Classic American West Coast 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

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.

Bennie . . . You are spot on about Froch's chin. Taylor nailed him with a shot that would have put most to sleep, but you could see his eyes were clear before he rose from the canvas. Once he got his legs under him he was back in the fight. By the middle of the match, you could see the confidence leaving Taylor. I feared that Froch's not jumping on Jermain after dropping him late in the 12th might cost him the fight (who knows what the judges might do), but he took care of business in time and the ref saved Jermain from blows that were going to effect his future health. From what I can see, Carl Froch owns the division.

-Rick Farris

[scartissue]

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.

Bennie, as Rick said, when we were jawing last night I immediately said Froch didn't have it to take Taylor. I was so unimpressed with his inviting stance and was not surprised to see him get dropped. However, what I was ignorant on was something that doesn't show up in tales of the tape and that is Froch's utter resolve. The kind of heart he showed can take him far. He has "bottle" in abundance, but I wished he would hold his hands a little higher.

Scartissue

[Rick Farris]

Hap Navarro . . .

Hey Hap . . . I may be wrong, but isn't your 90th birthday coming soon?
Just want to send you my best, and when you talk to your son, Dan, tell him I said hello.

As I write this, I'm listening to Lowen & Navarro's, "I've Had It All."
Relaxing music on a beautiful Sunday morning.


-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Fritzie Zivic

[Dongee]

Yes, Rick Farris, you are right. But I have been telling everyone I am just 39 years old. Damn, where did the years go?
My son Dan is still performing with Eric Lowen, despite Eric's illness. Their group was recently included among the 100 most influential musicians of the past 15 years, along with Winston Marsalis and Joni Jett plus 96 others. I believe the pollsters were the editors of Performing Composers Magazine.

Keep up your fine writing, my friend. I watch for it every day

Our best, always.

hap navarro

[dagosd2000]

Yes, Rick Farris, you are right. But I have been telling everyone I am just 39 years old. Damn, where did the years go?
My son Dan is still performing with Eric Lowen, despite Eric's illness. Their group was recently included among the 100 most influential musicians of the past 15 years, along with Winston Marsalis and Joni Jett plus 96 others. I believe the pollsters were the editors of Performing Composers Magazine.

Keep up your fine writing, my friend. I watch for it every day

Our best, always.

hap navarro

Hap
Happy 40th birthday and congradulations on your son's musical career. Rog

Went to Youtube to listen to Lowen and Navarro.Beautifull relaxing music in an age of chaos and pandemonium. You've got a son to be proud of.

[dagosd2000]

Bennie
Just reading the correspondence between you,Dan,and Rick. What do you think Hatton's chances are against Manny? And how do the rest of your country's fight fans see it? Rog

[Rick Farris]

Don Fraser . . .

Just had a long talk with Don Fraser. It's always a pleasure to talk with Don about is history in boxing. The name Hap Navarro always pops up, and his appreciation with the help that our Frank Baltazar provides with his California Boxing HOF. Sounds like another great event is in the works for this September.

He was telling me that somebody contacted him about writing a book on Baby Arizmendi.
"I didn't see Arizmendi fight", Don said, "He needs to speak with Hap Navarro."

Hap, did you see Arizmendi fight live?
I remember hearing that he had a huge neck, an unusually large measurment.

Last year Don had surgery on his back, and is currently recovering from catarac surgery, and a cold on top of that.
Aside from that everything is fine, and I look forward to his annual event September.


-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Been watching this Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 on HBO. Never before have I seen a trainer taken center stage like Mayweather SR. This is a fight between two fighters. Like Freddie Roach says,"Mayweather may think he's the best trainer on Earth,but I've got the better fighter."

I can see how a fighter can get on a guy's nerves with his mouth...but a trainer?

[Dongee]

Rog and Rick:

Thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot to an old, proud papa. I have four fine kids, two of each, and they are so damned well adjusted they scare me at times. My daughter Didi got a call from someone interested in talking to me about Arizmendi, whom I not only saw, but admired immensely even before I met him, spoke with him and saw him regularly. My boss at the Legion when I was assistant matchmaker was Cal Working, who managed Arizmendi's boxing career.

