By kiki
In 1973 as director of the Los Angeles Golden Gloves, I ran some eliminating bouts at that great dame of Los Angeles boxing, The Olympic Auditorium. And so it was on a pro/am card where trainer Frankie Muche had a fighter fighting with the hopes of moving up in the tournament. While down in the catacombs of that fame arena I watched Muche’s fighter warmed up, he looked like the real thing. He also looked good shadow boxing down the aisle to the ring. But once the first bell rang the kid froze, the number of punches he threw in three rounds you could count in two hand. He lost, no surprise there. But the kid, while Frankie Muche from behind him was yelling at him, was shadow boxing up the aisle on his way back to the catacombs looking like a champ. Once in the catacombs Frankie lost his cool and yelled at the kid “what the ‘expletive’ were you waiting for!?’ The kid throwing beautiful combs while still shadow boxing answered without losing a beat “for the setup”….Some things in life you just can’t make up!!
