Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

1984 Olympians today



Boxers Paul Gonzales, left, Richard Sandoval and Henry Tillman were
all Olympians. Gonzales won the light flyweight gold medal in 1984.

To be a little picky (because it is a great shot), Richie was not officially an Olympian. He was picked for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 but the US team never went. Tillman did a good job four years later. He got lucky in the semis against Italy's Angelo Musone but I thought he definitely did enough to outpoint pre-Olympic favourite Willie DeWitt in the final, although some people swear DeWitt was also robbed. DeWitt had sparked Tillman a few months earlier in the first round, a bout I have on tape.
Tillman scored those two Olympic trial wins over Tyson, of course.

Bennie, you're right about Richie Sandoval not been "officially an Olympian".

[bennie]

1984 Olympians today



Boxers Paul Gonzales, left, Richard Sandoval and Henry Tillman were
all Olympians. Gonzales won the light flyweight gold medal in 1984.

To be a little picky (because it is a great shot), Richie was not officially an Olympian. He was picked for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 but the US team never went. Tillman did a good job four years later. He got lucky in the semis against Italy's Angelo Musone but I thought he definitely did enough to outpoint pre-Olympic favourite Willie DeWitt in the final, although some people swear DeWitt was also robbed. DeWitt had sparked Tillman a few months earlier in the first round, a bout I have on tape.
Tillman scored those two Olympic trial wins over Tyson, of course.

Bennie, you're right about Richie Sandoval not been "officially an Olympian".

The missing Dream Team in Moscow in 1980:

Light-flyweight: Robert Shannon
Flyweight: Richard Sandoval
bantamweight: Jackie Beard
Featherweight: Bernard Taylor
Lightweight: Joe Manley
Light-welterweight: Johnny Bumphus
Welterweight: Donald Curry
Light-middleweight: James Shuler
Middleweight: Charles Carter
Light-heavyweight: Leroy Murphy
Heavyweight: James Broad

[kikibalt]

1984 Olympians today



Boxers Paul Gonzales, left, Richard Sandoval and Henry Tillman were
all Olympians. Gonzales won the light flyweight gold medal in 1984.

To be a little picky (because it is a great shot), Richie was not officially an Olympian. He was picked for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 but the US team never went. Tillman did a good job four years later. He got lucky in the semis against Italy's Angelo Musone but I thought he definitely did enough to outpoint pre-Olympic favourite Willie DeWitt in the final, although some people swear DeWitt was also robbed. DeWitt had sparked Tillman a few months earlier in the first round, a bout I have on tape.
Tillman scored those two Olympic trial wins over Tyson, of course.

Bennie, you're right about Richie Sandoval not been "officially an Olympian".

Richie is lookin, a little heavy

Paul, dapper as always

Tillman, looks to be in good shape

[bennie]

I seem to recall Tillman marrying the granddaughter of Jesse Owens (or great granddaughter) but then getting into a spot of bother when his boxing career came to an end. I am glad to see he has come through.

[kikibalt]

TROUBLED TILLMAN ON PATH TO PEACE AFTER HIS "LOST YEARS"

From Olympic heavyweight hero to convicted killer Henry Tillman has experienced more of life's extremes than most. Here he maintains his innocence to FIONA MANNING, tells how he extracted positives from his time inside and looks forward to the future

In 1984, Henry Tillman was the man. He'd defeated Mike Tyson to get to the Olympics and brought the U.S. home a gold medal as a result.

Tillman had it all: talent, style and looks. He seemed poised to have a major say in the ranks of the heavyweight division.

Instead, Tillman's career was lacklustre, peaking with the North American Boxing Association's cruiserweight title in 1986.

He retired six years later with a 25-6 record (losing once to Tyson, whom he had defeated twice to make the 1984 Olympic team).

Despite a marriage to long-time sweetheart Gina Owens, granddaughter of the legendary Jesse Owens, wedded life, fatherhood and a settled career were no match for the party circuit.

"The type of guy I was then, if I couldn't go to the latest night club, then my life was a disaster," said Tillman.

He fell from grace in the business of boxing, eked out a living as a "professional celebrity". Golf, sailing, baseball, basketball - it didn't matter much: Tillman could be relied upon to turn up at a moment's notice. Inevitably, his career and marriage suffered.

And then he was arrested for murder.

Tillman's ugly plunge into the abyss came as a shock to all who knew him.

On a busy weekday evening in 1996, Tillman was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Police say he stood on the sidewalk outside a (now-defunct) downtown L.A. night club, leant into a car and shot dead Kevin Anderson and seriously wounded Leon Milton, who, at the time, was a suspected drug dealer.

The Los Angles District Attorney's Office portrayed Tillman as a cold-hearted killer who shot a man at point-blank range outside a nightclub over a drug deal gone wrong.

"The only thing I am guilty of is being in a nightclub," asserted Tillman.

Gina, who divorced him during this time, still says she loves Tillman. She just didn't love his lifestyle. She never believed Tillman was capable of murder but, despite a complete lack of physical evidence, nobody seemed able to help him.

