Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

I know Frank. some day Iwill learn to down size my pics.

KI

Please do, as you skew the page so out of whack with those large files

[kikibalt]

George Parnassus and Enrique Bolanos with Lou Costello

[kikibalt]

Enrique Bolanos at the Rotary Club.

Hap, can you identify the fellows with Enrique?

[raylawpc]

This one is for Tom . . .



I grew up about five blocks from Jeffries Barn. This Burbank street runs E&W, about a block from where the legendary Boxing venue once stood at the intersection of Buena Vista & Victory. In 1954, it was reconstructed on the property of Knott's Berry Farm and had a small boxing museum and a historian, Al Nelson. Nelson passed and the Museum disappeared decades ago. It was designated a historic California Landmark and I believed could not be destroyed. I just learned that the entire Jeffries Barn was torn down and destroyed, new attractions would take it's place.

I expected the barn would still be standing.


-Rick Farris

Thanks Rick. That street is really the only clue that Jeff ever lived in the area.

I have a photo in my files of Jeff supervising a worker changing the street sign on that street. It seems that, when the city put up the first street sign, they called the street "Jefferies Ave." Jeff pestered them to change the sign and spell his name right, and they finally changed the sign to "Jeffries Ave."

Its kind of a funny picture, with old Jeff is standing there, cane in hand, pointing at the worker changng the sign - a big grin on his face.

[Expug]

It was said that Main St. at Third St. was the Boulevard of Broken Beaks.

Yes it was!

And I got mine to prove it .
Danny Lopez and Centavito Hernandez did me the honor at 318 1/2 South Main Street (circa 1970).


-Rick Farris

Yep, a right of passage for sure.
For me it was Johnny Heard who did the honors.
Seriously though, do you have problems with sinuses draining into your throat while you are sleeping Rick?
Im up two or three times every night coughing up gunk.
Snoaring like crazy too.

[Dongee]

Sorry, Frank, I don't recognize the two in the photo with Enrique. They were probably Rotary Club officials, not boxing people. I was a Lions Club member.

regards

hap navarro

[kikibalt]

Enrique Bolanos with an unidentified fan. Maybe one of our boxing fan can add to who the kid is. I asked my uncle and he did't remember.

Robert Bolanos Jr.

[kikibalt]

The back of the picture says "Bolanos training at Sopers Ranch for the Championship fight against Ike William"

[kikibalt]

Enrique Bolanos training on the heavy bag in the Main Street Gym.

[iskigoe]

[Rick Farris]

It was said that Main St. at Third St. was the Boulevard of Broken Beaks.

Yes it was!

And I got mine to prove it .
Danny Lopez and Centavito Hernandez did me the honor at 318 1/2 South Main Street (circa 1970).


-Rick Farris

Yep, a right of passage for sure.
For me it was Johnny Heard who did the honors.
Seriously though, do you have problems with sinuses draining into your throat while you are sleeping Rick?
Im up two or three times every night coughing up gunk.
Snoaring like crazy too.

Brian . . . I've had all of those problems. I've also had good medical insurance for three decades but never had the problem fixed becasue I kept getting into the ring to box. I stopped the sparring in my late 40's when working with fighters in Phoenix. Sometimes it's just easier to get into the ring to work with somebody and occasionally you take a shot in the nose. However, jus three months ago, I finally underwent surgery to clear the breathing passages and for the first time in 37 years I get a complete night sleep. The nose still looks like a fighter's nose, but I can finally breath thru it.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

This is my uncle Enrique Bolanos training with a medicine ball

Robert Bolanos

[kikibalt]

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs Chango Carmona

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

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUaDiVp2U7E

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4CJwWqRZrs

[Rick Farris]

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs Chango Carmona

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

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUaDiVp2U7E

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4CJwWqRZrs

Frank . . . I can never get enough of this bout. Wouldn't it be great if we could just pump a little air into El Gato's tires and send him into the ring with guys like Ricky Hatton. Of course, if guys like Rodolfo Gonzalez were around, the alphabet organizations would have to seperate the real contenders & champs from the current lot. We'd have titles such as . . . "WBC Junior Professionals Champions", or something like that.

