Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Rick Farris]

Some Classic L.A. Boxing . . .


Gene LeBell on Lauro Salas:

"Babe McCoy sent me on all kinds of boxing errands. I was just a teenager and could barely tie my shoes. He had me make a hungover Lauro Salas get out of his bed and do his road work. Salas was a talented fighter from Mexico and he won the lightweight championship in a stunning upset over Jimmy Carter at the Olympic Auditorium in 1952. "The guy drinks alot," Babe informs me. "You have to go over to his place in the morning, get him out of bed and do roadwork. He can be hostile when he is drunk."

"Lauro Salas lived in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. It wasn't the worst neighborhood in the world but it wasn't the best, either. His apartment was on the bottom floor of a run down building. The first time I went to his room the door was open. It was a dirty place with beer bottles strewn about and Salas was passed out on his bed, asleep with his clothes still on from the night before. I shouted at him and tried to wake him up, but he barely responded. He was a dinky little guy back then and probably fought at 126 pounds, so I picked him up and dragged him outside. He started to struggle and muttered at me in Spanish. The fumes from his breath could have KOed any opponent at the moment."

"You're going to run five miles," I said, "Or else I'm going to strip you down and make you do it naked." He then shrugged me off and gave in. I moved him along and we ran around the park two times, which was maybe two miles. After that, we returned to his apartment, went in and lay down. Once he did that he was out cold again.

"I called Mr. McCoy, and told him what had happened, and that Lauro had done his roadwork. "Could you do it again tomorrow?" he asked, and of course I did. Babe used to pay me five dollars for making Lauro run, which was big money for a kid bak then, and without a doubt he over paid me. I doubt Salas' sparring partners were making that much."



-Gene LeBell, from "The Godfather of Grappling"

Great book isnt Rick?
I was gonna mention this story about Gene and Lauro Salas when you guys were posting about him the other day.
Great stuff in that book about The Olympic. It gave an outsider like myself a great feel for the place.Gene would know about it.As would you.

Brian, I also learned a lot. Great book, for sure.
It covers so much history and the charactors involved.
Everybody who posts here would like it, I believe.
Lots of Olympic history, inside stuff, some bad blood.
Lots of Hollywood history, as well.

[Expug]

Rick,I found it interesting that Genes relationship with Cal Eaton was often as strained as it was.
He seemed that Eaton was not really in his corner. He seemed against Genes judo and wrestling.Strange.
Did you ever hear anything about Cal Eaton Rick?

[raylawpc]

Desperate Attorney . . .

Tom could be written in as a tax attorney, who arrives at Wisteria Lane to aid Carlos in his efforts to hide money from the government and his wife. Tom might not normally due such an act, but he has fallen under the spell of one of the ladies, who is set on turning the tables on Carlos. And . . . .

Oh what tangles webs are weaved when you deal with Desperate Housewives.

Tom would never do such an act because Tom took an oath to never break the law and Tom does not want to ever reside in a federal penitentary. But, God help me, if anyone could ever tempt me to do something like that it would be Eva Longoria.

Eva's response . . .

"Oh c'mon, Tommy. Just this one time. Nobody will know, just us baby. . . "

My reply: "As long as you promise to never call me 'Tommy' again . . ."

[Expug]

Happy Birthday Tom.
Remember,the older the bull the stiffer the horn.

[raylawpc]

On a boring Sunday I'm watching "The Ring"

On a boring Sunday I'm supposed to be preparing for oral arguments in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but all I can think about is Eva Longoria. Thanks Rick . . .

[raylawpc]

Happy Birthday Tom.
Remember,the older the bull the stiffer the horn.

Thanks Brian! I believe that's the best birthday greeting I've gotten all weekend!!!

[CNorkusJr]

Fire Marshalls . . .


Charlie, with all the film work done in Manhatten, I imagine you have spent your share of time on film sets.
A fire marshall must always be present on location film sets, especially when there is fire in the scene.
On stage, at the studio, we don't have a fire marshall present unless fire is used.
Even something as simple as lighting a match requires the fire department be present.
The inspectors also check out our electrical rigs to see that we are not in violation of any health or safety laws.
I always make sure that my assistant walks the fire marshall thru our location rigs prior to filming.
I don't want the fireman addressing me in the middle of the set during a shot, regarding some safety issue.
There have been some major studio fires over the years, lots of combustable materials used.
AS Charlie might verify, film sets can be extremely dangerous places to work, lots of electricity, items that one can trip over, we are up in the air quite often, and equipment if not made safe can fall. When you ad the element of explosions, etc. it can be quite dangerous. We work with the fire marshalls to insure safety.

