Wildhawke11 wrote:Help Please Guys
Does something suddenly happen to your brain when you reach 70 because i have never before had problems in sorting out things by myself while sending PMs to anyone on any site, but now i cant sort this one out. I sent a reply to someone well it was Rick actually and it seems to have gone to my *out box* i checked messages sent and there is no record of it being sent. If this the case how on earth do i send it to him from my *outbox* On the other maybe it shows in there till its read.
Danny, you'ol fart... , delete'em all, and send a new PM....
Expug wrote:Hey, happy birthday Danny.
Happy birthday to your daughter also Rick.
Being your daughter, Im sure she is a wonderful woman.
My Kirsten . . .
Since you mention it, Brian, let me be a proud dad for a moment. Kirsten graduated last year from San Diego State. She is in her first year of grad school, a three year program that will lead her to becoming a physical therapist. At five, she started in gymnastics and at 14 had a good paying after school job teaching gymnastics at her local YMCA. She also was a competitive swimmer-water polo player in high school. Today, while attending school, she works as Ventura County Lifeguard and also in the office of a top physical therapist. Their mother is drop dead gorgeous and so are the girls. Kirsten was the jock, her mom is an aerobic-pilates instructor, and I had a little athletic background myself.
Older sister Kimberly turns twenty-five next month. Two years ago she received her master's degree from UC Santa Barbara and is currently a substitute teacher in the Ventura County-Goleta area of Southern Cal.
I'll post some pics. They are great children, they have been over-achievers, and how lucky for me. They were everything in school that I was not, they take after their mom.
However, I remember watching Kirsten when she was about ten, in a gymnastics competition. She was doing her thing on the balance beam when she did a back walk-over and stepped over a little off the beam. She took a hard fall. It had to hurt. She rebounded without breaking stride and put herself back on the beam, where she completed her routine. I saw the bruise growing on her shin that had hit the beam as she fell. Needless to say, her error cost her the event. However, her show of courage brought to mind many things, things that make people quit, such as pain, fear, humiliation, etc. She didn't quit. I knew she would be OK in life.
Happy Birthday, Peanut!
Wonderful Rick.
Your Family is a treasure and youve done a great job.
It is also my daughter Maggies 13th birthday today March 5th.
Shes a wonderful daughter and I'm one very proud Dad.
Happy Birthday to Maggie. I have no doubt that she is a wonderful daughter. I remember when all my girls turned 13. Hang on to your hat Brian, because the fun is just the beginning. Enjoy youselves tonight. Tell her Randy and Jeri wish her the very best.
Pat O'Grady and Dick Sadler were good friends. I was in Pat's office in Oklahoma City a month after the fight when Sadler told Pat in a phone call that George did most of his training between the sheets with every Zaire gal who came along - and, evidently, there were plenty. Dick swore that Foreman lost because he left his stamina in the bedroom.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tom, I find this hard to believe.
How rare. Is that true? I mean, that has to be a first time. I can't imagine a boxer actually choosing sex with a beautiful woman over a chance to trade blows with a sparring partner. I must consult with Roger on this. Rog, wouldn't you rather be slugging it out with Ken Norton than engaging in sexual pleasures with a beautiful young woman (or lots of beautiful women?) Especially when you were a young man.
I always turned my head from the ladies and chose the gym first. I swear on the name Mel Epstein.
-Rick
As your old buddy Mel woulda said, "Them African dames ruint the bum . . ."
Speaking of Mel, I seem to recall him telling me about some guy he trained that loved to chase the skirts. I think he writes here from time to time.
Thanks also Danny and Randy.
Those 13 years went by so fast.I remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday.
One look at my beautiful daughter when she was born and I was tamed.
Im sure you guys know what I mean.
Tamed that is of course until she goes on her first date.
When I talk to the guy, Im gonna make a few things very very clear.
Pat O'Grady and Dick Sadler were good friends. I was in Pat's office in Oklahoma City a month after the fight when Sadler told Pat in a phone call that George did most of his training between the sheets with every Zaire gal who came along - and, evidently, there were plenty. Dick swore that Foreman lost because he left his stamina in the bedroom.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tom, I find this hard to believe.
