Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

What You Aspire To

Ever see that old Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin playing the role of the fight manager of the robot?It's supposed to be after the time boxing was outlawed for being inhumane and so they pitched battles between robots to take the place of human beings. The time is 1974.

In that episode titled"Steel"named after Marvin's old fight nickname(Marvin was once a fighter before the humans were banned from participating),he "manages"a robot called "Battling Maxo."Well "Battling Maxo" is a B2 robot and he's going against a B7 robot .The match is going to take place in some tank town in Kansas. Marvin's assistant(in reality a mechanic)is against the whole thing because there's no way a B2 can beat a B7 robot. "Battling Maxo" is an old bucket of bolts. It's in need of repair and they don't make the parts for that kind of machine anymore.Marvin and the mechanic argue relentlessly about the upcoming match. Marvin says that they need the money and that "Maxo" will come through with a good showl. While testing their robot in the locker room before the fight,"Maxo" busts a spring and can't use an arm. Now what?

Marvin decides to disguise himself as "Maxo". If there's no fight,there's no money. The mechanic yells at Marvin that he's crazy. There's no way a man can stand up to a robot.Well he's right. Marvin is pummeled to the canvas in less than a round lying on the mat like a limp doll.

So much for that. We all know that Rod Serling,the creator of the Twilight Zone was a master of science fiction and he certainly lived up to that reputation with a story about robots replacing men in the ring. To think fans would flock to the arenas to see machines fight each other. No doubt man will fail against a machine,but how could a human being relate to that,especially a MALE human being? I mean isn't the truth when George Foreman said that all sports aspire to boxing? So what if a man can scale Mt. Everest? Or surf a twenty foot wave?That isn't a man fighting a man on equal terms half naked in a ring. It's man against man that's the epitome.The latent beast against another with the Walter Mitty's of the world watching on TV or sitting at ringside. The winner is the Alpha Male supreme. He gets the women. The others just sit on the sideline and watch the females let the victor have their way with them.The guys on the sidelines don't even get sloppy seconds.

So who in hell can get behind two robots fighting each other. Besides what do robots know about screwing anyway?



Roberto Duran

[scartissue]

[quote="dagosd2000"]What You Aspire To

Ever see that old Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin playing the role of the fight manager of the robot?It's supposed to be after the time boxing was outlawed for being inhumane and so they pitched battles between robots to take the place of human beings. The time is 1974.

In that episode titled"Steel"named after Marvin's old fight nickname(Marvin was once a fighter before the humans were banned from participating),he "manages"a robot called "Battling Maxo."Well "Battling Maxo" is a B2 robot and he's going against a B7 robot .The match is going to take place in some tank town in Kansas. Marvin's assistant(in reality a mechanic)is against the whole thing because there's no way a B2 can beat a B7 robot. "Battling Maxo" is an old bucket of bolts. It's in need of repair and they don't make the parts for that kind of machine anymore.Marvin and the mechanic argue relentlessly about the upcoming match. Marvin says that they need the money and that "Maxo" will come through with a good showl. While testing their robot in the locker room before the fight,"Maxo" busts a spring and can't use an arm. Now what?

Marvin decides to disguise himself as "Maxo". If there's no fight,there's no money. The mechanic yells at Marvin that he's crazy. There's no way a man can stand up to a robot.Well he's right. Marvin is pummeled to the canvas in less than a round lying on the mat like a limp doll.

So much for that. We all know that Rod Serling,the creator of the Twilight Zone was a master of science fiction and he certainly lived up to that reputation with a story about robots replacing men in the ring. To think fans would flock to the arenas to see machines fight each other. No doubt man will fail against a machine,but how could a human being relate to that,especially a MALE human being? I mean isn't the truth when George Foreman said that all sports aspire to boxing? So what if a man can scale Mt. Everest? Or surf a twenty foot wave?That isn't a man fighting a man on equal terms half naked in a ring. It's man against man that's the epitome.The latent beast against another with the Walter Mitty's of the world watching on TV or sitting at ringside. The winner is the Alpha Male supreme. He gets the women. The others just sit on the sideline and watch the females let the victor have their way with them.The guys on the sidelines don't even get sloppy seconds.

So who in hell can get behind two robots fighting each other. Besides what do robots know about screwing anyway?

Screwing?! You mean the promoters were robots too? LOL!

