Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

Frank
We need "We Belong Together" Robert and Johnny to top things off.

Here it is Diego

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=414C229VF-0

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpfr7X1D5Rk
"Deserie"

The charts

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBOEzZA6YQQ
"Tonite Tonite"

Mello-Kings

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glOMdK8gfbo
"My True Story"

Jive Five

[Randyman]

Rog, here's a little L.A. noir for you. This is my grandfather,Santiago Madrid De La O, in a bar somewhere in East L.A. about 1951. Check out the old Eastside beer signs and the old calendars, and jukebox. That's my grandfather's beloved violin on the bar. He was never without it. He died when I was a year old. I never knew him, except for the stories my father told me about him, and of course, the old photos.

[Randyman]

Frank
We need "We Belong Together" Robert and Johnny to top things off.

Here it is Diego

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=414C229VF-0

That brings back some memories. Thanks for posting it! That goes for all the oldies.

[dagosd2000]

Rog, here's a little L.A. noir for you. This is my grandfather,Santiago Madrid De La O, in a bar somewhere in East L.A. about 1951. Check out the old Eastside beer signs and the old calendars, and jukebox. That's my grandfather's beloved violin on the bar. He was never without it. He died when I was a year old. I never knew him, except for the stories my father told me about him, and of course, the old photos.

Now we're talkin'. Frank,Randy. Let's meet up with them before it gets too late. It looks like they have a headstart on us. I'll buy the first round. One of you guys put a nickel in the juke box and I'll swing that big gal around the dance floor. Yes sir,my kind of night. Frank,you know the neighborhood. Where do we go after we wear that place out? I want loose women and hard liquer.


BTW. Got a hat just like that. NICE

[dagosd2000]

UP AND DOWN OLD REVOLUTION

The Cascade Bar with the waterfall inside with the colored lights hitting it. The Foreign Club next door with the red carpet and the big chandelier.Down the street, the Long Bar with the funny mirrors at each door. The bar stretched the whole block. The honky tonks .The Brooklyn Bar. Across the street ,The Manhattan Club. Chicago Club was on the corner. Watch yourself going down those stairs. You could always go down the slide at Tio Pepe's. Slid you right up to the dance floor. The little stands that sold the beef and ham tortas for a quarter. The meat would keep hot in those little blue kettles on the stove. Drug stores open all night to keep you up all night with goofballs in candy jars on the counter. Looked like M n' M's.Try your luck at the Fronton Palacio. The games are rigged,but maybe you'll get lucky.The Old Heidelburg's veranda overlooking the city.Dark German beer. Listening to Latin Jazz Combos.Wash down what you got out of that candy jar with a Bohemia. The neon lights of TJ look like they're lost in a dream.

[dagosd2000]

Rog, here's a little L.A. noir for you. This is my grandfather,Santiago Madrid De La O, in a bar somewhere in East L.A. about 1951. Check out the old Eastside beer signs and the old calendars, and jukebox. That's my grandfather's beloved violin on the bar. He was never without it. He died when I was a year old. I never knew him, except for the stories my father told me about him, and of course, the old photos.

Now we're talkin'. Frank,Randy. Let's meet up with them before it gets too late. It looks like they have a headstart on us. I'll buy the first round. One of you guys put a nickel in the juke box and I'll swing that big gal around the dance floor. Yes sir,my kind of night. Frank,you know the neighborhood. Where do we go after we wear that place out? I want loose women and hard liquer.


BTW. Got a hat just like that. NICE

I've been waiting in the car with the engine running for over an hour. Where are you guys? I got all revved up and nothin'. Frank went to bed I figure. Randy where are you? Zero. Nobody wants to go to that bar. Boy,I'm never taking you guys to the Boom Boom Club.

[bennie]

Massacre. Mercante and Durham lost the plot, here, I'm afraid. Durham died a few months later, at 52.

[bennie]

So Foreman and Quarry WERE scheduled to meet, as I've often mused. Fascinating. Quarry liked fighting the monsters.

PS: Or was it one of those "dream match-up" covers?