How rare. Is that true? I mean, that has to be a first time. I can't imagine a boxer actually choosing sex with a beautiful woman over a chance to trade blows with a sparring partner. I must consult with Roger on this. Rog, wouldn't you rather be slugging it out with Ken Norton than engaging in sexual pleasures with a beautiful young woman (or lots of beautiful women?) Especially when you were a young man.
I always turned my head from the ladies and chose the gym first. I swear on the name Mel Epstein.
-Rick
As your old buddy Mel woulda said, "Them African dames ruint the bum . . ."
Speaking of Mel, I seem to recall him telling me about some guy he trained that loved to chase the skirts. I think he writes here from time to time.
Randy
Yeah, but it couldn't be Rick! He just said that he "always turned my head from the ladies and chose the gym first." And I seem to recall Rick's ring name was Rick "Altarboy" Farris. . .
Tijuana Thunder Ticket Information
March 5, 2009 by Felipe Leon
After relentless investigation, SDFights.com has gotten exclusive information regarding ticket sales for “Latin Fury 8-Tijuana Thunder” featuring the Son of a Legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs. Luciano Leonel Cuello and four more televised fights as part of the PPV event being held in Tijuana, MX.
After speaking with Top Rank’s publicist Lee Samuels and an inside source from Zanfer Promotions, it was disclosed exclusively to SDFights.com that the actual promoter of the March 28th fight card is neither Bob Arum’s Top Rank or Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer Promotions but the city of Tijuana. In other words, the city of Tijuana has bought the services of all the fighters on the card from their respective promoters whether it be Top Rank or Zanfer.
In turn, the city of Tijuana is in full control of the promotion of the fight card including venue, tickets and publicity. As far as the venue, it was first reported that the bouts would take place at the Calimax Stadium, the home of the Tijuana Potros, the local Mexican league professional baseball team. Now, it was revealed to SDFights.com that the venue has been changed to the Plaza Monumental, the municipal bullring although it has not been officially confirmed.
It was understood that the city of Tijuana was going to give for free all the seats in the stands of the Calimax Stadium, about 15,000, to city workers and their families and sell the 4,000 floor tickets to the public. Now with the change of venue, it is not known officially what the venue is capable of for boxing, how many tickets will be given for free and whether any tickets will be available to the public.
Rest assure that SDFights.com is working diligently to get our readers the latest breaking news regarding the latest information on “Latin Fury-Tijuana Thunder.”
Personally speaking, Chavez Jr. does nothing for me, but with Fernando Montiel and Jose Luis Castillo on the card it might be a good one
Marquez vs Mayweather Done Deal!
March 5, 2009 by Felipe Leon
The team of Juan Manuel Marquez led by his trainer/manager Nacho Beristain, has stated that the next fight for the lightweight WBA and WBO champion will be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas according to Ernesto Castellanos of Esto.com.mx.
Beristain mentioned that he has spoken with Marquez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya and that the deal is done, all that is needed are both fighters signatures.
September 12th is the date for the mega bout and the MGM Grand is being considered for the venue.
Marquez has asked for the contest to take place in the junior welterweight limit since he would not be able to reach the welterweight limit of 147 lbs in which Mayweather fought his last bout
kikibalt wrote:Marquez vs Mayweather Done Deal!
March 5, 2009 by Felipe Leon
The team of Juan Manuel Marquez led by his trainer/manager Nacho Beristain, has stated that the next fight for the lightweight WBA and WBO champion will be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas according to Ernesto Castellanos of Esto.com.mx.
Beristain mentioned that he has spoken with Marquez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya and that the deal is done, all that is needed are both fighters signatures.
September 12th is the date for the mega bout and the MGM Grand is being considered for the venue.