[scartissue]

Rog, I'll give you another boxing themed Rod Serling story. Did you ever see his Night Gallery episode called 'The Ring with the red velvet ropes'? An outstanding episode. Gary Lockwood just wins the world heavyweight title from a dude called Big Dan Anger and has a bit of an epipheny as he's getting ready to shower. He sees Big Dan in the locker room who says, "You're no more the champion than I was!" and he blinks out. Lockwood thinks hes seeing things as the cornerman says Big Dan was sent to the hospital. By the time he gets out of the shower he is no longer in the dressing room but in a strange place where he soon discovers he has to fight Chuck Connors who has been pilfering heavyweight champs for decades ever since he won the 'real' title from Jem Mace and forcing them to fight him. He even has a book signed by every champ since then that he has beaten. Won't say no more but it is a classic.

[El Gallo]

What You Aspire To

Ever see that old Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin playing the role of the fight manager of the robot?It's supposed to be after the time boxing was outlawed for being inhumane and so they pitched battles between robots to take the place of human beings. The time is 1974.

In that episode titled"Steel"named after Marvin's old fight nickname(Marvin was once a fighter before the humans were banned from participating),he "manages"a robot called "Battling Maxo."Well "Battling Maxo" is a B2 robot and he's going against a B7 robot .The match is going to take place in some tank town in Kansas. Marvin's assistant(in reality a mechanic)is against the whole thing because there's no way a B2 can beat a B7 robot. "Battling Maxo" is an old bucket of bolts. It's in need of repair and they don't make the parts for that kind of machine anymore.Marvin and the mechanic argue relentlessly about the upcoming match. Marvin says that they need the money and that "Maxo" will come through with a good showl. While testing their robot in the locker room before the fight,"Maxo" busts a spring and can't use an arm. Now what?

Marvin decides to disguise himself as "Maxo". If there's no fight,there's no money. The mechanic yells at Marvin that he's crazy. There's no way a man can stand up to a robot.Well he's right. Marvin is pummeled to the canvas in less than a round lying on the mat like a limp doll.

So much for that. We all know that Rod Serling,the creator of the Twilight Zone was a master of science fiction and he certainly lived up to that reputation with a story about robots replacing men in the ring. To think fans would flock to the arenas to see machines fight each other. No doubt man will fail against a machine,but how could a human being relate to that,especially a MALE human being? I mean isn't the truth when George Foreman said that all sports aspire to boxing? So what if a man can scale Mt. Everest? Or surf a twenty foot wave?That isn't a man fighting a man on equal terms half naked in a ring. It's man against man that's the epitome.The latent beast against another with the Walter Mitty's of the world watching on TV or sitting at ringside. The winner is the Alpha Male supreme. He gets the women. The others just sit on the sideline and watch the females let the victor have their way with them.The guys on the sidelines don't even get sloppy seconds.

So who in hell can get behind two robots fighting each other. Besides what do robots know about screwing anyway?



Roberto Duran

Another great painting, Roger. I am forwarding this to Roberto's daughter, Irichelle. Irichelle had three pro fights, herself, and she has accepted my offer to serve on the board of directors of the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame. She currently is a ringside analyst for HBO Panama, and is excited to join our crew. Our pal Dan Hanley is Vice President, and we are slowly building the organization. Unbelieveable all the details, legal, etc. But we want to create the only ligit HOF on the West Coast. The WBHOF was not historicly correct and the CBHOF is an embarrassment. We have the support of the strong East Coast organizations.

[dagosd2000]

Rog, I'll give you another boxing themed Rod Serling story. Did you ever see his Night Gallery episode called 'The Ring with the red velvet ropes'? An outstanding episode. Gary Lockwood just wins the world heavyweight title from a dude called Big Dan Anger and has a bit of an epipheny as he's getting ready to shower. He sees Big Dan in the locker room who says, "You're no more the champion than I was!" and he blinks out. Lockwood thinks hes seeing things as the cornerman says Big Dan was sent to the hospital. By the time he gets out of the shower he is no longer in the dressing room but in a strange place where he soon discovers he has to fight Chuck Connors who has been pilfering heavyweight champs for decades ever since he won the 'real' title from Jem Mace and forcing them to fight him. He even has a book signed by every champ since then that he has beaten. Won't say no more but it is a classic.

Dan,never saw that episode ,but it sounds like a good one.I'm getting to the point where about the only TV I watch now is Turner Classic Movies and old reruns of shows in the 50's,60's,and 70's. I like Barney Miller and M*A*S*H too. The stuff that's on TV today doesn't interest me much.

