Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjMgS0KaZz0
"Shake A Hand"

Faye Adams

[kikibalt]

Cleveland’s Jimmy Bivins Battled the Best



By Jim Amato

Although he was born in Dry Branch, Georgia, it was from Cleveland, Ohio that Jimmy Bivins made history. He was a major player in putting Cleveland on the boxing map during the 1940’s and ’50s. He may well have been the best heavyweight and light heavyweight to ever come out of this great boxing town.

Jimmy Bivins was born on December 6, 1919. His professional career began as a middleweight in Cleveland on January 15, 1940. In his sixth pro fight he beat a solid veteran in Nate Bolden. On September 3rd Jimmy was good enough to outpoint the highly respected Charley Burley. This has to be considered an outstanding feat at this stage of Jimmy’s budding career. Bivins closed 1940 by splitting a pair of tough bouts in Cleveland with Anton Christoforidis. The loss in the second bout to Anton was the first of his career.

The year 1941 saw Jimmy lose a few bouts but he was really in with top shelf opposition. He beat Teddy Yarosz and Curtis “Hatchet man” Sheppard. He lost decisions to Lem Franklin and Tony Musto. He defeated Nate Bolden again but lost to Melio Bettina. Jimmy was a full-fledged light heavyweight by now. In some fights he was coming in as a heavyweight.

Jimmy started 1942 with a bang as he outscored Billy Soose and Gus Lesnevich. Bivins then lost to the smooth boxing Bob Pastor. On June 6th at Cleveland Municipal Stadium two of the greatest boxers in Cleveland’s history met. Jimmy squeaked a split decision over the crafty Joey Maxim.

Then Jimmy went on a rampage. He defeated Joe Muscato, Tami Mauriello, and Bob Pastor in a rematch. Then he beat Lee Savold to close 1942. He opened 1943 beating Ezzard Charles and winning a rubber match with Christoforidis. He defeated Mauriello again and then beat Watson Jones, Pat Valentino, Lloyd Marshall, Herbert Marshall and Bettina in a return engagement. The year ended with a win over Lee Q. Murray.

Bivins picked up right where he left off in 1945 by beating Murray again. Three fights later he drew with the always tough Bettina. On August 22 Bivins scored one of the most important wins of his career. Jimmy had Archie Moore on the canvas several times en route to a sixth round stoppage.

Jimmy opened 1946 with four straight victories, but on February 25th Jersey Joe Walcott at the Cleveland Arena outscored him in ten rounds. Two fights later in Pittsburgh he lost to the great Ezzard Charles. Jimmy got a few more victories, but on March 10, 1947 Ezzard Charles halted him in four rounds. On September 8th a determined Archie Moore in Baltimore kayoed him in nine rounds.

Jimmy put together a six fight win streak into 1948 including another win over Pat Valentino. In June he lost a decision to Moore and in September in Washington, DC he lost a verdict to Charles. He closed 1948 with a point’s loss to Maxim.

In April 11, 1949 Archie Moore again stopped him. He would lose to Leonard Morrow but beat him in a return bout. He stopped the talented Clarence Henry and was then out-slicked by the clever future light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson. In 1950 he lost Sid Peaks. In 1951 he beat Tiger Ted Lowry, but was again kayoed by Archie Moore. In June he lost in a return with Clarence Henry.

On August 15th at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore Jimmy entered the ring to face the great come backing former champion Joe Louis. At one point when Louis was champion but inactive due to his being in the Armed Forces, he named Jimmy the “Interim Heavyweight Champion.” Now they were in the ring together. Joe won the decision over ten rounds. Next Jimmy would lose to undefeated Bob Baker, but he closed the year by beating Doc Williams.

In 1952 Jimmy beat Coley Wallace and Wes Bascom. He then lost to Tommy Harrison. Charles then defeated him once again. He opened 1953 by losing to Tommy Harrison for a second time. He was able to close the year with wins over Claude Wolfe and Chubby Wright.

Jimmy was inactive for two years but returned in 1955. Bivins closed his career with a six round points call over Mike DeJohn.

Jimmy’s record was an impressive 86-25-1 with 31 KOs when he retired. What made his career special and more than justifies his place in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame are the names of the great boxers he defeated during his heyday.

If you can say that you defeated Charley Burley, Anton Christoforidis, Teddy Yarosz, Billy Soose, Gus Lesnevich, Joey Maxim, Tami Mauriello, Bob Pastor, Lee Savold, Ezzard Charles, Pat Valentino, Lloyd Marshall, Melio Bettina and Archie Moore - you deserve to be in the Hall Of Fame.