Marquez has asked for the contest to take place in the junior welterweight limit since he would not be able to reach the welterweight limit of 147 lbs in which Mayweather fought his last bout
This is going to be interesting. I think Marquez is a little small for Floyd? However, at 140 lbs.??? I'd love to believe that he could school Mayweather, but nobody has done it yet. Marquez career competition, the great fights with the great fighters, equal that of any era. This guy is as good as Olivares, etc. and is always in condition. Hap Navarro told me that Manny Ortiz would go up and down in weight, at times challenging and defeating bigger men like Lauro Salas. I wonder how Marquez and Ortiz would have matched up? I'm not saying that Marquez is better than Ortiz, or as good, but I'd say he would have been competitive, at any weight.
I don't know if Hap saw the match, but if he did I'd really like his thoughts about Marquez. Frank, you commented on your feelings regarding Marquez and past eras. I'm not a "dream match" guy, that's a waste of time, but I wouldn't count Juan Manuel Marquez out in a match with anybody his size. If anybody has made Manny Pac look beatable, it was Marquez.
Expug wrote:Thanks also Danny and Randy.
Those 13 years went by so fast.I remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday.
One look at my beautiful daughter when she was born and I was tamed.
Im sure you guys know what I mean.
Tamed that is of course until she goes on her first date.
When I talk to the guy, Im gonna make a few things very very clear.
Somebody should tell the kid to bring a change of underwear.
I have a feeling he's going to crap his pants.
Tijuana Thunder Ticket Information
March 5, 2009 by Felipe Leon
After relentless investigation, SDFights.com has gotten exclusive information regarding ticket sales for “Latin Fury 8-Tijuana Thunder” featuring the Son of a Legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs. Luciano Leonel Cuello and four more televised fights as part of the PPV event being held in Tijuana, MX.
After speaking with Top Rank’s publicist Lee Samuels and an inside source from Zanfer Promotions, it was disclosed exclusively to SDFights.com that the actual promoter of the March 28th fight card is neither Bob Arum’s Top Rank or Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer Promotions but the city of Tijuana. In other words, the city of Tijuana has bought the services of all the fighters on the card from their respective promoters whether it be Top Rank or Zanfer.
In turn, the city of Tijuana is in full control of the promotion of the fight card including venue, tickets and publicity. As far as the venue, it was first reported that the bouts would take place at the Calimax Stadium, the home of the Tijuana Potros, the local Mexican league professional baseball team. Now, it was revealed to SDFights.com that the venue has been changed to the Plaza Monumental, the municipal bullring although it has not been officially confirmed.
It was understood that the city of Tijuana was going to give for free all the seats in the stands of the Calimax Stadium, about 15,000, to city workers and their families and sell the 4,000 floor tickets to the public. Now with the change of venue, it is not known officially what the venue is capable of for boxing, how many tickets will be given for free and whether any tickets will be available to the public.
Rest assure that SDFights.com is working diligently to get our readers the latest breaking news regarding the latest information on “Latin Fury-Tijuana Thunder.”
Frank
I first heard of this a couple of weeks ago. It's on a Saturday so it doesn't interfere with Amanda's Flamenco class. I guess I'll be going. Gee,a fight in a Tijuana bullring. If any of you guys want to come down and see it with me,I'll reserve a table afterwards at the Boom Boom Club.
kikibalt wrote:Marquez vs Mayweather Done Deal!
March 5, 2009 by Felipe Leon
The team of Juan Manuel Marquez led by his trainer/manager Nacho Beristain, has stated that the next fight for the lightweight WBA and WBO champion will be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas according to Ernesto Castellanos of Esto.com.mx.
Beristain mentioned that he has spoken with Marquez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya and that the deal is done, all that is needed are both fighters signatures.
September 12th is the date for the mega bout and the MGM Grand is being considered for the venue.
Marquez has asked for the contest to take place in the junior welterweight limit since he would not be able to reach the welterweight limit of 147 lbs in which Mayweather fought his last bout
Why do these guys keep wanting to take their pants off? Come on Marquez,find a way to kick his ass.
Expug wrote:Thanks also Danny and Randy.
Those 13 years went by so fast.I remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday.
One look at my beautiful daughter when she was born and I was tamed.
Im sure you guys know what I mean.
