Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Rick Farris]

A short anecdote from my visit to Hollywood :

I walked between my hotel on North highland and Wildcard on Vine str about 3-4 times a day. after the first couple of days i grew tired of the normal route i walked so i tried to find new ones. Walking back from the gym one night after they closed i was walking by a closed down hotel ,Tom Sawyers i think it was called . Suddenly i was approached by 4 or 5 black guys dressed like they came straight out of a rap video . Me being a country boy not accustomed to the big city's thought '' crapp there goes my last dollars'' and my heart started pumping. As they approached me one of them called out ''yo,where you buy your shirt?'' We had a quite nice little chat about the shirt before i went on back to my hotel.. I guess things aint as bad as they show on tv

Remy, there are a lot of crazy looking people wandering around Hollywood streets. Some are really crazy, most are bizarre at best, but most are harmless. When it to dangerous, I know of a few other areas in Southern Cal that are best to avoid.

[Rick Farris]

Hey Brian . . .

I've been following the Black Hawks from a distance.
Hope things are going well for you.

[kikibalt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy64HxDZTEc
Juan Kid Meza vs Jaime Garza
In all honesty these two guys were no more then glorified amateurs, guys that never learned how to fight....

[Rick Farris]

Rush hour in Ireland

[Rick Farris]

I found this of Phil Kim on youtube. This guy was as tough as they come!!

Carmine Fiore vs Phil Kim round 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-6Pt_tTmSY

Kim was beatable, but you had to work your ass off to beat him....

I was at the Olympic for his fight with Art Aragon....

Phil Kim suffered a tragic death. Was murdered.
My friend Karl Neslon remembered seeing him fight at both the Olympic and the Hollywood Legion.
Not an all-time great, but a tough guy who fought some of the best.
Ramon Fuentes whipped Carmine Fiore over ten rounds at the Olympic in 1954.
By the way, thanks for posting that clip. Shades of a better era.

[Rick Farris]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy64HxDZTEc
Juan Kid Meza vs Jaime Garza
In all honesty these two guys were no more then glorified amateurs, guys that never learned how to fight....

I agree, Frank. All Garza brought into a match was a pair of heavy hands. This fight was his first loss and it basically ended him.
I remember that Benny Georgino loved Jaime Garza, but I always thought he was just an unskilled puncher.
This fight took his heart, afterwards he was finished.

[kikibalt]

Art Aragon didn't have much luck against eastern fighters, but he did beat Danny Giovanelli



Danny Giovanelli

birth date 1932-05-25

division welterweight
stance orthodox
height 5′ 10″ / 178cm

country United States
residence Brooklyn, New York, United States

won 30 (KO 13) + lost 9 (KO 2) + drawn 1 = 40
rounds boxed 284 KO% 32.5


1957-03-11 150 Tony DiBiase 148 16-1-1
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States L UD 10 10
referee: Petey Scalzo 3-6 | judge: Leo Birnbaum 3-6 | judge: Al Singer 2-8

1956-10-08 150¾ Joe Miceli 145½ 49-26-7
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States L UD 10 10
referee: Ray Miller 4-5 | judge: Bert Grant 3-6 | judge: Joe Eppy 2-7
Giovanelli was down in 2nd round.

1956-09-03 148¾ Gene Poirier 150¼ 15-6-3
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States W UD 10 10
Poirier was knocked down right before the bell to end the 10th round.

1956-07-23 151½ Gene Poirier 151½ 15-5-3
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States W TKO 8 10
time: 2:49 | referee: Barney Felix
"Each fighter was down in the 8th session in one of the most furious finishes in a fight here this year
(United Press)

1956-03-27 149 Art Aragon 148 70-16-5
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States L KO 9 10
time: 1:31 | referee: Frankie Van

1955-12-13 151 Miguel Diaz 150 44-9-2
Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States L SD 10 10
referee: Bill Regan
Giovanelli was knocked out of the ring in the 8th.

1955-11-07 150½ Danny Jo Perez 151 16-5-1
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Mark Conn 7-3 | judge: Joe Agnello 7-3 | judge: Al Singer 6-3

1955-10-31 150¼ Giampaolo Melis 148 34-8-2
St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States W UD 10 10

1955-08-24 153¾ Ray Drake 156¾ 20-4-0
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States L UD 10 10
referee: Ray Miller 4-5 | judge: Joe Agnello 3-7 | judge: Frank Forbes 2-8

1955-04-11 150 Christian Christensen 143 26-5-2
Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Ray Miller 8-1 | judge: Artie Aidala 9-1 | judge: Frank Fullam 9-1

1955-03-28 154 Jimmy Martinez 156 67-17-7
Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 5 10
referee: Barney Felix 3-0 | judge: Nat Cooper 3-0 | judge: Leo Birnbaum 4-0

1954-09-18 151 Mike Colucci 147¾ 16-6-2
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 7 8
Bout stopped because of a bad cut over Colucci's left eye.