You were, in other words, great.

[scartissue]

Continuing my 'greatest contenders' piece. Here are the 175 lbers. Roger, Langford would probably be a force of nature at 175.

Scartissue

LT. HEAVY
Sam Langford (Can) (0)
Harry Greb (USA) (0)
Gene Tunney (USA) (0)
Young Stribling (USA) (1)
Mickey Walker (USA) (2)
Jimmy Bivins (USA) (0)
Lloyd Marshall (USA) (0)
Ezzard Charles (USA) (0)
Jorge Ahumada (Arg) (3)
Avenamar Peralta (Arg) (0)
Richie Kates (USA) (2)
Yaqui Lopez (Mex) (4)
Jesse Burnett (USA) (1)
James Scott (USA) (0)
James Toney (USA) (0)

Now this is more like it for Langford, facing a man in the opposite corner who weighs 175. At this weight he would be awesome in any era. Harry Greb, fought 5 Lt. Heavy champs as well as banging heads (don't believe for a minute that I'm kidding) with Gene Tunney no less than 5 times. They've never been constructed any tougher. As for Tunney, he fought the most of his brilliant career at Lt. Heavy, not moving up until a year prior to his challenge for Dempsey's big man's crown. Young Stribling, the 'King of the Canebrakes', fought 6 Lt. Heavy champs and 3 Heavy kings, but was more at home at 175. Beat Loughran, Rosenbloom and Slattery but lost to Berlanbach for the title. Mickey Walker, fought everyone from Welter to Heavy and didn't give a damn what they weighed. Made two exceptional challenges for the title against Loughran and Rosenbloom. Jimmy Bivins, avoided like the plague in two divisions, yet, beat 5 Lt. Heavy champs including Archie Moore as well as future Heavy champ Ezzard Charles. So let's say no more. Lloyd Marshall, the closest he came to a shot at the title was his bout against Bivins for the 'Duration' title during WWII, in which Bivins had to pick himself off the canvas to stop Marshall in the 13th. Marshall, one of my two division contenders, beat Maxim, Christoforidis and Mills at 175. Ezzard Charles, my personal pick for the greatest Lt. Heavy of all time, beat four 175 lb. champs as well as uncrowned kings Bivins (4 times) and Marshall (twice). Had Archie Moore's number, going 3-0 against the Mongoose. Jorge Ahumada, came out of the Buenos Aires ring wars seeking fame and fortune in NY. Was robbed in his 15 round draw with Foster and went head to head in unsuccessful bids against Conteh and Galindez for the WBC and WBA titles respectively. Along the way up the ladder he beat Galindez, Peralta, Andy Kendall, Bobby Cassidy and Ray anderson. Avenamar Peralta, Gregorio's little brother, had all the talent in the world but showed bad judgement when it came to displaying his wares. Whereas Ahumada chose NY to make his assault on the world stage, Peralta chose Europe, which afforded him a decent living but prevented that final stretch for the title. Nevertheless, he did beat Galindez (3 times), Ahumada, Bossman Jones, TNT Carroll and Ray Anderson. Richie Kates, with wins over Pierre Fourie, Len Hutchins, Jimmy Dupree and Don Fullmer, took on Galindez in two brutal 15 rounders and nearly decapitated Saad Muhammad for the NABF title in '78 before the miracle man got up and took him out in 6. Alvaro (Yaqui) Lopez, a fighting machine who fought competitively in four challenges for the crown against Galindez (twice), Conteh and Saad Muhammad. Also beat Rossman, Burnett (twice), Kendall and Tony Mundine. Jesse Burnett, the 70s version of Archie Moore. This slick old-timer beat Lopez (twice), Mundine (twice), Bossman Jones, Lonnie Bennett and retired Victor Galindez. James Scott, with only the four walls of Rahway State Prison holding him back and the ABC cameras rolling, he entertained audiences with his wins over Mustafa Muhammad, Lopez, Burnett, Kates and Bunny Johnson, until the novelty wore off and the cameras shut down. And finally, James Toney, at 168 (let's just call it Lt. Heavy) he displayed counter punching wizardry against Iran Barkley and proved he could war in the trenches against Prince Charles Williams. Unfortunately, excessive time at the dinner table prevented him from enjoying a lengthy stay at Lt. Heavy.

Honorable mention: Tommy Gibbons, Bobo Olson, Doug Jones, Henry Hank, Mauro Mina, Jimmy Dupree, Len Hutchins.

Love it more! The research effort is phenomenal.

Thanks, Bennie, I'll post the middleweights on Monday.

