Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

THE PALACE

Joe Foss could play some piano. He was Philippino and liked to play cards in the card rooms downtown. That's where I got introduced to him. Nice guy. Very friendly,but I think he liked gambling his money away at 7 card stud just as much as playin' the piano.

The nightly routine was to drink it up at the Orient Bar on the corner of 5th and G and then walk a few doors to the card room. I never bet right and would always lose. Those guys in there were gambling addicts so they knew my money would be theirs in a while.

One night it's pushin' around midnight. I'm almost busted so I talk Joe into walking over to Bob Johnston's joint. The Sports Palace. My dad took me in there when I was a kid. He was in the back talking to Johnston who had some interest in Archie Moore. Doc Kearns was there to in the back room also. They all had a drink. They were talkin',but I couldn't have been more than 11. I wasn't paying attention. Kearns could have been discussing how he loaded Dempsey's gloves in Toledo or they they could have been arguing about the price of ice cream. Like I said,I wasn't listening. They seemed too grown up for me.

Anyway back to me and Joe Foss. At that time Johnston's bar was getting pretty run down like the rest of lower Market Street. Winos ,beggers and every other type of "low life" were the only customers anymore. The old pictures on the wall of President Ike,and the one of Archie and the Rock were still there. They also had a picture of the great Jim Londos the wrestler. He lived at the time in North County.

We arrived and the place was lookin' pretty sparse of clientel. We ordered doubles and I think Joe was wonderin' why I drug him in there. I wanted him to play the old upright. The piano had a tarp on it,but the bartender knew who Joe was and so he let him play. Johnston had a strict rule about playin' that old piano. No amateaur playing.

Well Joe was no amateur. He was the best in the city. He ran thrugh the gamut. "Your Gettin' To Be A Habit With Me","My Old Flame","As Time Goes By." Joe really could play those old songs with feeling. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. The old Palace must have been something in its day. The Hollywood Burlesque Theater next door. The last Burlesque joint in America. Texas Bobbi Roberts,Johnston's wife,all 6 feet of her swinging her pasties and hips down the runway. Eddie Ware doing his old routine of slapstick. The house musicians. A new Orleans sound. I never opened my eyes.

Then I heard,"Last Call"
I snapped up from my trance. Joe was putting the tarp back over the piano. The bartender started to dim the lights. He woke up a drunk ,at the end of the bar, by shaking his shoulder.
"Come on 'noddy'.the party's over."
As me and Joe began our exit ,I noticed the glass picture frame of Arch and the Rock had a crack in the center of it. Arch and the Rock were smiling at each other. We walked back to the car. I never went back there again.

[dagosd2000]

Well, he did get out of France, he met my great grandmother in Mexico, I of course never met either one of them, Bennie, I have no desire to go to France or any place out of the barrio.

Except fishing . . . right Frank?

Right Tom, an I'm going next month.

Tom, I think you have seen this pic. of the fish I caught a couple of years ago in the Hight Sierra,
hope to catch some more like that next month.

Hey guys, when Frank posted photo a few days ago it got me thinking about this book that I read a few years ago. I had to dig it up but I found it. The book, though centered around fishing is really about the relationship between a father and son. The son, author William Plummer discovers his father's fishing diary, after his father's death. He uses the diary to trace his fathers fishing experiences. Fishing where his father fished. As he fishes he learns much about his father that he was too busy to learn about while he was alive.

It's not a large book and can be read in a day or two but I liked it and thought that one of you might want to read it. It's a pretty good book in a small, charming kind of way. The book is called Wishing my Father Well, A Memoir of Fathers, Sons and Fly Fishing by William Plummer. Here is a link to the Amazon.com page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158567 ... roduct_top

Randy,Very nice touch. It's funny,before my father died I tried to find out as much about him as I could. No more fighting. I wanted to know all I could about him. I knew the end was coming up fast. But after he died,I still realized I didn't get to know him like I wanted to. I still try to put it together.I think I became a lot like him after his death. It's almost like he never left.

