http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PI_magxi-c
President Barack Obama
A Change Is Gonna Come
Classic American West Coast Boxing
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
The dream is over for Ricky Hatton as his superfight with Manny Pacquiao in the States in May falls foul of the almighty dollar. I won't bore you with the emerging details - the fight is said to be off, as simple as that and Hatton and Pacquiao wake up to a list of new opponents. Oscar De La Hoya inevitably makes Hatton's list, despite an eight-round pounding he suffered at the hands of Pacquiao in December. The near-36-year-old Golden Oldie looked totally, totally 'shot' but, ever the promoter, will sell himself as a desperately weight-weakened fighter that night. Some people will buy it. Some people will buy the fight, if it happens. It stands a better chance than Hatton against Junior Witter, for sure.
Hatton will probably wind up fighting someone like Chicago's gutsy David Diaz, you know, another fighter to be outclassed by Pacquiao, while Witter takes on an unbeaten American kid by the name of Devon Alexander in April for one of those sickening 'interim' titles. Southpaw Alexander wears a No. 1 ranking with the WBC, courtesy of his relationship with Don King and in turn King's relationship with Jose Sulaiman. Love is everywhere in boxing, you know, a love of that almighty dollar.
King would have paid a man like Pacquiao what he wants, of course. Pacquiao, the Bruce Lee of Boxing, always looks great in the States; Hatton hardly ever excels there and his insistence on a 50-50 split jarred. Pacquiao was coming off that stunning win over De La Hoya, for example; Hatton, an 11-round pounding of the abysmal Paulie Malignaggi, a man Croydon's Clinton McKenzie would have toyed with 20 years ago. Yes, Hatton brings his phenomenal fan base but Pacquiao is probably just as popular. Ultimately, Team Hatton failed to deliver.
F rank Warren is the man chuckling most to himself right now. He recently announced a superfight in this country between Marco Antonio Barrera and Amir Khan and, right now, that fight is still very much a goer. The same cannot be said of Hatton-Pacquiao or David Haye's much-mooted clash with Vitali Klitschko.
Promoting, it seems, is still very much the domain of the dinosaurs.
Hatton will probably wind up fighting someone like Chicago's gutsy David Diaz, you know, another fighter to be outclassed by Pacquiao, while Witter takes on an unbeaten American kid by the name of Devon Alexander in April for one of those sickening 'interim' titles. Southpaw Alexander wears a No. 1 ranking with the WBC, courtesy of his relationship with Don King and in turn King's relationship with Jose Sulaiman. Love is everywhere in boxing, you know, a love of that almighty dollar.
King would have paid a man like Pacquiao what he wants, of course. Pacquiao, the Bruce Lee of Boxing, always looks great in the States; Hatton hardly ever excels there and his insistence on a 50-50 split jarred. Pacquiao was coming off that stunning win over De La Hoya, for example; Hatton, an 11-round pounding of the abysmal Paulie Malignaggi, a man Croydon's Clinton McKenzie would have toyed with 20 years ago. Yes, Hatton brings his phenomenal fan base but Pacquiao is probably just as popular. Ultimately, Team Hatton failed to deliver.
F rank Warren is the man chuckling most to himself right now. He recently announced a superfight in this country between Marco Antonio Barrera and Amir Khan and, right now, that fight is still very much a goer. The same cannot be said of Hatton-Pacquiao or David Haye's much-mooted clash with Vitali Klitschko.
Promoting, it seems, is still very much the domain of the dinosaurs.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Yeah!, thats the name, "George", George Torres and Jim Lopez started the Resurrection Gym back in the early-mid 1960's.Rick Farris wrote:Frank . . .Baltazar Torres was a friend of mine, his brother's name was George (the one I knew). Baltazar and I boxed many times at Main St. Gym and I would always think to myself, "Baltazar" as a first name? I only knew of the Baltazar family. As for Art Frias, I didn't know he was from the Resurrection Club. Thanks Frank.kikibalt wrote:Rick...it was/is the Resurrection Gym on Lorena St. in E.L.A., we had Jr GG fights there in the 1960's when you were fighting in the Jr's.Rick Farris wrote:Hey Frank . . . about the time I turned professional, in spring 1970, I worked out after school for a couple weeks at an East L.A. Gym off La Reina, it was an old church turned into a gym. I was there to spar with a boxer who trained there. I think it was Resurrection Gym, the one that Oscar has put a lot of money into in recent years.
I know there isn't a man walking the planet that knows ELA gyms like you. Do you have any thoughts about the place. How and when it started? Who was behind the gym and what popular ELA boys trained there? Hey Frank, I just flashed back on an image from springtime 1968 . . . Eastside Boys Club, friday night. Your kids are all there, you are making the matches. I'm flying solo that night, Johnny Flores was in N.Y. with Jerry Quarry. My dad left work early that night, drove me to the Eastside. We came to you, you knew me, found a good match for me. My dad worked my corner with Dwight Hawkins. Tough kid, a little green. I won. The "Outstanding Fighter" that night was a 12-year-old from Pomona, Albert Davila.
Just a memory . . .
Rick Farris
That gym was started by Jim Lopez and Baltazar Torres and Torres's brother whom's name I don't remember, until Oscar, the biggest name out of that gym was Art Frias.
-Rick
"Baltazar" as a first name is use a lot in Mexico, people some times are surprise when I tell'em my last name is Baltazar, they tell me "But thats a first name" I tell'em, "Not for me it ain't"
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Hatton calls off fight with Pacquiao
By Lance Pugmire
January 22, 2009
What would've been Manny Pacquiao's most lucrative fight yet has been called off by his scheduled May 2 opponent Ricky Hatton, whose camp grew tired of waiting for the Philippine star to sign a contract.
Hatton's camp on Tuesday informed his promoter, Richard Schaefer of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, that Pacquiao had until early today to agree to terms in a signed deal or that Schaefer should begin seeking other opponents for a May 2 fight in England, including De La Hoya.
When that signed contract never materialized by fax at Schaefer's downtown Los Angeles office, and there was no indication it was coming, Schaefer proclaimed, "The fight is off."
