THE ROOSEVELT
THAT I KNOW
TEN YEARS OF BOXING WITH THE
PRESIDENT AND OTHER MEMORIES
OF FAMOUS FIGHTING MEN
BY MIKE DONOVAN
EX-CHAMPION MIDDLEWEIGHT OF AMERICA AND
BOXING-MASTER OF THE NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB
[EDITED BY F. H. N.]
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
B. W. DODGE & COMPANY
1909
CHAPTER I
THE ROOSEVELT THAT I KNOW
ALL the world knows Theodore Roosevelt, the statesman; the man who turned the light on the corporate highwaymen. He has made the "Big Stick" respected. But the "Big Stick" must be guided by law, not so the fist; wherever you see a head hit it is the fighting rule ; a word and a blow, but the blow first the reverse of legal practice.
In the following pages I propose to describe Theodore Roosevelt, the fighter, untrammeled by legal restriction ; the lover of fistic encounter, as I know him; the man of brawn and muscle, with a genuine fighting spirit and the courage of two ordinary men to sustain its promise. I intend further to describe his methods of attack and defense, and to note the analogy between the spirit he exhibits in boxing and that which has urged him on in those political encounters which have made him famous.
A succession of glove-fights with him, covering a period of more than ten years, in which we have met as man to man, where it was give and take, with no restrictions, gives me the
right to speak authoritatively, and I wish to say here that, whether or not he was champion of his class in college, about which there has been some discussion in the press, it is admitted
that he was an able fighting man then, ready to take his medicine and try again. I can say that he is the same man now a man who asks no favors, cool in a fight, determined, aggressive, consumed with the purpose to overcome resistance, to win; a glutton for punishment, as the ring phrase goes. It is no exaggeration when I say that, in some mix-ups with him, I have been compelled to resort to all the arts and devices that have come to me from years of serious fighting, often to slug right and left to save myself.
I have noted his career in politics, seen him go for the mark there with the same pertinacity that he shows when boxing. Resistance, discomfiture, hard knocks in one domain as in the
other serve only to make him keener, to whet his appetite for the fray. Had he come- to the prize-ring, instead of to the political arena, it is my conviction he would have been successful. The man is a born fighter; it's in his blood. There are some who are easily diverted from their purpose, some who go impetuously forward with dash and spirit which will not be denied, but once the attack seems hopeless they hesitate and fly panic-stricken in hopeless disorder. A few only remain; these, with conviction imbedded in their very souls, cannot be stayed, even though they themselves would will it. They go tumultuously forward, even to the death.
Theodore Roosevelt is of them. He reminds one of the biblical general who, his men faint-hearted, wavering, at sight of the overpowering on-rush of Philistines, faced the
tide undaunted, so firm was his purpose that he furiously laid about him till the last.Even in death, the Bible tells us : "His sword clave to his hand." That is to say, the hilt of
his sword was found to be imbedded in his palm, a sure indication that he never wavered from his purpose of attack.
I have a vivid recollection of my first fistic encounter with Theodore Roosevelt. The Governor left me in the old billiard-room of the Executive Mansion at Albany, which he had
fitted up as a gymnasium for his boys, in order that they might begin their physical education under his eye.
He then went downstairs to don his boxing clothes.In a few minutes he returned.It was the Governor of the State of New York who had left me. It was a fighting man who entered the room. He wore a sleeveless flannel shirt, his khaki rough-rider uniform trousers and light canvas shoes without heels. First, I was struck by the expression of his eyes, which are large, light blue, placed well apart, aggressive, fearless, persistent. He is about 5 feet 8 inches in height, but his great breadth of shoulders and bulk of body make him seem shorter. His arms are short, but heavy and well-muscled. His head is that of the typical fighter. It is broad and symmetrical, poised on a powerful neck. A plumb-line could be dropped from the back of his head to his waist. That formation shows not only the fighting spirit, but the physical vigor to sustain it. His short, thick body, with its high, arched chest, is sturdily set on unusually strong, sinewy legs. I noticed he wore no belt, and told him he had better put one on.
He borrowed one from my brother Jerry. After pulling on his gloves he stepped forward on to the mat. Most men, on coming to box for the first time with a champion, present or retired,
show some trepidation. There was none of that here. After we shook hands I studied him carefully. Then I led a left jab, following it up. with a faint-hearted right that landed like a love-tap high up on his cheek. He dropped his hands and stopped. "Look here, Mike," he said indignantly; "that is not fair." I was afraid I had done something wrong. "What's the matter, Governor?" I asked. "You are not hitting me," he said, shaking his head. "I'd like you to hit out." "All right, Governor," I said, thinking to myself, this man has a pretty good opinion of himself.
We started in again, and I sent in a hard right to the body as he rushed in, and then tried a swinging left for the jaw. He stepped inside and drove his right to my ear. It jarred me down to the heels. I realized from that moment that the Governor was no ordinary amateur. If I took chances with him I was endangering my reputation.