[Randyman]

Randy,Very nice touch. It's funny,before my father died I tried to find out as much about him as I could. No more fighting. I wanted to know all I could about him. I knew the end was coming up fast. But after he died,I still realized I didn't get to know him like I wanted to. I still try to put it together.I think I became a lot like him after his death. It's almost like he never left.

Rog, I know what you mean. Over time I have evolved into my father in so many ways. In looks I favor my mother for the most part but when I'm shaving every once in a while I catch my father looking back at me. But it's not so much the looks that you and I are talking about, I'm sure but character and mannerisms.

I was very close with my father but sometime in the mid seventies we had a falling out. I was pig headed and stubborn and was sure it was his fault. It's funny but I can't even remember what the fight was about. A couple of months went by and I started to realize how wrong I was, but more importantly, how right he was, and what a man my father really was. I wrote him a letter of apology and waited a week or so and then I went to visit him. When my father died I missed him more than I can say but there were no regrets. He was one helluva man!

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California Boys
Max Baer, Fred Apostoli, Joe DiMaggio and Jack "Doc" Kearns
Circa 1955

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Chris Arreola and Paul Williams continue efforts to strengthen careers
Heavyweight from Riverside and middleweight from South Carolina highlight a card tonight at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto.

Bill Dwyre
LATimes
September 25, 2008

Auditions for the bright lights of boxing continue for Chris Arreola and Paul Williams, stars of promoter Dan Goossen's camp, as part of a card tonight at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif.

Arreola is an unbeaten heavyweight being promoted as the next big thing in a division that has craved stars for several years.

Arreola, from Riverside, is 27, but left boxing for two years after 2001 and is scrambling now to fight often and prove his worth as a marquee boxer. His record is 24-0, with 21 knockouts, and this will be his seventh fight since February 2007. His opponent will be Israel Garcia, 38, of New York, who has fought only 21 times in 10 years, and has a 19-1 record.

Williams (34-1, 25 KOs) had a moment in the bright lights when he beat Antonio Margarito at the Home Depot Center in Carson in July 2007. But he lost his next fight, to Carlos Quintana in February in Temecula, before avenging that defeat in Connecticut in June.

Still, the 27-year-old Aiken, S.C., fighter has had a difficult time being included in the mix of big fights at weights from 147 pounds to as much as 168, partly because, as a long-and-lanky boxer with a reach that is difficult to deal with -- as Margarito learned -- he is an awkward and dangerous opponent.

Tonight, he will fight Andy Kolle, 26, of Fergus Falls, Minn. Both left-handers, Williams and Kolle will fight at 160 pounds, meaning Kolle (17-1, 12 KOs) will be the naturally larger fighter.

The fights will be co-main events and will be telecast on Versus.

On Friday, at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, Calif., Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions will match 2004 Olympian Vicente Escobedo against Dominic Salcido in a 10-round lightweight bout.

Escobedo, from Woodland Hills, is 18-1 with 11 KOs. Salcido, from Rialto, is 16-0 with eight KOs.

[email protected]


FIGHT FACTS
Where: Soboba Casino,

San Jacinto

TV: Versus, tonight, 6

Middleweights, Paul Williams (34-1) vs.Andy Kolle (17-1)

Heavyweights, Chris Arreola (24-0) vs. Israel Garcia (19-1)

[bennie]

RSR Looks Back At Curtis Parker: A Throwback to the Tough Philly Middleweights of the Seventies
By Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
Ringside Report

If there was ever a city that was specialized in churning out tough as nails middleweight prospects and contenders, that city would no doubt be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through the years and specifically the latter part of the sixties and well into the decade of the seventies, the hardened boxing gyms of Philly were basically top of the line assembly plants for many of the most skilled and rugged old school-brand middleweight contenders our sport has ever seen.