"I blame the D.A.'s office at the time," said Tillman. "I believe Gil Garcetti, who was running for re-election, felt stung by the Rodney King trial and the O.J. Simpson case. Garcetti wanted to show the public he was up to the challenge of putting a professional black athlete in his place.

"Look, I can't compare myself to O.J. but I am a well-known black athlete."

Tillman's two-week trial would make dense fodder for a TV movie of the week.

The saga includes the recanting of testimony by two witnesses who said that Tillman fired the gunshots that killed.

All along, Al DeBlanc, Tillman's attorney, contended this was a case of mistaken identity. No fingerprints on the weapon, or the roof of the car, which contained a massive palm print where the gunman leant to reach inside the vehicle to shoot, matched Tillman's. Not one single print matched his.

Tillman was denied bail. In what sounds like a bad B-movie, he spent six years locked up, all the while proclaiming his innocence.

Now free, Tillman spoke exclusively to Boxing Monthly about what he calls his "lost years."

"I was in prison six years. 72 months to be exact. I can tell you the exact days, hours, minutes [he checks his watch] and even the seconds because I kept count."

Tillman, looking almost as good as he did in his "heyday", is planning a comeback. So far, his steps are small. The lure of the gym is not as exciting now as it once was. Some days he trains, other days he still runs, but finds excuses not to hit the treadmill, not to spar.

"It's hard to explain what prison was like to somebody who hasn't been there," said Tillman during a lull in his evening job as "host" at an Egyptian restaurant in Los Angeles.

Tillman, dressed in a green tracksuit, his massive hands adorned only by his Olympic Games ring, scanned the crush of sidewalk traffic at Habibi's, an Egyptian cafe - one of many which has taken over an entire block in the city of Westwood.

Habibi's sports live, hypnotic music and belly dancers as well as aromatic hookahs and chichas. Tillman is planning backgammon tournaments (his other big love apart from boxing), sports nights and live boxing telecasts.

Well-heeled patrons cram the outside tables to sample rose, cherry, apple, jasmine, melon and even banana flavoured tobacco. All of them are seemingly unaware the big fellow with the ready smile has, setting aside the issues of innocence and guilt for a second,0 been inside for attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter.

"I hate cigarettes but I love the smell of this tobacco because it's pure," said Tillman who meets, greets and seats the diners. He's not kidding. The scent wafts over you, the sweet tang of molasses at the base of all the tobaccos.

Tillman is the perfect person to host Habibi's. He loves the restaurant, loves its owners Saad Fathi and his son Mickey, even more.

"I knew Mickey when he was a little boy," said Tillman of the slight young man who manages the restaurant. "My big regret is that I missed out on six years of his life by being in prison. I know the whole family. I've slept in their house. I wanna get Mickey in the gym and teach him some boxing moves."

Tillman isn't bitter that so many friends disappeared during the tough years.

Ironically, every boxing person he knew turned their backs. It was the non-boxing- related Fathis who not only kept the faith of friendship but helped out with Tillman's legal fees.

"What I found in prison," said Tillman, surprisingly, "was peace. Every soul has to taste death. Every person, every ant, every leaf, every tree has to taste death. I tasted it and what I have achieved is peace. I live each day as if it were my last."

Over coffee, more details of the dark years emerged: "The judge declared a mistrial after it was revealed the prosecutor failed to disclose the complete criminal record of a police informant scheduled to testify against me," he said.

In fact, court documents show that Lauri Meadows, the star prosecution witness, recanted her own previous testimony at a 1996 hearing, saying that Tillman was not the gunman.

Meadows also revealed under cross-examination that she was in Federal custody awaiting a charge of cocaine possession with intent to deliver and testified she hoped deputy District Attorney Michael Duarte could help her when she was sentenced for that case.

Though the District Attorney's office planned to file fresh charges - they also offered him a plea bargain. Tillman refused.

During the trial, Tillman had been in jail - not prison - for four and a half years. That meant 48 hours in his cell, 30 minutes out of it. Back in for another 48 and so on. All without the benefit of much human contact.

There was no TV, no radio, no music. "I was white when I came out jail," he said. "I mean, white. I didn't go outside for all that time.

"When I was in there, I decided right there and then, this was not my cell. This was my window to my whole life, a window on the world. I could use my time to read and to learn and to grow. I read, I wrote letters, I did some serious thinking there."

Some deputies, who came to know and like Tillman, started smuggling boxing magazines to him in his cell. He read them from cover to cover before returning them.

"It gave me back the boxing bug," he said. "I was seeing all these stories on Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, man I beat that guy! It made me wanna come back in a big way."

When he took the plea bargain, he was transferred to Delano State Prison.

"Once I was in prison, I got to watch TV and I listened to music. I listened to whatever I could get my hands on and I told my family, bring me books. Whatever you do, when you come to visit, bring me books. I read everything. I read every single book I could get. I studied the scriptures."

He also started to shadowbox in prison to prepare himself for his comeback. "I never wasted my days playing Ping-Pong or basketball or what's that stupid card game they play. . . pinnacle.

