Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

I had a ringside seat when I saw the bout between Danny "Little Red" Lopez and Art Hafey. Believe me, Hafey took an absolutely brutal beating throughout the bout before the referee finally stopped the fight in the seventh round. Hafey was tremendously game while occasionally landed a blow. But I could not believe that Hafey's corner didn't make any noticeable effort to get the bout stopped much sooner. In addition to being much smaller in height, Hafey had a fighting style that was made to order for Lopez.

- Chuck

Hi Chuck,How's it goin'?

That fight was brutal. It makes my point about the people in Hafey's corner,yet most fighters(Hafey no exception)trust their handlers with blind faith it makes me think about that role Jackie Gleason played(Maish) in the movie Requiem For A Heavyweight.Mountain Rivera(Tony Quinn) had nothing but accolades and love for him.He'd do anything for him ,yet it was his manager that sent him out there when he he had no business doing so. He even bet against him with the bookies. Sometimes Chuck when I see a fight like the one you were talking about between Lopez and Hafey,it makes me think that maybe the wise guys bet it so they'd collect if it went so many rounds even if it meant putting their boy's life on the line.



Me and the great little battler Danny "Little Red" Lopez out in Indio ,Ca. at some golf tournament trying to raise some money for I can't remember..The ex fighters knocked some golf balls around. I tried to sell some of my art. It was a hell of a long drive out to the desert to watch people walk by my paintings yawning. But I saw some great fighters:Danny,Rodolfo Gonzalez,Mando Muniz



Some of my collection gathering dust. I knew I was going to come up a cropper when a lady and her husband stopped at gazed at my rendition of Marciano
"It doesn't even look like him,"said the old bag to her husband.
I should have picked up a golf club and tried my luck.

[dagosd2000]

The Single Wing

"After Clarence Henry broke his jaw Murphy was never the same fighter,"said George.
"But he went on to beat LaMotta,"I said.
Radovich was behind the bar. It was Tuesday night and that's when George tended bar at The Arizona..Tuesday was a slow night and George would give all the bartenders the night off.Besides,George could still keep his hands on things that way. The Arizona was his joint.His family moved from Arizona to San Diego in the late 40's.and his father bought The Arizona. Then suddenly his dad died and George took things over, But George was natural for the place, At the time he was playing semi pro football for the San Diego Bombers.That's where George met all those LA Ram players like Waterfield and Van Brocklin and Crazy Legs Hirsch.In those days the pro teams would barnstorm around the country and play local semi pro teams .That's how George got acquainted with those fellas'.Then George had The Arizona down in Ocean Beach and those players would come down to go sport fishing and then rally up in George's place and get good and drunk and then after closing time they'd pile in their cars and go down to Tijuana and raise hell in the bars. Irish Bob Murphy was no stranger to those little get togethers
"You had Murphy in the amateurs when he got disgorged from the Navy here in San Diego,"I said.
"I got him his start,"said George.
Radovich was a big Serb. He had all Serbs working in The Arixona. It was like some sort of brotherhood.I'd hear them talking to each other sometimes in Serbian.George was thick through the arms and chest.His face was round and big and he stuttered a bit when he got to talking too fast.His white hair was thinning ,but he never combed it so it would hide the bald spot near the back of his head. Everyone respected George and he was liked by all. Basically he was a nice guy,always looking for a laugh,but he ran his joint like a machine. One,he never drank in his own place. And he never bought anyone a drink. It wasn't like he was tight with his dough. He used to do everyone's taxes and then after the tax season was over he'd throw a big party for all the people who gave him their tax returns.George was also smart with his money. He owned a lot of property in Ocean Beach.After George's wife caught him fooling around with one of the bar flies she sued him for a divorce.. George settled with her without losing his shirt.George's mother lived in the apartment upstairs above The Arizona. George rented a place for his girlfriend and stayed in one of his houses he owned. George had only one kid,a son. I never saw the son in The Arizona except one time.He had to see his father about something that had to do with business..
"When did Hatfield take over with Murphy?"I asked.
"I approached him with it,"said George leaning his big elbow on the bar."He was struggling to make ends meet with his sporting goods store. I didn't have the time."
"They say Murphy liked to fight."
"Only when he was drunk and that was most of time,"chuckled George.
"I heard he got into some fights in here."
"In here,out in the alley,in the parking lot."
"He was the favorite against Maxim wasn't he?"
"The fight was in New York.Maxim couldn't break an egg."
"I work with a guy named Earl Anderson. He said that he was a sparring partner of Murphy's."
"He use to come in here with Murphy.They were like brothers."
"Anderson told me he went out to New York with Murphy and went in the dressing room before the fight. He said Murphy was pretty steamed,busting up furniture,throwing things against the wall."
"Hatfield later told me that they got a visit from Frankie Carbo before the fight.Murphy wasn't going to win that night."
"After that night it was down hill for him,"I remarked.
"He even had to go in the tank against LaMotta."
"Murphy beat him pretty good in the first fight.Made him quit on his stool. Earl Anderson told me for some reason Murphy hated Italians. He said that one night they were in a restaurant in Boston and Marciano was eating dinner and Murphy was drunk and tried to start something.Grabbed Marciano's shirt.They had to beak it up real fast."
"That second fight was even going into the last two rounds.Then Murphy stopped fighting.."said George."They had their hooks in him pretty good by then."
The topic of Bob Murphy seemed to be over.There wasn't anything else to add.
"Say George,"I said."You were a line coach at the Catholic University. What was it like back then?"
"Everyone ran the single wing. You couldn't do that now,"he said with a smirk."The linemen have to hold their blocks too long.."
"I guess things have changed a lot since then,"I said.
"You could say that,"said George as he began wiping the bar with a towel.


Irish Bob Murphy

[dagosd2000]

Old Fighters Don't Die...

Only one thing was holding me back about heralding GGG as settling the score with Canelo last night. Let it be said,Canelo "lost" that first fight. He knew it That female judge Byrd must have been on something to give Canelo the advantage of 9 of those 12 rounds for the redhead. GGG was the stalker,the harder puncher,the stronger man. He was the imposer.He dominated the fight,but during the last two frames(and this is what stuck in my mind) he slowed. He was getting tagged. Canelo was stopping him in his tracks. It was nothing stunning.GGG wasn't in trouble.He just looked tired. But with all that ,he enough rounds in the bank to have his hand raised at the end. But we're talking Las Vegas and Arum and Golden Boy and Adelaide Byrd and all the money to be made in a rematch and so on.


You'd think GGG getting shafted and then Canelo coming up dirty with PEDs in his blood would set the stage for GGG to have the motivation,not to mention the revenge factor,not to let the Mexican off the hook the next time. But with all that reasoning,I couldn't get the last two rounds of the first fight out of my mind

When someone would ask me who I thought was going to win the second go,I always couched my response something like"Well I think GGG won't play around with him and win,but what raises a red flag with me is the last two rounds of the first fight.GGG might have got caught up with father time." That red flag stopped me from placing a wager on the fight when I went down to the Caliente Sports book in Tijuana last night.It didn't matter to me who won.If I'd bet the thing it would have,but I'm at the point in my life where it doesn't matter one way or another who wins the game or the fight.