[bennie]

The WBC’s Newest Legends of Boxing
Story and photos by Michele Chong

The World Boxing Council (WBC) Legends of Boxing Museum held their second Induction and Awards Ceremony this past Saturday, saluting the first WBC Continental Americas champ to be inducted, John Montes, Jr., and presenting Lifetime Achievement Awards to Chuck Bodak, Freddie Roach, Tony Rivera and Carlos Avilas. The event took place in their new museum, located on the grounds of the American Sports University in San Bernardino, Ca., where over 300 attendees witnessed the festivities.
Veteran cutman Chuck Bodak spent decades in and out of the ring, but in his free time he loved to spend countless hours carefully creating his unique collages; decorating caps, watches and rings that he would give away as gifts. Suffering a stroke in August of last year–his left side now partially paralyzed–he cannot design his custom jewelry anymore.

But thanks to this new museum, his “treasures” are now on permanent display in a special case that showcases his handmade items, as well as a bronze statue by sculptor Steve Harpst that Bodak received
at the gathering. This tribute to the boxing icon touched many in the audience, including family friends
Dick Marconi, Ray Marconi, and nephew Bob Bodak, who traveled from Indianapolis, In. to be part
of Chuck’s ceremony.

Now in his 90s, the stroke may have sidelined his speech but not his spirit, as the once boisterous cutman for Ali, Hearns, Holyfield, De La Hoya and other various champions posed for photos, occassionally managed to say a few comments and in his trademark move, gave the crowd the “bird”–the middle finger salute! Speaking in a hoarse whisper, he expressed his appreciation, “I’m excited to be here.” When asked if he was happy about the Lifetime Achievement award bestowed upon him, the colorful cutman exclaimed, “Hell, yeah!”
The museum’s Chairman of the Board Rudy Tellez now gets to emulate one of his earliest and most valuable mentors, Don Fraser, the esteemed former promoter and publicist. Fraser is founder and president of the California Boxing Hall of Fame and holds his yearly induction awards to honor the fight game’s best in the business.
“If it wasn’t for Don Fraser, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now,” explained Tellez, who first met
Fraser while Tellez was still in dental school, “Don gave me the opportunity to make Joey Olivo a World Champion by giving us our first break at the Forum. He’s one in a million. He’s a big mentor to me and I owe him a lot.”
Also known as the “Mouthpiece Doctor,” Tellez sandwiched the museum event between a Telefutura WBC Latino title bout in Tucson on Friday night and a trip to Mexico with Dr. Joe Noriega on Saturday afternoon for an Erik Morales fight night. The two had to leave right after the acceptance speeches to rush down south.
But the awards luncheon was in good hands and well organized, as the WBC Supervisor Tellez can count on a group of hard-working young guys that have really strived to make the new museum flourish in a short amount of time. This WBC Legends of Boxing “Dream Team” includes Jaime Ochoa and Vincent Johnson, both Co-Chairmans, Eric Casillas, V.P. (from the Chicago headquarters), Angel Ochoa, Executive V.P., Teresa Marquez, Executive Secretary and many other dedicated individuals who work together to make these events run so smoothly.
Ochoa expresses, “We have the same vision, determination and goal to create this museum. It’s growing faster than we even anticipated. In the next year, we’ll be wall-to-wall with memorabilia and we’re happy to be part of history. We may have to open a second building soon,” he says excitedly.
Fellow Co-Chairman Vinnie Johnson cannot hide his enthusiam for their burgeoning museum and at Saturday’s event said, “We had some great people helping us today. And the inductees have all contributed so much to boxing. Chuck and Freddie are legends, Avilas has done a lot for the sport, predominantly for the Hispanic fans, and Montes gave us so much excitement when he boxed.” Johnson was born near Gary, In., where Chuck is from, and says, “Chuck worked with a lot of people I knew while growing up and we have a lot of connections. He trained a lot of champs that were my heroes. I’m happy he’s getting an award.”
During the awards ceremony, their museum garnered even more boxing history, as new inductees Montes, Bodak, and June’s inaugural inductee Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzalez all generously donated their prized boxing robes, trophies, framed artwork, signed boxing gloves and vintage posters that, during Saturday’s luncheon, were enshrined in glass cases for public viewing. Longtime boxing fan and supporter Bert Murrieta graciously donated a pair of red gloves autographed by Alexis Arguello and Jake “The Raging Bull” LaMotta.
A funraising raffle was also held for Joann Montes, former wife of John Montes, who is looking forward to traveling to Mexico to undergo treatment for breast cancer. The benefit was festive and had all the warmth of a family gathering, as the boxing community came together for a good cause: To honor boxing veterans and champs while also helping out a fellow fighter’s family in need. As homemade cake was passed around, all of the fighters in attendance signed autographs and posed for photos, including Danny “Little Red” Lopez, ‘84 Olympian and Gold Medalist Paul Gonzales, Frankie Duarte and Ruben Castillo.
The bonds between all the fighters, trainers and cutmen go way back, as Montes, Jr. remembers flying to New Orleans in 1978 with Danny “Little Red” Lopez for the Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks fight in the Superdome, “I was only 18. I remember sitting next to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was just a weighlighter back then. I also remember somehow ending up marching in a parade in the streets of New Orleans. I was dancing…tap dancing somehow! It was great,” the boxer laughs.

