency in the business. They played a more peripheral role in the boxing world. Card falling apart? Call these guys. They can save your show. They had me and another fighter with whom they hoped to break into the upper echelon of respect in the boxing world.
ESPN's Top Rank series was at Resorts International Hotel and Casino that week and the scheduled headline bout was John Wesley Meekins of New York City vs. Greg Haugen of Auburn, Washington. Meekins was an ESPN favorite and Haugen had a solid amateur background, winning over 300 amateur fights and several Rocky Mountain Golden Glove titles.
Turns out that Meekins wasn’t going to make this date for Haugen so we were contacted. If memory serves, the bouts were on a Monday or Tuesday night. The preceding Friday night I got a phone call from my manager that went something like this: "Findem and Cheatem Enterprises called me. They want you to stay ready this weekend. I don’t know what the weight is, so don’t eat too much. They might have an ESPN fight for you. Stay ready! Some guy named Hogan." (I wondered if I would get a leg drop and he would scream "Brother!")
That was a common theme and it’s my own fault truthfully. If you aren’t a proven commodity with an extensive amateur background before anyone ever puts a dime into your career, you end up with seat-of-the-pants promotions. I started boxing as a pro at age 22 after only 20 amateur fights. Most fighters who are smooth and well-schooled have been boxing since they are ten years old. I was on a learning curve that resembled running up a mountainside.
The weekend passed with no more word from management. It appeared to be another one of those “get ready! get ready! never mind” moments. Then on Monday morning I got a call from my manager. "The flight leaves South Bend at 9:00 am. You fly to Detroit and catch another at 11:30 am. Then you fly to Philadelphia and Top Rank will pick you up there."
Fly? You mean in an airplane? I’d never even been in an airplane before and you want me to get into two different planes on the same day, with people driving who hide behind a cabin door so you can’t see them, like they are ashamed of how this is going to turn out and just close the door!?
I wasn’t afraid of flying; I was afraid of crashing. Those are two separate things. One is a jolting stop, the other is pretty smooth. Regardless, I packed my things for overnight in Atlantic City and drove to the airport in South Bend. The world's noisiest twin engine monstrosity flew me to Detroit with the Peter, Paul and Mary recording of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" constantly playing through my mind. Maybe getting punched in the head will be a good thing, I thought; it might change the song.
Detroit airport was just a hair larger than South Bend's. Just a hair. Navigate to the right gate and find the right plane so I don’t end up in Tucumcari. Hey, this is pretty cool. I can handle this.
When we landed in Philly I was now a veteran of two flights and very experienced, you see? At the bottom of the escalator was a man in a uniform holding a sign, just as I'd been told he would be. We got in the limo and I thought, this is so awesome. I’m in "Rocky’s” hometown! Right across the road from the airport, basically, was the spectrum and the colossal Veteran's Stadium. How many football games from that spot had I watched on Sunday afternoons? The limo driver kept asking me if I was comfortable and did I want the TV on, etc. You have to understand that I was about as young a 22-year old as anybody has ever been, so this was all met with wide eyes and a "Who . . . me?" kind of attitude.
We commenced the hour-long drive to Atlantic City.
Atlantic City should be divided into two parts. The boardwalk/casino areas and Atlantic City. The money is in the boardwalk. The struggle is in Atlantic City. I couldn’t get over that.
Resorts International is an immense hotel that could probably contain the entire downtown of Elkhart, Indiana in its interior. Later on, right next door, the Taj Mahal would dwarf Resorts, but at this particular time Resorts was huge. We went upstairs on the elevator to where the fighters were weighing in and being interviewed by ESPN’s Al Bernstein. The elevators opened up and there in front of me stood New Jersey state boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard.
"Hi!" I said.
Larry Hazzard looked at me as if a common human had dared to look him in the eye and speak to him directly. He turned his head to one of his lapdogs and gestured for him to take this . . . human . . . out of his eyesight. Perhaps I pained his head. The jerk didn’t say one word to me. Maybe his lapdog had forgotten to put the royal robe on his shoulders. Ah, my introduction to the big time.
I weighed in and was kind of embarrassed because I didn’t really think any of this stuff was going to come together, and here it was happening. I didn’t starve myself like my manager wanted me to, so I weighed in at 139, the highest I had ever been, but so did this kid named Greg Haugen (not Hogan.) Al Bernstein sat down with his legal pad and told me more about Greg than I had learned all the previous weekend. 300 plus amateur fights. Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves Champion. Owned amateur wins over Brett Summers, ESPN's fair-haired golden boy. Alaskan State Lightweight Champ. I would be his first television fight as a pro, of course.
Amazing how none of this information, even the correct pronunciation of his name, could be turned by my management. Maybe they thought I was going to freak. It was of no consequence; I still didn’t know who he was. I had long ago decided to go on with a pro career with the sure knowledge of my own lack of amateur experience. Truthfully, for a chance to be on Top Rank Boxing, I would have fought King Kong on top of the Empire State Building, if you spotted me a parachute.
Al interviewed Greg Haugen and from across the room I saw Greg's head snap up in shock and search my eyes out. I gave him a look like "what?", but he returned to talking to Al. It turned out later that my management team had told Greg that I was a conventional fighter when I am truthfully southpaw, which Al had noted from seeing me fight in Merrillville, Indiana, on the undercard of Donny LaLonde-Carlos Tite the previous summer. I later told Greg that I had nothing to do with that garbage. That was just management trying to act like they make a difference once two fighters are in the ring. That’s a really tricky idea, you know? So we would start the first round and he would look at me and see a southpaw stance. Cat's outta the bag now! Wow guys, that was really tricky of you; now I’m sure to win the fight! Strictly Mickey Mouse stuff.
Television crews wanted a nose-to-nose shot of me and Greg. So of course we obliged. This wasn’t my first stare down but the whole thing is just ridiculous in my view. I started cracking up, which shocked and cracked Greg up, and I had to try hard to straighten myself up for the cameras and business. If I get scared by a mean look, how in the world could I ever get into the ring and exchange punches? It’s silly.
The hours went by, and I called home and told them that this is on, get the family in front of the tube. I had every intention of winning this thing. I had no intention of caving in just because he had about 300 amateur bouts. If I could catch him and hit him hard enough, all that experience wouldn’t matter.
The stare down was much more intense in ring center than at the weigh-in session. At least now we were in the stages of marking our territory. Still, it just ends up being window dressing. The bell rang and it was easy to see that he was far and away the best boxer I had yet fought, amateur or pro. But I could stay with him. His combinations were more educated in the boxing sense and mine were a little too wide, but I was able to put him on the ropes and hit the body pretty well. His jab is what really impressed me. Short, precise, stiff. I remember how hard he was breathing through his nose and thought there is no way, if I can keep the pressure on, that he is going to last. He’s really puffing already. It was a false evaluation.
At one point I pressured him into the ropes and he was bent at the waist and slipping something and I was looking straight down at him thinking that I had him. If he moves this way, he can’t see me and I throw this; if he moves that way, I throw that and he still can’t see me. Greg stood straight up instead. The back of Greg's head, the occipital bone (I can still feel that one), slammed into my left eye socket. No cut. The impact was apparently too straight and centered. But the left eye world went black, and then a few minutes later it looked like the world does when you're crying your eyes out. There's light there but you can't make out anything at all. Not the sort of condition you want when you're in the ring with a fighter like Haugen. At that instant I felt reasonably sure my fight career was over just as it was really getting started. I wish that there was a word to describe how badly the eyeball, just the eyeball itself, can hurt when it is smashed. I don’t ever want to feel that much pain again.
I look at the film now and you can’t even tell that I’m screaming inside. I took it just like a fighter is supposed to take it—pokerfaced. At ringside, Al Bernstein told the television audience that my eye was already looking black. He assumed it was from a counterpunch. I assumed that my head was going to explode.
My crew in the corner went through their usual speech. You’ve got to throw more punches than him. This will be easy if you throw more punches. Oh and hey, one more thing: throw more punches.
Let’s be clear about something. I’m not saying I would have won on points against Greg Haugen if I hadn’t gotten my eye smashed. Greg was probably the finest "pure boxer" that I faced. In his next fight he would KO Freddie Roach, who is now familiar to boxing fans as Manny's trainer. He would knock out Chris Calvin, the Southern Rebel, who my team also represented. (They were going to show me how it was done, since I had wasted their time by looking promising and then failing to beat someone with only 11 pro fights and 300 amateur ones.) His combination punching was more educated and his defense was superior to my own. He would have won a decision from me unless I was able to land that fight changing bomb. (I was so frustrated that when he landed a big right during the eighth round that stirred up the crowd, I stuck my chin out and patted it, as if to say “go ahead, hit it again, didn’t hurt.” Totally classless on my part.)
The fight became a pattern, although I tried to put more pressure on him at the urging of my cornermen. I would pressure him but he would land the most visually compelling punches of the round, show better boxing skills and defense, and win the round. I would amp the pressure up and pound his body, but you couldn’t possibly say that Greg didn’t win that fight. Every round was the same. I would eat punches to get inside, hit the body, land an occasional shot but I would get to take a counter-punch back with me. He held my hand up too when they announced the decision in his favor, a fighter’s way of saying this guy’s a tough dude, but I was just heartbroken. I had let everyone down. Most of all myself. And I still couldn’t see out of my left eye. My career was probably over.
My vision did come back the next day, edging light through a swelled and blackened eyelid. I cried again, but not because I lost the fight. I cried because I could see, and if I could see I could fight again. I couldn’t imagine my life without boxing.
I paced the halls of the massive hotel all night. For a while I was accompanied by my promoter and manager, and my promoter's wife. My promoter admonished me for a perceived lack of effort and kept reminding me that I had just lost in front of ten million people and just made my row to hoe that much longer. But hey, don’t worry about it, he said. He would get me a career of being a last-minute replacement in other fighters’ hometowns, since no one was going to take me seriously as a contender anymore. His wife elbowed him and told him that he wasn’t helping the situation at all, but people like that aren’t prone to taking advice from their wives.
In the elevator the next morning, I found myself standing with legendary Las Vegas trainer Johnny Tocco, who had worked Greg's corner the previous night. He nodded at me in the silence. Finally, before the elevator reached the bottom floor and let us both out, he reached across and patted my shoulder. "Listen kid, somebody had to win, somebody had to lose that one. That was a tough fight. You’ll be back and you’ll be fine. He’s got an awful lot of experience, my kid has. You just have to straighten your punches up, not be so wild. You’re a damn tough kid."
It was like someone had died though. The sense of loss was heavy, all the way home, at home, training, everywhere. Visiting my parents’ house, I decided to take a training run out on the course that I had run as a fifteen year old, dreaming of being a big time pro boxer. An old high school friend's father, who was the farmer that owned cornfields that I could look out my parents’ front window and view, pulled up alongside me. He rolled down his window. "You better get your ass running faster, loser! If you don’t you might get your ass kicked again!" Then he drove away.
And that, my friends, is how you go from being a contender to a tomato can in less than an hour of your life. Fortunately, I’ve learned since then that the people who make those decisions and levy their own stern judgment on others don’t really matter anyway.
Looking back on that night in Atlantic City, I don’t feel cheated by fate or anything resembling that, and I’m proud of that kid. That was one damn fine fighter he was facing and that kid was in one hell of a lot of pain, and he didn’t show it, didn’t fold, and fought his heart out. That kid was me, and I don’t mind saying that I’m proud of him.