Following boxing long enough, you'll see the time the older fighter steps into the ring and he's not up to snuff like in the past.When Dempsey defended his title against Tunney in Philly,it was apparent early that he'd lost it. The legs are the sign.When they go,those flat tires can't be replaced like on a car. Jack lost 19 of the 20 rounds in the two fights with Gene.Only the "long count" round in Chicago was a round scored for Dempsey.They wanted a rubbermatch,but Dempsey had enough dough in the bank.He was thinking of his health. Ali's ciomeback told us that he'd have to resort to "rope a dopes" and a lot of holding the other guy by the back of the head.Recall the 3rd Frazier fight?No points taken away by Carlos Padilla.Ali couldn't float around a ponderous Bonavena.Ali had flattened out.His once sprightly legs had the air let out of them. But Ali kept on with fighting.Considering he wasn't the butterfly anymore,he showed his mettle and engage in some of the most memorable and important fights in heavyweight history. But there were a few yawners,Lubbers and Evangelista just to name two. If Ali wasn't in the spotlight(and that meant he had to be fighting)his ego would crave replenishmentJack finished his life with all his marbles. Muhammad's family was preparing for his last rites ten years before he passed away.


So what happened last night in Las Vegas was more or less a continuation of the first fight between Canelo and GGG. Round one was in a way "round 13." GGG came from his corner at the opening bell and was in a defensive posture in the middle of the ring. He didn't press. Canelo went after him and in the exchanges GGG was the weaker man.He couldn't keep himself intact. Back in his corner after each round he was exhausted..Rounds 11 and 12 of the first fight jumped out in my mind validating what I thought may have happened. GGG became an old fighter in those last two rounds. He was an old fighter last night.They'll be no fountain of youth to be found. He won't catch lightning a bottle. That's for the fiction writers He had a few moments,but it was in flurries. If they fight again he might get hurt.The Arums and Golden Boys and the fans will want to have a rubbermatch. Everyone will make money for sure,but if Abel Sanchez is looking out for his boy,he'll tell GGG it's time to call it a career.

It's like what General MacArthur said,"Old fighters don't die,they just get the crap kicked out of them



Canelo Alvarez

[dagosd2000]

The Great One And The Greatest

You know how you try to remember something and no matter how hard you think it never comes to you? When you remembered it it was like you'd never forget it,but if you don't keep the thought near the front of your mind then you forget it.In my case I thought the thought was gone with the wind. Then I stumbled upon what had escaped my mind.The deja vu all over again occurred when I logged onto YouTube looking for Rocky Marciano's interview with "The Great One",Jackie Gleason. If you're old enough you might remember Marciano had his show where he'd bring in a celebrity or maybe a former fighter(he had Jersey Joe on his show),conduct an interview, and then The Rock would do a commentary on a fight that had already taken place. He'd narrate the fight like it was "live".He'd be telling the fighters what to do and what not. Well the thing I was trying to bring back to my consciousness was Marciano's commentary on the Joe Miceli/Johnny Bratton fight. Now Miceli stuck in my mind but Bratton had gotten lost somewhere in my marijuana resined brain cells. But there it was when I went searching for Rocky's interview with Jackie Gleason. Yeh,now I remember.Joe Miceli was fighting "Honey Boy" Bratton.How in the hell could I forget a name like "Honey Boy" Bratton? That's almost as cool as saying "Sugar Ray"(I said "almost"). What made me want to bring all that back to life was I remembered Marciano criticizing Miceli for not training hard enough. Miceli was a dago fighter from the East Side of New York who wowed them in the gym. But like Rocky was commenting,Joe didn't always visit the gym enough times and sacrificed roadwork for all night card games and playing Kelly pool in the billiard joints. Good stuff. Rocky's show was always inciteful and wasn't tailored for the erudite or the insulting Larry Merchant types or the Bert Sugar blowhards.

But like I said, my original search was the guest appearance of Jackie Gleason .Gleason was a marvel(all you had to do is ask him)I think his lack of humility probably prevented him for winning an Emmy.Ralph Kramden,Reggie Van Gleason,Joe The Bartender,and The Poor Soul deserved a statue or two ,but Gleason demanded a lot from the networks because like he referred to himself ,I'm "The Great One." But the gem of Gleason's night with Rocky was his retelling of the time he was working in a club in Jersey and some guy in the audience wouldn't stop with the heckling.Finally, enough was enough and Gleason called the guy out. He wanted him to step outside in the street. Gleason said before he could get out a sentence,the next thing he remembered was the doctor standing over him.Turns out the loudmouth was a fella' named Tony Galento. Gleason is all humble pie as he goes through what happened in Jersey.As he was describing it,Marciano is smiling like he swallowed a canary.
"Jackie,you were in there with one of the toughest street fighters of all time."


Sir Laurence Olivier once said that Jackie Gleason was one of the finest actors to ever emote his lines,That's quite a tribute coming from who I think might have been the most versatile and all time best actor there ever was. Here's Gleason, a product of Chauncey Street in the Bed Sty section of New York. Not exactly a place for shrinking violets getting accolades from Sir Laurence.

But since this a forum about boxing more or less,how can we forget Gleason's portrayal of Maish.Mountain Rivera's manager?Mountain Rivera is the old washed up pug played by Tony Quinn in Rod Serling's film Requiem For A Heavyweight.Gleason should have gotten an Oscar for playing the unscrupulous fight manager. Here's the line that cinched it for me when he's responding to Julie Harris's slap in the face. She's a social worker,Miss Miller, trying to help get Rivera a job now that he can't fight anymore because of a bad lamp.She's wants to get him a spot working as a camp counselor with kids.When Maish takes Rivera to Jack Dempsey's joint on Broadway to get him good and smashed so he can't make his interview,Harris admonishes him.
"You think that when you put clothes on an ape you can make him a dancing partner?" smirks Maish.
Miss Miler lets him have it across his puss.
"Look,"he says ruefully."I've been with him from the start. All he knows is boxing.Now they want him to be a wrestler because he can't fight anymore.But don't tell him he's going to be a camp counselor. Leave him alone. Pity him if you want.But leave him alone."


So in Mountain's last fight he gets permanent damage from an up and coming whirlwind. The name of that gale was Cassius Clay. He played himself in the movie. Now that film was made in 1962.They could have went after Patterson or Liston,but no,they wanted the effervescent Cassius Marcellus Clay He wasn't even the champ yet,But he was already "The Greatest."



the Great One





Jackie Gleason on Rocky's show. It don't get any better.

[Chuck1052]

I had a ringside seat when I saw the bout between Danny "Little Red" Lopez and Art Hafey. Believe me, Hafey took an absolutely brutal beating throughout the bout before the referee finally stopped the fight in the seventh round. Hafey was tremendously game while occasionally landed a blow. But I could not believe that Hafey's corner didn't make any noticeable effort to get the bout stopped much sooner. In addition to being much smaller in height, Hafey had a fighting style that was made to order for Lopez.

- Chuck

Hi Chuck,How's it goin'?

That fight was brutal. It makes my point about the people in Hafey's corner,yet most fighters(Hafey no exception)trust their handlers with blind faith it makes me think about that role Jackie Gleason played(Maish) in the movie Requiem For A Heavyweight.Mountain Rivera(Tony Quinn) had nothing but accolades and love for him.He'd do anything for him ,yet it was his manager that sent him out there when he he had no business doing so. He even bet against him with the bookies. Sometimes Chuck when I see a fight like the one you were talking about between Lopez and Hafey,it makes me think that maybe the wise guys bet it so they'd collect if it went so many rounds even if it meant putting their boy's life on the line.



Me and the great little battler Danny "Little Red" Lopez out in Indio ,Ca. at some golf tournament trying to raise some money for I can't remember..The ex fighters knocked some golf balls around. I tried to sell some of my art. It was a hell of a long drive out to the desert to watch people walk by my paintings yawning. But I saw some great fighters:Danny,Rodolfo Gonzalez,Mando Muniz



Some of my collection gathering dust. I knew I was going to come up a cropper when a lady and her husband stopped at gazed at my rendition of Marciano
"It doesn't even look like him,"said the old bag to her husband.
I should have picked up a golf club and tried my luck.

