Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

Yesterday I presented Gato´s portrait ,along with Vicente Fernandez and Jose Alfredo ,to the director of the Cultural Center. I have him holding the painting alongside my grandaughter.

Jose Alfredo and Vicente. That´s pretty strong company. Gato will be with the immortals:Infante,Solis,Negrete. Boxers Mexicanos:Kid Azteca,Baby Arizmendi. I´ve got a lot more of the guys to get in there. Rockin´Ruben,and Julio Cesar. I´ve got my work cut out.

But Gato is safe and sound. He´s with the great ones. Tonight the Center will host a dinner in appreciation . They always do this to show their thanks. I´ve got to thank Jose Alfredo,and Vicente,and of course Gato.

Gato. They want to know when you´re coming to Jiquipan. There´s a dinner waiting for you. The birria is ¨listo¨The Mariachis are tuning up. By the way,I told them to hold the onions. You told me that onions are worse than any golpes en la cabeza.

Now I´ll watch my grandaughter teach her class of Flamenco.

Before I leave. Frank,you said you´ve never been out of the Barrio. Funny. I see you everyday.

[bennie]

Jimmy Carter vs Ike Williams

Let the great man fall, ref.

[kikibalt]

R.I.P. Kenny Lane

Muskegon boxing legend Kenny Lane dies at 76

Kenny Lane, one of the all-time greats in Muskegon area sports history, died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 76.
Kenny Lane

Lane was the most accomplished boxer in area history, a crafty lightweight southpaw who compiled a career record of 77-14-2.

But as good of a fighter as he was, Lane forged an even greater legacy as a trainer of young men, working with area kids for the past 40 years, freely giving his expertise to several generations.

"I've never met anyone who loved kids more than Kenny Lane," said Jack Crowell, who was trained by Lane and then coached with him for years at the Muskegon Area Boxing Club, now known as the Muskegon Recreation Center.

"Kenny was the glue of our organization. We are going to miss everything about him so much."

Lane was at the Muskegon Recreation Center, located at Smith-Ryerson Park in the Jackson Hill area of Muskegon, sparring in the ring with young fighters on Monday, the night before his death. He died while playing golf, which replaced boxing as his obsession in his later years.
Chronicle file photoSouthpaw lightweight professional boxer Kenny Lane, left boxed in 1950s and 1960s. He won the Lightweight title n 1963. He is shown with Walter "Pete" Petroskey, who boxed from 1923-1939.

Lane, who honed his skills under the guidance of legendary area trainer Pete Petroskey, turned professional in 1953. He was known for his unorthodox style, which is why many top boxers of the day avoided fights with him.

He is the only area boxer to ever fight for a world championship, losing a controversial 15-round decision to Joe Brown in 1958. Calls for a rematch were ignored.

Lane continued to maintain his top?ranked challenger rating for several more years and won the Michigan version of the World Lightweight crown in a 15-round battle with Paul Armstead. In 1964, five and a half years after the first fight, Lane finally earned another title shot against Carlos Ortiz.

Once again, the southpaw lost a close 15?round decision. Lane fought for one more year. On October 25, 1965, at the age of 33, after losses to future Junior Welterweight Champion Carlos Hernandez and former Junior Welterweight Champion Eddie Perkins, he called it quits.

In 1982, he startled the boxing world by coming out of retirement at age 50 and proceeded to win three of four matches against younger opponents. As a result, Lane became the oldest professional boxer to appear in his 100th professional bout.

"We all know him now because of his great sense of humor and everything else, but make no mistake, Kenny was one of the greatest lefthanded fighters of all time," said Crowell. "I've traveled all over the world with boxing, but no matter where I go, people know about Kenny Lane. He was that good."

Lane, who made a living as an electronics repairman, was inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and four children.
Categories: Breaking News
Comments
HonoHerb says...

I am sad to hear, he used to come out and fix our tv's all the time. My thoughts and prayers are to his family. RIP Kenny.
Posted on 08/05/08 at 7:23PM
lionless says...

A Muskegon legend indeed. Rest in peace Kenny

[kikibalt]

It seems like the Grim Reaper is working overtime on former boxers and the boxing community this year, wonder how many of us are still going to be standing by the end of the year.... :x

[kikibalt]

Where is Bennie?

Lurking in the undergrowth, Frankie.

Snake in the grass?.....

[kikibalt]

Yesterday I presented Gato´s portrait ,along with Vicente Fernandez and Jose Alfredo ,to the director of the Cultural Center. I have him holding the painting alongside my grandaughter.

Jose Alfredo and Vicente. That´s pretty strong company. Gato will be with the immortals:Infante,Solis,Negrete. Boxers Mexicanos:Kid Azteca,Baby Arizmendi. I´ve got a lot more of the guys to get in there. Rockin´Ruben,and Julio Cesar. I´ve got my work cut out.

But Gato is safe and sound. He´s with the great ones. Tonight the Center will host a dinner in appreciation . They always do this to show their thanks. I´ve got to thank Jose Alfredo,and Vicente,and of course Gato.

