Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

“The Blonde Lady”
By Frank Baltazar

In the early 60’s, a friend, who shall remain anonymous to protect his innocents, and I had being nite club hopping in East Los Angeles, about one AM, an hour before the clubs closed, we walked into Bradly’s on Whittier Blvd. Sitting on the bar in the dark club was a lady who looked to be a blonde, but as I got a closer look I could tell it was just gray hair.

Bradly’s had live music.
“Would you care to dance?” my friend ask the lady.
“Yes” said the lady
After a few dances my friend tells me.
“I’m going to leave you here, I’m going with the blonde”
“She’s not a blonde, that’s gray hair, man, she’s over 50 years old!, but do what you have to do” I said.
My friend been some what drunk was seeing blonde.
“I’ll see you tomorrow” he tells me as they walked out, he with a big smile on his face.

Next day he comes over to my house and said.
“Lets go visit the blonde.”
“I’m telling you she is not a blonde, its gray hair!” I said
We get to her house, he knocks on the door and a gray hair lady opened the door.
“Shit!, it is gray hair!, lets get out of here!” said my friend.
On the way to my house I asked him.
“Couldn’t you tell it was gray hair and not blonde when you got to her house last night?”, okay early morning.
“No, I was drunk and she never turn the lights on!”

So much for the blonde lady…..

[Rick Farris]

“The Blonde Lady”
By Frank Baltazar

In the early 60’s, a friend, who shall remain anonymous to protect his innocents, and I had being nite club hopping in East Los Angeles, about one AM, an hour before the clubs closed, we walked into Bradly’s on Whittier Blvd. Sitting on the bar in the dark club was a lady who looked to be a blonde, but as I got a closer look I could tell it was just gray hair.

Bradly’s had live music.
“Would you care to dance?” my friend ask the lady.
“Yes” said the lady
After a few dances my friend tells me.
“I’m going to leave you here, I’m going with the blonde”
“She’s not a blonde, that’s gray hair, man, she’s over 50 years old!, but do what you have to do” I said.
My friend been some what drunk was seeing blonde.
“I’ll see you tomorrow” he tells me as they walked out, he with a big smile on his face.

Next day he comes over to my house and said.
“Lets go visit the blonde.”
“I’m telling you she is not a blonde, its gray hair!” I said
We get to her house, he knocks on the door and a gray hair lady opened the door.
“Shit!, it is gray hair!, lets get out of here!” said my friend.
On the way to my house I asked him.
“Couldn’t you tell it was gray hair and not blonde when you got to her house last night?”, okay early morning.
“No, I was drunk and she never turn the lights on!”

So much for the blonde lady…..

[THEHAMMER321]

“The Blonde Lady”
By Frank Baltazar

In the early 60’s, a friend, who shall remain anonymous to protect his innocents, and I had being nite club hopping in East Los Angeles, about one AM, an hour before the clubs closed, we walked into Bradly’s on Whittier Blvd. Sitting on the bar in the dark club was a lady who looked to be a blonde, but as I got a closer look I could tell it was just gray hair.

Bradly’s had live music.
“Would you care to dance?” my friend ask the lady.
“Yes” said the lady
After a few dances my friend tells me.
“I’m going to leave you here, I’m going with the blonde”
“She’s not a blonde, that’s gray hair, man, she’s over 50 years old!, but do what you have to do” I said.
My friend been some what drunk was seeing blonde.
“I’ll see you tomorrow” he tells me as they walked out, he with a big smile on his face.

Next day he comes over to my house and said.
“Lets go visit the blonde.”
“I’m telling you she is not a blonde, its gray hair!” I said
We get to her house, he knocks on the door and a gray hair lady opened the door.
“Shit!, it is gray hair!, lets get out of here!” said my friend.
On the way to my house I asked him.
“Couldn’t you tell it was gray hair and not blonde when you got to her house last night?”, okay early morning.
“No, I was drunk and she never turn the lights on!”

