Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

1959
(Back) George Parnassus, Fred Kilstofte and Cal Eaton

(Front) Alphonse Halimi and Jose Becerra

[Cholo]

Then again Rick, I've just watched it again, it's a crap sparring session..

It was 1980, during a Screen Actors Guild strike in our industry, that Frank Stallone asked me if I'd "like to move around with him in the ring." This was at Ray Notaro's "Left Hook Gym" in Reseda. Notaro was a friend/trainer of Stallone for the Rocky pictures. I was just a bored, 28-year-old out-of-work film tech trying to stay in shape. He was bigger than I was, but a very inexperienced boxer who claimed to have fought amateur in Florida. He showed me that he could box a little bit, but I was respectful to not take advantage of him. He did not know how to protect the right side of his body and I remember giving him a little tap in the liver area. I didn't throw a hard punch, but he needed a moment to catch his breath. If he was working out with Palomino, well, Carlos had to be taking it very easy, like he would any inexperienced person. However, I was impressed that Frank had a lot more humility than his brother. I've been told he really knows his boxing and one day I'm certain we'll cross paths again.

Rick, Thanks for the info buddy..

[Cholo]

1959
(Back) George Parnassus, Fred Kilstofte and Cal Eaton

(Front) Alphonse Halimi and Jose Becerra

Frank, you have a great collection of photos....

[kikibalt]

Frank, you have a great collection of photos....

I steal them Paul...

[kikibalt]

Then again Rick, I've just watched it again, it's a crap sparring session..

It was 1980, during a Screen Actors Guild strike in our industry, that Frank Stallone asked me if I'd "like to move around with him in the ring." This was at Ray Notaro's "Left Hook Gym" in Reseda. Notaro was a friend/trainer of Stallone for the Rocky pictures. I was just a bored, 28-year-old out-of-work film tech trying to stay in shape. He was bigger than I was, but a very inexperienced boxer who claimed to have fought amateur in Florida. He showed me that he could box a little bit, but I was respectful to not take advantage of him. He did not know how to protect the right side of his body and I remember giving him a little tap in the liver area. I didn't throw a hard punch, but he needed a moment to catch his breath. If he was working out with Palomino, well, Carlos had to be taking it very easy, like he would any inexperienced person. However, I was impressed that Frank had a lot more humility than his brother. I've been told he really knows his boxing and one day I'm certain we'll cross paths again.

I heard that Frank S. might be at the CBHOF luncheon next week....Last time he was at one of our lunches was about 3-4 years ago.

[Rick Farris]

Then again Rick, I've just watched it again, it's a crap sparring session..

It was 1980, during a Screen Actors Guild strike in our industry, that Frank Stallone asked me if I'd "like to move around with him in the ring." This was at Ray Notaro's "Left Hook Gym" in Reseda. Notaro was a friend/trainer of Stallone for the Rocky pictures. I was just a bored, 28-year-old out-of-work film tech trying to stay in shape. He was bigger than I was, but a very inexperienced boxer who claimed to have fought amateur in Florida. He showed me that he could box a little bit, but I was respectful to not take advantage of him. He did not know how to protect the right side of his body and I remember giving him a little tap in the liver area. I didn't throw a hard punch, but he needed a moment to catch his breath. If he was working out with Palomino, well, Carlos had to be taking it very easy, like he would any inexperienced person. However, I was impressed that Frank had a lot more humility than his brother. I've been told he really knows his boxing and one day I'm certain we'll cross paths again.

I heard that Frank S. might be at the CBHOF luncheon next week....Last time he was at one of our lunches was about 3-4 years ago.

Great!

[Cholo]

Frank, you have a great collection of photos....

I steal them Paul...

Frank,

[Cholo]

Teddy Atlas on Mike Tyson,
You can make an an argument that when he was challenged and was in a real fight he always came up short.
Every fight he was challenged in, when someone wasn't intimidated and actually tested him or resisted him, he lost.
And I don't know if thats the sign of a great fighter..

