Classic American West Coast Boxing

[bennie]

Eddie Machen vs Nino Valdes

Valdes certainly had the Indian sign on British fighters, although Machen beat him twice. It would be interesting to hear some views on the giant Cuban.

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

I'm going to take Rick down memory lane.


the El Monte Legion Stadium

You got me with this shot Frank. I'll never forget the place. The walls were literally 4 feet thick, and in the early 70's, when it finally met with the wrecking ball, that ball bounced off those thick walls like a flyweight's punch against Dempsey's chin.

I fought there in 1968-thru-69, as a junior glover and later an amateur. I fought Andy "The Hawk" Price there in a Jr. Am exhibition, and later won a Southern Pacific AAU Championship inside it's walls. One night in early 1969, Frank Baltazar and I were in the house the night the Quarry family started a riot when they went to war with the family of some hillbilly that Mike outscored in a match. I was in the ring for a team photo when the riot broke out, and Frank Baltazar had to jump into the ring to avoid the battle. My manager Johnny Flores tried to break up the fight, but when he saw Ma Quarry get involved, he knew he was in over his head and called in the police riot squad. Fighting the Quarry boys was a challenge, but squaring off with the women was a big mistake.

By the way, Frank, do you remember the American flag that hung from the wall? Before the first bout, a scratched phonograph record of the National Anthem was played and small electric fan blew air into flag, making it ripple as the music played. A bit tacky, but patriotic all the same. My cousin had been killed in Viet Nam two days before my first fight there, and that silly little flag and the crude recording of the National Anthem motivated me to fight a little stronger.

-Ricardo

Rick,




I think this is what they use to play the National Anthem at the EMLS, and that flag I think was from WWI....

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

[dagosd2000]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy


"Laurel & Hardy"

By Diego

"Ollie, don't look now, but there's a man's hand hanging on to the foot of the bed." (Ollie's foot is sticking out at the end of the blankets, that's all.)

Says Ollie, after looking himself, his eyes widening: "Get that gun - and shoot to kill

."

Bennie,I thought you'd mention That Stan Jefferson{Laurel) was a Brit. Bennie ,did you know at the end he lived in an apartment in Santa Monica,California with his last wife. His name was in the phone book. People would knock on his door,and he'd invite them in. He'd show his movies to the uninvited guests. But he was very happy to do this. He was fond of going to Stationary Stores and looking at the differnt office supplies. He never worked again after Oliver went on his own.

What a GIANT of comedy!

[kikibalt]

I think Bennie is asleep....

[bennie]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy


"Laurel & Hardy"

By Diego

"Ollie, don't look now, but there's a man's hand hanging on to the foot of the bed." (Ollie's foot is sticking out at the end of the blankets, that's all.)

Says Ollie, after looking himself, his eyes widening: "Get that gun - and shoot to kill."

Bennie,I thought you'd mention That Stan Jefferson{Laurel) was a Brit. Bennie ,did you know at the end he lived in an apartment in Santa Monica,California with his last wife. His name was in the phone book. People would knock on his door,and he'd invite them in. He'd show his movies to the uninvited guests. But he was very happy to do this. He was fond of going to Stationary Stores and looking at the differnt office supplies. He never worked again after Oliver went on his own.

What a GIANT of comedy!

Not yet, Frankie. :P
Yeah, I forgot that about Stan. His mum and dad lived here when he was famous.
Tell me more about Ollie going on his own, Rog...

[kikibalt]

THE HISTORY OF L.A. BOXING by HAP NAVARRO

Los Angeles one of the world's great boxing cities has probably developed more sensational box-office attractions than any other city. Baby Casanova, Enrique Bolanos, Art Aragon, Raton Macias, Jose Becerra, Ricardo Moreno, Battling Torres, Mando Ramos, Ruben Olivares, Jesus Pimintel, Jose medel, Jose Napoles, Carlos Zarate, Alberto "Super Fly" Sandoval, Lupe Pintor, Ruben Navarro, Alfonso Zamora, Danny Lopez, Bobby Chacon, Pipino Cuevas, etc. literally "EXPLODED" on the L.A. fight scene with "breathtaking" action performances that made them huge drawing cards.

Los Angeles' boxing tradition goes back to the days of Jim Jeffries, Tom McCarey, the famous Los Angeles Athletic Club under the direction of George Blake who developed Fidel LaBarba, Jackie Fields, Joe Salas. The names of the fighters and movers and shakers continued with Jimmy McLarnin, Gig Rooney, George Hansford, Henry Armstrong, Turkey Thompson, John Thomas, Fitzie Fitzpatrick, Chalky Wright, The Olympic Auditorium, Cal Working, Hollywood Legion stadium, Cal and Aileen Eaton, George parnassus, Manuel Ortiz, Babe McCoy, Clarence Henry, Irish Bob Murphy, Wrigley Field, Gilmore Stadium, Jimmy Lennon, Frankie Carbo, Mickey Cohen, Howie Steindler,South Gate Arena, Don Jordon, Ramon Fuentes, the tragic teenage boxing sensation-Keeny Teran, George raft, Lupe Vellez, Main Street Gym, Billy Peacock, Duke Holloway, Canto Robleto, Boots Monroe, Dwight Hawkins, Raul Rojas, Frankie Crawford, etc.