[dagosd2000]

What You Aspire To

Ever see that old Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin playing the role of the fight manager of the robot?It's supposed to be after the time boxing was outlawed for being inhumane and so they pitched battles between robots to take the place of human beings. The time is 1974.

In that episode titled"Steel"named after Marvin's old fight nickname(Marvin was once a fighter before the humans were banned from participating),he "manages"a robot called "Battling Maxo."Well "Battling Maxo" is a B2 robot and he's going against a B7 robot .The match is going to take place in some tank town in Kansas. Marvin's assistant(in reality a mechanic)is against the whole thing because there's no way a B2 can beat a B7 robot. "Battling Maxo" is an old bucket of bolts. It's in need of repair and they don't make the parts for that kind of machine anymore.Marvin and the mechanic argue relentlessly about the upcoming match. Marvin says that they need the money and that "Maxo" will come through with a good showl. While testing their robot in the locker room before the fight,"Maxo" busts a spring and can't use an arm. Now what?

Marvin decides to disguise himself as "Maxo". If there's no fight,there's no money. The mechanic yells at Marvin that he's crazy. There's no way a man can stand up to a robot.Well he's right. Marvin is pummeled to the canvas in less than a round lying on the mat like a limp doll.

So much for that. We all know that Rod Serling,the creator of the Twilight Zone was a master of science fiction and he certainly lived up to that reputation with a story about robots replacing men in the ring. To think fans would flock to the arenas to see machines fight each other. No doubt man will fail against a machine,but how could a human being relate to that,especially a MALE human being? I mean isn't the truth when George Foreman said that all sports aspire to boxing? So what if a man can scale Mt. Everest? Or surf a twenty foot wave?That isn't a man fighting a man on equal terms half naked in a ring. It's man against man that's the epitome.The latent beast against another with the Walter Mitty's of the world watching on TV or sitting at ringside. The winner is the Alpha Male supreme. He gets the women. The others just sit on the sideline and watch the females let the victor have their way with them.The guys on the sidelines don't even get sloppy seconds.

So who in hell can get behind two robots fighting each other. Besides what do robots know about screwing anyway?



Roberto Duran

Another great painting, Roger. I am forwarding this to Roberto's daughter, Irichelle. Irichelle had three pro fights, herself, and she has accepted my offer to serve on the board of directors of the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame. She currently is a ringside analyst for HBO Panama, and is excited to join our crew. Our pal Dan Hanley is Vice President, and we are slowly building the organization. Unbelieveable all the details, legal, etc. But we want to create the only ligit HOF on the West Coast. The WBHOF was not historicly correct and the CBHOF is an embarrassment. We have the support of the strong East Coast organizations.

Rick,all the luck in the world on what you're doing.Let me know how I can help.

[dagosd2000]

In The Barrel

After Ray Robinson fought Randy Turpin the first time and lost his title,he remarked how big Turpin's upper body looked. He said he looked like a heavyweight. They asked a lot from Robby. He fought a lot of fights in his career. After coming back from retirement he fought as a middle weight,but struggled.His 5'11' height made him able to reach the middle weight numbers,but he wasn't the fighter he once was. Like Ali his second time around,Ray's footwork had diminished. But the fact was that Robinson always had difficulty with those fighters with the "barrel chests".Relatively unknown Henry Brimm gave Robinson problems.Robinson said it was Brimm's "size" that made it an up hill battle. If you watch his fights with LaMotta when Robinson was at his peak,stay focused on their upper torsos. LaMotta had a lot more meat on his bones than Sugar. If LaMotta struggled to get down to 160,Ray could have made the middle weight limit in his clothes.

During the 50's guys like Tiger Jones and Gene Fullmer were like blocks of granite against Ray's gloves.Oh,I'm not forgetting Robinson's left hook that got the title back in his corner. (Ask any boxing historian about what they consider the best left hook ever landed in a fight? Get my drift?)

I saw Robby lose to a Mexican fighter named Memo Ayon in the Tijuana bullring. Another meaty fighter. Ray couldn't hurt him.Ray's best fights were at welter. But there was more money to make fighting up instead of down. He reluctantly went against Joey Maxim for the light heavy title. Joey didn't have the barrel chest and his punch couldn't break an egg. He was a boxer ,not a mauler. However,Maxim had a good beard and with the heat that night Ray almost died in the ring.The weather AND Joey Maxim ended ray's first career.

But there'll never be another Robinson.I shouldn't have said that. It's been said a million times. Oh hell.So make it a million and one.