Philadelphia churned out names such as Eugene “Cyclone” Hart, Gypsy Joe Harris, Wllie “The Worm” Monroe, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, “Bad” Bennie Briscoe and the like. All of them were forged over time in the worn, dank Philly boxing gyms which were essentially a proving ground for men that were given to one on one ring warfare. They were forged in these gyms to be iron men of sorts. Their skills were developed over time in bouts with the best available opposition and a loss was viewed as an exercise of education rather than a red flag for dismissal.

There was no quit in their code and each of the aforementioned had their fair share of heartbreaking disappointment and defeat. In the cases of “Boogaloo” Watts and Bennie Briscoe, clear-cut defeats at the hands of all-time ring greats such as “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler and Carlos Monzon were required in order to turn back their challenge. It was a time, literally, when one could honestly state that Philly middleweights were some of the toughest fighters to ever grace the one-hundred and sixty pound ranks. Some years later, Philadelphia would produce Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, a throwback of sorts to this period and arguably one of the greatest middleweight champions of all-time.

Not unlike the aforementioned group tough middleweight contenders, the decade of the eighties produced a Philly middleweight fighter named Curtis Parker who followed a similar forged in the fire path over the course of his twelve year-long career. There was nothing notably flashy about him, just an honest to goodness product of the homegrown Philadelphia boxing scene that gave fans his very best effort every time out. This unheralded fighter had an all-action style that served him well considering that he was following on the heels of Harris, Briscoe, Hart, Monroe and Watts, legendary middleweights that would cause the sport to take notice when they were fighting at their very best.

Parker was the Pennsylvania 1976 Golden Gloves amateur champion and at one point had hopes of reaching the 1976 Olympic trials. When his Olympic ambitions didn’t pan out as hoped, he went on to win the National Golden Glove Championships at 156lbs. the following year. In December of 1977, Parker would turn professional looking to earn a living fighting in the ring. Willie Reddish, both senior and junior served as his trainers at the Frankford PAL. At various points in his career another legendary former Philadelphia middleweight, George Benton, would train him at Joe Frazier’s Gym. Others such as Slim Robinson would serve in that capacity when up at Muhammad Ali’s Deer Lake training camp. While at Deer Lake, Parker had the opportunity to spar with Ali, an all-time great heavyweight champion who by that time was in the late autumn of a storied ring career.

During that period a noted California journeyman named David Love was making a name for himself beating up Philly fighters which included decisions over Perry “Lil” Abney and Bad Bennie Briscoe. In between those wins he flattened remnants of Willie “The Worm” Monroe and Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts. When Love looked to make a victim of yet another fighter from The City of Brotherly love in March of1980 he took on the young and undefeated Parker who had up to that point won all fifteen of his professional contests which included wins over Willie “The Worm” Monroe and former WBC Light Middleweight Champion Elisha Obed. On that occasion, Parker fought with marked passion as though he was looking to get back some for Philly, handing Love a thorough thrashing, stopping the Californian in round nine.

After the Love win, Parker extended his undefeated streak to 17-0, 14 KO’s in winning the USBA Middleweight Title with a comprehensive twelve-round unanimous decision over talented contender Mike Colbert. Three months later Parker tasted defeat, losing a clear decision to the 26-0 Dwight Davison of Detroit. The loss would start a three-fight losing streak; a hard-fought and heartbreaking split decision loss to world-rated southpaw Mustafa Hamsho who was moving towards a challenge of World Middleweight Champion “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler and a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of future title challenger Wilford Scypion would follow.

He scored two wins by knockout to break the losing streak before taking a rematch with Hamsho in 1982, a fight that again culminated in defeat, this time by unanimous decision. From there Parker started his own winning streak, stopping four of his next five opponents with only Tony Braxton lasting the distance. The fifth opponent was one Eddie Flanning, notable in that it was Parker’s only return to Philadelphia during this period, a bout fought at the legendary Blue Horizon.