Get the picture? All great tales. I know of no other boxing town with such a colorful or exciting story to be told, and nobody knows it better than Mr. Hap Navarro......,,,,Jackie
McCoy, Norm lockwood, Harry kabakoff, Indian (Ernie) Red Lopez, the Baltazar brothers, Ralph Gambina, Hegeman Lewis, Eddie futch, Tury (The Fury) Pineda, Carlos Palomino, Inglewood Forum, Jerry Buss, Don Chargin, Genero Hernandez, the Ruelas bros., Oscar DeLaHoya, Fernando Vargas, etc. etc.

[dagosd2000]

Bennie,Oliver Hardy just wanted to try something different. By the 50's the two had lost a lot of their popularity. Martin and Lewis were the item. There wasn't an argument,but Stan said he would not work again without his partner. Ollie did some bit parts in some Westerns. Serious roles that were practically forgotten. Hardy later died of complicatios from over dieting.

[kikibalt]

Tuesday, Oct.24,1989, the last day the L.A. Herald Examiner was in print

[Rick Farris]

A city grows in East L.A.?
Residents of the area, long known for its activism and culture, think incorporation could end neglect and solve some local problems.
By Jim Newton, Times Staff Writer

'This has engaged the community. The demographics are there. The history is there. The reason is there.'
— State Sen. Gloria Romero drawing upon a rich history of activism and a nagging sense of neglect, residents and leaders of East Los Angeles have launched a campaign for incorporation, a move that would create a new city in a historic center of Mexican American culture.

The drive for East L.A. cityhood has grown from nascent to palpable in recent months, and advocates believe their goal, which many have nurtured for a generation, at last could be within reach.

Over the last few months, cityhood has been the subject of spirited community meetings — more than 300 people turned out for one session late last year — and increasingly active political talks. Just last week, leaders of the effort met with county officials to analyze the tax consequences of incorporation. Petitions could begin to circulate this spring, and it's possible that voters could consider the question later this year.

If they are successful, East L.A. would become a city of roughly 140,000 people, one of the 10 largest in Los Angeles County and one of the most overwhelmingly Mexican American cities in the United States. More important for many of those who believe in cityhood, its success would validate East L.A.'s long-standing place in the neighborhood culture of Los Angeles rather than continue its existence as a scrap of unincorporated land left behind as cities around it took shape.

State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), a leading proponent of the idea, says she has been struck by the intensity of the emotional response to it.

"This has engaged the community," Romero said last week. "The demographics are there. The history is there. The reason is there."

For many in East L.A., the promise of cityhood is long overdue. Indeed, for such a small slice of Greater Los Angeles — the community covers less than 10 square miles bordered by Boyle Heights and Monterey Park, Commerce and Montebello — East L.A. has made a sizable name for itself.

It is a thriving source of cultural life, a community as identifiable and coherent as the many others that make up modern Los Angeles: Hollywood or Bel-Air, say, or Van Nuys, Watts, Boyle Heights, Leimert Park or Mount Washington.

Given its demographics, East L.A. is politically significant as a laboratory for the growing electoral clout of Latinos, particularly Mexican Americans.

As such, its halls and public spaces are mandatory stops for aspiring politicians eager to demonstrate their support among Latinos. Last fall, Democrat Phil Angelides, whose gubernatorial campaign by then already was sputtering, attended an East L.A. Chamber of Commerce luncheon and tried vainly to elicit enthusiasm for his cause from a plainly skeptical audience.

Culturally, it has a different cachet. It has produced muralists and musicians, writers and chroniclers of Mexican American life for generations. One enduring contributor has been the band Los Lobos, whose members come from East L.A. and whose original name was "Los Lobos del Este Los Angeles."

Louie Perez, a founding member of Los Lobos, vividly recalls growing up on the edge of East L.A. — the smell of his mother's coffee blending with the scents from the tortilleria next door in the morning, the sounds of radio personality Elenita Salinas rousing him from bed. At night, he and his sister and friends would hear the backyard parties with mariachi bands as they made their way to the parking lot of the Johnson Market, where Thee Midnighters would be mobbed by young fans.

In those days, he said, "East L.A. was our entire universe…. Leaving it was like leaving the edge of the Earth."

As he grew older, Perez was immersed in the ferment that overtook his neighborhood. One afternoon in August 1970 he was riding his blue Stingray bicycle near Whittier Boulevard when he spotted smoke. A peaceful demonstration had escalated into a clash with L.A. County sheriff's deputies, and riots tore through East L.A. that day.

A few blocks away, a man shooed Perez from the Silver Dollar cantina, warning him that a man was dead inside. That man, journalist Ruben Salazar, had been killed by a deputy; 27 years later, Salazar remains a political martyr in East L.A.

Los Lobos formed in 1973, and the band's absorption of Mexican music into its American idiom immediately placed it in the cultural and political turbulence of the community. As the band developed, its members captured and amplified East L.A. culture, supplying a soundtrack to Chicano activism not unlike what Jimi Hendrix gave the Black Panthers. Through the years, Los Lobos has helped to extend that East L.A. culture around the world.