[Rick Farris]

Teddy Atlas on Mike Tyson,
You can make an an argument that when he was challenged and was in a real fight he always came up short.
Every fight he was challenged in, when someone wasn't intimidated and actually tested him or resisted him, he lost.
And I don't know if thats the sign of a great fighter..

I think Tyson had the potential of being one of the greatest heavyweights in history.
But greatness is a time tested reality.
Too much confusion and insanity marred the short reign of Mike Tyson.
He revealed traits that contradict a "great fighting spirit", qualities that were legend in champs like Dempsey, Louis and Ali.
What Tyson "might" have been, or "Could" have been, does not count.
What he did was amazing, but it was not a sustained effort so what we ended up with is a lot of doubts.
However, when Mike was on his game I enjoyed boxing a lot more. Haven't seen anything close to a good heavyweight in the years since. Not one!

[Rick Farris]

Lennox Lewis . . .

Lennox was the best of the recent heavyweight champs, in my opinion.
However, I always knew that one good shot on the chin was going to upend him.
He always came back to even up the score with the few who defeated him.
When I was with the WBHOF, he proved himself one of the most gracious and classy fighters I've ever met.
He was the epitome of class, all of the qualities one expects froma a great heavyweight.
In recent years, Lennox was the closest thing to a great heavyweight we have seen, both in and out of the ring.
In other words, in my opinion the last great heavyweight is British, not American, and certainly not Eastern European.

[kikibalt]

http://youtu.be/BPy-Memj0vE
"Hurt"

Two great Timi Yuro songs

http://youtu.be/k46N6PKjbY0
"Smile"

[Cholo]

http://youtu.be/BPy-Memj0vE
"Hurt"

Two great Timi Yuro songs

http://youtu.be/k46N6PKjbY0
"Smile"

Frank, You can't beat the oldies, timeless..

[Cholo]

Lennox Lewis . . .

Lennox was the best of the recent heavyweight champs, in my opinion.
However, I always knew that one good shot on the chin was going to upend him.
He always came back to even up the score with the few who defeated him.
When I was with the WBHOF, he proved himself one of the most gracious and classy fighters I've ever met.
He was the epitome of class, all of the qualities one expects froma a great heavyweight.
In recent years, Lennox was the closest thing to a great heavyweight we have seen, both in and out of the ring.
In other words, in my opinion the last great heavyweight is British, not American, and certainly not Eastern European.

Rick, I agree, i think Lewis was lucky his mother took him to Canada as a youngster, great amateur boxing coaching out there, I remember Shawn O' Sullivan, now he could fight..

[kikibalt]

http://youtu.be/BPy-Memj0vE
"Hurt"

Two great Timi Yuro songs

http://youtu.be/k46N6PKjbY0
"Smile"

Frank, You can't beat the oldies, timeless..

[Cholo]

Fight Magazine 1953, Art Aragon,
One of Art's closest friends is Joey Barnum, a former fighter whom he kayoed in two rounds last year. Art and Joey now are partners in the scrap metal business, habitual gin rummy opponents and victims of each other's practical jokes. One time Barnum called upon the Golden Boy to tell him about a mural he had seen of Art in a cafe in downtown Los Angeles, and invited Art to ride across town with him to have a look at it. Joey gave the mural a big buildup on the way over, and when Art proudly strutted into the cafe to admire it, he saw on the wall a huge blow-up of a picture a photographer had taken ringside of him sitting on the canvas.
Boxing experts who have seen Art in action have declared he probably could be champion of the world if he took his training seriously. When Aragon was in training for the Carter title fight he sparred little because he claimed he was to weak from losing so much weight. He tired noticeably in the late rounds, and Carter inflicted upon Aragon the worst beating the Golden Boy ever absorbed in the ring. But Art climbed off the deck and fought back so courageously that he showed the fans he was made of the same fiber as a true champion, and his pugilistic stock rose despite his defeat.

