Classic American West Coast Boxing

[bennie]

They say George Groves warms up with a fight this weekend in Huddersfield for his pending all-London showdown with reigning Olympic champion James DeGale and, if so, it is a smart move by the charismatic Hammersmith puncher who likes to keep busy and has been out since mid-November when he climbed of the floor to stop rugged Scot Kenny Anderson in six rounds. Groves will need every bit of his strength, his stamina, his sharpness and his timing against the gifted DeGale, a showdown which must happen before April 11 or DeGale gets stripped of his British super-middleweight title.
DeGale won the title with a masterly nine-round stoppage of the vastly more experienced Paul Smith in December and has now stopped his last four opponents to go to 9-0 (7) in the pros, so 25-year-old "Chunky" (because of chunky legs as a boy) is adding strength and power to his slick southpaw boxing skills. The man oozes talent, Audley Harrison, if you like, with bottle.
The fearless Groves has also raced through the pro ranks to go to 11-0 (9) - and has also stopped his last four - so both men are hitting hard, unbeaten, looking good, pushing on, and deserve every penny of their share of the astonishing £400,000 Hayemaker Promotions recently bid for this cracker.
You know, it really doesn't get much better than DeGale-Groves in current domestic boxing. "Somebody's '0' must go", as Mike Spinks once famously cracked, or should I say infamously, and Groves knows he can already beat DeGale, having done so on a thrilling decision at Brent Town Hall in 2006 in a rare battle of amateur clubmates (Dale Youth, with trainers from different clubs in the respective corners that night). It was one of those decisions that could have gone either way and proved a turning point in DeGale's life as he realised he was going down the wrong road as a boxer, missing training, getting cocky, feeling he just had to turn up to win, and he made the snap decision to totally dedicate himself to the sport and wound up with the biggest amateur prize of them all in 2008 in Beijing with the middleweight gold, while Groves, who felt he should have gone to China, turned pro with a chip on his shoulder. This is his chance to right a perceived wrong.
Groves won the Commonwealth super-middleweight title last year with a superb six-round stoppage of Ghanaian veteran Charles Adamu, who had gone the full 12 with Carl Froch (and indeed, had never been stopped before), and then came through battles to stop Mexico's Alfredo Contreras and Edinburgh's previously unbeaten Anderson, both of whom hurt the dangerous, aggressive if occasionally reckless Londoner (Anderson had him down, of course), although Groves hurt them a helluva lot more.
Groves is tough and impetuous, perhaps too tough and impetuous at still only 22 - all of which might play into the hands of the classy, counterpunching DeGale, who tried to slug it out with Groves in their amateur clash (shades of Duran-Leonard) and fought the wrong fight. Groves hits harder than DeGale, that's for sure, but DeGale holds the edges in speed, versatility and natural ability as he showed against the gutsy Smith last time out, picking him apart on Smith's own Liverpool manor. He really did box superbly.
If DeGale keeps it long, tucks up in close to smother Groves and his bombs, which he is good at these days, he will pick up the points on the outside - and the rounds - on the way to a big decision win. I doubt very much he will stop his long-time rival. Bragging rights, like this fight, will go a long, long way.

[Rick Farris]

Melissa Leo of "The Fighter" won best supporting actress.
Damn, her speech was long winded. Said nothing and took forever to do it.
Congratulations, however.

Shades of John Beyrooty

Rick, along with everything else, the Academy Awards ain't what they used to be.

Yeah, we used to have Marlon Brando (my personal favorite).
Last time Brando won a "Best Actor" Oscar, he sent an Indian (Native American) to accept his award.
Of course, the Indian had nothing to say either, but it made sense to those who were stoned in the audience.
I did enjoy watching the hot ladies strut down the carpet, especially Scarlett Johansson.
They keep the event pretty big, which I think is important.

[bennie]

Greg Goossen, RIP.

[kikibalt]

Greg Goossen, RIP.

Heard about it yesterday Rick, do you know how he died??

RIP Greg Gossen

[kikibalt]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-gol ... 4487.story

Juan Manuel Marquez and Golden Boy

[bennie]

Greg Goossen, RIP.