"Guys used to joke with me that I was a man on a mission and I was. Some guards had no problem with me shadowboxing. A couple of guards had problems with it, I guess because they were scared, so I learned not to do it on their shift but a few were fans and they would come to watch me."

Tillman's attorney advised his client to plead "No Contest" and with time already served, spent only another 10 months in prison.

"I refused to plead guilty because I am not guilty," he said. "But the thought of going through another trial . . . I couldn't do it. I am not very trusting of the jury system so accepted no contest.

"My attorney told me: 'You can scream I'm innocent for the rest of your life in prison or you can scream I'm innocent for 10 months. You run the risk of going to jail for life by going up against 13 people again in another trial."

Tillman had already lost so much: He was also worried about losing more time away from boxing. Some might say he got the legal equivalent of a shellacking.

Ahead of him now, he hopes, is a resurrected boxing career. He has found support slowly. "People are curious, suspicious maybe. But mostly, they are just waiting to see what I do."

He is training at a couple of L.A. gyms, trying to find the right fit. "Cool" Vince Phillips is a stablemate and Tillman appreciates Phillips's ease with him.

"There's a reason they call Vince 'Cool'," he said. "You know what I like about him? He's a man. He's straight up. He takes you as you are. He is very professional at work and he is very friendly away from the gym. It don't matter what I did or didn't do.

"We are both working our asses off! I do my roadwork very early in the morning. The running is everything. If you run, you get your confidence and your conditioning going. You prevent injuries. You fight much better."

Once seduced by good times, Tillman has put the past behind him. "I don't hang out with the same people. Believe it or not my best friend is my dad. I'm staying with him right now and he is incredibly supportive, incredibly strong."

His 16-year old son, who lives in Dallas, is itching to fly to Los Angeles for his dad's comeback fight, tentatively scheduled for June.

"He wants to spend time with me. I'm still the biggest and the best to him," said Tillman with a rare, indulgent smile.

"When you are inside you have a lot of time to think. I still think about the guys inside. I wonder what they're doing and what will happen to them.

"In six years, everything on the outside has changed so much. I sometimes wonder how guys who are for 20 or 30 years can cope with coming back into society. It's rough."

The biggest change was "people are nicer to each other now. I've honestly noticed that. It may have a lot to do with September 11. Of course we watched it on TV in prison. Guys like me who weren't in for very long were very shook up. The lifers were very . . . ambivalent about it all. None of it really affects them."

Tillman, who had always read the Koran during his religious readings before jail, took the oath and became a Muslim in prison.

"The thing about Islam is that everybody sits on the floor," he said. "Doesn't matter who you are, who your family is. If you get there early, you get a good seat, if you don't, you just have to sit further back."

He appreciates the order of the faith. He has questions and asks at the appropriate times. "There are three religions," he said. "Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They all have importance. There is something to be learned from all of them."

As a Muslim, he has an interesting take on the terrorist attacks, carried out in the name of Allah on September 11.

"God didn't order those attacks," he said. "They were not the work of God. They were the work of us, of people. God knows everything, so he knew of the attacks but we can't question God's plan, why he didn't intervene.

"There is a story in the Koran about a catastrophe that could have been averted but when God doesn't stop it, it's because intervention would have caused something worse. The people who died on September 11 might have saved us all."

Tillman has had plenty of time to think about all this.

He may have lost a lot, but has achieved so much more. "I came up with all sorts of plans while I was in there," he said. "I came up with ideas for work release programs for prisoners. Programmes for kids.

"I started writing a book. I have all sorts of titles for it but I want to finish it. I also got my driver's license when I was in prison. I had no access to computers, so I used an old-fashioned pencil and paper. I wrote to the Department of Motor Vehicles and stated my case and when I came out, I paid the fees and got my licence in three days."

He now has a spanking-new SUV with a TV in it. Years of deprivation don't persuade him to stare at it whilst he is driving. "It's for my passengers. I would like to get a DVD player in it though," he said with a chuckle.

Tillman is supplementing hosting duties with acting work. He played an attorney - "it was so nice to be on the other side of the fence" - on the TV series Philly.

"They keep calling me in at least once a week," he said. "One of my friends said they may be thinking of giving me a regular role."

Whatever happens, he won't give up on his dream of returning to the ring. "I am so dedicated," he said. "Very few people know this but I wasn't ever supposed to walk. My legs were crooked when I was little and I had to wear steel braces. Yeah.

"My dad carried me everywhere for the first five years of my life. I used to crawl around, too, which made my upper body strong. Then I got the use of my legs. I am still knock-kneed.

"I am the only one in the family who is. But I figure if I overcame that, I have to keep going. I have constantly surprised people. I figure I'm supposed to keep doing that. I have so many dreams, so many plans and today sitting here, I know that they are real."

[kikibalt]

I seem to recall Tillman marrying the granddaughter of Jesse Owens (or great granddaughter) but then getting into a spot of bother when his boxing career came to an end. I am glad to see he has come through.