New award recipient Tony Rivera, who was recently in Ricardo Mayorga’s corner during his battle with Shane Mosley, says during his early days of his career, “I really admired Chuck Bodak while I was coming up. He and Norm Lockwood are two that I’ve always looked up to and still do.” Next month, Rivera will be teamed up once again with Marco Antonio Barrera, as the “Baby-faced Assassin" will be fighting for a lightweight title in China.
The bronze statues given to these newest honorees were designed specifically for the October 11th celebration, by boxing trainer and sculptor Steve Harpst. The boxer and artist has close ties to Chuck Bodak. The Burbank Boxing Club founder promotes an International boxing show in Canada and took Chuck there twice as a guest of honor, “Chuck was so funny. He’d ‘hold court’ in the airports–the fans would swarm him and he loved to talk to them all. Chuck would never turn anyone down.”
The Marconi brothers also purchased an additional bronze for Chuck from Harpst’s line of bronzes.
They chose a bronze statue entitled “The Victor” and as Dick Marconi presented this statue–depicting a triumphant boxer with his hands held up in victory–to Chuck, Marconi said with emotions rising,
“This IS Chuck!” Marconi was in his early teens when he first met Bodak and the cutman was both inspirational and instrumental in helping Dick and his brother, Ray while they were growing up.
Now the three have come full circle, as the Marconis are assisting Chuck during his “12th Round”
of his long and illustrious life.
Eric Casillas, on his way back to Chicago today, spoke of Saturday’s ceremony and fundraiser, “The crowd stopped when Chuck entered the room. It was a beautiful sight. Everyone had a joyous time. The inductees’ achievements and accomplishments are stand up in the world of boxing. It was a day of absolute honor and recognition for these lifelong contributors to boxing.”

(Photo of Tony Rivera, Michele Chong and Steve Harpst courtesy of Roy and Marlene Marquez)

It's good to see Montes Jnr getting some recognition. We've discussed him a few times on this thread and he was a solid fighter.

[kikibalt]

Carmona gave 'em something to cheer about

By Robert Morales
Special to ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- Chango Carmona stood inside the no-name gym in the basement of a house in downtown Los Angeles, where he trains young boxers in the evenings after finishing his day as a parking lot attendant.

Carmona was asked to recall the biggest fight of his career, and the second-best day of his life. His eyes got big and he smiled widely.

Carmona took his listeners back to Sept. 15 -- the eve of Mexican Independence Day -- in 1972.

That night, the native of Acapulco, Mexico, squared off with tremendously popular Mexican-American Mando Ramos, the lightweight world champion from Long Beach, Calif., who passed away in July. Before a large, raucous crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Carmona beat the daylights out of the typically undertrained Ramos, stopping him in the eighth round of their scheduled 15-round fight.

Carmona won the title on that night, but he lost it to countryman Rodolfo Gonzalez less than two months later in his first defense.

Judging by the way Carmona's face lit up when he spoke about lifting the title, he couldn't care less about losing it these days. He had his big night, one that left an indelible mark on boxing -- and in Carmona's mind.

"There are two marvelous things in my life," said Carmona, 63. "The first one was when my boy was born and the second one was when I got my title on Sept. 15. It was a happy party in Acapulco when I won."

The atmosphere at the fight was some kind of experience for Carmona, who pioneered the "Mexican fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend" tradition.