Tamed that is of course until she goes on her first date.
When I talk to the guy, Im gonna make a few things very very clear.
Somebody should tell the kid to bring a change of underwear.
I have a feeling he's going to crap his pants.
Hey Pug
I used to think the same thing about my daughters bringing around a question mark. Don't worry pal. Your daughter will have enough intelligence to date nice guys. Look at it this way from my point. My daughters married wimps,but nice guys. The real man in a daughter's heart is her dad.
I see they wanted to put J.C. Jr.'s fight in Potros Stadium at first. When I was coaching U.S. football in TJ,our team(CETYs)used to practice there. The Potros is the name of Tijuana's professional baseball team. A while back they were playing really strong. Won some championships in the Mexican League. Then they decided to throw their World Series. Naughty Naughty.
Well the league put them on ice for a year. The stadium was vacant. The grass died and things were in need of repair. Our football team needed a place to practice. The city of Tijuana isn't exactly a plethora of recreation fields for the general public. Shit,that dough can line the pockets of city officials. Our school was about a half mile away from the stadium. Vacant stadium. Close by. A bribe was in order.
Don't get me wrong. The Potros Stadium ,when spruced up, was a nice little venue. Constructed for baseball,I'd say it held about 8,000 . Well me and the football team drive over there to make our pitch.
Typical Tijuana planning .There's only one narrow winding road to get up there. On top of it,there's no parking lot. If you want to call this dirt patch outside, the parking lot...well no argument from me.I walk up to the stadium and pound on the metal door real hard. I hear dogs barking. After about 5 minutes this old guy pulls the metal door back. I see a clothes line with all kinds of shirts and under wear swinging in the breeze. The mangy mutts are sniffing at my feet.
Well the old guy's name is Ignacio and he's wearing a 3 day growth of gray beard. His clothes looked like they were in need of a wash and to be strung up on that clothes line. I told Ignacio of my dilemna. Our team needed a place to practice. I made my pitch.
After negotiating down to two quarts of tequila and 20 dollars a week,the deal was done. I thanked Ignacio and told him we'd need the field 4 days a week at 3 in the afternoon. Iganacio opened a toothless smile and we shook hands.
As I started to walk away,I heard the old guy say,"Por favor,call me Nacho."
Last edited by dagosd2000 on 06 Mar 2009, 01:14, edited 2 times in total.
Wildhawke11 wrote:Help Please Guys
Does something suddenly happen to your brain when you reach 70 because i have never before had problems in sorting out things by myself while sending PMs to anyone on any site, but now i cant sort this one out. I sent a reply to someone well it was Rick actually and it seems to have gone to my *out box* i checked messages sent and there is no record of it being sent. If this the case how on earth do i send it to him from my *outbox* On the other maybe it shows in there till its read.
Danny, you'ol fart... , delete'em all, and send a new PM....
Frank
I just sent a reply PM to Rick as he needed to know my e mail address. This is so weird now the last one that was in my OUT BOX has gone and the latest one i just send him has replaced it in the OUT BOX : Ohhhhhhhhh Hell i am sorry i got to 70 if this is what its like. Does it get any worse Frank ?
I am laughting so much as i write this i have tears in my eyes now
Wildhawke11 wrote:Help Please Guys
Does something suddenly happen to your brain when you reach 70 because i have never before had problems in sorting out things by myself while sending PMs to anyone on any site, but now i cant sort this one out. I sent a reply to someone well it was Rick actually and it seems to have gone to my *out box* i checked messages sent and there is no record of it being sent. If this the case how on earth do i send it to him from my *outbox* On the other maybe it shows in there till its read.
Danny, you'ol fart... , delete'em all, and send a new PM....
Frank
I just sent a reply PM to Rick as he needed to know my e mail address. This is so weird now the last one that was in my OUT BOX has gone and the latest one i just send him has replaced it in the OUT BOX : Ohhhhhhhhh Hell i am sorry i got to 70 if this is what its like. Does it get any worse Frank ?