Sugar Ray Robinson

[dagosd2000]

Just read that Carmen Berra,Yogi Berra's wife of 65 years, died today from a stroke. She was 85. Don't worry paisan.She'll be waiting for you up there in the dugout. RIP

[Chuck1052]

Just read that Carmen Berra,Yogi Berra's wife of 65 years, died today from a stroke. She was 85. Don't worry paisan.She'll be waiting for you up there in the dugout. RIP

I bought a terrific biography of Yogi Berra within the last few years and can tell you that Carmen Berra seemed like a fine person and a good match for her husband. Contrary to his public image, Yogi himself was far being a buffoon. To be sure, Yogi was far from being well-educated and may have been a master of malapropisms. However, he also was a very stable, hardworking individual who had more than enough baseball and financial smarts.

- Chuck Johnston

[JamesSowellsniece]

SPEAKING OF DOES ANYBODY HAVE INFORMATION ON JAMES SOWELL? ANY PICTURES? HE RECENTLY PASSED AWAY ON FEB 26 AND THE FAMILY IS LOOKING FOR BOXING PICTURES...THANK YOU

[dagosd2000]

The Crash

Edith Piaf,the French torch singer,fell in and out of love so much that she got nose bleeds. It was one after the other with her. But it wasn't so much the consummation of the relationship as it was the thrills of the opening moments. The intrigues and courtships are what excited her. And she was always a woman who needed to live life with hysteria.After time,the relationship was just that...a relationship. It got tired and old. Edith would find someone else,and the passion would grow all over again.

Her romance with the great Marcel Cerdan was something different. The ending upset her apple cart.In France it was just as exciting almost for the public to get caught up with the liaisons of celebrities as it is just as horrific here to find that the president is a skirt chaser. In the Latin world the affair is bittersweet.Love can't be held accountable.In the U.S. it is condemned by people who probably are doing kinky things on the side anyway.

While Cerdan's wife and kids were waiting for the eventuality that the pair would lose interest in each other. Then Marcel would come home like a good boy,but then fate interceded.The ex champ died in an airplane crash off the Azores. Cerdan was returning to the states to fight a rematch with Jake LaMotta. It was Edith's urging that Cerdan fly to America early so he could be with her while she was entertaining in New York. It was the crash,many said,that began her fall into the abyss of depression. You see,the romance didn't end on Edith's terms.The love was still at its peak.The boredom was off into the future somewhere,but the tragic ending prevented the inevitable from happening.Cerdan died too suddenly. Edith began her demise on a slow chaotic journey laced with alcohol,drugs,and men who couldn't pass muster compared to the French fighter.Edith died of cancer before the age of 50. She looked 80 when she died. Feeble and all the spark long ago extinguished.

But it's all a better story the way it happened. Tragedy is always a higher art form than the mundane. Marcel Cerdan and Edith Piaf will always pique the interest of the romantic.



Edith Piaf


Marcel Cerdan

[dagosd2000]

Waiting Period

The adrenalin is in the needle.All that's waiting now is to find willing participants to roll up their sleeves. Boxing was never more in need of something to spark interest into the sport. With the American heavyweight picture just an old time blur,the lack of top contenders through all the many divisions,and the price of a ticket beginning to resemble the dollar amount to go to a pro football game.(recent fights here in San Diego feature 6 rounders in the main event and the cheapest ticket is 35 dollars),prize fighting needs to conjure up a prize for its diminishing fan base.

I don't see the American heavyweight division perking up when potential heavyweights are throwing their weight around the basketball court or the ol' gridiron.Fighting is a sport that has to attract the sports fan that doesn't usually follow boxing. Ali drew the interest of millions that had never seen a fight before. So where's the spark going to come from?

Whatever talent is left out there has to compete with each other. Pacquiao and Mayweather have been avoiding each other for centuries. It'll get to the point that if they do lace up the gloves against each other,they'll be sitting in wheel chairs.

I see they put together this Alvarez/Angulo mismatch thinking Angulo was in the same league as Canelo. They stopped the fight prematurely in Canelo's favor because they wanted to put a KO in his record only to make him more interesting to the public for a future contest.It will only become interesting if Chavez Jr. wants to take him on. So far,unlike his father,Junior is making excuses.

So if these two matches fail to transpire,about the only thing left is to watch Klitschko fight in Germany. Unless he follows the way of his brother and becomes a revolutionary



Muhammad Ali

[Chuck1052]

I am a fan of Manny Pacquiao and believe that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be an absolutely terrible matchup for him. Floyd is naturally bigger and has too much skill. Moreover, both are getting long in the tooth, so a bout between the two would be less enticing to me at this point in time even if they matched up well.

Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. are good fighters, but far from being great. Yet I thought that the fight between Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo was going to be a mismatch because the latter is a journeyman at best.

Throughout boxing history, there are some lulls. But a great, charismatic fighter has come on the scene each time, often out of nowhere.

Boxing has been becoming more of niche sport in the United States since about 1950 due to the advent of television and dramatic societal changes. Many people look back at boxing during the 1950s with great fondness, but the boxing clubs went under at an alarming rate during that decade. I read somewhere that the number of boxing clubs went from about 250 or 300 to only about 50 within ten years by 1960.

- Chuck Johnston

[dagosd2000]

Learning Process

"If you look at the history of boxing the majority of the best fighters were Americans,"I said to Ed as he put the bottle of beer on the counter in front of me.
"So what happened?"he asked as he began wiping the top of the bar
"Boxing is a grueling sport. There's more money in basketball and football."
"And less risk of winding up getting punchy."
"I've been taking my grandson Adam to the gym during the week.He takes to boxing pretty good. He just needs to get more strength."
"That will come in time."
"Looking back on it all,I think I enjoyed going to the gym the most. Football and baseball were good,but now that I think of it,I liked going to the gym.
"Why didn't you follow up on it?"
"Boxing is a sport where there is no room for error. You can't be screwing around and think that you're going to be any good at it. Especially at the start."
"You think your grandson is going to take it up?"
"No,but it's good that he gets a taste of what it's like.
"Every kid should learn how to defend himself,"said Ed still wiping the bar though it didn't need anymore cleaning.
"But you can't make anyone do it if they don't want to."
"My old man used to take out in the back yard and make me put on the gloves."
"I did that with my son too."
"Did he like it?"
"Well put it this way,he didn't back down and I let him get in some shots."
"In other words you didn't let him win."
"No,but if we had to do it today,he'd kick my ass."



My son,Ramon,and his mother.He was around seven years old when I did this painting. We'd go in the back yard when he turned 15. He had tremendous natural strength.He played football,wrestled,and ran the hurdles in track in high school.He weighed a solid 160 pounds.

[dagosd2000]

Learning Process

"If you look at the history of boxing the majority of the best fighters were Americans,"I said to Ed as he put the bottle of beer on the counter in front of me.
"So what happened?"he asked as he began wiping the top of the bar."Most of the best fighters arte from other countries."
"Boxing is a grueling sport. There's more money in basketball and football."
"And less risk of winding up getting punchy."
"I've been taking my grandson Adam to the gym during the week.He takes to boxing pretty good. He just needs to get more strength."
"That will come in time."
"Looking back on it all,I think I enjoyed going to the gym the most. Football and baseball were good,but now that I think of it,I liked going to the gym.
"Why didn't you follow up on it?"
"Boxing is a sport where there's no room for error. You can't be screwing around and think that you're going to be any good at it. Especially at the start."
"You think your grandson is going to take it up?"
"No,but it's good that he gets a taste of what it's like.
"Every kid should learn how to defend himself,"said Ed still wiping the bar though it didn't need anymore cleaning.
"But you can't make anyone do it if they don't want to."
"My old man used to take out in the back yard and make me put on the gloves."
"I did that with my son too."
"Did he like it?"
"Well put it this way,he didn't back down and I let him get in some shots."
"In other words you didn't let him win."
"No,but if we had to do it again today,he'd kick my ass."

[dagosd2000]

Cat On The Prowl

My friend Rodolfo"Gato" Gonzalez is about as nice a guy as you could meet. Since he lost his share of the lightweight title to Guts Suzuki in Japan in 1974 he's been trying to find niche. With his girlfriend Barbara,he lives in Oceanside,California.I see him at the usual events in the Southland that have to do with the boxing community.His desire right now is to find a "hot" prospect of a fighter and train him into a championship.Oceanside is situated near Camp Pendleton Marine Base.Perhaps there's a gung ho Marine or some local high school kid that wants to be a fighter.Rodolfo will be waiting.I hope that something materializes for him.There have been trainers who had spent a lifetime in the gyms and never even handled a contender. Today,with boxing on the wane,the odds are stacked against the guy with the Spanish nickname of the "Cat."