Someone on the CBZ took exception with Arizmendi's being voted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. I am happy to say that after I presented Arizmendi's ring credentials, the critic thought differently. That made me happy, because I have always thought highly of any fighter who does what Arizmendi did before he was even old enough to vote. I will elaborate on that later.

hap navarro

[Rick Farris]

Been watching this Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 on HBO. Never before have I seen a trainer taken center stage like Mayweather SR. This is a fight between two fighters. Like Freddie Roach says,"Mayweather may think he's the best trainer on Earth,but I've got the better fighter."

I can see how a fighter can get on a guy's nerves with his mouth...but a trainer?

I'm with you, Rog. In 2004, while Mayweather was trainer for Oscar, he was also training an up and coming 140 pounder, Franciso Bojado.
Bojado was being managed by a group of investors, one of whom was my friend Matt Butkus (son of Football Hall of Famer, Dick Butkus).

Matt knew I wrote boxing for the CBZ and asked if I would write something relating Bojado to the L.A. legends of the past, for the CBZ Newswire. I was only too happy to do so, and joined them at the old Lincoln Heights Jail Boxing Gym that had been established by my old manager, Johnnie Flores.

At the gym I met Bojado, and reunited with Joe Chavez, an old friend, and then met Mayweather Sr. After the workout, Matt agreed to give Floyd Sr. a ride downtown to the L.A. Athletic Club where he was living while in town. He resides in Las Vegas. Since I was riding with Butkus, I was glad to have an opportunity to talk with Mayweather Sr.

On the ride home, we were talking about amateur boxing and he referred to being a National Golden Gloves Champ in the the early 70's. He then said to me, "But you weren't around in those days", inferring that I was "too young". I said, "Yeah, you're right Floyd, that year I was already in my fourth year as a pro. I fought in the Nationals in '69 and '70. I'm older than you are. I fought professionally for six years, but by the time you fought Sugar Ray Leonard, I was long retired."

He didn't call me a liar. But I could see he was having his doubts. I went on to tell him a few things that only a guy who fought in those tournaments would know. He quickly changed the subject.

In the case of Freddie Roach, Oscar chose him over Floyd for the bout with his son, Floyd Jr. So this is nothing more than a case of professional jealousy. I like Ricky Hatton, and I like Manny Pac, but in the battle of Floyd vs. Freddie, Freddie's got the best fighter, in my opinion. I have a feeling that the bitter man with the big mouth is going to be eating a lot crow when this one is over, however, he's too stupid to know the difference between crow and a steak sandwich. Too much noise is what the Mayweather family brings to the table.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Where's Frank????

I know he's still breathing because Don Fraser said he talked to him about last nights fight.
I hope "Charlie" hasn't escaped again.
Once a dog has done jail time, it seems they just keep going back.
I can be hard on the family.

-Rick

[Expug]

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

Thanks for the kind words Rick.
Im honored to call you a friend.
I remember Don Strickland well.He used to train a fighter who I would occasionaly spar with at The Fuller Park Gm in Chicago.
That fighters name was Willie Macdonald.Everybody called him "Alabama"He fought David Tiberi and a couple other good fighters.Bama looked like a middleweight Tyson.
Strickland really caught on as a cutman, working with some real big name fighters.(I think its the same
guy).
I will look forward to meeting his friend at the next event.

[Expug]

Fritzie Zivic

Love it Rog!
This is gonna be one of my favorites of all your work.
Zivics one of my favorites also.What a tough fighter he was.Take a look at his resume.
He fought EVERYONE.
To him , boxing was his craft. He was a tradesman.And, if Fritzie lost a fight, he'd shrug his shoulders and say," What the hell, I didnt do to bad, I ran second".
Then, hed jump back in there a week later against anyone.
Unless a guy really knew how to fight,he had no buisness in there with Fritzie Zivic.
He knew every trick in the book and then some.A guy could get a real education in that ring with this guy.

[Expug]

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

Yep, Rick.
Just got home from working the Bulls game.A double overtime win against The Celtics.

Your right about boxing and conditioning.A fighter usally only makes the mistake of showing up out of shape, gassing and getting thrashed once.
Then its either take it serious ,or find a new sport.

[Rick Farris]

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.