1954-06-24 149 Mike Colucci 148 16-6-1
Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States D PTS 8 8

1954-04-19 149 Billy Andy 156 25-35-2
Arcadia Ballroom, Providence, Rhode Island, United States W TKO 5 10

1953-11-02 147½ Rocky Casillo 147 19-5-0
Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States L TKO 10 10
time: 2:37 | referee: Barney Felix
Giovanelli was knocked down twice in the 8th. He slipped to the canvas twice in the 10th, and then was
knocked down for a third time. The referee then stopped the bout.

1953-10-08 148½ Emerson Butcher 144½ 23-12-10
Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, United States W PTS 8 8

1953-07-29 145½ Carmine Fiore 146 41-15-5
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States L UD 10 10
referee: Al Berl 2-8 | judge: Artie Aidala 3-6 | judge: Jack Gordon 2-7
Giovanelli was knocked down in the 8th

1953-07-13 145¾ Joe Klein 148 19-7-5
Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Petey Scalzo 7-2 | judge: Arthur Schwartz 8-2 | judge: Charley Shortell 9-1

1953-05-22 144¾ Vince Martinez 146 27-2-0
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States W SD 10 10
referee: Ruby Goldstein 4-6 | judge: Young Otto 6-4 | judge: Harold Barnes 5-4
Giovanelli was knocked down in the 8th.

1953-04-21 145½ Jackie O'Brien 147 50-10-7
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W UD 10 10

1953-03-26 142¾ Don Braun 147¼ 28-7-1
Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, United States W TKO 5 8
referee: Morris Goodman
Bout stopped because of a bad cut over Braun's left eye.

1953-03-02 141 Danny Jo Perez 138½ 12-0-0
Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 6 10
referee: Ray Miller
Bout was stopped on cuts

1953-02-05 141 Claude Hammond 142½ 22-10-2
Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, United States W UD 8 8
Hammond was down in the 2nd

1952-11-22 140 Whitman Burress 139 8-22-4
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W PTS 8 8

1952-11-15 139½ Harry Deputy 141¾ 21-7-0
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 1 8
time: 1:55
Main Event of the opening card of the 26th season of boxing at Ridgewood Grove.

1952-10-16 140 Phil Morizio 140¾ 24-9-3
Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, United States W UD 8 8

1952-09-29 140 Eddie Oliver 143¾ 26-3-5
Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 5 8

1952-08-11 140 Gene Takach 139½ 21-3-0
Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W TKO 3 8
time: 2:23

1952-06-27 138½ Al Robbins 143 22-9-1
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1952-05-03 141 Llewellyn Richardson 139 3-5-2
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1952-02-23 139½ Gianluigi Uboldi 139½ 7-14-1
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States L PTS 8 8

1952-01-26 139½ Henry Winchman 140 12-5-1
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W KO 5 6

1952-01-12 132 Bobby Hillary 146 0-2-0
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W KO 2 6

1951-12-22 138 Davey Seabrook 134 13-15-0
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1951-12-13 138¾ Rocky Sullivan 139 52-19-10
Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1951-12-08 139½ Benny Uhl 134¾ 5-1-1
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1951-12-01 139 Julio Colon 134 13-19-3
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W KO 4 6

1951-11-15 139½ Zack Taylor 134½ 15-34-9
Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States W PTS 6 6

1951-11-03 138 Billy Neumont 141 18-8-3
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States L PTS 4 4

1951-10-13 139 Jimmy Carabello 137 1-7-0
Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States W KO 1 4

[Rick Farris]

d

[bennie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy64HxDZTEc
Juan Kid Meza vs Jaime Garza
In all honesty these two guys were no more then glorified amateurs, guys that never learned how to fight....

LoBianco did a good job in stopping this.

[Rick Farris]

Now here's little guy who came back to win:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ8RzBbT ... re=related

[Rick Farris]

A Brokern Fighter . . .

How often have we seen this?
A real fighter, such as Marco Antonio Barerra for example, will get KOed and come back to do great things.
Junior Jones flattened Barrera, beat him twice and had his number. However, the great Mexican shook it off and proceeded to achieve more success.
Same with Duran. After being starched by Tommy Hearns, Duran came back to win both the Jr. Middleweight & Middleweight titles.
Considering Roberto was an aged, blown-up lightweight, that's quite an accomplishment.
Of course, Roberto Duran was one of the greatest ever. He's in my all-time top five, even if I don't have such a list.