Schaefer said he has canceled a press tour with the fighters to promote Pacquiao-Hatton in the U.K. next week, and that he feels as burned as he did about two years ago when Pacquiao accepted a briefcase filled with $250,000 in cash from Schaefer and De La Hoya to join Golden Boy Promotions, then recanted and signed with Bob Arum's Top Rank promotions.
"I don't know what he's thinking," Schaefer said. "What a waste of time, money and effort. Am I surprised he's changed his mind? No. He did it to me two years ago. We had booked the planes, the hotels, printed the press kits for the press tour. It was all ready to go, a big production.
"Frankly, I'm disgusted at the behavior of Manny Pacquiao. He's a spoiled young kid who doesn't know how to behave."
Pacquiao produced a fighter-of-the-year campaign in 2008, beating Juan Manuel Marquez by decision to win a world super-featherweight title, knocking out David Diaz to claim a world lightweight belt and then hammering De La Hoya in a non-title welterweight bout.
Arum late Tuesday also expressed great frustration at Pacquiao's hesitance to sign a deal, which would have given him a slightly greater split of a verbal 50-50 split of the purse with some extra promotional profits thrown his way. Arum had boarded a plane to Los Angeles this morning and was not immediately available for comment, a Top Rank spokesman said.
Hatton has told Schaefer to explore possible May 2 foes at Wembley Stadium, including the winner of next month's lightweight bout between Marquez and Juan Diaz, or De La Hoya, or Floyd Mayweather Jr., who knocked out Hatton in late 2007 and has let it be known he's ready to end his brief retirement.
De La Hoya is in Southern California this week to watch his fighter Shane Mosley challenge world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito at Staples Center. It appeared he was headed to retirement after his sluggish showing against Pacquiao on Dec. 6, when De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round after a thorough beating.
"I'll talk to Oscar," Schaefer said. "I don't know what he'll do. We'll sit down and talk about it this week."
[email protected]
By Lance Pugmire
January 22, 2009
What would've been Manny Pacquiao's most lucrative fight yet has been called off by his scheduled May 2 opponent Ricky Hatton, whose camp grew tired of waiting for the Philippine star to sign a contract.
Hatton's camp on Tuesday informed his promoter, Richard Schaefer of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, that Pacquiao had until early today to agree to terms in a signed deal or that Schaefer should begin seeking other opponents for a May 2 fight in England, including De La Hoya.
When that signed contract never materialized by fax at Schaefer's downtown Los Angeles office, and there was no indication it was coming, Schaefer proclaimed, "The fight is off."
Schaefer said he has canceled a press tour with the fighters to promote Pacquiao-Hatton in the U.K. next week, and that he feels as burned as he did about two years ago when Pacquiao accepted a briefcase filled with $250,000 in cash from Schaefer and De La Hoya to join Golden Boy Promotions, then recanted and signed with Bob Arum's Top Rank promotions.
"I don't know what he's thinking," Schaefer said. "What a waste of time, money and effort. Am I surprised he's changed his mind? No. He did it to me two years ago. We had booked the planes, the hotels, printed the press kits for the press tour. It was all ready to go, a big production.
"Frankly, I'm disgusted at the behavior of Manny Pacquiao. He's a spoiled young kid who doesn't know how to behave."
Pacquiao produced a fighter-of-the-year campaign in 2008, beating Juan Manuel Marquez by decision to win a world super-featherweight title, knocking out David Diaz to claim a world lightweight belt and then hammering De La Hoya in a non-title welterweight bout.
Arum late Tuesday also expressed great frustration at Pacquiao's hesitance to sign a deal, which would have given him a slightly greater split of a verbal 50-50 split of the purse with some extra promotional profits thrown his way. Arum had boarded a plane to Los Angeles this morning and was not immediately available for comment, a Top Rank spokesman said.
Hatton has told Schaefer to explore possible May 2 foes at Wembley Stadium, including the winner of next month's lightweight bout between Marquez and Juan Diaz, or De La Hoya, or Floyd Mayweather Jr., who knocked out Hatton in late 2007 and has let it be known he's ready to end his brief retirement.
De La Hoya is in Southern California this week to watch his fighter Shane Mosley challenge world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito at Staples Center. It appeared he was headed to retirement after his sluggish showing against Pacquiao on Dec. 6, when De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round after a thorough beating.
"I'll talk to Oscar," Schaefer said. "I don't know what he'll do. We'll sit down and talk about it this week."
[email protected]
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Boxer Shane Mosley, sprinter Dwain Chambers take different paths after BALCO allegations
By Lance Pugmire
January 22, 2009
Boxer Shane Mosley and sprinter Dwain Chambers huddled with Victor Conte to improve their athletic performance and used illicit substances they purchased from Conte's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). Each produced a sensational athletic achievement immediately afterward.
Mosley defeated Oscar De La Hoya by decision in 2003, affirming his 2000 triumph over the "Golden Boy," by winning the late rounds on the judges' scorecards. Chambers, meanwhile, punctuated his standing as Europe's fastest man in 2002 and was expected to fare well in the next few 100-meter Olympic sprints.
Chambers, however, tested positive for the banned BALCO-distributed steroid THG later in 2003, and was ultimately dealt a lifetime ban from the Olympics.
Mosley never failed a drug test. The Nevada State Athletic Commission, and other boxing bodies, did not check for the steroid THG or the energy-boosting drug, EPO, a substance favored by cyclists.
However, in grand jury transcripts from 2003, released last month, Mosley admitted to knowingly using EPO, provided by BALCO. Mosley was also questioned about using designer steroids. He testified he was directed to call it flaxseed oil, admitting it was probably something else.
Today, more than half a decade after the two standout athletes received help from BALCO boosts, their lives have drifted to disparate paths.
Chambers, after originally sticking to a claim he didn't knowingly use steroids, has taken to a thorough mea culpa, explaining last year in a detailed letter to British and international sports authorities exactly how he used performance-enhancing drugs, identifying the cocktail schedule and doses in an effort he says he hopes will help testers catch future sporting thieves. He has also written a book, "Race Against Me," to be released in March, in which he describes why he used drugs.
"To break it down in simple terms, the world is not a safe place," Chambers told The Times in a recent phone interview. "There's not a level playing field out there. Originally, I walked into that world with my eyes shut and foolishly said, 'I just need to work harder.'