I am doing fine here in Arizona, Roger.

- Chuck Johnston

[dagosd2000]

Taking A Little Off The Top

Just off the top of my head:Before I get off the topic of Jackie Gleason,here's one of my favorite scenes from the Honeymooners.





That's a good question on one of the threads:Name one fighter you'd like to have your back in a street fight?


Getting back to yesterday's post,I'll opt for Tony Galento


Jackie gleason was commenting about how most fighters are "gentle' outside of the ring.I know what he means,but I wouldn't use the word "gentle". There's also an interseting thread about a book about Rocky Marciano regarding a beef he had in the Army. Something to do with some guy(so he said)who grabbed his pecker so Rocky assaulted him.The article said the Army didn't buy his story. The point I want to make is that fighters are usually pretty easy going guys when they're not in the ring.But I've never known a fighter though who's a "good" drunk. And there are sure plenty of fighters who like to imbibe..Down here in San Diego,I went to a few watering holes with local lightheavyweight Ronnie Wilson and his stable mate, the ex champ Denny Moyer. Sid Flaherty brought Denny down from Oregon to keep tabs on Wilson to majke sure Ronnie was on his best behavior.It was like throwing gasoline on the fire. After a few belts their alteregos would emerge and then you wanted to keep your distance. Their baby faces would morph into a sneer that wanted to bait you into something where you'd wind up counting to see if you had the same number of teeth you had before the beginning of the night's festivities.For some reason they left me alone. Maybe they thought,and this sounds strange,that I understood where they were coming from and i didn't want to meddle with their bad behavior. But even when these two were sober as a church,I never perceived them as being "gentle." Something could set them off like a smart aleck remark,and then they'd flip the switch, and the next thing you'd know is some guy on the floor counting his number of teeth..Fighters aren't gentle by nature. They may not be pretentious on the outside,not very verbose,quiet.But inside it's like a dormant volcano.Say the wrong thing. Make a stupid remark.Kid around(fighters hate kidders).The next thing you know they've punched that sarcastic smugness from that clown's face (fighters hate " clowns")and transformed him into just being the clown that cried.


One last thing.About eight years ago I began having trouble with arthritis. It started in my right hip. Then around three years ago it crept into my left hip.Don't suggest hip replacement surgery. Everytime I'd take a step,I'd wince. I never got a break from my agononizing gait. Sure,there were the painkillers. On days where I wanted to just stay in bed because if I tried to arise,the pain would be so bad I thought I'd lose my mind. Mega doses of Ibuprofen.Tylenol with codeine.Defloxin.Vicodin.Tramadol.All the docs would say is take this pill.All those things that eventually will turn your liver into jello.Then there was acupuncture,massage,chiropractors. I even started smoking pot again. Before I got married marijuana was my social pleasure. I tried reefer madness again,but it did very very little for the pain.The irony was I felt the "high" again,but this time(after 45 years)I didn't enjoy it anymore.My wife makes a potion of marijuana(she finds tons of it when she recycles and soaks it in that 180 proof cane alcohol you can buy in Mexico.But that doesn't give me any relief either when I rub it on. Maybe I'm supposed to drink it..Then the other night I was watching Netflix.They had this documentary on called "Leaf of Faith." it's about a plant that grows in Southeast Asia named Kratom. The locals have been using it for centuries.It's supposed to work on pain and on opiate withdrawals.I don't have issues with opiate addiction,but I will say if I take Tramdol(a synthetic morphine) for more than three days and then stop,my gut turns inside out. Like any of these supplements,there's no regulation so the beef is you don't know what's in the bottle. They don't sell it Health Food stores so you have to find one of these "smoke shops" that sells it. But I'm at the point. where I'm willing to try anyrhing. I don't want to sound like shill,but after a week on this stuff,my pain has gone down from a 9 to a 5. Kratom isn't strong. A dose lasts about 6 hours. Then I take some more. The documentary tries to stay balanced.There's people who swear by it,and then there's the ones that say it's addictive. Well,if I'm not experiencing the pain like before,I guess I'm an addict. But for now I don't think I am.If I stopped today,I just know the intense pain would come back again.If any of you guys out there are going through what I'm experiencing,you might want to look into Kratom. Watch the documentary,research the net,and then make up your mind.




Two Ton Tony Galento.Wouldn't you want him covering your back?

[dagosd2000]

Readin','Rightin,And The Ring

While i was working at the school in Tijuana coaching American football, one of the players on the team introduced me to a local fighter who later became a world champion. The player was also a fighter,a pretty good amateur,and he brought me over to the CREA Gym where this fighter was training. I won't give you the fighter's name because at the time I knew him ,the guy couldn't read or write. He could fight like hell,but he was illiterate. It's been awhile since then ,but I know the fighter still lives in Tijuana and I'm sure by now he knows how to read and write,but his name is not that important to the story.

I remember i was at the contract signing for the defense of his title. His manager had to read everything to him and then when he had to put his "John Hancock" on the dotted line he made an "X". i don't know how it is now,but I remember if you went to the post office in Mexico,you'd see people with pads and pens and type writers sitting on the steps out front for the people who wanted to send a letter to someone but didn't know how to write. Depending on the length of the letter,they paid whoever was copying their words a fee. I don't think the fighter who was the champ at the time felt very embarrassed because he couldn't write a treatise on Euclidian geometry. I think he thought it added to his machismo. As long as he could he put his signature over an opponent's stretched out body on the canvas that was all that mattered.


I remember when Benvenuti was going to get a second crack at Monzon in Monte Carlo. Nino's stepping down the plank of the plane holding a couple of books.One is the plays of Willie The Shake and the other one is Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls Nino conveyed to the boxing public that after reading the books he got his mind right and was ready to win back the title.In the first fight no one had heard much about this Monzon guy from Argentina. His most noteworthy opponent was Bennie Briscoe who held him to a draw. Nino had lived in rarified air winning two out of three from Emile Griffith and then pullng one out of the hat against Louie Rodriguez. But in their first fight in Benvenuti's bella Italia,Carlos broke down the Italian. Finally in the 12th round he hovered over a Nino who was on hand and knees with his hands covering his head.But in the rematch all the prose and poetry in the world couldn't make Nino look anything more than resembling a wet noodle as Monzon went for the kill early.He flung Nino around like a twirling pizza in the air.Nino's corner had seen enough and in the 3rd round threw a copy of Whom The Bell Tolls in the ring.The bell had rung for Bevvenuti. It was his last fightToday.a handsome Nino dressed in his tailored Italian silk suits talks about his trilogy with Griffith.


Tunney beat the rough and tough Dempsey twice pretty decisively. Most of the public wanted Dempsey to catch up with the erudite Tunney. He was always bad mouthing boxing believing the sport was for the crude and that literature was in civilization's corner.Gene was snobby and aloof. Besides, he had a girl's name. I don't know any girl's named Jack. Years later after both had left their marks on the Roaring Twenties,it was Dempsey who the fans wanted to be around. Tunney gave a lot of people inferiority complexes about their IQ's.


But we can say The Greatest was a sort of a reciter..His poems were more the "Roses Are Red ".variety.Muhammad was a rhymer,but he was funny,and to validate his poesy he came through with his predictions.