Bennie, that was Gina Owens that Tillman married

[kikibalt]

Brazil police rule Gatti’s death suicide
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—A Brazilian police investigation has determined that the death of boxer Arturo Gatti was a suicide and a court has ordered the release of his wife, once suspected of killing him, officials said Thursday.

Lead investigator Paulo Alberes told The Associated Press authorities found that Gatti killed himself on July 11 in a seaside resort in northeastern Brazil.

When asked if police had determined the case was a suicide, Alberes said “yes.” He offered no other details, but said he would hold a news conference later in the day.

A day after Gatti was found dead, police said that his 23-year-old Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, had strangled him with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept.

But police began to back off the accusation about a week later after a coroner’s report said that Gatti may have killed himself as he was found hanged and suspended. Rodrigues’ lawyer said at the time that proved his client’s innocence because she could not have physically lifted Gatti.

A spokeswoman for the Pernambuco state court in the city of Recife confirmed that judge Ildete Verissimo de Lima ordered the release of Rodrigues.

The judge wrote in the ruling that police informed the court that “the detention of the suspect was no longer needed” as the investigation “excludes the possibility of murder.”

“The victim … committed suicide by hanging,” Lima’s ruling read, referring to the police investigation findings.

Rodrigues will walk out of jail Thursday afternoon, said her lawyer, Celio Avelino.

Gatti was found dead in the apartment he was renting with Rodrigues in the resort town of Porto de Galinhas.

The pair, who had a tumultuous marriage, had arrived there a few days before Gatti’s death for a second honeymoon. The couple brought their 10-month-old son, who was unhurt and is in the care of Rodrigues’ family in Brazil.

The 37-year-old Gatti, who captured two world titles in his 16-year pro career, retired in 2007 with a record of 40-9.

Gatti’s family and friends in his adopted hometown of Montreal have denied the accusation the boxer could have killed himself.

“Nobody believes whatsoever that there’s even a 1 percent chance of a suicide. He lived life to the fullest,” Ivano Scarpa, a close Gatti family friend, said at the boxer’s July 20 funeral service in Canada.

But Rodrigues, in a July 15 letter that she handed over to the AP from prison, said: “I’m innocent and I know that this will be proven in a few days.”

Associated Press Writer Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

[Collins2000]

Bennie, I think that some of the writers, especially the ones from the east coast were trying to hide their embarrassment because they all pick Davis to win easily, none of them gave Tony a chance against their Golden Boy, so they just wrote, 'It was a close fight, but Davis won'...

Houston is one of those 'least offence' writers - a pussycat.

Always fair though.

[dagosd2000]

A SHORT RESPONSE

Talk to Burke Emery about boxing and he won't talk about it much unless he thinks of something off the top of his head. Then it's quick a comment with a bite of humor. Emery fought a lot in his native Canada. I never saw him fight except on television as a set up guy for Jose Torres in Madison Sqaure Garden. I think Torres broke Burke's ribs in that fight. It didn't last long. Torres was undefeated at that time. He didn't have many fights,but they picked the right opponent in Burke.

Burke couldn't match Torres with hand speed. Burke's cuts were becoming a serious problem too. Besides,Jose was on his way up and young. The opposite with Burke.To make things impossible,Burke had to fight the Puerto Rican in New York.

When I went to Burke's bar and told him that Jose Torres had passed away,Burke paused and looked askance.
"Oh,really," he quipped.
That was it. I thought he'd embellish,but nothing else from the Canadian.
"You know,"Burke said. "There used to be fighter in Canada named Burt Mells. We called him Burt Smells.
Burke smiled and I laughed. I'd heard that story before.I could see a crowd forming around the bar's dart board.
"Are you going to sign up for the darts tournament?" asked Burke.
"No",I said. "Darts is not my game."

[Rick Farris]

Julio . . .

I started boxing at Johnny Flores' backyard gym in Pacoima, mid-60's.
Johnny taught me how to box, as well as a couple of his gym's coaches, fighters, etc.
Although pretty young, I had an strong desire to be a fighter, more important, a part of boxing.

What I didn't get at Johnny's gym, I'd have a chance to pick-up at the Main Street Gym on weekends.
Johnny would almost always be at Main Street on saturday and sundays, unless he was out of town.
If he was gone, his brother, trainer Julio Flores would watch after me.
Julio trained a few of Johnny's boxers including Ruben Navarro, Ronnie Cisneros and Johnny Quintella. All Eastside guys.

I liked Julio, he was always good to me, he was calm, low key and would speak common sense to us.
Julio's son, Larry Flores, had been a hot amateur boxer in Los Angeles during the 1950's.
I would see Larry in the gym during the 60's, a good looking guy, a sharp boxer who'd embarass top guys in the gym.
You could see his talent, but something was lacking, something inside.

I remember posters tacked to the dusty walls of Johnny Flores backyard gym.
Some were advertsing local amateur boxing cards, from venues of days gone by, such as the Valley Gardens Arena.
The Flores stable was well represented on some of those cards. Guys like Luis "The Lion" Perez, Larry Flores, Manuel Diaz.
These were the last generation, I'd be part of the next group.