"I'll be looking for my old neighborhood my whole life," Perez said last week. "It was an incredible place to grow up."






Among the hallmark moments of East L.A. activism were the student walkouts of 1968, and many who live in the area today participated. Indeed, one young protester was none other than Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who cites that episode as a formative one in his young life.

Sal Castro led the walkout movement that year and remains a beloved figure in East LA. Last week, he was among the hundreds of people who turned out for the dedication of a new East L.A. "City Hall," the work of County Supervisor Gloria Molina, another veteran of the area.

Now 73, Castro can recall the days before freeways carved up East L.A., an era when the community felt more tight-knit. And he remembers the previous attempts at cityhood, including the promise that East L.A. would become part of Commerce, an idea bandied about but withdrawn when, Castro believes, the leaders of Commerce shrank from the idea of taking on such a large population of Mexican Americans.

Today, Castro believes that the community is ready to become its own city, not merely a part of one of its neighbors.

"Hell, yes," he said one day last week, surveying the crowd at the new City Hall. "Let's go for it."

Albert Palacios teaches government at Garfield High School, East L.A.'s high school, where he tutors his students on the history and potential of East L.A.'s incorporation efforts. Palacios took to the idea of cityhood some time ago and has become one of its most ardent advocates.

Palacios has been in East L.A. for decades. He witnessed the emergence of the Brown Berets in the mid-1960s, when that organization formed to agitate for the rights of Mexican Americans. He was there for the student walkouts and the protests over abuse at the hands of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department — and for the evolving atmosphere of demonstration that turned on the war in Vietnam.

Today, Palacios looks back on those years as a "very contentious time" but also one of solidifying community sentiment.

Molina agrees. East L.A., she notes with fondness, is an area forged in activism and protest, the same currents that have shaped her own life. As a young woman, she attended East Los Angeles College — which, curiously, is just outside East L.A. Molina is hardly blind to East L.A.'s difficulties: It has long suffered more than its share of gang violence and other crimes. As a young woman, she tutored gang youths nearby and witnessed the community's sense of neglect as well as its stubborn pride.

As a supervisor, Molina has taken special interest in the county's unincorporated areas, including East L.A. She presided over a long and concerted effort to bring a civic complex to the area, one for which ground was broken just last week. Among advocates of cityhood, many hasten to emphasize that they are happy with her representation of their area, though some worry about her ability to stay close to community issues when she represents roughly 2 million constituents across a wide swath of Los Angeles County.

Molina is uncommitted regarding cityhood for East L.A. She applauds the community spirit behind the idea but wonders whether the largely residential neighborhoods can supply enough tax revenue to support a city government, whether the retail areas clustered along Atlantic Boulevard can be beefed up enough to float a city where none has existed for so long.

"I'm not opposed to the community wanting to have its own mayor and city council members," Molina said last week. "I'm just concerned about the ability to pay for itself."

Where Molina has questions, however, Romero expresses confidence.

"I have no doubt that this is a self-sustaining community," she said. "This is prime property."

Whatever one thinks about East L.A.'s tax base, there is no denying the sense among its residents that a moment is at hand, that politics and population trends and culture have all coalesced in a surge of neighborhood pride.

When Molina opened the new government center last week, hundreds of residents turned out, many dressed up for the occasion. They cheered loudly as speakers hailed the coming of age of East L.A. and beamed with pride as speaker after speaker touted the facility as evidence of the community's growth and worth.

Standing off to the side, Palacios surveyed the crowd that cloudy morning and reflected on the decades of protest that had brought the community to where it is.

"People have mellowed," he said of East L.A. and its quest for cityhood. "People have matured. We're ready."



[email protected]

This Gringo says . . . "VIVA ELA!"

We Pocho's call you Gringo's "Gabacho's".....

But yes, Viva E.L.A......

I know, Frank. I just didn't know how to spell "Gabacho". I always mistakeny use a "v" instead of a "b". Now I got it

-Rick

[bennie]

Bennie,Oliver Hardy just wanted to try something different. By the 50's the two had lost a lot of their popularity. Martin and Lewis were the item. There wasn't an argument,but Stan said he would not work again without his partner. Ollie did some bit parts in some Westerns. Serious roles that were practically forgotten. Hardy later died of complicatios from over dieting.

Interesting, Rog. Man, Laurel and Hardy were the best!

[Rick Farris]

Wouldn't it be great if that publication (written as it was) still existed. Of course, we'd have to have the talent to fill it's pages, so I guess it's an impossible dream, huh?

-Rick

[bennie]

Tuesday, Oct.24,1989, the last day the L.A. Herald Examiner was in print

Nice write-up. I really rated Paez as a featherweight. He had a cracking little reign as IBF champ (about eight defences) but lost something when he moved up in weight.
Paez had won the IBF title from Calvin Grove in 1988. He was quite a way behind going into the 15th round but scored three knockdowns in the round and picked up two scores of 10-7 and one of 10-6 to snatch a majority verdict and the title. It just went to show that 15-rounders were still the best.