Carlos Palomino and Armando Muniz fought a title fight once. It was the first, and it may have been the last , two fellas' with sheepskins were slugging it out for a boxing crown. That's saying something.I'm sure those two will be in attendance at Rick Farris's West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame Banquet in two weeks. Carlos has already been inducted, Armando is wii be on the dais September 30th. I'll be looking forward to talking with them,but Ithe conversation will probably not get around to anything like "What are the principle products of New Hampshire?"



Jack Dempsey


Gene LeBell,if you've read this I was just kidding about "Gene" being a girl's name-Honest.




Gene LeBell choking out Steven Seagal

[dagosd2000]

The Divine Road

"Who do you think is going to win?"he asked me.
"El Ruso,"I answered.
Things were working out good so far. I wasn't going to shell out 84 fifty to watch that fight in the States.It wasn't like 84 fifty would break me.it was the principle of the thing.The fight was free in Mexico,but because they knew Mexicans weren't going to cough up 84 fifty or one measly peso to watch the fight even if their boy Canelo was fighting, the fight was free across the border. If you watched it on the Mexican station it was on a delay. If the broadcast was the HBO U.S. feed then it was live. The Hotel Nelson on the corner of 1st and Revolution had the HBO channel. They paid a fee for the telecast,but they knew they'd make up for it because the restaurant and bar would be packed to the doors and the money would come rolling in.There was no cover charge. The few bars in San Diego that showed it asked an arm and a leg to get in the door.I lucked out and found an empty table outside in the patio.

The guy who asked me who was going to win had been sitting at a table across from where I was. He walked by and asked if he could sit with the group that had been sitting there before I arrived. There were four of them,all Mexicans. I think they were Chicanos. Three dudes and a gal. Young types. They had a bucket in front of them filled with beer in crushed ice Two of the guys had on LA Dodger jerseys.One had "Kemp" on the back. The other had "Puig" stenciled on. The third one wore a Raider jersey. "Lynch" was on the back of his jersey. The gal was a skinny scag and wore these big thick black framed glasses. She had on a loose halter top,but her chi chis weren't that big so it didn't urge me that much to see if anything was showing. The dudes were all tattooed up around the neck and shoulders. They were all smoking one cigarette after another and lapping up the beer pretty fast. Then this Mexican dude comes up to them and asks if they had any room for him at their table. They give him the OK and he plops down next to the girl and I can see he wants to fit in right away. He looks a lot older and I'm guessing he wants to be with the younger set so he can feel the same.


Canelo and GGG hadn't made their way ringside yet,Then I saw that everyone at the table across from me was breaking up. That's when the Johnny Come Lately old Mexican dude approached me and asked if there was any room where I'm at. There was an empty chair next to me and I couldn't see any reason to make some excuse.He introduced himself and extended his hand.His said his name was David. I reciprocated with my name and then that's when he asked me who was going to win
"I think the Ruso is going to win too,"he said.
David was short and had a pugnacious look,. He fronted a broken nose that bent a little to the side of his chiseled brown face. Furrows across his forehead and a square jaw,he looked like he had been in a few scapes. His eyes were black and his hair was still thick,but was flecked with gray. I stared at his gnarled coarse hands that had thick fingernails at the ends with a dark layer of grime under them. He had on an old jersey sweater and a pair of levis that were clean but frayed.
"Did you bet the fight?"he asked scooting his chair close to mine.
"No,I'll just sit back and watch what's going on."
A waitress walked over. She was dressed like one of those "Marias" with the bright red skirt and the white blouse with the flower patterns and her hair in pigtails.
"What are you drinking?"I asked David.
"I'll have a beer.Thanks,"he said in a gravely voice.
"Make that two beers,"I said to the waitress.
"They have a good crowd tonight,"said David.
Street musicians were strolling by the crowded tables offering to play any song in the repertoire.It was noisy and crowded.Street vendors on the sidewalks were selling everything from chiclets to serapes to ball caps with Mexican or American sports logos. Little kids were running around. Drunks and hookers were straggling along the street across from The Nelson. Loud music emanated from the bars across the street with names like El Fracaso and El Dragon Rojo.
"How old are you Roger?"asked David with a smile on his face.
"71."
"Damn!.71. Why I thought I had you. I'm 65.That makes you six years older than me,"said David counting on his fingers.
"You live down here?"I asked him.
David looked down at the table as the waitress came over with the beer
"I've been down here for seven years. I got deported."
"What happened."
"I kicked the hell out of two cops. They gave me a thousand days and then they deported me."
I made no comment.
"They said if my father had raised me after he had turned 21 they wouldn't have deported me. When I was doing time my father,my brother,and my nephew died."
"Where were you born?"
"Mexicali,"he murmured still looking down."I have a job.I make 2500 pesos a week."
"You have family down here?"
"No.But I have a daughter who lives in Las Vegas. She visits me.She's all I have except for my two dogs. One's a pit bull. The other a Doberman.You don't want to mess with them."
"Where do you live down here?"
"You know the road that goes to Playas.I live half way off to the side up on the hill. They call it El Divina Camino.You could never find my place unless you'd been there before. The roads twist and turn and then go back again.Even the cab drivers can't find it."
"You can get lost easy here if you don't know where your going.",I said.
"You live in Tijuana?"
" I used to but I live in San Diego. I have a daughter ,three grand daughters and seven great grandchildren down here."
"Damn! That's saying something,"said David now making eye contact.
"You know something David.I've been coming to this hotel for over fifty years."
"Damn!"
"You know that little bar next door?"
David nodded.
"Well,when I first started coming down here Carlos Santana played in a band in that bar,The Convoy Club.They played rock n' roll.The kids would go there to dance."
David stared at me.
"You know where the Soriana is up the street?"I asked."Well that whole block was a bar. They called it The Long Bar.It had these mirrors at both entrances and if you stood in front of them your body would look all these funny shapes."
David was still not saying anything. I looked up at the big screen television. Canelo and GGG were walking towards the ring.As both fighters climbed into the ring I was thinking that I was glad to be living in San Diego.



The Dragon Rojo Bar

[dagosd2000]

How Superman Got His Muscles

If you look up the page,I posted a pic of Gene LeBell choking out Steven Seagal. That was on the level. Seagal was going around saying that no one could choke him out,but Lebell was in the room and took him up on it. Seagal let LeBell get him in a choke hold.Witnesses said Seagal then started punching at LeBell's nuts,couldn't break the lock,and then passed out. Before LeBell put him to sleep.Seagal soiled on himself.

Gene Lebell was probably the most known of all the martial arts instructors.Not only did he mix it up with just about all the famous grapplers and martial arts people of his day,LeBell was a teacher of his skills to some of the Hollywood set Mickey Rooney,James Cagney,Kirk Douglas,and Sly Stallone to name a few.

Here's an interesting tidbit.Lebell was hired by George Reeves to build up his body in preparation for the Superman television series LeBell got Reeves on the weights.

I met LeBell a few years ago at Rick Farris's West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame banquet. He was sitting at the table next were I was. Just about all the ex fighters and boxing ilk came up to him and chatted. LeBell's mother was Aileen Eaton. The late Mrs. Eaton was being inducted into the Hall. Her son went to the dais and paid his tributes. He said that his brother Mike was the "nice' Lebell. Gene seemed amiable too when I talked to him. I didn't want to test him though with saying he couldn't choke me out even if the guy was 85 years old.



"Judo" Gene Lebell at the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame. That's when he called him himself "Judo" Gene LeBell. I used to see him on television on the wrestilng cards when i was kid in Chicago.

