By kiki
In late
spring of 1973 I received a phone call from a representative of the I.Y.B.C. The
International Youth Boxing Club located in Montebello, CA. was a youth
organization headed by Southern California boxing figures such as Rudy Jordan
and Mando Muniz.
The caller
explain to me that the I.Y.B.C. was hosting a boxing meet between an Ensenada,
Baja California based team and a team made up of local amateur boxers. The
caller asked me if I would allow Frankie to fight in the 125 pound class.
Frankie at age 15 had just come back from a two year lay-off to fight in the
Junior Golden Gloves, which he won against Francisco Flores. After been told
that the event would take place in ten days at the I.Y.B.C. Gym I ok’d Frankie’s
partaking in the event.
I don’t
remember much about any of the fights as I was just focus on Frankie’s fight.
Frankie’s opponent was a dead-ringer of a young Mando Ramos, in facial looks
and boxing style. Frankie won an exciting hard fought three round fight by
UD…After the bouts were all fought and as we enjoyed a beer or two with our
Baja California counterparts they invited us to Ensenada to do it all over
again. They made it a point about Frankie fighting the Mando Ramos lookalike
again, we accepted the challenge.
Ensenada, Baja California
We were told
that since the event was going to be during mid-summer we were going to be
put-up at a private Ensenada Beach campground. Owning a motorhome at the time
it was something we were looking forward to.
With my
boxing partner John Martinez, his wife Bea, Frankie, our daughter Linda and
Connie and me behind the wheel of our motorhome we left La Puente on Thursday
afternoon (fights were schedule for Saturday night) we arrived in Tijuana two
and half hours later. After doing a little shopping and having dinner we left
Tijuana on the Tijuana/Ensenada toll road, and a toll road it was, it seem like
every five miles we had to pay a toll. We arrived at the gated beach campground
around midnight. Standing in front of the gate was an armed sentry. With rife
across his chest he stopped us at the gate, I rolled my window down to tell him
we were with the boxing club, and to my surprise I found the young sentry to be
mentally challenged. I was thinking, why is this fella allowed to walk around
with a loaded rife? Well we later founded out that he was the owner’s son. As I
was parking the motorhome on the beach I told everybody to make sure they
stayed out of his way, and not to forget that we were in Mexico and that we had
to obey their laws. We spent Friday taking in the sights, eating and drinking a
Mexican beer (Bohemia) here and there. By Friday afternoon the rest of the team
had arrived, I don’t remember who else was on our team, I remember that the
Montes’s were there, not sure if both Herman and John fought. I do remember
that Eddie “Animal” Lopez was there, not sure if he fought though, he might had
been a pro by that time was just along for the ride. Friday night we a had a
big beach fire going, we sat around the fire telling fishing lies and drinking
a beer or two.
Weigh-ins for the fights were early Saturday morning. Frankie and the Mando Ramos lookalike weighted in the low 120’s. After the weight-ins we had a Mexican breakfast at a local restaurant. Frankie had a mid-afternoon dinner of seafood. It was soon time for us to make our way to the arena. Fights were fought in front of a packed arena, but been focus on Frankie’s fight I can’t tell you who fought them. Fight time! We enter the ring first, a few minutes later Frankie’s opponent enter the ring, but it was not the Mando Ramos lookalike! I looked at the guy and told the referee that that was not our opponent, and that the guy had to had being in his mid-20’s. I looked around the arena and I spotted Mando Ramos’s twin gloved and leaning against a back wall. I told the referee as I pointed to the guy “that’s the guy we are fighting or we won’t fight. The “old” guy walked out of the ring as the twin walked in. They were trying put a ringer in with Frankie!..The fight was give and take for the first two rounds, but Frankie pulled it out by scoring a knockdown in the third and final round of a-great amateur fight. After the fights it was party time at the beach fire. As we were bullshitting around the fire we spotted two horses with riders making their way in the dark toward the fire. The horsemen were Frankie and Eddie “Animal” Lopez. First thing I said to them was “what the hell are you two doing, don’t you know that they still hang horse thieves in Mexico?” They jumped of the horses faster than you can say “thieves” and gave the horses a slap on the ass. Good thing the “Rife man” wasn’t around to see our horse “thieves” otherwise we would had had to attend a hanging…Sunday as we drove back home I notice Frankie rubbing his neck, he told me “don’t stop in Tijuana” We arrived home alive and well.