[Rick Farris]

Bennie,Oliver Hardy just wanted to try something different. By the 50's the two had lost a lot of their popularity. Martin and Lewis were the item. There wasn't an argument,but Stan said he would not work again without his partner. Ollie did some bit parts in some Westerns. Serious roles that were practically forgotten. Hardy later died of complicatios from over dieting.

Interesting, Rog. Man, Laurel and Hardy were the best!

Roger, I remember seeing Oliver Hardy in a western when I was a kid. I recall the scene had him sitting on the back of a horse under a tree, with a hangman's noose around his neck. I believe it was an episode of "Wagon Train". Remember that series star, Ward Bond? Bond along with John Wayne, (Marion Morrison) were USC football stars in the 20's, and it was USC alumni that ran the film industry in Hollywood for years. That was what led these two college football stars (Wayne & Bond) to a career in acting.

Oliver Hardy loved horses and invested a lot of money in thoroughbreds, losing his fortune. Stan Laurel died broke, as well. Like Hardy, Stan Laurel had his own passions, and he married all eight of them. I never fault a man for loving the ladies, but as I know, it can be an expensive proposition.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

I'm going to take Rick down memory lane.


the El Monte Legion Stadium

You got me with this shot Frank. I'll never forget the place. The walls were literally 4 feet thick, and in the early 70's, when it finally met with the wrecking ball, that ball bounced off those thick walls like a flyweight's punch against Dempsey's chin.

I fought there in 1968-thru-69, as a junior glover and later an amateur. I fought Andy "The Hawk" Price there in a Jr. Am exhibition, and later won a Southern Pacific AAU Championship inside it's walls. One night in early 1969, Frank Baltazar and I were in the house the night the Quarry family started a riot when they went to war with the family of some hillbilly that Mike outscored in a match. I was in the ring for a team photo when the riot broke out, and Frank Baltazar had to jump into the ring to avoid the battle. My manager Johnny Flores tried to break up the fight, but when he saw Ma Quarry get involved, he knew he was in over his head and called in the police riot squad. Fighting the Quarry boys was a challenge, but squaring off with the women was a big mistake.

By the way, Frank, do you remember the American flag that hung from the wall? Before the first bout, a scratched phonograph record of the National Anthem was played and small electric fan blew air into flag, making it ripple as the music played. A bit tacky, but patriotic all the same. My cousin had been killed in Viet Nam two days before my first fight there, and that silly little flag and the crude recording of the National Anthem motivated me to fight a little stronger.

-Ricardo

Rick,




I think this is what they use to play the National Anthem at the EMLS, and that flag I think was from WWI....

Now that's funny! However, it's also true.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

What a treat! Look at the first program, in the six-round semi is Eddie Jones, the "Bossman" as he would later be known. Damn, Eddie Jones would have tied Roy Jones Jr. into so many knots before KOing the "Pensacola Joke" whenever he chose.

Take a look at the second program, in the six-round semi that night was my all-time childhood idol, Dwight "The Hawk" Hawkins. Now that was a FIGHTER! Johnny Flores developed Jerry Quarry and led him to a heavyweight title shot, but his favorite boxer was Dwight Hawkins, whom no champion would ever risk facing with their title on the line. At age 17, with less than a dozen pro fights under his belt, Hawkins flattened the number one bantamweight contender, Jose Beccera, in four rounds. Beccera would go onto capture the bantam title and become a Mexican legend. Hawkins would not be so lucky.

In the third program main-event, Frankie Belma was featured. I remember that Belma was a San Pedro guy who was managed by the late Jackie McCoy. Belma came up a little before my time, however, I did get a chance to see him fight once, on TV from the Olympic in the mid 60's. I used to talk with Mando Ramos about Belma, who fought Art Aragon in the 50's. I still can visualize Belma's left jab, which he had a way of pumping out awkwardly into his target. Keep 'em coming, Kiki! I can't get enough.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy


"Laurel & Hardy"

By Diego

"Ollie, don't look now, but there's a man's hand hanging on to the foot of the bed." (Ollie's foot is sticking out at the end of the blankets, that's all.)

Says Ollie, after looking himself, his eyes widening: "Get that gun - and shoot to kill

."

Bennie,I thought you'd mention That Stan Jefferson{Laurel) was a Brit. Bennie ,did you know at the end he lived in an apartment in Santa Monica,California with his last wife. His name was in the phone book. People would knock on his door,and he'd invite them in. He'd show his movies to the uninvited guests. But he was very happy to do this. He was fond of going to Stationary Stores and looking at the differnt office supplies. He never worked again after Oliver went on his own.

What a GIANT of comedy!