"It was incredible," he said. "The Mexican fans in the United States, they follow a Mexican fighter for a world title. It was a huge thing. There were plenty of people. It was a very special night."

The promotion of the bout was both special and somewhat humiliating for Carmona.

On one particular day, a public workout was held with both fighters. Ramos was known as a ladies man and a party animal. When a lineup of beautiful women were sent into the ring to flirt with Ramos, Carmona became happy with anticipation.

"There were 20, 25 nice ladies, beautiful ladies," Carmona said. "They gave a little kiss on Mando's cheek. One did it and another did it and me … I was just waiting. And I was thinking, 'Oh, this is nice. Hey, are going to do the same thing with me.'

"But no, only with Mando. I went up to the ring to do my shadow-boxing and everybody left. They only stayed for Mando. Mando was a good-looking guy and very gentle; he was very handsome. Mando was a huge fighter. I had a lot of admiration for him."

Once the fight began, all that admiration went out the window. Carmona dropped Ramos early and often throughout those eight rounds.

Carmona (52-13-2) had 42 knockouts in 67 career fights, a decent enough 62 percent knockout ratio, but he did not have tremendous power. And Ramos, who was known as a fighter who partied more than he trained, made Carmona look like a heavier hitter than he was.

Carmona said he thought referee Rudy Jordan should have stopped the fight in the fifth or sixth round. By the time the fight was stopped in the eighth, Ramos had sustained a severe thrashing that would land him in the hospital for a couple of days.

"He was in bad shape," Carmona said. "When I dropped him for the first time, he didn't look too good. I didn't hit too hard, but I threw so many punches in bunches. I always was in great condition. I didn't drink, I didn't smoke. Nothing.

"Mando, unfortunately he did drugs. It was his mistake."

Don Fraser, a promoter/matchmaker/publicist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, was not involved in that fight in an official capacity. But Fraser, who has been in the game for more than 50 years, never missed a big boxing event in Los Angeles.

"There were more Mexican nationals rooting for Carmona, and Mando was not in shape," said Fraser, 81. "I think he took the fight lightly and he took a beating. A bad beating."

After the beating, things got ugly.

"They took Mando out in an ambulance and the Mexican nationals were trying to turn over the ambulance," said Don Chargin, the fight's matchmaker for legendary Olympic Auditorium promoter Aileen Eaton. "They were pounding on it. When the fight was stopped and that many people rush the field, you are not going to stop it. Those days, we had a lot of those electrifying fight nights."

Carmona knew a celebration in Acapulco was awaiting him. Instead of joining the festivities, Carmona stuck around in Los Angeles and paid a visit to the hospital where Ramos was staying. He did not go home until Ramos was released.

Carmona fought five more times (including the loss to Gonzalez), and retired after a second-round technical knockout of Moy Mendez in Mexico in March 1975.

Carmona found himself back in the ring for one more fight in December 1979 in Acapulco as sort of a favor for the local police department, for which he worked as a traffic cop.

Interestingly, Carmona's job as a traffic officer in Acapulco continued to give him fond memories of his boxing past. When he pulled drivers over, every sob story he heard also included some high praise.

"One guy said, 'Chango, I didn't see the light because I was looking at you,'" Carmona said. "Then he said, 'Oh, you are going to give me a ticket? How can you do that when my mom used to pray for you?'"

What could Carmona do? He usually just smiled and laughed.

These days, Carmona doesn't have a lot of money. But he has no regrets that he fought at a time when few boxers were making big bucks. He's married with a son and three daughters and they have lived in L.A. since 1993.

Carmona's job at the gym -- which is filled with posters of present-day fighters as well as those of yesteryear -- is what brings the biggest smile to his face.

Make no mistake, Carmona is not easy on the youths he trains. It's either his way or no way.

"These are the rules: No drinking, no hangovers," said Carmona, who is assisted at the gym by David Sotelo, another former Mexican fighter. "I don't want none of that in this gym. If you want to be in this gym, you have to obey all of the rules. If they want to be successful, this sport is giving you everything."

One night, 36 years ago, gave Carmona everything. That it happened on Mexican Independence Day weekend made it that much sweeter.