Yea you bet, Rick. In my area of midtown, we have miultiple active studios filming everyday scenes. Several Soap Operas on ABC-TV, Regis Philbin in the morning,David Letterman at the old Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway just around the corner. I could fill up the pages here with numerous stories I been to personally. The NYC Fire Dept (FDNY) has Fire Marshalls who's main assignment is investigating arson. They were active Firefighters who were promoted to that task. Instead the FDNY has a civilian force that makes less $$$ that is called Fire Prevention working under the FDNY umbrella as a whole. The Fire Prevention force is further sub-divided into categories such as Restaurant inspections, Theatrical Inspectors, Pyrothechnics Insp, Explosives unit(constuction site TNT-Manhattan is a granite island),Etc,Etc.
Each type of inspector is qualfied through his specialty schooling dealing with each item. If a Soap opera wishes to use live burning (candles, torch effects) the Theatrical Insp. are called in by the production team to check it out beforehand (Probably within 24 hrs of usage). Then the fire insp. will call in the local Fire Battalion Chief in that particular zone to okay it on paper. If the burning is a dangerous effect, the chief conferring with the Theatrics Insp.team could demand that the production require the use of a active fire truck to standby to the scene for filming,with hose lines all hooked up on standby.The city will bill the TV production company for its hourly rate on standby. Usually if its small or short duration (candle scene)
the chief will recommend that 2 stagehands must be just off screen with portable extinguishers throughout the take. Thus saving them the expense of the city's bill. Very common. (continued next page)

[CNorkusJr]

I worked quite a few fire truck standbys in my career, mostly with that nut David Letterman who likes to blow up stuff outdoors on W 53 St.
One day he had a an Olympic Archery Gold Medalist (USA) shooting burning arrows at a target about 75 feet away. The plan was to hit the target bullseye and it would set off pyrotechnics behind it shooting into the air.
The show is taped at 5pm for showing at 11pm EDT on same nite.
At 12 noon, we go there and meet the pyrotechnics Insp. for a run through practice.
NY has a law about how much theatrical explosives can be used.In this particular scene & location things that go off must go only 15 ft high about and be self extinguishing.
The pyrotechnics team hired by Letterman is from Jersey and never worked in NY before. We watched a run through and the pyro guy hits the fireworks button and holey toledo, the rockets are going 120 feet in the air and blowing up when they come close to the ground. Every one was diving for cover. Many of the rockets kept burning on top of the old Roseland Ballroom next block down. We ran a couple of hoselines there to put out the roof fire. The FDNY Insp. and Chief reamed this guy out and said "no" to the production. After many mini meetings for the next 3 hours, the guy agreed he could tone it down. The show was required to have 3 firetrucks on standby at the taping with Dave.It Must of set the show back $5,000 to $6,000 for us to be there. Chicken feed for Dave. The show went off better the second time around.

[CNorkusJr]

One last story. The Saturday Night Live show is filmed and always was at 30 Rockfeller Center 7th floor. One day at about 2 pm ,late December about 1987 or so, our dispatcher called us to check out a Fire Prevention complaint at the set. We went over with a fire truck to meet Lorne Michaels -the shows director and arrogant SOB. He didnt expect us.
It was going to be their Christmas show. NY Fire laws state no "Living" Xmas tree can be used with a public audience present. The tree on the set was real. My FireCaptain told Mr Michaels he must remove the tree by TV time. (Live show) and issued him a violation order to remove it in such a time.If they want a tree onset, it has to be fake. Well, Mr Michaels went nuts.
He said something like " I'll have all of your jobs-I know the mayor,he was on this show(true), I wont do it" We told him we will be back at 11pm to check on the tree removal or we remove the public audience,and physically remove the tree. He said go back to your firehouse and expect a call from your superiors. We left. Fought a couple of small fires in the interim. Never heard a thing. No Mayor or bigChief wants to Okay it in case it does catch fire and many lives are lost-Guess what the headlines would say the next day."MAYOR OKAYS TREE IN CITY BLAZE".
At 11 pm we went back and tree was changed out to fake. I had the task of going down to the basement with a rigger/stagehand to witness the chopped up real tree(must be cut up as not to be placed back when we leave). The rigger with me said he was a retired Firefighter-now doing this.
Lorne Michaels has been busting everyones union chops this week bad. The Firefighter turned rigger dropped a dime on him for the tree as he knew the fire laws too. The union men couldnt wait for us to confront him. The law is the law.
The guests that week were the Three Amigos. They were busy in costume and a live show-all run around like maniacs-but backstage Martin Short was nice and Steve Martin joked with us but Chevy Chase was a moron. Chase was full of himself. The whole event was something not unusual for my areas fire trucks to do. And yes Rick, I agree, TV & Movie sets are very dangerous electrical wise and scene backdrops wise. Lots of loose timber.
I also played a firefighter (background actor) in many movies and about 12 episodes of TV's "Third Watch". That was interesting work too.