Scartissue

[dagosd2000]

SUCCESS

Amanda's dancing up in Long Beach today. Big Flamenco festival. Dancers from all over the region. Her school has been rehearsing their number for 2 months. Now I've been taking Amanda to her dance classes for 9 years. Go to Spain every summer. Seville,the heart of the Flamenco world. I'm telling ya' this routine is the best I've seen for amateurs.

Here's the point. Everyone involved right now is nervous. The teacher. The dancers. The parents. But I don't see any nerves with Amanda. And she's the youngest performer! She's contained and flowing with it. Knows her steps. Knows them and executes them better than the other dancers as well.

While the other dancers are saying"I'm doing the best I can" or "I don't get it",Amanda is finding a way to accomplish it without making a fuss. We've talked about what it takes to succeed.

This success thing has its drawbacks with some people who feel uncomfortable with it. You see it with fighters a lot. Ruben Olivares reminded me of a good case to make my point. He went through everyone on his way up. Then when he won the championship,his performances became erratic. Not enough training. Taking opponents a little too lightly.Staying out too late with the Mariachis. He began to lose when he was still in his prime. Why? I'll just theorize a little. Maybe there was a part of him that couldn't handle success.

I know a philosophical approach to life in Mexico is that eventually the roof is going to collapse one day. Why worry about it? Rockin' Ruben had done what only a handfull could do in the ring. He was a champion. Maybe he thought it wouldn't get much better after that. Again,just postulating.

Amanda right now is cruising along. The rest of the group sees her with her going with the flow attitude. They draw stregnth from her. We've talked about this.

Another philosophical view from our south of the border neighbor. Worrying is a dead end proposition. Maybe it takes the competitiveness out of it,but then again I've never seen many Mexicans on Prozac.

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjMgS0KaZz0
"Shake A Hand"

Faye Adams

Frank
Thanks for posting Faye Adams. I don't know how you feel,but it's like when my mother threw away my old baseball cards. You don't realize how valuable they were until years later when you don't have them. Faye Adams. What a great voice. I use this phrase a lot. Lost in a dream. Thank goodness for Youtube.

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjMgS0KaZz0
"Shake A Hand"

Faye Adams

Frank
Thanks for posting Faye Adams. I don't know how you feel,but it's like when my mother threw away my old baseball cards. You don't realize how valuable they were until years later when you don't have them. Faye Adams. What a great voice. I use this phrase a lot. Lost in a dream. Thank goodness for Youtube.

Rog...Faye adams along with Ruth Brown are two of my top fav from the early 1950's, Shake a Hand is one great rola (record for you honkys... )

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjMgS0KaZz0
"Shake A Hand"

Faye Adams

Frank
Thanks for posting Faye Adams. I don't know how you feel,but it's like when my mother threw away my old baseball cards. You don't realize how valuable they were until years later when you don't have them. Faye Adams. What a great voice. I use this phrase a lot. Lost in a dream. Thank goodness for Youtube.

Rog...Faye adams along with Ruth Brown are two of my top fav from the early 1950's, Shake a Hand is one great rola (record for you honkys... )

Frank
How many times do I have to remind you? Italians ain't honkys. Until I see a grease ball sit in the White House instead of the witness stand,then the best we can say of ourselves is "Please pass the spaghetti."

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x43rs7FYyeE

Another great one from younger times gone by

"What Am I Living For"

Chuck Willis

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDEUI2brNPc
"Fool, Fool, Fool"

The Clovers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F4UrArqOBM

"Bring Me Love"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g6DQBqYv1s

"Your Tender Lips"

[kikibalt]

Some Earl Bostic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sebbktK31zc
"Night & Day"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcxBLiKpRm0
"Flamingo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNGdgvGFL7k
"These Foolish Things"

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-domL2Q4no
"Blues in The Night"

[Rick Farris]

Beautiful post Rick.
I love these memories of Jerry Quarry that you post.
And of course the memories of the others here and their direct experiences with these greats of yesteryear.
I posted awhile back how I was deeply moved by a documentary on Jerrys struggles a couple years before he died. The interviewer asked Jerry if he knew how he got hurt and wound up in his present situation living with his Mom.
Jerry replied "yeah, football".
Man, I will never ever forget that. I felt really sad for Jerry, but reading the great posts from Rick and others about him helps put into light just what a great fighter he was and how he lived life the way he wanted. Did what he loved.
Jerry was a fighters fighter.A credit to the sport.
Thanks to all of you for all these great contributions. I read them daily.

Pretty soon things will lighten up with the Bulls and Hawks and I will be around more.
The Celtics gave the Bulls a trimming last night, and that series could be over soon.
The Hawks are in a tough one with Calgary.All tied at two games apiece.