Rodolfo used to have a boxing gym in San Diego on Logan Avenue.This was after his fighting days were over.I remember it well because my father had some kind of "phantom" office across the street from the gym. Upstairs from "Gato's" gym was a school room for the San Diego Probation Department. One of my first jobs as a teacher was with the Probation Department. Conducting class above a boxing gym was impossible.With a bunch of juvenile offenders not that interested in learning what the difference between a "blue" state and a "red" state are,they would hustle down the stairs to the gym to watch "Gato's" fighters go through their workouts. I wouldn't try to stop them. They probably had a better chance making a living in the ring than getting an education out of a text book. Of course statistics wouldn't bear that out. Maybe that said something about me as a teacher,but I ain't buying it. I knew when I was licked Those kids could never equate a fighter with the book worm type. If they could only see that it's the guys with the brains that control the guys with the muscle. Now if you're talking about who has the "moral compass",that's open for discussion



Rodolfo"Gato"Gonzalez



"Gato" waiting to dig into some of Maria's Mexican cooking"Estilo Michoacan."

[BoxBuzz]

that just looks delicious!

[El Gallo]

Cat On The Prowl

My friend Rodolfo"Gato" Gonzalez is about as nice a guy as you could meet. Since he lost his share of the lightweight title to Guts Suzuki in Japan in 1974 he's been trying to find niche. With his girlfriend Barbara,he lives in Oceanside,California.I see him at the usual events in the Southland that have to do with the boxing community.His desire right now is to find a "hot" prospect of a fighter and train him into a championship.Oceanside is situated near Camp Pendleton Marine Base.Perhaps there's a gung ho Marine or some local high school kid that wants to be a fighter.Rodolfo will be waiting.I hope that something materializes for him.There have been trainers who had spent a lifetime in the gyms and never even handled a contender. Today,with boxing on the wane,the odds are stacked against the guy with the Spanish nickname of the "Cat."

Rodolfo used to have a boxing gym in San Diego on Logan Avenue.This was after his fighting days were over.I remember it well because my father had some kind of "phantom" office across the street from the gym. Upstairs from "Gato's" gym was a school room for the San Diego Probation Department. One of my first jobs as a teacher was with the Probation Department. Conducting class above a boxing gym was impossible.With a bunch of juvenile offenders not that interested in learning what the difference between a "blue" state and a "red" state are,they would hustle down the stairs to the gym to watch "Gato's" fighters go through their workouts. I wouldn't try to stop them. They probably had a better chance making a living in the ring than getting an education out of a text book. Of course statistics wouldn't bear that out. Maybe that said something about me as a teacher,but I ain't buying it. I knew when I was licked Those kids could never equate a fighter with the book worm type. If they could only see that it's the guys with the brains that control the guys with the muscle. Now if you're talking about who has the "moral compass",that's open for discussion



Rodolfo"Gato"Gonzalez



"Gato" waiting to dig into some of Maria's Mexican cooking"Estilo Michoacan."

Nice, Rog!

[El Gallo]

Cat On The Prowl

My friend Rodolfo"Gato" Gonzalez is about as nice a guy as you could meet. Since he lost his share of the lightweight title to Guts Suzuki in Japan in 1974 he's been trying to find niche. With his girlfriend Barbara,he lives in Oceanside,California.I see him at the usual events in the Southland that have to do with the boxing community.His desire right now is to find a "hot" prospect of a fighter and train him into a championship.Oceanside is situated near Camp Pendleton Marine Base.Perhaps there's a gung ho Marine or some local high school kid that wants to be a fighter.Rodolfo will be waiting.I hope that something materializes for him.There have been trainers who had spent a lifetime in the gyms and never even handled a contender. Today,with boxing on the wane,the odds are stacked against the guy with the Spanish nickname of the "Cat."

Rodolfo used to have a boxing gym in San Diego on Logan Avenue.This was after his fighting days were over.I remember it well because my father had some kind of "phantom" office across the street from the gym. Upstairs from "Gato's" gym was a school room for the San Diego Probation Department. One of my first jobs as a teacher was with the Probation Department. Conducting class above a boxing gym was impossible.With a bunch of juvenile offenders not that interested in learning what the difference between a "blue" state and a "red" state are,they would hustle down the stairs to the gym to watch "Gato's" fighters go through their workouts. I wouldn't try to stop them. They probably had a better chance making a living in the ring than getting an education out of a text book. Of course statistics wouldn't bear that out. Maybe that said something about me as a teacher,but I ain't buying it. I knew when I was licked Those kids could never equate a fighter with the book worm type. If they could only see that it's the guys with the brains that control the guys with the muscle. Now if you're talking about who has the "moral compass",that's open for discussion



Rodolfo"Gato"Gonzalez



"Gato" waiting to dig into some of Maria's Mexican cooking"Estilo Michoacan."