[dagosd2000]

Take A Time Out And Think About It

I remember when football was my whole life. I'm talking American football. Americans don't realize when they talk about "football" outside of the U.S. people think they are referring about the game we call "soccer."No one else calls it"soccer" but us.That's why when I leave the country I make sure I never refer to "soccer" as their football. The immigrant population here is big on football(the game you play with your feet).They fill the stadiums across the country. I don't think Americans that were reared on the National Football League will ever gravitate to the rest of the world's football. Americans will never call "soccer" "football".I played a lot of American football in school. Then,soccer was nothing.There were no leagues,no TV,no interest.It was a game Americans thought was boring. Not enough points scored. It was like watching the grass grow in your front yard. I went along with that train of thought.


But marrying my Mexican wife and going down to central Mexico several times a year,and then taking my wife and grandkids to Europe every summer,football with the feet began to overtake my former passion for the game played with all that padding and protection. Now with these morons not wanting to stand for the anthem it wasn't difficult to put the NFL on my pay no mind list.But the American game, if you sit down and think about it,is the game that moves at a snails's pace. Figure it out. A game is 60 minutes(4 ,15 minute quarters). Each side roughly runs 60 plays a game. Each play averages around 5 seconds. Multiply 5 times 120(total plays) and the total is 600 seconds. There's 60 seconds in a minute.Divide that into 600. That's 10 minutes of action in a 60 minute game. Between walking back to the huddle after the play is over, calling the play in the huddle,walking to the line of scrimmage to run the next play;football American style is one of most lethargic endeavors in sports.


But the "game" is really not 60 minutes. There's all the penalties,the revues and challenges,the time outs(now there are all the commercial timeouts it seems after every exchange of the ball).If you can get through watching a game under 4 hours it goes into the Guinness record book. How about the plays themselves? A running back plows through the line for a 4 yard gain and the crowd goes crazy.A receiver catches the ball for a 15 yard advance and there's pandemonium The players wear so much gear they look like Robby The Robot. Now they have these rules where you can't hit another player with your helmet..If you caress the quarterback one nano second after the whistle it's an "un sportsman like penalty.Hey,,how about all that jitterbugging in the end zone?

American football is suffering for me to watch. And if you want to make me go out of my mind ,pin me to the front of the TV to listen to all the pregame analysis and then post game opinions. Everyone and their grandmother has an opinion engraved in stone.The sports channels go on and on 24/7.I can get up at 3 in the morning to take a leak ,turn on the tube,and there's some guy all amped up ranting about the game.

To think that there was a time when I was a kid if Notre Dame or the Chicago Bears lost I'd cry like a baby.Now, I'm just not interested anymore. I feel like I've grown up



Vince Lombardi

Not only was he Italian and a football coach,he was a god.(Run that video of me back then.I want to see what a real alien looks like)

[dagosd2000]

A Finish To The Day

This was back in the 70's when I was between jobs. I had quit my job with the county working in the Agriculture Department .I was in charge of' structural pest control." That meant I went around spraying essentially weeds and cockroaches. In a way it wasn't so bad because I was my own boss. No one else wanted to do that kind of work. But after awhile I didn't either. The Department of Agriculture was basically a law enforcement agency that set codes and enforced those rules in the private sector. The tech would go in the field to make sure some farmer was using a pesticide within the limits of the law. For example ,when a grower sprayed his crops was he wearing a mask? Did he spray when the wind was over the legal limit?Did he use the legal dosage of pesticide in his sprayers? But like many government agencies like the San Diego County of Agriculture, we were the grossest violators.When the county crews would go out on the spray rigs eradicating tumbleweeds lets say,you'd see us not wearing our masks. Often the wind would be blowing like hell,but I will say this,that gave the us an excuse not to do any work. So I'll put it this way.When the wind was within the legal limit,the sprayers would say it wasn't, and not do the work anyway. As far as measuring the proper dosages of chemicals in the tank,we often dumped everything we had in our storage into the mix. We wanted to make sure we killed everything.Then if we had anything left over,we'd go back to the warehouse and dump the rest down the sink. Then I got to thinking that we were killing ourselves in the process. Time to switch careers and be a teacher.

So as I was working on getting my teaching credential,I worked part time for a friend of mine,Pat Vetere, who owned a liquor store near the corner of 30th Street and Adams Avenue in the North Park area of San Diego. He was paying me 5 dollars an hour working the night shift. I was going to school during the day taking courses to get my credential.Pat also knew Ronnie Wilson and had roomed with him before Pat got himself married. That's how I got introduced to Wilson,through Pat.


Working the night shift at the liquor store had its ups and downs. I got held up once. Then some dope fiend came in one night and tried to steal a pint of booze. I tackled him out in the street and gave him a beating. Then that night after I closed the store someone came back and threw a trash can through the window But for the most part it was pretty slow working that night shift. Pat also owned the bar on the corner,Homers. His wife's father(whose name was Homer) used to own the joint before he keeled over from a heart attack. Pat took over after he died.The bar had been around forever. Mostly, the local alcoholics would drink enough booze to keep the lights on in the place.


There was a bus stop right outside the liquor store. Monday through Friday this old Italian guy named Gino would get off the bus at the bus stop after work and come in the liquor store to buy a pack of cigarettes and then trek over to Homers to finish up his day. Well,Gino, when he'd come into the liquor store to buy his cigarettes ,was the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet Gino had fought in the big war and was nearing retirement time.He 'd come in bent over a little a wouldn't want to make eye contact,never wanted to make conversation. His sandy hair was thinning atop his small head. His cheeks were sallow, lips colorless,and his eyes were almost transparent. He spoke under his breath.He dressed modestly.I think he had a magazine stand downtown somewhere. After getting his cigarettes he wouldn't say goodby or anything and shuffle out the door to Homers

But soon I was to learn that there were two Ginos. Gino would get off the bus around 6:30,buy his pack of smokes,and then disappear into Homers. After three or four hours,Gino would re emerge and come back inside the liquor store. But now Gino had transformed himself into Mr. Hyde. He'd stagger up to the counter,lean over, and give me the glare
"Give me a pint of Popov,"he'd snarl.
Now I'd have to brace for what was coming.
"You think you're a tough son of a bitch because you know Ronnie Wilson."
"What makes you think that?"I asked him trying to weather the storm.
"You just know him because Pat introduced you to him."
"So?"
"So?,"the old man sneered."Ronnie Wilson is going to kick your ass next time he sees you."
"What makes you say that?"
"You think he didn't know what you were up to when you were talking to his wife? You're a big bull s-----r."
"She wanted to talk to me,"I said.
"Sure she did,.She knew you were a pussy."
"So why does Ronnie Wilson want to kick my ass?"
The old man held the bottle of vodka wrapped in a brown bag.and raised his arm.
"Don't insult my intelligence you little pussy."
I didn't take my eyes off his hand..
"If Pat didn't own this place I'd leap over the counter and I'd crack open your skull."
The old man began lowering his arm. He gave me a dirty look and then turned and walked out the door.

I thought about what he had said. I might have gotten upset with him,but there was some truth in it..

[dagosd2000]

The old Hollywood Theater.

The last burlesque house in the U.S. closed its doors I don't know way back when. Bob Johnston owned it and The Sports Palace next door. Bob' brother Charley had a piece of Archie Moore along with Doc Kearns When I was a teenager old man Takasugi owned the Yokohama Bar across the street from the burlesque house. He'd call the Hollywood from his place and then they'd let me in through the side door Texas Bobbie Roberts was there. She'd been around,but I bet if I looked up "woman" in the dictionary there'd she be.