Great post, Rog. I saw the Froch-Taylor match, but had an important errand to run afterwards.
I got in seconds after the Penalosa bout had been stopped. Your post was pretty vivid.

We've seen this before, haven't we? And we shall see it again.


-Rick

[Rick Farris]

A Few Lowen & Navarro Hits,
from their "Broken Moon" album . . .

All Is Quiet
Constant As The Night
Just To See You
I'll Set You Free
Maybe Later
Pride And Hunger
Broken Moon
Dreams I Left Behind
Not Like You
I've Had It All
Open Your Heart
The Best Of Me

[dagosd2000]

Where's Frank????

I know he's still breathing because Don Fraser said he talked to him about last nights fight.
I hope "Charlie" hasn't escaped again.
Once a dog has done jail time, it seems they just keep going back.
I can be hard on the family.

-Rick

Rick
Frank's around. I saw his name at the bottom of the scroll down. Probably cleaning fish.

[dagosd2000]

Fritzie Zivic

Love it Rog!
This is gonna be one of my favorites of all your work.
Zivics one of my favorites also.What a tough fighter he was.Take a look at his resume.
He fought EVERYONE.
To him , boxing was his craft. He was a tradesman.And, if Fritzie lost a fight, he'd shrug his shoulders and say," What the hell, I didnt do to bad, I ran second".
Then, hed jump back in there a week later against anyone.
Unless a guy really knew how to fight,he had no buisness in there with Fritzie Zivic.
He knew every trick in the book and then some.A guy could get a real education in that ring with this guy.

Brian
I read somewhere that a young Ray Robinson had apprehensions about fighting Zivic. After he bested Fritzie,he knew he could handle any fighter that thought they had a trick or two inside their gloves.

[dagosd2000]

Been watching this Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 on HBO. Never before have I seen a trainer taken center stage like Mayweather SR. This is a fight between two fighters. Like Freddie Roach says,"Mayweather may think he's the best trainer on Earth,but I've got the better fighter."

I can see how a fighter can get on a guy's nerves with his mouth...but a trainer?

I'm with you, Rog. In 2004, while Mayweather was trainer for Oscar, he was also training an up and coming 140 pounder, Franciso Bojado.
Bojado was being managed by a group of investors, one of whom was my friend Matt Butkus (son of Football Hall of Famer, Dick Butkus).

Matt knew I wrote boxing for the CBZ and asked if I would write something relating Bojado to the L.A. legends of the past, for the CBZ Newswire. I was only too happy to do so, and joined them at the old Lincoln Heights Jail Boxing Gym that had been established by my old manager, Johnnie Flores.

At the gym I met Bojado, and reunited with Joe Chavez, an old friend, and then met Mayweather Sr. After the workout, Matt agreed to give Floyd Sr. a ride downtown to the L.A. Athletic Club where he was living while in town. He resides in Las Vegas. Since I was riding with Butkus, I was glad to have an opportunity to talk with Mayweather Sr.

On the ride home, we were talking about amateur boxing and he referred to being a National Golden Gloves Champ in the the early 70's. He then said to me, "But you weren't around in those days", inferring that I was "too young". I said, "Yeah, you're right Floyd, that year I was already in my fourth year as a pro. I fought in the Nationals in '69 and '70. I'm older than you are. I fought professionally for six years, but by the time you fought Sugar Ray Leonard, I was long retired."

He didn't call me a liar. But I could see he was having his doubts. I went on to tell him a few things that only a guy who fought in those tournaments would know. He quickly changed the subject.

In the case of Freddie Roach, Oscar chose him over Floyd for the bout with his son, Floyd Jr. So this is nothing more than a case of professional jealousy. I like Ricky Hatton, and I like Manny Pac, but in the battle of Floyd vs. Freddie, Freddie's got the best fighter, in my opinion. I have a feeling that the bitter man with the big mouth is going to be eating a lot crow when this one is over, however, he's too stupid to know the difference between crow and a steak sandwich. Too much noise is what the Mayweather family brings to the table.


-Rick Farris

Rick
You've talked with the guy. He sounds like he's needy. Thinks he could have been Champ if his brother in law hadn't shot him in the leg. Just wish he'd go away.

[Rick Farris]

Where's Frank????