From that day I have taken no chances with Theodore Roosevelt with the gloves. I've hit him many times as hard as ever I hit a fighter in the ring, without stopping him, and
thousands know how hard I can hit. I want to say, now, that I never saw him wince or show even by an involuntary sign that he was discomfited in spirit, no matter how severe
the bodily pain. On the contrary, it met with only that characteristic turning of the head a bit to the side, a grim smile and a determined setting of the bulldog jaw, followed by another
rush. Theodore Roosevelt is a strong, tough man; hard to hurt, and harder to stop.
From the very first I was struck with the kindly nature of the man. Though pressed with business as he always was, his mind full of problems, with a crowd of importunate office seekers and would-be advisers forever at his heels, he hailed my appearance with genuine delight, and always found time to inquire after my doings and welfare. Sometimes I thought
it was the getting away from the exactions of office, the temporary respite from official cares that my coming signaled, that made me so welcome ; again, that diplomatic intrigue, the wrangling of officials, intemperate attacks of the opposing party, all of which must be settled with words, mere words, stirred his impatient blood to the boiling point. A box on the ear here, a smash in the wind there, I could readily guess, would have suited his impulsive nature far better. In most of his affairs it is the diplomatic "Having the honor to be" but never doing anything. He must hit somebody, hit him hard, and I thought I turned up opportunely to get what was coming to somebody else.
Ismael Laguna – continued from the last edition
“I went into training too late” claimed Ortiz. “ I had trouble making the weight because I was training for a month and a half only. I wasn’t feeling good and the heat over there was terrible. I got my face bloodied up, but I thought the fight was close enough for me to win.”
He did however, return to new York with a healthy respect for Laguna. Meanwhile, the new champion celebrated with a non-title win in Panama city, scoring an eighth round knockout of the Mexican champion Raul Chato Soriano. However his management team did not believe in wasting time against low grade opposition and Laguna was forced to earn every single penny of his paydays.
For is second non-title outing Laguna went to Buenos Aires to fight the 25 year old Argentinean Nicolino Locche who held the South American title.The result was a diplomatic draw. Because the first fight with Ortiz had been so close, it was only right that a man who had been such a good champ should be given a re match.and in San Juan, in November 1965, the Puerto Rican born Ortiz regained the title from Laguna with a 15 round points decision. Laguna was paid $30,000 gross and, before the fight, must have been especially confident when the former champ came to the scales half a pound over the limit.
Ortiz had to walk off the excess weight, but he was in tremendous shape and used his greater experience to work out Laguna’s style. The decision was unanimous . As usual Laguna’s management saw no point in easing their man back with a soft option and his next fight was a non-title contest against the world welter champion Carlos Hernandez of Venezuela, in February 1966. Laguna scored one of the most impressive victories of his career in stopping Hernandez in eight rounds
A month later, Laguna was in manila to take on the world junior lightweight champion Flash Elorde . For four rounds he was in control but then a big left hand dumped him on the canvas in the fifth. A right hand also dropped Laguna in round nine. Although he finished the 10 rounds on his feet Laguna was outpointed. This time Laguna did take a rest, having four months off before returning with a stylish points win over Al Grant in July 1966. The main event fighter that night was the teenage sensation Mando Ramos whose big hitting talent was attracting a large following. Four years later Ramos and Laguna would meet for the world title.
For the moment however Laguna and his handlers had to concentrate on getting back on track. Laguna did well to beat Percy Hayles in six round in October but it was an appearance in New York that really established him in the public eye. In march 1967 Laguna met Frankie Narvaez, a world rated Puerto Rican, whose recent victims included future champion Carlos Cruz, Joe Brown, Percy Hayles and Johnny Bizzarro. It was to a be a fantastic and frightening night rolled into one.
For Frankie Narvaez, Laguna was supposed to be the final stepping stone to a world title shot and the 12 round meeting in Madison Square garden drew a good crowd of 11,580, with Narvaez attracting substantial support from the local Puerto Rican community.
Laguna a slight pre fight favourite dominated from the start to finish and won a unanimous decision. But when the verdict was announced – two scores of 9-3 and one of 8-3-1 – the Puerto Rican fans began hurling bottles and smashing chairs. A substantial number of people were treated in hospital and one died of a heart attack. The police cleared the building but no arrests were made.
Two more wins in Panama set up a decider against Ortiz for the world title in New York in August 1967. Another night of Puerto Rican – Panamanian rivalry was anticipated and Ortiz was persuaded to give public exhibitions in the open air, in the Bronx, in an attempt to give his fans a “No Riot “ message.
As it turned out there was never any suggestion of trouble among the 19,480 crowd as Ortiz recaptured his best form to win easily on points. The Panamanian fans accepted the verdict readily and the Puerto Ricans celebrated merrily. “ I showed Laguna and his followers who is the master of the lightweight division” said Ortiz afterwards. ! I’ve been fighting 14 years and I don’t believe I ever showed as much as I did in this one “.
A defeat as conclusive as that might have led to a lesser man losing heart, but Laguna was made of stronger stuff. Two months later he was back in front of his Panama City fans outpointing Paul Armstead of Los Angeles. In 1968 he has eight consecutive wins, the best being a split decision win in front of 8,000 fans in a rematch with Narvaez in San Juan.