Jeff Bumpus boxed professionally from 1984 to 1993, compiling a record of 31-8. He lives and works in Union, Michigan.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Victory and Redemption
By Randy De La O
Antonio Margarito
What ever you thought about him, what ever you wanted to happen to him, however bad you wanted to see him fail and get his ass kicked, you’ve got to admit, he took his lickin’ like a man. Not a whimper from the man. He did the only thing he knows how to do and that is forge ahead, take punches, suck it up and punch back. It has almost always been enough. For some, Manny Pacquiao was judge, jury and executioner and the fight was divine retribution, maybe but if so, the flip side would be divine redemption. Debt paid in full.
Margarito, clearly losing the fight almost from the opening round, never stopped trying. He never ran, never hid, never looked for a way to deceive the judges. He fought and lost in the most honest and basic of ways, simply by fighting to the best of his ability against the most dominating fighter of his era.
His face was taco meat, or hamburger meat if you prefer, by the end of the fight. Pacquiao’s face also showed signs of a being in a fight. Though Pacquiao’s performance was dominating and the fight one sided, Margarito did have a few scattered moments throughout the fight and by Pacquiao‘s own admission, Margarito did hurt him on more than one occasion, especially with the left hook to the body and the uppercuts. It was just never enough.
I couldn’t help but think of Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in Martin Scoresese’s “The Raging Bull” when DeNiro as LaMotta says to Sugar Ray Robinson after the fight was stopped in the 13th round of a fight that has come to be known as “The St. Valentines Day Massacre”, You never got me down Ray, you never got me down”. Sometimes just staying on your feet is victory enough.
Manny Pacquiao
For my money, this was the first legitimate win against a bigger fighter. With just a years difference between them, there was no age advantage for Pacquiao. He was fighting a man still considered to be one of the best fighters in the world. There was no asterisk in this fight.
Going into this fight I didn’t think Manny could do it. Despite the odds I felt Margarito would be too much for him size wise. Now? Now, I don’t think the Klitscho Brothers, on the same night would be too much for him. Pacquiao has proven himself to be as good as any fighter in history. There is no denying it. His name belongs with the best; Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Benny Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Alexis Arguello, Aaron Pryor and Henry Armstrong. Each and every one of them would have had their hands full with the Filipino sensation, Manny Pacquiao.
That he was able to withstand the punches of a man that had a 17 pound weight advantage is nothing short of remarkable. It’s easy to believe that it all comes easy for him but listening to Pacquiao after the fight when he was being interviewed by Jim Lampley, you could sense the tiredness, the weariness that comes from giving your all. Along with his great skills and endurance it is Pacquiao’s tremendous heart that wins the fights for him. Manny Pacquiao refused to lose and always finds a way to win.
If it’s true that the whole world loves a winner, than it’s also true that we love a guy that can take what he’s got coming to him.
Antonio Margarito
What ever you thought about him, what ever you wanted to happen to him, however bad you wanted to see him fail and get his ass kicked, you’ve got to admit, he took his lickin’ like a man. Not a whimper from the man. He did the only thing he knows how to do and that is forge ahead, take punches, suck it up and punch back. It has almost always been enough. For some, Manny Pacquiao was judge, jury and executioner and the fight was divine retribution, maybe but if so, the flip side would be divine redemption. Debt paid in full.
Margarito, clearly losing the fight almost from the opening round, never stopped trying. He never ran, never hid, never looked for a way to deceive the judges. He fought and lost in the most honest and basic of ways, simply by fighting to the best of his ability against the most dominating fighter of his era.
His face was taco meat, or hamburger meat if you prefer, by the end of the fight. Pacquiao’s face also showed signs of a being in a fight. Though Pacquiao’s performance was dominating and the fight one sided, Margarito did have a few scattered moments throughout the fight and by Pacquiao‘s own admission, Margarito did hurt him on more than one occasion, especially with the left hook to the body and the uppercuts. It was just never enough.
I couldn’t help but think of Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in Martin Scoresese’s “The Raging Bull” when DeNiro as LaMotta says to Sugar Ray Robinson after the fight was stopped in the 13th round of a fight that has come to be known as “The St. Valentines Day Massacre”, You never got me down Ray, you never got me down”. Sometimes just staying on your feet is victory enough.
Manny Pacquiao
For my money, this was the first legitimate win against a bigger fighter. With just a years difference between them, there was no age advantage for Pacquiao. He was fighting a man still considered to be one of the best fighters in the world. There was no asterisk in this fight.
Going into this fight I didn’t think Manny could do it. Despite the odds I felt Margarito would be too much for him size wise. Now? Now, I don’t think the Klitscho Brothers, on the same night would be too much for him. Pacquiao has proven himself to be as good as any fighter in history. There is no denying it. His name belongs with the best; Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Benny Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Alexis Arguello, Aaron Pryor and Henry Armstrong. Each and every one of them would have had their hands full with the Filipino sensation, Manny Pacquiao.
That he was able to withstand the punches of a man that had a 17 pound weight advantage is nothing short of remarkable. It’s easy to believe that it all comes easy for him but listening to Pacquiao after the fight when he was being interviewed by Jim Lampley, you could sense the tiredness, the weariness that comes from giving your all. Along with his great skills and endurance it is Pacquiao’s tremendous heart that wins the fights for him. Manny Pacquiao refused to lose and always finds a way to win.
If it’s true that the whole world loves a winner, than it’s also true that we love a guy that can take what he’s got coming to him.
Friday, November 12, 2010
MEMORIES....
By Frank Baltazar
Circa 1993 I was at Laidlaw's Harley-Davidson store in Rosemead, Ca. on a Saturday morning. Laidlaw's was where my biker friends and I used to hang out on Saturday mornings. My friend Tony Barron who was about 65 years old at the time was telling me about his plans for the future.
"What future?, Tony, shit!, at our age all we have is fu*king memories!," I told him
After spending a few hours there I went home, no sooner did I get home when the phone rang, it was Tony's wife Yolanda, who has since passed.
"Frank!, what did you do to my Tony?" she was laughing her ass off.
"Nothing Yolanda, why?" I answer her.
"He came home all depressed, I asked him what was wrong, and he told me', "you know what Frank told me?, that all we have is fu*king memories"
After I told Connie the story, she told me, "You are an a-hole"...
Circa 1993 I was at Laidlaw's Harley-Davidson store in Rosemead, Ca. on a Saturday morning. Laidlaw's was where my biker friends and I used to hang out on Saturday mornings. My friend Tony Barron who was about 65 years old at the time was telling me about his plans for the future.
"What future?, Tony, shit!, at our age all we have is fu*king memories!," I told him
After spending a few hours there I went home, no sooner did I get home when the phone rang, it was Tony's wife Yolanda, who has since passed.
"Frank!, what did you do to my Tony?" she was laughing her ass off.
"Nothing Yolanda, why?" I answer her.
"He came home all depressed, I asked him what was wrong, and he told me', "you know what Frank told me?, that all we have is fu*king memories"
After I told Connie the story, she told me, "You are an a-hole"...
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Valley of the Sun . . .
By Rick Farris
I remember this time of year in Phoenix, after the heat of summer had subsided.
It was my favorite time of year Az.
With the Baltazar's in the Valley of the Sun, it brings back memories of my living there a few years back.
I'd come to Phoenix in early 1999. I didn't expect to stay three years, but I was at a crossroads in life and living day-to-day.
I didn't know anybody in Arizona, so on my first Sunday in town I drive from where I was staying in Chandler to dowtown Phoenix.
I was looking for something familiar, something I could relate to. I was 47-years-old, and I was lost.
I actually remember saying a little prayer as I drove thru the State Capitol. "Dear Lord, please help me find a boxing gym . . ."
Less than a minute after I prayed, my prayer was answered. This is a true story.
As I drive down Van Buren Street, near 18th Ave. I see an old brick building standing by itself.
There was a big sign hanging above the front door, "The Madison Square Garden Boxing Gym'.
It was Sunday morning and there weren't many people on the street, just one car parked in the lot next to the gym.
I drove past the building and then made a quick U-turn into the parking lot.
I was excited when I stepped out of my car. I didn't expect there would be anybody in the gym, but I'd found what I was looking for.
The building had been a boxing gym for years, likely one of the oldest establishments in the area.
Although I hadn't seen the inside of the gym, something gave the feel of an "old school" boxing gym.
I firgured I'd go in, introduce myself, and offer to help work with their boxers in exchange for a place to workout.
I knew what to do in a boxing gym, I was at home, even if I didn't know the people, I felt in a comfortable place.
As I approached the front door it suddenly opened and a heavy set man stepped out, locked the door, and turned to leave.
I called out to the man as he walked toward his car in the lot.
"Hey, do you work here?" I asked.
The man, a stocky Latino with a full head of silver hair and a beard, about sixty-years old, turned to face me.
He looked me up and down and then answered, "Yes. This is my gym." He reminded me of my first trainer, Manuel Diaz.
I extended my hand, "Hi, I'm Rick Farris. I used to box professionally out of Los Angeles."
The man shook my hand and introduced himself as Richard Rodriguez. "I can tell you were a boxer by the way you walk."
I didn't know how to take that, I didn't know you could spot a boxer by his walk, but I took that as a compliment.
"What can I do for you?" Rodriguez asked.
I told him that I was looking for a place to workout. That I'd be willing to help him work with his boxers, amateurs or pros, in exchange for a place to hit the bags, etc. Without blinking an eye, Richard Rodriguez answered, "OK. Be here tomorrow at 4pm."
The nex day I showed up before 4pm. I came in workout gear but I was focused on working with the boxers.
When I stepped inside the gym for the first time I truly felt I was in the right place. I was.
Richard immediaty led me over to a 12-year-old kid, "This is Juan, today is his first day. Teach him." He then just walked away.
I looked at the skinny 12-year-old, a good looking kid whose head came up to my shoulders.
It was his first day in the gym and Richard Rodriguez had turned him over to my care.
The boy's father, Rogelio, walked over to me and introduced himself. I could smell alcohol on his breath.
I could tell the man loved his son, and he loved boxing. He and I began to talk boxing, he told me he had once lived in L.A.
After ten minutes of talk about L.A. boxing, Rogelio was confident his son was in good hands. I wanted to prove him right.
I took Juan up into the ring and we started with some talk. "Are you right or left-handed?
I then put him thru exact same paces that Johnny Flores had put me thru more than three decades earlier.
The kid was smart, repsectful, and I would soon learn, blessed with a pair of heavy hands.
Some guys are "born punchers". Everybody who has boxed learns this.
It has a lot to do with technique, timing, etc. but real punchers are born that way.
When we finished, Juan's dad and I agreed to meet the next day at the same time.
I felt good, I could now give back some of the things that a few special men had shared with me.
This is what I owed boxing, what I owed myself.
As I left the gym that day I stopped into Rodriguez office in the front of the gym.
"How'd he do?" Rodriguez asked.
"He did good. I like that kid, he's going to be a good of he continues." I believed that.
As I sat talking with Rodrigues, he introduced me to his youngest son, Ricky Ricardo Rodriguez, who was also a trainer. Ricky was about ten years younger than me. Like his father, he so reminded me of the men that worked with kids back when I was starting out. I thought of Johnny Flores, Frank Baltazar, Jake Horn, and so on. Something told me I was in the right place. For what? I don't know, but I belonged there.
