2015 California Boxing Hall of Fame

By kiki

A few words about the 2015 California Boxing Hall of Fame: The event run allot smoother this year than it has had in past years. The inductees, for the most part, stuck to the few minutes that they were allotted to make their speeches, one or two went on too long. I notice CBHOF President Don Fraser tugging on the suit coat of one of the inductees, but to no avail, as the inductee kept going on and on…Us that log on social media sites have made many new friends via those sites, and I dare say some enemies too. Some of those friends we will never get to meet in person (don’t care to meet the enemies), but having said that I had the pleasure of meeting some Facebook friends face to face for the first time at this year’s CBHOF event. Four that I met at the event for the first time among others were two beautiful ladies, Becky Cotero Moreno and Yolanda Valdez-Esparaza, inductee Jeff Bumpus, and the infamous Saul Saucedo. The day before the event I had the great pleasure of meeting, along with his son Paul, Phil Rice. Phil and Paul made the trek west for Jeff Bumpus's induction. Phil and I had had an internet friendship for a number of years, but we had never met face to face. We had talked at times of he coming out to the Left Coast for some real home-cooked Mexican food, this weekend it all came to fruition but, unfortunately, his time on the coast was too short for him to taste Connie’s home-cooked chili verde. How I would have loved to have seen Phil eat chili verde Mexican style, with just tortillas and no fork, that would have a quite a sight…It was also nice seeing some old friends, a number too big to mention here…Last but not least: One thing that I was disappointed was to see the name of Advertising Director Ray Maynez name omitted from the staff credits on the official program, it was probably an oversight on the printer side, but that’s no excuse, and for that, I think the CBHOF owns Ray an apology and been part of the CBHOF I offer Ray our sincere apology. My understanding is that Ray will not be with us next year, so I want to wish him the best of luck in whatever future endeavors he partakes in…I hope to see you all at next year's event.

Frankie and the Las Vegas Golden Gloves

By kiki

Paul Caruso, seen here with Art “Golden Boy” Aragon once did some fixin’ for us.

Frankie, having gone to Golden Gloves National's in 1975 with the L.A. team was not able to fight in the 1976 L.A tourney because of a broken ankle. We figure that by the time Las Vegas held their tournament (Vegas held their tourney a few weeks after L.A.’s) that Frankie’s ankle would be heal and that he could fight there. So I called Bill Miller L.V. tournament director and told him I was taking Frankie to fight on the L.V tourney, he told me not to bother, that Frankie would not be allowed to fight because he had fought on the Olympic Auditorium’s pro/am card against AAU rules. A few days later I was in Aileen Eaton’s office and I told her what Miller had said, she told me “go see Paul Caruso and he’ll fix it for you with one phone call, tell him I send you” Frankie and I went to see Caruso in his Beverly Hills office, when we were ushered into his office I said to him “Aileen Eaton said to talk you and that you could fix our problem with one phone call” He smiled and said “Aileen gives me too much credit” I then explain our situation to him “Las Vegas, huh?” he mutter, more to himself than us. He picked up the phone and dialed a number and after a conversation that lasted less than five minutes he hung up and told Frankie, "it fix, you’re fighting in the Vegas Golden Gloves. I think the dude was connected!!

Frankie lost his first fight in the Vegas tourney. But no matter, we got there!!

Charles Laughton

By kiki

Connie and I were watching the 1957 movie ‘Witness For The Prosecution’ starring Tyrone Power and Charles Laughton, et.al. on the TCM channel. And we both said at the same time “remember the night Laughton was sitting behind us at the fights” Man! Talk about an old married couple thinking alike!!...Circa 1957 Connie and I were at the Hollywood Legion Stadium for the Pajarito Moreno/Tommy Bain fight. We were sitting ringside, about 4-5 rows back from the ring for the new Mexican sensation: KO artist Pajarito Moreno's Los Angeles debut. Sitting behind me was “Quasimodo”, Charles Laughton had gain fame playing Quasimodo in the 1939 movie ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ As the first fight was about to start Quasimodo tap me on my shoulder and ask me “Who do you got” I answer him “The guy in the black corner” “a dollar, I’ll take the guy in the white corner” I am not a gambler, but I wasn’t about to lose a chance to bet with Quasimodo. So we waged the small bet. The rest of the fights we waged a dollar a fight, He bet the white corner and I bet the black corner. I don’t remember who came out a dollar or two ahead…I might have gotten old, but I would never trade my boxing era for any other.

Louis or Ali?