Rick,
Im doing backstage security for Bruce Springsteen in May.
Eric Clapton in June.
Ive worked a Springsteen show before and his people treated me very well.
Clapton should be good.I like some of his stuff, particularly his old stuff with Cream.
He probably wont play any of that though.

Brian . . . We miss your posting but understand and respect your responsibilities. Good luck to the Blackhawks, hope they beat Calgary.
Yeah, I was pretty saddened to hear that Jerry had been living with his mom in a trailer park, and that his older brother Jimmy had to shave him. It got to the point where he would spend time at a senior center in town, where he would go to play cards, but he would get frustrated easily and lose his temper, so he was banned from the facility.

This is not uncommon to those who have suffered serious head injuries. In Jerry's case, it proved dangerous because he was always quick to throw a punch, whether he was in the ring or not. He would wander thru the little town and get lost. The local Sherriff's knew his condition and would often stop and give him a ride home.

You have a great job, and the athletes and celebrities you protect could not have a better man watching out for them. The thing I realize about handling such security involves so much more than physically protecting the client. I met a guy a few years back who handled similar responsibilities for Michael Jackson. The bottom line is to protect the client, but there are legalities that must be followed, and understanding of the many unbelieveable things people might do to get to these celebrities. When we met last year, I felt I already knew you, as I did Roger. I knew that you had been an unbeaten professional heavyweight and were a master competitive martial artist, but more impressive was your presence and personality. Like all of the regulars here, I value your friendship and your input.

With Pug, what you see is what you get, and that's a helluva a lot.

(By the way, Armando Muniz was telling me about a guy in Chicago he corresponds with who is a major boxing fan. The guy was never a boxer, he's a mail carrier that happens to be a friend of trainer Don Strickland, the Chicago boxing trainer. According to Mando, this guy has attended just about every boxing event held in the Windy City during the past several decades. Armando hopes he'll be at this year's event and wants to introduce him to you and Dan Hanley. Chances are he's seen you in the ring.)


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Just as a bit of a divergence, I saw someone started a thread elsewhere on boxrec naming the great contenders. Here is an opinionated piece I did a couple of years ago on the greatest contenders never to win a title at a particular weight class and I named every weight class. Obviously it was preying on my mind for some time cuz I spent a bit of time at it. I began by giving my rules of engagement on who was eligible. So, just for a bit of fun, here is my opinion of the great contenders. I'll begin with the heavyweights. And just like I mentioned it below, you might agree with me on 10 contenders and scream, "Have Hanley committed" on the other 5. Anyway, let's have some fun and I hope this translates well from a copy & paste.

Scartissue


THE CONTENDERS


Awright, Fightnuts, are we ready for another go? I'm gonna stray a little this month on a pugilistic subject that is a favorite of mine, a somewhat bent subject in this day and age of 'champions only' that requires perhaps, a bent mind to nurture. Implementing this wayward thought came to me while reading an article that has been written for the umpteenth time on the 20 greatest fighters of all time. Now, much as I still enjoy reading about these great fighters, I just feel some of these stories on the same fighters have been done to death. Therefore, in order to set a fire under everyone's stool, I'm gonna rattle the cage a bit and dwell on the great unsung heroes of boxing for a change. Of course we know them as CONTENDERS.
Who are the greatest fighters never to win a world title at a respective weight? Whether avoided due to talent, denied because of race, or simply unfortunate enough to have met an outstanding champion of their era, these fighters should be acknowledged for what they were, with their day having passed. So...a roster of boxing's 'nearly' men begged to be formed. Okay, so we have the 'what' in place, now we examine the 'how'. The criteria I've used in forming my listing is thus:

1) A fighter must have fought competitively at the designated weight.

2) A fighter cannot have held a 'world' title of any kind at the designated weight (Where do I draw the line? I tell ya, I was downright nasty on this one due to the spurious claims to world titles out there. Excluding those nonsensical White, Negro, Interim and any title below WBO in the alphabet categories, I counted every claim and, unfortunately, had to exclude great fighters like Hedgemon Lewis (Welter), Tiger Jack Fox (Lt. Heavy) and Len Harvey (Lt. Heavy) due to New York and European recognition as world champs at their weight class).

3) A champion from another weight class is eligible provided he meets points 1 and 2.