I am laughting so much as i write this i have tears in my eyes now
Yes, it does get worse, Danny, wait until you get to the point were you don't even remember how to send an PM at all, or if you send one at all and or to whom, oh, it gets worse my friend, it get worse!....
Think back to all the boxing related movies or TV productions you have watched where you find yourself inside L.A.'s Olympic Auditorium. During my years as a film technician, I've worked on several, however, the one that comes to mind was the first, a 1979 production of a TV movie called "The Contender".
The production was an unbelieveable boxing tale starring a needle-nosed actor named Marc Singer. The cheesy script was bad enough, but no man in history with a long, thin, perfectly-pointed nose like Singer's competed in a prize ring. If they did, the nose would immediatly be rearranged, regardless of the boxer's defensive skills.
We shot all over town, at the Main Street Gym, on stage at Universal, the old San Bernardino Arena, a brick structure sitting so close to the railroad tracks that the place felt like an earthquake was happening whenever a freight train rolled by.
When our production rolled into the Olympic, I was on the crew. I was part of the rigging crew that laid in all the cable for the production lighting equipment. I was up and down into the arena and the balcony area. We had big units burning up high, providing a strong back-crosslight for the ring from the edge of the balcony.
While up in that balcony, I had a chance to see the Olympic in ways I'd never before. I had the freedom to go anywhere in the building I wanted, so I went to a place that had always caught my eye and interest. I went high into the rafters, way above the ring below covered with it's powder blue canvas. High above the balcony seats, directly above the ring, that place where the microphone would drop down from, directly into the hand of ring announcer, Jimmy Lennon. Sr. That's where I was.
The microphone cable reel was still there at the time. In later years, I would see that it had been stripped and was left a rusting piece of metal, not worth the bother of removing. This was after the "wireless mike" had come tp replace the need for a cable system that was attached to a big, heavy micorophone. In later years, Olympic Auditorium ring announcers would have a small wireless mike and would stick it in their jacket pocket after using.
While up high in the Olympic, I discovered gigantic windows covered with sheet metal. These gigantic windows provided ventilation for cigar and cigarette smoke in the 18th & Grand arena's early days. They could just roll up the metal covers and clear the air.
Of course, I took time to look around and try to think of every great boxer who had fought there. How many had died there? I myself would see two more die in that building within the next three years (Johnny Owen & Kiko Bejines). I tried to picture May West and George Raft sitting ringside, and I could remember seeing Mickey Cohen ringside at a couple of my own fights. Bogart was a big fan, and Lauren Bacall told me years ago that she and Bogie often were ringside at the Olympic and Hollywood Legion. I thought of Aileen Eaton, Cal, Jackie McCoy, Davies, Chargin, Fraser, Parnassus, Suey Welch, Tom Kennedy, Babe McCoy . . . were their ghosts close by? In my mind, if nowhere else.
I thought of the real "Golden Boy", and of course, I remembered Mando Ramos. He wasn't such a distant memory in those days, and to be honest, Mando Ramos has never been a "distant memory", never will be. Mando Ramos made a life long impression on me. Mando Ramos and the Olympic Auditorium walk hand-in-hand thru my mental notebook.
I looked down, envisioned some early moments in my boxing history. Watching Danny Valdez and Petey Gonzalez slug it out in one of my earliest thursday night visits. I remember how I wish I had been up there with a movie camera to film the 1964 riot that took place after Hiroyuki Ebihara got the nod over Alacran Torres in a flyweight title fight. The Mexicans wren't happy with the decision. The floor was no place to be. Objects would fly hard from that balcony. Even the coins that often would shower the ring after a good fight would hurt like hell if they bounced off your skull, especially ones that fans whipped down from the balcony. Jimmy Lennon used to have scars on his forehead and hairline from quater sized missles. Part of the game for fans was making Jimmy a target.
When you are up high in the building, where only maintenance crews work, you see the real age of the old gal. You see the vericose veins on the upper, out-of-site walls that haven't seen a drop of paint since the place opened in 1926. It was here that the old broad could be seen without her make-up. It was her secret, just her's and that rats that walk the beams, and travel close to the walls, where their droppings litter the perimeter. It's a place where you find dust older than your father's first automobile.