Nice, Rog!

[El Gallo]

Carlos Palomino . . .

Yesterday I had the fun of meeting with former Welterweight champ, Carlos Palomino, and Tina Quarry, wife of Jerry Quarry & mother of Jerry's youngest son, Jonathon.

Nice afternoon with a special part of West Coast Boxing History!
Carlos will join us in our first West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame event later this year.

-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Far Away Places

"I see the Crimea voted to be a part of Russia,"said Ed the bartender watching the news on the television behind the bar.
"It was pretty one sided,"I said swirling the swizzle stick in the glass of club soda in front of me.
"You said 400,000 Ukrainians fought Hitler in World War II."
"That's right."
"So why do the people in Crimea want to be a part of Russia?"
"Because they're Russian. Not Ukrainian."
"So Klitschko is a Ukrainian?"
"Yes."
"And so what was their beef?"
"They thought their president was going to make a financial deal with Russia."
"So?"
"The Ukraines want to be a part of Western Europe."
I was trying to make it as simple as I could to Ed.
"What's the difference?"
"The European banks want to get their grips into the Ukraine. They want it to be one big happy family."
I was beginning to doubt if I could get my point across.
"So why don't the people in Crimesa want to go along?"
"They don't trust Western Europe."
"Why should they trust Russia?"
"They think there are less strings attached with a Soviet loan. And besides,the people in the Crimea are mostly Russian."
"Russian.Ukrainian. What's the difference?"
Ed picked up the remote and started flipping the channels.
"Ed ,did you ever wonder why the Klitschkos like to fight in Germany?"
"Never gave it much thought."
"Ukrainians hate Russians more than Germans."
"Didn't Hitler kill a lot of Russians in the war?"
"Over ten million."
"It's not clear to me,"he said putting down the remote.
There was a college basketball game on.
"Try to put it this way. In the Civil War,the South wanted to be their own country."
"Yeah."
"Well ,Lincoln wouldn't let them do it."
"So that's what's going on over there that's like the Civil War?"
"Well the South didn't want to be a part of the Union.So the North invaded the South. And the U.S. is saying that the Russians shouldn't have gone into the Crimea."
"Why?"
"Because the new Ukrainian government is going to make it harder on the Russians who live there."
"Where?"
"In the Crimea."
"So who's right on all this?"
"All I know is that they should figure it out.I ain't no Russian and I ain't no Ukrainian."
Ed turned up the volume with the remote.
"Do you want to watch basketball or do you want me to put it back on the news?asked Ed.
"Leave it on the game.I've got more in stake with a basketball game than I do with two screwed up countries half way around the world."

[dagosd2000]

Jose Napoles

[dagosd2000]

You Can't Catch Me

I went to a small university in San Diego during the early 70's named Cal Western. It was a private school overlooking the ocean in Point Loma.I remember the coastline was a "hot" surf spot. The school frowned on surfers who weren't going to school there to not go out in the water. Fat chance.The school was close to home. The class sizes were small. It got me my degree in English with a history minor.

There was a "Greek Theater" on campus. A beautiful venue with a view of the ocean. It was used for various events. I remember when the Mike Douglas Show did a live broadcast from the theater one afternoon. Word got around fast that Chuck Berry was going to perform. Also on the docket was Ricky Nelson. Well word got down to the locals in Ocean Beach also that the show was on. But it was no big thing to the school nor the Mike Douglas Show.It was free to get in and so was the parking. A sign of "free love" maybe.

The little theater filled up fast. Prior to the show the mood was jovial and relaxed. I don't remember who Mike Douglas had on as his other guests,but the crowd ,comprised of students and OB youngsters were there waiting to see Chuck Berry. But first they put out Ricky Nelson. Or I should say they shoved him out onto the stage. The dude looked emaciated.He had let his hair grow long and was wearing these buckskins that made him look like a hippy Buffalo Bill.Walking stooped shouldered he moped out to the stage holding his guitar.I forget what he played(I think he tried something psychedelic),but you couldn't hear it anyway because everyone was laughing and throwing cat calls and whistling at him. It was merciless. After finishing,he stumbled off and disappeared. That wouldn't be a tough act to follow for Chuck Berry.