4) Straw, Jr. Fly, Super Fly, Super Bantam, Super Middle and Cruiser weight divisions are unrecognised. Therefore, champions as well as contenders from those weight classes are eligible as contenders at the next higher weight class.
Awright, now that we know where we're going with this, I should add that this chronological listing (not a ranking) of my top 15 is based on opinion and not what a fighter may have achieved throughout a lengthy career. In other words, I've simply rated whom I feel was the better fighter.
Now, I catch a lot of E-mails graced with both praise and criticism from you lot out there and I will admit you're a knowledgable bunch. So, before you Fightnuts out there scroll down, perhaps you should first form your own listing. My guess is you'll agree with me on ten of my fifteen and scream "Have Hanley committed!" on the other five. Ahh, but isn't the argument what it's all about? So, without further ado, let's have a little fun butting heads on this backbone of boxing.

(Note: the fighter's name is followed by birthplace and number of title shots received at the weight)


HEAVY
Sam Langford (Can) (0)
Joe Jeanette (USA) (0)
Harry Wills (USA) (0)
Tommy Farr (Wales) (1)
Jimmy Bivins (USA) (0)
Elmer Ray (USA) (0)
Archie Moore (USA) (2)
Zora Folley (USA) (1)
Eddie Machen (USA) (1)
Oscar Bonavena (Arg) (1)
Jerry Quarry (USA) (2)
Ron Lyle (USA) (1)
Earnie Shavers (USA) (2)
Jimmy Young (USA) (1)
Gerry Cooney (USA) (1)

Believe it or not, Sam Langford, probably a staple on everyone’s list, barely made mine. With apologies to some of you out there that believe I've committed boxing sacrilege, I just have a hard time placing someone on my heavyweight list who weighed 175 and was the same height as Marco Antonio Barrera. I had a much easier time ranking his contemporaries, Jeanette and Wills, who, admittedly, he stayed with on an even keel. But Jeanette at 5'10" and Wills at 6'4" had a much better chance of staying with the Heavys of the ages after the days of brawling gave way to technique. Tommy Farr earned his berth by way of a great chin, immaculate skills and by giving Louis, Baer and Braddock all they could handle. Jimmy Bivins, better as a Lt. Heavy, yet, engaged Louis, Walcott and a Heavyweight Charles in some real toe to toes. Also was Interim champ during Louis' war years. Elmer Ray, top dog in the 40's, beat both Charles and Walcott during his heyday. Archie Moore, old as friggin' Methusaleh and a Lt. Heavy to boot, yet beat Nino Valdez (twice), Bob Baker, Clarence Henry and took Marciano to a life and death struggle in '55. Zora Folley, victim of his ties to the IBC, entered the top ten in '56 and stayed there until receiving his only title opportunity in '67 at the age of 34. Eddie Machen, fought five Heavy champs and had all the tools, but always missed that big one. Oscar Bonavena, a snarling bull of a fighter who gave a peak Ali and Frazier some nasty lumps while taking the same in return willingly. Jerry Quarry, a 60s-70s version of Jack Sharkey. A counter-punching master whose head-strong character got him into unnecessary punch-outs. Ron Lyle, on his night he was something. Wins over Ellis, Bonavena, Shavers, Bugner and a memorable brawl with Foreman put him on the Heavy map. Earnie Shavers, if you could get him into the later rounds you might have a chance, but those first five rounds were an incredible gauntlet to run. One of the best one punch bangers ever, just ask Norton, Ellis and Young. Speaking of Jimmy Young, they didn't come any slicker. Only lacking a punch, Young's skills were at their peak when he was going at it with Ali, Foreman, Norton and Lyle (twice). Gerry Cooney, the much maligned Cooney I might add, suffered only from bad management. His talents needed a forum but he fought only sporadically. Although his power was evident (Norton, Lyle), his skills were underrated. His best night was when he ripped Jimmy Young's face to shreds with his left jab alone and then slipped into a once a year fight schedule. Talent never realized.

Honorable mention: Luther McCarty, Sam McVey, George Godfrey, Larry Gains, Roland LaStarza, George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams, Jeff Merritt, David Tua.

Love it!

I love it too, Bennie. Dan really expressed his understanding of boxing history with this post. You can see why I love teaming up with Dan at the WBHOF events when we interview boxers. I feel as if Dan is my brother, we share a lot of mutual respect and when we sit certain boxers down before our cameras, we just know which of the two of us is best to interview certain subjects.