I spoke with Dick Van Dyke about Stan Laurel while Van Dyke was shooting an episode of "Highway To Heaven", a series I lit for Michael Landon. Roger, he told me the same thing you just mentioned. When Van Dyke was an unknown (coming from another state where he had been a radio personality) he would visit Stan Laurel in his Santa Monica apartment. Dick said that the legendary comedian was generous with his advice, and much of the latter stars physical comedy (pratt falls, etc.) were learned from Stan Laurel.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

Dwight Hawkins's record

Dwight Hawkins

Country USA
Global Id 11514
Hometown San Diego, CA.
Division Featherweight
Born 1938-08-04


Career Record © www.boxrec.com

Date Opponent Location Result
1969-08-22 Antonio Gomez Inglewood, USA L KO 10
1969-07-18 Nobuo Chiba Inglewood, USA W KO 1
1969-04-08 Miguel Herrera Woodland Hills, USA W PTS 10
1969-02-25 Raul Carreon Woodland Hills, USA W KO 5
1969-01-24 Fernando Sotelo Inglewood, USA L SD 10
1968-11-04 Frankie Crawford Inglewood, USA W TKO 8
1968-07-30 Jet Parker Honolulu, USA W PTS 10
1968-06-05 Fighting Harada Japan L UD 10
1968-05-02 Rokuro Ishiyama Japan W TKO 2
1968-03-27 Kuniaki Shibata Japan W KO 7
1968-02-28 Robert Castillo Las Vegas, USA W TKO 1
1967-12-07 Raul Montoya Los Angeles, USA W TKO 8
1967-08-21 Jorge Baby Salazar Anaheim, USA W UD 10
1967-07-13 Manny Barrios Anaheim, USA W UD 10
1967-06-01 Bobby Valdez Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1967-05-01 Jose Garcia Las Vegas, USA W TKO 9
1967-04-07 Aurelio Muniz Tampico, Mexico L PTS 10
1967-03-11 Chilo Rodriguez Guaymas, Mexico W KO 6
1967-02-07 Carlos Perez Durango, Mexico W KO 5
1966-12-12 Luis Ramirez Woodland Hills, USA W RTD 8
1966-11-07 Isao Miyashita Woodland Hills, USA W KO 3
1966-10-06 Ignacio Pina Los Angeles, USA W TKO 6
1966-06-21 Jose Jimenez Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1966-06-14 Juan Baez Tijuana, Mexico W KO 2
1966-05-11 Grillo Duran Guadalajara, Mexico W KO 7
1966-04-14 Daniel Valdez Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1966-03-05 Delfino Rosales Culiacan, Mexico L KO 9
1966-02-07 Beto Maldonado Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1965-12-06 Apolino Salinas Los Angeles, USA W KO 1
1965-09-02 Dinamita Rojas Los Angeles, USA W KO 2
1965-05-07 Efren Jimenez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 9
1965-03-28 Ignacio Pina Mexicali, Mexico D PTS 10
1964-11-25 Humberto Barrera Corpus Christi, USA L KO 9
1964-10-27 Manuel Villanueva Las Vegas, USA W KO 2
1964-10-02 Manuel Villanueva Las Vegas, USA W KO 2
1964-06-24 Manny Elias Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1964-05-07 Moi Torres Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1964-03-30 Sid Obart Santa Monica, USA W UD 10
1964-03-02 Manuel Tarazon Santa Monica, USA W KO 4
1964-02-03 Ruben Ramirez Santa Monica, USA W KO 1
1963-04-19 Vicente Saldivar Monterrey, Mexico L KO 5
1962-12-18 Eddie Santos Bakersfield, USA W KO 4
1962-10-23 Margarito Tacuba Uribe Ciudad Juarez, Mexico D PTS 10
1962-10-15 Manny Linson Hollywood, USA W KO 4
1960-08-31 Nelson Estrada Caracas, Venezuela L PTS 10
1960-03-09 Johnny Morrisey Glasgow, United Kingdom L DQ 5
1959-12-10 Billy Rafferty Glasgow, United Kingdom L PTS 10
1959-10-01 Danny Valdez Los Angeles, USA L MD 12
1959-07-11 Danny Kid Hollywood, USA L PTS 12
1959-05-04 Nacho Escalante Tijuana, Mexico W TKO 9
1959-04-04 Herman Marques Hollywood, USA W UD 12
1959-01-24 Noel Humphreys Hollywood, USA W MD 10
1958-12-20 Pimi Barajas Hollywood, USA W TKO 7
1958-10-25 Baby Brown Hollywood, USA W TKO 5
1958-09-20 Eddie Gaspora Hollywood, USA W KO 1
1958-09-05 Danny Valdez Los Angeles, USA W SD 8
1958-07-31 Herman Marques Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1958-06-28 Jose Medel Mexico City, Mexico L KO 7
1958-06-17 Nacho Escalante San Bernardino, USA W PTS 10
1958-05-01 Auburn Copeland Los Angeles, USA W SD 10
1958-03-08 Jose Becerra Guadalajara, Mexico L KO 9
1957-12-12 Kid Anahuac Los Angeles, USA L TKO 7
1957-11-30 Felix Cervantes Mexicali, Mexico L PTS 10
1957-11-06 Jose Becerra Los Angeles, USA W KO 4
1957-10-07 Kid Irapuato Tijuana, Mexico L PTS 10
1957-09-30 Felix Cervantes Tijuana, Mexico W KO 8
1957-08-17 Willie Lucero Hollywood, USA W TKO 2
1957-05-28 Rudy Coronado Los Angeles, USA D PTS 6
1956-12-29 Herman Duncan Hollywood, USA L TKO 6
1956-12-20 Leo Carter Los Angeles, USA W TKO 1
1956-10-18 Fugi Rodriguez Los Angeles, USA L TKO 6
1956-09-22 Babe Antunez Hollywood, USA W PTS 6
1956-09-15 Babe Antunez Hollywood, USA L PTS 4
1956-08-13 Joel Sanchez Tijuana, Mexico W PTS 10
1956-07-26 Al Wilcher Los Angeles, USA W RTD 5
1956-06-28 Tomahawk Turner Los Angeles, USA W TKO 4
1956-05-28 Chuck Paloremos San Diego, USA W KO 2
1956-05-14 Rudy Cisneros San Diego, USA W KO 1