So much for the blonde lady…..

Frank I would say that falls under the category of '' a stiff D--k has no conscience''

[Rick Farris]

I Guess We Were Spoiled? . . .


Every Thursday . . . fifty weeks a year, that's how often the Olympic Auditorium showcased professional boxing in L.A. during the 60's and 70's.
And every card was televised, every thursday night from 8-10pm. The bigger matches took place following the televised card, off TV.
Until the late 60's, KTLA Ch-5 broadcast Boxing from the Olympic. During the 70's it was KCOP-TV Ch.13.

After last weekend, my friend Michael Castellano told me how much he enjoyed the CBHOF lunch.
Michael wanted to see a fight live, as we used to do years ago at the Olympic, after I'd stopped boxing.
I had to tell Michael that it isn't as easy as it used to be for L.A. residents to catch a live boxing card.
Occasionally, Golden Boy will throw in a half-ass card at the Staples Center, and the HBO group will converge.
Few of these Golden Boy-HBO productions can sell out a huge venue such as the Staples Center.
They really don't care, HBO brings the money, the audience is simple background players, atmosphere as we say in the film industry.
The audience is strictly a visual enhancement, one to enhance the TV broadcast. Sometimes the majority of the crowd is comped.
Tickets are usually easy to come by, and good deals are possible. However, it still doesn't remedy a sick attraction.

Aileen Eaton and her matchmakers over the years, George Parnassus, Mickey Davies and Don Chargin, were master matchmakers. These guys all knew boxing and fighters, and they knew what would result in a good match, often, they were great matches.
We watched the fight's courtesy of the TV sponsors who advertised beer, and other products.
Felix Chevrolet bought advertising time and sold a lot of cars to Southern Cal viewers.
Everybody made money, accept of course, the boxers. Somebody always devides the profits in a way that never puts cash in a boxers pocket.
But the boxers benefitted from becoming bigger attractions by way of fighting on TV.
And they became household names among the vast and diverse West Coast fight crowd.

We had it good in L.A. back in the day.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

CBHOF-2010



Rick Farris & Bobby Chacon

[kikibalt]

Denny Moyer, 70, passed away June 30,2010 in an adult foster care center in Portland, Oregon.

R.I.P Denny

[Rick Farris]

Denny Moyer, 70, passed away June 30,2010 in an adult foster care center in Portland, Oregon.

R.I.P Denny

In 1963, Denny Moyer decisioned Joey Giambra over fifteen rounds to win the vacant World Jr. Middleweight title.
Moyer is considered the greatest boxer to hail from the State of Oregon.
Rest in Peace, champ.

[Expug]

Sorry to hear about Moyer.
I'll never forget him coming to Chicago and slapping around Rocky Defazio.
Rockys people must have thought Moyer who was passed it, would be a nice notch on the prospects belt.
Didnt happen that way.
Rog had some great stories about Moyer.

[bennie]