In his next bout some two months later, Parker was crushed in the first round by a future world middleweight title challenger, an 18-0, 18 KO’s John “The Beast” Mugabi, marking the first time in his career that he had lost a bout by knockout. Undaunted, Parker would rebound in early 1984 against the undefeated Donald Bowers, a win which earned him a shot at his old title, the USBA Middleweight Title, against the 20-2 Alex Ramos, a bout he would go on to lose by close unanimous decision.

In 1985 Parker would meet fellow Philadelphian Frank “The Animal” Fletcher in Atlantic City, winning by stoppage in the third round. After another win, a majority decision over fringe contender Ricky Stackhouse, Parker was moved toward a major showdown with the popular Michael “The Silk” Olajide, a 15-0 fighter out of Vancouver, Canada. The Olajide match would be of stinging consequence, a bout which found Parker on the short end of a hotly-contested split decision. Seven months after losing to “The Silk”, Parker found himself on the losing end of a wide unanimous decision to future IBF Middleweight Champion, Frank Tate.

Notable in the Tate bout was Parker’s lack of commitment and passion, qualities he seemed to previously have in abundance. Looking back, one can safely deduce that the Olajide disappointment had taken the wind out of his game and that by the time he faced the 13-0 Tate he was only staying in the sport for the money. In his only start for 1987, Parker earned an uninspired technical decision over the 17-0-1 Phillip Moorefield when the bout went to the score cards in the fifth round. His career finished-up in March 1988, almost eight years to the day of his inspired, Philly pride-infusing win over David Love, fighting for the NABF Middleweight Title against unbeaten, 28-0 future IBF Middleweight Champion Michael “Second To” Nunn, losing by technical knockout early in the second round. The writing was on the wall. Parker was thoroughly through as a winning fighter and the fire that had marked his early years as a professional had all but gone out.

Overall, Curtis Parker was unbeaten in fifteen fights in Philly. His final record was 29-9, 21 KOs. He always gave fans everything he had when that fire burned brightly from within and he was thrown into tough match after tough match against many of the very best from the middleweight division of that period. Had he managed to get past Mustafa Hamsho in early 1981, Parker very well may have moved on to challenge “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler for all of the marbles later that year in a bout that would be most fitting given Hagler’s previous experience with legendary Philly middleweights such as Willie “The Worm” Monroe, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, Eugene “Cyclone” Hart and of course “Bad Bennie Briscoe. Given the level of the Marvelous One’s talent at that point in 1981, it would be an almost certainty that Parker would have been handed a loss, but there would have been an almost poetic congruency had he found himself in the opposite corner to that of Hagler.

Curtis Parker was inducted into the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame this past May, taking his rightful place alongside that group of legendary middleweight contenders that Philadelphia produced, some of the most talented and spirited fighters ever to compete in the middleweight division.

Parker's record is an exercise in how to drive a man to bitterness. This guy would put together fine runs and then lose to the kind of fighters who could probably beat anyone (Davison, Hamsho, Mugabi...). He really had no luck whatsoever.

[bennie]

Patterson-Ellis This fight was televised live in the U.S. and Floyd's decision loss, preventing him from regaing the title an unprecidented third time, remains the worst decision I have ever seen in a heavyweight title fight. For U.S. TV reasons, the bout was held in the dark early morning hours, outdoors while snowing. I still recall both boxers entering the ring wearing ski pants. -Rick

Yes, a shame for Floyd. Today, he would be the greatest cruiserweight there ever was.

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Speedy Dado Vintage Original Charcoal Drawing by Hal Bruntish
Signed & Date 1927 by Dado & Bruntish

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John Thomas

[Rick Farris]

Sargeant Sammy Baker was a good one. I've heard a lot about his career. He and Ace Hudkins fought three times in the late 20's. Baker KOed Hudkins at the Polo Grounds in N.Y. However, Ace whipped him twice by decision in rematches, the second in Los angeles's Wrigley Field, and again at Madison Square Garden. My friend Karl Nelson was just nine-years-old when he attended the L.A. rematch with his dad, 81 years ago.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

John Thomas

One of my two favorite L.A. ref's along with Dick Young.