Decades later, Frank Baltazar would put some perspective on what happened to Larry Flores.
"This guy was the best amateur fighter I seen come out of Los Angeles at the time, one of the best ever."
Baltazar continued, "But they pushed him to hard, over worked him, by the time he turned pro, he was burnt out."
Baltazar was careful to avoid the same when developing his own three son's boxing careers.

When I was seventeen, about a year before I turned pro, Julio became more involved in my training.
I began working out at Main Street on the weekends, and also a couple days during the week, and just two nights at Johnny's back yard gym.
I needed better boxing and that's what I got at the Main Street Gym.
Julio and I worked well together, and I began boxing with Navarro, Cisneros, and Ernie Lopez' amateur brother from Utah, Danny.

One evening, Julio and I were walking out to the parking lot behind the gym.
It was 1969, and I was driving a '55 Ford pick-up I'd just bought for $400.
Julio looked at the tires and shook his head. "Those are no good, your going to have a blow-out. I can get a you a new set, four tires for $50."

Julio worked at a tire and automotive shop on San Fernando Road near Lincoln Heights. The next day I'd call him and he'd tell me the address.

When I call, Julio tells me to park behind the building when I get there.
When I arrive, he meets me in the alley and tells me to wait there.
A few minutes later, I see a tire fall out of the back window of the garage, and then another, and two more.
I wait for Julio, as instructed, a moment later he appears and wants to hurry.
He and I pick up the tires from the alley and toss them in the bed of my pick-up.

I look the tires over and they are brand new. I hand him the money and thank him. Julio nodded, "See you later, at the gym."
I took the tires to a gas station and paid some guy to install them.
I still laugh every time I think of those tires flying out the back window. I never discussed the deal with Julio.

A few months later I'd have my pro debut. I'd close the show in a five-rounder, which was a pretty good fight.
The main event featured an up and coming Venezuelan featherweight contender and future world champ, Antonio Gomez.
In the dressing room, prior to my match, Julio asks me, "Are you nervous?" I answer, "I'm OK."
He then hands me a pill, "take this, it'll help your nerves."

The pill was a yellow & black capsule. I swallowed it and fifteen minutes later there was no way I could relax.
I never asked Julio about that pill. And he never again offered me one. But I threw a lot of leather that night.

I think of Julio every time I drive down San Fernando Road in Lincoln Heights.
Awhile back, I believe I heard Julio Flores had passed away. You'd think I would know, but sometimes we lose track of people.

Oddly, as close as I was to Julio in gym, camp, the ring, etc. I never knew much about him personally, as I did Johnny and the others.
Julio was solid, when I followed what he said, things worked. Julio worked "the basics," things that win fights. Common sense.

I recently communicated with Johnny Flores grandaughter. I remember when her mother was a little girl.
She was interested in my memories of her grandfather, and I will share some of mine.
I can't think of Johnny without so many others coming to mind. Thoughts of Julio Flores, make me smile.


-Rick Farris

[bennie]

Bennie, I think that some of the writers, especially the ones from the east coast were trying to hide their embarrassment because they all pick Davis to win easily, none of them gave Tony a chance against their Golden Boy, so they just wrote, 'It was a close fight, but Davis won'...

Houston is one of those 'least offence' writers - a pussycat.

Always fair though.

Before the fight. His after-the-fight accounts are too tame, in my opinion. He sits on the fence.

[bennie]

Seems that Gatti's death is being whitewashed as suicide, and his wife is about to be released.

[kikibalt]

Antonio Margarito will not fight in Mexico
By Edgar Gonzalez

It was said that former three-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito will fight in September in his hometown but now the “Tijuana Tornado” doesn’t want to fight unless the fight takes place in the United States and the only way that it will ever happen is if the California State Athletic Commission returns his boxing license.

Margarito’s legal team is trying to get him back in the ring as soon as possible. Margarito can re-apply for his license in February 2010 but keep in mind that the CSAC can still turn down his request. Fighting in Mexico is only going to piss off the CSAC.
“I have been training for a long time and waiting to see if they tell me that I can return in September. But it all depends if I get my license back,” Margarito told the The Record. ”It’s been six months since my license was suspended and I know that I am innocent, so I don’t want to fight in Mexico anymore because my situation could worsen further in the U.S. and I prefer to wait a little {longer}.”

With Margarito’s legal team fighting to get his license back, HBO is airing a documentary on Billy Collins Jr. against Luis Resto titled”Assault in the Ring”.
This documentary revisits one of boxing darkest hours as Resto surprisingly defeated Collins–but was discovered to have removed half the padding from his gloves. The ensuing scandal rocked the sport and landed Resto and his trainer in prison, while Collins would die in a car crash less than a year later.