Heard about it yesterday Rick, do you know how he died??

RIP Greg Gossen

It's Bennie, Frankie, currently free of the Absoluts. I read about it on fightnews.

[kikibalt]

Greg Goossen, RIP.

Heard about it yesterday Rick, do you know how he died??

RIP Greg Gossen

It's Bennie, Frankie, currently free of the Absoluts. I read about it on fightnews.

Sorry Bennie, blame it on the drugs and booze....

[bennie]

I can imagine Rick will be cut up.

[kikibalt]

I did take Connie out to breakfast yesterday, took her to a local greasy spoon joint. First thing Connie started doing when the waitress brought us the menus was start looking at the prices.
"Never mind the prices baby, the cost doesn't matter when it comes to taking you out to eat" I said to Connie.
"Oh, I can order anything I want; no matter the cost?"
"Of course dear"
We order, we ate. When we were done and the waitress brought the check and laid it on the table I pick it up and check it out for any over charge; when I was sure it was okay I gave it to Connie.
"Here; pay it and don't forget the tip"
She threw the check in my face, now I ask, why would she do that?....

[kikibalt]

I can imagine Rick will be cut up.

He will!....

[THEHAMMER321]

I did take Connie out to breakfast yesterday, took her to a local greasy spoon joint. First thing Connie started doing when the waitress brought us the menus was start looking at the prices.
"Never mind the prices baby, the cost doesn't matter when it comes to taking you out to eat" I said to Connie.
"Oh, I can order anything I want; no matter the cost?"
"Of course dear"
We order, we ate. When we were done and the waitress brought the check and laid it on the table I pick it up and check it out for any over charge; when I was sure it was okay I gave it to Connie.
"Here; pay it and don't forget the tip"
She threw the check in my face, now I ask, why would she do that?....

Frank , she shouldn't get mad it's part of the ''kept man '' thing.

[kikibalt]

I did take Connie out to breakfast yesterday, took her to a local greasy spoon joint. First thing Connie started doing when the waitress brought us the menus was start looking at the prices.
"Never mind the prices baby, the cost doesn't matter when it comes to taking you out to eat" I said to Connie.
"Oh, I can order anything I want; no matter the cost?"
"Of course dear"
We order, we ate. When we were done and the waitress brought the check and laid it on the table I pick it up and check it out for any over charge; when I was sure it was okay I gave it to Connie.
"Here; pay it and don't forget the tip"
She threw the check in my face, now I ask, why would she do that?....

Frank , she shouldn't get mad it's part of the ''kept man '' thing.

She said she was going to turn the table on me, she said she was going quit her job and she wants to see what the hell am I going to do than....I am in deep shit here.... ...you guys may have to hold a fundraiser for me....

[raylawpc]

I did take Connie out to breakfast yesterday, took her to a local greasy spoon joint. First thing Connie started doing when the waitress brought us the menus was start looking at the prices.
"Never mind the prices baby, the cost doesn't matter when it comes to taking you out to eat" I said to Connie.
"Oh, I can order anything I want; no matter the cost?"
"Of course dear"
We order, we ate. When we were done and the waitress brought the check and laid it on the table I pick it up and check it out for any over charge; when I was sure it was okay I gave it to Connie.
"Here; pay it and don't forget the tip"
She threw the check in my face, now I ask, why would she do that?....

Frank , she shouldn't get mad it's part of the ''kept man '' thing.

She said she was going to turn the table on me, she said she was going quit her job and she wants to see what the hell am I going to do than....I am in deep shit here.... ...you guys may have to hold a fundraiser for me....

We will pass the hat for you at the CBHOF banquet . . . "The Frank Baltazar 'Kept Man' Defense Fund." Our tagline: "To help Frank maintain the lifestyle all guys think they're entitled to. . ."

[bennie]

I can imagine Rick will be cut up.

He will!....

I was being serious, Frankie, my friend. Rick and Greg go back a long, long way.

[kikibalt]

Frank , she shouldn't get mad it's part of the ''kept man '' thing.

She said she was going to turn the table on me, she said she was going quit her job and she wants to see what the hell am I going to do than....I am in deep shit here.... ...you guys may have to hold a fundraiser for me....