Although we both are capable of interviewing most, there are some personalities where we'll say, "It's best you do this one." A perfect example was an interview between Yaqui Lopez and Mathew Saad Muhammad. This one was right up Hanley's alley and with his acute knowledge of both, he was actually more up on both of their careers than they were, with regard to dates, results, etc. The two boxers had a disagreement about the reults of their bouts. Both were gentlemen, but you could see they were a bit irritated by each other, which led to an interesting, yet respectful result. T

o be good at interviewing boxers you have to both know them and like them, this is what will come across in an interview and Dan does it as good as any broadcaster you see on the cable networks. We shoot for the emotion, the love and the pain of their lives. Maybe we can do it again this year, and post a YouTube version of our results on this thread for all to see and appreciate.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

"TYSON"

Hey guys, A movie has opened here in the Los Angeles area, a first rate documentary on the life of Mike Tyson, titled "TYSON". This isn't a typical low budget documentary, but one directed by a respected big budget feature film director, James Toback. Steve Harpst, one of my fellow directors at the WBHOF saw a private screening of the film Tuesday night and said it was a great. I work with Steve and his amateur boxers three nights a week at his Burbank Boxing Club, and I'm going to take a couple of the older boxers to see the film this afternoon in Hollywood, where it's playing at the Arclight Theatre. I'll report later on the movie.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

SUCCESS

Amanda's dancing up in Long Beach today. Big Flamenco festival. Dancers from all over the region. Her school has been rehearsing their number for 2 months. Now I've been taking Amanda to her dance classes for 9 years. Go to Spain every summer. Seville,the heart of the Flamenco world. I'm telling ya' this routine is the best I've seen for amateurs.

Here's the point. Everyone involved right now is nervous. The teacher. The dancers. The parents. But I don't see any nerves with Amanda. And she's the youngest performer! She's contained and flowing with it. Knows her steps. Knows them and executes them better than the other dancers as well.

While the other dancers are saying"I'm doing the best I can" or "I don't get it",Amanda is finding a way to accomplish it without making a fuss. We've talked about what it takes to succeed.

This success thing has its drawbacks with some people who feel uncomfortable with it. You see it with fighters a lot. Ruben Olivares reminded me of a good case to make my point. He went through everyone on his way up. Then when he won the championship,his performances became erratic. Not enough training. Taking opponents a little too lightly.Staying out too late with the Mariachis. He began to lose when he was still in his prime. Why? I'll just theorize a little. Maybe there was a part of him that couldn't handle success.

I know a philosophical approach to life in Mexico is that eventually the roof is going to collapse one day. Why worry about it? Rockin' Ruben had done what only a handfull could do in the ring. He was a champion. Maybe he thought it wouldn't get much better after that. Again,just postulating.

Amanda right now is cruising along. The rest of the group sees her with her going with the flow attitude. They draw stregnth from her. We've talked about this.

Another philosophical view from our south of the border neighbor. Worrying is a dead end proposition. Maybe it takes the competitiveness out of it,but then again I've never seen many Mexicans on Prozac.

Great post, Roger. What you said about the philosophical approach to life in Mexico really says a lot regarding the attitudes of of great Mexican boxers. I see that as a strength. Good luck to your Amanda today. She is a beautiful young lady whose pictures reflect confidence in the eyes. She reminds me of a Flamenco version of the Baltazar brothers, back when they were junior fighters. It's in the genes, and it comes from the great support of the family. One of the things that impresses me most about you is your love and support of your grand kids. If it were not for the support of my grandfather, I would have never been able to become a boxer, and who knows what path I would have taken. I had a wild side, boxing kept me in line. Give her a hug from Monica and I, although she has not met us, we wish her the best!

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Frank
How many times do I have to remind you? Italians ain't honkys. Until I see a grease ball sit in the White House instead of the witness stand,then the best we can say of ourselves is "Please pass the spaghetti."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Frank . . . Dan, Pug and myself, are "Honkies".
And I "Honky" evertime some A-hole cuts me off on the freeway.
The best I can say for myself is, "Please pass the potatoes." (I also favor fish & chips)


-Rick

[Rick Farris]

"TYSON"

Hey guys, A movie has opened here in the Los Angeles area, a first rate documentary on the life of Mike Tyson, titled "TYSON". This isn't a typical low budget documentary, but one directed by a respected big budget feature film director, James Toback. Steve Harpst, one of my fellow directors at the WBHOF saw a private screening of the film Tuesday night and said it was a great. I work with Steve and his amateur boxers three nights a week at his Burbank Boxing Club, and I'm going to take a couple of the older boxers to see the film this afternoon in Hollywood, where it's playing at the Arclight Theatre. I'll report later on the movie.

-Rick Farris

"TYSON" . . .

