Classic American West Coast Boxing

[bennie]

Incidentally, Ray, I saw Watt and O'Grady laughing and joking at ringside in the States in 1986 (at the Honeyghan-Curry show).

Michael Buffer introduced Watt as Jim Scot from Wattland. That's a true story.

[Counter-puncher]

Bennie-

as you say Watt was very good. what i would call a perfect example of a boxing over-achiever, IMO he had much more in the way of mental toughness, skill, and ring nous- intangibles- than he had of pure physical talent. i always respect guys like that. the buchanan fight is still one of the best all-british tussles ever, IMO, a superb mix of skills and commitment.

apparently to this day Watt denies 'dropping the nut' on O'Grady :)

my dad saw him at an after-dinner sportsman's type night, said Watt was extremely articulate, polite, and patient, with a tremendous memory. he just doesn't like being asked if he dropped the nut on O'Grady haha.

point taken on Montes too, when i say flatters to deceive its that he seemed to fight in flurries and when he did, looked very good, but could then 'go missing' for another round or two....

[bennie]

In Glasgow (average life expectancy, 53) Watt probably doesn't even think he did anything wrong.

The ol' Glasgow kiss.

[Expug]

Incidentally, Ray, I saw Watt and O'Grady laughing and joking at ringside in the States in 1986 (at the Honeyghan-Curry show).

Michael Buffer introduced Watt as Jim Scot from Wattland. That's a true story.

Hilarious, oh well, everyone stumbles I guess. Buffer may have been looking in a mirror fixing his well coifed mane when he said that.
I never really considered Buffer a "boxing guy".

[bennie]

Sean O'Grady had those eyes, you know. The coldest eyes. He was some fighter, too.

[kikibalt]

Tony Baltazar (L) sparring with John Montes

[bennie]

Tony Baltazar (L) sparring with John Montes

Tony on the right, I assume. His upper body is huge.

Edit: Oh sorry, Frankie. Ma, I got it wrong again.

[bennie]

Beautiful technique from Tony. Life is the best left-hooker you ever saw...

[kikibalt]

Tony Baltazar (L) sparring with John Montes

Tony on the right, I assume. His upper body is huge.

Edit: Oh sorry, Frankie. Ma, I got it wrong again.

Bennie, notice how Tony's turns his fist when he throw the left hook to the body, something the Montes never did.

[bennie]

Tony Baltazar (L) sparring with John Montes

Tony on the right, I assume. His upper body is huge.

Edit: Oh sorry, Frankie. Ma, I got it wrong again.

Bennie, notice how Tony's turns his fist when he throw the left hook to the body, something the Montes never did.

Did you fight, Frankie?

[kikibalt]

Did you fight, Frankie?

Amateur only, had 17 fights, and I lost more then I won....

[bennie]

Did you fight, Frankie?

Amateur only, had 17 fights, and I lost more then I won....

Perfect. Enough to 'know' what the game is all about, and then to pass on what you know, expertly.

Frankie: do you train anyone now? And did you train fighters other than Frankie and Tony?

[kikibalt]

Frankie: do you train anyone now? And did you train fighters other than Frankie and Tony?

Bennie, I don't train fighters anymore, don't go to the gyms, in the 60's I train other fighters, mostly amateurs, then when the Frankie and Tony turn pro, I just train them, but I was booking fighters for other managers who were having a hard time getting fights for their fighters.

[Expug]

Tony Baltazar (L) sparring with John Montes

Tony on the right, I assume. His upper body is huge.

Edit: Oh sorry, Frankie. Ma, I got it wrong again.

Bennie, notice how Tony's turns his fist when he throw the left hook to the body, something the Montes never did.

The left hook to the body.
Great technique from Tony.
I couldnt throw that punch well at all.
I could throw a real good one upstairs, but was useless to the body.
People dont realize how tough it is to get the timing and feet right for that shot.
Head hunting is easy.
Body punching is an art form.

[bennie]

Cheers, Frankie. I like the way Tony has come inside Montes' left hook to land that hurtful-looking body shot.

[kikibalt]

Cheers, Frankie. I like the way Tony has come inside Montes' left hook to land that hurtful-looking body shot.

Bennie, when Tony ko John, he came in/slip on a jab from John, and nail him with a beautiful short hook, it was dreamland for John.