Fantasy Fights

By kiki

I wrote this on a Facebook boxing group I belong to. The members are always setting up fantasy fight between fighters from different eras, which I think is wrong.

Comparing fighters from the ‘40’s-‘50’s to later era fighters is not fair because fighters, and people in general, in later years grew so much bigger. So when we are talking about fantasy fights I like to go with the “very thing been equal” concept. I know you are going to tell me “but that’s not reality” and I’ll tell you “of course it's not reality, it is after all about fantasy fights” There is no reality when you’re fantasizing!!!

But that been said I think the better question when comparing fighter from different eras is to ask “who was the better fighter, who had the greatest repertoire of punches, who had the biggest artillery, who had the biggest heart, who could take a punch better”…In the case of Louis and Ali there is no question who had a better repertoire and heavier artillery, Louis did… Louis could fight on the inside and outside, Ali could not, Louis had a great left hook and right hand, Ali did have a great right hand, but not much of a left hook, Louis could work the body, Ali could not, Louis could knock an opponent out with a jab, Ali could not, Ali’s jab was a flicking jab at best, sometimes thrown with an open glove. Chin? Both of them got dropped by some not so great fighters…Heart? Both had the heart of a Lion!!!...I submit that Louis was the better fighter of the two.

“What The ‘expletive’ Were You Waiting For? The Setup”

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!!

"Little Beaver’s ex-Old lady"

Little Beaver

                                                    By kiki

                                      Beware XXX Language

Circa early 1980’s we were in an Arizona boxing training camp getting some fighters ready for their upcoming bouts. Hanging around the camp like a barfly was a Native American lady, who I learned was the ex-wife of midget wrestler Little Beaver. The lady was known to turn a trick now and then….One time I was having a drink with her at the camp’s bar. I asked her about Little Beaver who I had seen wrestle back in the ‘50’s, she laughed out loud and said “he was a fag”

One time we had a fighter fighting the main event in Tucson (he lost by decision but came out with a clean face). After the fight, we were at the hotel’s bar having drinks and our fighter after a few drinks made a deal with the lady, $20.00 for a blowjob. They soon disappeared into the darkness. Some minutes later they came back into the bar arguing as they walked in. Somebody asked the lady what was wrong “the sonofabitch don’t wanna pay me for the blowjob!” she answered. Somebody told the fighter in Spanish “paque a la señora para su servicio” (pay the lady for her service) the fighter replied in broken English “no, she no give good blow job, she bites my dickie” At that the lady cooks up her left arm and pointing with her right hand to her bulging bicep asked the fighter “see this?” the fighter moved in close to get a good look at her bicep, and as he did so the lady whipped a textbook left hook and our fighter was out cold before he hit the bar’s floor. Our fighter who had a clean face after going ten tough rounds against a top ten fighter was knocked out cold over a blow job…

The Golden Boy Loved The Booing

                                                     By kiki

Art “Golden Boy” Aragon played the bad guy with the Mexican fans with much success.  He would go TV/radio and say he wasn’t Mexican-American, he would say he was Italian or Spanish. The Mexican fans would pack the Olympic Auditorium to the rafters (10,400 fans) to see him get his ass kicked. They would boo him as he would enter the ring and all during the fight, they would boo the loudest when his hand was raised after KOing one of their heroes. Before walking out of the ring he would parade around the ring thumbing his nose at the booing crowd. A “hot” beer would sometimes be thrown at him. But he knew what he was doing all the time, he knew they would be back and pack the arena for his next fight hoping to see him get his ass kicked, and since he fought on a percentage of the gate he needed those pissed off Mexican to come to his fights. He loved to say that they could boo him all they wanted as long as they bought a ticket, that he would cry all the way to the bank the day after the fight….The loudest I heard him been booed was when he fought Lauro Salas. Art and Salas fought at the Olympic after getting into a bar fight because Art called a Salas a “fucking Mexican” Sure miss those day!!

Stiverne VS Wilder.

The fight was an okay fight, not great by any means, but better than any of the K bro’s fights. Wild showed he can fight a bit, but he also showed his inexperience when he tried to close the show. The times when he had Stiv in trouble and he went for the KO he looked like an amateur in the way he would flail away with arm punches, no snap or turning of the wrist, nor did he placed his punches when he needed to..The one good thing for Wild was going the 12 rounds without getting winded. He has a good right hand, but he needs to learn how feint with the left to set up the right hand…I hope he hold the title for a bit….As for Stiv, I think it’s time for him to hang up the gloves, he is a slow 36 years old fighter, and he can’t expect to get any better, but I expect that he will hang in there for a few more paydays, like maybe a K fight.