We will pass the hat for you at the CBHOF banquet . . . "The Frank Baltazar 'Kept Man' Defense Fund." Our tagline: "To help Frank maintain the lifestyle all guys think they're entitled to. . ."

[kikibalt]

I can imagine Rick will be cut up.

He will!....

I was being serious, Frankie, my friend. Rick and Greg go back a long, long way.

I thought that you were saying that Rick was going to be cut up because I called you Rick, but
you're right Bennie, Rick is friends with the Gossen's, I had forgotten that, sorry Rick...

[Rick Farris]

Ex-major leaguer Greg Goossen dies


Greg Goossen, a former six-figure bonus baby of the Dodgers who played for Casey Stengel and the New York Mets, dabbled as a boxing trainer with his brother and was a stand-in for actor Gene Hackman in more than a dozen films, was found dead Saturday at his home in Sherman Oaks. He was 65.

Goossen was scheduled to be inducted into the Notre Dame High School Hall of Fame on Saturday night. When he did not arrive for a photo session, a family member went to his nearby home and found him. A cause of death has yet to be determined.

Born on Dec. 14, 1945, in Los Angeles, Goossen was the fourth member of a family of eight brothers and two sisters. He was a standout football and basketball player at Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1964. He was a catcher in baseball, and the Dodgers drafted him and signed him for a six-figure bonus.

The Mets picked him up the following year on a waiver from the Dodgers. Stengel, the legendary manager of the Mets, said, "This is Greg Goossen. He's 19 years old, and in 10 years he's got a chance to be 29."

He played for the Mets, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Senators before his baseball career ended in 1970.

He worked as a private detective and later helped his brother, Joe, as a boxing trainer, working with Michael Nunn and the Ruelas brothers, Gabriel and Rafael. Another brother, Dan, was the promoter.

Through boxing, he met Hackman, became good friends and served as a stand-in while also getting bit parts in movies.

He was preparing to be honored by his alma mater Saturday night.

"He said, 'It's the highlight of my life being inducted into the Notre Dame Hall of Fame,' " said Jeff Kraemer, one of the organizers of the event.

Funeral arrangements are pending. [Updated, 9:26 a.m.: Goossen is survived by his three daughters, Erin Hyder, Tracey Woodside and Kimberly Goossen.]

-- Eric Sondheimer

[Rick Farris]

Greg Goossen . . .

I'll post a couple personal memories of Greg later.
R.I.P. Greg

[Rick Farris]

He will!....

I was being serious, Frankie, my friend. Rick and Greg go back a long, long way.

I thought that you were saying that Rick was going to be cut up because I called you Rick, but
you're right Bennie, Rick is friends with the Gossen's, I had forgotten that, sorry Rick...

Greg Goossen . . .

No problem, Frank. I think Greg would have gotten a laugh himself.
I know people always say this when somebody dies, but it really could be true . . .
If there is a bar in heaven, Greg is currently holding court with the likes of Don Drysdale (an old friend), as well as Mickey Mantle and the Babe.
I tipped a few with Greg back in the 80's, but I couldn't keep up, and I certainly didn't try.
I was closest with Joe Goossen, but actually had more fun with Greg, who was one baseball player who could really fight.

I remember one Sunday morning around 1987. Joe had invited me to join he and Greg who were going to drive their only two amateurs, 16-year-old Gabriel Ruelas and his 15-year-old brother, Rafael, to an amateur fight card in Ventura. I agreed to meet them at the family's boxing gym, which at the time was located in the backyard of Greg's North Hollywood home. When I pull up to the house I see Joe sitting in his car in front of the house, with the two boxers waiting in the back seat. I park and walk up to the car and Joe invites me to take a seat in the back with Gabe & Rafa. A few minutes later Greg emerges from the house and takes a seat next to Joe. Greg looked like he had the worst hangover in history. He was unshaven, his voice gravely, "Let's get a move on!" he barks.