"My meeting with Victor [Conte] opened my eyes in a huge way, and I had to make a decision: If I wasn't going to beat them, I had to join them. That decision ended up ruining me, but I'm not alone. Look at [former world-class sprinters] Tim Montgomery, Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin. The problem needs to be addressed better than it is."
Mosley is not among those making the same plea.
The Pomona boxer sued Conte for publicly saying Mosley knew precisely what he was doing while training for his De La Hoya rematch in 2003. Mosley's former conditioning trainer Derryl Hudson is also suing Mosley for defamation after the boxer said Hudson fooled him because Mosley thought the injections he took were legal "vitamins."
"I've never been convicted of anything, and I've never tested positive for anything," Mosley said this month while training in Big Bear. "There's no distractions to me. The attorneys will take care of it."
On Saturday, Mosley, 37, will enter the ring at Staples Center as the clear underdog against Tijuana's world welterweight champion, Antonio Margarito.
Leading up to the fight, Mosley tried to steer clear of BALCO questions. His publicist instructed reporters not to bring it up, and when one did during a conference call last week, his voice was muted mid-question.
"I keep myself away from the drama," Mosley said from his training camp. "I don't take phone calls. . . . I put that stuff in a box and shut it out. I don't look at the Internet. . . . I've put it aside since 2004. I don't listen to it. I don't even care."
Mosley is not the only BALCO client to have taken the stance of unknowing steroid use. BALCO client Barry Bonds maintains he believed he was taking flaxseed oil even as a perjury trial looms. Jones denied it until her connection to an unrelated check crime led her to come clean. Montgomery admitted steroid use to HBO in a jailhouse interview late last year. And cyclist Tammy Thomas was sentenced to six months' house arrest last year for perjury and obstruction of justice after lying about her steroid use to the BALCO grand jury. Prosecutors found witnesses who testified Thomas grew a beard and that her voice changed to a masculine tone.
Anyone who was around the Mosley camp for the De La Hoya fights knows how badly he wanted to win and show his talent was superior, regardless of the massive attention heaped on De La Hoya, the East Los Angeles star who won a big crowd by claiming the 1992 gold medal for his mother.
Chambers said he felt the same drive to push his speed to record times.
"It motivates a lot of athletes to show how fast a human body can go," Chambers said. "With newfound confidence and with great rewards, people will cut corners and take chances. I was just one of those who got caught."
Both men insist they are clean again. Chambers set a European record time of 10.07 seconds in 2006, and he posted an Olympic-qualifying time last year but couldn't argue to get the ban lifted. He retains hopes of pleading his case before the Summer Games come to London in 2012. He'll be 34 that year.
Chambers says he is proud of his book, happy his story is being told "without being twisted by those in the media," but he added the truth has been greeted uncomfortably. He wants to be an advisor to anti-doping agencies, but his offers are being ignored.
"It has ruined my life," Chambers said of the truth. "I didn't expect things to be easy, but I have been hung out to dry. I have received no support and been forced to the brink of bankruptcy. I don't think athletes looking at what has happened to me will follow my lead."
Conte, however, is seeking $75,000 in legal fees from Mosley and predicts the boxer's denial of performance-enhancing drug use has a larger price tag -- a tarnished reputation.
[email protected]
By Lance Pugmire
January 22, 2009
Boxer Shane Mosley and sprinter Dwain Chambers huddled with Victor Conte to improve their athletic performance and used illicit substances they purchased from Conte's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). Each produced a sensational athletic achievement immediately afterward.
Mosley defeated Oscar De La Hoya by decision in 2003, affirming his 2000 triumph over the "Golden Boy," by winning the late rounds on the judges' scorecards. Chambers, meanwhile, punctuated his standing as Europe's fastest man in 2002 and was expected to fare well in the next few 100-meter Olympic sprints.
Chambers, however, tested positive for the banned BALCO-distributed steroid THG later in 2003, and was ultimately dealt a lifetime ban from the Olympics.
Mosley never failed a drug test. The Nevada State Athletic Commission, and other boxing bodies, did not check for the steroid THG or the energy-boosting drug, EPO, a substance favored by cyclists.
However, in grand jury transcripts from 2003, released last month, Mosley admitted to knowingly using EPO, provided by BALCO. Mosley was also questioned about using designer steroids. He testified he was directed to call it flaxseed oil, admitting it was probably something else.
Today, more than half a decade after the two standout athletes received help from BALCO boosts, their lives have drifted to disparate paths.
Chambers, after originally sticking to a claim he didn't knowingly use steroids, has taken to a thorough mea culpa, explaining last year in a detailed letter to British and international sports authorities exactly how he used performance-enhancing drugs, identifying the cocktail schedule and doses in an effort he says he hopes will help testers catch future sporting thieves. He has also written a book, "Race Against Me," to be released in March, in which he describes why he used drugs.
"To break it down in simple terms, the world is not a safe place," Chambers told The Times in a recent phone interview. "There's not a level playing field out there. Originally, I walked into that world with my eyes shut and foolishly said, 'I just need to work harder.'
"My meeting with Victor [Conte] opened my eyes in a huge way, and I had to make a decision: If I wasn't going to beat them, I had to join them. That decision ended up ruining me, but I'm not alone. Look at [former world-class sprinters] Tim Montgomery, Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin. The problem needs to be addressed better than it is."
Mosley is not among those making the same plea.
The Pomona boxer sued Conte for publicly saying Mosley knew precisely what he was doing while training for his De La Hoya rematch in 2003. Mosley's former conditioning trainer Derryl Hudson is also suing Mosley for defamation after the boxer said Hudson fooled him because Mosley thought the injections he took were legal "vitamins."
"I've never been convicted of anything, and I've never tested positive for anything," Mosley said this month while training in Big Bear. "There's no distractions to me. The attorneys will take care of it."
On Saturday, Mosley, 37, will enter the ring at Staples Center as the clear underdog against Tijuana's world welterweight champion, Antonio Margarito.
Leading up to the fight, Mosley tried to steer clear of BALCO questions. His publicist instructed reporters not to bring it up, and when one did during a conference call last week, his voice was muted mid-question.
"I keep myself away from the drama," Mosley said from his training camp. "I don't take phone calls. . . . I put that stuff in a box and shut it out. I don't look at the Internet. . . . I've put it aside since 2004. I don't listen to it. I don't even care."