Record to Date
Won 52 (KOs 36) Lost 20 Drawn 6 Total 78

[Rick Farris]

THE HISTORY OF L.A. BOXING by HAP NAVARRO

Los Angeles one of the world's great boxing cities has probably developed more sensational box-office attractions than any other city. Baby Casanova, Enrique Bolanos, Art Aragon, Raton Macias, Jose Becerra, Ricardo Moreno, Battling Torres, Mando Ramos, Ruben Olivares, Jesus Pimintel, Jose medel, Jose Napoles, Carlos Zarate, Alberto "Super Fly" Sandoval, Lupe Pintor, Ruben Navarro, Alfonso Zamora, Danny Lopez, Bobby Chacon, Pipino Cuevas, etc. literally "EXPLODED" on the L.A. fight scene with "breathtaking" action performances that made them huge drawing cards.

Los Angeles' boxing tradition goes back to the days of Jim Jeffries, Tom McCarey, the famous Los Angeles Athletic Club under the direction of George Blake who developed Fidel LaBarba, Jackie Fields, Joe Salas. The names of the fighters and movers and shakers continued with Jimmy McLarnin, Gig Rooney, George Hansford, Henry Armstrong, Turkey Thompson, John Thomas, Fitzie Fitzpatrick, Chalky Wright, The Olympic Auditorium, Cal Working, Hollywood Legion stadium, Cal and Aileen Eaton, George parnassus, Manuel Ortiz, Babe McCoy, Clarence Henry, Irish Bob Murphy, Wrigley Field, Gilmore Stadium, Jimmy Lennon, Frankie Carbo, Mickey Cohen, Howie Steindler,South Gate Arena, Don Jordon, Ramon Fuentes, the tragic teenage boxing sensation-Keeny Teran, George raft, Lupe Vellez, Main Street Gym, Billy Peacock, Duke Holloway, Canto Robleto, Boots Monroe, Dwight Hawkins, Raul Rojas, Frankie Crawford, etc.

Get the picture? All great tales. I know of no other boxing town with such a colorful or exciting story to be told, and nobody knows it better than Mr. Hap Navarro......,,,,Jackie
McCoy, Norm lockwood, Harry kabakoff, Indian (Ernie) Red Lopez, the Baltazar brothers, Ralph Gambina, Hegeman Lewis, Eddie futch, Tury (The Fury) Pineda, Carlos Palomino, Inglewood Forum, Jerry Buss, Don Chargin, Genero Hernandez, the Ruelas bros., Oscar DeLaHoya, Fernando Vargas, etc. etc.

Very true! I hope Hap is doing well, I've learned a lot from him. Last time we spoke, he was living with one of his daughters in Santa Maria. He told me he would likely soon be moving into a rest home, as Frank recently shared here. I wanted Hap inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, and the HOF was ready to induct him, without a ballot vote. However, Hap refused the offer, saying that he did not belong in the World Boxing HOF, the California Hall, yes, but not the World Hall. This is the only thing I ever disagreed with Hap on. Hap Navarro is in many ways a present day idol of mine, I care for him more than anybody could know. It is not my place or desire to argue with a man like Hap, so at his request, I dropped my efforts to have him inducted. He said he would not accept his nomination, feeling it was not correct in the overall scope of boxing history. With all due respect, I disagree. Hap is a wonderful man, who was a part of a wonderful organization (The American Legion) who refused to play ball with gangsters from N.Y. that were involved in criminal activity running boxing. The Hollywood American Legion stadium would not co-sign "fixed fights", and Hap Navarro was the only promoter in this town, or any town, that refused to play the game. Much of this is related to his sudden exit from the world of boxing. Hap did not tell me this directly, I learned it elsewhere. Hap's life was on the line. Like all real old school vets of boxing, Hap Navarro never opened his mouth about business.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Wouldn't it be great if that publication (written as it was) still existed. Of course, we'd have to have the talent to fill it's pages, so I guess it's an impossible dream, huh?