I personally think airing this documentary is not in favor of Margarito, not that I support what his trainer tried to do. Javier Capetillo inserted an illegal knuckle pad that contained traces of Plaster of Paris into Margarito’s hand wraps before a fight against Shane Mosley on Jan. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Had the illegal pad not been discovered, Mosley could have been seriously injured and Margarito could have had his next 25 years much like Luis Resto in prison. I am not saying what Capetillo did was right, but I think Resto did much worse, he had an ounce of the stuffing pulled out of each of his eight-ounce gloves and his hand wraps tampered with. He was also drinking a mixed water that had medicine used to treat asthma to open up the lungs and allow him to get more oxygen during the fight.

Fortunately for Margarito, Mosley’s trainer, Naazim Richardson, suspected something was amiss and demanded that Margarito’s hands be rewrapped. Richardson’s insistence led to the discovery of the potentially lethal pad. Thanks to Richardson Margarito did NOT used the illegal hand wraps and thanks to him maybe one day the “Tijuana Tornado” will once again in step in the ring in U.S. soil.

[kikibalt]

Julio . . .

I started boxing at Johnny Flores' backyard gym in Pacoima, mid-60's.
Johnny taught me how to box, as well as a couple of his gym's coaches, fighters, etc.
Although pretty young, I had an strong desire to be a fighter, more important, a part of boxing.

What I didn't get at Johnny's gym, I'd have a chance to pick-up at the Main Street Gym on weekends.
Johnny would almost always be at Main Street on saturday and sundays, unless he was out of town.
If he was gone, his brother, trainer Julio Flores would watch after me.
Julio trained a few of Johnny's boxers including Ruben Navarro, Ronnie Cisneros and Johnny Quintella. All Eastside guys.

I liked Julio, he was always good to me, he was calm, low key and would speak common sense to us.
Julio's son, Larry Flores, had been a hot amateur boxer in Los Angeles during the 1950's.
I would see Larry in the gym during the 60's, a good looking guy, a sharp boxer who'd embarass top guys in the gym.
You could see his talent, but something was lacking, something inside.

I remember posters tacked to the dusty walls of Johnny Flores backyard gym.
Some were advertsing local amateur boxing cards, from venues of days gone by, such as the Valley Gardens Arena.
The Flores stable was well represented on some of those cards. Guys like Luis "The Lion" Perez, Larry Flores, Manuel Diaz.
These were the last generation, I'd be part of the next group.

Decades later, Frank Baltazar would put some perspective on what happened to Larry Flores.
"This guy was the best amateur fighter I seen come out of Los Angeles at the time, one of the best ever."
Baltazar continued, "But they pushed him to hard, over worked him, by the time he turned pro, he was burnt out."
Baltazar was careful to avoid the same when developing his own three son's boxing careers.

When I was seventeen, about a year before I turned pro, Julio became more involved in my training.
I began working out at Main Street on the weekends, and also a couple days during the week, and just two nights at Johnny's back yard gym.
I needed better boxing and that's what I got at the Main Street Gym.
Julio and I worked well together, and I began boxing with Navarro, Cisneros, and Ernie Lopez' amateur brother from Utah, Danny.

One evening, Julio and I were walking out to the parking lot behind the gym.
It was 1969, and I was driving a '55 Ford pick-up I'd just bought for $400.
Julio looked at the tires and shook his head. "Those are no good, your going to have a blow-out. I can get a you a new set, four tires for $50."

Julio worked at a tire and automotive shop on San Fernando Road near Lincoln Heights. The next day I'd call him and he'd tell me the address.

When I call, Julio tells me to park behind the building when I get there.
When I arrive, he meets me in the alley and tells me to wait there.
A few minutes later, I see a tire fall out of the back window of the garage, and then another, and two more.
I wait for Julio, as instructed, a moment later he appears and wants to hurry.
He and I pick up the tires from the alley and toss them in the bed of my pick-up.

I look the tires over and they are brand new. I hand him the money and thank him. Julio nodded, "See you later, at the gym."
I took the tires to a gas station and paid some guy to install them.
I still laugh every time I think of those tires flying out the back window. I never discussed the deal with Julio.

A few months later I'd have my pro debut. I'd close the show in a five-rounder, which was a pretty good fight.
The main event featured an up and coming Venezuelan featherweight contender and future world champ, Antonio Gomez.
In the dressing room, prior to my match, Julio asks me, "Are you nervous?" I answer, "I'm OK."
He then hands me a pill, "take this, it'll help your nerves."

The pill was a yellow & black capsule. I swallowed it and fifteen minutes later there was no way I could relax.
I never asked Julio about that pill. And he never again offered me one. But I threw a lot of leather that night.

I think of Julio every time I drive down San Fernando Road in Lincoln Heights.
Awhile back, I believe I heard Julio Flores had passed away. You'd think I would know, but sometimes we lose track of people.

Oddly, as close as I was to Julio in gym, camp, the ring, etc. I never knew much about him personally, as I did Johnny and the others.
Julio was solid, when I followed what he said, things worked. Julio worked "the basics," things that win fights. Common sense.