Mosley is not the only BALCO client to have taken the stance of unknowing steroid use. BALCO client Barry Bonds maintains he believed he was taking flaxseed oil even as a perjury trial looms. Jones denied it until her connection to an unrelated check crime led her to come clean. Montgomery admitted steroid use to HBO in a jailhouse interview late last year. And cyclist Tammy Thomas was sentenced to six months' house arrest last year for perjury and obstruction of justice after lying about her steroid use to the BALCO grand jury. Prosecutors found witnesses who testified Thomas grew a beard and that her voice changed to a masculine tone.
Anyone who was around the Mosley camp for the De La Hoya fights knows how badly he wanted to win and show his talent was superior, regardless of the massive attention heaped on De La Hoya, the East Los Angeles star who won a big crowd by claiming the 1992 gold medal for his mother.
Chambers said he felt the same drive to push his speed to record times.
"It motivates a lot of athletes to show how fast a human body can go," Chambers said. "With newfound confidence and with great rewards, people will cut corners and take chances. I was just one of those who got caught."
Both men insist they are clean again. Chambers set a European record time of 10.07 seconds in 2006, and he posted an Olympic-qualifying time last year but couldn't argue to get the ban lifted. He retains hopes of pleading his case before the Summer Games come to London in 2012. He'll be 34 that year.
Chambers says he is proud of his book, happy his story is being told "without being twisted by those in the media," but he added the truth has been greeted uncomfortably. He wants to be an advisor to anti-doping agencies, but his offers are being ignored.
"It has ruined my life," Chambers said of the truth. "I didn't expect things to be easy, but I have been hung out to dry. I have received no support and been forced to the brink of bankruptcy. I don't think athletes looking at what has happened to me will follow my lead."
Conte, however, is seeking $75,000 in legal fees from Mosley and predicts the boxer's denial of performance-enhancing drug use has a larger price tag -- a tarnished reputation.
[email protected]
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
delete
Last edited by raylawpc on 22 Jan 2009, 12:47, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
kikibalt wrote:Hey Frank . . . about the time I turned professional, in spring 1970, I worked out after school for a couple weeks at an East L.A. Gym off La Reina, it was an old church turned into a gym. I was there to spar with a boxer who trained there. I think it was Resurrection Gym, the one that Oscar has put a lot of money into in recent years.
I know there isn't a man walking the planet that knows ELA gyms like you. Do you have any thoughts about the place. How and when it started? Who was behind the gym and what popular ELA boys trained there? Hey Frank, I just flashed back on an image from springtime 1968 . . . Eastside Boys Club, friday night. Your kids are all there, you are making the matches. I'm flying solo that night, Johnny Flores was in N.Y. with Jerry Quarry. My dad left work early that night, drove me to the Eastside. We came to you, you knew me, found a good match for me. My dad worked my corner with Dwight Hawkins. Tough kid, a little green. I won. The "Outstanding Fighter" that night was a 12-year-old from Pomona, Albert Davila.
Just a memory . . .
Rick Farris
Rick...it was/is the Resurrection Gym on Lorena St. in E.L.A., we had Jr GG fights there in the 1960's when you were fighting in the Jr's.
That gym was started by Jim Lopez and Baltazar Torres and Torres's brother whom's name I don't remember, until Oscar, the biggest name out of that gym was Art Frias.
Frank . . .Baltazar Torres was a friend of mine, his brother's name was George (the one I knew). Baltazar and I boxed many times at Main St. Gym and I would always think to myself, "Baltazar" as a first name? I only knew of the Baltazar family. As for Art Frias, I didn't know he was from the Resurrection Club. Thanks Frank.
-Rick
Yeah!, thats the name, "George", George Torres and Jim Lopez started the Resurrection Gym back in the early-mid 1960's.
"Baltazar" as a first name is use a lot in Mexico, people some times are surprise when I tell'em my last name is Baltazar, they tell me "But thats a first name" I tell'em, "Not for me it ain't"
Rick,
Thats Jim Lopez on the right, I know he is hard to see on this photo,
but you might recognize him, I'm sure you know him from back in the day.
The fighter is Angel Soto, who fought out of the Resurrection Gym, you might
know him too.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Mexican sensation Antonio Margarito defends his WBA welterweight title against American veteran Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this Saturday (January 24).
Margarito make his first (hugely anticipated) appearance since he broke up previously unbeaten Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto in 11 fantastic rounds last summer in Las Vegas. The 30-year-old champion showed all his renowned strength, stamina, durability, body punching and remorselessness to wear down a gifted opponent, to punch him to a bloody standstill. Margarito defines the rugged approach but in Mosley he faces a slick, sharpshooting opponent who has never been stopped in 16 dazzling years as a pro and enjoys home advantage.
"Sugar" Shane, of Pomona, made his name in sparring with a peak Julio Cesar Chavez while still an amateur and holds two paid (well paid) wins over big LA rival Oscar De La Hoya. Ominously, he was outscored by Cotto just a few months before Margarito got hold of the man but came back with a late knockout of Nicarguan wild man Ricardo Mayorga last September in Carson City to secure this payday. He really showed what he could do when he floored and 'schooled' Luis Collazo on the way to a comprehensive 12-round decision in 2007. Southpaw Collazo nearly beat the unbeaten Andre Berto recently.
Mosley has been sparring middleweights in preparation for the towering Margarito, a huge welterweight with a middleweight's strength (and Marvin Hagler's chin), and will surely look to stick and move in the way Paul Williams did when outfoxing Margarito in 2007. Mosley is always in great shape but his age is against him (37) and recent allegations allegedly linking him to the BALCO steroids scandal have probably aged him further.
Ultimately, the Cotto comparison speaks volumes. Margarito, a tad rusty and always slow-starting, delivers his usual frightening late-round surge to grind out a worthy points win.
Margarito make his first (hugely anticipated) appearance since he broke up previously unbeaten Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto in 11 fantastic rounds last summer in Las Vegas. The 30-year-old champion showed all his renowned strength, stamina, durability, body punching and remorselessness to wear down a gifted opponent, to punch him to a bloody standstill. Margarito defines the rugged approach but in Mosley he faces a slick, sharpshooting opponent who has never been stopped in 16 dazzling years as a pro and enjoys home advantage.