[CNorkusJr]

David Letterman Show About 1991 ?
(L-R) Myself, Lt McCann, Matthew Perry , FF ONeal

On the set of David Letterman show. Here I was a background actor where FF ONeal & myself, took Matthew Perry up in a fire truck tower ladder (cherrypicker) so he could paint faces using a stick and cloth with black paint on a "Friends" TV show billboard across the street from the Ed Sullivan Studio where Dave films.I was off duty when we filmed it. I then walked 5 blocks to work afterwards and started my 6 pm shift.When the show ran later that night, I was out of the firehouse fighting a 2nd alarm and missed myself on TV.My friends said they saw me pretty good in close ups.

[CNorkusJr]

A few hours after the 9-11 disaster collapse, I was at Ground Zero looking for my Firehouse Brothers who perished at the site. All 15 guys working in my firehouse the shift that day got killed there. I worked shifts 24 hours on and 24 hrs off for a couple of weeks. One day I returned to the firehouse and the Capt pulled me aside. He said actor Michael Douglas just sent his personal secretary to our firehouse with 2 tickets for the Felix Trinidad/ Bernard Hopkins fight that night in Madison square Garden. The unification for the middleweight championship. My Capt. asked myself and another Firefighter Al Quinones if we wanted to go that night with the tickets. He knew who my dad was and thought I would like to go. Michael Douglas did not know who was going in his place but he knew where our firehouse was and thought we could use them.What a great guy. The tickets were for front row- I sat next to Spike Lee, football great Jim Brown and on the otherside of myself and Al was Michael J Fox. Here I am with Michael J Fox.
I didnt have nice clothes to wear as I planned to go home and sleep-it was a great fight though.

[bennie]

Great shots, Charley. Perry and Michael J. are two of my favourites.

[CNorkusJr]

Thanks Bennie, Both Matthew Perry and Michael J Fox were great guys to be around however brief it was. Both seemed to be in awe of us as being fireman, and we certainly had great respect for these great stars, but a little levity broke the ice and it seemed like we were old friends after a short while. Very nice guys to be around.
Please note that the camera adds about 50 pounds or (25 stones), to you in the pictures. :(

[bennie]