Sitting in front of Richard's desk I looked at all the boxing memorabelia hanging on the walls, photos, gloves, posters. I looked over some ancient posters of bouts that had taken place in Phoenix during the fifties, featuring boxers such as Don Fullmer, Manny Elias and . . . wait a minute, Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar!
Right behind Rodriguez's desk was a poster advertising a main event that had taken place about five years previous in Phoenix . . . Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar vs. Jose Roberto Lopez.
When I saw the name Tony Baltazar, I got excited and told Richard that I knew the enitre Baltazar family in L.A.
Richard smiled and remembered the fight featured on the poster, "Oh yeah, he flattened Lopez in less a round. Big left hook"
When I asked Richard if he knew Tony, his son Ricky Ricardo spoke up, "I know Tony. He used to train with Danny Carbajal at the 16th St. Gym in the barrio".
As I left the gym that day I thanked God for answering my prayers, and doing so as quickly and magicaly has possible.
I felt an instant friendship with the Rodriguez, and to assure me I was in the right place, had been placed before an old boxing poster that connected me with my beginning days in boxing.
In due course, I'll continue this memory. Reading about the Baltazar's in Phoenix, brought it to mind.
I remember this time of year in Phoenix, after the heat of summer had subsided.
It was my favorite time of year Az.
With the Baltazar's in the Valley of the Sun, it brings back memories of my living there a few years back.
I'd come to Phoenix in early 1999. I didn't expect to stay three years, but I was at a crossroads in life and living day-to-day.
I didn't know anybody in Arizona, so on my first Sunday in town I drive from where I was staying in Chandler to dowtown Phoenix.
I was looking for something familiar, something I could relate to. I was 47-years-old, and I was lost.
I actually remember saying a little prayer as I drove thru the State Capitol. "Dear Lord, please help me find a boxing gym . . ."
Less than a minute after I prayed, my prayer was answered. This is a true story.
As I drive down Van Buren Street, near 18th Ave. I see an old brick building standing by itself.
There was a big sign hanging above the front door, "The Madison Square Garden Boxing Gym'.
It was Sunday morning and there weren't many people on the street, just one car parked in the lot next to the gym.
I drove past the building and then made a quick U-turn into the parking lot.
I was excited when I stepped out of my car. I didn't expect there would be anybody in the gym, but I'd found what I was looking for.
The building had been a boxing gym for years, likely one of the oldest establishments in the area.
Although I hadn't seen the inside of the gym, something gave the feel of an "old school" boxing gym.
I firgured I'd go in, introduce myself, and offer to help work with their boxers in exchange for a place to workout.
I knew what to do in a boxing gym, I was at home, even if I didn't know the people, I felt in a comfortable place.
As I approached the front door it suddenly opened and a heavy set man stepped out, locked the door, and turned to leave.
I called out to the man as he walked toward his car in the lot.
"Hey, do you work here?" I asked.
The man, a stocky Latino with a full head of silver hair and a beard, about sixty-years old, turned to face me.
He looked me up and down and then answered, "Yes. This is my gym." He reminded me of my first trainer, Manuel Diaz.
I extended my hand, "Hi, I'm Rick Farris. I used to box professionally out of Los Angeles."
The man shook my hand and introduced himself as Richard Rodriguez. "I can tell you were a boxer by the way you walk."
I didn't know how to take that, I didn't know you could spot a boxer by his walk, but I took that as a compliment.
"What can I do for you?" Rodriguez asked.
I told him that I was looking for a place to workout. That I'd be willing to help him work with his boxers, amateurs or pros, in exchange for a place to hit the bags, etc. Without blinking an eye, Richard Rodriguez answered, "OK. Be here tomorrow at 4pm."
The nex day I showed up before 4pm. I came in workout gear but I was focused on working with the boxers.
When I stepped inside the gym for the first time I truly felt I was in the right place. I was.
Richard immediaty led me over to a 12-year-old kid, "This is Juan, today is his first day. Teach him." He then just walked away.
I looked at the skinny 12-year-old, a good looking kid whose head came up to my shoulders.
It was his first day in the gym and Richard Rodriguez had turned him over to my care.
The boy's father, Rogelio, walked over to me and introduced himself. I could smell alcohol on his breath.
I could tell the man loved his son, and he loved boxing. He and I began to talk boxing, he told me he had once lived in L.A.
After ten minutes of talk about L.A. boxing, Rogelio was confident his son was in good hands. I wanted to prove him right.
I took Juan up into the ring and we started with some talk. "Are you right or left-handed?
I then put him thru exact same paces that Johnny Flores had put me thru more than three decades earlier.
The kid was smart, repsectful, and I would soon learn, blessed with a pair of heavy hands.
Some guys are "born punchers". Everybody who has boxed learns this.
It has a lot to do with technique, timing, etc. but real punchers are born that way.
When we finished, Juan's dad and I agreed to meet the next day at the same time.
I felt good, I could now give back some of the things that a few special men had shared with me.
This is what I owed boxing, what I owed myself.
As I left the gym that day I stopped into Rodriguez office in the front of the gym.
"How'd he do?" Rodriguez asked.
"He did good. I like that kid, he's going to be a good of he continues." I believed that.
As I sat talking with Rodrigues, he introduced me to his youngest son, Ricky Ricardo Rodriguez, who was also a trainer. Ricky was about ten years younger than me. Like his father, he so reminded me of the men that worked with kids back when I was starting out. I thought of Johnny Flores, Frank Baltazar, Jake Horn, and so on. Something told me I was in the right place. For what? I don't know, but I belonged there.
Sitting in front of Richard's desk I looked at all the boxing memorabelia hanging on the walls, photos, gloves, posters. I looked over some ancient posters of bouts that had taken place in Phoenix during the fifties, featuring boxers such as Don Fullmer, Manny Elias and . . . wait a minute, Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar!
Right behind Rodriguez's desk was a poster advertising a main event that had taken place about five years previous in Phoenix . . . Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar vs. Jose Roberto Lopez.
When I saw the name Tony Baltazar, I got excited and told Richard that I knew the enitre Baltazar family in L.A.
Richard smiled and remembered the fight featured on the poster, "Oh yeah, he flattened Lopez in less a round. Big left hook"
When I asked Richard if he knew Tony, his son Ricky Ricardo spoke up, "I know Tony. He used to train with Danny Carbajal at the 16th St. Gym in the barrio".
As I left the gym that day I thanked God for answering my prayers, and doing so as quickly and magicaly has possible.
I felt an instant friendship with the Rodriguez, and to assure me I was in the right place, had been placed before an old boxing poster that connected me with my beginning days in boxing.
In due course, I'll continue this memory. Reading about the Baltazar's in Phoenix, brought it to mind.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Don Fraser
By Hap Navarro
Close enough, Rick. Fraser was about 24 when he got the Legion job in essence replacing me as boxing publicist because I had been named head matchmaker and that created the opening. He stayed with the Legion for a few years under Jack Leonard before moving on to the Olympic
The photo you mentioned at Soprs was taken at a press party I hosted for the upcoming Willie Vaughn vs Charlie Green state title match which got a few votes for Fight of the Year from the media even though I had already resigned
The Vaughn Green fight was one of the greatest upsets in Legion history, as Willie got off the floor twice as a ten to one underdog to win a unanimous decision over hard hitting Green.
Take care pal, hap navarro.
Close enough, Rick. Fraser was about 24 when he got the Legion job in essence replacing me as boxing publicist because I had been named head matchmaker and that created the opening. He stayed with the Legion for a few years under Jack Leonard before moving on to the Olympic
The photo you mentioned at Soprs was taken at a press party I hosted for the upcoming Willie Vaughn vs Charlie Green state title match which got a few votes for Fight of the Year from the media even though I had already resigned
The Vaughn Green fight was one of the greatest upsets in Legion history, as Willie got off the floor twice as a ten to one underdog to win a unanimous decision over hard hitting Green.
Take care pal, hap navarro.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tony Baltazar
My son Tony was hit by a truck as he was riding his bike to work yesterday (10-29-10), he is in the hospital with six broken ribs a right broken knee, he is in surgery as I type this....
Don Fraser
By Rick Farris
Don Fraser was the chief of publicity for the Hollywood Legion Stadium in his late 20's, and held the same position for the Olympic during his 30's, and the same for the Forum Boxing Club in his 40's.
Some might find that unimportant, but I'm putting together a story on Don, and I'm uncovering some interesting things. I remember a photo of a baby-face Fraser holding a microphone up to Hollywood Legion matchmaker, Hap Navarro, while visiting training camp, Sopers?. I believe the interview was related to a match featuring Willie Bean? I have always been fond of Hap's memories of Don Fraser & Don Chargin. They were all young men in those days, including Mr. Navarro, whose recall and boxing history is brilliant.
Don Fraser was the chief of publicity for the Hollywood Legion Stadium in his late 20's, and held the same position for the Olympic during his 30's, and the same for the Forum Boxing Club in his 40's.
Some might find that unimportant, but I'm putting together a story on Don, and I'm uncovering some interesting things. I remember a photo of a baby-face Fraser holding a microphone up to Hollywood Legion matchmaker, Hap Navarro, while visiting training camp, Sopers?. I believe the interview was related to a match featuring Willie Bean? I have always been fond of Hap's memories of Don Fraser & Don Chargin. They were all young men in those days, including Mr. Navarro, whose recall and boxing history is brilliant.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
George Parnassus
By Rick Farris
George Parnassus was one of the top promoters in boxing history. He expanded the range of boxing venues and saw the value in promoting fighters in the smaller weight classes. Born in Methone, Greece in 1897, Parnassus followed his brother to the United States in 1916 and first found work as a waiter and dishwasher. Eventually, he and his brother saved enough money to purchase a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. The restaurant happened to be located across the street from a fight gym. Legend has it that the fighters began running up unpaid bills at the restaurant, and Parnassus began managing them to settle the debts.
As a manager, Parnassus had great success with Mexican boxers, such as lightweight champ Juan Zurita, Enrique Bolanos, bantamweight champ Raton Macias, and Jose Beccera. In the late 1950s, Parnassus moved from managing to matchmaking and promoting. In 1957 he became the matchmaker for the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Parnassus's shrewd matchmaking ability helped save the Olympic from financial ruin.
Parnassus believed that good boxing matches would draw fans and make money. Therefore, he excelled in matching fighters in smaller weight classes when his rivals were concentrating on the heavyweights. He promoted a bantamweight title bout between Jose Beccera and Alphonse Halimi and a junior welterweight championship match between Carlos Ortiz and Battling Torres on the same card at the massive Los Angeles Coliseum, which had not previously been used for boxing. The event was a huge success and gave Parnassus a well-deserved reputation as one of the greatest promoters in the world.
In the 1960s, Parnassus staged fights in such diverse locales as Wales, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Italy, and England. During this period, Parnassus helped establish and finance the World Boxing Council (WBC), which became a top international sanctioning body. Starting in 1966, Parnassus staged successful bouts in Jack Kent Cooke's new venue, The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles. Ruben Olivares and Jose Napoles were his top draws during this period.
Throughout his career, Parnassus always aimed for top quality shows. He declared, "The thing is not to be the richest promoter in the world, but to be the best." His honesty and fairness were highly valued in professional boxing. Parnassus died of a heart attack in 1975.