Robert Morales covers boxing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

[bennie]

Carmona gave 'em something to cheer about

By Robert Morales
Special to ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- Chango Carmona stood inside the no-name gym in the basement of a house in downtown Los Angeles, where he trains young boxers in the evenings after finishing his day as a parking lot attendant.

Carmona was asked to recall the biggest fight of his career, and the second-best day of his life. His eyes got big and he smiled widely.

Carmona took his listeners back to Sept. 15 -- the eve of Mexican Independence Day -- in 1972.

That night, the native of Acapulco, Mexico, squared off with tremendously popular Mexican-American Mando Ramos, the lightweight world champion from Long Beach, Calif., who passed away in July. Before a large, raucous crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Carmona beat the daylights out of the typically undertrained Ramos, stopping him in the eighth round of their scheduled 15-round fight.

Carmona won the title on that night, but he lost it to countryman Rodolfo Gonzalez less than two months later in his first defense.

Judging by the way Carmona's face lit up when he spoke about lifting the title, he couldn't care less about losing it these days. He had his big night, one that left an indelible mark on boxing -- and in Carmona's mind.

"There are two marvelous things in my life," said Carmona, 63. "The first one was when my boy was born and the second one was when I got my title on Sept. 15. It was a happy party in Acapulco when I won."

The atmosphere at the fight was some kind of experience for Carmona, who pioneered the "Mexican fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend" tradition.

"It was incredible," he said. "The Mexican fans in the United States, they follow a Mexican fighter for a world title. It was a huge thing. There were plenty of people. It was a very special night."

The promotion of the bout was both special and somewhat humiliating for Carmona.

On one particular day, a public workout was held with both fighters. Ramos was known as a ladies man and a party animal. When a lineup of beautiful women were sent into the ring to flirt with Ramos, Carmona became happy with anticipation.

"There were 20, 25 nice ladies, beautiful ladies," Carmona said. "They gave a little kiss on Mando's cheek. One did it and another did it and me … I was just waiting. And I was thinking, 'Oh, this is nice. Hey, are going to do the same thing with me.'

"But no, only with Mando. I went up to the ring to do my shadow-boxing and everybody left. They only stayed for Mando. Mando was a good-looking guy and very gentle; he was very handsome. Mando was a huge fighter. I had a lot of admiration for him."

Once the fight began, all that admiration went out the window. Carmona dropped Ramos early and often throughout those eight rounds.

Carmona (52-13-2) had 42 knockouts in 67 career fights, a decent enough 62 percent knockout ratio, but he did not have tremendous power. And Ramos, who was known as a fighter who partied more than he trained, made Carmona look like a heavier hitter than he was.

Carmona said he thought referee Rudy Jordan should have stopped the fight in the fifth or sixth round. By the time the fight was stopped in the eighth, Ramos had sustained a severe thrashing that would land him in the hospital for a couple of days.

"He was in bad shape," Carmona said. "When I dropped him for the first time, he didn't look too good. I didn't hit too hard, but I threw so many punches in bunches. I always was in great condition. I didn't drink, I didn't smoke. Nothing.

"Mando, unfortunately he did drugs. It was his mistake."

Don Fraser, a promoter/matchmaker/publicist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, was not involved in that fight in an official capacity. But Fraser, who has been in the game for more than 50 years, never missed a big boxing event in Los Angeles.

"There were more Mexican nationals rooting for Carmona, and Mando was not in shape," said Fraser, 81. "I think he took the fight lightly and he took a beating. A bad beating."

After the beating, things got ugly.

"They took Mando out in an ambulance and the Mexican nationals were trying to turn over the ambulance," said Don Chargin, the fight's matchmaker for legendary Olympic Auditorium promoter Aileen Eaton. "They were pounding on it. When the fight was stopped and that many people rush the field, you are not going to stop it. Those days, we had a lot of those electrifying fight nights."

Carmona knew a celebration in Acapulco was awaiting him. Instead of joining the festivities, Carmona stuck around in Los Angeles and paid a visit to the hospital where Ramos was staying. He did not go home until Ramos was released.

Carmona fought five more times (including the loss to Gonzalez), and retired after a second-round technical knockout of Moy Mendez in Mexico in March 1975.