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[raylawpc]

John Thomas

One of my two favorite L.A. ref's along with Dick Young.

What was it you liked about them, Rick?

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Max Baer


"Maxie"

By Diego

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Don't know if I have posted this photo of Tony before,
I know I have posted one similar to this one where
Tony is 4 1/2 years old, in this photo Tony is 3 1/2 years,
it was shot in 1964 and I believe it was at the Teamsters Gym.

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Shane Mosley and Andre Berto Headline HBO WCB Doubleheader This Saturday
By Russ Greenspan
Ringside Report

In what promises to be a display of two fisted fireworks, a quartet of title holders past and present do battle on HBO’s Saturday September 27th World Championship Boxing telecast, at the Staple Center in Los Angeles.

The main event features a twelve round 154 pound scrap between classy former lightweight, welterweight and light middleweight kingpin “Sugar” Shane Mosley, 44-5, 37 KO’s, and Nicaraguan bully boy Ricardo “El Matador”, Mayorga, 29-6-1, 23 KO’s, who like Mosley, previously held sway at welterweight and junior middleweight.

Both men not unexpectedly promise victory, with Mayorga typically endeavoring to play the intimidation game that has worked more than once against opposition of varying cardiac potency. Mosley of course is having none of it, but the pair’s exchanges at their recent press conference were indeed amusing, if not particularly original and/or noteworthy.

After thanking God for the opportunity to continue fighting , Mayorga quickly shifted gears and began insulting among other things, Mosley’s boxing prowess, promising to knock “Sugar Shane” out and send him home inside of three rounds, while offering his adversary pink gloves that he’d purchased expressly for their encounter. Said Mayorga, “Shane is washed up and he’s got nothing left,” adding that “I’ll put my chin out there for Shane and let him hit me with his best left hook and see what happens.”

For his part, the 37 year old Mosley seemed completely unaffected by his garrulous adversary’s incessant jabbering; “It [Mayorga’s demeaning commentary] really doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It’s just his way, the way he carries on. You have to expect it. None of that gets into my head.”

Mosley is and has always been a pretty cool, analytical customer; perennially in optimum physical condition, “Sugar Shane’s” last outing was a hard fought unanimous decision loss in November, 2007, to now former welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto, in which Mosley arguably gave as good as he received for the great majority of the contest. No doubt Mosley is licking his chops in anticipation, after having screened Mayorga’s previous ring appearance, a 12 round majority nod over out of shape and seriously past it Fernando Vargas last November, in which the gallant “El Feroz” landed some heavy but largely ineffectual right hand shots on Ricardo’s chin.

“If he goes more than three rounds he’ll be winded and I’ll knock him out,” promised Mosley, a master of restrained understatement; “I respect him, but he’s kind of crazy and that’s why it will be an entertaining fight for three rounds because he always comes to fight and so do I.

Mayorga is a rough, tough hombre with proven power and lots of heart, but with limited exception, he has come up short against opponents with fast hands, fast feet and a game plan. “El Matador” may have somewhat of a puncher’s chance, but Shane Mosley is faster than Mayorga, may hit at as hard, and is tackling a foe whose style appears made to order for him. The prediction here is Mosley by KO within 6 rounds unless he gets extremely careless; “Sugar Shane” has been making noise about looking forward to a meeting with WBA welterweight champ Antonio Margarito “after I’m through with beating Mayorga.” Two pieces of advice for Sugar Shane respecting business present and future; take no challenger lightly, and be extraordinarily careful for what you wish for.

The evening’s co-featured bout is a 12 round WBC welterweight title match-up between undefeated champion Andre Berto, 22-0, 19 KO’s, and 13th ranked Steve “Two Pounds” Forbes, 33-6, 9 KO’s. This one sounds rather interesting on paper, but upon closer examination, it becomes all too apparent that we’re dealing with a mismatch.