[Randyman]

Rog, I agree. I love that picture of The Olympic.
Something about it takes you back to the seventies in a very big way.
I dont know what it is. Maybe the car the clothes on the people, the shade of the picture, I dont know.
Takes me back in time.

What it was like, FIGHTING AT THE OLYMPIC . . .

I'll never forget the first time I went to the Olympic to watch a fight. It was the mid 60's and I was a kid with my dad. The place was like a magic kingdom to me. The smell of beer and cigar smoke, the roar of the crowd, the powder blue ring canvas, the TV lights shining down from the edge of the balcony. The ring lights glaring straight down from above, the beam of light shrouding the ring in smoke that wafted up from ringside.

I dreamed of fighting there one day. Just a kid's dream, but I made it come true. How? I don't know, but I did!

I remember the excitment of the crowd as I watched as a kid. The fighters would come bouncing down the aisle to the ring, the crowd would greet them with a thunderous ovation, especially for the big fights. You'd never forget the excitement of Mando Ramos, his ring entrance would send a shock wave of energy thru the crowd. So would Jerry Quarry, Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, and so on. I rememebr Mando when he would enter the ring, it was so different than what you see today. No rap music, no entourage, no dancing, no magic carpet entrance, just Mando bounding down the ring behind Jackie McCoy, holding a bucket. When Mando would step thru the ropes the crowd would explode. When he was introduced by the late Jimmy Lennon Sr. there were no histerics, no stare downs, no false bravado. Mando would just calmly nod to his fans. He'd do his fighting in the ring. He was the coming of a new "Golden Boy".

I dreamed of fighting in that ring, and I would one day do just that, and I would do it quite a few times. The first time in the 1967 Jr. Golden Gloves Championship finals, in a bout that Frank Baltazar was matchmaker. Frank's boys were there too, Frankie Jr. Tony and Bobby. Later I would appear there as an amateur, in the Golden Gloves, and the Diamond Belt tournaments, and before the thursday night pro cards on a few occasions, and then as a pro. The first nine pro fights of my career were held at the Olympic. I was never a great fighter like the guys I named above, but I fought at the Olympic, and Jimmy Lennon introduced me to the crowd quite a few times. That is something that NOBODY can take away from me. I had a dream, and made it happen!

I sat in those underground dressing rooms, watched the guy fighting before me leave our dressing room and hear him introduced to the crowd from deep below the arena. Then, as I nervously tried to rest, hear the crowd roar. I knew something was happening, as I nervously anticipated my bout, which was next up. Johnny Flores would warm me up, lace on the gloves, apply a thin layer of Vaseline and then pull my robe over my shoulders. The bout would end, a decision was announced and a few moments later the guy who shared the dressing room with me would return, sometimes smiling in victory or not, sometimes battered and bloody, sometimes not. Then the athletic commssion rep would step in and say "It's time Ricky, your on . . ." Johnny Flores would slap my back and say, "Let's go champ", and we were off. Out the door of the room, down to the exit tunnel, thru the opening, turn left and up a short flight of stairs to the top, turn left, past the concessions stands, turn right and down the aisle to the ring. I then move slowly behind Flores as the fans reach out to touch me, we pass from under the balcony and as I come into view of the crowd I hear a roar and I begin to jog the rest of the way to the ring, up the steps, thru the ropes and suddenly all the butter flies disapear.

Jimmy Lennon flips a large disk to determine which corner will be mine, then we move to that corner. I walk to the rosen box and see my opponent climb thru the ropes. The perspective from the ring is much different from that outside the ring. Frank will tell you, no matter how many times you've sat ringside, nothing looks quite the same at the Olympic as it does from inside that powder blue ring. Things are suddenly much smaller inside the ropes. There is an unexplaneable intimacy, excitement, energy. Suddenly, the microphone drops down from the rafters into Jimmy Lennon's hands.

"Ladies and gentleman this is the semi-main event of the evening, six rounds of boxing between two outstanding banatmweights. Calling the bout from ringside will be TV announcer Jim Healy, keeping account of the knockdowns will be our timekeeper Jack Smith at the bell, and physician in attendence will be Dr. Bernhart Schwartz. Judging from ringside will be George Latka and Dick Young, and the referee in charge of this bout will be John Thomas. Allright fans here we go . . ."

Sorry guys, I just got caught up in the greatest memory I posess. . . I FOUGHT AT THE OLYMPIC!