The bully factor is always a reality in boxing. Some guys are great when on the top. Once they taste defeat, the dry up and blow away.
John "The Beast" Mugabi comes to mind. He was unbeaten, all KO's, then he fought Hagler.
I thought Mugabi fought Hagler tough, gave him hell in the early rounds, then Marvin put himself on track as he always did late in a match.
Marvin tamed "The Beast" for good. After his first loss, Mugabi wasn't "worth a bucket of warm piss", as Tex Rickard used to say.

Jaime Garza had a massive KO streak, most ending in the first three rounds. Once he hit the canvas, he was a broken fighter.
If you can't get up and carry on, even in a later fight, your done in boxing.

I don't trust a guy who has won all of his fights by KO, especially early round KO's.
I've heard some say this is true of Mike Tyson, but that wasn't the case.
Tyson did have an impressive KO record with many ending early, but he also proved himself fit to go the distance and win when necessary.
Quick Tillis gave him a few fits, as did Bone Crusher Smith and Mitch Green. These were good opponents for a young fighter.
They didn't lay down and gave Mike needed experience, but they did not defeat Tyson or come close to doing so.
They certainly didn't break Tyson, and neither did Buster Douglas. Mike Tyson broke himself, and did so willingly.
Mike had lost his spirit for fighting once he was seperated from those who helped make him.

Show me how a fighter handles defeat, or what he does when he's knocked to the canvas.
We know what happened to Prince Naseem Hamed when he lost.
He proved himself not a champion boxer with a pedigree, just another dog with a lot of fleas.

As former California Featherweight Champ Danny Valdez once said to a boastful young boxer . . .
"Don't tell me how many wins you have, show me who you fought, and that will tell me how good you are."


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

My 20 favorite heavyweight champs . . .

1 - Joe Louis
2 - Jack Dempsey
3 - Muhammad Ali
4 - Rocky Marciano
5 - Jack Johnson
6 - Mike Tyson
7 - Joe Frazier
9 - George Foreman
10- Jim Jeffries
11- Larry Holmes
12- Gene Tunney
13- Bob Fitzsimmons
14- Sonny Liston
15- Ezzard Charles
16- Jersey Joe Walcott
17- Lennox Lewis
18- John L. Sullivan
19- Jim Corbett
20- Jimmy Braddock

[Randyman]

Jeri and I had pastrami on our minds today. We were thinking about Grinder Haven in Ontario but switched gears and decided to head to L.A.. We headed for Langer's Deli just west of downtown L.A. in the MacArthur Park area. Langer's is famous for their pastrami sandwiches. Langer's has been around since the 1940's and judging by the look of it it is probably the only hold over from Los Angeles' glory days.

Jeri ordered the number 19 or as they like to call it "The Legendary number 19", a pastrami sandwich on rye with swiss cheese, cole slaw and Russian dressing. Jeri asked for her sandwich to be served with toasted sourdough.The slaw is served in the sandwich. Jeri looked like she was enjoying it so I asked " How's the sandwich? All she could say was "Hmmm!" It's good? I asked again. "Very good" she said. So I said "Better than Grinder Haven"? "Just as good but different.

I ordered a half pastrami on rye with swiss cheese and Russian dressing along with the chicken matzo ball soup with noodles. Everything was outstanding. It amazes me how pastrami could be so good and so different from restaurant to restaurant. I've had both the corned beef sandwich and pastrami sandwich at Carnigies in New York, when it comes to quantity Carnigies has it over on Langer's but Langer's holds it's own in quality and taste. Also, the pickles at Carnigies were the best I've ever had.

After we ate we drove over to Main Street. I wanted to look at the spot where the old gym once stood. It has been gone for years but this time I wanted to get a picture. I was amazed at how the area has changed. Downtown has been trying to rebuild and reinvent itself for years. No more bums in the street. Frank and Rick will remember stepping over and around the poor souls that littered Main Street near the gym, many of them former fighters. Across the street where Johnnie's Shrimp Boat once stood is a new building. Nothing stays the same.


Langer's Deli on the corner of 7th and Alvarado.


The Legendary number 19


My half pastrami sandwich above and

Matzo Ball and Noodle soup below. (Good Stuff)


Two views of the empty space where the Main Street Gym once stood

[Randyman]

A short anecdote from my visit to Hollywood :

I walked between my hotel on North highland and Wildcard on Vine str about 3-4 times a day. after the first couple of days i grew tired of the normal route i walked so i tried to find new ones. Walking back from the gym one night after they closed i was walking by a closed down hotel ,Tom Sawyers i think it was called . Suddenly i was approached by 4 or 5 black guys dressed like they came straight out of a rap video . Me being a country boy not accustomed to the big city's thought '' crapp there goes my last dollars'' and my heart started pumping. As they approached me one of them called out ''yo,where you buy your shirt?'' We had a quite nice little chat about the shirt before i went on back to my hotel.. I guess things aint as bad as they show on tv

Remy, they are and they aren't but as anyone that grew up in and around L.A. will tell you, don't take anything for granted. I've been here all my life and I can tell that if a group of guys that I don't know approached me I would be on full scale fight alert. I don't take anything for granted. If nothing happens I'll take a deep breath and give thanks.

