East Los Angeles amateur fighter, Rudy Salas

                                                                By kiki

In the early '60s I was training an amateur middleweight fighter out of East Los Angeles, Rudy Salas, Rudy, who was about 18 years old had two of the biggest hands I had ever seen, and he could punch like a mule. While training at the Teamsters Gym we were having a hard time keeping sparring partners in the ring with him. After about a year of training I took him to the Chino State Prison for their monthly fight cards where he scored two quick first round KO's. I really thought I had a diamond in the rough, work on the rough edges and I have a champ, I thought...After couple of more wins via the KO route I thought he was ready for the 1961 Los Angeles Golden Gloves; which were set for early February, I told him that I was going to enter him in the novice class, I said to him that he was too inexperience to enter the open class. He said that he understood, but that he preferred to fight in the open class so that he could go to the nationals. He told me that he had never been out of Southern California and that now was his chance to see how other folks lived. I told him that that would have to wait till the following year; he agreed to fight in the novice class for that year. The Golden Gloves tournament that year were been held at the now defunct Valley Garden Arena in the San Fernando Valley. Rudy got off to a great start scoring two wins, one by KO, the other by decision. He was now in the semi-finals. In the semi-finals he fought a guy, can’t remember his name, out of the Jake Horn/Red Shannon stable. Bell rang and Rudy immediately goes out and nailed his opponent with a beautiful right hand, down went his opponent! Another quick KO I thought. The opponent, struggling, made it to his feet before the referee could count him out, with the opponent leaning on the ropes and seemly out on his feet the referee, Lou Bernal, called the fighters back into action, at that Rudy rushed out of the neutral corner and ran into a big right hand thrown by  his out on his feet opponent. Rudy went down like he had been shot, and was out for about 5 minute. After the fight I protested, tongue in cheek, to Lou Bernal, told him that he should had stopped the fight when Rudy’s opponent went down, that the guy was out on his feet, his replied was “out on his feet? Hell he KO’d your guy” I told him I knew that, but had he stopped the fight when Rudy’s opponent went down; I would still have an undefeated fighter “buy me a beer” he said to me as we walked towards the beer bar, I did…As for my diamond in the rough, Rudy never fought again, in fact I never saw Rudy again..I really thought I had a champ!!