Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Expug]

One of my favorite bluesmen Jimmy Reed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO8blq8i3L4

[kikibalt]

One of my favorite bluesmen Jimmy Reed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO8blq8i3L4

Pug,

He was one of the best.

[Expug]

I figured you would like Jimmy , Frank.
He was the real deal.

[Expug]

The gym I worked out at when boxing was just a little ways down the road from one of the most famous Blues lounges in the world.
The Checkerboard lounge.
It was there that I was introduced to Buddy Guy.
A trainer who worked with me sometimes who was an ex fighter by the name of Herman Mills introduced us.
The Checkerboard is now gone .
They are wreckin this city Ill tell ya.

[dagosd2000]

The gym I worked out at when boxing was just a little ways down the road from one of the most famous Blues lounges in the world.
The Checkerboard lounge.
It was there that I was introduced to Buddy Guy.
A trainer who worked with me sometimes who was an ex fighter by the name of Herman Mills introduced us.
The Checkerboard is now gone .
They are wreckin this city Ill tell ya.

There was a club on the 2nd floor between 10th and 11th Streets on Broadway. Ward's Jazzvile. Very good atmosphere. Vice squad was in there a lot. Finally they lost their license. Saw Jimmy Smith,Modern Jazz Quartet,Mary Wells,and Cannonball Adderley there. After they shut down,Spud Murphy's Boxing Gym took over. Nice gym. Again good atmosphere. Now it's gone. You can guess what they did to the property. A parking lot. Lousy atmosphere.

[Expug]

Dagos , did you know that Maxwell Street aint even there anymore.
They actually moved it.
Over towrds Canal Street I think.
Somethin about University of Illinois needing the land.
It aint the same. Needless to say.
25 years ago we would go down there and listen to guys play blues on Sunday mornings.
They would set up in vacant lots and just play.
Afterwards you could go grab a Polish.
There was a little sporting goods shop over there that I found a nice pair of boxing shoes at.
Those were the days.
The Polish and Hotdog stand is probably a fu.... Starbucks now.

[dagosd2000]

Dagos , did you know that Maxwell Street aint even there anymore.
They actually moved it.
Over towrds Canal Street I think.
Somethin about University of Illinois needing the land.
It aint the same. Needless to say.
25 years ago we would go down there and listen to guys play blues on Sunday mornings.
They would set up in vacant lots and just play.
Afterwards you could go grab a Polish.
There was a little sporting goods shop over there that I found a nice pair of boxing shoes at.
Those were the days.
The Polish and Hotdog stand is probably a fu.... Starbucks now.

Pug
Go ahead . I'm about to throw in the towel. When my parents were teenagers,my mom lived above Diamond Joe's house. My dad was downstairs. When they were kids they'd walk over to Maxwell Street. They'd see a young Bennie Goodman carrying his clarinet case walking over to get his music lesson.

Now I go to our neighborhood park and listen to some drugged out dirt bag playing some guitar like he thinks he's Segovia. The thing is,it's in his mind. What my ears are hearing is an old spring mattress.

BTW,the University of Illinois is now sitting on top of where Diamond Joe's house was. So much for higher education.

[Expug]

Its a shame. It really is Dagos.

[dagosd2000]

Its a shame. It really is Dagos.

I know the average guy would think a thread on a forum should be taken lightly. And it probably should. But I feel myself getting cornered like an old fighter who's lost his legs. I'm just trying to cover up. This thread is just about the only thing that keeps me up on my feet. I love my family,but I can't talk to them about a lot of things. They're a younger generation.

I remember my father towards the end. He was always calling Chicago trying to get in touch with some of the old gang. One day he stopped calling. The old gang was all gone. Everyday I feel more and more like my dad.

[Expug]

Well Dagos, you have alot of wisdom and stories to share that are much appreciated.
That may put a little wind in your sails though eh?

[Expug]

And, Youve made some friends here, myself included and thats always a very good thing.

[dagosd2000]

And, Youve made some friends here, myself included and thats always a very good thing.

Thanks Irish

[bennie]

Marcel Cerdan vs Cyril Delannoit
12 July 1948

Look at Cerdan's defence! Forget Edith Piaf, I'm the one doing the crooning.

[bennie]

Mando Ramos

This was taken last year at the WBHOF banquet, when Dan Hanley & I interviewed Mando.

Rick

Mando actually looks a bit like Duran in this shot.

[bennie]

Can you believe they chucked this guy in with Marciano a fight later?

Brave manager.

I loved watching Walcott set up an opponent for his hook. He used to shift his shoulders, like he was going to throw the right, then come over with a hook. You'll never see Klitschko or the Russian giants make such moves, they can't. Their bodies are too big, and their hearts are too small. As the great boxers died, so did the trainers. The best teachers are gone, and so goes boxing. Walcott was a small heavyweight, and would have a field day in today's era, as would Rocky, Dempsey, Louis . . . Hell, why am I reaching for greats to compare with today's lot? Hell, La Starza, Doug Jones, etc. Small heavys would destroy what they call heavyweight champions today. I'm sorry, but people in this world actually believe that "bigger is better". If matched with a true boxer/fighter, the Russian brigade would be lost balls in high grass.

-Rick

Great post, Rick. I don't think I've ever seen a better single shot than the left hook Jersey Joe took out Ezzard with for the world heavyweight title.
That left hook is mindblowingly good.

[bennie]

Joe Frazier & Jack Dempsey
9 April 1972

Frazier, on top of the world. Foreman was still in the wings, of course.

[bennie]

Kid Gavilan & Kid Chocolate
Cuba

Great shot.

[bennie]

Sorry to hear about Don Fraser.

Get well soon, Don.

[Wildhawke11]

deleted

[kikibalt]

Rodolfo Gonzalez

"El Gato"
By Diego

[kikibalt]

Mando & Sylvia Ramos

[kikibalt]

Georgie Benton

[kikibalt]

Primo Carnera

"De Preem"
By Diego

[kikibalt]

[bennie]

Georgie Benton

Great middleweight. Sadly, I remember him best for resisting Eddie Futch as Futch pulled out Frazier in Manila.