-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Enrique Bolanos at the Main St. Gym

[kikibalt]

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs Chango Carmona

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

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUaDiVp2U7E

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4CJwWqRZrs

Frank . . . I can never get enough of this bout. Wouldn't it be great if we could just pump a little air into El Gato's tires and send him into the ring with guys like Ricky Hatton. Of course, if guys like Rodolfo Gonzalez were around, the alphabet organizations would have to seperate the real contenders & champs from the current lot. We'd have titles such as . . . "WBC Junior Professionals Champions", or something like that.

-Rick Farris

Rick....Its amazing how Rodolfo made it all look so easy....

[kikibalt]

When Boxing Was Big In Burbank . . .




This is where the Jim Jeffries Barn once stood, the S/W corner of Buena Vista St. & Victory Blvd.
Up until WW2, Art & Belle Martell made this the most successful amateur boxing venue in town.
It wasn't unusual for the former heavyweight champ to step into the ring as a referee.
During the week the place was packed with young boxers training for upcoming matches.
On fight night, the Barn's close proximity to movie studios resulted the place being packed with film personalities.

In those days, Burbank was a place where there was lots of space, ranches, studio people who'd settled in the area to be close to the motion pic factories where they worked. Jim Jeffries was a familiar face around town. Often seen shopping downtown, wearing a big cowboy hat.

A few miles away, another former fighter, Ace Hudkins had his own ranch. After retiring from boxing, Hudkins would become a studio wrangler, and rent out horses, live stock, stage coaches, buck boards, etc. to nearby studios. Located right across the L.A. River from the Warner Bros. Studios back lot in Burbank, Hudkins made a fortune catering to film studios such as nearby Republic Pictures, who would turn out dozens of low budget western movies each year during it's heyday. The ranch sat right at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, below Griffith Park. My Grandfather became friends with Ace Hudkins and would teach my mother how to drive on dirt roads that ran thru Hudkins Ranch, back in the late 40's.

In the fifties, Ace sold off his property and it would soon become a cemetary. Today it's Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, and where most in my family are laid to rest. Today, my grandfather's grave sits a couple plots down from that of Chuck Roberson. Roberson was Hollywood's original "Fall Guy", the legendary stunt double of actor John Wayne. Roy Disney, Walt's brother is close by, as is Dodger's catcher Johnny Roseborough, singer Ricky Nelson, and Gene Autry side-kick, Smiliey Burnett and hundreds more. Like a "Who's Who" of film legends is what you see on Forest Lawn grave markers. However, in the day, it was Ace Hudkins place.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs Chango Carmona

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

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUaDiVp2U7E

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4CJwWqRZrs

Frank . . . I can never get enough of this bout. Wouldn't it be great if we could just pump a little air into El Gato's tires and send him into the ring with guys like Ricky Hatton. Of course, if guys like Rodolfo Gonzalez were around, the alphabet organizations would have to seperate the real contenders & champs from the current lot. We'd have titles such as . . . "WBC Junior Professionals Champions", or something like that.

-Rick Farris

Rick....Its amazing how Rodolfo made it all look so easy....

Frank . . . This post motivated me to call Gato and I just got off the phone. Rodolfo "El Gato" Gonzalez is a reminder of what a real World Champion is all about. What is different about today's champs and Rodolfo? For one thing, until recently, everybody was touting Antonio Margarito as Mexico's latest superstar. Personally I was happy to see him whip Cotto, but the guy was a very weak version of one of Mexico's greats. I understand that few outside this thread are aware of guys like Beccera (El Gato's cousin), Olivares, Macias, Saldivar, Azteca, and on & on. The new hero was sloppy, dropped fights to guys like Paul Williams, had irratic training habits and his performance hinged on his moods. He willingly allowed his gloves to be loaded in an attempt to defeat a 37-year-old challenger who was a 5-to-1 underdog. The poor bastard ended up getting KO'ed. A Mexican great? No way, Jose. VIVA EL GATO!!




-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Enrique Bolanos at the Main St. Gym

To Mr. Enrique Bolanos:

I've heard so much about this great fighter. Can you imagine being this good and still not being good enough to beat the champ?
How good was the champ? Ike Williams was pretty damn perfect, I'd say.
Strong statement when you consider names like Duran, (Benny) Leonard, Gans, Armstrong, etc.
We had a good one in Mando Ramos, but Bolanos was a great one. I see similarities, but Bolanos was a cut above.
In our day we had "El Gato", but Rodolfo was hidden in the shadows for years, another victim of the era, until he finally got a title shot.
Today I watch Bolanos and Ike Williams on YouTube. I get a quick peak at this L.A. great of years gone by.
Hap publicized Bolanos, made his matches and promoted him.
Frank sat ringside with his dad and uncle at local venues, saw him fight Williams three times for the title. Saw him at the Legion and Olympic.
I came too late to enjoy those moments, but I had a few of my own. Still, I'm a little envious of our two amigos, Hap & Frank.