[kikibalt]

Fight Magazine 1953, Art Aragon,
One of Art's closest friends is Joey Barnum, a former fighter whom he kayoed in two rounds last year. Art and Joey now are partners in the scrap metal business, habitual gin rummy opponents and victims of each other's practical jokes. One time Barnum called upon the Golden Boy to tell him about a mural he had seen of Art in a cafe in downtown Los Angeles, and invited Art to ride across town with him to have a look at it. Joey gave the mural a big buildup on the way over, and when Art proudly strutted into the cafe to admire it, he saw on the wall a huge blow-up of a picture a photographer had taken ringside of him sitting on the canvas.
Boxing experts who have seen Art in action have declared he probably could be champion of the world if he took his training seriously. When Aragon was in training for the Carter title fight he sparred little because he claimed he was to weak from losing so much weight. He tired noticeably in the late rounds, and Carter inflicted upon Aragon the worst beating the Golden Boy ever absorbed in the ring. But Art climbed off the deck and fought back so courageously that he showed the fans he was made of the same fiber as a true champion, and his pugilistic stock rose despite his defeat.

Thanks for another great Golden Boy story Paul, keep'em coming....

[Cholo]

Fight Magazine 1953, Art Aragon,
One of Art's closest friends is Joey Barnum, a former fighter whom he kayoed in two rounds last year. Art and Joey now are partners in the scrap metal business, habitual gin rummy opponents and victims of each other's practical jokes. One time Barnum called upon the Golden Boy to tell him about a mural he had seen of Art in a cafe in downtown Los Angeles, and invited Art to ride across town with him to have a look at it. Joey gave the mural a big buildup on the way over, and when Art proudly strutted into the cafe to admire it, he saw on the wall a huge blow-up of a picture a photographer had taken ringside of him sitting on the canvas.
Boxing experts who have seen Art in action have declared he probably could be champion of the world if he took his training seriously. When Aragon was in training for the Carter title fight he sparred little because he claimed he was to weak from losing so much weight. He tired noticeably in the late rounds, and Carter inflicted upon Aragon the worst beating the Golden Boy ever absorbed in the ring. But Art climbed off the deck and fought back so courageously that he showed the fans he was made of the same fiber as a true champion, and his pugilistic stock rose despite his defeat.

Thanks for another great Golden Boy story Paul, keep'em coming....

Frank, I will buddy..

[kikibalt]

1961



George Parnassus and Emile Griffith

[Cholo]

1961



George Parnassus and Emile Griffith

Frank, Was Griffith in L.A. to fight Gasper Ortega?

[kikibalt]

Frank, Was Griffith in L.A. to fight Gasper Ortega?

I believe so Paul....not sure though....

[Rick Farris]

Emile Griffith in Los Angeles . . .

As a kid, I was an Emile Griffith fan. I never had a chance to watch him live when he fought in town, until his very last appearance in L.A.
On that night, Emile would win a decision over our friend, Armando Muniz at the Anaheim Convention Center, and as luck would have it, I would appear on the card in a prelim.
There are certain things that mean something to a young fighter coming up in L.A. and to me the best was being surrounded by great boxers, some "All Time" Greats!
Considering my passion for boxing from the time I was a kid, I'd rather spend an afternoon at the Main Street Gym than I would a day at Disneyland.
I guess I was a strange kid?

[Cholo]