Carmona found himself back in the ring for one more fight in December 1979 in Acapulco as sort of a favor for the local police department, for which he worked as a traffic cop.

Interestingly, Carmona's job as a traffic officer in Acapulco continued to give him fond memories of his boxing past. When he pulled drivers over, every sob story he heard also included some high praise.

"One guy said, 'Chango, I didn't see the light because I was looking at you,'" Carmona said. "Then he said, 'Oh, you are going to give me a ticket? How can you do that when my mom used to pray for you?'"

What could Carmona do? He usually just smiled and laughed.

These days, Carmona doesn't have a lot of money. But he has no regrets that he fought at a time when few boxers were making big bucks. He's married with a son and three daughters and they have lived in L.A. since 1993.

Carmona's job at the gym -- which is filled with posters of present-day fighters as well as those of yesteryear -- is what brings the biggest smile to his face.

Make no mistake, Carmona is not easy on the youths he trains. It's either his way or no way.

"These are the rules: No drinking, no hangovers," said Carmona, who is assisted at the gym by David Sotelo, another former Mexican fighter. "I don't want none of that in this gym. If you want to be in this gym, you have to obey all of the rules. If they want to be successful, this sport is giving you everything."

One night, 36 years ago, gave Carmona everything. That it happened on Mexican Independence Day weekend made it that much sweeter.

Robert Morales covers boxing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Nice interview. Carmona was dedicated and made the very best of his ability. You have to admire a guy like him.

[kikibalt]

Here is a little narrative that I posted on Gato's thread on the CBZ, thought I would copy it and posted it here

I was talking to Rick Farris earlier today, an I told him a story about the night that Rodolfo " Gato " Gonzalez won the title from Chango Carmona, later on Rodolfo called me and I told him the same story, been that Rick called him and told him what I had told him, I had gotten 6 comp. tickets from Don Chargin , so I took my wife and my one daughter and my three sons ( Now we have four sons ) to see the fight , we were sitting about 15-18 rows from ringside, well there was a guy with thousand's of dollars, an he was putting all his money on Carmona, so very time he made a bet his money and the money from the guy he was betting was given to my wife to hold, at the end the guy backing Carmona had $100 left and he could't fine any more takers, so I went for it and took his last $100, well you should have seen the rush of guys trying to get their money from my wife after Gato won, she didn't know who was who, I got my two hundred dollars from her and told her just give the money to who ever said they won and let's get the hell out of here, which we did, and the guy that lost? well I thought he was going to cry, he probably lost the rent money.

[kikibalt]

Photo courtesy of Robert Bolanos


Enrique Bolanos and friends

[raylawpc]

So Foreman and Quarry WERE scheduled to meet, as I've often mused. Fascinating. Quarry liked fighting the monsters.

PS: Or was it one of those "dream match-up" covers?

Bennie, it was a match-up suggested by Nat Loubet - a "dream match-up," as you put it.

[bennie]

So Foreman and Quarry WERE scheduled to meet, as I've often mused. Fascinating. Quarry liked fighting the monsters.

PS: Or was it one of those "dream match-up" covers?

Bennie, it was a match-up suggested by Nat Loubet - a "dream match-up," as you put it.

Shame. Quarry deserved a second shot.

[raylawpc]

Bennie, as I recall, Ring made the suggestion in light of Quarry's upset win over Ron Lyle a few months before.

[bennie]

Bennie, as I recall, Ring made the suggestion in light of Quarry's upset win over Ron Lyle a few months before.

Quarry was possibly at his peak, then, although the mid-1970s is not my 'thing' and I don't really know. Still, wins over Foster, Shavers and that man Lyle should have secured Jerry another world title shot.
Foreman defended against the pitiful Joe Roman, of course.

[kikibalt]

For my friend Bennie

[bennie]

The WBC’s Newest Legends of Boxing
Story and photos by Michele Chong

The World Boxing Council (WBC) Legends of Boxing Museum held their second Induction and Awards Ceremony this past Saturday, saluting the first WBC Continental Americas champ to be inducted, John Montes, Jr., and presenting Lifetime Achievement Awards to Chuck Bodak, Freddie Roach, Tony Rivera and Carlos Avilas. The event took place in their new museum, located on the grounds of the American Sports University in San Bernardino, Ca., where over 300 attendees witnessed the festivities.
Veteran cutman Chuck Bodak spent decades in and out of the ring, but in his free time he loved to spend countless hours carefully creating his unique collages; decorating caps, watches and rings that he would give away as gifts. Suffering a stroke in August of last year–his left side now partially paralyzed–he cannot design his custom jewelry anymore.