The first ever world light-middleweight champion, Denny Moyer, passed away in a nursing home in his home city of Portland, Oregon, last Wednesday (June 30). He was 70 and had suffered pugilistica dementia for many years.
Moyer, a ruggedly handsome Irish-American with real boxing ability, guts and toughness, racked up 97 career wins and won his world title in Portland in 1962 with a 15-round decision over Joey Giambra but lost it a year later to Ralph Dupas, narrowly on points, and was outscored again by Dupas when he tried to win it back. Finished? Moyer had barely even started as he compiled 140 fights in a career that began in his teenage years in 1957 and lasted until 1975.
Moyer was the ultimate cross-generation fighter who fought everyone, from Sugar Ray Robinson to Carlos Monzon, Benny "Kid" Paret to Vito Antuofermo, Luis Rodriguez to Tony Mundine, Don Jordan to Cyclone Hart, Tony DeMarco to Nino Benvenuti… He beat Robinson, Paret, DeMarco, Emile Griffith, Virgil Atkins, Johnny Saxton and so many other names but, not a big banger, developed into a world class opponent in his later pro years, although he got a shot at Monzon for the world middleweight title in Italy in 1972 and was knocked out in five rounds by the monster Argentine.
Moyer, a hard-living, bar-brawling throwback to Jack Dempsey's hobo days, drank heavily but never forgot how to box and was stopped only seven times. Boxing historian Dan Hanley witnessed his 138th fight when he schooled the previously unbeaten Rocky DiFazio over 10 rounds in Chicago. "Moyer was like a surgeon," he said. "His combinations were awesome. He had everyone wondering what he must have been like in his prime." Two fights later, in Austria, a points defeat to Franz Csandl convinced the 35-year-old Moyer to go home and hang up the gloves.
Former boxer Roger Esty remembers how Moyer was brought to San Diego to 'steady' a talented but immature light-middleweight, Ronnie Wilson, who merely steadied into the same alcoholic, free-living, fight-taking squanderer as Moyer, both men doing the only thing they knew to make a fast buck. "Irish Bob Murphy mostly acted alone," said Esty of the notoriously quick-tempered Murphy. "Moyer and Wilson were double trouble."
Remarkably, Moyer kept his head down after his retirement but news broke in 2004 of his severe health problems, three years after he failed to attend his induction into the World boxing Hall of Fame.

[kikibalt]

Bennie, thanks for that great write-up....

http://www.afterthelastround.com/
"After The Last Round"

[Randyman]

Denny Moyer, 70, passed away June 30,2010 in an adult foster care center in Portland, Oregon.

R.I.P Denny

Sorry to hear about Denny's passing. R.I.P. Denny!

[Randyman]

The first ever world light-middleweight champion, Denny Moyer, passed away in a nursing home in his home city of Portland, Oregon, last Wednesday (June 30). He was 70 and had suffered pugilistica dementia for many years.
Moyer, a ruggedly handsome Irish-American with real boxing ability, guts and toughness, racked up 97 career wins and won his world title in Portland in 1962 with a 15-round decision over Joey Giambra but lost it a year later to Ralph Dupas, narrowly on points, and was outscored again by Dupas when he tried to win it back. Finished? Moyer had barely even started as he compiled 140 fights in a career that began in his teenage years in 1957 and lasted until 1975.
Moyer was the ultimate cross-generation fighter who fought everyone, from Sugar Ray Robinson to Carlos Monzon, Benny "Kid" Paret to Vito Antuofermo, Luis Rodriguez to Tony Mundine, Don Jordan to Cyclone Hart, Tony DeMarco to Nino Benvenuti… He beat Robinson, Paret, DeMarco, Emile Griffith, Virgil Atkins, Johnny Saxton and so many other names but, not a big banger, developed into a world class opponent in his later pro years, although he got a shot at Monzon for the world middleweight title in Italy in 1972 and was knocked out in five rounds by the monster Argentine.
Moyer, a hard-living, bar-brawling throwback to Jack Dempsey's hobo days, drank heavily but never forgot how to box and was stopped only seven times. Boxing historian Dan Hanley witnessed his 138th fight when he schooled the previously unbeaten Rocky DiFazio over 10 rounds in Chicago. "Moyer was like a surgeon," he said. "His combinations were awesome. He had everyone wondering what he must have been like in his prime." Two fights later, in Austria, a points defeat to Franz Csandl convinced the 35-year-old Moyer to go home and hang up the gloves.
Former boxer Roger Esty remembers how Moyer was brought to San Diego to 'steady' a talented but immature light-middleweight, Ronnie Wilson, who merely steadied into the same alcoholic, free-living, fight-taking squanderer as Moyer, both men doing the only thing they knew to make a fast buck. "Irish Bob Murphy mostly acted alone," said Esty of the notoriously quick-tempered Murphy. "Moyer and Wilson were double trouble."
Remarkably, Moyer kept his head down after his retirement but news broke in 2004 of his severe health problems, three years after he failed to attend his induction into the World boxing Hall of Fame.