Art "Golden Boy" Aragon
When Aragon fought Billy Graham at the Olympic, few persons realized that the only sparring the Golden Boy did in preparation for the then top ranking welterweight contender was one round a day for some five days. Art said he was afraid he would re-injure the knuckles of his left hand which had given him trouble in preceding fights. Aragon tired in the late rounds, losing a close decision which was criticized by the Los Angeles press.
The Golden Boy, sixth of 11 children, was born November 13, 1927, on his parents' cattle ranch in Belan, New Mexico. a town of 3,000 population 30 miles south of Albuquerque. With the Aragon children waging a winning population battle with the cattle, papa Aragon found himself facing a financial burden. To alleviate the situation, Art, at the age of 2, was sent to live with a childless aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Gallegos, in Albuquerque. In Art's early years there were no indications of his ever becoming a professional fighter. He was a member in good standing of the Boy Scouts Of America, and Gallegos a localy-noted guitar player, Influenced Art to take violin lessons for six years. He didn't have a street fight until he took a job as a delivery boy in a drug store when he was 12 years old. When Aragon was 15 he sought his fortune Los Angeles and took a job in a dairy lifting empty milk cases onto a conveyor belt. Working with him was a belligerent fellow about three years older and some 30 pounds heavier then Art, then a scrawny 120-pounder. This fellow took delight in roughing up Art, and once when he was in the process, the foreman Lee Boren, caught him at it. Art thought it would cost both of them their jobs, but Boren, who trained fighters as a sideline, took Art aside and said to him, "If you let me train you for a month, you'll be able to beat him." Aragon was skeptical, but agreed. Every day after work Boren would take Art out into the alley in the back of Boren's house and patiently teach him how to move his feet and how to jab. Finally, when he thought Art was ready, he arranged the showdown battle in a old carriage house he rented to use for a gym. Art won, and that was the begining of a fighter-manager partnership. Aragon found out early what it was like to score a knockout. In his very first amateur fight he knocked his opponent to the floor for the count in the first 10 seconds of the fight. When he returned to his corner he said to Boren, "Get somebody else. This guy didn't want to fight. What will people think?"

[Bobbin & Weavin]

Emile Griffith in Los Angeles . . .

As a kid, I was an Emile Griffith fan. I never had a chance to watch him live when he fought in town, until his very last appearance in L.A.
On that night, Emile would win a decision over our friend, Armando Muniz at the Anaheim Convention Center, and as luck would have it, I would appear on the card in a prelim.
There are certain things that mean something to a young fighter coming up in L.A. and to me the best was being surrounded by great boxers, some "All Time" Greats!
Considering my passion for boxing from the time I was a kid, I'd rather spend an afternoon at the Main Street Gym than I would a day at Disneyland.
I guess I was a strange kid?

Man I was the same way Rick, I was a teen before I went to Disneyland and wow was I disappointed... Hey Rick and Frank and anyone else who can shed some light on the fighter I've always been interested in, Andy Heilman. He was always coming north and beating up our local guys like Jimmy Lester and Nate Collins and I saw him in the gym a few times, he seemed like pretty quiet guy. I know that Jackie McCoy had him for the later half of his career and I believe he was a longshorman probably through McCoy or am I wrong about that? Pretty damn good record,42-7-3. What was Andy like, family man, party guy, is he still around?
Thanks,
Bruce

[Rick Farris]

Emile Griffith in Los Angeles . . .

As a kid, I was an Emile Griffith fan. I never had a chance to watch him live when he fought in town, until his very last appearance in L.A.
On that night, Emile would win a decision over our friend, Armando Muniz at the Anaheim Convention Center, and as luck would have it, I would appear on the card in a prelim.
There are certain things that mean something to a young fighter coming up in L.A. and to me the best was being surrounded by great boxers, some "All Time" Greats!
Considering my passion for boxing from the time I was a kid, I'd rather spend an afternoon at the Main Street Gym than I would a day at Disneyland.
I guess I was a strange kid?

Man I was the same way Rick, I was a teen before I went to Disneyland and wow was I disappointed... Hey Rick and Frank and anyone else who can shed some light on the fighter I've always been interested in, Andy Heilman. He was always coming north and beating up our local guys like Jimmy Lester and Nate Collins and I saw him in the gym a few times, he seemed like pretty quiet guy. I know that Jackie McCoy had him for the later half of his career and I believe he was a longshorman probably through McCoy or am I wrong about that? Pretty damn good record,42-7-3. What was Andy like, family man, party guy, is he still around?
Thanks,
Bruce

Andy "Kid" Heilman . . .