I was never a fan of Erik Morales. The tall Tijuana man bucked the classic Mexican fighting approach for swarming, snarling aggression as he stood off and picked straight, accurate punches. His cynical air, long before he ought to have been cynical, bothered me more. The very picture of aloofness, Erik is back again on Saturday when he tackles our own Willie Limond in a Mexico City 12-rounder.
Morales launched his comeback earlier this year with a 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Jose Alfaro in Monterrey up at welterweight. The 34-year-old millionaire had dropped out of boxing in 2007 after a run of defeats, two at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. He gorged himself and turned up at boxing events, fat, bored, more aloof than ever. Morales dearly missed the sport, so his return in March raised few eyebrows and he looked surprisingly good against Alfaro, although he didn’t have much to beat. Morales, who promotes this fight, drops down to light-welterweight for Limond, who is no banger and fights at lightweight. Call Erik aloof, don’t call him stupid.
Morales has enough left to beat anyone outside the top six or seven in the world at light-welterweight (and thus Limond) and is angling for a fourth showdown with Marco Antonio Barrera if gets past Limond, whom he dismisses as a stepping stone. The venue for Saturday is a bullring, able to house 50,000; the day, a celebration of Mexican Independence. The size of the task facing Limond - one helluva f ucking joiner - gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
Yes, Limond goes over as the whipping boy but the gritty, seasoned, capable Scot will have seen Ricky Burns upset the odds against Puerto Rico’s previously unbeaten Rocky Martinez over the weekend and nearly upset the odds himself when he floored an unbeaten Amir Khan amid a bloody, thrilling encounter in London in 2007 – now a leading light-welterweight like Morales. Limond, with Billy Nelson in his corner that night, found Khan easy to nail with the right and looked set for stunning victory when a series put Khan down in the sixth round, but the china-chinned Khan dragged himself up, fired right back and turned the fight his way. Limond, now trained by Peter Harrison, was rescued by Nelson two rounds later.
Limond seriously marks up in his fights, and an eardrum has gone a few times, but the sheer size of Morales and the altitude pose bigger threats to the 31-year-old Glaswegian, taking part in his first ever fight outside Britain. Willie lacks obvious experience abroad but also the clout to discourage the bigger Morales, who will be sinking in the body shots and revelling in the conditions, and revelling in his comeback. The light is back in Erik’s narrow eyes, the smirk on his thin lips.
Willie has enough guts and boxing ability to make it through to the final bell, where Morales takes the points, but a points defeat is as good as it gets on his own personal Mission Impossible.

[telboy66]

Thanks Bennie, Both Matthew Perry and Michael J Fox were great guys to be around however brief it was. Both seemed to be in awe of us as being fireman, and we certainly had great respect for these great stars, but a little levity broke the ice and it seemed like we were old friends after a short while. Very nice guys to be around.
Please note that the camera adds about 50 pounds or (25 stones), to you in the pictures. :(

I like that one Charlie by that reckoning Michael J must be just a shadow, But I have the same trouble people have to stand way back when taking my picture just to get me on A4

[Rick Farris]

Charlie . . . Thanks for sharing your experiences with the entertainment business. The celebs you sat ringside with were no doubt the ones most impressed. You FDNY guys are true heros. People talk about the courage of prizefighters, what about the guys that ran into those buildings leaving their own safety in the background. How much do you have to pay a man to put his life on the line? For most, no amount is enough. I've worked with Michael J. Fox, and I'm pretty certain he felt in the presence of true celebrity sitting with you and your buddy.

[Expug]

God bless you Charlie.
You and the men of your firehouse and all others are the heros.Thats for sure.

[bennie]

A belated happy birthday to BIG Tom Ray, the man who puts the 'A' in Oklahoma.

[CNorkusJr]

Very Kind words Rick & Expug,, Thank You. I am most humbled by the way people from around the world perceive us to be (Firefighters). Before 9-11 many people respected the position we play in life. Certainly firefighting leads us ,just like police,beach lifeguards and Servicemen & Service women to be put in the forefront of the news, to receive notoriety for our efforts. Sometimes its a tough thing to deal with. As a whole, I think I can say that all firefighters certainly appreciate the kind words and pats on the back,but we look at it in a different scale. We are all put here on earth as human beings and with beating hearts. We all care and love our fellow bretheren.Now certainly with strife and anger in the world, what separates us from the evil,most vile of humans is that we ALL(and I mean ALL who are reading this) care for each other,no matter where you are from. After 9-11, a tremendous outpouring of love and gratitude not only from US citizens but from the world was thrust upon us. Throngs of people came to NYC to see and feel that they needed to be there to feel the experience of it. Myself and my fellow firefighters,along with police,paramedics and the ironworkers would receive standing ovations from crowds of people that gathered near us
nearly everyday. I am no hero Rick. I worked alongside many individuals who did great things that would rival any movie blockbuster that you worked on.
I , like you,and all those reading this should feel we are all equal in the eyes of God for our concern and care for fellow humans anywhere.I took a test and competed for a job that I always would have liked to do in life. With perseverance I attained that job that help me support my family.
Because of our caring nature,any of us would have done anything to assist those people in need that day or any other day. I read about people like you and me everyday who put themselves in way of risk to save or help others in need. They are the true heroes of our life. You are right to point out that those who lost their lives that day at The World Trade Center are the heroes.
I find myself still overwhelmed by the fact that I happened to know them and their families and the scacrifices they made here on earth.
It is with great Pride and Concern that our Servicemen and Women come home safe to us to live the lives they hope to have. I am Blessed Rick,I was able to come home from 9-11, and I pray that none of us or our young children ever experience that kind of hate again.