-Rick Farris

Rick, you have written some doozies but this one takes the cake. Your excitement, pride, and youthful perspective shot right out of my computer screen. As I was reading it, I just knew that when you were writing, you were transported, at least for the moment, back in time. You are so right too, no one can take those memories away from you. You fought at the Olympic! I understand. To my deepest core I understand. I came so close a couple of times. Minutes before I was to go out, the fights were canceled. If I take a certain pride in just being that close. Then I can only imagine how you feel. You articulated that quite well. Thanks for sharing that with us, it was outsatnding. Rick, I took the liberty of posting this on my website. Hope you don't mind.

[kikibalt]

Archie Moore vs Tony Anthony, at the Olympic...1957
and I was there....

[raylawpc]

Sean O'Grady had those eyes, you know. The coldest eyes. He was some fighter, too.

Yeah, but outside the ring, Sean fit Carlos Ortiz description of most prizefighters - a "cupcake." Really a sweet kid.

[Randyman]

Sean O'Grady had those eyes, you know. The coldest eyes. He was some fighter, too.

Yeah, but outside the ring, Sean fit Carlos Ortiz description of most prizefighters - a "cupcake." Really a sweet kid.

One day while working out at the Main Stree Gym, some guy comes up to Mel and says his kid forgot his towel, he needs one to wipe the sweat off the kid. Mel asked if I could lend him one of mine, since I always had two towels, one for the workout and one for the shower. I let him borrow one. I looked over at the kid. He was young, eighteen years old or so, and skinny. I asked Mel who he was. His name was Sean O'Grady. Some kid from Oklahoma. He was fighting Danny Lopez that weekend. Mel just shook his head and said with some empathy, "Danny's, gonna hurt him". Sure enough. The kid had some stones, I'll give him that. By the way, I had to ask for my towel back. Funny how you remember the lttle things.

[kikibalt]

Cheers, Frankie. I like the way Tony has come inside Montes' left hook to land that hurtful-looking body shot.

Bennie, I always taught Frankie and Tony how to slip punches and get inside, and throw those short punches, Frankie could do it better then Tony, not too many here have seen Frankie fight, Frankie could throw beautiful short punches inside with both hands.
My friend Tom (raylawpc) and Randy have DVd's of Frankie's fights and they can tell you without bias, I think, that Frankie was a world class fighter....

[Rick Farris]

Randy & Pug . . . We have a lot in common regarding our grandfathers and Jack Dempsey. Like you two, I was raised on stories of the great Dempsey, as well as Mickey Walker. Roberto Duran is also my favorite fighter all-time. When I was ten, I wrote a letter to JAck Dempsey. Not having his address, I just wrote on the envelope: to JAck Dempsey, Heavyweight Cahmp, New York, N.Y. Two weeks later I receieved an autographed 8x10, "to Rick . . . Lots of luck, pal, signed JAck Dempsey". I still have that photo.

Rick, that is amazing. What a class act.

Jack Dempsey, to me, was the first heavyweight champ who didn't look dated in pics.
The man is timeless.

Bennie, I'll dig the photo out of storage and forward it to Frank to post. The face shot of Dempsey Frank posted recently comes via my friend John Bardelli, son of WBHOF inductee "Young Firpo".

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Photo courtsey of Bruce Smith


Emile Griffith & Mike Nixon at Newman's & Herman's Gym in San Francisco 1970;
Griffith was in town to fight Nate Collins, was Nixon's first year as a pro. Maybe this
will inspire Rick to tell us another Mike Nixon story.

You got it, Kiki! But it'll have to wait until the weekend. I'm logging 16 hour days on this production. Thanks to my new I-Phone, I can access this site between shots and sometimes add a short post. ' Hell, a few years ago I didn't know how to use a computor until my daughters forced me to learn.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Rog, I agree. I love that picture of The Olympic.
Something about it takes you back to the seventies in a very big way.
I dont know what it is. Maybe the car the clothes on the people, the shade of the picture, I dont know.
Takes me back in time.

What it was like, FIGHTING AT THE OLYMPIC . . .

I'll never forget the first time I went to the Olympic to watch a fight. It was the mid 60's and I was a kid with my dad. The place was like a magic kingdom to me. The smell of beer and cigar smoke, the roar of the crowd, the powder blue ring canvas, the TV lights shining down from the edge of the balcony. The ring lights glaring straight down from above, the beam of light shrouding the ring in smoke that wafted up from ringside.

I dreamed of fighting there one day. Just a kid's dream, but I made it come true. How? I don't know, but I did!