"Sugar" Shane, of Pomona, made his name in sparring with a peak Julio Cesar Chavez while still an amateur and holds two paid (well paid) wins over big LA rival Oscar De La Hoya. Ominously, he was outscored by Cotto just a few months before Margarito got hold of the man but came back with a late knockout of Nicarguan wild man Ricardo Mayorga last September in Carson City to secure this payday. He really showed what he could do when he floored and 'schooled' Luis Collazo on the way to a comprehensive 12-round decision in 2007. Southpaw Collazo nearly beat the unbeaten Andre Berto recently.
Mosley has been sparring middleweights in preparation for the towering Margarito, a huge welterweight with a middleweight's strength (and Marvin Hagler's chin), and will surely look to stick and move in the way Paul Williams did when outfoxing Margarito in 2007. Mosley is always in great shape but his age is against him (37) and recent allegations allegedly linking him to the BALCO steroids scandal have probably aged him further.
Ultimately, the Cotto comparison speaks volumes. Margarito, a tad rusty and always slow-starting, delivers his usual frightening late-round surge to grind out a worthy points win.
-
Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Bennie . . . The world won't come to an end if Pac and Ricky don't fight. In this economy, if guys like Hatton and Manny can afford to walk away from millions in cash just for simply climbing into a ring and fighting for less than hour, more power to them. They will retire with less money than they would have otherwise. As for Oscar, I hope he doesn't fight. If he does, considering his wealth and the sub-par performances of late, I wish him nothing but the pain and embarrassment he desrves.bennie wrote:The dream is over for Ricky Hatton as his superfight with Manny Pacquiao in the States in May falls foul of the almighty dollar. I won't bore you with the emerging details - the fight is said to be off, as simple as that and Hatton and Pacquiao wake up to a list of new opponents. Oscar De La Hoya inevitably makes Hatton's list, despite an eight-round pounding he suffered at the hands of Pacquiao in December. The near-36-year-old Golden Oldie looked totally, totally 'shot' but, ever the promoter, will sell himself as a desperately weight-weakened fighter that night. Some people will buy it. Some people will buy the fight, if it happens. It stands a better chance than Hatton against Junior Witter, for sure.
Hatton will probably wind up fighting someone like Chicago's gutsy David Diaz, you know, another fighter to be outclassed by Pacquiao, while Witter takes on an unbeaten American kid by the name of Devon Alexander in April for one of those sickening 'interim' titles. Southpaw Alexander wears a No. 1 ranking with the WBC, courtesy of his relationship with Don King and in turn King's relationship with Jose Sulaiman. Love is everywhere in boxing, you know, a love of that almighty dollar.
King would have paid a man like Pacquiao what he wants, of course. Pacquiao, the Bruce Lee of Boxing, always looks great in the States; Hatton hardly ever excels there and his insistence on a 50-50 split jarred. Pacquiao was coming off that stunning win over De La Hoya, for example; Hatton, an 11-round pounding of the abysmal Paulie Malignaggi, a man Croydon's Clinton McKenzie would have toyed with 20 years ago. Yes, Hatton brings his phenomenal fan base but Pacquiao is probably just as popular. Ultimately, Team Hatton failed to deliver.
F rank Warren is the man chuckling most to himself right now. He recently announced a superfight in this country between Marco Antonio Barrera and Amir Khan and, right now, that fight is still very much a goer. The same cannot be said of Hatton-Pacquiao or David Haye's much-mooted clash with Vitali Klitschko.
Promoting, it seems, is still very much the domain of the dinosaurs.
-Rick
-
Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Frank . . . I do recognize Lopez, but not Angel Soto.kikibalt wrote:kikibalt wrote:Hey Frank . . . about the time I turned professional, in spring 1970, I worked out after school for a couple weeks at an East L.A. Gym off La Reina, it was an old church turned into a gym. I was there to spar with a boxer who trained there. I think it was Resurrection Gym, the one that Oscar has put a lot of money into in recent years.
I know there isn't a man walking the planet that knows ELA gyms like you. Do you have any thoughts about the place. How and when it started? Who was behind the gym and what popular ELA boys trained there? Hey Frank, I just flashed back on an image from springtime 1968 . . . Eastside Boys Club, friday night. Your kids are all there, you are making the matches. I'm flying solo that night, Johnny Flores was in N.Y. with Jerry Quarry. My dad left work early that night, drove me to the Eastside. We came to you, you knew me, found a good match for me. My dad worked my corner with Dwight Hawkins. Tough kid, a little green. I won. The "Outstanding Fighter" that night was a 12-year-old from Pomona, Albert Davila.
Just a memory . . .
Rick Farris
Rick...it was/is the Resurrection Gym on Lorena St. in E.L.A., we had Jr GG fights there in the 1960's when you were fighting in the Jr's.
That gym was started by Jim Lopez and Baltazar Torres and Torres's brother whom's name I don't remember, until Oscar, the biggest name out of that gym was Art Frias.
Frank . . .Baltazar Torres was a friend of mine, his brother's name was George (the one I knew). Baltazar and I boxed many times at Main St. Gym and I would always think to myself, "Baltazar" as a first name? I only knew of the Baltazar family. As for Art Frias, I didn't know he was from the Resurrection Club. Thanks Frank.
-Rick
Yeah!, thats the name, "George", George Torres and Jim Lopez started the Resurrection Gym back in the early-mid 1960's.
"Baltazar" as a first name is use a lot in Mexico, people some times are surprise when I tell'em my last name is Baltazar, they tell me "But thats a first name" I tell'em, "Not for me it ain't"
Rick,
Thats Jim Lopez on the right, I know he is hard to see on this photo,
but you might recognize him, I'm sure you know him from back in the day.
The fighter is Angel Soto, who fought out of the Resurrection Gym, you might
know him too.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOPdrPUjPvE
Por Las Parrandas
Los Muecas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsx-fl_ObQ
Con Cartitas
Por Las Parrandas
Los Muecas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsx-fl_ObQ
Con Cartitas
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvsA72mq-fE
Paque Sientas Lo Que Siento
Amalia "La Tariacuri" Mendoza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HSOUPRpn4
Amarga navidad
Paque Sientas Lo Que Siento
Amalia "La Tariacuri" Mendoza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HSOUPRpn4
Amarga navidad
-
dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
LOOKING AT FILM
I commented to Frank that I liked what I saw in his sons's corners during their bouts. The way the corner was,to put in Frank's words,"cool".
