Classic American West Coast Boxing

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where is the the diego dude?

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Archie Moore after the Rocky Maricano fight

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Tommy Umeda

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[Rick Farris]

Hey Gato . . .

Efren "Alacran" Torres was one of my favorite fighters in the sixties, although I only had a chance to see him fight once, in 1964, when he fought Ebihara at the Olympic, and a riot broke out after Ebihara got the nod.

I know that you & Torres grew up in boxing together, what was he like? Was he trained by your cousin, Jose Beccera? In 1969, I was happy he defeated Chionoi to win the flyweight title.

-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Hey Gato . . .

Efren "Alacran" Torres was one of my favorite fighters in the sixties, although I only had a chance to see him fight once, in 1964, when he fought Ebihara at the Olympic, and a riot broke out after Ebihara got the nod.

I know that you & Torres grew up in boxing together, what was he like? Was he trained by your cousin, Jose Beccera? In 1969, I was happy he defeated Chionoi to win the flyweight title.

-Rick Farris

Rick,

I was there for that riot and I got hit when I was just watching, didn't even throw a punch. LOL!!

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Mike Quarry, Alex Ramos and Rob Sale

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[elmersalsa]

Thanks Gato for your response. I really loved talking to you, champ.

[dagosd2000]

where is the the diego dude?

Before this thread started I made that post about going to Archie Moore's ANY BOY CAN CLUB after work and helped him with some of the kids he was teaching how to box. He was up to his alligators,him and his son,,having those kids skipping rope,shadow boxing,sparring,you name it. While Archie was talking to me he didn't even look up. Then the conversation got around to women. I looked over to Archie and he stopped what he was doing and he was looking out the door staring at nothing and said in a low sad voice,"I was married five times"

Recently there's been stories about Art Aragon and his wives and all his girlfriends. Pretty amusing stuff.

A while back I was watching TV and Bonecrusher Smith's wife was sitting next to Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson,long sinced divorced from their husbands. Well,we've heard the stories of how Jake and Sugar Ray weren't exactly like Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson. But here's the kicker. Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson are talking about their former husbands like they were the ultimates in the male species. They were even bragging about their husbands' philandering and the belts they got from those two. Why when they were angry,it was exhilarating! They said when our husbands walked into a room you knew who the 'Dominant male was."

All the while Mrs. Bonecrusher Smith is sitting there listening to all this with a look of terror.
"Oh no",she gasped. "Is this what I'm going to look forward to? I've only been married a short time."
Mrs. LaMotta and Robinson tried to reassure her that her marriage would turn out all right.

I remember Ali talking to Ed Bradley. Ali was with his wife,Lonnie. Ali was getting worse with his Parkinsons. The subject came up about women. Ali had a look of relief on his face.
"At least now,I don't have to worry about that anymore,"said Ali.

What's the point of all this? Is it good to have all this pussy,or is it a curse? I think the answer is ,that it's both. Just when you think you've had enough of women because they're a pain in the ass,the only thing that will make you feel good again is to go out and get layed.

[kikibalt]

where is the the diego dude?

Before this thread started I made that post about going to Archie Moore's ANY BOY CAN CLUB after work and helped him with some of the kids he was teaching how to box. He was up to his alligators,him and his son,,having those kids skipping rope,shadow boxing,sparring,you name it. While Archie was talking to me he didn't even look up. Then the conversation got around to women. I looked over to Archie and he stopped what he was doing and he was looking out the door staring at nothing and said in a low sad voice,"I was married five times"

Recently there's been stories about Art Aragon and his wives and all his girlfriends. Pretty amusing stuff.

A while back I was watching TV and Bonecrusher Smith's wife was sitting next to Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson,long sinced divorced from their husbands. Well,we've heard the stories of how Jake and Sugar Ray weren't exactly like Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson. But here's the kicker. Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson are talking about their former husbands like they were the ultimates in the male species. They were even bragging about their husbands' philandering and the belts they got from those two. Why when they were angry,it was exhilarating! They said when our husbands walked into a room you knew who the 'Dominant male was."

All the while Mrs. Bonecrusher Smith is sitting there listening to all this with a look of terror.
"Oh no",she gasped. "Is this what I'm going to look forward to? I've only been married a short time."
Mrs. LaMotta and Robinson tried to reassure her that her marriage would turn out all right.

I remember Ali talking to Ed Bradley. Ali was with his wife,Lonnie. Ali was getting worse with his Parkinsons. The subject came up about women. Ali had a look of relief on his face.
"At least now,I don't have to worry about that anymore,"said Ali.