Forbes is a skilled fistic practitioner who was good enough to annex the IBF super featherweight crown back in 2001, but the light fisted Vegas resident was neither beating up nor stopping anyone at 130 pounds; he will be seriously outsized and outgunned against the lightning quick, howitzer slinging Berto. Forbes has a granite chin and has never been failed to go the distance (or even down if memory serves) in his twelve year professional career; this may not be true when he awakens in his hotel bed on Sunday morning.

“Two Pounds” needs to move down a weight class or two in order to successfully compete with the elite, but at 31 years of age, may simply be unable to do so; and while various boxing insiders contend that the savvy Forbes will frustrate and perhaps even upset the gifted but comparatively inexperienced Berto, I think likely not. Forbes is a capable, game guy who will always be in there punching, but he is simply not going to get it done at 147 pounds, as evidenced by his recent loss to Oscar De La Hoya. Berto by wide unanimous decision or late knockout, likely the former.

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OSCAR “SHOTGUN ” ALBARADO


photo courtesy David Martinez Private Collection, Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado vs. Rodolfo Martinez, knockout win - 2:40 of 3rd round / Feb 15, 1973, Los Angeles, California / referee Richard Steele

By Jim Amato

He was a hard banger and a crowd pleaser who battled some of the best welterweights of his era. Eventually he would move up to 154 pounds and win a world title in that division. He thrilled crowds in his home state of Texas and would also become a popular draw on the West Coast. His name was Oscar Albarado and they called him ” Shotgun “.

Born in 1948, Oscar turned professional in 1966 and reeled off 25 straight victories. He suffered his first loss via a decision to the highly touted Hedgemon Lewis in 1969. He came back in 1970 with two wins over Youngstown, Ohio veteran L.C.Morgan. Oscar would then drop verdicts to rated contenders Adolph Pruitt and ” Have Mercy Mr. Percy ” Pugh.

Albarado bounced back with five straight wins including a decision over rugged Raul Soriano. He was then upset over ten rounds by Manuel Fierro. In May of 1971 Oscar met then undefeated Armando Muniz and the two battled to a draw in an action packed bout. Oscar would then lose a decision to top contender Ernie ” Red ” Lopez. Albarado would win seven in a row but in 1973 he was surprised in one round by Dino Del Cid. Oscar came right back to stop Del Cid in the second round of a rematch.

In June of 1974 Oscar traveled to Tokyo, Japan take on world junior middleweight king Koichi Wajima. In a tough battle Albarado rallied to halt Wajima at 1:57 of the fifteenth round to capture the crown. Oscar would return to Japan to defend against Wajima’s countryman Ryu Sorimachi. Albarado retained his title with a seventh round stoppage. It was back to Tokyo again to face Wajima in a rematch. This time Wajima paced himself and fought a smart fight in regaining his title by decision. There would be no rubber match.

It would be over five years before Oscar boxed again and it was obvious he was no longer the same fighter. He did find himself matched with some pretty good fighters though. In 1981 he was kayoed by Bobby Czyz and Bernard ” Superbad ” Mays. In 1982 he was taken out by Louis Arcaries and John Collins. Finally he was stopped in two rounds by Ayub Kalule in his last fight.

Albarado ended his 72 fight career with a record of 58-13-1. He scored 43 knockouts. He was stopped seven times but six of those stoppages came after his five year layoff. In his prime he was a game and durable fighter with a lethal punch.

LEFT HOOK magazine cover / April 1973, courtesy David Martinez Private Collection

[BoxBuzz]

Is it just me or is Blake doing his best impression of "Rocky" in that pic? Come to think of it they both sort of resemble that character at that moment.

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Miguel Canto v Facomron Vibonchai
November 20, 1978

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Is it just me or is Blake doing his best impression of "Rocky" in that pic? Come to think of it they both sort of resemble that character at that moment.

You're right Buzz, Blake does look like "Rocky" in that pic.

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Miguel Canto v Orlando Javierto
November 19, 1976

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Miguel Canto
Flyweight...Circa 1975