George Parnassus was one of the top promoters in boxing history. He expanded the range of boxing venues and saw the value in promoting fighters in the smaller weight classes. Born in Methone, Greece in 1897, Parnassus followed his brother to the United States in 1916 and first found work as a waiter and dishwasher. Eventually, he and his brother saved enough money to purchase a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. The restaurant happened to be located across the street from a fight gym. Legend has it that the fighters began running up unpaid bills at the restaurant, and Parnassus began managing them to settle the debts.
As a manager, Parnassus had great success with Mexican boxers, such as lightweight champ Juan Zurita, Enrique Bolanos, bantamweight champ Raton Macias, and Jose Beccera. In the late 1950s, Parnassus moved from managing to matchmaking and promoting. In 1957 he became the matchmaker for the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Parnassus's shrewd matchmaking ability helped save the Olympic from financial ruin.
Parnassus believed that good boxing matches would draw fans and make money. Therefore, he excelled in matching fighters in smaller weight classes when his rivals were concentrating on the heavyweights. He promoted a bantamweight title bout between Jose Beccera and Alphonse Halimi and a junior welterweight championship match between Carlos Ortiz and Battling Torres on the same card at the massive Los Angeles Coliseum, which had not previously been used for boxing. The event was a huge success and gave Parnassus a well-deserved reputation as one of the greatest promoters in the world.
In the 1960s, Parnassus staged fights in such diverse locales as Wales, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Italy, and England. During this period, Parnassus helped establish and finance the World Boxing Council (WBC), which became a top international sanctioning body. Starting in 1966, Parnassus staged successful bouts in Jack Kent Cooke's new venue, The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles. Ruben Olivares and Jose Napoles were his top draws during this period.
Throughout his career, Parnassus always aimed for top quality shows. He declared, "The thing is not to be the richest promoter in the world, but to be the best." His honesty and fairness were highly valued in professional boxing. Parnassus died of a heart attack in 1975.
Roger Mayweather
By Bennie
Roger Mayweather will never be someone to make any bones about the person he is or the life he has lived. A former two-time world champion and current day trainer to his nephew Floyd, one of this generation’s finest talents, Roger's unique nature comes from his brazen mentality and unwillingness to conform to anything other than his own morals.
The 49-year old trainer is scheduled for criminal trial tomorrow for felony charges that he physically assaulted his former female fighter Melissa St. Vil in a Las Vegas condominium in August of last year. After the altercation Mayweather was arrested and charged with a single count of coercion and a follow up charge of battery with strangulation. If convicted, Mayweather could face up to ten years in prison.
While those unsettling facts would present a heavy cloud over most people’s heads, Mayweather seemed completely care free as he spoke about his life earlier this month inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club five minutes west of the strip in Las Vegas. Getting deep on several topics, Roger and I discussed his latest pupil Tim Coleman, working with Floyd over the years, his personal career as a fighter, the influence of money, and whether or not he has any fears whatsoever in his life with such a daunting task in front of him.
Candidly as always, this is what Roger had to say…
What’s next for Tim Coleman…
“I think he is going to fight the guy who used to be the WBO champion at 140 pounds. Kendall Holt. It’s a good fight for him actually. Tim has four knockouts but he’s a better puncher than he knows. Because whoever trains him, they don’t know how to get the best out of a fighter. That’s what makes a fighter; how you train. It’s how you train. That’s all there is to it.”
A slew of champions…
“I trained Vernon Forrest to go to the Olympics. I trained Laila Ali. I loved Muhammad Ali and when I trained Laila she won four championships with me. Obviously I’ve trained my nephew. I worked with Joan Guzman. It was no big thing to me. I can work with anybody. I’ve worked with Hasim Rahman. It aint nothing for me to work with a fighter anyways.”
Why Floyd is different…
“What makes Floyd different than the fighters I trained before him? First off, Floyd is my nephew so Floyd is my blood. Of course, since he’s my nephew I want the best for him more than I want the best for anybody. Because the best that he is going to be, the more it is going to benefit me.”
Floyd’s future…
“I’ve seen Floyd everyday. He’s doing OK. I can’t see why [he wouldn’t fight again]. He’s still young. No matter what people say, they want to see Floyd fight Pacquiao. They don’t want to see Floyd fight Martinez or those other guys because those guys don’t bring anything to the table.”
An interesting take on Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams II…
“It’s about making money. Whatever makes money, makes sense. And neither one of them dudes are popular. Because neither guy is popular and that’s what makes money. That’s what you are in the sport for. You aren’t in the sport to fight a fight that doesn’t make sense.”
Shane Mosley’s issues with weight in his draw with Sergio Mora…
“Shane Mosley fought way out of his weight class. That’s the only reason he didn’t perform the way he would have performed. He was fighting a due who was a 157 pounds; that’s too far from his weight class. Three of the last great fighters to ever transition out of their weight class and win titles. Number one is Sugar Ray Leonard. Number two is Robert Duran. Number three is Tommy Hearns. And before them it was Henry Armstrong. Well my nephew too. Skills pay the bills when you start talking about fighting in different weight classes. It aint just power, you need skills.”
The transition to training…
“I knew all about boxing when I was an itty bitty kid. I trained boxers when I was a kid myself. I was thirteen years old and I knew how to hold mitts then. I was doing that shit when I was thirteen years old. That’s when I knew when my career in boxing was over what I would be doing. I knew how to train anyways. That was natural to me. I was doing it since I was a kid and it was basically easy for me to make a transition from boxing to a trainer. I knew I wasn’t going to be no doctor.”
Early professional career…
“By the time I had won the world championship, do you know how many world rated guys I had beat? I fought dudes with way more fights than me. The thing about it, I beat four world rated top fighters in the world. I didn’t even have ten fights yet. Then my first fight that I fought for a title was an ESPN Nevada State championship against Carlton Sparrow. He was 18-1 and I was 8-0. Then I came back fought Ruben Munoz. He was number two in the world. I fought him at lightweight even though I was a junior lightweight.
Conquering Las Vegas…
“Understand this about boxing. Here’s what I came out here to do. I came out here because I was born to fight. I came out here because I wanted to fight. I came out here because aint nobody tell me I wasn’t going to be champion of the world. I knew I was going to be a champion. That’s why I came out here. In the first year I started boxing, I won about three titles before I ever won the world championship. I would never come this far, come way over and have no belief in myself. The reason why I came to Las Vegas was because I was going to do what I already told you I was going to do from the beginning.
Seeing the city change…
“It’s changed. When I came to box here there weren’t so many fighters coming to Las Vegas that I knew from pretty much the Midwest and places like that. Once I got out here I started seeing changes. I started seeing more people come here from Midwest to box. I see more of that now as opposed to when I came out here.”
No regrets…
“I could have done some things different. As I got older I played around more. I didn’t it as serious as I could have. When you get fame and success, everything comes with fame and success. Certain things happen. That’s because you believe you are better than what you really are. But I don’t look back and say I have regrets about what I have done because what I have done, most people in a lifetime are never going to do. I don’t back and say ‘I could have done this’. I fought damn near twenty of the best fighters in the world. Even if I never won a world championship I still would be blessed because when I walked out of the ring I walked out unhurt. I aint got no brain injury. I know my name. I can take care of my own business. I don’t need nobody to help me walk or help me talk. These are the greatest things to me that I’ve benefited from through being in boxing. I did what I was supposed to do. I came out here to be a world champion and that’s what I became.”
Wasting money…
“I did all of that. I had seventeen cars in my front yard. Who is going to drive seventeen cars? You don’t realize that when you are younger. As you get older you realize what you are doing. You buy the car because you had the money. My manager told me, he said ‘Do you see how many cars I have in my front yard?’. My manager was a millionaire. People damn near couldn’t park in my yard, there was no room. He asked me what I was going to do with all those cars, because I could only drive one at time. I was just young. You know what they say? When you’re young, you’re dumb. As I moved on I realized that there was a lot of money that was wasted.”
What it’s all about…
“I don’t fear life because I already know that life has its certain ways. You’re going to live and you’re doing to die. My main thing in life, what I’ve contributed to life, is my kids. Because whatever I had, my kids are going to inherit. I hope I made great decisions as to what I wanted in life so when I leave that my child will not look back and say ‘Oh, my daddy didn’t do this’ or ‘My daddy didn’t do that’. I believe I have done the right things for my children. And I believe I’ve done the right things in putting things away from them to be happy when I was gone. That’s what is important to me. It’s not about no titles, it’s about life. Remember, when you’re fighting it’s one thing. When you’re not fighting it’s another thing. You live life like anybody else and you have to look out and see what plans did you have for your child? I’m not going to worry about that because I know what they are going to have when I leave. I put it there for them to have. Not to spend, to have. That’s what it’s about.”
Roger Mayweather will never be someone to make any bones about the person he is or the life he has lived. A former two-time world champion and current day trainer to his nephew Floyd, one of this generation’s finest talents, Roger's unique nature comes from his brazen mentality and unwillingness to conform to anything other than his own morals.
The 49-year old trainer is scheduled for criminal trial tomorrow for felony charges that he physically assaulted his former female fighter Melissa St. Vil in a Las Vegas condominium in August of last year. After the altercation Mayweather was arrested and charged with a single count of coercion and a follow up charge of battery with strangulation. If convicted, Mayweather could face up to ten years in prison.
While those unsettling facts would present a heavy cloud over most people’s heads, Mayweather seemed completely care free as he spoke about his life earlier this month inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club five minutes west of the strip in Las Vegas. Getting deep on several topics, Roger and I discussed his latest pupil Tim Coleman, working with Floyd over the years, his personal career as a fighter, the influence of money, and whether or not he has any fears whatsoever in his life with such a daunting task in front of him.
Candidly as always, this is what Roger had to say…
What’s next for Tim Coleman…
“I think he is going to fight the guy who used to be the WBO champion at 140 pounds. Kendall Holt. It’s a good fight for him actually. Tim has four knockouts but he’s a better puncher than he knows. Because whoever trains him, they don’t know how to get the best out of a fighter. That’s what makes a fighter; how you train. It’s how you train. That’s all there is to it.”
A slew of champions…
“I trained Vernon Forrest to go to the Olympics. I trained Laila Ali. I loved Muhammad Ali and when I trained Laila she won four championships with me. Obviously I’ve trained my nephew. I worked with Joan Guzman. It was no big thing to me. I can work with anybody. I’ve worked with Hasim Rahman. It aint nothing for me to work with a fighter anyways.”
Why Floyd is different…
“What makes Floyd different than the fighters I trained before him? First off, Floyd is my nephew so Floyd is my blood. Of course, since he’s my nephew I want the best for him more than I want the best for anybody. Because the best that he is going to be, the more it is going to benefit me.”
Floyd’s future…
“I’ve seen Floyd everyday. He’s doing OK. I can’t see why [he wouldn’t fight again]. He’s still young. No matter what people say, they want to see Floyd fight Pacquiao. They don’t want to see Floyd fight Martinez or those other guys because those guys don’t bring anything to the table.”
An interesting take on Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams II…
“It’s about making money. Whatever makes money, makes sense. And neither one of them dudes are popular. Because neither guy is popular and that’s what makes money. That’s what you are in the sport for. You aren’t in the sport to fight a fight that doesn’t make sense.”
Shane Mosley’s issues with weight in his draw with Sergio Mora…
“Shane Mosley fought way out of his weight class. That’s the only reason he didn’t perform the way he would have performed. He was fighting a due who was a 157 pounds; that’s too far from his weight class. Three of the last great fighters to ever transition out of their weight class and win titles. Number one is Sugar Ray Leonard. Number two is Robert Duran. Number three is Tommy Hearns. And before them it was Henry Armstrong. Well my nephew too. Skills pay the bills when you start talking about fighting in different weight classes. It aint just power, you need skills.”
