Frank, that's exactly the way I remember Torres. Nothing much in the way of muscle-tone, a nose that cried out for it to be hit, but what a jaw and he could really smack when he wanted to as well, especially to the body. Felipe "The flash" Torres they would call him.kikibalt wrote:
Felipe Torres
I worked many rounds with this guy at the Main Street Gym.kikibalt wrote:
Felipe Torres
I remember Lopez from the '84 Olympics. The bantamweight division was hot and I'm pretty sure Lopez beat Juan Molina (John-John) on the way to the final, where he lost to to the classy Italian Maurizio Stecca but made it tough. He later gave Kostya Tszyu a very tough fight in the pros and looked a little unlucky to drop the verdict.Rick Farris wrote:A Kid Named Lopez . . .
I'm having a lot of fun volunteering my time Mon-Wed-Fri. nights to my friend Steve Harpst's boxing club in Burbank.
He's got a good group kids and it's fun for me to workout with them, and do some teaching.
Today I met a skinny kid about eleven or twelve.
The boy was bouncing around, attempting to get his feet under him, just starting out.
On the back of his white t-shirt the name "Lopez" was written across the back with a felt pen.
He was a real quiet kid. "Still waters run deep" crossed my mind
I helped he kid with his balance, got him throwing a jab.
The boy had a serious look out of eyes, he wasn't a silly kid. There was an unusual maturity to the boy.
Something told me his eyes had seen a lot in his young life. Just a feeling I had.
When I finished working with the kid, I asked Steve about the boy. What he knew about him?
"His dad was a fighter," Steve informed me. "Have you ever heard of Hector Lopez?"
Hector Lopez? Oh yes, I knew of Hector Lopez, a helluva prospect in the 80's.
Hector was a Glendale kid that had been born in Mexico.
Before the '84 Olympics, Lopez was a good amateur, but USA Boxing team politics would work against him making the U.S. Olympic Team.
What did he do? He went back to Mexico and he made the Mexican Olympic Team.
He came to Los Angeles, his hometown, repping Mexico in the Olympics and won a silver medal.
There were a lot of pro offers and Lopez had great potential, and a style that resembled that of former champ, Salvador Sanchez.
However, there would be bumps in his road to success. He would have a violent domestic history and serve time in State Prison.
Whe he came out, he was covered with tattoos and anxious to get back into boxing.
I met Hector in 1986, when he was training at the original Ten Goose Gym in North Hollywood.
He was sparring with Goossen's lightweight, a guy named Walter Smith.
From that point on, after prison, Hector Lopez's potential was long gone. He became a club fighter and eventually disappeared.
I told the boy I thought his father was a helluva a fighter.
A look of sadness crossed his face, he shrugged his shoulders, "I guess?", the boy answered.
Something told me this was not a good subject. I then remember the domestic issues, there was a gun involved.
"OK son, grab a jump rope" I tell him.
You could see the look of the father in the son, nice looking kid, curly hair just like the old man had.
In the beginning, you build the foundation, once it's solid, you add the rest. First things first.
-Rick Farris
Here's mine . . .scartissue wrote:Rick and I were talking last night and the subject came up of favorite fighters. Awhile back I saw on another thread on boxrec that someone asked about ones favorite fighter in each division and I thought that would be cool to ask the same question here. Now remember, not who you think was the greatest, but your favorite. I mean the guy that would make your skin bristle when you knew he was fighting. So many variables effect this decision. The region you're from, the era you were raised, the styles you enjoyed and I think we have a very diverse crowd here geographically and age-wise. Anyways, here's mine:
Heavyweight - Muhammad Ali
Lt Heavy - Victor Galindez
Middle - Vito Antuofermo
Jr Middle - Ayub Kalule
Welter - Armando Muniz
Jr Welter - Antonio Cervantes
Light - Rodolfo Gonzalez
Jr Light - Bobby Chacon
Feather - Ruben Olivares
Bantam - Ruben Olivares (again)
Fly - Halimi Gutierrez
You're not going to get more diverse than this except for the fact that I believe you can see the era which most effected me. Love to see your lists. Remember, your favorite.
Scartissue
Bennie . . . Santos Laciar will be on this year's WBHOF ballot.bennie wrote:Heavyweight: Joe Frazier
Light-heavyweight: Victor Galindez
Middleweight: Carlos Monzon
Light-middleweight: Wilfred Benitez
Welterweight: Sugar Ray Leonard
Light-welterweight: Aaron Pryor
Lightweight: Roberto Duran
Super-featherweight: Rolando Navarette
Featherweight: Alexis Arguello
bantamweight: Lupe Pintor
flyweight: Santos Laciar
Agreed!! These are just the guys we liked to watch and read about.Rick Farris wrote:As per Scar's request, I listed boxers whom really used to excite me. My list does not necessarily reflect whom I believe the all-time best of their divisions, just ones that that I enjoyed watching box. For example, at lightweight, Mando Ramos generated so much energy in Southern California, his name stood alone. However, if asked who I thought the best lightweights were of my era, I'd have said Roberto Duran and Rodolfo Gonzalez. Of those I never saw live, Ike Williams would have topped the list.
I think this was a great subject.
-Rick Farris
I was wondering who you'd list because you've seen so many over the years. I hope that Hap participates, too!! Given all the fighters he seen throughout the years, his list should really be interesting!kikibalt wrote:I don't like to get into this kind thing, because I have my boys to think about, but here goes.