I tried to imagine how it was up there on the day it opened. I remembered the photo I saw of Jack Dempsey breaking ground for the building when it first underwent contruction. It would serve as the boxing and wrestling venue for the 1932 Olympics, about a half dozen years after it's doors first opened.
So many memories and curiosities crossed my mind that day. Of all the interesting places the film industry would take me, one I appreciate most is the Olympic, where I was able to climb that creaky old ladder into the rafters.
Only in the film industry would that have been possible for me.
Rick Farris wrote:Filming at the Olympic Auditorium . . .
Think back to all the boxing related movies or TV productions you have watched where you find yourself inside L.A.'s Olympic Auditorium. During my years as a film technician, I've worked on several, however, the one that comes to mind was the first, a 1979 production of a TV movie called "The Contender".
The production was an unbelieveable boxing tale starring a needle-nosed actor named Marc Singer. The cheesy script was bad enough, but no man in history with a long, thin, perfectly-pointed nose like Singer's competed in a prize ring. If they did, the nose would immediatly be rearranged, regardless of the boxer's defensive skills.
We shot all over town, at the Main Street Gym, on stage at Universal, the old San Bernardino Arena, a brick structure sitting so close to the railroad tracks that the place felt like an earthquake was happening whenever a freight train rolled by.
When our production rolled into the Olympic, I was on the crew. I was part of the rigging crew that laid in all the cable for the production lighting equipment. I was up and down into the arena and the balcony area. We had big units burning up high, providing a strong back-crosslight for the ring from the edge of the balcony.
While up in that balcony, I had a chance to see the Olympic in ways I'd never before. I had the freedom to go anywhere in the building I wanted, so I went to a place that had always caught my eye and interest. I went high into the rafters, way above the ring below covered with it's powder blue canvas. High above the balcony seats, directly above the ring, that place where the microphone would drop down from, directly into the hand of ring announcer, Jimmy Lennon. Sr. That's where I was.
The microphone cable reel was still there at the time. In later years, I would see that it had been stripped and was left a rusting piece of metal, not worth the bother of removing. This was after the "wireless mike" had come tp replace the need for a cable system that was attached to a big, heavy micorophone. In later years, Olympic Auditorium ring announcers would have a small wireless mike and would stick it in their jacket pocket after using.
While up high in the Olympic, I discovered gigantic windows covered with sheet metal. These gigantic windows provided ventilation for cigar and cigarette smoke in the 18th & Grand arena's early days. They could just roll up the metal covers and clear the air.
Of course, I took time to look around and try to think of every great boxer who had fought there. How many had died there? I myself would see two more die in that building within the next three years (Johnny Owen & Kiko Bejines). I tried to picture May West and George Raft sitting ringside, and I could remember seeing Mickey Cohen ringside at a couple of my own fights. Bogart was a big fan, and Lauren Bacall told me years ago that she and Bogie often were ringside at the Olympic and Hollywood Legion. I thought of Aileen Eaton, Cal, Jackie McCoy, Davies, Chargin, Fraser, Parnassus, Suey Welch, Tom Kennedy, Babe McCoy . . . were their ghosts close by? In my mind, if nowhere else.
I thought of the real "Golden Boy", and of course, I remembered Mando Ramos. He wasn't such a distant memory in those days, and to be honest, Mando Ramos has never been a "distant memory", never will be. Mando Ramos made a life long impression on me. Mando Ramos and the Olympic Auditorium walk hand-in-hand thru my mental notebook.
I looked down, envisioned some early moments in my boxing history. Watching Danny Valdez and Petey Gonzalez slug it out in one of my earliest thursday night visits. I remember how I wish I had been up there with a movie camera to film the 1964 riot that took place after Hiroyuki Ebihara got the nod over Alacran Torres in a flyweight title fight. The Mexicans wren't happy with the decision. The floor was no place to be. Objects would fly hard from that balcony. Even the coins that often would shower the ring after a good fight would hurt like hell if they bounced off your skull, especially ones that fans whipped down from the balcony. Jimmy Lennon used to have scars on his forehead and hairline from quater sized missles. Part of the game for fans was making Jimmy a target.