But thanks to this new museum, his “treasures” are now on permanent display in a special case that showcases his handmade items, as well as a bronze statue by sculptor Steve Harpst that Bodak received
at the gathering. This tribute to the boxing icon touched many in the audience, including family friends
Dick Marconi, Ray Marconi, and nephew Bob Bodak, who traveled from Indianapolis, In. to be part
of Chuck’s ceremony.

Now in his 90s, the stroke may have sidelined his speech but not his spirit, as the once boisterous cutman for Ali, Hearns, Holyfield, De La Hoya and other various champions posed for photos, occassionally managed to say a few comments and in his trademark move, gave the crowd the “bird”–the middle finger salute! Speaking in a hoarse whisper, he expressed his appreciation, “I’m excited to be here.” When asked if he was happy about the Lifetime Achievement award bestowed upon him, the colorful cutman exclaimed, “Hell, yeah!”
The museum’s Chairman of the Board Rudy Tellez now gets to emulate one of his earliest and most valuable mentors, Don Fraser, the esteemed former promoter and publicist. Fraser is founder and president of the California Boxing Hall of Fame and holds his yearly induction awards to honor the fight game’s best in the business.
“If it wasn’t for Don Fraser, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now,” explained Tellez, who first met
Fraser while Tellez was still in dental school, “Don gave me the opportunity to make Joey Olivo a World Champion by giving us our first break at the Forum. He’s one in a million. He’s a big mentor to me and I owe him a lot.”
Also known as the “Mouthpiece Doctor,” Tellez sandwiched the museum event between a Telefutura WBC Latino title bout in Tucson on Friday night and a trip to Mexico with Dr. Joe Noriega on Saturday afternoon for an Erik Morales fight night. The two had to leave right after the acceptance speeches to rush down south.
But the awards luncheon was in good hands and well organized, as the WBC Supervisor Tellez can count on a group of hard-working young guys that have really strived to make the new museum flourish in a short amount of time. This WBC Legends of Boxing “Dream Team” includes Jaime Ochoa and Vincent Johnson, both Co-Chairmans, Eric Casillas, V.P. (from the Chicago headquarters), Angel Ochoa, Executive V.P., Teresa Marquez, Executive Secretary and many other dedicated individuals who work together to make these events run so smoothly.
Ochoa expresses, “We have the same vision, determination and goal to create this museum. It’s growing faster than we even anticipated. In the next year, we’ll be wall-to-wall with memorabilia and we’re happy to be part of history. We may have to open a second building soon,” he says excitedly.
Fellow Co-Chairman Vinnie Johnson cannot hide his enthusiam for their burgeoning museum and at Saturday’s event said, “We had some great people helping us today. And the inductees have all contributed so much to boxing. Chuck and Freddie are legends, Avilas has done a lot for the sport, predominantly for the Hispanic fans, and Montes gave us so much excitement when he boxed.” Johnson was born near Gary, In., where Chuck is from, and says, “Chuck worked with a lot of people I knew while growing up and we have a lot of connections. He trained a lot of champs that were my heroes. I’m happy he’s getting an award.”
During the awards ceremony, their museum garnered even more boxing history, as new inductees Montes, Bodak, and June’s inaugural inductee Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzalez all generously donated their prized boxing robes, trophies, framed artwork, signed boxing gloves and vintage posters that, during Saturday’s luncheon, were enshrined in glass cases for public viewing. Longtime boxing fan and supporter Bert Murrieta graciously donated a pair of red gloves autographed by Alexis Arguello and Jake “The Raging Bull” LaMotta.
A funraising raffle was also held for Joann Montes, former wife of John Montes, who is looking forward to traveling to Mexico to undergo treatment for breast cancer. The benefit was festive and had all the warmth of a family gathering, as the boxing community came together for a good cause: To honor boxing veterans and champs while also helping out a fellow fighter’s family in need. As homemade cake was passed around, all of the fighters in attendance signed autographs and posed for photos, including Danny “Little Red” Lopez, ‘84 Olympian and Gold Medalist Paul Gonzales, Frankie Duarte and Ruben Castillo.
The bonds between all the fighters, trainers and cutmen go way back, as Montes, Jr. remembers flying to New Orleans in 1978 with Danny “Little Red” Lopez for the Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks fight in the Superdome, “I was only 18. I remember sitting next to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was just a weighlighter back then. I also remember somehow ending up marching in a parade in the streets of New Orleans. I was dancing…tap dancing somehow! It was great,” the boxer laughs.