When we get to the Ventura Fairgrounds, we park and enter the building where the boxing was to take place.
Of course, all of the amateur boxing officials are walking around in their white shirts and pants, their noses in the air for some reason.
"I hate these bastards," Greg said. He then looked at the two fighters and reminded them, "You guys fight like pros and these guys don't like that. You have to knock out your opponents or they will score against you."

The place was crowded and we were looking for the dressing area. Greg approaches one of the officials in a white uniform, "Hey pal, where is the fighter's dressing room?"
The official looked at Greg, scruffy and obviously hung over. He rolled his eyes and with a disapproving look he answered, "You mean the 'boxers' dressing room, we don't have fighters here."
Greg began to laugh and said, "Well I have two fighters here, and if their opponents today can't fight, they're going to get knocked out!"
The official looked horrified, and Joe and I started to laugh.

A little later in the afternoon, both Gabe and Rafael Ruelas scored first round knockouts.

[raylawpc]

Melissa Leo of "The Fighter" won best supporting actress.
Damn, her speech was long winded. Said nothing and took forever to do it.
Congratulations, however.

Shades of John Beyrooty

Rick, along with everything else, the Academy Awards ain't what they used to be.

Yeah, we used to have Marlon Brando (my personal favorite).
Last time Brando won a "Best Actor" Oscar, he sent an Indian (Native American) to accept his award.
Of course, the Indian had nothing to say either, but it made sense to those who were stoned in the audience.
I did enjoy watching the hot ladies strut down the carpet, especially Scarlett Johansson.
They keep the event pretty big, which I think is important.

Ah yes . . . who can forget Sacheen Littlefeather. . . Native American activitist and winner of the 1970 "Miss American Vampire" title, who declined the award for Marlon Brando . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU

We watched the Academy Awards that year at our fraternity house, and I remember one of the guy wondering out loud, "I wonder what she looks like without the buckskins?" . . . a few months later he found out when she shed the buckskins - and everything else - for Playboy!!

[Rick Farris]

Greg Goosen's advice for Rafael Ruelas ...

Unbeaten Rafa is scheduled to face his biggest challenge to date, former world champ Jorge Paez.
Ruelas appears hesitant during a sparring session with an awkward sparring partner.
Greg tells him between rounds, "If you give Paez the upper hand, he will punch the sh*t out of you..."

Rafa floored his sparring partner twice in the next round.
Shortly afterwards, he knocked out Jorge Paez.

[CNorkusJr]

Just coming onto the computer now and saw that Greg Goosen passed. Before you told of his life, I figured he was a boxer with California roots. I thought to myself that the Mets had a catcher back in the 60's who was named Greg Goosen. but I didnt think it was the same man.
When it was mentioned that it was he who played baseball- I immediately remembered seeing him play at Shea stadium with the MEts (I am a lifelong Mets fan since 1965) when my father took me to my first baseball game.

From my 1968 Mets yearbook. 1967 didnt have a bio on him-just a picture with Jerry grote who was their # 1 catcher in those days.I have as much Mets memorabilia as I do Boxing.




Bottom left-right Phil Linz, Jerry Buchek

[CNorkusJr]

Shades of John Beyrooty

Rick, along with everything else, the Academy Awards ain't what they used to be.

Yeah, we used to have Marlon Brando (my personal favorite).
Last time Brando won a "Best Actor" Oscar, he sent an Indian (Native American) to accept his award.
Of course, the Indian had nothing to say either, but it made sense to those who were stoned in the audience.
I did enjoy watching the hot ladies strut down the carpet, especially Scarlett Johansson.
They keep the event pretty big, which I think is important.

Ah yes . . . who can forget Sacheen Littlefeather. . . Native American activitist and winner of the 1970 "Miss American Vampire" title, who declined the award for Marlon Brando . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU

We watched the Academy Awards that year at our fraternity house, and I remember one of the guy wondering out loud, "I wonder what she looks like without the buckskins?" . . . a few months later he found out when she shed the buckskins - and everything else - for Playboy!!