If boxing experiences were like baseball cards we could trade them. In that case, I could offer up a couple Mando Ramos fights, throw in a Jerry Quarry bout and one Indian Red Lopez-Hedge Lewis match in trade for a Bolanos main event at the Legion, any bout would do.

Of course, Frank already has those in his collection, so I'd have to find somebody else. It just won't work.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

This is my uncle Enrique against Williams. Enrique told me that her got thumbed in the third fight. In the picture, his right eye seems to be closing. I assume this is the third fight against Williams. What you do think Frank. Can you add any of your insight?

Robert Bolanos

Robert....No way for me to tell which of the three fights it is, but if I had to guess, I would say its the second one, because Enrique looks like he has been in a long and tough fight, which the second one was.

[Randyman]

Guys, forgive me for bombarding you with my personal photos. These are a few of the photos we took at my mother's house yesterday on Mother's Day. Tomorrow, Andrew and I will be going deep sea fishing out of Newport Landing at Newport Beach. I'm looking forward to that. I'll post those photos. Andrew will be leaving for Seattle on Wednesday. I'm not looking forward to that.

[kikibalt]

Enrique Bolanos at the Main St. Gym

To Mr. Enrique Bolanos:

I've heard so much about this great fighter. Can you imagine being this good and still not being good enough to beat the champ?
How good was the champ? Ike Williams was pretty damn perfect, I'd say.
Strong statement when you consider names like Duran, (Benny) Leonard, Gans, Armstrong, etc.
We had a good one in Mando Ramos, but Bolanos was a great one. I see similarities, but Bolanos was a cut above.
In our day we had "El Gato", but Rodolfo was hidden in the shadows for years, another victim of the era, until he finally got a title shot.
Today I watch Bolanos and Ike Williams on YouTube. I get a quick peak at this L.A. great of years gone by.
Hap publicized Bolanos, made his matches and promoted him.
Frank sat ringside with his dad and uncle at local venues, saw him fight Williams three times for the title. Saw him at the Legion and Olympic.
I came too late to enjoy those moments, but I had a few of my own. Still, I'm a little envious of our two amigos, Hap & Frank.

If boxing experiences were like baseball cards we could trade them. In that case, I could offer up a couple Mando Ramos fights, throw in a Jerry Quarry bout and one Indian Red Lopez-Hedge Lewis match in trade for a Bolanos main event at the Legion, any bout would do.

Of course, Frank already has those in his collection, so I'd have to find somebody else. It just won't work.


-Rick Farris

Memories are great, aren't they, Rick?

I have great memories from those years, Enrique Bolanos was my boyhood idol, in fact he was the only boxing idol I had, Art Aragon I followed and rooted for him to win when ever he fought, but he was not my idol, Keeny Teran and I were close at the gym, saw him as a friend, just couldn't see him as an idol.

[Randyman]

It was said that Main St. at Third St. was the Boulevard of Broken Beaks.

Yes it was!

And I got mine to prove it .
Danny Lopez and Centavito Hernandez did me the honor at 318 1/2 South Main Street (circa 1970).


-Rick Farris

Yep, a right of passage for sure.
For me it was Johnny Heard who did the honors.
Seriously though, do you have problems with sinuses draining into your throat while you are sleeping Rick?
Im up two or three times every night coughing up gunk.
Snoaring like crazy too.

Brian, my nose was never broken but I have the same problem at night. A real pain in the ass.

Randy

[Randyman]

Dedicated to Roger and Maria Esty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugNQ5uIN09Q
Volver Volver

Vicente Fernandez

Classic Vicente!!

Thanks for posting, Frank!

Randy

[kikibalt]

Dedicated to Roger and Maria Esty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugNQ5uIN09Q
Volver Volver

Vicente Fernandez

Classic Vicente!!

Thanks for posting, Frank!

Randy

You got it! Randy, glad to see that you guys had a good time with your mom....