I know he's still breathing because Don Fraser said he talked to him about last nights fight.
I hope "Charlie" hasn't escaped again.
Once a dog has done jail time, it seems they just keep going back.
I can be hard on the family.

-Rick

Rick
Frank's around. I saw his name at the bottom of the scroll down. Probably cleaning fish.

Probably so, Rog. I know he loves fishing and he posted story from the L.A. Times about Japanese who would sneak out of their interment camp during WWII to drop a line in a nearby river. Then another one about Convict Lake. It was probably more than he could take, seeing those guys holding up a line of fish they'd caught. He probably thru his fishing gear in the truck, told Connie he was going out for a walk and disappeared into the bliss of a "Fisherman's Heaven". Randy was probably an accomplice. These Eastside guys are pretty clever.

-Rick

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jxTqiO0uqU

Just To See You

Lowen And Navarro

[Rick Farris]

Been watching this Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 on HBO. Never before have I seen a trainer taken center stage like Mayweather SR. This is a fight between two fighters. Like Freddie Roach says,"Mayweather may think he's the best trainer on Earth,but I've got the better fighter."

I can see how a fighter can get on a guy's nerves with his mouth...but a trainer?

I'm with you, Rog. In 2004, while Mayweather was trainer for Oscar, he was also training an up and coming 140 pounder, Franciso Bojado.
Bojado was being managed by a group of investors, one of whom was my friend Matt Butkus (son of Football Hall of Famer, Dick Butkus).

Matt knew I wrote boxing for the CBZ and asked if I would write something relating Bojado to the L.A. legends of the past, for the CBZ Newswire. I was only too happy to do so, and joined them at the old Lincoln Heights Jail Boxing Gym that had been established by my old manager, Johnnie Flores.

At the gym I met Bojado, and reunited with Joe Chavez, an old friend, and then met Mayweather Sr. After the workout, Matt agreed to give Floyd Sr. a ride downtown to the L.A. Athletic Club where he was living while in town. He resides in Las Vegas. Since I was riding with Butkus, I was glad to have an opportunity to talk with Mayweather Sr.

On the ride home, we were talking about amateur boxing and he referred to being a National Golden Gloves Champ in the the early 70's. He then said to me, "But you weren't around in those days", inferring that I was "too young". I said, "Yeah, you're right Floyd, that year I was already in my fourth year as a pro. I fought in the Nationals in '69 and '70. I'm older than you are. I fought professionally for six years, but by the time you fought Sugar Ray Leonard, I was long retired."

He didn't call me a liar. But I could see he was having his doubts. I went on to tell him a few things that only a guy who fought in those tournaments would know. He quickly changed the subject.

In the case of Freddie Roach, Oscar chose him over Floyd for the bout with his son, Floyd Jr. So this is nothing more than a case of professional jealousy. I like Ricky Hatton, and I like Manny Pac, but in the battle of Floyd vs. Freddie, Freddie's got the best fighter, in my opinion. I have a feeling that the bitter man with the big mouth is going to be eating a lot crow when this one is over, however, he's too stupid to know the difference between crow and a steak sandwich. Too much noise is what the Mayweather family brings to the table.


-Rick Farris

Rick
You've talked with the guy. He sounds like he's needy. Thinks he could have been Champ if his brother in law hadn't shot him in the leg. Just wish he'd go away.

We had a guy on the CBZ who did Prison time with him in Michigan. "Needy" might be a good analogy.
Maybe he's angry for being overlooked when they passed out "Father of the Year" awards.

-Rick

[dagosd2000]

.

Amanda's Flamenco School. Paloma Aragon. Winners First Prize Ensemble. Yesterday in Long Beach.

[Rick Farris]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jxTqiO0uqU

Just To See You

Lowen And Navarro

Thanks, Rog. This is one of my favorites.
Do you know that Hap's nephew is one of the hottest rock guitarists on the planet, David Navarro.
David was with the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" and "Jane's Addiction". He was also married to Carmen Elektra recently.

Guess who taught David Navarro to play the guitar? His cousin, Dan Navarro.
The Navarro Family has legendary talent.
Ask any kid today who the hottest rock guitarist is, and 9-of-10 will answer, David Navarro.
Of course, I'm partial to Dan's music, we're the same age.

-Rick Farris