I remember the excitment of the crowd as I watched as a kid. The fighters would come bouncing down the aisle to the ring, the crowd would greet them with a thunderous ovation, especially for the big fights. You'd never forget the excitement of Mando Ramos, his ring entrance would send a shock wave of energy thru the crowd. So would Jerry Quarry, Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, and so on. I rememebr Mando when he would enter the ring, it was so different than what you see today. No rap music, no entourage, no dancing, no magic carpet entrance, just Mando bounding down the ring behind Jackie McCoy, holding a bucket. When Mando would step thru the ropes the crowd would explode. When he was introduced by the late Jimmy Lennon Sr. there were no histerics, no stare downs, no false bravado. Mando would just calmly nod to his fans. He'd do his fighting in the ring. He was the coming of a new "Golden Boy".

I dreamed of fighting in that ring, and I would one day do just that, and I would do it quite a few times. The first time in the 1967 Jr. Golden Gloves Championship finals, in a bout that Frank Baltazar was matchmaker. Frank's boys were there too, Frankie Jr. Tony and Bobby. Later I would appear there as an amateur, in the Golden Gloves, and the Diamond Belt tournaments, and before the thursday night pro cards on a few occasions, and then as a pro. The first nine pro fights of my career were held at the Olympic. I was never a great fighter like the guys I named above, but I fought at the Olympic, and Jimmy Lennon introduced me to the crowd quite a few times. That is something that NOBODY can take away from me. I had a dream, and made it happen!

I sat in those underground dressing rooms, watched the guy fighting before me leave our dressing room and hear him introduced to the crowd from deep below the arena. Then, as I nervously tried to rest, hear the crowd roar. I knew something was happening, as I nervously anticipated my bout, which was next up. Johnny Flores would warm me up, lace on the gloves, apply a thin layer of Vaseline and then pull my robe over my shoulders. The bout would end, a decision was announced and a few moments later the guy who shared the dressing room with me would return, sometimes smiling in victory or not, sometimes battered and bloody, sometimes not. Then the athletic commssion rep would step in and say "It's time Ricky, your on . . ." Johnny Flores would slap my back and say, "Let's go champ", and we were off. Out the door of the room, down to the exit tunnel, thru the opening, turn left and up a short flight of stairs to the top, turn left, past the concessions stands, turn right and down the aisle to the ring. I then move slowly behind Flores as the fans reach out to touch me, we pass from under the balcony and as I come into view of the crowd I hear a roar and I begin to jog the rest of the way to the ring, up the steps, thru the ropes and suddenly all the butter flies disapear.

Jimmy Lennon flips a large disk to determine which corner will be mine, then we move to that corner. I walk to the rosen box and see my opponent climb thru the ropes. The perspective from the ring is much different from that outside the ring. Frank will tell you, no matter how many times you've sat ringside, nothing looks quite the same at the Olympic as it does from inside that powder blue ring. Things are suddenly much smaller inside the ropes. There is an unexplaneable intimacy, excitement, energy. Suddenly, the microphone drops down from the rafters into Jimmy Lennon's hands.

"Ladies and gentleman this is the semi-main event of the evening, six rounds of boxing between two outstanding banatmweights. Calling the bout from ringside will be TV announcer Jim Healy, keeping account of the knockdowns will be our timekeeper Jack Smith at the bell, and physician in attendence will be Dr. Bernhart Schwartz. Judging from ringside will be George Latka and Dick Young, and the referee in charge of this bout will be John Thomas. Allright fans here we go . . ."

Sorry guys, I just got caught up in the greatest memory I posess. . . I FOUGHT AT THE OLYMPIC!

-Rick Farris

Rick, you have written some doozies but this one takes the cake. Your excitement, pride, and youthful perspective shot right out of my computer screen. As I was reading it, I just knew that when you were writing, you were transported, at least for the moment, back in time. You are so right too, no one can take those memories away from you. You fought at the Olympic! I understand. To my deepest core I understand. I came so close a couple of times. Minutes before I was to go out, the fights were canceled. If I take a certain pride in just being that close. Then I can only imagine how you feel. You articulated that quite well. Thanks for sharing that with us, it was outsatnding. Rick, I took the liberty of posting this on my website. Hope you don't mind.

Randy, it's truly an honor being a part of your web site. It's unique, it takes me home.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

Archie Moore and Carl "Bobo" olson