Gato. They want to know when you´re coming to Jiquipan. There´s a dinner waiting for you. The birria is ¨listo¨The Mariachis are tuning up. By the way,I told them to hold the onions. You told me that onions are worse than any golpes en la cabeza.

Now I´ll watch my grandaughter teach her class of Flamenco.

Before I leave. Frank,you said you´ve never been out of the Barrio. Funny. I see you everyday.

diego,

You better come home dude, you're seeing too many Mexicans.....

[raylawpc]

Where is Bennie?

Lurking in the undergrowth, Frankie.

Snake in the grass?

No Frank. The snake in the grass lurks around on other threads, but, thankfully, has been staying off this one lately.

[kikibalt]

Snake in the grass?

No Frank. The snake in the grass lurks around on other threads, but, thankfully, has been staying off this one lately.

I wonder why??

[raylawpc]

Probably because everybody over here has him on ignore . . . It's no fun to talk to yourself.

[kikibalt]

Probably because everybody over here has him on ignore . . . It's no fun to talk to yourself.

Well, he is on my ignore list for sure....

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

[Rick Farris]

Snake in the grass?

No Frank. The snake in the grass lurks around on other threads, but, thankfully, has been staying off this one lately.

I wonder why??

Because there is a mongoose in the house, licking his chops in wait. Somebody once made a very accurate statement . . . "knowledge is power". It's all about what somebody knows.

[kikibalt]

Billy Peacock

[raylawpc]

Snake in the grass?

No Frank. The snake in the grass lurks around on other threads, but, thankfully, has been staying off this one lately.

I wonder why??

Because there is a mongoose in the house, licking his chops in wait. Somebody once made a very accurate statement . . . "knowledge is power". It's all about what somebody knows.

The somebody was Sir Francis Bacon (a lawyer, naturally. . . )

[bennie]

I must be the only one on this forum who is clueless as to what the 'ignore' button is.

Could someone enlighten me.

[bennie]

Billy Peacock

Peacock epitomises the term 'bantamweight'.

[raylawpc]

I must be the only one on this forum who is clueless as to what the 'ignore' button is.

Could someone enlighten me.

Hi Bennie. Go to the top of the page and click the "user control panel." Once there, at the left side of the screen, scroll down to "Friends and Foes." Click on that, and then click the "Manage Foes" option. From that screen you can list foes and people whose messages you want to ignore.

[bennie]

Cheers, Ray.

[bennie]

Where is Bennie?

Lurking in the undergrowth, Frankie.

Snake in the grass?.....

Talking of snakes in the grass, check out Arum. Ugh!

[kikibalt]

Snake in the grass?.....

Talking of snakes in the grass, check out Arum. Ugh!

Bennie

You're right about Bob Arum, he like Don King are snakes in the grass....

[kikibalt]

[dagosd2000]

Yesterday I presented Gato´s portrait ,along with Vicente Fernandez and Jose Alfredo ,to the director of the Cultural Center. I have him holding the painting alongside my grandaughter.

Jose Alfredo and Vicente. That´s pretty strong company. Gato will be with the immortals:Infante,Solis,Negrete. Boxers Mexicanos:Kid Azteca,Baby Arizmendi. I´ve got a lot more of the guys to get in there. Rockin´Ruben,and Julio Cesar. I´ve got my work cut out.

But Gato is safe and sound. He´s with the great ones. Tonight the Center will host a dinner in appreciation . They always do this to show their thanks. I´ve got to thank Jose Alfredo,and Vicente,and of course Gato.

Gato. They want to know when you´re coming to Jiquipan. There´s a dinner waiting for you. The birria is ¨listo¨The Mariachis are tuning up. By the way,I told them to hold the onions. You told me that onions are worse than any golpes en la cabeza.

Now I´ll watch my grandaughter teach her class of Flamenco.

Before I leave. Frank,you said you´ve never been out of the Barrio. Funny. I see you everyday.

diego,

You better come home dude, you're seeing too many Mexicans.....

First things first
Kenny Lane,one crafty little dude. Thought he had the best chance of taking Old Bones´title.Close fight,as I recall,but Joe edged him. As far as Brown losing to Ortiz in Vegas,that fight stunk to high heaven. If that one was on the level then I´m writng this post in Oslo,Norway.

El Nacho Marin

When I first met Nacho he had a little juice stand in the Mercado Municipal..I´d always opt for a fresh carrott juice. Nacho would have one with me and we´d toast something or other.Women,food,music,and of course boxing. Nacho loved boxing. A real aficianado. Nacho had worked in the fields in California,but his diabetes had slowed him down. He returned to Jiquilpan to open his juice stand.

After our carrott juice Nacho would reach under the stand and bring out the jug.
¨Ün Mescalito Rogelio?
Of course I´d have one with the old guy. He was proud of his little stand. Sometimes he´d break some sort of pidgeon eggs in my carrott juice.
¨Rogelio,este es para hacer amor todo la noche.¨
How could I say no. Make love all night long. At the time I wanted something to slow me down,but that wouldn´t be a thing to bring up around Nacho.