Bruce, your impression of Andy "Kid" Heilman is spot on. I don't know Andy, but I recall his career very well.
Good boxers are either artists or craftsmen, great boxers are both. I saw Andy Heilman as a skilled craftsman in the ring. And he was tough.
He was known to work hard on the docks all day and then work hard in the gym at night.

Only the best beat Heilman, except the last, when he surprisingly quit on his stool in a match against Ronnie Wilson, one he was winning easily on the scorecards.
That was always a mystery, Heilman was not the type to quit, and as I said, he was clearly winning. He told Jackie McCoy, "I'm finished, stop the fight."
It was a Don Fraser Forum Club promotion at the Valley Music Theatre, around 1972. He never stepped into a ring again.

Today he still works on the docks. He no longer lives near the harbor, and drives nearly 3 hours round trip to work each day from Riverside County.
I've seen him at Hall of Fame events and he looks good, fit, sharp of mind. He got out in time, even if it meant stepping away from a win in controversy.
I consider Andy Heilman's career and life a true success story.
Heilman is a California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee-'2005

[CNorkusJr]

Emile Griffith in Los Angeles . . .

As a kid, I was an Emile Griffith fan. I never had a chance to watch him live when he fought in town, until his very last appearance in L.A.
On that night, Emile would win a decision over our friend, Armando Muniz at the Anaheim Convention Center, and as luck would have it, I would appear on the card in a prelim.
There are certain things that mean something to a young fighter coming up in L.A. and to me the best was being surrounded by great boxers, some "All Time" Greats!
Considering my passion for boxing from the time I was a kid, I'd rather spend an afternoon at the Main Street Gym than I would a day at Disneyland.
I guess I was a strange kid?

Man I was the same way Rick, I was a teen before I went to Disneyland and wow was I disappointed... Hey Rick and Frank and anyone else who can shed some light on the fighter I've always been interested in, Andy Heilman. He was always coming north and beating up our local guys like Jimmy Lester and Nate Collins and I saw him in the gym a few times, he seemed like pretty quiet guy. I know that Jackie McCoy had him for the later half of his career and I believe he was a longshorman probably through McCoy or am I wrong about that? Pretty damn good record,42-7-3. What was Andy like, family man, party guy, is he still around?
Thanks,
Bruce

Andy "Kid" Heilman . . .

Bruce, your impression of Andy "Kid" Heilman is spot on. I don't know Andy, but I recall his career very well.
Good boxers are either artists or craftsmen, great boxers are both. I saw Andy Heilman as a skilled craftsman in the ring. And he was tough.
He was known to work hard on the docks all day and then work hard in the gym at night.

Only the best beat Heilman, except the last, when he surprisingly quit on his stool in a match against Ronnie Wilson, one he was winning easily on the scorecards.
That was always a mystery, Heilman was not the type to quit, and as I said, he was clearly winning. He told Jackie McCoy, "I'm finished, stop the fight."
It was a Don Fraser Forum Club promotion at the Valley Music Theatre, around 1972. He never stepped into a ring again.

Today he still works on the docks. He no longer lives near the harbor, and drives nearly 3 hours round trip to work each day from Riverside County.
I've seen him at Hall of Fame events and he looks good, fit, sharp of mind. He got out in time, even if it meant stepping away from a win in controversy.
I consider Andy Heilman's career and life a true success story.
Heilman is a California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee-'2005

It's always Great to hear a story about the guys who were the "nuts and bolts" of the boxing game. A guy like Andy Heilman, who put his time in the ring probably for less than money than anyone can imagine, taking and giving the raps and hits and still is remembered by those like the members of the California Boxing Hall of Fame.
I see the same thing here with the New Jersey Boxing Hall of fame.
As many of you know, its means the WORLD to them and their families on those nights they are honored.Great story on Andy Heilman.-Today still working hard due to his boxing ethics that he learned as a youngster.