Thank you for that Bennie,

Randy

[Randyman]

Happy 4th of July!

Randy

[bennie]

Thanks Frankie and Randy. I wish Roger were here to give us his unrivalled insight on Moyer.

[Expug]

Thanks for the write up Bennie.
Great stuff really.
Agreed about Rog.

[Randyman]

By Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz

July 3, 2010 - I am the son of Mexican immigrants who is a professional boxer with a college diploma. I have earned three world titles in my career and I am training to fight Juan Manuel Marquez for the Unified Lightweight World Championship on July 31. I also own a construction business with my brother and am taking the necessary steps to become a lawyer.

This is because my parents had the foresight to move to the United States so that I could have these opportunities. As we celebrate the Fourth of July, it is important to remember that we live in a country where anything is possible and the "America Dream" is real.

As a young boy, I saw the troubles my immigrant family and friends faced while working to become citizens and acquire the same unalienable rights that Americans often take for granted. There are millions of Mexican immigrants in this country and I know that there are others out there like me who are on the brink of greatness, and could even be the missing link in solving some of this country's toughest problems.

We have reached a crossroads in the way our country handles immigration. In some ways, it seems as though we are taking a step backward with the passage of Arizona SB 1070 which I feel violates basic rights. Despite my feelings about this specific law, I believe in our system of government. I believe in the people's right to vote and to choose who represents them. I believe in checks and balances.

After my days in the ring are over, I want to be a successful lawyer who champions rights for the people. I want to contribute to our democracy and pay my good fortune forward to those who are seeking the opportunities that our Founding Fathers had in mind. I want to help people see that the "American Dream" is not a thing of the past, but a thing of the present and I hope that the Fourth of July is a reminder of how lucky we are to live in this country.



Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz
Courtesy: thesweetscience.com

[kikibalt]

Happy Birthday to our dysfuntional family, the United States Of America...

[kikibalt]

My friend John McDermott from New Jersey send me a copy on DVD of the Gil Caddili vs Miguel Barrios fight and nowhere else is the Johnny Forbes classic boxing style more in display then in this fight "Truly Classic".

I got to see lots of Johnny Forbes's trained fighters and they all had that classic boxing style.

[Rick Farris]

My friend John McDermott from New Jersey send me a copy on DVD of the Gil Caddili vs Miguel Barrios fight and nowhere else is the Johnny Forbes classic boxing style more in display then in this fight "Truly Classic".

I got to see lots of Johnny Forbes's trained fighters and they all had that classic boxing style.

Frank, I've been watching videos of Gil Cadilli and I can see the classic style you are referring to.
I saw the same style in brief cuts of Keeny Teran. Those guys were always ready and in control.
To show the quality of that style, Willie Pep lost only ten times in well over two hundred fights. One of those losses was to Gil Cadilli.
I can only imagine the great fight that pitted Teran and Cadilli in a six-rounder at the Legion.
I don't know how much involvment I will have in the WBHOF next year, but I do wish to see that Forbes receives posthumous induction (trainer catagory).
That style, in my opinion, is the epitome of boxing.

[Panzerfaust]

My friend John McDermott from New Jersey send me a copy on DVD of the Gil Caddili vs Miguel Barrios fight and nowhere else is the Johnny Forbes classic boxing style more in display then in this fight "Truly Classic".

I got to see lots of Johnny Forbes's trained fighters and they all had that classic boxing style.

[kikibalt]

My friend John McDermott from New Jersey send me a copy on DVD of the Gil Caddili vs Miguel Barrios fight and nowhere else is the Johnny Forbes classic boxing style more in display then in this fight "Truly Classic".

I got to see lots of Johnny Forbes's trained fighters and they all had that classic boxing style.