[raylawpc]

A belated happy birthday to BIG Tom Ray, the man who puts the 'A' in Oklahoma.

Thanks Bennie.

[Rick Farris]

I was never a fan of Erik Morales. The tall Tijuana man bucked the classic Mexican fighting approach for swarming, snarling aggression as he stood off and picked straight, accurate punches. His cynical air, long before he ought to have been cynical, bothered me more. The very picture of aloofness, Erik is back again on Saturday when he tackles our own Willie Limond in a Mexico City 12-rounder.
Morales launched his comeback earlier this year with a 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Jose Alfaro in Monterrey up at welterweight. The 34-year-old millionaire had dropped out of boxing in 2007 after a run of defeats, two at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. He gorged himself and turned up at boxing events, fat, bored, more aloof than ever. Morales dearly missed the sport, so his return in March raised few eyebrows and he looked surprisingly good against Alfaro, although he didn’t have much to beat. Morales, who promotes this fight, drops down to light-welterweight for Limond, who is no banger and fights at lightweight. Call Erik aloof, don’t call him stupid.
Morales has enough left to beat anyone outside the top six or seven in the world at light-welterweight (and thus Limond) and is angling for a fourth showdown with Marco Antonio Barrera if gets past Limond, whom he dismisses as a stepping stone. The venue for Saturday is a bullring, able to house 50,000; the day, a celebration of Mexican Independence. The size of the task facing Limond - one helluva f ucking joiner - gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
Yes, Limond goes over as the whipping boy but the gritty, seasoned, capable Scot will have seen Ricky Burns upset the odds against Puerto Rico’s previously unbeaten Rocky Martinez over the weekend and nearly upset the odds himself when he floored an unbeaten Amir Khan amid a bloody, thrilling encounter in London in 2007 – now a leading light-welterweight like Morales. Limond, with Billy Nelson in his corner that night, found Khan easy to nail with the right and looked set for stunning victory when a series put Khan down in the sixth round, but the china-chinned Khan dragged himself up, fired right back and turned the fight his way. Limond, now trained by Peter Harrison, was rescued by Nelson two rounds later.
Limond seriously marks up in his fights, and an eardrum has gone a few times, but the sheer size of Morales and the altitude pose bigger threats to the 31-year-old Glaswegian, taking part in his first ever fight outside Britain. Willie lacks obvious experience abroad but also the clout to discourage the bigger Morales, who will be sinking in the body shots and revelling in the conditions, and revelling in his comeback. The light is back in Erik’s narrow eyes, the smirk on his thin lips.
Willie has enough guts and boxing ability to make it through to the final bell, where Morales takes the points, but a points defeat is as good as it gets on his own personal Mission Impossible.

Morales, with all the edges, may walk out of this fight with a win. But he best stay away from Marquez's, etc. He is a shot fighter in relation to world class boxing. He is one punch from palookaville. Today the name Erik Morales will fill out the "opponent" slot of the card. His past was brilliant, but his future is bleak. He is a rerun we've all seen too many times before.

[Rick Farris]

"I'll Find Him" . . .

It's been fifteen years. Last time I saw him was in September, 1995.
I had found his telephone number by calling information. It was an L.A. number, he lived near Glendale's Los Feliz district.
The phone number is no longer available. Understandable, the peaceful Mr. Hawkins has a history of counseling gang members.

I remember the street, but not the house. It's one of those long streets where every other house looks the same.
It was a nice place, and when I visited the Hawk in the 90's, his lovely Japanese wife served us a cake she'd baked.
We talked. I focused on boxing, Dwight would acknowledge, but divert the conversation back to his current interest.
Dwight's interest was L.A.'s growing gang problem.
At the time he was still a "trouble shooter" who worked as a liason between gangs and the L.A. City School District.

The Hawk knew L.A streets. He knew about gangs, he'd lived in the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts, as he attended Manuel Arts High School.
Dwight didn't think of his stunning upset knockout over bantamweight great, Jose Beccera.
Hawkins accomplished that feat at age 17, with just a dozen pro fights under his belt.
That was then, the gang problem in L.A. was Dwight's passion at the moment. It had been for more than three decades.