The transition to training…
“I knew all about boxing when I was an itty bitty kid. I trained boxers when I was a kid myself. I was thirteen years old and I knew how to hold mitts then. I was doing that shit when I was thirteen years old. That’s when I knew when my career in boxing was over what I would be doing. I knew how to train anyways. That was natural to me. I was doing it since I was a kid and it was basically easy for me to make a transition from boxing to a trainer. I knew I wasn’t going to be no doctor.”
Early professional career…
“By the time I had won the world championship, do you know how many world rated guys I had beat? I fought dudes with way more fights than me. The thing about it, I beat four world rated top fighters in the world. I didn’t even have ten fights yet. Then my first fight that I fought for a title was an ESPN Nevada State championship against Carlton Sparrow. He was 18-1 and I was 8-0. Then I came back fought Ruben Munoz. He was number two in the world. I fought him at lightweight even though I was a junior lightweight.
Conquering Las Vegas…
“Understand this about boxing. Here’s what I came out here to do. I came out here because I was born to fight. I came out here because I wanted to fight. I came out here because aint nobody tell me I wasn’t going to be champion of the world. I knew I was going to be a champion. That’s why I came out here. In the first year I started boxing, I won about three titles before I ever won the world championship. I would never come this far, come way over and have no belief in myself. The reason why I came to Las Vegas was because I was going to do what I already told you I was going to do from the beginning.
Seeing the city change…
“It’s changed. When I came to box here there weren’t so many fighters coming to Las Vegas that I knew from pretty much the Midwest and places like that. Once I got out here I started seeing changes. I started seeing more people come here from Midwest to box. I see more of that now as opposed to when I came out here.”
No regrets…
“I could have done some things different. As I got older I played around more. I didn’t it as serious as I could have. When you get fame and success, everything comes with fame and success. Certain things happen. That’s because you believe you are better than what you really are. But I don’t look back and say I have regrets about what I have done because what I have done, most people in a lifetime are never going to do. I don’t back and say ‘I could have done this’. I fought damn near twenty of the best fighters in the world. Even if I never won a world championship I still would be blessed because when I walked out of the ring I walked out unhurt. I aint got no brain injury. I know my name. I can take care of my own business. I don’t need nobody to help me walk or help me talk. These are the greatest things to me that I’ve benefited from through being in boxing. I did what I was supposed to do. I came out here to be a world champion and that’s what I became.”
Wasting money…
“I did all of that. I had seventeen cars in my front yard. Who is going to drive seventeen cars? You don’t realize that when you are younger. As you get older you realize what you are doing. You buy the car because you had the money. My manager told me, he said ‘Do you see how many cars I have in my front yard?’. My manager was a millionaire. People damn near couldn’t park in my yard, there was no room. He asked me what I was going to do with all those cars, because I could only drive one at time. I was just young. You know what they say? When you’re young, you’re dumb. As I moved on I realized that there was a lot of money that was wasted.”
What it’s all about…
“I don’t fear life because I already know that life has its certain ways. You’re going to live and you’re doing to die. My main thing in life, what I’ve contributed to life, is my kids. Because whatever I had, my kids are going to inherit. I hope I made great decisions as to what I wanted in life so when I leave that my child will not look back and say ‘Oh, my daddy didn’t do this’ or ‘My daddy didn’t do that’. I believe I have done the right things for my children. And I believe I’ve done the right things in putting things away from them to be happy when I was gone. That’s what is important to me. It’s not about no titles, it’s about life. Remember, when you’re fighting it’s one thing. When you’re not fighting it’s another thing. You live life like anybody else and you have to look out and see what plans did you have for your child? I’m not going to worry about that because I know what they are going to have when I leave. I put it there for them to have. Not to spend, to have. That’s what it’s about.”
Thursday, October 21, 2010
David Haye
By Bennie
David Haye no longer fears 12 rounds. The right-hand-happy cruiserweight who punched himself out against Carl Thompson developed strength and strength of character as he filled out to heavyweight a couple of years ago. All of a sudden the gangling youngster looked different, all of a sudden the 30-year-old Haye was different, and he chased off a Russian behemoth by the name of Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight title last year in Germany, wobbling Valuev in the 12th and last round with a big left hook and taking a unanimous decision. The new David Haye had arrived.
Audley Harrison landed his own big left in the 12th and last round to win the European heavyweight title against Michael Sprott earlier this year in London. The new Audley Harrison? 'Oh yes,' say his long-suffering fans, when we had a virtual replica of Harrison's infamous 12-rounder with Julius Francis many moons ago (and there was more than one moon on the night) as Harrison waited and waited to pull the trigger, then waited some more. Southpaw Harrison only unloaded when he was sure his opponent posed absolutely no threat to him, flooring an overweight, exhausted Francis in the final round to seal a snoozefest of a decision and flattening the tired little Sprott to seal a knockout and a shot at Haye on November 13 in Manchester. Be careful what you wish for.
Harrison, who is 39 next week, faces a man who no longer grows tired, who no longer relies on just the big right hand, who no longer wants to be friends. David Haye is the heavyweight champion of the world and this, for him, is another annoying, marking-time affair like his 10-round stoppage of John Ruiz in Manchester in April, when Haye refused to allow a notorious stinker in the Harrison mould do his thing, busting up the challenger, flooring him four times and punching him to a slow standstill.
I can see the same happening next month. Harrison will run and run and run (he calls it boxing) as Haye picks the big shots, floors him every time he gets through, and forces a stoppage in the middle rounds after yet another knockdown.
David Haye no longer fears 12 rounds. The right-hand-happy cruiserweight who punched himself out against Carl Thompson developed strength and strength of character as he filled out to heavyweight a couple of years ago. All of a sudden the gangling youngster looked different, all of a sudden the 30-year-old Haye was different, and he chased off a Russian behemoth by the name of Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight title last year in Germany, wobbling Valuev in the 12th and last round with a big left hook and taking a unanimous decision. The new David Haye had arrived.
Audley Harrison landed his own big left in the 12th and last round to win the European heavyweight title against Michael Sprott earlier this year in London. The new Audley Harrison? 'Oh yes,' say his long-suffering fans, when we had a virtual replica of Harrison's infamous 12-rounder with Julius Francis many moons ago (and there was more than one moon on the night) as Harrison waited and waited to pull the trigger, then waited some more. Southpaw Harrison only unloaded when he was sure his opponent posed absolutely no threat to him, flooring an overweight, exhausted Francis in the final round to seal a snoozefest of a decision and flattening the tired little Sprott to seal a knockout and a shot at Haye on November 13 in Manchester. Be careful what you wish for.
Harrison, who is 39 next week, faces a man who no longer grows tired, who no longer relies on just the big right hand, who no longer wants to be friends. David Haye is the heavyweight champion of the world and this, for him, is another annoying, marking-time affair like his 10-round stoppage of John Ruiz in Manchester in April, when Haye refused to allow a notorious stinker in the Harrison mould do his thing, busting up the challenger, flooring him four times and punching him to a slow standstill.
I can see the same happening next month. Harrison will run and run and run (he calls it boxing) as Haye picks the big shots, floors him every time he gets through, and forces a stoppage in the middle rounds after yet another knockdown.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Leroy Jones
By Bennie
Leroy Jones missed out on the mysterious quality known as a little bit of luck on a cold night 30 years ago. Leroy took a thumb in the eye from Larry Holmes in the eighth round of their Las Vegas encounter in March 1980 and, while he bravely stayed on his feet, he had to be rescued as the spiteful Holmes teed off on him in a corner. That was it; Leroy’s challenge for the world heavyweight title was over, along with the very rest of his boxing career. Jones, at the age of 29, had suffered a detached retina.
Nobody seems to know what the big Denver man did in his post-boxing years. Leroy certainly kept his nose clean, probably raised a family, probably held down a job. You want to think he was happy; you want to think he did good things. He was "big, strong, tough", said Holmes in 2003. "He was bigger than me. He was 245 pounds, 6ft 5ins or 6ft 6ins, but I was quicker and punched harder." In fact, Jones was surprisingly fluid for such a big man, with surprising speed and ability, but Holmes is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and he pounded on Jones as he would pound on Muhammad Ali just a few months later. (Forget those who say Holmes held back against Ali, he didn’t.)
You know, Leroy only ever lost to Holmes in 26 fights, which only exarcebates the way his career came to such a sudden end. His best win was a 12-round decision over Mike Weaver in 1978 in Las Vegas, a year before Weaver took Holmes to the well in a fantastic battle at Madison Square Garden. Jones also scored decent wins over Jody Ballard, Larry Frazier and Harry Terrell.
Nobody seems to know how he lived or even how he died earlier this year at the age of 60. We do know that he boxed between 1973 and 1980 and went all the way to a shot at the world heavyweight title. We also know he joined the masses thinking over and over, 'if only'.
Leroy Jones missed out on the mysterious quality known as a little bit of luck on a cold night 30 years ago. Leroy took a thumb in the eye from Larry Holmes in the eighth round of their Las Vegas encounter in March 1980 and, while he bravely stayed on his feet, he had to be rescued as the spiteful Holmes teed off on him in a corner. That was it; Leroy’s challenge for the world heavyweight title was over, along with the very rest of his boxing career. Jones, at the age of 29, had suffered a detached retina.
Nobody seems to know what the big Denver man did in his post-boxing years. Leroy certainly kept his nose clean, probably raised a family, probably held down a job. You want to think he was happy; you want to think he did good things. He was "big, strong, tough", said Holmes in 2003. "He was bigger than me. He was 245 pounds, 6ft 5ins or 6ft 6ins, but I was quicker and punched harder." In fact, Jones was surprisingly fluid for such a big man, with surprising speed and ability, but Holmes is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and he pounded on Jones as he would pound on Muhammad Ali just a few months later. (Forget those who say Holmes held back against Ali, he didn’t.)
You know, Leroy only ever lost to Holmes in 26 fights, which only exarcebates the way his career came to such a sudden end. His best win was a 12-round decision over Mike Weaver in 1978 in Las Vegas, a year before Weaver took Holmes to the well in a fantastic battle at Madison Square Garden. Jones also scored decent wins over Jody Ballard, Larry Frazier and Harry Terrell.
Nobody seems to know how he lived or even how he died earlier this year at the age of 60. We do know that he boxed between 1973 and 1980 and went all the way to a shot at the world heavyweight title. We also know he joined the masses thinking over and over, 'if only'.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Johnny and Juana La Loca
In the early '50's a friend of mine, Johnny, got busted with a roach, he went to court and he was ofter a deal, six months in county jail, Johnny asked for time to think it over, judge said okay, he gave Johnny two weeks to think it over.
Johnny's mom wanted Johnny to go see Junana La Loca. Junana La Loca was what we now call a community activist, in other words she knew everybody's business.
Johnny said okay; he would go talk to La Loca. Johnny told Juana what the deal was.
"Don't worry Johnny, I'll go talk to the judge for you, I'll get him to give you a better deal, maybe thirty days, no more then that"
Johnny and Juana La Loca go to court, Juana told the judge that she was there to speak for Johnny, judge told Juana to go ahead and speak.
Juana La Loca talked and talked and talked, when she was done the judge told Johnny to stand up as he was ready to pass sentence, he gave Johnny nine months!