Frank, I've been watching videos of Gil Cadilli and I can see the classic style you are referring to.
I saw the same style in brief cuts of Keeny Teran. Those guys were always ready and in control.
To show the quality of that style, Willie Pep lost only ten times in well over two hundred fights. One of those losses was to Gil Cadilli.
I can only imagine the great fight that pitted Teran and Cadilli in a six-rounder at the Legion.
I don't know how much involvment I will have in the WBHOF next year, but I do wish to see that Forbes receives posthumous induction (trainer catagory).
That style, in my opinion, is the epitome of boxing.

The Chavez brothers, Carlos and Al, the Campos brothers, Frankie and Juan Luis and Vince Delgado all had that classic Johnny Forbes taught style of boxing.

[kikibalt]

CBHOF-2010



Tom Ray, Rick Farris & Randy De La O

[Rick Farris]

A Fool's Image of Invincibility . . .


I suppose in absence of a strong talent pool, comtemporary boxing promoters have to rely on creating an image of invincibility to assist marketing today's moderate quality prizefighters. Don't get me wrong, we do have one throwback type champ which can be credited for reminding boxing fans of what true talent really is, however, Manny Pac is a lone wolf, unique in an era that pales in comaparison to days gone by. But the Filippino super champ is pretty close to the end of the line. Nothing more to prove aside from a questionable title match with a reluctant Floyd Mayweather Jr. I'd love to see if the charismatic Pac Man can put together one last super fight against Mayweather, which would likely lead to two more because nobody will lose this one big, or even get hurt. They could cruise thru three great fights and make nine figures each.

Today we need to pull out all the tricks to hype a promotion, even if it means dropping to cheap wrestling type tactics.
The sneering and scowling I see on some boxer's faces today at press conferences, etc. really makes watching the fight difficult for me.
They are already pumping the drama outside the ring, which tends to eliminate the drama that is supposed to take place later, inside the ring.

Danny Lopez and Bobby Chacon didn't have act like they hated each other, the fact is, although cross-town rivals, they were friends.
Same was true a more than a quarter-century earlier, when Gil Cadilli and Keeny Teran were matched in six-rounder at the Legion.
Teran and Cadilli were both ELA guys, who grew up together in the Forbes stable. They were neighborhood rivals, friends but foes as pros.
Friendship is respectfully set aside in the ring. Fight a respectful fight and try to knock the guy out.
When friends fight friends, or brothers fight brothers, sometimes the closeness fuels a fire, leading to a deadly match.

Today we gotta watch tip-tap punching, point-oriented escape artisits, and listen to guys like team HBO tell us these guys are great.
An Armenian champ recently told the press he hoped he kills his challenger. Of course, the tough little Mexican he stepped into the ring with didn't understand English or Armenian, only that he would have things easier in life if he could win. So that's what he did, he thrashed the guy who hoped to kill him. I guess that's one thing I love so much about the great Mexican fighters, they don't need rap music, trash talk or forced drug testing to make their point. The Mexicans make their statement in the ring, and they come to take your title.

The key today is not to let your fighter lose. Losing they don't understand today, the kids who run the networks. If they didn't grow up in front of Play Stations and computor screens, they might have lived a little life and realize that somedays people lose. Even the truly best wake up on the wrong side of the bed at times. The champs of my era stayed sharp by staying busy in ten round non-title fights. Sometimes they'd use these as tune-ups, and they lost occasionally. But that didn't challenge their true greatness, it just gave us a clearer view of what happens when boxers are matched competitivly. You see better boxing, and the fighters become better boxers, they continue to grow and muture in the ring. A loss can be good. It will only challenge a guy who's heart may not be in it as once believed. An ass-whipping gets a fighter's attention. A real fighter wants to turn things around.

Parnassus knew this, and of course, so did Aileen Eaton, Don Fraser and Don Chargin.
As time marches on, people are becoming stupider by the day. As Mel Epstein would say, "dumb bastids!"


-Rick Farris

[bennie]

CBHOF-2010



Tom Ray, Rick Farris & Randy De La O

Perhaps I shouldn't ask, but was there any attempt at a reconcilliation with Roger at this event?