Nacho remembered Gato. He saw his three fights in El Estadio.
¨Porque no peleo en Mexico no mas?¨
Nacho didn´t understand why Gato didn´t fight in Mexico after he won the title. I told him he´d have to ask Gato.At the time I didn´t know Gato Gonzalez.

Nacho was doing well with the juice stand,but each year I could see him winding down. One year when I went back they had taken a leg off. Diabetes.
¨Rogelio,No puedo a pelear contra mi muerte.¨
He could not fight against his death. He was going to give the business to his son.
*No me gusta los tiempos de ahorra. Un mundo por los jovenes. No estoy joven.¨
Nacho didn´t like the modern world. It was a world for the young,and he was an old man.
¨No te procupas amigo. Jiquilpan no va a cambiar rapido.¨
I told him Jiquilpan won´t change very fast. Not to worry.

Just then his son arrived at the juice stand. He was very excited.
¨Papa,Compre la nueva cable. Tengo 78 canales.¨
His son told his father he had bought the new cable telkevision service. He could receive 78 channels.

I thought that maybe Jiquilpan was going to change faster than I thought. But I would not say anythung about that to Nacho.

[bennie]

In a clash of unsung veterans Mexican craftsman Juan Manuel Marquez takes on Cuban southpaw bogeyman Joel Casamayor in Las Vegas on September 13.
It is a lightweight 12-rounder.
Marquez makes his debut at the weight after dropping his WBC super-featherweight title to Filipino great Manny Pacquiao in March, also in Las Vegas, in a marvellous fight that could really have gone either way (a split decision). A third-round knockdown scored by Pacquiao made the difference - just as three knockdowns scored by Pacquiao in the opening round of their first thrilling showdown in 2004 allowed "Pac Man" to ultimately salvage a draw. To me Marquez was the 'moral' victor in both.
Clearly, Marquez is an unlucky fighter and something of a slow starter. Once he gets into his groove, the 35-year-old "Dinamita" picks off his opponents with classy, precise, punishing bursts of counters and maintains it. He possesses great stamina, although you wonder about his natural strength at the weight. He made his name as an oustanding featherweight, of course, ducked conspicuously by one Naseem Hamed down there. (You have to say, in light of Marco Antonio Barrera's success on the jab against Naz and Marquez's slick-boxing displays against Pacquiao, the California-based Marquez would have probably got the better of the flashy Sheffield man.)
To Casamayor, who is seriously knocking on for a small man himself at 37 but moved up to lightweight in the summer of 2004, after a long spell as WBA super-featherweight champion, and despite a couple of hiccups is much more acclimatised to the weight and indeed goes in as Ring magazine lightweight champion. The hiccups? Kyrgyzstani kid Almazbek Raiymkulov held Casamayor to a surprise draw in Madison Square Garden in 2005 and Mexican-American Jose Armando Santa Cruz put him down and looked unlucky to drop a split decision last year, also at The Garden. The fact remains, Casamayor hasn't lost at 9st 9lbs (hasn't lost, full stop) since Jose Luis Castillo took a split decision over him in Las Vegas in December 2004. Nearly four years.
Casamayor continues to defy father time, then, and outscored the late Diego Corrales in 2006 to avenge a previous defeat. Last time out in March he stopped previously unbeaten Aussie Michael Katsidis in the 10th round of a thriller. Given how formidable Katsidis looked over here against Luton's Graham Earl, it proves what a strong, solid, hurtful, canny fighter the former Olympic champion still is, shades of Bernard Hopkins, and Casamayor knows all about breaking up the rhythm of his opponents, which is crucial against the smooth Marquez, about having his head in the right place at the right time (Katsidis looked a mess at the finish), which is also crucial against Marquez, who has a history of busting up, and above all, he knows how to make his strength and southpaw stance work for him.
He is something of a nightmare.
All things considered, however, this one looks desperately tight and Marquez showed he could basically handle southpaw strongmen six months ago in the Pacquiao rematch and has pasted the likes of Derrick Gainer and Victor Polo, among other 'big' southpaws, in the past. If he carries the extra weight OK, and slips into that implacable rhythm of his, Marquez looks the tip.

[Expug]

I must be the only one on this forum who is clueless as to what the 'ignore' button is.

Could someone enlighten me.

Hi Bennie. Go to the top of the page and click the "user control panel." Once there, at the left side of the screen, scroll down to "Friends and Foes." Click on that, and then click the "Manage Foes" option. From that screen you can list foes and people whose messages you want to ignore.

Looking around at these other threads,its amazing how it is the same freakin topics about heavyweights constantly.
Ali, Marciano, who beats who, the top 28 of all time etc etc.
Is the search function broken or what?
Personaly,I feel the career of say , Bobby Chacon is a helluva lot more interesting then Ali or any other heavyweight for that matter.