Great post Tom

[bennie]

Darlington's Stuart Hall bids for a Lonsdale Belt outright when he defends his British bantamweight title against Liverpool's John Donnelly in a 12-rounder at Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland on April 9.
The unbeaten Hall has proved a prolific champion since lifting the Belt in a big upset last June by stopping Hackney's established Ian Napa in eight rounds, seeing off exceptional challengers Martin Power and Gary Davies within a few months - both also by stoppage. Hall must be close to a shot at Doncaster's Jamie McDonnell and his European bantamweight belt.
Firstly, the tall, box-fighting Hall needs to get past the once-beaten Donnelly, who has bounced back from that defeat to Redcar's capable, bigger and more experienced Gavin Reid in May 2008, moving down to bantamweight and reeling off six wins, including a three-round retirement stoppage of Nottingham's seasoned Andy Bell last time out and a solid decision over Spain's Carlos Ruiz, who went on to fight for the Spanish bantamweight title.
At 12-1 (3), Donnelly is largely unsung and has never done more than six rounds but that all makes him a 'sleeper' as they say in the trade, with everything to train for and nothing to lose. "Hall is expecting an easy fight," says Donnelly, who knows that Hall is trained by Michael Marsden, who also trains that man Reid, but "Dangerous" Donnelly bangs to the body and is stocky and strong for bantamweight, fighting way above the 118-pound limit in the past.
Hall also boils down and you wonder how he does it at his height (5ft 8ins) and his age (32 by the time of the fight; Donnelly is 26). Nevertheless, the champion outlasted the magnificently brave Power in 10 cracking rounds and picked off the heavy handed and much-fancied Davies in seven, a man who is now sparring Donnelly, so maybe "Stuey" can get away with it for as long as Ricky Hatton did. How many times were Ricky's weightmaking issues raised before he went out and routinely destroyed light-welterweight opponents at the MEN Arena?
Donnelly is no slouch, yet another of those tough, aggressive Liverpool fighters springing up everywhere. He will have seen Scouser Paul Edwards upset the odds in winning the British flyweight title recently, so we can expect a mighty effort from the challenger, before the experience, the height and reach, and the better boxing of Hall bring home the majestic Lonsdale Belt.

[bennie]

"Whos' fighting?" Enzo Maccarinelli once asked me in the bowels of the Newport Leisure Centre as two men duked it out in the ring early in the evening. "Nathan Cleverly," to which Enzo immediately dashed to the seating area to watch his novice of a stablemate outscoring Armenia's Varuzhan Davtyan in a four-rounder.
It was clear that Enzo held great affection for his young training partner but things have changed since that dark November night in 2006 as Maccarinelli, a Welsh fighing hero back then, finds himself desperately clinging on to the sport as Cleverly, the new Welsh hope, challenges for the WBO light-heavyweight title at Wembley Arena on May 21, although both fighters are still friends and stablemates, if trained by different men.
Maccarinelli suffered a brutal seven-round knockout at the hands of Germany's Alexander Frenkel in his last outing, after which there were inevitable calls for his retirement. The 30-year-old Swansea man, a pro since 1999, had already survived an early career knockout to unlikely Lincoln southpaw Lee Swaby to prove himself a world class cruiserweight and a world class puncher, and even after three losses in close proximity - many years later - to Denis Lebedev, Ola Afolabi and David Haye, big Enzo came back to win the European cruiserweight style with a stunning first-round knockout in Russia. However, the Frenkel knockout looked 'career over'.
Instead, after talks with his promoter F rank Warren, Maccarinelli drops down to light-heavyweight in a third attempt to resurrect his career after and already there is talk of him challenging the unbeaten 24-year-old Cleverly, if Cleverly comes through against Germany's dangerous Juergen Braehmer in that WBO title encounter in May, and there is no guarantee of that.
Of course, how strong will Maccarinelli be at his new weight? He was a giant of a cruiserweight at 6ft 4ins, a bit fleshy perhaps, yes, but to drop all the way down from 14st 4lbs to 12st 7lbs without weakening himself, without taking away his noted power, remain the moot questions and the crux of his future aspirations.
I like Maccarinelli: he comes to fight and, win or lose, he is fun to watch at 32-5 (25), your classic big puncher with a classic big puncher's chin. You know, for a moment there I remembered such men as Joe Louis and Floyd Patterson. What's not to like?