I recently communicated with Johnny Flores grandaughter. I remember when her mother was a little girl.
She was interested in my memories of her grandfather, and I will share some of mine.
I can't think of Johnny without so many others coming to mind. Thoughts of Julio Flores, make me smile.


-Rick Farris

Great story on Julio Flores Rick, too bad about Larry, yes, he was burnt out by the time he turned pro, as you know I seen many, many fighters come up the Jr. ranks and Larry Flores was the best I seen, if only he had not been worked so hard who knows what he could have been. There is a lesson to be learn in the Larry Flores story for young trainers, "Dont work a 8-9-10 year old kid like a pro, they don't need that, at that age all they need is to be taught the finer points of boxing, they don't need to run five miles or work round after round in the gym"
Just my opinion of course....

[dagosd2000]

Frank
You made a great point on the handling of young fighters. This applies to all young athletes who have not reached the teen years. I've seen fathers and coaches burn out kids mentally and physically pushing them too hard. They think more is better.I've seen the same with young dancers also. Sometimes Amanda will run into a instructor who wants too much out her at her young stage. First of all let the kid be a kid. He'll grow into it as he matures.If he has the passion,he'll develop. Push too hard and you'll put out the fire. Injuries are also a factor to bo considered. A child's body is still growing. You can do harm if too much strees is put on that young growing frame.

Good insight Frank

[kikibalt]

Frank
You made a great point on the handling of young fighters. This applies to all young athletes who have not reached the teen years. I've seen fathers and coaches burn out kids mentally and physically pushing them too hard. They think more is better.I've seen the same with young dancers also. Sometimes Amanda will run into a instructor who wants too much out her at her young stage. First of all let the kid be a kid. He'll grow into it as he matures.If he has the passion,he'll develop. Push too hard and you'll put out the fire. Injuries are also a factor to bo considered. A child's body is still growing. You can do harm if too much strees is put on that young growing frame.

Good insight Frank

Thanks Roger,

When I was training young kids, my included, I never train'em like pros, I spent lots of time teaching, not working their young bodys to the ground, no making weight at a young age when they are still growing, that will only hurt them, not help them in the long run...

[dagosd2000]

Frank
You made a great point on the handling of young fighters. This applies to all young athletes who have not reached the teen years. I've seen fathers and coaches burn out kids mentally and physically pushing them too hard. They think more is better.I've seen the same with young dancers also. Sometimes Amanda will run into a instructor who wants too much out her at her young stage. First of all let the kid be a kid. He'll grow into it as he matures.If he has the passion,he'll develop. Push too hard and you'll put out the fire. Injuries are also a factor to bo considered. A child's body is still growing. You can do harm if too much strees is put on that young growing frame.

Good insight Frank

Thanks Roger,

When I was training young kids, my included, I never train'em like pros, I spent lots of time teaching, not working their young bodys to the ground, no making weight at a young age when they are still growing, that will only hurt them, not help them in the long run...

Frank
Another good point on making weight with young kids. I saw it a lot in youth wrestling. My son was a natural 160 pounder,but the wrestling coach wanted him down to wrestle at 147. This isn't good for anyone's health,let alone a young man. You know pal sometimes when these kids see that winning isn't for them ,but it's about the coach or the father(mom's too),they shut down . They feel they're being used. The attention is not an act of love,but to feed an insecure ego of an adult.

[Expug]

Rog and Frank, you guys are completely right in your thoughts on teaching and training kids.
For years I taught kids judo along with adults. I had a couple basic rules when working with them also.
When they won or lost a match, I wanted them to not complain or fuss if they lost and I didnt want them rubbing it in or getting overly celebratory if they won.
Bow, shake hands and leave the mat after the bout.I also told them that I was not gonna yell scream and act like a fool as there coach. I taught them that we dont complain. We will compete as best we can and as hard as we can and thats where its at.
One other thing I strongly reccomended to the parents. I wanted the kids to also be involved in some type of team sport or activity outside judo. I wanted them to learn some accountability to others . Too often these kids in martial arts programs think its all about them all the time. me, me ,me. In the real world its not like that.

[dagosd2000]

Rog and Frank, you guys are completely right in your thoughts on teaching and training kids.
For years I taught kids judo along with adults. I had a couple basic rules when working with them also.
When they won or lost a match, I wanted them to not complain or fuss if they lost and I didnt want them rubbing it in or getting overly celebratory if they won.
Bow, shake hands and leave the mat after the bout.I also told them that I was not gonna yell scream and act like a fool as there coach. I taught them that we dont complain. We will compete as best we can and as hard as we can and thats where its at.
One other thing I strongly reccomended to the parents. I wanted the kids to also be involved in some type of team sport or activity outside judo. I wanted them to learn some accountability to others . Too often these kids in martial arts programs think its all about them all the time. me, me ,me. In the real world its not like that.

Brian
Maybe you ,me,and Frank should write a book on coaching. Yes,get a kid involved also in a team sport. How to work with others. Support your team mate. Learn how to rely on each other and back each other up. When a team mate gets down on himself,there's someone there to give him a lift.