What's the point of all this? Is it good to have all this pussy,or is it a curse? I think the answer is ,that it's both. Just when you think you've had enough of women because they're a pain in the ass,the only thing that will make you feel good again is to go out and get layed.

Diego,

Who is Ali married to at this time? is he still married?.

[dagosd2000]

where is the the diego dude?

Before this thread started I made that post about going to Archie Moore's ANY BOY CAN CLUB after work and helped him with some of the kids he was teaching how to box. He was up to his alligators,him and his son,,having those kids skipping rope,shadow boxing,sparring,you name it. While Archie was talking to me he didn't even look up. Then the conversation got around to women. I looked over to Archie and he stopped what he was doing and he was looking out the door staring at nothing and said in a low sad voice,"I was married five times"

Recently there's been stories about Art Aragon and his wives and all his girlfriends. Pretty amusing stuff.

A while back I was watching TV and Bonecrusher Smith's wife was sitting next to Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson,long sinced divorced from their husbands. Well,we've heard the stories of how Jake and Sugar Ray weren't exactly like Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson. But here's the kicker. Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson are talking about their former husbands like they were the ultimates in the male species. They were even bragging about their husbands' philandering and the belts they got from those two. Why when they were angry,it was exhilarating! They said when our husbands walked into a room you knew who the 'Dominant male was."

All the while Mrs. Bonecrusher Smith is sitting there listening to all this with a look of terror.
"Oh no",she gasped. "Is this what I'm going to look forward to? I've only been married a short time."
Mrs. LaMotta and Robinson tried to reassure her that her marriage would turn out all right.

I remember Ali talking to Ed Bradley. Ali was with his wife,Lonnie. Ali was getting worse with his Parkinsons. The subject came up about women. Ali had a look of relief on his face.
"At least now,I don't have to worry about that anymore,"said Ali.

What's the point of all this? Is it good to have all this pussy,or is it a curse? I think the answer is ,that it's both. Just when you think you've had enough of women because they're a pain in the ass,the only thing that will make you feel good again is to go out and get layed.

Diego,

Who is Ali married to at this time? is he still married?.

Hey Frank,
I'm glad you asked that. Muhammad Ali is married to a gal named Lonnie. Hey,you're the picture guy. I have this picture somewhere. It's a picture of a young Cassius Clay in Louisville right after he won the gold medal. He's surrounded by these little kids. It looks like he's sitting in front of some grammar school. Well,there's this little light skinned black girl with freckles standing in front of him and Clay's smiling at her. The little girl's name is Lonnie,the woman who is now his wife.

The way Lonnie tells it,she was in absolute awe of him. She thought that Cassius wouldn't notice her with the other girls because she thought she was ugly. Lonnie said Clay singled her out ,held her hand and said,"Gee you're pretty."
Lonnie said that was the most beautifull thing she ever heard. I got a hunch the young Cassius Clay saw that she might have been a little self conscious and that's why he said that to her.

I don't know how they got together,but it was long after Ali retired and was getting sick. Lonnie takes care of him. She speaks for him. Ali,you can tell,is happy to be with her. Just like when Lonnie was happy to be with a young Cassius Clay in Louisville after coming home with the gold. They say he lost that gold somewhere. Well,he found it again with Lonnie.

Hey Frank,maybe you can find that picture?

[Rick Farris]

Mike Quarry, Alex Ramos and Rob Sale

Man, this is really a scary picture. I knew Mike when he was a teenager, in the 60's. We both boxed amateur in L.A., and were both members of the '69 L.A. Golden Gloves team that went to Kansas City. Mike was always the best looking of the Quarry brothers, and the sharpest. The last time I saw them was in 1983, at a coffee shop in Westlake Villlage, where I lived at the time.

Jerry seemed OK mentally, although a bit heavy. He was retired and long over-the-hill, and I would be surprised to learn that he actually fought a couple times after that meeting. Jerry lived in nearby Agoura Hills, and was seen a lot in the area, but this was the first time I ran into my former stablemate and his brother.

As for Mike, he was another story. The once sharp, nice looking kid, who was a few months older than I was, looked beat-up, and he slurred his speech, like a charactor out of "The Harder They Fall". The Anthony Quinn charactor, "Mountain Rivera", was a lot better off at the end of his career than Mike Quarry was the day I last saw him. We sat and talked for about a half hour.