[Randyman]

Fernando Montiel and Nonito Donaire go at it tonight on HBO boxing After Dark. I think it's going to be a good fight.

[Randyman]

Rush hour in Ireland

Rush hour in Spring Valley

[CNorkusJr]

Rush hour in Ireland

Dinner in New York

[Randyman]

Me in Ireland a few years ago.

Bennie, nice photo. Has anyone ever told you that you resemble the actor Kelsey Grammar? At least in this photo. Beautiful background.

[Randyman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy64HxDZTEc
Juan Kid Meza vs Jaime Garza
In all honesty these two guys were no more then glorified amateurs, guys that never learned how to fight....

I agree Frank. I remember back in the late 70's or very early 80's one of the news channels around here started covering his career. For a few years they were showing his private life, special interviews, gym workouts, fights and just about everything else. They bent over backwards to build up his publicity. When he crashed they dumped him like a hot potato. I never met him but I saw a lot of the coverage and despite everything he did seem like a nice guy. I think they put a lot of pressure on him too soon. I'm just guessing though.

Randy

[CNorkusJr]

I sat with Danny Giovanalli at this past Ring 8 luncheon in December.
His uncle Patsy Giovanalli was a helluva banger as well.
Both were close friends of my dads. Danny still lives with his wife in Brooklyn,NY.
Thanks for posting his record.
We spoke about his career and when he mentioned his fight in LA, I mentioned that I speak to all of you at CAWCB. He remembers Don Fraser as THE boxing man out there during his time.I figured the fight was at the Olympic and asked him. He seemed bewildered and said "possibly". His memory was fairly good but details are getting tougher to recall. When I got home I looked at Boxrec. and it said Legion Stadium.My father went through the same thing in his last year or two. His wife said "the Aragon fight was probably the biggest of his career".Danny just mumbled "that they were all big".

[Randyman]

I sat with Danny Giovanalli at this past Ring 8 luncheon in December.
His uncle Patsy Giovanalli was a helluva banger as well.
Both were close friends of my dads. Danny still lives with his wife in Brooklyn,NY.
Thanks for posting his record.
We spoke about his career and when he mentioned his fight in LA, I mentioned that I speak to all of you at CAWCB. He remembers Don Fraser as THE boxing man out there during his time. His wife said "the Aragon fight was probably the biggest of his career".Danny just mumbled "that they were all big".

Nice photo Charlie.If I ever get back to New York (and Katz's deli) I'm going to look you up and invite myself to a Ring 8 Luncheon.

[CNorkusJr]

Randy, I'm taking notes. Langers. MacArthur Park area.

Thanks for posting parking lot pictures where Main St. Gym was. As sad as it is, New York has the same view in many places of old boxing sites.
When I first entered my firehouse on 8th Ave in 1985, diagonally across the street from me was the worlds biggest parking lot. A whole city block- length and width.
It was where the famous Madison Sq. Garden stood from the 1930's-60's. My mind wandered all the time I looked over there. As I stated earlier-a huge NY highrise now stands there; as Manhattan property that big is too valuable to remain a parking lot.

Randy, you will always be welcome my friend.
Just a note. Ring 8 has a meeting every 3rd Tues. of the month at 7pm.
The annual Dec. Luncheon Holiday Party is in lieu of its monthly meeting and is a Grand affair with all the boxers turning out in force for its annual honors.Usually on a Sunday, starting
at 1pm.Brunch & Dinner served during the course of the day.
New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame has monthly meetings every 3rd Thurs at 7pm. Henry Hascup shows fight videos, old & new, on big screen from 5pm till start of meeting at 7pm.
Their annual induction ceremony/gala is in mid November on a Saturday nite.

[Expug]

Hey Brian . . .

I've been following the Black Hawks from a distance.
Hope things are going well for you.

Thanks Rick,
Fighting for a playoff spot. We play Pittsburgh at home tomorrow. After the game we fly to St.Louis. Wish us luck.

[Randyman]

Hey Brian . . .

I've been following the Black Hawks from a distance.
Hope things are going well for you.

Thanks Rick,
Fighting for a playoff spot. We play Pittsburgh at home tomorrow. After the game we fly to St.Louis. Wish us luck.

Brian, best of luck to the Blackhawks from Jeri and I. We're looking forward to seeing you later this year.

[Expug]

Looking forward to seeing you two also Randy,