[chrisjs1985]

Great photo. Just looking through this thread and loving it.

Roman is one of my favorites. Very underrated and such a shame he's still not been inducted into the IBHOF. He had such a great style and had some really big wins - Watanabe, Rojas, Laciar (himself also deserving of induction).

[dagosd2000]

Great photo. Just looking through this thread and loving it.

Roman is one of my favorites. Very underrated and such a shame he's still not been inducted into the IBHOF. He had such a great style and had some really big wins - Watanabe, Rojas, Laciar (himself also deserving of induction).
[/quote

Chris
I think part of the problem is that most of the IBHOF guys are east coasters. I don't know if it's a jealousy thing or they never looked at what was going on out here. Like I PM'd you before. How could they have not admitted Eder Jofre on their initial induction?He didn't make it until 3 years later.

[chrisjs1985]

Yeah. That Jofre waited until the third year is insane. He's one of the very best fighters ever.

Yeah, I am not into the habit of saying "oh well this fighter made it so this fighter should", or saying a fighter didn't deserve it - they all deserve the recognition and then some BUT it would appear thee's some kind of bias or just perhaps they don't research certain fighters properly. I think it's natural that the more and more people on the panel that are younger may ignore older fighters that fought limited amounts of fights on US TV or outside of California. I was surprised, impressed and happy that Daniel Zaragoza got inducted for example. No doubt him getting some HBO action at the end of his career helped push him over the edge and keep him fresh in the voters minds.

Rafael Herrera, Gilberto Roman, Raton Macias, Jose Becerra, Chucho Castillo for example just to name a few should all be in there as of years ago. Rodolfo Gonzalez, Joe Medel really deserve strong consideration too and I don't see them on the ballot. The WBHOF is a little friendlier in that sense but it just appears that a lot of very deserving guys are being overlooked for their excellent careers and there's some fighters that have gotten in largely based on a single win because it's more famous. How can Herrera not be in? He's still alive too so he deserves to have an induction whilst he can enjoy it.

Great photo. Just looking through this thread and loving it.

Roman is one of my favorites. Very underrated and such a shame he's still not been inducted into the IBHOF. He had such a great style and had some really big wins - Watanabe, Rojas, Laciar (himself also deserving of induction).
[/quote

Chris
I think part of the problem is that most of the IBHOF guys are east coasters. I don't know if it's a jealousy thing or they never looked at what was going on out here. Like I PM'd you before. How could they have not admitted Eder Jofre on their initial induction?He didn't make it until 3 years later.

[dagosd2000]

The Man From Sao Paulo


In 1972 when there were no computers around nor Boxrec records for reference,the' Bible of Boxing"(as editor and founder Nat Fleischer liked to call it),Ring Magazine, was the source for past records.You also had to put up with Fleischer's opinions of who were the greatest fighters who ever stepped inside the ring. Now Fleischer at the time(1972) was one of those old timers that had been around when boxing was either illegal in most states or a match would be considered "an Exhibition" .A "No Decision" affair. Maybe the papers would give their slant on the outcome,but a lot of those calls were tainted by a fighter's manager making sure the scribe enjoyed a big meal at the Waldorf after writing it the way "he "saw it.

Looking through my '72 edition of the Ring Record Book,Fleischer made a list of the top all time great fighters in each weight category. Here's some eye openers. Now remember,he thought he had everyone at a disavantage because he supposedly saw those fights that were staged on barges out in the harbor or the ones they had to build the makeshift ring out in the desert across the Rio Grande. Top heavyweight-Johnson. Fitzsimmons number 3.Louis 6.Marciano 10. No Ali.Light heavies:Kid McCoy number 1. No Foster or The Mongoose.Middleweights:Ketchel -1. Ray Robinson-5.Welters:Walcott-1. No GriffithsNapoles,,Rodriguez. Armstrong got the eight hole.Lightweights.:Gans on top.No other lightweight who fought past 1940.Feathers::McGovern at the head. Pep -4. Where's Sandy?Bantams:Dixon the best.Forget all those great Mexican sluggers in the Southland.But Eder Jofre climbed up to 4 according to Fleischer assessments. Fly's:Wilde-1. Pascal Perez just made it to the 10 slot.OK Pep is up there at number 4 and should have been ranked higher,but the guy who caught my attention was Eder Jofre. Fleischer had gone down to Brazil to see him fight and was impressed. So Eder made Nat's Top 10 bantamweights locking down number 4.


But then I got to thinking.If Fleischer hadn't gone down to Brazil to see him fight in person,Jofre probably would have been left off the list.I'm sure Fleischer could have substituted some fighter who had fought in the back of a saloon in Tombstone,Arizona


Eder Jofre

[chrisjs1985]

Jofre for me is the perfect fighter. Great build for a man that size, not blessed with the speed of a Robinson or a Leonard, but an expert at timing and thinking quick. Excellent poise and balance and major power in both fists. Could throw every punch but I think his uppercut and body punching stand out even though his hook and cross were things of beauty too. His style of being in a little crouch, always with his hands up but always coming forward was mastered. He was hard to hit but always in position to punish. The intangibles were there too. He had a good chin and his recovery powers were great. Look at the fights were he gets hurt or stunned he'd come back the same round or the very next to let you know who's boss.

I can't help but think if he was the consensus #1 all-time bantamweight (whilst killing himself making weight) and then a great featherweight until the age of 40 in the era of no super bantamweight, same day weigh-in's how much damage could he have done 30 years later and how many more people would know him? He was unlucky to lose in Japan to Harada (the only man to beat him), I can't help but feel with the advantages fighters these days have he'd probably have retired with an unbeaten career.

[dagosd2000]

Jofre for me is the perfect fighter. Great build for a man that size, not blessed with the speed of a Robinson or a Leonard, but an expert at timing and thinking quick. Excellent poise and balance and major power in both fists. Could throw every punch but I think his uppercut and body punching stand out even though his hook and cross were things of beauty too. His style of being in a little crouch, always with his hands up but always coming forward was mastered. He was hard to hit but always in position to punish. The intangibles were there too. He had a good chin and his recovery powers were great. Look at the fights were he gets hurt or stunned he'd come back the same round or the very next to let you know who's boss.

I can't help but think if he was the consensus #1 all-time bantamweight (whilst killing himself making weight) and then a great featherweight until the age of 40 in the era of no super bantamweight, same day weigh-in's how much damage could he have done 30 years later and how many more people would know him? He was unlucky to lose in Japan to Harada (the only man to beat him), I can't help but feel with the advantages fighters these days have he'd probably have retired with an unbeaten career.

Chris
This Sunday is the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame Ceremony. Like I PM'd you,Rick Farris ,who puts the event on, has a conduit to Jofre in Brazil .Rick's wife Monica is from Brazil. I think her family has some contacts over there with him.Last year Rick told me about Jofre's battle with dementia and that he is undergoing some new teatment that has somehow reversed the progression of his illness slightly I'll be sure to ask Rick about any Jofre updates and pass them along.