We talked a little about Dwight's career, and mostly about his current life.
Today, Dwight Hawkins is 70-years-old. And next year, he'll finally get some recognition for an amazing career.

Both Frank Baltazar and Don Fraser have assured Hawkins will be inducted into the CBHOF this next year.
I found the Hawk before, and I'll find him again.
I'm going to walk up & down the street until I find the right house, or get a lead to another location.

I'll find him!


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Liam Neeson brings Hollywood glamour to Belfast boxing exhibition



Hollywood star Liam Neeson has officially launched a new exhibition at Belfast City Hall, celebrating the history of boxing in the city.

Neeson, whose big screen hits include Schindler’s List, Michael Collins, Batman Begins, Narnia and Clash Of The Titans, also became a patron of a new initiative known as The Belfast Boxing Ring – a committee chaired by former Belfast Lord Mayor Alex Maskey and set up with the aim of commissioning a series of statues and plaques recognising the sport’s contribution to Belfast.

Neeson, himself a former amateur boxer who fought for the Ballymena All-Saints Club, also took the opportunity to have his picture taken with Belfast fight legend Freddie Gilroy (right). Over 40 years ago as a young amateur fighter Neeson was photographed meeting his hero when Gilroy reigned as British champion.

Ballymena-born Neeson, 58, cut the ribbon at the launch of the Belfast Boxing Ring’s exhibition which will show off some never-seen-before images of boxers and memorable moments in Belfast’s boxing history.

Neeson said: “It is an honour to be invited to become a patron of Belfast Boxing Ring and I support the aim of the committee to have the sport recognised in the city. Boxing has played such an important role in the development of Belfast throughout difficult times and has a huge part to play in the future.”

Boxing legend Freddie Gilroy said: “It’s an honour to have met Liam after all these years. I believe it was 47 years ago that Liam and I were pictured together and now we have a then and now picture which I will treasure. Liam is a wonderful man.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring is an initiative recognised by Belfast City Council and formed by ex-Lord Mayor of the city, Alex Maskey, who is also a former amateur boxer. The Belfast Boxing Ring Committee includes Mr Harry Doherty, Mr Eamon McAuley, Mr Barry Flynn, Mr Alex McGreevy and Mr David Larmour. Neeson met with the committee at Belfast City Hall yesterday to confirm his patronage of the Belfast Boxing Ring.

Alex Maskey, who as an amateur boxer shared fight cards with Neeson, said: “The story of Belfast would not be complete without recognising the huge contribution made to the life of the city by all those involved in boxing.

“The achievements of our boxing fraternity have been legendary and continue to provide us with untold enjoyment combined with a great sense of pride.

“We are rightly proud of the rich contribution boxing has made to the sporting, cultural, and community wellbeing of our city. Belfast Boxing Ring will celebrate and pay tribute to those past and present by commissioning a series of statues and plaques to be erected around our city.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring exhibition opens to the public tomorrow.

[Rick Farris]

Liam Neeson brings Hollywood glamour to Belfast boxing exhibition



Hollywood star Liam Neeson has officially launched a new exhibition at Belfast City Hall, celebrating the history of boxing in the city.

Neeson, whose big screen hits include Schindler’s List, Michael Collins, Batman Begins, Narnia and Clash Of The Titans, also became a patron of a new initiative known as The Belfast Boxing Ring – a committee chaired by former Belfast Lord Mayor Alex Maskey and set up with the aim of commissioning a series of statues and plaques recognising the sport’s contribution to Belfast.

Neeson, himself a former amateur boxer who fought for the Ballymena All-Saints Club, also took the opportunity to have his picture taken with Belfast fight legend Freddie Gilroy (right). Over 40 years ago as a young amateur fighter Neeson was photographed meeting his hero when Gilroy reigned as British champion.

Ballymena-born Neeson, 58, cut the ribbon at the launch of the Belfast Boxing Ring’s exhibition which will show off some never-seen-before images of boxers and memorable moments in Belfast’s boxing history.

Neeson said: “It is an honour to be invited to become a patron of Belfast Boxing Ring and I support the aim of the committee to have the sport recognised in the city. Boxing has played such an important role in the development of Belfast throughout difficult times and has a huge part to play in the future.”