Hw.-Joe Louis
LtH-Archie Moore
Middle-Sugar Ray Robinson
Welter-Joe Napoles
Jr Welter-Eddie Perkins
Ltw.-Enrique Bolanos/Tony Baltazar
Jr Ltw-Flash Elorde/Frankie Baltazar
Feather-Davey Moore
Bantam-Manuel Ortiz
Fly-Keeny Teran
Chuck1052 wrote:The following fighters were my favorites over the last forty years:
Heavyweight- Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier
Light-heavyweight- Mathew Saad Muhammad
Middleweight- Marvin Hagler
Welterweight- Mando Muniz
Junior welterweight- Aaron Pryor.
Lightweight- Roberto Duran
Junior lightweight- Bobby Chacon
Featherweight- Danny Lopez
Bantamweight- Alberto Davila
Flyweight- Miguel Canto
These are my favorite oldtimers:
Heavyweight- Jack Dempsey/Joe Louis
Light-heavyweight- Sam Langford
Middleweight- Harry Greb
Welterweight- Sugar Ray Robinson
Lightweight- Joe Gans/Benny Leonard
Featherweight- Willie Pep
Bantamweight- Manuel Ortiz
Flyweight- Midget Wolgast
- Chuck Johnston
I was wondering the same thing, Tom. I knew their lists would be rich. I never had the chance to watch Manuel Ortiz, Bolanos, Moore, etc. up close like they did. So I kept it to my era.raylawpc wrote:I was wondering who you'd list because you've seen so many over the years. I hope that Hap participates, too!! Given all the fighters he seen throughout the years, his list should really be interesting!kikibalt wrote:I don't like to get into this kind thing, because I have my boys to think about, but here goes.
Hw.-Joe Louis
LtH-Archie Moore
Middle-Sugar Ray Robinson
Welter-Joe Napoles
Jr Welter-Eddie Perkins
Ltw.-Enrique Bolanos/Tony Baltazar
Jr Ltw-Flash Elorde/Frankie Baltazar
Feather-Davey Moore
Bantam-Manuel Ortiz
Fly-Keeny Teran
(I hasten to add that I'm not denigrating anybody's lists . . . but Hap and Frank have seen so many through the years, I'm very interested in who they liked!)
Great Call Scar.scartissue wrote:Rick and I were talking last night and the subject came up of favorite fighters. Awhile back I saw on another thread on boxrec that someone asked about ones favorite fighter in each division and I thought that would be cool to ask the same question here. Now remember, not who you think was the greatest, but your favorite. I mean the guy that would make your skin bristle when you knew he was fighting. So many variables effect this decision. The region you're from, the era you were raised, the styles you enjoyed and I think we have a very diverse crowd here geographically and age-wise. Anyways, here's mine:
Heavyweight - Muhammad Ali
Lt Heavy - Victor Galindez
Middle - Vito Antuofermo
Jr Middle - Ayub Kalule
Welter - Armando Muniz
Jr Welter - Antonio Cervantes
Light - Rodolfo Gonzalez
Jr Light - Bobby Chacon
Feather - Ruben Olivares
Bantam - Ruben Olivares (again)
Fly - Halimi Gutierrez
You're not going to get more diverse than this except for the fact that I believe you can see the era which most effected me. Love to see your lists. Remember, your favorite.
Scartissue
Yes, I was surprised to see Flash Elorde's name on Frank's list (not surprised that he would pick him - its his list, after all!) because you rarely hear anyone talk about Elorde anymore.Rick Farris wrote:I was wondering the same thing, Tom. I knew their lists would be rich. I never had the chance to watch Manuel Ortiz, Bolanos, Moore, etc. up close like they did. So I kept it to my era.raylawpc wrote:I was wondering who you'd list because you've seen so many over the years. I hope that Hap participates, too!! Given all the fighters he seen throughout the years, his list should really be interesting!kikibalt wrote:I don't like to get into this kind thing, because I have my boys to think about, but here goes.
Hw.-Joe Louis
LtH-Archie Moore
Middle-Sugar Ray Robinson
Welter-Joe Napoles
Jr Welter-Eddie Perkins
Ltw.-Enrique Bolanos/Tony Baltazar
Jr Ltw-Flash Elorde/Frankie Baltazar
Feather-Davey Moore
Bantam-Manuel Ortiz
Fly-Keeny Teran
(I hasten to add that I'm not denigrating anybody's lists . . . but Hap and Frank have seen so many through the years, I'm very interested in who they liked!)
-Rick
I truly envy you. . .
This is my list. Going with what you asked Dan, not necessarily the best but my favorites. Though in some cases they may very well be the best. Duran is my favorite all time fighter. That won't change, tomorrow, next month or in ten years. I never saw Sugar Ray Robinson fight live or if I did I can't remember, I was too young but I have seen enough footage to know why he is considered the all time "Pound for Pound". When any of these guys were fighting I couldn't wait for fight night. Almost without fail you were assured of a fight. With Alberto Davila you were almost always given a textbook clinic on boxing.scartissue wrote:Rick and I were talking last night and the subject came up of favorite fighters. Awhile back I saw on another thread on boxrec that someone asked about ones favorite fighter in each division and I thought that would be cool to ask the same question here. Now remember, not who you think was the greatest, but your favorite. I mean the guy that would make your skin bristle when you knew he was fighting. So many variables effect this decision. The region you're from, the era you were raised, the styles you enjoyed and I think we have a very diverse crowd here geographically and age-wise. Anyways, here's mine:
Heavyweight - Muhammad Ali
Lt Heavy - Victor Galindez
Middle - Vito Antuofermo
Jr Middle - Ayub Kalule
Welter - Armando Muniz
Jr Welter - Antonio Cervantes
Light - Rodolfo Gonzalez
Jr Light - Bobby Chacon
Feather - Ruben Olivares
Bantam - Ruben Olivares (again)
Fly - Halimi Gutierrez
You're not going to get more diverse than this except for the fact that I believe you can see the era which most effected me. Love to see your lists. Remember, your favorite.
Scartissue