I don't know Frank that well. At least not all the details. Met him twice. Probably learned more about him on the thread,but if you have a chance to look at the tapes of Frank's boys,study Frank in the corner. Or being interviewed. It's like the atom bomb could go off and he'll keep his cool.
Like Frank once mentioned.
"Hey I've never been out of the Barrio."
No sweat. No strain.
How about the time"Uncle John" came to Mando Ramos's testimonial?
"What's this?,"asked Uncle John.
"Grab something to eat."
I hope you get my drift a little. Look at the film if you get a chance. When Frank responded to me that "We were cool" in reference to Frankie and Tony's corners,you might think that comment reached further than just fighting.
I commented to Frank that I liked what I saw in his sons's corners during their bouts. The way the corner was,to put in Frank's words,"cool".
I don't know Frank that well. At least not all the details. Met him twice. Probably learned more about him on the thread,but if you have a chance to look at the tapes of Frank's boys,study Frank in the corner. Or being interviewed. It's like the atom bomb could go off and he'll keep his cool.
Like Frank once mentioned.
"Hey I've never been out of the Barrio."
No sweat. No strain.
How about the time"Uncle John" came to Mando Ramos's testimonial?
"What's this?,"asked Uncle John.
"Grab something to eat."
I hope you get my drift a little. Look at the film if you get a chance. When Frank responded to me that "We were cool" in reference to Frankie and Tony's corners,you might think that comment reached further than just fighting.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09o74vBg2ck
Cartas Marcadas
Little Joe Y La Familia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZbYcr8VhxY
Por Una Mujer Casada
Cartas Marcadas
Little Joe Y La Familia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZbYcr8VhxY
Por Una Mujer Casada
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Ricardo "Guapo" Varela
You guys remember Ricardo?, he fought at the
Olympic a few times in the 1970s, maybe into
the early 1980s
You guys remember Ricardo?, he fought at the
Olympic a few times in the 1970s, maybe into
the early 1980s
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Jerry Quarry
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Jake LaMotta
Jake and famliy
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
It's safer in the ring for Antonio Margarito
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Antonio Margarito talks about his upcoming fight with Shane Mosley (backround) during a news conference in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.
Welterweight champion continues to live in his dangerous hometown of Tijuana, although he's planning to move across the border.
By Kevin Baxter
When it comes to house-hunting, there aren't too many neighborhoods welterweight champion Antonio Margarito can't afford to shop in.
The Mexican boxer will earn $2.3 million for about an hour's work Saturday against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center, just slightly more than Margarito got in his last paycheck. And it's certainly enough to get him through the gates of even the most exclusive communities.
Shane Mosley's focus could be fuzzy Boxer Shane Mosley, sprinter Dwain...Manny Pacquiao blames Hatton's promoter for impasse on fight
Promoter Bob Arum aims to salvage Pacquiao-Hatton fight
Instead, he has chosen to stay in a crowded house on a crowded street in one of the world's most dangerous cities.
In Tijuana, where Margarito lives, no one is safe at home.
The lawless city is on the front lines of a drug war that has killed nearly 450 people in the last four months, nearly four times the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined over that span.
And the anarchy shows no signs of slowing.
"The violence is now attacking everyone," Margarito's wife Michelle laments in Spanish. "They don't respect anything."
Not even the world welterweight title, which Margarito picked up in July with an impressive 11th-round TKO of previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto. And that leaves the fighter with a dilemma: Abandon Tijuana for the relative safety of Southern California, where his managers and trainer live, and he leaves behind the people who watched him grow up, supporting him as much for his humble devotion to his roots as for his hard-charging style in the ring.
"It's impressive how many people recognize him," Michelle says. "Almost everyone knows him. If we go to the movies, people are going 'ooooohh.' "
But if he stays, he risks something even greater -- his safety and the safety of those around him.
"I don't know what to do," Sergio Diaz, one of Margarito's managers, says with a shake of his head.
The son of a door-to-door salesman, Margarito, 30, was born in Torrance but grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Tijuana, where he and brother Manuel found refuge in a neighborhood boxing gym.
He turned pro at 15, choosing to battle men in the ring at an age when most of his peers were battling nothing stronger than acne. Fighting for small purses in dank gyms and cheap hotel ballrooms in Northern Mexico and Southern California, he dreamed of making enough to buy a small house for himself and Michelle, his grade-school sweetheart.
And there was never any doubt where that house would be.
"We're both from Tijuana. We grew up in these same neighborhoods," Michelle says.
Adds Margarito: "I'm comfortable there."
Even the unsolved murder of his brother, executed in his living room as he watched television in 1999, couldn't sway Margarito.
"I have my routine. I go to the gym. I go for my runs," he says in Spanish. "When I leave the house, everyone says hello. Everything's fine."
Well, not really. Not anymore. Not when severed bodies are routinely dumped in Tijuana's streets and even the slightest fame or fortune can become an invitation for killers and kidnappers.
Margarito's punches may be deadly in the ring, where he has a record of 37-5, with 27 knockouts.
But they're no match for men with automatic weapons.
"You always knew bad things happened in Tijuana. But just in the last couple of years, things got worse," Michelle says. "We can't go out like we used to with peace of mind.
"Tony has always had the idea that he is from there and he doesn't have to leave. [But] people see him, people know him. They know where he lives. They know everything. That's dangerous."
The boxer, whose home is protected by nothing more than a cheap alarm, says he isn't frightened by what the cartels and drug runners might do to him. It's what they might do to his wife or her three teenage brothers, who live with them.
"When something is going to happen, it's going to happen. It has to happen," Margarito says. "In reality, that doesn't scare me. What scares me is that happening to my wife."
So sometime this spring he will move to a gated community in California, joining an exodus of Mexican athletes and entertainers who have sought safety in the U.S. But while most of them have gone to Miami or Los Angeles, Margarito, known as the Tijuana Tornado for his unrelenting attack, is looking at homes in southern San Diego County, within sight of Mexico.
And that will play well with his fan base.
"Tijuana practically is San Diego. There's not going to be much of a change," says three-time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico City, who recently joined ESPN Deportes as an analyst for the network's expanded boxing coverage. Margarito "is 100% Mexican and he'll continue to be 100% Mexican."