This team approach is the only way a person can get through the military,for example,knowing that guy in the foxhole with you is willing to save your life ,and visa versa.

Too bad we don't see this attitude out in everyday life.

[kikibalt]

Rog and Frank, you guys are completely right in your thoughts on teaching and training kids.
For years I taught kids judo along with adults. I had a couple basic rules when working with them also.
When they won or lost a match, I wanted them to not complain or fuss if they lost and I didnt want them rubbing it in or getting overly celebratory if they won.
Bow, shake hands and leave the mat after the bout.I also told them that I was not gonna yell scream and act like a fool as there coach. I taught them that we dont complain. We will compete as best we can and as hard as we can and thats where its at.
One other thing I strongly reccomended to the parents. I wanted the kids to also be involved in some type of team sport or activity outside judo. I wanted them to learn some accountability to others . Too often these kids in martial arts programs think its all about them all the time. me, me ,me. In the real world its not like that.

Brian
Maybe you ,me,and Frank should write a book on coaching. Yes,get a kid involved also in a team sport. How to work with others. Support your team mate. Learn how to rely on each other and back each other up. When a team mate gets down on himself,there's someone there to give him a lift.

This team approach is the only way a person can get through the military,for example,knowing that guy in the foxhole with you is willing to save your life ,and visa versa.

Too bad we don't see this attitude out in everyday life.

I have to have menudo con pata at the Poblana Restaurant before talking about writing a book...

[Expug]

Well said Rog.
For years I ran my own Martial Arts dojo in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago.I taught Judo and Japanese Jiu Jitsu.
Then, I started teaching judo at a Karate school owned by a National Karate champion. I competed in judo all the while.
When I look back at all this , there is a sense of ambivalence however. The one thing thats sticks in my mind is that so often the sense of an "Ideal" that martial arts was supposed to instill, was very rarely on display. More often than not, it was selfish adults and kids and overly involved soccer moms sticking their noses in everywhere. It gets very tiresome.It wasnt so bad in the kids judo program that I ran because I ran a friendly but tight ship. What I said went. It had to be that way. I didnt want anyone getting hurt. The karate program was ridiculous as far as the parents running the show. The politics involved , the spoiled attitude with the kids, the sense of entitlement , it was bad.

[dagosd2000]

Rog and Frank, you guys are completely right in your thoughts on teaching and training kids.
For years I taught kids judo along with adults. I had a couple basic rules when working with them also.
When they won or lost a match, I wanted them to not complain or fuss if they lost and I didnt want them rubbing it in or getting overly celebratory if they won.
Bow, shake hands and leave the mat after the bout.I also told them that I was not gonna yell scream and act like a fool as there coach. I taught them that we dont complain. We will compete as best we can and as hard as we can and thats where its at.
One other thing I strongly reccomended to the parents. I wanted the kids to also be involved in some type of team sport or activity outside judo. I wanted them to learn some accountability to others . Too often these kids in martial arts programs think its all about them all the time. me, me ,me. In the real world its not like that.

Brian
Maybe you ,me,and Frank should write a book on coaching. Yes,get a kid involved also in a team sport. How to work with others. Support your team mate. Learn how to rely on each other and back each other up. When a team mate gets down on himself,there's someone there to give him a lift.

This team approach is the only way a person can get through the military,for example,knowing that guy in the foxhole with you is willing to save your life ,and visa versa.

Too bad we don't see this attitude out in everyday life.

I have to have menudo con pata at the Poblana Restaurant before talking about writing a book...

Thanks for sharing that. I'm in my prep class at school. I just forced down a granola bar. Maria's been gone with everyone in Mexico for a week. I've eaten so many tuna sandwiches,everytime I think of a tuna I want to put them on the endangered species list. I can go over to my sisters',but it ain't the same. Maria and the kids are over there eating menudo con pata and I'm eating the remains of Charlie The Tuna.

[kikibalt]

Come on over Roger, and we'll go have menudo con pata, then we'll go see the girls at Hank's, maybe play a little hanky panky with them....

You got time to get here, the menudo place don't open till nine... DD

[dagosd2000]

Come on over Roger, and we'll go have menudo con pata, then we'll go see the girls at Hank's, maybe play a little hanky panky with them....

You got time to get here, the menudo place don't open till nine... DD

Frank
Have you forgotten? I'm down here in San Diego. I only have an hour break. But since you have all this free time,you can come down here. The Adelita in TJ is open all night.

[kikibalt]

Come on over Roger, and we'll go have menudo con pata, then we'll go see the girls at Hank's, maybe play a little hanky panky with them....

You got time to get here, the menudo place don't open till nine... DD

Frank
Have you forgotten? I'm down here in San Diego. I only have an hour break. But since you have all this free time,you can come down here. The Adelita in TJ is open all night.

Hey dude!, what free time? I too work (albeit at home), I clean house, though Connie say I don't do a good job of it, do the laundry, btw, today is laundry day for me, go to the market, post office etc, etc.a on myself....

Yeah! one of these days we have to go to Adelita.....