[scartissue]

A Fool's Image of Invincibility . . .


I suppose in absence of a strong talent pool, comtemporary boxing promoters have to rely on creating an image of invincibility to assist marketing today's moderate quality prizefighters. Don't get me wrong, we do have one throwback type champ which can be credited for reminding boxing fans of what true talent really is, however, Manny Pac is a lone wolf, unique in an era that pales in comaparison to days gone by. But the Filippino super champ is pretty close to the end of the line. Nothing more to prove aside from a questionable title match with a reluctant Floyd Mayweather Jr. I'd love to see if the charismatic Pac Man can put together one last super fight against Mayweather, which would likely lead to two more because nobody will lose this one big, or even get hurt. They could cruise thru three great fights and make nine figures each.

Today we need to pull out all the tricks to hype a promotion, even if it means dropping to cheap wrestling type tactics.
The sneering and scowling I see on some boxer's faces today at press conferences, etc. really makes watching the fight difficult for me.
They are already pumping the drama outside the ring, which tends to eliminate the drama that is supposed to take place later, inside the ring.

Danny Lopez and Bobby Chacon didn't have act like they hated each other, the fact is, although cross-town rivals, they were friends.
Same was true a more than a quarter-century earlier, when Gil Cadilli and Keeny Teran were matched in six-rounder at the Legion.
Teran and Cadilli were both ELA guys, who grew up together in the Forbes stable. They were neighborhood rivals, friends but foes as pros.
Friendship is respectfully set aside in the ring. Fight a respectful fight and try to knock the guy out.
When friends fight friends, or brothers fight brothers, sometimes the closeness fuels a fire, leading to a deadly match.

Today we gotta watch tip-tap punching, point-oriented escape artisits, and listen to guys like team HBO tell us these guys are great.
An Armenian champ recently told the press he hoped he kills his challenger. Of course, the tough little Mexican he stepped into the ring with didn't understand English or Armenian, only that he would have things easier in life if he could win. So that's what he did, he thrashed the guy who hoped to kill him. I guess that's one thing I love so much about the great Mexican fighters, they don't need rap music, trash talk or forced drug testing to make their point. The Mexicans make their statement in the ring, and they come to take your title.

The key today is not to let your fighter lose. Losing they don't understand today, the kids who run the networks. If they didn't grow up in front of Play Stations and computor screens, they might have lived a little life and realize that somedays people lose. Even the truly best wake up on the wrong side of the bed at times. The champs of my era stayed sharp by staying busy in ten round non-title fights. Sometimes they'd use these as tune-ups, and they lost occasionally. But that didn't challenge their true greatness, it just gave us a clearer view of what happens when boxers are matched competitivly. You see better boxing, and the fighters become better boxers, they continue to grow and muture in the ring. A loss can be good. It will only challenge a guy who's heart may not be in it as once believed. An ass-whipping gets a fighter's attention. A real fighter wants to turn things around.

Parnassus knew this, and of course, so did Aileen Eaton, Don Fraser and Don Chargin.
As time marches on, people are becoming stupider by the day. As Mel Epstein would say, "dumb bastids!"


-Rick Farris

Rick, you bring up an excellent point in your 2nd to last paragraph dealing with the loss. Fighters today are marketed rather than taught. A loss is a lesson, not a career-ending event. Every fighter today that loses the "0", what is the first thing they say? "I had a problem with the weight, so I'm moving up." What if Danny Lopez said that after the Bobby Chacon fight? Or if Bobby said that after the Ruben Olivares fight? These guys shrugged their shoulders and got back up on the horse. Today, we have an exemplary example of a no-frills hard-working champion who dealt with early career losses, who still flies under the radar in Humberto Soto. I was fortunate enough to see him live hand Rocky Juarez his 1st loss. I think Soto embodies what you were referring to. He may not be all-time class, but he is dogged and doesn't lose heart and has made a real success of his career through doggedness. The definition of a fighter.

Scartissue