New award recipient Tony Rivera, who was recently in Ricardo Mayorga’s corner during his battle with Shane Mosley, says during his early days of his career, “I really admired Chuck Bodak while I was coming up. He and Norm Lockwood are two that I’ve always looked up to and still do.” Next month, Rivera will be teamed up once again with Marco Antonio Barrera, as the “Baby-faced Assassin" will be fighting for a lightweight title in China.
The bronze statues given to these newest honorees were designed specifically for the October 11th celebration, by boxing trainer and sculptor Steve Harpst. The boxer and artist has close ties to Chuck Bodak. The Burbank Boxing Club founder promotes an International boxing show in Canada and took Chuck there twice as a guest of honor, “Chuck was so funny. He’d ‘hold court’ in the airports–the fans would swarm him and he loved to talk to them all. Chuck would never turn anyone down.”
The Marconi brothers also purchased an additional bronze for Chuck from Harpst’s line of bronzes.
They chose a bronze statue entitled “The Victor” and as Dick Marconi presented this statue–depicting a triumphant boxer with his hands held up in victory–to Chuck, Marconi said with emotions rising,
“This IS Chuck!” Marconi was in his early teens when he first met Bodak and the cutman was both inspirational and instrumental in helping Dick and his brother, Ray while they were growing up.
Now the three have come full circle, as the Marconis are assisting Chuck during his “12th Round”
of his long and illustrious life.
Eric Casillas, on his way back to Chicago today, spoke of Saturday’s ceremony and fundraiser, “The crowd stopped when Chuck entered the room. It was a beautiful sight. Everyone had a joyous time. The inductees’ achievements and accomplishments are stand up in the world of boxing. It was a day of absolute honor and recognition for these lifelong contributors to boxing.”

(Photo of Tony Rivera, Michele Chong and Steve Harpst courtesy of Roy and Marlene Marquez)

It's good to see Montes Jnr getting some recognition. We've discussed him a few times on this thread and he was a solid fighter.

Ali-Spinks II in the New Orleans Superdome drew a crowd of 63,000, which remains the biggest indoor boxing crowd ever.

[bennie]

For my friend Bennie

I live about an hour away from Manchester by car. People (and cats) that live in the city support Manchester City (soccer). Manchester United fans all travel up from upper class London and call themselves 'lifelong' supporters, but it's only because United are doing so well.
Twenty years ago the same toffs all followed Liverpool.

[kikibalt]

Photo courtesy of Bruce


George Foreman & Dick Saddler

[bennie]

Not sure what you think about this (I loathe it) but we have an event coming up in London called 'Prizefighter'. It gives one of eight British welterweights (all leading pros, here) the chance to collect £25,000. How it works is that winners of four original pairings proceed to two semi-finals, and the winners there move on to the final. The winner of that, the outright winner of course, collects the £25,000, and thus needs to win three times in one night.
"It's three-round fights and it's quick action for a younger audience," said promoter Barry Hearn, who has already staged two successful prizefighter events at heavyweight (and this is already a sell-out). "Twelve-round fights can sometimes be painfully boring and young kids today want a quick adrenaline fix. Prizefighter's not for the purists, but it delivers as an entertainment...it's a great night out."
Hearn continued: "We've got to live with MMA, learn from it and innovate. MMA attracts a younger crowd who want fast, physical action delivered in an entertaining style. Boxing promoters can't bury their heads in the sand." He said boxing has "too many mismatches", and "Mickey Mouse titles" were confusing fans.
Boxers eliminated in their first fight receive £3,500; in the semis, £7,000.
The losing finalist picks up £10,000.