After he systematically outboxed the previously unbeaten Victor Melendez, in Madison Square Garden, RING said “ Laguna gave us a masterful an exhibition of cleverness as has been seen in the Garden for some time “. He closed 1968 with a win on another riotous night at the Garden. The crowd disapproved of the split decision he received against a Venezuelan named Ramon Blanco. Bottles and debris rained down after the verdict, a fire was started, a fridge ripped out of the press box and a large plate glass window was smashed.
After setting matters straight against Espinosa, Laguna beat the experienced Puerto Rican Genaro Soto on points at the Garden. Then two and a half years and 15 fights after his second world title defeat by Ortiz, Laguna returned to the world championship stage in the Sports Arena of the University of California, Los Angeles. Laguna challenged the young champion Mando Ramos for the lightweight title in March 1970. The former champ took his opportunity emphatically , sticking to the basics in order to outbox and cut up Ramos. Before the fight, Laguna’s wealthy backer, Cain Young, had agreed to a return clause, but when he discovered that one of the judges actually had Ramos in front when the fight was stopped at the end of nine rounds, he backed out of it. “ Laguna is ready to box Ramos again, but in Panama or New York not in California “ said Young. The Californian Commission banned Laguna for breach of contract.
Rather than face Ramos again, Young negotiated a first defence against Ishimatsu Suzuki of Japan, in Panama City in June 1970. Not surprisingly, Laguna was a class above Suzuki, who was rescued in the 13th round after a one sided bout. Afterwards, Young considered a variety of possibilities for Laguna to defend away from home. A Japanese offer guaranteed a minimum of $70,000 for a rematch with Suzuki in Tokyo, while a Spanish promoter put $100,000 on the table for a fight in Madrid against Pedro Carrasco. In London Jack Solomons wanted to talk business on behalf of the British champion Ken Buchanan.
Eventually they settled on the latter. But in the open air Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, not London. In September Laguna’s title slipped away on a split decision and the Scot became the first British fighter for more than 50 years to win the world lightweight title – which was not recognised by the British Board of Control who supported the Californian ban of Laguna. Once again Young complained bitterly about the officials and accused the Puerto Rican Commission of incompetence.
Ring magazine felt that a rematch should be ordered because of the close nature of the verdict. Referee Waldemar Schmidt scored 144-143 for Laguna, but was overruled by the judges, Jose Soto and Pito Lopez who gave it to Buchanan by scores of 144-143 and 145-144. It was that tight and Buchanan was quoted as saying “ I could not have complained if they gave it to Laguna”.
Laguna’s response to his defeat was typical. He returned to training and was soon back in the ring. He fought in Panama City, winning in quick succession against Lloyd Marshall and Chango Carmona. By now there was another young rising star within the lightweight division – 19 year old Roberto Duran. The tearaway teenager they were already calling “Hands of stone ” could not have been more of a contrast in technique to the stylish Laguna. Yet in time he would go on to be one of the greatest lightweights ever seen.
Laguna was beginning to fade and some have suggested he was starting to show the first signs of sickle-cell anaemia that was to affect him in later years. A rematch with Buchanan was agreed for the Garden but was thrown into doubt in June when Laguna was surprisingly floored and then outpointed by the unrated lightweight Eddie Linder. As Linder had won only three of his previous seven fights it was expected to be no more than a workout for Laguna the once brilliant Panamanian, yet Laguna was beaten on a majority verdict. It was a clear signal Laguna had slipped.
The rematch with Buchanan went ahead, and was a good fight, but the Scot was an emphatic winner after 15 hard rounds. Rain kept the attendance down, but they still drew 13,211 who paid $148,842, plus $40,000 in TV rights. Financially , however, that left Laguna very much on the short end. Cain Young had guaranteed Buchanan a $100,000 purse, and was extremely critical of the Garden for pushing him into such a hard bargain. He stuck to his view that Laguna had been robbed in San Juan, predicting a big win for his man. It was not to be.
“Laguna was courageous, conditioned, game, determined “ wrote veteran critic Dan Daniel. “ He was a dangerous puncher, dangerous chiefly because he kept hammering away at the champions eyes. But he was not the fighter he had shown himself to be on the previous Metropolitan appearances. He was a step off. His stamina had been reduced and his skill impaired.”
Buchanan finished bruised and cut below the left eye, with Laguna virtually unmarked., but the champion retained his title on a unanimous decision. He hurt Laguna with a body shot in round 14, and won 9-6 in rounds on the referees card – Jimmy Devlin - , 10-5 according to Harold Lederman and 8-6-1 in the opinion of Tony Castellano. It was Laguna’s last fight and on 15 Pril 1972 he announced his retirement after 75 fights, with 65 wins, 9 points defeats and a draw. He was never stopped or knocked out throughout his whole professional career.
Newsletter No3 no 1 - part 2
Re: Newsletter No3 no 1 - part 2
Thanks, Robert.
Keep them coming.
Keep them coming.