Johnny's mom wanted Johnny to go see Junana La Loca. Junana La Loca was what we now call a community activist, in other words she knew everybody's business.
Johnny said okay; he would go talk to La Loca. Johnny told Juana what the deal was.
"Don't worry Johnny, I'll go talk to the judge for you, I'll get him to give you a better deal, maybe thirty days, no more then that"
Johnny and Juana La Loca go to court, Juana told the judge that she was there to speak for Johnny, judge told Juana to go ahead and speak.
Juana La Loca talked and talked and talked, when she was done the judge told Johnny to stand up as he was ready to pass sentence, he gave Johnny nine months!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Frankie Jr. ...
By Rick Farris
After the controversial loss to Zaragoza, Frankie Baltazar would win his next 26 fights in a row, sixteen of those wins by KO.
During that winning streak, Frankie would score thirteen consecutive knockouts including a 4th round stoppage of world ranked Shig Fugiyama, who many will remember as the guy who cut Sean O'Grady to ribbons in a WBA Lightweight title defense. Had that fight been held anywhere but Sean's hometown, the bout would have been stopped and the Japanese fighter would have become Lightweight Champion of the World.
The explosive Rafael "Bazooka" Limon, who would win the Jr. Lightweight title, ended Frankie's win streak at twenty-six, stopping Baltazar in four rounds.
Not one to lick his wounds, young Frankie jumped right back on track with another win streak of ten straight (7 by KO) before dropping a close decision to Eloy Montano in Las Vegas. After that, Frankie Baltazar Jr. would fight just two more times, winning both by knockout.
We in L.A. remember the Baltzar boys as winners, as they rarely lost in the amateurs or the pros. How appropriate that that after more than twenty years in the ring, Frankie Jr. would leave the sport a knockout winner. How many boxers can make such a claim?
When was was said and done, Frankie Jr. lost only three times in 44 pro fights, his final record 40-3-1 (27 KO's)
You had one helluva career, Fernie!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
R.I.P..Alan Rudkin
By Bennie
Alan Rudkin, arguably the greatest bantamweight this country has ever produced and very much a forgotten hero, was found dead in a Liverpool street early yesterday morning. He was 68 and his death is not yet explained, and one hopes that the gifted little man, a modest man, was not killed in his beloved home city. Police are awaiting post-mortem results.
Alan did it all in a glittering career that won him British, Commonwealth and European titles and three cracks at the world title in a frightening era for the bantamweight division in the 1960s. Here, he might have won the world title but Alan was forced to travel to challenge Fighting Harada and Lionel Rose, dropping close decisions, and was stopped in two rounds by "Rockabye" Ruben Olivares in Los Angeles in 1969. All three champions were probably unbeatable at the time Rudkin faced them, and Alan was inexperienced when he took Harada the full 15 rounds in Tokyo in 1965.
Fresh-faced and with a mop of sandy hair, Alan looked very much the Beatle in his early career and first caught the eye as an amateur as part of the legendary Great Britain side which whitewashed the USA 10-0 at Wembley in 1961. Unlike Billy Walker, Rudkin was never a big puncher but destroyed many opponents mentally as he took over during the course of a fight, particularly the course of 15-rounders. Rudkin enjoyed 'sussing' his opponent before reacting. He won the British bantamweight title from Belfast great Johnny Caldwell on a rare stoppage in 10 rounds and enjoyed a fierce rivalry with Scottish great Walter McGowan, with whom he shared two 15-round pure boxing classics, and later saw off domestic challengers Evan Armstrong and Johnny Clark (twice). He also cleaned up in Europe.
His last fight with Walworth’s Clark at the Albert Hall in 1972 is arguably the best domestic bantamweight scrap ever seen on these shores, and Rudkin won it to leave the sport on a high and a huge void among the smaller weights in this country.
Sadly, Alan never really found meaning to his life after boxing. He ran pubs but too many idiots wanted to fight him, but he developed an inevitable liking for drink and you wonder why he was out in the early hours of Wednesday, although he was close to his city centre home.
Boxing historian Derek O’Dell saw him on Saturday night at the Shoreditch Town Hall bash, attended by hundreds of fighters who fought at the legendary cockpit arena, including Alan himself, and Alan "seemed a bit quiet" but perked up when he was reunited with Clark. Make no mistake, Alan Rudkin was right out of the boxing textbook, a complete fighter with every shot in the book, good stamina, defence and a brilliant boxing brain.
He is - and always will be - one of our boxing greats.
Alan Rudkin, arguably the greatest bantamweight this country has ever produced and very much a forgotten hero, was found dead in a Liverpool street early yesterday morning. He was 68 and his death is not yet explained, and one hopes that the gifted little man, a modest man, was not killed in his beloved home city. Police are awaiting post-mortem results.
Alan did it all in a glittering career that won him British, Commonwealth and European titles and three cracks at the world title in a frightening era for the bantamweight division in the 1960s. Here, he might have won the world title but Alan was forced to travel to challenge Fighting Harada and Lionel Rose, dropping close decisions, and was stopped in two rounds by "Rockabye" Ruben Olivares in Los Angeles in 1969. All three champions were probably unbeatable at the time Rudkin faced them, and Alan was inexperienced when he took Harada the full 15 rounds in Tokyo in 1965.
Fresh-faced and with a mop of sandy hair, Alan looked very much the Beatle in his early career and first caught the eye as an amateur as part of the legendary Great Britain side which whitewashed the USA 10-0 at Wembley in 1961. Unlike Billy Walker, Rudkin was never a big puncher but destroyed many opponents mentally as he took over during the course of a fight, particularly the course of 15-rounders. Rudkin enjoyed 'sussing' his opponent before reacting. He won the British bantamweight title from Belfast great Johnny Caldwell on a rare stoppage in 10 rounds and enjoyed a fierce rivalry with Scottish great Walter McGowan, with whom he shared two 15-round pure boxing classics, and later saw off domestic challengers Evan Armstrong and Johnny Clark (twice). He also cleaned up in Europe.
His last fight with Walworth’s Clark at the Albert Hall in 1972 is arguably the best domestic bantamweight scrap ever seen on these shores, and Rudkin won it to leave the sport on a high and a huge void among the smaller weights in this country.
Sadly, Alan never really found meaning to his life after boxing. He ran pubs but too many idiots wanted to fight him, but he developed an inevitable liking for drink and you wonder why he was out in the early hours of Wednesday, although he was close to his city centre home.
Boxing historian Derek O’Dell saw him on Saturday night at the Shoreditch Town Hall bash, attended by hundreds of fighters who fought at the legendary cockpit arena, including Alan himself, and Alan "seemed a bit quiet" but perked up when he was reunited with Clark. Make no mistake, Alan Rudkin was right out of the boxing textbook, a complete fighter with every shot in the book, good stamina, defence and a brilliant boxing brain.
He is - and always will be - one of our boxing greats.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Alfredo “Perro” Angulo Will Get Deported, His Career Is Over
By Guest Writer
Illegal status finishes the boxing career of fan favorite Alfredo Angulo. The only remaining question is when ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the federal government, will remove the 19-1, 16 KOs slugger out of the United States and send him back to his native country of Mexico.
Michael Marley from Examiner.com broke the exclusive news. Through several sources, including Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, that HBO‘s legal department has advised Angulo promoter Big Gary Shaw that because the action fighter is in America illegally the prime cable network will not use him on its airwaves.
“Nobody is going to touch this guy,” Arum told me. “Nobody is interested now because of the huge legal problem. He picked the wrong time to be an illegal immigrant in our country, that’s for sure.”
Other sources tell me that the news that Angulo first entered the U.S. illegally, was later deported back to Mexico and then snuck back in at least a second time blinsided both Shaw, who has spent considerable time and money over about four years building his burgeoning career, and manager Mike Criscio.
It was Shaw’s persistence and connections that got Angulo great TV exposure on Showtime.
Criscio and Shaw contacted boxing’s premier immigration lawyer, Los Angeles-based Frank Ronzio, to see what could be to alter or adjust Angulo’s status.
There was no good news forthcoming on that front from either side of the border.
Certainly, no American politician is going to bat for an illegal even an athletic celebrity like Angulo, not in the current heated climate in which both the Democratic and Republican parties are battling over what to do about the tide of illegals in a trying economic period.
“Angulo never told anybody about it,” a source familiar with the situation said Tuesday. “He was at ringside at the Sergio Mora-Shane Mosley fight in L.A. acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He is as brazen outside the ring as he is in it when that opening bell rings.”
Attempts to reach Shaw and Criscio were unsuccessful.
Alfredo Angulo. who was born in border city Mexicali, had a significant amateur career. He represented Mexico in the 2004 Olympics but dropped a 38-23 decision to Ireland’s Andy Lee. He also won a bronze medal in the 2003 Pan American Games.
His lone pro defeat came at the hands of rugged Kermit Cintron, by unanimous decision over 12 rounds in a WBC super welterweight elimination bout in Hollywood, Florida, on May 3, 2009.
Angulo rationalized that loss, claiming he had the flu or stomach woes as I recall.
I asked informed sources whether HBO or Showtime would screen an Angulo bout or bouts out of Mexico.
“I don’t think so,” one veteran boxing man said. “It’s different than when Showtime televised Edwin Valero in a fight from Mexico. Valero was barred from entry because of a DUI case in Las Vegas. I don’t think he had been deported and then brazenly snuck back into the U.S.”
In his two most recent bouts, Angulo (who wears a dog collar around his neck to sumbolize his ferocity) defeated the once highly touted Joel Julio and then blasted out Joachim Alcine in one round on July 17 in California.
It looks like that fight will be Alfredo Angulo’s last in America.
This immigration fight, given his past illegal conduct, is one he cannot possibly win.
Illegal status finishes the boxing career of fan favorite Alfredo Angulo. The only remaining question is when ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the federal government, will remove the 19-1, 16 KOs slugger out of the United States and send him back to his native country of Mexico.
Michael Marley from Examiner.com broke the exclusive news. Through several sources, including Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, that HBO‘s legal department has advised Angulo promoter Big Gary Shaw that because the action fighter is in America illegally the prime cable network will not use him on its airwaves.
“Nobody is going to touch this guy,” Arum told me. “Nobody is interested now because of the huge legal problem. He picked the wrong time to be an illegal immigrant in our country, that’s for sure.”
Other sources tell me that the news that Angulo first entered the U.S. illegally, was later deported back to Mexico and then snuck back in at least a second time blinsided both Shaw, who has spent considerable time and money over about four years building his burgeoning career, and manager Mike Criscio.
It was Shaw’s persistence and connections that got Angulo great TV exposure on Showtime.
Criscio and Shaw contacted boxing’s premier immigration lawyer, Los Angeles-based Frank Ronzio, to see what could be to alter or adjust Angulo’s status.
There was no good news forthcoming on that front from either side of the border.
Certainly, no American politician is going to bat for an illegal even an athletic celebrity like Angulo, not in the current heated climate in which both the Democratic and Republican parties are battling over what to do about the tide of illegals in a trying economic period.
“Angulo never told anybody about it,” a source familiar with the situation said Tuesday. “He was at ringside at the Sergio Mora-Shane Mosley fight in L.A. acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He is as brazen outside the ring as he is in it when that opening bell rings.”
Attempts to reach Shaw and Criscio were unsuccessful.