The early deaths of both Mike and Jerry Quarry really shook me, it just seemed so tragic. They were a part of my history, and I was a part of theirs. It brings to mind the tragic death of my manager/trainer Johnny Flores (who coached Jerry Quarry from age 7) who mysteriously was found dead in the bottom of the elevator shaft, at age 78, in the old Lincoln Heights Jail Bldg. where he had created a city funded boxing gymnasium, where kids could find an alternative to gang life. For more than twenty years, Johnny ran the best equipped gym in L.A.

Oddly, exactly five years prior to Flores untimely death, Alan "Kit" Boursse, Johnny Flores former heavyweight, who had been a Quarry sparring partner for his bouts with Buster Mathis & Joe Frazier, was killed attempting to save two mentally challenged kids, who were playing on rail road tracks in the path of an on-coming freight train. Boursse saved one child, throwing him out of the way of the train, however, he and the other were both killed by the train.

Kit Boursse was my best friend, we were a part of the same stable, we worked together (he got me my first job), we hung out together, trained, traveled and fought together. He was a great guy, a crazy bastrard, but a true man, very intelligent, he was two months from receiving his master's degree. Just 39-years-old.

All of these people were a part of the same period in my life, we were all connected. Seeing that picture of Mike really took me back to a different time, perhaps the most special time of my life?

-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Before this thread started I made that post about going to Archie Moore's ANY BOY CAN CLUB after work and helped him with some of the kids he was teaching how to box. He was up to his alligators,him and his son,,having those kids skipping rope,shadow boxing,sparring,you name it. While Archie was talking to me he didn't even look up. Then the conversation got around to women. I looked over to Archie and he stopped what he was doing and he was looking out the door staring at nothing and said in a low sad voice,"I was married five times"

Recently there's been stories about Art Aragon and his wives and all his girlfriends. Pretty amusing stuff.

A while back I was watching TV and Bonecrusher Smith's wife was sitting next to Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson,long sinced divorced from their husbands. Well,we've heard the stories of how Jake and Sugar Ray weren't exactly like Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson. But here's the kicker. Vicky LaMotta and Edna Robinson are talking about their former husbands like they were the ultimates in the male species. They were even bragging about their husbands' philandering and the belts they got from those two. Why when they were angry,it was exhilarating! They said when our husbands walked into a room you knew who the 'Dominant male was."

All the while Mrs. Bonecrusher Smith is sitting there listening to all this with a look of terror.
"Oh no",she gasped. "Is this what I'm going to look forward to? I've only been married a short time."
Mrs. LaMotta and Robinson tried to reassure her that her marriage would turn out all right.

I remember Ali talking to Ed Bradley. Ali was with his wife,Lonnie. Ali was getting worse with his Parkinsons. The subject came up about women. Ali had a look of relief on his face.
"At least now,I don't have to worry about that anymore,"said Ali.

What's the point of all this? Is it good to have all this pussy,or is it a curse? I think the answer is ,that it's both. Just when you think you've had enough of women because they're a pain in the ass,the only thing that will make you feel good again is to go out and get layed.

Diego,

Who is Ali married to at this time? is he still married?.

Hey Frank,
I'm glad you asked that. Muhammad Ali is married to a gal named Lonnie. Hey,you're the picture guy. I have this picture somewhere. It's a picture of a young Cassius Clay in Louisville right after he won the gold medal. He's surrounded by these little kids. It looks like he's sitting in front of some grammar school. Well,there's this little light skinned black girl with freckles standing in front of him and Clay's smiling at her. The little girl's name is Lonnie,the woman who is now his wife.

The way Lonnie tells it,she was in absolute awe of him. She thought that Cassius wouldn't notice her with the other girls because she thought she was ugly. Lonnie said Clay singled her out ,held her hand and said,"Gee you're pretty."
Lonnie said that was the most beautifull thing she ever heard. I got a hunch the young Cassius Clay saw that she might have been a little self conscious and that's why he said that to her.

I don't know how they got together,but it was long after Ali retired and was getting sick. Lonnie takes care of him. She speaks for him. Ali,you can tell,is happy to be with her. Just like when Lonnie was happy to be with a young Cassius Clay in Louisville after coming home with the gold. They say he lost that gold somewhere. Well,he found it again with Lonnie.

Hey Frank,maybe you can find that picture?

Rick,

Don't think I ever seen that pic., I'll see if I can fine it.