Boxing legend Freddie Gilroy said: “It’s an honour to have met Liam after all these years. I believe it was 47 years ago that Liam and I were pictured together and now we have a then and now picture which I will treasure. Liam is a wonderful man.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring is an initiative recognised by Belfast City Council and formed by ex-Lord Mayor of the city, Alex Maskey, who is also a former amateur boxer. The Belfast Boxing Ring Committee includes Mr Harry Doherty, Mr Eamon McAuley, Mr Barry Flynn, Mr Alex McGreevy and Mr David Larmour. Neeson met with the committee at Belfast City Hall yesterday to confirm his patronage of the Belfast Boxing Ring.

Alex Maskey, who as an amateur boxer shared fight cards with Neeson, said: “The story of Belfast would not be complete without recognising the huge contribution made to the life of the city by all those involved in boxing.

“The achievements of our boxing fraternity have been legendary and continue to provide us with untold enjoyment combined with a great sense of pride.

“We are rightly proud of the rich contribution boxing has made to the sporting, cultural, and community wellbeing of our city. Belfast Boxing Ring will celebrate and pay tribute to those past and present by commissioning a series of statues and plaques to be erected around our city.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring exhibition opens to the public tomorrow.

This one can fight . . .

I watched Liam Neeson in "The Boxer" and I could see that he had been a boxer.
In that film he impressed me with his boxing skills, unlike most boxing pics when actors play boxers.

[Randyman]

Liam Neeson brings Hollywood glamour to Belfast boxing exhibition



Hollywood star Liam Neeson has officially launched a new exhibition at Belfast City Hall, celebrating the history of boxing in the city.

Neeson, whose big screen hits include Schindler’s List, Michael Collins, Batman Begins, Narnia and Clash Of The Titans, also became a patron of a new initiative known as The Belfast Boxing Ring – a committee chaired by former Belfast Lord Mayor Alex Maskey and set up with the aim of commissioning a series of statues and plaques recognising the sport’s contribution to Belfast.

Neeson, himself a former amateur boxer who fought for the Ballymena All-Saints Club, also took the opportunity to have his picture taken with Belfast fight legend Freddie Gilroy (right). Over 40 years ago as a young amateur fighter Neeson was photographed meeting his hero when Gilroy reigned as British champion.

Ballymena-born Neeson, 58, cut the ribbon at the launch of the Belfast Boxing Ring’s exhibition which will show off some never-seen-before images of boxers and memorable moments in Belfast’s boxing history.

Neeson said: “It is an honour to be invited to become a patron of Belfast Boxing Ring and I support the aim of the committee to have the sport recognised in the city. Boxing has played such an important role in the development of Belfast throughout difficult times and has a huge part to play in the future.”

Boxing legend Freddie Gilroy said: “It’s an honour to have met Liam after all these years. I believe it was 47 years ago that Liam and I were pictured together and now we have a then and now picture which I will treasure. Liam is a wonderful man.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring is an initiative recognised by Belfast City Council and formed by ex-Lord Mayor of the city, Alex Maskey, who is also a former amateur boxer. The Belfast Boxing Ring Committee includes Mr Harry Doherty, Mr Eamon McAuley, Mr Barry Flynn, Mr Alex McGreevy and Mr David Larmour. Neeson met with the committee at Belfast City Hall yesterday to confirm his patronage of the Belfast Boxing Ring.

Alex Maskey, who as an amateur boxer shared fight cards with Neeson, said: “The story of Belfast would not be complete without recognising the huge contribution made to the life of the city by all those involved in boxing.

“The achievements of our boxing fraternity have been legendary and continue to provide us with untold enjoyment combined with a great sense of pride.

“We are rightly proud of the rich contribution boxing has made to the sporting, cultural, and community wellbeing of our city. Belfast Boxing Ring will celebrate and pay tribute to those past and present by commissioning a series of statues and plaques to be erected around our city.”

The Belfast Boxing Ring exhibition opens to the public tomorrow.

This one can fight . . .

I watched Liam Neeson in "The Boxer" and I could see that he had been a boxer.
In that film he impressed me with his boxing skills, unlike most boxing pics when actors play boxers.

I can see how it would be easy to confuse the two, with both of them being tall and rangy but I believe it was Daniel Day Lewis that appeared in the 1997 film "The Boxer". I thought he made a believable boxer, not all actors do. Regardless both Neeson and Lewis strike me as two men that can take car of themselves.