Four-time world champion Erik Morales of Tijuana, who has trained in the same gym as Margarito, agrees.
"The situation is difficult in Tijuana," says Morales, who moved to San Diego nearly five years ago despite the fact he directs sports programs for the government in his hometown.
"What's important is what you do in the ring and that you're still from Tijuana. You visit there, you come to events there.
"But your house is something very private, very personal. You have to look for the most comfortable situation possible.".
Of course Margarito, who splits most of his pre-fight training camps between La Puente and Montebello, also has fans on this side of the border. When Margarito entered the Home Depot Center to watch Mosley's September bout with Nicaraguan Ricardo Mayorga, he received a huge ovation. And the demand for tickets to Saturday's fight has been so great promoters recently made another 5,000 seats available by opening the upper level of Staples Center.
"He's now the stud Mexican fighter," promoter Bob Arum said of Margarito, whose blue-collar work ethic and willingness to take a punch have played well.
"He's a warrior in the ring," Barrera adds of Margarito. "Mexicans like that style. All Latin boxing fans like that style."
And even after Margarito, a U.S. citizen with an American passport, changes his address, that's likely to remain the same.
"He might not be sleeping there. But he's going to be in Tijuana," Diaz, the fighter's manager, says. "I don't think Antonio would ever leave it."
[email protected]
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Antonio Margarito talks about his upcoming fight with Shane Mosley (backround) during a news conference in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.
Welterweight champion continues to live in his dangerous hometown of Tijuana, although he's planning to move across the border.
By Kevin Baxter
When it comes to house-hunting, there aren't too many neighborhoods welterweight champion Antonio Margarito can't afford to shop in.
The Mexican boxer will earn $2.3 million for about an hour's work Saturday against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center, just slightly more than Margarito got in his last paycheck. And it's certainly enough to get him through the gates of even the most exclusive communities.
Shane Mosley's focus could be fuzzy Boxer Shane Mosley, sprinter Dwain...Manny Pacquiao blames Hatton's promoter for impasse on fight
Promoter Bob Arum aims to salvage Pacquiao-Hatton fight
Instead, he has chosen to stay in a crowded house on a crowded street in one of the world's most dangerous cities.
In Tijuana, where Margarito lives, no one is safe at home.
The lawless city is on the front lines of a drug war that has killed nearly 450 people in the last four months, nearly four times the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined over that span.
And the anarchy shows no signs of slowing.
"The violence is now attacking everyone," Margarito's wife Michelle laments in Spanish. "They don't respect anything."
Not even the world welterweight title, which Margarito picked up in July with an impressive 11th-round TKO of previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto. And that leaves the fighter with a dilemma: Abandon Tijuana for the relative safety of Southern California, where his managers and trainer live, and he leaves behind the people who watched him grow up, supporting him as much for his humble devotion to his roots as for his hard-charging style in the ring.
"It's impressive how many people recognize him," Michelle says. "Almost everyone knows him. If we go to the movies, people are going 'ooooohh.' "
But if he stays, he risks something even greater -- his safety and the safety of those around him.
"I don't know what to do," Sergio Diaz, one of Margarito's managers, says with a shake of his head.
The son of a door-to-door salesman, Margarito, 30, was born in Torrance but grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Tijuana, where he and brother Manuel found refuge in a neighborhood boxing gym.
He turned pro at 15, choosing to battle men in the ring at an age when most of his peers were battling nothing stronger than acne. Fighting for small purses in dank gyms and cheap hotel ballrooms in Northern Mexico and Southern California, he dreamed of making enough to buy a small house for himself and Michelle, his grade-school sweetheart.
And there was never any doubt where that house would be.
"We're both from Tijuana. We grew up in these same neighborhoods," Michelle says.
Adds Margarito: "I'm comfortable there."
Even the unsolved murder of his brother, executed in his living room as he watched television in 1999, couldn't sway Margarito.
"I have my routine. I go to the gym. I go for my runs," he says in Spanish. "When I leave the house, everyone says hello. Everything's fine."
Well, not really. Not anymore. Not when severed bodies are routinely dumped in Tijuana's streets and even the slightest fame or fortune can become an invitation for killers and kidnappers.
Margarito's punches may be deadly in the ring, where he has a record of 37-5, with 27 knockouts.
But they're no match for men with automatic weapons.
"You always knew bad things happened in Tijuana. But just in the last couple of years, things got worse," Michelle says. "We can't go out like we used to with peace of mind.
"Tony has always had the idea that he is from there and he doesn't have to leave. [But] people see him, people know him. They know where he lives. They know everything. That's dangerous."
The boxer, whose home is protected by nothing more than a cheap alarm, says he isn't frightened by what the cartels and drug runners might do to him. It's what they might do to his wife or her three teenage brothers, who live with them.
"When something is going to happen, it's going to happen. It has to happen," Margarito says. "In reality, that doesn't scare me. What scares me is that happening to my wife."
So sometime this spring he will move to a gated community in California, joining an exodus of Mexican athletes and entertainers who have sought safety in the U.S. But while most of them have gone to Miami or Los Angeles, Margarito, known as the Tijuana Tornado for his unrelenting attack, is looking at homes in southern San Diego County, within sight of Mexico.
And that will play well with his fan base.
"Tijuana practically is San Diego. There's not going to be much of a change," says three-time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico City, who recently joined ESPN Deportes as an analyst for the network's expanded boxing coverage. Margarito "is 100% Mexican and he'll continue to be 100% Mexican."
Four-time world champion Erik Morales of Tijuana, who has trained in the same gym as Margarito, agrees.
"The situation is difficult in Tijuana," says Morales, who moved to San Diego nearly five years ago despite the fact he directs sports programs for the government in his hometown.
"What's important is what you do in the ring and that you're still from Tijuana. You visit there, you come to events there.
"But your house is something very private, very personal. You have to look for the most comfortable situation possible.".
Of course Margarito, who splits most of his pre-fight training camps between La Puente and Montebello, also has fans on this side of the border. When Margarito entered the Home Depot Center to watch Mosley's September bout with Nicaraguan Ricardo Mayorga, he received a huge ovation. And the demand for tickets to Saturday's fight has been so great promoters recently made another 5,000 seats available by opening the upper level of Staples Center.