[dagosd2000]

Maybe one of you guys can answer this for me. Why didn't Jose Legra stay in Mexico after Castro banned boxing? Napoles and Sugar Ramos certainly benifitted more by staying in Mexico . Legra was in Mexico,but moved to Spain. I think it hurt his career. I saw him on closed circuit destroy Clemente Sanchez. Lost a very close majority decision to Jofre in Brazil. I thought Legra was one of the all time classic boxers. Had that Cuban flair and style. Any of you guys no why he went to Europe? I know his last fight was in LA.

[dagosd2000]

Hey Frank
Those old programs are a trip. Not only the card,but the ads. The telephone numbers with the letter prefixes. When all the action was downtown. The big stores and classy restaurants. I remember staying at the Ambassador Hotel when I was a kid. Saw Victor McLaglin and Walter Cronkite at the pool. Dick Haymes was performing at the Coconut Grove. Used to watch Truth or Consequencws in the morning with Bob Barker. My parents took us to see the Pinky Lee show. We drove to Long Beach to see the "Pike". Remember all the bouganvilla in bloom along the streets in the summer? Watched a Dodger game against the Braves at the Coliseum. Hank Aaron hit a homerun that day. Wally Moon hit a homerun"moon shot" over that big fishnet in left field. Had lunch at the Brown Derby. My Italian grandmother ordered spaghetti. The waiter comes back and says they don't have spaghetti. My Dago grandmother throws a fit. Ten minutes later out came the spaghetti. Years later on television,they were talking to the chef at the Brown Derby after the place closed. He was talking about how he knew how to make just about everything but Italian food.

I bet when my grandmother got sore he opened up a can of Chef Boy R Dee.
.

[dagosd2000]

Hey Frank
Remember "Julies" across the street from the Coliseum? Could have gotten a few autographs there. Now the the place is closed. Hey Buddy,hang on to those old programs.

[kikibalt]

Hey Frank
Those old programs are a trip. Not only the card,but the ads. The telephone numbers with the letter prefixes. When all the action was downtown. The big stores and classy restaurants. I remember staying at the Ambassador Hotel when I was a kid. Saw Victor McLaglin and Walter Cronkite at the pool. Dick Haymes was performing at the Coconut Grove. Used to watch Truth or Consequencws in the morning with Bob Barker. My parents took us to see the Pinky Lee show. We drove to Long Beach to see the "Pike". Remember all the bouganvilla in bloom along the streets in the summer? Watched a Dodger game against the Braves at the Coliseum. Hank Aaron hit a homerun that day. Wally Moon hit a homerun"moon shot" over that big fishnet in left field. Had lunch at the Brown Derby. My Italian grandmother ordered spaghetti. The waiter comes back and says they don't have spaghetti. My Dago grandmother throws a fit. Ten minutes later out came the spaghetti. Years later on television,they were talking to the chef at the Brown Derby after the place closed. He was talking about how he knew how to make just about everything but Italian food.

I bet when my grandmother got sore he opened up a can of Chef Boy R Dee.
.

Diego,

I'm glad your mom got her Italian food (Chef Boy R Dee) LOL!!

Yeah, The Knockout was a great program/magazine that used to come once a week back in the days of my youth.

I used to live around the corner from Midget's Nite club, seen lots of fighters come and go from there.

I'm going to donate one Knockout maganize to be raffle at the the father and son luncheon next week, maybe you'll win it.

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Hey Frank
Remember "Julies" across the street from the Coliseum? Could have gotten a few autographs there. Now the the place is closed. Hey Buddy,hang on to those old programs.

Was there a few times myself.

[kikibalt]

Seen Johnny Gonsalver who is on that page of the KO mag. fight Art Aragon in 1951 at the Olympic, good boxer, not much of a punch.

He lost to Art, good fight though.

[Rick Farris]

Maybe one of you guys can answer this for me. Why didn't Jose Legra stay in Mexico after Castro banned boxing? Napoles and Sugar Ramos certainly benifitted more by staying in Mexico . Legra was in Mexico,but moved to Spain. I think it hurt his career. I saw him on closed circuit destroy Clemente Sanchez. Lost a very close majority decision to Jofre in Brazil. I thought Legra was one of the all time classic boxers. Had that Cuban flair and style. Any of you guys no why he went to Europe? I know his last fight was in LA.

Dagos, I really don't know. I agree that Legra was a brilliant boxer, and considering the caliber of featherweights in Mexico, at the time, and it's close proximity to Los Angeles (which was the "big fight" capitol of the world for lower weight classes), it would seem a logical move. Of course, when it omes to logic, boxing is kinda like a woman, there is no logic.

-Rick Farris