Alfredo Angulo. who was born in border city Mexicali, had a significant amateur career. He represented Mexico in the 2004 Olympics but dropped a 38-23 decision to Ireland’s Andy Lee. He also won a bronze medal in the 2003 Pan American Games.
His lone pro defeat came at the hands of rugged Kermit Cintron, by unanimous decision over 12 rounds in a WBC super welterweight elimination bout in Hollywood, Florida, on May 3, 2009.
Angulo rationalized that loss, claiming he had the flu or stomach woes as I recall.
I asked informed sources whether HBO or Showtime would screen an Angulo bout or bouts out of Mexico.
“I don’t think so,” one veteran boxing man said. “It’s different than when Showtime televised Edwin Valero in a fight from Mexico. Valero was barred from entry because of a DUI case in Las Vegas. I don’t think he had been deported and then brazenly snuck back into the U.S.”
In his two most recent bouts, Angulo (who wears a dog collar around his neck to sumbolize his ferocity) defeated the once highly touted Joel Julio and then blasted out Joachim Alcine in one round on July 17 in California.
It looks like that fight will be Alfredo Angulo’s last in America.
This immigration fight, given his past illegal conduct, is one he cannot possibly win.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Floyd Mayweather charged
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was hit Thursday with three more felony charges in a domestic violence case that already had him facing a theft charge.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger significantly raised the ante in the case alleging that Mayweather hit and threatened the life of his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, and threatened to beat two of their children during a pre-dawn argument at the woman's home a week ago.
Mayweather, 33, is one of boxing's most recognizable figures, with a record of 41-0 and 25 knockouts. The welterweight goes by the nickname "Money" and earned more than $20 million in May in one fight in Las Vegas against "Sugar" Shane Mosley
Mayweather remained free on $3,000 bail pending arraignment Nov. 9 following his arrest last Friday on a felony grand larceny charge.
Authorities alleged he took cell phones belonging to Harris and two of their children following the altercation. That felony charge carries a possible sentence of five years.
The new criminal complaint filed Thursday added two felony coercion and one felony robbery charge along with one misdemeanor domestic battery and three misdemeanor harassment charges.
Convictions on all eight charges would increase the possible penalty Mayweather could face if convicted of all charges to 34 years.
Mayweather's lawyer, Richard Wright, told The Associated Press he hadn't seen the new complaint and declined immediate comment.
Wright has previously denied wrongdoing on Mayweather's behalf.
Police initially labeled the scuffle with Harris a domestic battery case after she told police Mayweather was angry about her relationship with another man when he confronted her at the Las Vegas home where Harris and the children live.
Mayweather wanted to evict her from the house, which he owns, Harris said.
The new charges name the couple's 10-year-old and 9-year-old sons as victims of coercion, for alleged threats to beat them if they called 911 or left the apartment during the scuffle.
Under Nevada law, coercion is when a person compels or forces someone to do something they have a legal right to do.
The harassment charges allege that Mayweather threatened Harris and the two children, and the battery charge alleges Mayweather grabbed Harris by her hair, hit her and twisted her arm.
The couple had three children, now ages 7 to 10, during what Harris characterized for authorities as a 15-year relationship. She said she lived with Mayweather for seven years before separating in May.
Mayweather also made headlines earlier this month with an online video laced with expletives and racial rants against boxing rival Manny Pacquiao.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was hit Thursday with three more felony charges in a domestic violence case that already had him facing a theft charge.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger significantly raised the ante in the case alleging that Mayweather hit and threatened the life of his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, and threatened to beat two of their children during a pre-dawn argument at the woman's home a week ago.
Mayweather, 33, is one of boxing's most recognizable figures, with a record of 41-0 and 25 knockouts. The welterweight goes by the nickname "Money" and earned more than $20 million in May in one fight in Las Vegas against "Sugar" Shane Mosley
Mayweather remained free on $3,000 bail pending arraignment Nov. 9 following his arrest last Friday on a felony grand larceny charge.
Authorities alleged he took cell phones belonging to Harris and two of their children following the altercation. That felony charge carries a possible sentence of five years.
The new criminal complaint filed Thursday added two felony coercion and one felony robbery charge along with one misdemeanor domestic battery and three misdemeanor harassment charges.
Convictions on all eight charges would increase the possible penalty Mayweather could face if convicted of all charges to 34 years.
Mayweather's lawyer, Richard Wright, told The Associated Press he hadn't seen the new complaint and declined immediate comment.
Wright has previously denied wrongdoing on Mayweather's behalf.
Police initially labeled the scuffle with Harris a domestic battery case after she told police Mayweather was angry about her relationship with another man when he confronted her at the Las Vegas home where Harris and the children live.
Mayweather wanted to evict her from the house, which he owns, Harris said.
The new charges name the couple's 10-year-old and 9-year-old sons as victims of coercion, for alleged threats to beat them if they called 911 or left the apartment during the scuffle.
Under Nevada law, coercion is when a person compels or forces someone to do something they have a legal right to do.
The harassment charges allege that Mayweather threatened Harris and the two children, and the battery charge alleges Mayweather grabbed Harris by her hair, hit her and twisted her arm.
The couple had three children, now ages 7 to 10, during what Harris characterized for authorities as a 15-year relationship. She said she lived with Mayweather for seven years before separating in May.
Mayweather also made headlines earlier this month with an online video laced with expletives and racial rants against boxing rival Manny Pacquiao.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
The Ring (1952)
By Randy De La O
The Ring, directed by Kurt Neumann, is a simply told tale of a young Mexican American from East Los Angeles, Tommy Cantanios (Lalo Rios) who stumbles into the world of boxing after being observed in a street fight by fight manager Pete Ganusa, (Gerald Mohr). Tommy takes the moniker Tommy Kansas as his fighting name and begins a career in boxing. After being heralded by both his younger brother and his cronies, he goes as far as his talent will take him, which is not far at all, and he begins a losing streak from which he cannot recover. Because he is fighting as much for his family as himself, Tommy refuses to quit boxing, hoping to make enough money to help his father start a business.
Though this movie will never win any awards it is notable for many reasons; first there is the early appearance of legendary actress and entertainer Rita Moreno, as Tommy’s girlfriend, Lucy Gomez, who is dead set against him fighting. Secondly, the movie attempts to tackle the subject of racism and bigotry, sometimes accurately and sometimes awkwardly. Thirdly, for afficionados of early Los Angeles, the opening shot of the Los Angeles City Hall, once the tallest building in the Los Angeles skyline, will evoke memories of an earlier time. Finally, there is the appearance of two of Los Angeles’ most popular fighters from the 1940’s and 1950’s, Art Aragon and Keeny Teran. Teran is prominent in many of the gym scenes. The gym itself is the old Los Angeles’ Teamsters Gym and the fight scenes are from the long gone Valley Garden Arena. Aragon is the final opponent for Tommy.
After a turn of events in which Tommy finds himself as a substitute in a high profile fight against Art Aragon, who plays himself,, Tommy is beaten into submission and decides to retire. The movie reaches the climax of it’s morality tale when Tommy sees his younger brother shadowboxing, hoping to be a fighter himself one day. Tommy takes the gloves and rushes to the incinerator (remember those?) and burns his boxing gear. Metaphorically putting an end to his career and his brothers hopes of following in his footsteps.
The Ring, directed by Kurt Neumann, is a simply told tale of a young Mexican American from East Los Angeles, Tommy Cantanios (Lalo Rios) who stumbles into the world of boxing after being observed in a street fight by fight manager Pete Ganusa, (Gerald Mohr). Tommy takes the moniker Tommy Kansas as his fighting name and begins a career in boxing. After being heralded by both his younger brother and his cronies, he goes as far as his talent will take him, which is not far at all, and he begins a losing streak from which he cannot recover. Because he is fighting as much for his family as himself, Tommy refuses to quit boxing, hoping to make enough money to help his father start a business.
Though this movie will never win any awards it is notable for many reasons; first there is the early appearance of legendary actress and entertainer Rita Moreno, as Tommy’s girlfriend, Lucy Gomez, who is dead set against him fighting. Secondly, the movie attempts to tackle the subject of racism and bigotry, sometimes accurately and sometimes awkwardly. Thirdly, for afficionados of early Los Angeles, the opening shot of the Los Angeles City Hall, once the tallest building in the Los Angeles skyline, will evoke memories of an earlier time. Finally, there is the appearance of two of Los Angeles’ most popular fighters from the 1940’s and 1950’s, Art Aragon and Keeny Teran. Teran is prominent in many of the gym scenes. The gym itself is the old Los Angeles’ Teamsters Gym and the fight scenes are from the long gone Valley Garden Arena. Aragon is the final opponent for Tommy.
After a turn of events in which Tommy finds himself as a substitute in a high profile fight against Art Aragon, who plays himself,, Tommy is beaten into submission and decides to retire. The movie reaches the climax of it’s morality tale when Tommy sees his younger brother shadowboxing, hoping to be a fighter himself one day. Tommy takes the gloves and rushes to the incinerator (remember those?) and burns his boxing gear. Metaphorically putting an end to his career and his brothers hopes of following in his footsteps.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Raul Rojas . . .
By Rick Farris
Long over looked by the WBHOF, time to induct L.A. legend and former two-time world champ, Raul Rojas.
Today's voting membership is ignorant of the world boxing scene during the 60's in Los Angeles.
Rojas has been on the ballot, but most voting members have limited knowledge of Rojas and the L.A. market.
We didn't have cable TV in those days, but we did have a weekly local broadcast. Rojas was a star of the era.
Raul has been in bad health for years. He has always participated in WBHOF events when invited, signed autographs.
We are all going to pass one day, and before Raul Rojas' last day he should take the stage and receieve his bronze.
He earned it!
If the votes don't tally, then educate the world by using "Historic Privledge" and just putting him in.
We do not have educated voters, and history should not be held hostage by the ignorant.
Long over looked by the WBHOF, time to induct L.A. legend and former two-time world champ, Raul Rojas.
Today's voting membership is ignorant of the world boxing scene during the 60's in Los Angeles.
Rojas has been on the ballot, but most voting members have limited knowledge of Rojas and the L.A. market.
We didn't have cable TV in those days, but we did have a weekly local broadcast. Rojas was a star of the era.
Raul has been in bad health for years. He has always participated in WBHOF events when invited, signed autographs.
We are all going to pass one day, and before Raul Rojas' last day he should take the stage and receieve his bronze.
He earned it!
If the votes don't tally, then educate the world by using "Historic Privledge" and just putting him in.
We do not have educated voters, and history should not be held hostage by the ignorant.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Antonio Margarito denied boxing
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
The California State Athletic Commission on Wednesday denied former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito a boxing license on a 5-1 vote after a nearly six-hour hearing in Los Angeles.
Margarito was seeking a license from the commission that revoked his license in February 2009 following his knockout loss to Shane Mosley the previous month.
The denial throws into question Margarito's proposed fall fight against Manny Pacquiao, which would be for a vacant junior middleweight belt.
In the dressing room before Margarito faced Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, illegal inserts were discovered in each of his hand wraps after Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, objected to the way his hands had been wrapped. The wraps were cut off and the illegal pads, which were coated in a plaster-like substance, were discovered. Margarito's hands were re-wrapped. The fight went off with Mosley knocking Margarito out in the ninth round to win the title.
California's denial means Margarito cannot reapply there for at least one year. However, now that he has asked California regulators for a license, other commissions in the United States can make the decision on their own about whether he should be granted a license.