-Rick

It just occured to me, aren't we kinda blowing wind into the sails of a dead vessel? Are we not pulling up a ship from the sea, one that had sank, fixing the rudder, refitting it's masts, maybe making it sea-worthy once again? Can we resurrect the dead? Popular opinion may believe not, but we are a special group, and, there are really no rules in life or limitations beyond one's own mind. This is OUR world, and we can do what we want, make dreams come true, and so on. If we like it, want it, if it is good in nature and positive, why can't it happen? Guys, I've got an idea and it won't cost a penny, or disrupt daily life in any way, no risk involved, but there will be a lot of fun and it will likely be personally satisfying. I know I'm being vague, so I apologize for that. Let me think this out a bit, and I'll get back to you. Randy, we have to talk.

-Rick

[Expug]

I love looking at these old posters.
I see a name than look at the record in the database here.
I find myself wondering what happened to alot of these fighters.
How did there lives turn out.
When your boxing , you think that it is all there is.
However, the truth is, there is so much more coming your way after you hang up the gloves.
Thats when real life hits you.
For some , its like getting hit in the mug by a concrete pie.
Some have it figured out.

Speaking of posters, you guys who have had your name on one, how about that feeling huh?
Man , first time I saw my name on one I think I stared at it till I got blurry eyes.
Ya feel like ya hit the big time.

[Rick Farris]

Dwight Hawkins's record

Dwight Hawkins

Country USA
Global Id 11514
Hometown San Diego, CA.
Division Featherweight
Born 1938-08-04


Career Record © http://www.boxrec.com

Date Opponent Location Result
1969-08-22 Antonio Gomez Inglewood, USA L KO 10
1969-07-18 Nobuo Chiba Inglewood, USA W KO 1
1969-04-08 Miguel Herrera Woodland Hills, USA W PTS 10
1969-02-25 Raul Carreon Woodland Hills, USA W KO 5
1969-01-24 Fernando Sotelo Inglewood, USA L SD 10
1968-11-04 Frankie Crawford Inglewood, USA W TKO 8
1968-07-30 Jet Parker Honolulu, USA W PTS 10
1968-06-05 Fighting Harada Japan L UD 10
1968-05-02 Rokuro Ishiyama Japan W TKO 2
1968-03-27 Kuniaki Shibata Japan W KO 7
1968-02-28 Robert Castillo Las Vegas, USA W TKO 1
1967-12-07 Raul Montoya Los Angeles, USA W TKO 8
1967-08-21 Jorge Baby Salazar Anaheim, USA W UD 10
1967-07-13 Manny Barrios Anaheim, USA W UD 10
1967-06-01 Bobby Valdez Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1967-05-01 Jose Garcia Las Vegas, USA W TKO 9
1967-04-07 Aurelio Muniz Tampico, Mexico L PTS 10
1967-03-11 Chilo Rodriguez Guaymas, Mexico W KO 6
1967-02-07 Carlos Perez Durango, Mexico W KO 5
1966-12-12 Luis Ramirez Woodland Hills, USA W RTD 8
1966-11-07 Isao Miyashita Woodland Hills, USA W KO 3
1966-10-06 Ignacio Pina Los Angeles, USA W TKO 6
1966-06-21 Jose Jimenez Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1966-06-14 Juan Baez Tijuana, Mexico W KO 2
1966-05-11 Grillo Duran Guadalajara, Mexico W KO 7
1966-04-14 Daniel Valdez Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1966-03-05 Delfino Rosales Culiacan, Mexico L KO 9
1966-02-07 Beto Maldonado Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1965-12-06 Apolino Salinas Los Angeles, USA W KO 1
1965-09-02 Dinamita Rojas Los Angeles, USA W KO 2
1965-05-07 Efren Jimenez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 9
1965-03-28 Ignacio Pina Mexicali, Mexico D PTS 10
1964-11-25 Humberto Barrera Corpus Christi, USA L KO 9
1964-10-27 Manuel Villanueva Las Vegas, USA W KO 2
1964-10-02 Manuel Villanueva Las Vegas, USA W KO 2
1964-06-24 Manny Elias Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1964-05-07 Moi Torres Los Angeles, USA W UD 10
1964-03-30 Sid Obart Santa Monica, USA W UD 10
1964-03-02 Manuel Tarazon Santa Monica, USA W KO 4
1964-02-03 Ruben Ramirez Santa Monica, USA W KO 1
1963-04-19 Vicente Saldivar Monterrey, Mexico L KO 5
1962-12-18 Eddie Santos Bakersfield, USA W KO 4
1962-10-23 Margarito Tacuba Uribe Ciudad Juarez, Mexico D PTS 10
1962-10-15 Manny Linson Hollywood, USA W KO 4
1960-08-31 Nelson Estrada Caracas, Venezuela L PTS 10
1960-03-09 Johnny Morrisey Glasgow, United Kingdom L DQ 5
1959-12-10 Billy Rafferty Glasgow, United Kingdom L PTS 10
1959-10-01 Danny Valdez Los Angeles, USA L MD 12
1959-07-11 Danny Kid Hollywood, USA L PTS 12
1959-05-04 Nacho Escalante Tijuana, Mexico W TKO 9
1959-04-04 Herman Marques Hollywood, USA W UD 12
1959-01-24 Noel Humphreys Hollywood, USA W MD 10
1958-12-20 Pimi Barajas Hollywood, USA W TKO 7
1958-10-25 Baby Brown Hollywood, USA W TKO 5
1958-09-20 Eddie Gaspora Hollywood, USA W KO 1
1958-09-05 Danny Valdez Los Angeles, USA W SD 8
1958-07-31 Herman Marques Los Angeles, USA D PTS 10
1958-06-28 Jose Medel Mexico City, Mexico L KO 7
1958-06-17 Nacho Escalante San Bernardino, USA W PTS 10
1958-05-01 Auburn Copeland Los Angeles, USA W SD 10
1958-03-08 Jose Becerra Guadalajara, Mexico L KO 9
1957-12-12 Kid Anahuac Los Angeles, USA L TKO 7
1957-11-30 Felix Cervantes Mexicali, Mexico L PTS 10
1957-11-06 Jose Becerra Los Angeles, USA W KO 4
1957-10-07 Kid Irapuato Tijuana, Mexico L PTS 10
1957-09-30 Felix Cervantes Tijuana, Mexico W KO 8
1957-08-17 Willie Lucero Hollywood, USA W TKO 2
1957-05-28 Rudy Coronado Los Angeles, USA D PTS 6
1956-12-29 Herman Duncan Hollywood, USA L TKO 6
1956-12-20 Leo Carter Los Angeles, USA W TKO 1
1956-10-18 Fugi Rodriguez Los Angeles, USA L TKO 6
1956-09-22 Babe Antunez Hollywood, USA W PTS 6
1956-09-15 Babe Antunez Hollywood, USA L PTS 4
1956-08-13 Joel Sanchez Tijuana, Mexico W PTS 10
1956-07-26 Al Wilcher Los Angeles, USA W RTD 5
1956-06-28 Tomahawk Turner Los Angeles, USA W TKO 4
1956-05-28 Chuck Paloremos San Diego, USA W KO 2
1956-05-14 Rudy Cisneros San Diego, USA W KO 1