I just returned from the theatre. This film deserves awards.
Regardless of how others may feel about Mike Tyson, I'll take his type over a dozen Holyfield personalities.
In my opinion, Holyfield, Lewis, etc. are nothing more than the benefactors of Tyson's demons.
Of course, this is something I have always believed.
For just a fleeting moment, after the reign of Muhammad Ali, the world of boxing had a true heavyweight champ.
We will NEVER know another. The days of Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano and Ali are history.
These men stand alone. Tyson came the closest to joining that elite fraternity.

-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Amanda winning First Prize(Adult Category) at The Pena Andalucia Festival in Long Beach with her instructor Rocio Carrera and her novio Oscar Aragon.



Amanda getting ready for combat.




Amanda living Flamenco. Ole Her teacher Rocio giving her encouragement(backround)

[dagosd2000]

SUCCESS

Amanda's dancing up in Long Beach today. Big Flamenco festival. Dancers from all over the region. Her school has been rehearsing their number for 2 months. Now I've been taking Amanda to her dance classes for 9 years. Go to Spain every summer. Seville,the heart of the Flamenco world. I'm telling ya' this routine is the best I've seen for amateurs.

Here's the point. Everyone involved right now is nervous. The teacher. The dancers. The parents. But I don't see any nerves with Amanda. And she's the youngest performer! She's contained and flowing with it. Knows her steps. Knows them and executes them better than the other dancers as well.

While the other dancers are saying"I'm doing the best I can" or "I don't get it",Amanda is finding a way to accomplish it without making a fuss. We've talked about what it takes to succeed.

This success thing has its drawbacks with some people who feel uncomfortable with it. You see it with fighters a lot. Ruben Olivares reminded me of a good case to make my point. He went through everyone on his way up. Then when he won the championship,his performances became erratic. Not enough training. Taking opponents a little too lightly.Staying out too late with the Mariachis. He began to lose when he was still in his prime. Why? I'll just theorize a little. Maybe there was a part of him that couldn't handle success.

I know a philosophical approach to life in Mexico is that eventually the roof is going to collapse one day. Why worry about it? Rockin' Ruben had done what only a handfull could do in the ring. He was a champion. Maybe he thought it wouldn't get much better after that. Again,just postulating.

Amanda right now is cruising along. The rest of the group sees her with her going with the flow attitude. They draw stregnth from her. We've talked about this.

Another philosophical view from our south of the border neighbor. Worrying is a dead end proposition. Maybe it takes the competitiveness out of it,but then again I've never seen many Mexicans on Prozac.

Great post, Roger. What you said about the philosophical approach to life in Mexico really says a lot regarding the attitudes of of great Mexican boxers. I see that as a strength. Good luck to your Amanda today. She is a beautiful young lady whose pictures reflect confidence in the eyes. She reminds me of a Flamenco version of the Baltazar brothers, back when they were junior fighters. It's in the genes, and it comes from the great support of the family. One of the things that impresses me most about you is your love and support of your grand kids. If it were not for the support of my grandfather, I would have never been able to become a boxer, and who knows what path I would have taken. I had a wild side, boxing kept me in line. Give her a hug from Monica and I, although she has not met us, we wish her the best!

-Rick

Thanks Rick and Moni
I'll try to edit her performance and put it on Youtube. Funny,she looked at the tape once,went back to her room and read a book.Her school also took First Prize Ensemble. The other girls were hysterical. Amanda was happy,but self contained. I think I'll start calling her "The Ice Woman"

[Rick Farris]

Amanda winning First Prize(Adult Category) at The Pena Andalucia Festival in Long Beach with her instructor Rocio Carrera and her novio Oscar Aragon.



Amanda getting ready for combat.




Amanda living Flamenco. Ole Her teacher Rocio giving her encouragement(backround)

First Prize!
Why am I not surprised?

Congrats Rog.


-Rick

[Rick Farris]

The "Lone Ranger" . . .

Well, I'm glad I had things to do today because it's obvious everybody else did, as well.
The lights were on but nobody was home. I popped in a couple times but the house was empty.

I knew Rog was in Long Beach.
Scar was at work.
Pug was likely with the Bulls or Blackhawks?
Judging by a couple recent posts, Frank was likely fishing?
I'm not sure where the Hell Randy is?
Hope Tom's not back in the hospital?
Hap is no doubt taking a breather?
Bennie showed up early, but was gone long gone before I fell out of bed.
I think Bruce's daughter was performing in a school play on this date?
John Bardelli is working on a big case, but forwarded me some interesting stuff for Frank to post.
Haven't seen or heard from Wildhawke in awhile.