"He's now the stud Mexican fighter," promoter Bob Arum said of Margarito, whose blue-collar work ethic and willingness to take a punch have played well.
"He's a warrior in the ring," Barrera adds of Margarito. "Mexicans like that style. All Latin boxing fans like that style."
And even after Margarito, a U.S. citizen with an American passport, changes his address, that's likely to remain the same.
"He might not be sleeping there. But he's going to be in Tijuana," Diaz, the fighter's manager, says. "I don't think Antonio would ever leave it."
[email protected]
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
I feel compelled to say that there has never been a time in my life when I wasn't proud to be an American.Rick Farris wrote:Bruce . . . I'm proud to be an American again. The past eight years were disheartening, what went on before that, not much better. I'm not about politics or conservative/liberal differences. This man feels right, I like his class, his strength, his family and his dreams. I may be wrong, but I believe he will be the best president in modern history. He has to be, the last guy was a moron in the eyes of the world, so he hasn't big shoes to fill. In an age where nobody can afford to believe in anything, I choose to believe in Barrack Obama. Anybody who disagrees, cool . . . this is America, we have that right.Bobbin & Weavin wrote:Frank,kikibalt wrote:
The new "First Couple"
What a great picture, what a great day! I left work for a couple of hours to go watch the inauguration with my father he's 78 and said thoughout the election that he never would have believed he would see a woman or a person of color elected so he is thrilled. Throughout my life he has preached and practiced civil rights, rights for working people and their families as an elected union official in the construction trades in S.F. I am happy for him to be able to see this but even more happy for the rest of us because Change is coming and we're over due!
Bruce
-Rick
I take enduring pride in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the collective greatness of our people.
My pride does not turn on who happens to occupy the Oval Office at any given time.
-
Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
I feel compelled to say that there has never been a time in my life when I wasn't proud to be an American.
I take enduring pride in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the collective greatness of our people.
My pride does not turn on who happens to occupy the Oval Office at any given time.[/quote]
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Too bad the last guy in office didn't share your values. Hopefully the new guy can clean up some of his mess. Luckily, the Constitution is still in tact, so we still have something to take enduring pride in. And in a few years, hopefully, we'll have even more to take pride in. There is a wave of positive energy enveloping America, it's called HOPE. Something absent from this society for a long time, long before the recent incompetent took office. The power of belief is incomprehensable. It's what motivates miracles, the same type that made this country great. Without that hope, or belief in something, people will falter.
This guy motivates people. One man alone cannot change things, but a man who can motivate a nation can change anything. So far, he's got the energy going and it feels very good to a lot of people. Of course, some people are frightened by change, so not everybody will be happy.
-Rick Farris
I take enduring pride in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the collective greatness of our people.
My pride does not turn on who happens to occupy the Oval Office at any given time.[/quote]
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Too bad the last guy in office didn't share your values. Hopefully the new guy can clean up some of his mess. Luckily, the Constitution is still in tact, so we still have something to take enduring pride in. And in a few years, hopefully, we'll have even more to take pride in. There is a wave of positive energy enveloping America, it's called HOPE. Something absent from this society for a long time, long before the recent incompetent took office. The power of belief is incomprehensable. It's what motivates miracles, the same type that made this country great. Without that hope, or belief in something, people will falter.
This guy motivates people. One man alone cannot change things, but a man who can motivate a nation can change anything. So far, he's got the energy going and it feels very good to a lot of people. Of course, some people are frightened by change, so not everybody will be happy.
-Rick Farris
Last edited by Rick Farris on 22 Jan 2009, 23:32, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________Rick Farris wrote:I feel compelled to say that there has never been a time in my life when I wasn't proud to be an American.
I take enduring pride in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the collective greatness of our people.
My pride does not turn on who happens to occupy the Oval Office at any given time.
Too bad the last guy in office didn't share your values. Hopefully the new guy can clean up some of his mess. Luckily, the Constitution is still in tact, so we still have something to take enduring pride in. And in a few years, hopefully, we'll have even more to take pride in. There is a wave of positive energy enveloping America, it's called HOPE. Something absent from this society for a long time, long before the recent incompetent took office. The power of belief is incomprehensable. It's what motivates miracles, the same type that made this country great. Without that hope, or belief in something, people will falter.
This guy motivates people. One man alone cannot change things, but a man who can motivate a nation can change anything. So far, he's got the energy going and it feels very good to a lot of people. Of course, some people are frightened by change, so not everybody will be happy.
-Rick Farris[/quote]
I guess, Rick, I put my hope in the collective wisdom of the American people and the strength of our system of government. I do not put my faith in the abilities of one person.
-
Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
I don't remember him.kikibalt wrote:Ricardo "Guapo" Varela
You guys remember Ricardo?, he fought at the
Olympic a few times in the 1970s, maybe into
the early 1980s
-Rick
-
Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
I guess, Rick, I put my hope in the collective wisdom of the American people and the strength of our system of government. I do not put my faith in the abilities of one person.[/quote]raylawpc wrote:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________Rick Farris wrote:I feel compelled to say that there has never been a time in my life when I wasn't proud to be an American.
I take enduring pride in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the collective greatness of our people.
My pride does not turn on who happens to occupy the Oval Office at any given time.
Too bad the last guy in office didn't share your values. Hopefully the new guy can clean up some of his mess. Luckily, the Constitution is still in tact, so we still have something to take enduring pride in. And in a few years, hopefully, we'll have even more to take pride in. There is a wave of positive energy enveloping America, it's called HOPE. Something absent from this society for a long time, long before the recent incompetent took office. The power of belief is incomprehensable. It's what motivates miracles, the same type that made this country great. Without that hope, or belief in something, people will falter.
This guy motivates people. One man alone cannot change things, but a man who can motivate a nation can change anything. So far, he's got the energy going and it feels very good to a lot of people. Of course, some people are frightened by change, so not everybody will be happy.
-Rick Farris
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tom, this one person motivated the collective wisdom of this country to vote him into office by a good margin. So, in that respect we agree. And by this action, our system of government has a chance to grow stronger. This guy really has a mess on his hands, a great challenge. The collective wisdom of this Country believes that this man is best suited to deal with it.