[chrisjs1985]

Great! Thanks I really appreciate it. I follow his social media which is ran by his son and his daughter requested me as a friend. I’m seeing if there’s unseen footage that they may have. There’s a movie based on his life to be released this Thursday in cinemas across Brazil. It’s called “10 segundos para vencer” and I’ve received confirmation it will be available with English subtitles shortly after. His official page wrote this about the movie

“Many thought it was impossible, but in all my life, the impossible word was never part of my vocabulary. Yesterday was the pre-premiere day of the movie 10 seconds to win, which counts beautifully all my professional and family history until I was 37 years old, when I won once again a world title. I knew it would be exciting, but I never imagined a movie as beautiful as this. My thanks to my family and everyone involved. Daniel De Oliveira made me very handsome in cinema. I could see my father at Osmar Prado, it was amazing. My special thanks to Thomas Stavros, who 15 years ago came to me, promised me that he would write a movie for me and that he would launch in the movies. He fulfilled his promise with much struggle and perseverance, and the result could not be better. It's not a simple boxing film, it's a movie also about family, about love, and above all, about overcoming. And if there's something the Brazilian understands, it's about overcoming. Don't miss on September 27th, in cinemas all over Brazil.”

Jofre for me is the perfect fighter. Great build for a man that size, not blessed with the speed of a Robinson or a Leonard, but an expert at timing and thinking quick. Excellent poise and balance and major power in both fists. Could throw every punch but I think his uppercut and body punching stand out even though his hook and cross were things of beauty too. His style of being in a little crouch, always with his hands up but always coming forward was mastered. He was hard to hit but always in position to punish. The intangibles were there too. He had a good chin and his recovery powers were great. Look at the fights were he gets hurt or stunned he'd come back the same round or the very next to let you know who's boss.

I can't help but think if he was the consensus #1 all-time bantamweight (whilst killing himself making weight) and then a great featherweight until the age of 40 in the era of no super bantamweight, same day weigh-in's how much damage could he have done 30 years later and how many more people would know him? He was unlucky to lose in Japan to Harada (the only man to beat him), I can't help but feel with the advantages fighters these days have he'd probably have retired with an unbeaten career.

Chris
This Sunday is the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame Ceremony. Like I PM'd you,Rick Farris ,who puts the event on, has a conduit to Jofre in Brazil .Rick's wife Monica is from Brazil. I think her family has some contacts over there with him.Last year Rick told me about Jofre's battle with dementia and that he is undergoing some new teatment that has somehow reversed the progression of his illness slightly I'll be sure to ask Rick about any Jofre updates and pass them along.

[dagosd2000]

d

[dagosd2000]

A Fuzzy Picture

When Clemente Sanchez won the featherweight title by beating Kuniaka Shibata,it raised some eyebrows. Shibata had beaten the then indestructible Vicente Saldivar in Tijuana. They thought the fight wasn't going to sell that many tickets so they held the match in the Auditorium on the Boulevard in stead of having it in the larger venue, the downtown bullring.Saldivar had notches on his gun with the names of Sugar Ramos,Ismael Laguna,Raul Rojas,Howard Winstone(3 times),and Johnny Famechon.Before meeting Saldivar,the only recognizable victory I saw in Shibata's win column was the trial horse Felipe Torres-a good fighter but not the caliber of the boys that had faced Vicente.As you've heard me tell it before, I almost didn't drive down to Tijuana to watch the fight. I figured I might not catch Saldivar "live" again so I went down there by myself. I had no takers up here that waned to tag along.

.Saldivar was already being mentioned in the same featherweight breath as Pep and Saddler.I figured Shibata would come out fast(most of the Japanese boys were in fine condition).Then it would be the same m.o.Saldivar would withstand everything Shibata threw at him and then Saldivar would walk him down and then break him down, something short of 15 rounds. But someone put kryptonite in Saldivar's water bottle that night. Shibata came out fast,but Saldivar instead of gathering his strength,was waning.He fought in flurries. He looked sick. The fight was close going into the 12th round,but you could see that Saldivar fought like Hercules with a crewcut. His corner stepped in to halt it.

Now everyone was wondering if Shibata was the real article He felt he had backup if he defended his crown in Nippon.At the time there was a minor rivalry between Mexican and Japanese fighters.He knocked out the journeyman Mexican Raul Cruz in the Land Of The Rising Sun. Sunset for Raul happened in round one. After a few more yawners one against Ernesto Marcel in Ernie's backyard,Shibata escaped with a draw. If you look at the scoring all the judges ate their meals with chopsticks.

So now Kuni wants to go back to the land of cherry blossoms and have the home crowd yelling" banzai."This time the mark was another Mexican lunch pail fighter,Clemente Sanchez. But there were no" banzais" to be heard. Clemente said "sayonara" to Shibata in round three and went back to Me Hee Co a happy champion. However,after winning the featherweight title Clemente lost his focus a bit.Everyone bought him a drink and he reciprocated.The gym was some far away place where he couldn't have any fun in. But he had to fight someone.He fought an invisible Mexican fighter in a non title scrap and he was the one that looked like something that got discarded.

There was this fighter around-a Cubano. He was one the pro Cuban pugs who Castro told to get their bags packed because they weren't gong to get paid on his dime.Oh,the fighter's name.Jose Legra. Legra traveled 90 miles east with countrymen Sugar Ramos and Jose Napoles to a country that ate and drank pro prizefighting. But Legra was lured to another Spanish speaking land to ply his trade,Espana.Now most of his fights were those 8 round main events against a lot of fighters you wouldn't have found on Wikipedia. But Legra wasn't shy about fighting. By the time he threw in the towel he had close to 150 bouts. So Sanchez picks on this guy for a title defense.


The fight was on closed circuit TV in Tijuana at the racetrack. Sanchez's people made sure the fight was to take place in Mexico. The bullring in Monterrey would be the venue. Well ,you guys that remembered that closed circuit picture,could recall a few times I bet when the reception wasn't exactly HD.That night at the track, looking at that screen was like having cataracts. Fight fans can be tempermental,but Mexican fight fans, when things aren't going their way,can be darn right unsociable.When the images first appeared they were all fuzzy.You couldn't make out much of anything. Of course the aficianados weren't gong to stand for that. It was a good thing that screen was out of target range because some of those bottles and chairs, if they had scored a bullseye,would have not only ended the transmission,but it might have turned the paying customers into wanting to set fire to the rest of the track. There weren't that many cops on duty so they would have let it happen.

Then just before the first bell.it was announced that Sanchez was over the featherweight limit and regardless of the outcome he would no longer be the champ Maybe that took the edge off the mob. They seemed to settle down after that. Well,the fight began(if you could call it that)and I never saw anything so pathetic in my life. Every time I could make something out on that screen it was Sanchez bouncing off the canvas I stopped counting after the tenth droppage. It rivaled Baer's embarrassment of Carnera.But I do have to say it quieted the mob. I know it almost put me to sleep.



The old Caliente Racetrack.

The old track was burned to the ground in 1971. I was there on the last Sunday. Moday the place was nothing but ashes. it was rebuilt, but it doesn't come close to how beautiful the old track was.

[dagosd2000]

You Can't Limp Away From Him


Eder Jofre was brought to the forum the other day.He was like Olivares and Chavez .They won so much that we thought that they'd never lose.Their victories usually came by the KO route. What was it with these guys?60,70,80 wins without a loss.I saw some draws in there when I started to add up their records,but I remember those guys carving their way up through their weight classes and anyone that got in their way got an ass wuppin'.But just as we were with them(in spirit) in rarified air,we all came down to earth eventually. Ruben was smashed to the canvas by Castillo. Julio really "lost" against Whitaker. Frankie Randall made Chavez look mortal in two fights after that. Eder Jofre went to Japan to put up his title against Fighting Harada,a fighter who was worn down by Joe Medal.Eder had stopped the hard punching Mexican twice.He probably figured on doing the same against Harada

Back then(1966)it was rare if you got to see the replay of a fight. Mexico used to show the replays of fights involving a countryman. I saw Jofre's destructions of Medal.All I knew about his losses against Harada is what I read in the papers.Now with YouTube at our disposal we can get a look at some of those big fights that we had to rely on a scribes' printed words. The first fight was close. If you read the comments on YouTube they are in Portuguese. I'm assuming that correspondence was sent from Brazil. Of course those commenters thought their man got robbed. I thought Harada wen. It was close,but Harada out hustled him. Beat him with the jab. Threw more punches. Had Jofre backing up. It was close,but what I thought lost it for Eder(having the fight in Japan was on the plus side for "Fighting")was that Eder didn't look like Eder. He wasn't the strong Eder we'd seen before. His punches,in the vernacular,had lost their authority.Harada was never in dire straits.It was close,but I thought Harada earned the decision. Jofre then had a tune up match before he sailed back to Japan for the rematch.He gained some weight and was given a draw against a fella' by the name of Manny Elias. Was there handwriting on the wall? Then the rematch against Harada. It was more of the same,but I had it scored by even a slightly wider margin for Harada.