Earlier this summer, Margarito applied to the Nevada commission for a license, but it tabled the request and said he should first go back to California before it would consider his application. The Association of Boxing Commissions, which oversees state commissions nationwide, suggested he do the same thing.
Margarito is expected to ask Texas for a license in the hopes of being granted one in order to fight Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in an HBO PPV fight on Nov. 13. HBO had a camera at the hearing to record it for potential use in the "24/7" reality series it is planning for the build-up to the fight.
Asked for a reaction to California's ruling at practice on Wednesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, "I'm aware of it but have no comment."
Although states typically uphold rulings in other states on licensing issues, that is not always the case. Mike Tyson, for example, was denied a license in Nevada in 2002 before he fought Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title. After the denial, Tyson was licensed in Tennessee and the fight took place.
Bob Arum's Top Rank, which promotes Margarito and Pacquiao, anticipated a denial in California, issuing a statement immediately after the hearing ended.
"Top Rank has complied with the wishes of the ABC and other states. Top Rank will soon make an announcement about Antonio Margarito," Top Rank's statement read.
Arum, on a cruise, was unavailable for comment.
Margarito's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, who gained fame for winning a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Ronald Goldman's family against O.J. Simpson and for representing former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, was disappointed with the decision.
"We are very disappointed in the ruling," Petrocelli told ESPN.com. "We thought the evidence was indisputable and that the license should have been granted. Almost to a person, the commission expressed the view that Tony was honest and sincere and the chairman [John Frierson] voted to grant the license, and [Frierson] is only one of two commissioners who were on the commission for the revocation hearing.
"The government tried unsuccessfully to convince the commission that Tony knew about the wraps and they failed because there has never been such a finding either today, or at the previous hearing. They want to see another year go by for Tony. I thought that was unreasonable."
The commission never found Margarito knew about the illegal inserts, instead holding Margarito accountable because he is the head of his team.
"I would like first to ask for another chance," Margarito said through a translator during his testimony. "Guarantee this will never happen again. Had I known that there was something illegal in my wrapping, I would not have stepped into the ring. I am glad it was discovered before [the fight]."
Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) told the commission the same thing he said during his license revocation hearing last year -- that he knew nothing about the illegal pads, which trainer Javier Capetillo took the blame for. Capetillo's license was also revoked.
"I think anything in the wrapping that is illegal would be an unfair advantage," Margarito said. "All I am saying is I did not know. I am being completely honest with you and all of the boxing world. That's why I broke my relationship with Capetillo. It was hard but that's what I had to do. They are my hands and whatever is on them, I am responsible."
"If it's going to take him coming back one day and saying, 'I did it, I did it,' he will never have a license because that's not what happened and that is not the evidence of the case," Petrocelli said. "He took his punishment for being the captain of the ship when someone on the ship did something wrong. He can't admit to knowing because it's not true. He'd be lying and you might not even believe that. He's not about to say it, not now, not ever."
Margarito, 32, severed his relationship with Capetillo, a father figure to him, not long after the revocation and last fall hired Robert Garcia to train him for his comeback fight. Margarito defeated Roberto Garcia (no relation) in Mexico in May, but purposely waited to fight him until after the one-year revocation period in California had expired.
Petrocelli argued that Margarito waited as a show of respect to the commission even though he could have fought outside the United States and made "hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars" because he supports so many people in his extended family.
Arguing on behalf of the commission, deputy attorney general Karen Chappelle, who also argued against Margarito when his license was revoked, hammered Margarito for not apologizing or showing adequate remorse or rehabilitation in seeking a new license.
"A boxer like Mr. Margarito makes a living with his fists," she said. "He knows what is in the wrappings that go on his fists. His fists are his livelihood. His fists are weapons."
Petrocelli argued against that, saying that the hiring of Garcia as the new trainer showed Margarito was serious, and Garcia, a former world champion and a well-respected trainer, appeared at the hearing to testify on Margarito's behalf.
"You have to be clean. It will never happen again because now I am on top of it," Margarito said, adding that he pays close attention every time Garcia wraps his hands. "I didn't know then. Now I am completely involved in it. I am on top of the wrapping and everything else."
Chappelle tried to discredit Margarito's efforts to strictly follow California's rules, as he said he would, by citing an obscure rule that Margarito and his team were unaware of. If somebody who is unlicensed by California wants to spar, he needs a "sparring permit." Margarito sparred in California in preparation for his fight with Roberto Garcia without having a permit.
Chappelle said that showed that Margarito was not on top of things because he broke that rule.
"I did not know I had to have a permit for sparring," Margarito said. "Had I known that, I would not have done it."
Petrocelli argued that the rule did not apply to Margarito because he was sparring for a fight that did not take place in California.
"You're the CEO of your enterprise. Your attorneys work for you, your trainer works for you," commissioner Gene Hernandez said to Margarito before the vote. "Use them as a resource, but like when you get a drivers license, you need to know all the rules of the road."
"This was a sorted incident in California history," Chappelle said during her closing remarks. "This commission should send a message with its decision. It strains credulity that he didn't know anything about the illegal hand wraps. He still comes before you unwilling to admit any wrongdoing. He says he's sorry because he didn't know what his trainer did. Who stood to benefit from winning that fight? It was Mr. Margarito, not the trainer. ... He hasn't demonstrated any remorse. He has failed to meet his very heavy burden."
All but one of the commissioners agreed.
ESPN.com
The California State Athletic Commission on Wednesday denied former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito a boxing license on a 5-1 vote after a nearly six-hour hearing in Los Angeles.
Margarito was seeking a license from the commission that revoked his license in February 2009 following his knockout loss to Shane Mosley the previous month.
The denial throws into question Margarito's proposed fall fight against Manny Pacquiao, which would be for a vacant junior middleweight belt.
In the dressing room before Margarito faced Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, illegal inserts were discovered in each of his hand wraps after Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, objected to the way his hands had been wrapped. The wraps were cut off and the illegal pads, which were coated in a plaster-like substance, were discovered. Margarito's hands were re-wrapped. The fight went off with Mosley knocking Margarito out in the ninth round to win the title.
California's denial means Margarito cannot reapply there for at least one year. However, now that he has asked California regulators for a license, other commissions in the United States can make the decision on their own about whether he should be granted a license.
Earlier this summer, Margarito applied to the Nevada commission for a license, but it tabled the request and said he should first go back to California before it would consider his application. The Association of Boxing Commissions, which oversees state commissions nationwide, suggested he do the same thing.
Margarito is expected to ask Texas for a license in the hopes of being granted one in order to fight Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in an HBO PPV fight on Nov. 13. HBO had a camera at the hearing to record it for potential use in the "24/7" reality series it is planning for the build-up to the fight.
Asked for a reaction to California's ruling at practice on Wednesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, "I'm aware of it but have no comment."
Although states typically uphold rulings in other states on licensing issues, that is not always the case. Mike Tyson, for example, was denied a license in Nevada in 2002 before he fought Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title. After the denial, Tyson was licensed in Tennessee and the fight took place.
Bob Arum's Top Rank, which promotes Margarito and Pacquiao, anticipated a denial in California, issuing a statement immediately after the hearing ended.
"Top Rank has complied with the wishes of the ABC and other states. Top Rank will soon make an announcement about Antonio Margarito," Top Rank's statement read.
Arum, on a cruise, was unavailable for comment.
Margarito's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, who gained fame for winning a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Ronald Goldman's family against O.J. Simpson and for representing former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, was disappointed with the decision.
"We are very disappointed in the ruling," Petrocelli told ESPN.com. "We thought the evidence was indisputable and that the license should have been granted. Almost to a person, the commission expressed the view that Tony was honest and sincere and the chairman [John Frierson] voted to grant the license, and [Frierson] is only one of two commissioners who were on the commission for the revocation hearing.
"The government tried unsuccessfully to convince the commission that Tony knew about the wraps and they failed because there has never been such a finding either today, or at the previous hearing. They want to see another year go by for Tony. I thought that was unreasonable."
The commission never found Margarito knew about the illegal inserts, instead holding Margarito accountable because he is the head of his team.
"I would like first to ask for another chance," Margarito said through a translator during his testimony. "Guarantee this will never happen again. Had I known that there was something illegal in my wrapping, I would not have stepped into the ring. I am glad it was discovered before [the fight]."
Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) told the commission the same thing he said during his license revocation hearing last year -- that he knew nothing about the illegal pads, which trainer Javier Capetillo took the blame for. Capetillo's license was also revoked.
"I think anything in the wrapping that is illegal would be an unfair advantage," Margarito said. "All I am saying is I did not know. I am being completely honest with you and all of the boxing world. That's why I broke my relationship with Capetillo. It was hard but that's what I had to do. They are my hands and whatever is on them, I am responsible."
"If it's going to take him coming back one day and saying, 'I did it, I did it,' he will never have a license because that's not what happened and that is not the evidence of the case," Petrocelli said. "He took his punishment for being the captain of the ship when someone on the ship did something wrong. He can't admit to knowing because it's not true. He'd be lying and you might not even believe that. He's not about to say it, not now, not ever."
Margarito, 32, severed his relationship with Capetillo, a father figure to him, not long after the revocation and last fall hired Robert Garcia to train him for his comeback fight. Margarito defeated Roberto Garcia (no relation) in Mexico in May, but purposely waited to fight him until after the one-year revocation period in California had expired.
Petrocelli argued that Margarito waited as a show of respect to the commission even though he could have fought outside the United States and made "hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars" because he supports so many people in his extended family.
Arguing on behalf of the commission, deputy attorney general Karen Chappelle, who also argued against Margarito when his license was revoked, hammered Margarito for not apologizing or showing adequate remorse or rehabilitation in seeking a new license.
"A boxer like Mr. Margarito makes a living with his fists," she said. "He knows what is in the wrappings that go on his fists. His fists are his livelihood. His fists are weapons."
Petrocelli argued against that, saying that the hiring of Garcia as the new trainer showed Margarito was serious, and Garcia, a former world champion and a well-respected trainer, appeared at the hearing to testify on Margarito's behalf.
"You have to be clean. It will never happen again because now I am on top of it," Margarito said, adding that he pays close attention every time Garcia wraps his hands. "I didn't know then. Now I am completely involved in it. I am on top of the wrapping and everything else."
Chappelle tried to discredit Margarito's efforts to strictly follow California's rules, as he said he would, by citing an obscure rule that Margarito and his team were unaware of. If somebody who is unlicensed by California wants to spar, he needs a "sparring permit." Margarito sparred in California in preparation for his fight with Roberto Garcia without having a permit.
Chappelle said that showed that Margarito was not on top of things because he broke that rule.
"I did not know I had to have a permit for sparring," Margarito said. "Had I known that, I would not have done it."
Petrocelli argued that the rule did not apply to Margarito because he was sparring for a fight that did not take place in California.
"You're the CEO of your enterprise. Your attorneys work for you, your trainer works for you," commissioner Gene Hernandez said to Margarito before the vote. "Use them as a resource, but like when you get a drivers license, you need to know all the rules of the road."
"This was a sorted incident in California history," Chappelle said during her closing remarks. "This commission should send a message with its decision. It strains credulity that he didn't know anything about the illegal hand wraps. He still comes before you unwilling to admit any wrongdoing. He says he's sorry because he didn't know what his trainer did. Who stood to benefit from winning that fight? It was Mr. Margarito, not the trainer. ... He hasn't demonstrated any remorse. He has failed to meet his very heavy burden."
All but one of the commissioners agreed.
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