Tijuana/Mexacali/Juarez/(fight towns)

[Brutu]

I noticed in looking at the ring records of Heavyweights who fought in the 1920's,a lot use to
fight in these towns a lot.So why did they stop fighting having fights in those Mexican towns in later years?
Whats were the last major fights(involving American top contenders)
at these locations?

[dagosd2000]

Boxing is a big sport in Mexico. Mexico has more licensed fighters than any country in the world. During the 1920's and prior to that,boxing was against the law in most US. states. Sometimes bouts could only be exhibitions with "no decision"verdicts. Also the border towns that you mentioned were more wide open. Gambling,cantinas,no gun laws(no laws period),prostitution,less legal red tape,and huge amounts of foreign money and investment made those towns alluring to promoters. Pancho Villa came close to promoting Dempsey/Williard,but President Carranza(Villa's rival)quashed the deal.

Those border towns are relatively new in Mexican history. They were built to provide diversions for Americans who couldn't find the same leisures in the US. nor for the same price.

As boxing grew in the US. the Mexican border towns still were busy putting on fights,but not heavyweight fights. Mexico never had a lot of heavyweights so there wasn't much action in that division. Mexican fans like to see a Mexican fight someone of a different race,but at the heavyweight level there was never much going on. US. heavyweights and their managers weren't looking for anything in Mexico. Later Joe Louis fought a series of popular exhibitions with Arturo Godoy in Mexicali and at the Arena Coliseo Mexico City. Ali was to put on a training session in Tijuana(one of my earlier posts)but it fell through. Lack of interest. Ali was not that popular in Mexico.

But boxing in those border towns(and all of Mexico)flourished during the 40's,50's,60's,and early 70's. Living in San Diego some of the "mixed" matches I saw in Tijuana: Sugar Ray/Memo Ayon,Davey Moore/Kid Irapuato,Archie Moore/Howard King(two Afro Americans),Hedgemon Lewis/Raul Rodriguez,and Jose Napoles/Herbie Lee to name a few. Not to mention the fights Olivares,Saldivar,Carmona,Zarate,and Zamora had in those towns. Those towns all had weekly cards and it was a lot of fun watching those fights.

But then something happened that is overlooked in history. President Nixon took the US. off the gold standard and let our money"float" against other countries' currencies. There was world wide inflation. Poor countries like Mexico were hit real hard. The peso plummeted,inflation skyrocketed, and big fights in Mexico were practically a thing of the past.

But I still have a lot of good memories of boxing south of the border that I'll never forget.

[Diamond WEAPON]

Boxing is a big sport in Mexico. Mexico has more licensed fighters than any country in the world. During the 1920's and prior to that,boxing was against the law in most US. states. Sometimes bouts could only be exhibitions with "no decision"verdicts. Also the border towns that you mentioned were more wide open. Gambling,cantinas,no gun laws(no laws period),prostitution,less legal red tape,and huge amounts of foreign money and investment made those towns alluring to promoters. Pancho Villa came close to promoting Dempsey/Williard,but President Carranza(Villa's rival)quashed the deal.

Those border towns are relatively new in Mexican history. They were built to provide diversions for Americans who couldn't find the same leisures in the US. nor for the same price.

As boxing grew in the US. the Mexican border towns still were busy putting on fights,but not heavyweight fights. Mexico never had a lot of heavyweights so there wasn't much action in that division. Mexican fans like to see a Mexican fight someone of a different race,but at the heavyweight level there was never much going on. US. heavyweights and their managers weren't looking for anything in Mexico. Later Joe Louis fought a series of popular exhibitions with Arturo Godoy in Mexicali and at the Arena Coliseo Mexico City. Ali was to put on a training session in Tijuana(one of my earlier posts)but it fell through. Lack of interest. Ali was not that popular in Mexico.

But boxing in those border towns(and all of Mexico)flourished during the 40's,50's,60's,and early 70's. Living in San Diego some of the "mixed" matches I saw in Tijuana: Sugar Ray/Memo Ayon,Davey Moore/Kid Irapuato,Archie Moore/Howard King(two Afro Americans),Hedgemon Lewis/Raul Rodriguez,and Jose Napoles/Herbie Lee to name a few. Not to mention the fights Olivares,Saldivar,Carmona,Zarate,and Zamora had in those towns. Those towns all had weekly cards and it was a lot of fun watching those fights.

But then something happened that is overlooked in history. President Nixon took the US. off the gold standard and let our money"float" against other countries' currencies. There was world wide inflation. Poor countries like Mexico were hit real hard. The peso plummeted,inflation skyrocketed, and big fights in Mexico were practically a thing of the past.

But I still have a lot of good memories of boxing south of the border that I'll never forget.

That's very interesting and enlightening. Great post.

[Brutu]

Prohibition (during the 1920's)was a big reason a lot of people went to Tijuana on a winding dirt road over rocky terrain.
Its only about 16 miles South of the border of San Diego.
They use to have a horse race track there,perhaps still do.
Reportly Jack Johnson was supposed to fight in Tijuana July.4.1926
in a newly constructed coliseum funded by some California buisnessmen,however I dont know if they finished it.
However Hugh McIntosh the promoter along with the Juarez syndicate had build a new coliseum there in Juarez ,March 1926.
Jack Dempsey opened it fighting three fighters in exhibitions.(Farmer Lodge, Martly Cutler and a third opponent(possibly Sully Montgomery)
Jack Johnson vrs Bob Lawson took place there,and reportly,Sam Langford and Tiger Flowers also fought there before the coliseum mysteriously burned down six months later in August 1926,estimated value $10,000

[Brutu]

Reportly the "Fight Plant" at Tijuana also burned down January.20.1928.
It was opposite from the Foreign Club(owned by fight promotor James N. Crofton).
The fire destroyed a warehouse with 3000 dollars worth of Champagne that blew its corks one by one.
The St. Francis hotel was also threatened by the fire.