When you are up high in the building, where only maintenance crews work, you see the real age of the old gal. You see the vericose veins on the upper, out-of-site walls that haven't seen a drop of paint since the place opened in 1926. It was here that the old broad could be seen without her make-up. It was her secret, just her's and that rats that walk the beams, and travel close to the walls, where their droppings litter the perimeter. It's a place where you find dust older than your father's first automobile.
I tried to imagine how it was up there on the day it opened. I remembered the photo I saw of Jack Dempsey breaking ground for the building when it first underwent contruction. It would serve as the boxing and wrestling venue for the 1932 Olympics, about a half dozen years after it's doors first opened.
So many memories and curiosities crossed my mind that day. Of all the interesting places the film industry would take me, one I appreciate most is the Olympic, where I was able to climb that creaky old ladder into the rafters.
Only in the film industry would that have been possible for me.
-Rick Farris
Rick, my old friend, that was some piece of writing. You took me with you. I got rat shit on me but it was worth it. Dam, that was something. Someday this thread is going to be used to teach a course on Boxing 101. I am proud to be associated with you guys.
Rick, I took the liberty of posting this piece on my blog, figuring you wouldn't mind. I can't wait for the next story.
Frank
I'm glad you posted that pic. That was Mado Ramos's testimonial. I arrived very early that day.There was a doc around the corner from the hall. I told him my hip was bothering me. He gave me an exam. He scared the shit out of me. He said that I was a time bomb ready ready to explode. That was July 18th. Life is strange. Mando Ramos had died. My being began a new life that day. I feel better now. I've lost 30 pounds . My blood pressure is normal and my hip is almost back to normal. My diet has also improved.I should hang that picture on my refrigerator to remind me how close I was to checking out.
Rick Farris wrote:Filming at the Olympic Auditorium . . .
Think back to all the boxing related movies or TV productions you have watched where you find yourself inside L.A.'s Olympic Auditorium. During my years as a film technician, I've worked on several, however, the one that comes to mind was the first, a 1979 production of a TV movie called "The Contender".
The production was an unbelieveable boxing tale starring a needle-nosed actor named Marc Singer. The cheesy script was bad enough, but no man in history with a long, thin, perfectly-pointed nose like Singer's competed in a prize ring. If they did, the nose would immediatly be rearranged, regardless of the boxer's defensive skills.
We shot all over town, at the Main Street Gym, on stage at Universal, the old San Bernardino Arena, a brick structure sitting so close to the railroad tracks that the place felt like an earthquake was happening whenever a freight train rolled by.
When our production rolled into the Olympic, I was on the crew. I was part of the rigging crew that laid in all the cable for the production lighting equipment. I was up and down into the arena and the balcony area. We had big units burning up high, providing a strong back-crosslight for the ring from the edge of the balcony.
While up in that balcony, I had a chance to see the Olympic in ways I'd never before. I had the freedom to go anywhere in the building I wanted, so I went to a place that had always caught my eye and interest. I went high into the rafters, way above the ring below covered with it's powder blue canvas. High above the balcony seats, directly above the ring, that place where the microphone would drop down from, directly into the hand of ring announcer, Jimmy Lennon. Sr. That's where I was.
The microphone cable reel was still there at the time. In later years, I would see that it had been stripped and was left a rusting piece of metal, not worth the bother of removing. This was after the "wireless mike" had come tp replace the need for a cable system that was attached to a big, heavy micorophone. In later years, Olympic Auditorium ring announcers would have a small wireless mike and would stick it in their jacket pocket after using.
While up high in the Olympic, I discovered gigantic windows covered with sheet metal. These gigantic windows provided ventilation for cigar and cigarette smoke in the 18th & Grand arena's early days. They could just roll up the metal covers and clear the air.