You would think that Jofre would call it a career. He had trouble staying down at 118,but it looked like the old spark was extinguished.His flint was worn smooth..They couldn't have said he got carried out flat on his back in the two Harada fights.. It wasn't like Chavez's last fight against a guy named Wiley with Julio sitting on his stool not answering the bell for round five. Or like Rockin' Ruben being rocked at the Arena Coliseo in Mexico City by a kid named Ignacio Madrid who had four fights under his young belt.No,Eder lost in two close decisions against a tough future Hall of Famer.

But three years later he tries again to be a pro fighter,rgis time with his aim on the featherweight championship. His return entailed 25 straight victories without a defeat Most of the competition was average,but his capture of the title against Jose Legra was memorable. That night he had a bottle with lightning inside it. After that he added Vicente Saldivar, Frankie Crawford,and Famoso Gomez to his win column. He retired ,still regarded,a formidable force.


When I was hanging around the gyms in San Diego,I'd often see Denny Moyer still hitting the bags and skipping rope. Moyer was a champ once. I don't think he's in the IBHOF,but he fought and won against a lot of fighters that had been inducted ay Canastota.He could boast wins over Ray Robinson,Emile Griffith,and Benny Paret. But by the time Moyer arrived in San Diego his boxing skills had waned.His fighting image was fading fight by fight. I would ask myself,"What is a fighter like Moyer doing here in a burg like San Diego?"" I was a dreamer then.I still thought dignity had something to do with boxing. Why don't they make him stop? He''s going to wind up with scrambled eggs between his ears.


But let me tell you ,Moyer wasn't suffering,at least he didn't express any doubts . He was taking a lot of shots,but he was fine with it.
"It's an easy way for me to make money,"he'd remark. "I can always go to the Silver Slipper and make an easy 1500."
To me it didn't look easy,but he'd climb out of the ring,win or lose,with the same stoic expression..He didn't make his exit like Eder Jofre. You can count on one hand the ones who left unblemished:Marciano,Floyd.You can add Tunney and Monzon.Sanchez was still the champ when he totaled his car and himself at the end

Fighters,whether they still think they have it or they need to pay off their debts,often ignore what Father Time is trying to tell them.Sometimes, it's the people around them that are telling them that they still have the goods.

Father Time.That's the guy who wins in the end.He's undefeated. Father Time. As you grow older,you can't limp away from him.



Denny Moyer

[chrisjs1985]

I always wondered why Legra didn’t settle in Mexico and moved to Spain. Spain is one of my personal favorite places on earth but hardly a Boxing hotbed. He amassed some big numbers there but probably missed out on bigger matches though he obviously landed big ones with Jofre, Saldivar and Winstone. It appears he’s living well to this day in Madrid where he’s lived since his move to Spain. I think his boxrec profile incorrectly shows Barcelona as his hometown.

Re: Eder’s Featherweight run. Frankie Crawford is an interesting name to me. I’ve only seen the highlights of that bout. I glanced at Crawford’s run of form at that point and he was losing a lot. Was he washed up or just matched tough? Perhaps the records aren’t 100% accurate? Another great looking fight was the Shig Fukayama one. On the highlights it appears a war (vs. Jofre) with both getting hurt and then Jofre expertly going in for the close with bodyshots.

[dagosd2000]

I always wondered why Legra didn’t settle in Mexico and moved to Spain. Spain is one of my personal favorite places on earth but hardly a Boxing hotbed. He amassed some big numbers there but probably missed out on bigger matches though he obviously landed big ones with Jofre, Saldivar and Winstone. It appears he’s living well to this day in Madrid where he’s lived since his move to Spain. I think his boxrec profile incorrectly shows Barcelona as his hometown.

Re: Eder’s Featherweight run. Frankie Crawford is an interesting name to me. I’ve only seen the highlights of that bout. I glanced at Crawford’s run of form at that point and he was losing a lot. Was he washed up or just matched tough? Perhaps the records aren’t 100% accurate? Another great looking fight was the Shig Fukayama one. On the highlights it appears a war (vs. Jofre) with both getting hurt and then Jofre expertly going in for the close with bodyshots.

Chris
In Enrique Encinosa'a interesting anthology of Cuban boxing titled Hard Leather,he says that when Legra immigrated to Miami he was dismayed by segregation. In Mexico,he hadn't settled in when he was lured to Spain by his countryman,Kid Tunero.tunero had a successful career in Spain and he took Legra under his wing. They became a team You're right about Europe not offering the kind of competition that Sugar Ramos and Jose Napoles encountered in Mexico and the U.S. Legra ,after retiring,went into business(real estate and a clothing line) and worked for a public relations firm. After visiting Napoles a few years ago,I think Legra made the smart move going to Spain.Mexico is totally out of control.The narcos are terrorizing the country. Where Napoles lived in Ciudad Juarez,it is like a ghost town.Julio Cesar Chavez's brother was murdered not too long ago. He ran a rehab clinic for addicts. They tried to shake him down for money.


Crawford was a self destructive person. By the time he fought Jofre he was burning himself out rapidly. A tough guy who was more tough on himself.Fukiyama was more or less a stepping stone for up and comers



Frankie Crawford

Rick Farris tells a funny and not so funny story about one day after Rick and Crawford had trained in the gym,Crawford is all hyped up about wanting Rick to take him to pay his gas bill. Rick is in the car driving and Crawford is getting more and more worked up. Rick doesn't know where he wants him to go. He's going driving around in circles. Finally,Crawford yells at Rick to pull into the next gas station.Rick says he's got plenty of gas.
"I don't care,"screams a mad Frankie."Pull into the next station.I want to pay my gas bill.."

[chrisjs1985]

Haha wow that's a good one. He sounded like quite the character.

I've been meaning to get that book you mentioned "Hard Leather". I haven't read too many reviews on it but it appears to be well researched. I am not really into the wave of Cuban boxers of the last 20-30 years because outside of Casamayor they mostly bored me to tears especially Rigondeaux. The wave of great boxers from way back then though I am very interested in and always want to learn more. Napoles, Rodriguez, Gavilan, Chocolate, Ramos, Legra etc; I'll purchase that book today i think.

I've seen relatively recent interviews with Legra and he seems healthy and it's good that he's seemingly lived a good life. He definitely lived through Spain through a very interesting time in their history. Madrid is my favorite major capital city though Sevilla has my heart.

Did you ever get to see much of a couple of Mexican bantamweights by the names of Toluco Lopez and German Ohm? It appears they mostly fought in Mexico and never got to fight for the world title. That era of Mexican bantamweights was murderers row. Now that era I'd love to read a book about!