Record to Date
Won 52 (KOs 36) Lost 20 Drawn 6 Total 78

Boxrec is wrong. Hawkins was not from San Diego, only fought there a couple times early in his career. He was born in Alabama, came to Los Angeles as a young boy and settled in East L.A. with his mother, grandmother and unlce (he never knew his father). It was in ELA that Hawkins (crippled from an auto accident) began to box at a local church. His mother went to work at a West L.A. hospital and was spending 3 hours daily commuting to work by bus. After a couple years, she moved the family to Watts to be closer to work. Hawkins new home was the Imperial Courts Housing Project, one of the most dangerous in Los Angeles, as it is to this day. I know that his pro debut was in S.D. but that was never his home. Dwight Hawkins is a icon in the L.A. City School System, and has dedictaed his life to ridding L.A. of it's growing gang infestation. Dwight is an LA guy thru and thru. I know this is a small error, and perhaps unimportant to 99.9% of the world, but it's an inaccuracy that I'm making Boxrec aware of, and one that needs to be changed. By the way, I am a BIG fan of Boxrec and it's staff. They have provided the World's boxing community with a valuable research device, one that is of great value to guys such as myself, not to mention this forum, which is a safe place for me to hang out.

Thanks Boxrec. and please feel free to contact me if you should ever require validation of anything I post. We won't go into my own inaccurate record, because it was far from great, anyway. However, missing is the majority of my wins which took place between 1974-76.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

I love looking at these old posters.
I see a name than look at the record in the database here.
I find myself wondering what happened to alot of these fighters.
How did there lives turn out.
When your boxing , you think that it is all there is.
However, the truth is, there is so much more coming your way after you hang up the gloves.
Thats when real life hits you.
For some , its like getting hit in the mug by a concrete pie.
Some have it figured out.

Speaking of posters, you guys who have had your name on one, how about that feeling huh?
Man , first time I saw my name on one I think I stared at it till I got blurry eyes.
Ya feel like ya hit the big time.

I know what you mean, Pug. My first was from an amateur card at the El Monte Legion, I fought an old school mate of mine, Frankie Santillian (we fought four times!), and my first as a pro was from a match I had at a place called "Club 21" in National City, near San Diego. "Rick Farris vs. Wolverine Campos", in the 10 round semi-main, my first ten rounder. The main was headed by my stablemate, Ronnie Ceniceroz, a Johnny Flores fighter and Ruben Navarro sparring partner, like myself.

By the way Boxrec. you have no record of my first ten round match, which took place on 1/27/70, in my 7th pro bout (I was still 18, at the time). The bout was held on a card in National City, California, a ten round prelim to a main event between Ron Ceniceroz & Juan Montoya. I won the bout by a TKO, stopping my opponent, Wolverine Campos, on a cut in the 6th round. I accessed the event on Boxrec via the "date", and the other three bouts are listed correctly. What about my bout? It's important only to me, of course, as it was my first ten-rounder. I have no newspaper documentation since I returned to L.A. right after leaving the club that night. Most thought the match was the best of the evening, action wise. Same is true of a number of bouts held later in Las Vegas, at the Silver Slipper, as well as others at the Olympic. Kinda disappointing, considering what we go thru as a boxers.

-Rick Farris