Chuck came blasting out with his guitar slung low doing his "duck walk". Everyone went crazy. He ran through the repertoire. Nobody wanted to hear him experiment with hippie music. No,Chuck let us have it with Sweet Little Sixteen,Roll Over Beethoven,Brown Eyed Girl,and the rest of his standards. Everyone was on their feet dancing in the aisles. Mike Douglas didn't even try to sign off. Chuck was still rockin' and rollin' long after the show ended.

I read the other day that Chuck Berry still performs. He's well into his 80's. He sings the same stuff. The stuff that his fans still want him to sing. Why should he change now? I hope I can still feel like singing"Hey Little School Girl" if I make it to his age.



Chuck Berry

[Chuck1052]

On the night of New Year's Eve during 1972, Chuck Berry was scheduled to be the headliner in two shows at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara. Berry was coming off a highly successful year in which he had a hit single with a ditty called "My Ding-A-Ling" and an album which also sold well. Both the single and album fell far short artistically of matching his classic records of the 1950s.

Both shows in Santa Barbara drew very good crowds. I saw the second show, which took place shortly after midnight as I recall. When I arrived for the second show, people were coming out of the theater after seeing the first show. I remember that someone told me that Berry's first show was far from being satisfactory.

For the second show, a band called Elijah was an opening act and later backed up Berry during his performance. I later learned that Berry usually didn't have a regular band, opting instead to have local pickup bands backing him during his shows. It appears that Berry followed that policy to the letter in the show which I saw.

Berry seemed to simply go through the motions without any passion in his performance. I got the impression that he didn't really want to be there, but was simply doing the bare minimum to collect his money. As they say in show business, he mailed it in. Towards the end of the show, Berry asked for people to come up onto the stage and dance to the music. While the people were dancing on the stage, Berry abruptly unplugged his guitar from an amplifier and walked off the stage without saying anything after a performance of about forty-five minutes. The audience was far from being happy.

- Chuck Johnston

[dagosd2000]

The Dark Ring

"It's a tough enough sport as it is,"I said to my grandson Adam as he was wrapping his hands to prepare for his gym workout.
"Do you think Dee will ever get a fight?"he asked me.
"I hope so. She's going to the gym in National City Saturday to see if she can find a fight."
"How old is Dee?"
"She's twenty five."
"Isn't that old to start fighting?"
"It is,but she's a girl and that won't matter like if she was a male."
As we were talking ,Dee walked inside the gym with her workout bag slung over her shoulder.She was looking up at the ring watching a couple of fighters spar.You could see the definition on her black frame.The thing that looked a little funny was her horned rim glasses.
"I hope things work out for her,"I said."She's dedicated and she's good. Very good."
The two men in the ring were swinging away at each other working very hard,but they weren't very effective because they couldn't get much leverage on their punches. The harder they worked,the wilder they got. The pace increased through a desperation,however the results they wanted of hurting the other fighter was an act of futility.After a couple of fast rounds, they wrapped it up.Dee walked over to where Adam and I were sitting on the bench by the front door.
"How's it going Dee?,"I asked.
"Real good.I think I'll try to get a sparring session in with one of those guys that just finished up."
"I hear you might get a fight Saturday in Nat City."
"I'm supposed to weigh in at nine in the morning."
Dee was a lightweight.She told me that she'd been training for two years.Not an ounce of fat.A six pack midsection.She was in great shape.To see her in the ring,you'd think she'd been fighting all her life.She could bang with both hands,slip punches,counter,her footwork was beautiful.She was the real article. She couldn't find sparring partners at her weight at the gym so she had to get in there with much bigger girls or the men.
"So how many fights have you had?"I asked her.
"If Saturday works out,it will be my first amateur fight,"she said looking over those big glasses.
I was a little at loss for words.
"Dee,you could fight professional right now."
"You think so?"
"There's a girl who's going to fight in the main event in Tijuana next week.I know you could give her a good fight."
Adam opened his bag and inserted his mouthpiece and put on his sparring gloves.Adam found another guy his size and they began to do some light sparring.Dee went to the dressing room after she asked if any of the two guys that had finished sparring wanted to workout with her. They both said they were finished for the day.

That Saturday morning I drove down to the gym in National City. Dee waited around for an hour for the other girl fighter to show up. She never did.
"Well maybe something will materialize next week,"I said trying to console her.
"I'm still optimistic,"she said smiling. "I'll see if any of these guys in here want to get in a workout."
As I was walking back to my car,I shook my head.Someone needs to step in and help her I thought.I didn't know anyone.Nobody at the gym seemed to know how to get her going.Fighting is tough enough when you get in the ring. It's just as tough when you can't get in.