At least it was a beautiful, sunny day in Southern Cal.
After leaving a few posts here, Monica joined me and a couple young boxers for the Tyson documentary.
After that, I took the boxers to my roadwork/hiking trail in the hills behind our home.
They should have been embarrassed, a 57-year-old man leaving them in the dust .
I told them, no amount of talent in the world is a substiture for proper conditioning.
Fatigue in the ring is far more painful than on the road.
It's bad enough being winded, but the ass-whipping that comes with it makes for a very unpleasant experience, to say the least .

"Hi Ho Silver, Away . . ."


-Rick Farris

[bennie]

We got ourselves a live one. Carl "The Cobra" shows his strength and stamina in the home of boxing.

[Rick Farris]

We got ourselves a live one. Carl "The Cobra" shows his strength and stamina in the home of boxing.

Bennie . . . I was happy to see Carl Froch flatten Jermaine Taylor in the final seconds of the fight, and coming off an early knockdown revealed his true fighting heart. I've never been a fan of Taylor because of his sloppy, amateurish style, however I credit both for putting on a great fight. If only the Cobra would learn to hold his left hand higher, he'd have a much longer career and even greater success. His hitting the canvas in the second was unnecessary. One thing for certain, nobody can question his heart or his punch. Dan and I were on the phone more than once during the fight, "Did you see that?", was usually the first words from our mouths. Lots of action, we never knew what might happen next. Next week we have Ricky H. vs the Pac Man in a bout that has the potential to be the best of the year. England is right in the mix when it comes to the best of the day, and this puts a smile on my face.

-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

LOVING TO LOSE

After a day of Flamenco...no better way to top off the night than watching professional boxing. Scanning the channel guide,I saw a match between Juan Manuel Lopez and Gerry Penalosa. OK ,if it's dull or one sided,I'll turn it off and go to sleep. Well,it wasn't boring. It certainly was one sided,but it was one of the most interesting fights I've seen.

This Lopez kid was comin' off three straight 1 round KO victories. He's the 122 pound Champ. He's fighting in his country of birth,Puerto Rico.Penalosa is from Panay. The ex Champ. And he's been fighting a long time. But the announcer says Penalosa loves fighting more than anything. Even his wife.

I guess Freddie Roach has been training Gerry since the start. Penalosa was Manny PacMan's idol when he was starting out. Freddie asked Roach to break away from Las Vegas to be in Penalosa's corner last night.

What developed after the opening gong is what seperates boxing from the other sports. Penalosa was taking some terrible shots. This Lopez was in shape,strong, and knew how to work upstairs and down. After each round Penalosa came back to his corner with the look on his face that said,"Don't worry about me. I'm Ok." Through all the swelling and blood,that's what his face said.

Lopez was relentless. He never tired,but neither did Gerry. He countered,but it was like hitting the proverbeal immoveable object. As the fight moved out of the middle rounds,Freddie Roach knew his advice was an act of futility. He was thinking about Manny PacMan's idol. It turned more into a father /son relationship.

Finally Freddie told Gerry he had one more round to KO Lopez. We knew that wasn't going to happen. By that time the atmosphere had transformed itself from admiring Lopez's ability to Penalosa's courage. He was like Carmen Basilio against Fullmer. I was almost crying at the sight. After each punishing round,Gerry would nod his head like he was OK. At the start of the next,he'd do a little bounce like he was still fresh.

Finally Freddie wouldn't let him go out no more. I wiped away a tear. I thought of Frank telling his son Tony,"Mijo,I've got to walk away from this. You're my son. I love you. You shoudn't go on anymore." How many decent men have said that to their charges?

Yeah,Gerry Penalosa loves fighting more than his wife. Mrs. Penalosa,that's no insult.

[bennie]

We got ourselves a live one. Carl "The Cobra" shows his strength and stamina in the home of boxing.

Bennie . . . I was happy to see Carl Froch flatten Jermaine Taylor in the final seconds of the fight, and coming off an early knockdown revealed his true fighting heart. I've never been a fan of Taylor because of his sloppy, amateurish style, however I credit both for putting on a great fight. If only the Cobra would learn to hold his left hand higher, he'd have a much longer career and even greater success. His hitting the canvas in the second was unnecessary. One thing for certain, nobody can question his heart or his punch. Dan and I were on the phone more than once during the fight, "Did you see that?", was usually the first words from our mouths. Lots of action, we never knew what might happen next. Next week we have Ricky H. vs the Pac Man in a bout that has the potential to be the best of the year. England is right in the mix when it comes to the best of the day, and this puts a smile on my face.

-Rick Farris

Yes, Froch's defence has always been a weak point but his chin is iron-clad. In fact, Taylor is the first man to floor him, amateur or pro.