Of course, I took time to look around and try to think of every great boxer who had fought there. How many had died there? I myself would see two more die in that building within the next three years (Johnny Owen & Kiko Bejines). I tried to picture May West and George Raft sitting ringside, and I could remember seeing Mickey Cohen ringside at a couple of my own fights. Bogart was a big fan, and Lauren Bacall told me years ago that she and Bogie often were ringside at the Olympic and Hollywood Legion. I thought of Aileen Eaton, Cal, Jackie McCoy, Davies, Chargin, Fraser, Parnassus, Suey Welch, Tom Kennedy, Babe McCoy . . . were their ghosts close by? In my mind, if nowhere else.
I thought of the real "Golden Boy", and of course, I remembered Mando Ramos. He wasn't such a distant memory in those days, and to be honest, Mando Ramos has never been a "distant memory", never will be. Mando Ramos made a life long impression on me. Mando Ramos and the Olympic Auditorium walk hand-in-hand thru my mental notebook.
I looked down, envisioned some early moments in my boxing history. Watching Danny Valdez and Petey Gonzalez slug it out in one of my earliest thursday night visits. I remember how I wish I had been up there with a movie camera to film the 1964 riot that took place after Hiroyuki Ebihara got the nod over Alacran Torres in a flyweight title fight. The Mexicans wren't happy with the decision. The floor was no place to be. Objects would fly hard from that balcony. Even the coins that often would shower the ring after a good fight would hurt like hell if they bounced off your skull, especially ones that fans whipped down from the balcony. Jimmy Lennon used to have scars on his forehead and hairline from quater sized missles. Part of the game for fans was making Jimmy a target.
When you are up high in the building, where only maintenance crews work, you see the real age of the old gal. You see the vericose veins on the upper, out-of-site walls that haven't seen a drop of paint since the place opened in 1926. It was here that the old broad could be seen without her make-up. It was her secret, just her's and that rats that walk the beams, and travel close to the walls, where their droppings litter the perimeter. It's a place where you find dust older than your father's first automobile.
I tried to imagine how it was up there on the day it opened. I remembered the photo I saw of Jack Dempsey breaking ground for the building when it first underwent contruction. It would serve as the boxing and wrestling venue for the 1932 Olympics, about a half dozen years after it's doors first opened.
So many memories and curiosities crossed my mind that day. Of all the interesting places the film industry would take me, one I appreciate most is the Olympic, where I was able to climb that creaky old ladder into the rafters.
Only in the film industry would that have been possible for me.
-Rick Farris
Rick, my old friend, that was some piece of writing. You took me with you. I got rat shit on me but it was worth it. Dam, that was something. Someday this thread is going to be used to teach a course on Boxing 101. I am proud to be associated with you guys.
Rick, I took the liberty of posting this piece on my blog, figuring you wouldn't mind. I can't wait for the next story.
Randy
Rick
You were the only one there that day who had those thoughts swimming in your mind. Feel lucky. Rog
Buddy, I did see the Juan Manuel-Juan Diaz fight and it was all that I expected and a bit more. From the opening bell we expected one or the other would be kayoed. lI was Juan Manuel's superior chin and punching power that made the difference. In fact,I make sure I watch the re-runs of the match every time it is scheduled.....it was that kind of a fight. There was class, stamina, a battle of wills and not just a brawl. The exchanges were far and above a mediocre brawl. Great bout!
You know my feeling when it comes to Manuel Ortiz. Juan Manuel appears to be a late bloomer. If he is at his best at 35, he would not have handled Ortiz when both were in their 20s, and I am not saying he would not be competing. I just think that Manny would welcome Juan Manuel's eagerness to exchange at close quarters. Carlos Chavez had a style similar to Juan Manuel's and was built along those lines, he just lacked the punching power to scale the heights.
Rick. when Enrique Bolanos was on the rise, knocking every opponent out, he was matched against Ortiz at the Olympic. Manny kept it evenly close for about four rounds, or until Bolanos stung him with a pulverizing shot. Ortiz went to work and the fight was over less than a minute later.
, delete'em all, and send a new PM.... 
I swear on the name Mel Epstein. 
