The Last Hurrah

By Randy De La O

It was the night Javier Muniz and Rudy Hernandez fought their first fight at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on June 10, 1976. It wasn’t exactly on the undercard but it literally stole the show that night. It was one of those unexpected events that just make a life long impression on you.

I had a fight scheduled that night with an opponent whose name I can no longer recall, if I ever knew it at all. Just minutes before I was scheduled to fight it was called off. I don’t remember the reason. I got dressed and Mel Epstein and I went upstairs to get a seat and watch the fight. There was a section set up for managers, trainers and boxers and those that were involved closely with boxing. Not to far from that was a gambler’s area. This is where the unplanned co-main event took place.

Mel and I found a seat. To be perfectly honest I can’t remember if it was during the main event or if it was on the undercard. I’m thinking the undercard because if I remember correctly we hung around for a bit. At any rate while watching the fight, we couldn’t help but notice some commotion breaking out where all the gambler’s were seated. There were two men arguing over money. One man was older and he appeared to be in his sixties. He was wearing a hat and one of those cheap suits that seemed prevalent with the downtown crowd back in those days. It was dark and made from cheap fabric. The suit appeared to be old and worn. The man was either Mexican or Filipino, I couldn’t tell and neither could Mel. Mel said he recognized the man but could not place him.

The other man was much younger, probably in his late twenties and he was about to learn a valuable lesson that night, much to the delight of the crowd. The younger man was seated directly behind the older man. He was also seated a little higher due to the amphitheater style seating at the Olympic. They were making enough of a fuss so that the lighting man put the spot light on them. The whole arena was watching the argument unfold.

The older man wanted the money he had won, and the younger guy either felt like teasing him or had no intention of paying off the bet. In the end it didn’t really matter. The young guy was standing up and holding the money with his right hand, just out of reach of the old timer. When he jumped up to get the money the younger man would pull it back and laugh. So did his friends. This happened several times when without any warning or provocation, the younger man threw a sloppy left hand. Instantly and so unexpectedly the old timer countered with a quick, hard right hand to the jaw followed by a left hook. He knocked the guy out. He reached down, took the money, counted it and put it in his coat pocket. With the spotlight still on both of them the whole arena was going crazy. Not knowing what was going on in the crowd I’m sure the fighters in the ring thought the crowd was cheering their fight.

The old man looked out at the crowd and let out a big grin, then, probably figuring he better get the hell out of there, he walked over to the tunnel. Just before he walked down the stairs he looked at the crowd and let go of a few punches in the air, enjoying the moment. The crowd roared as if he had just won a title. He disappeared down the stairs. Whoever he was, he was the talk of the night. He was the main event of the evening.