The first thing I did when I saw that Andy Ruiz beat Anthony Joshua was to look up Ruiz's nationality. I see where he was born in Imperial,California. That makes him an American.He was the second Latino fighter to hold a version of the heavyweight championship. The other was John Ruiz who was born in Massachusetts. That makes him an American also. Ruiz was of Puerto Rican descent when in 2001 he beat Evander Holyfield to win the WBA heavyweight title.But at the time of that victory Lennox Lewis had two belts ,WBC and IBF and Vlad Klitschko donned the WBO crown. Lewis hiccupped in his defense against Hasim Tahman in April of 2001,but cured his contraction against Hasim in November of that year. Everybody,and I think Ruiz too,knew that he was the weak sister of the three heavyweight title holders. When Roy Jones Jr. wanted to step up and fight against one of the triad he went after Ruiz,After the loss to Jones the fans didn't miss John Ruiz much.When someone posts on the forum about "Who do you think the most boring fighter was of all time?",Ruiz always gets a lot of print.
So the other night Andy Ruiz does his Buster Douglas Tokyo imitation and drops Anthony Joshua to the canvas like a sack of refried beans.Andy was on the seat of his pants first,but got back up and dished it out to the Englishman.Anthony doesn't want this fight to "define" his career,but we can't help to think that the loss will determine his status in the rank and file of heavyweight title holders.
Now my thoughts are on how Mexico will take to Mr. Andy Ruiz Jr. Remember,he's an American. A Chicano that's considered a "bastard" Mexican(pardon my French) by pure Mexican purists. Mexico didn't like Oscar. I go to these boxing conventions in LA and I hear guys like the Alberts Sandoval and Davila,and Frankie Duarte shake their heads describing how the Mexican fans at the Olympic and the rest of the City Of Angels venues were always in the corner for the Mexican national when there was a faceoff.
But the two Alberts and Francisco were lighter guys. Now there is a "Mexican" heavyweight champion, who conquered the most unified of the three top big men (Fury,Wilder,and Joshua), to be Numero Uno. Will Mexico take him into their fold? I wish I had a crystal ball.
"Mantequilla" Napoles came over from Cuba and eventually became a Mexican citizen. Even the president, Diaz Ordaz, pulled a few strings to expedite the process.But Jose lived in Mexico and still does. He devoured the culture and the country, and the aficianados ate him up..I don't see Andy Ruiz going the route of Jose Napoles. Andy is not going to migrate south of the border
Damn! He really woke up the boxing world the other night at Madison Square Garden. The whole world went to see Joshua but Ruiz blew down his wall good and hard..But how much did he stir up enthusiasm south of the border?The kid has a body like another Chicano,Chris Arrrola,but the heart of a Julio Cesar Chavez. Only time will tell how long he'll stay on top and if the home of his ancestors make him a second cousin.
When Marciano won the championship Italy didn't have a multitude of boxing talent. So they loved Rocky as one of their own. Mexico has always had a contingent of great fighters,but NEVER a heavyweight champion of the world. Will they look the other way about what side of the border Andy's mom gave birth?Imperial ,California is a stone's throw away from the international line.But throughout history Mexico has perceived any Chicano fighter as being from the dark side of the moon.
Here's Chris Arreola. Andy Ruiz all of a sudden is the biggest name of the biggest guys,but I don't have his face on canvas. It all happened so fast.But for now we'll be seeing a lot of him
Here's a new Q & A I did with Marcel Jofre, son of Eder Jofre. Questions in bold.
I heard in 1973 for his fight with Legra, President Medici wanted to keep the two gloves of that fight. What happened to that?
It is true. It was a time of the military regime here in Brazil, and there was some pressure for my father to give the pair of gloves to the president. As my father had promised, if he became champion he would put the gloves in my grandmother's grave. It was a rather embarrassing situation and they proposed that he give up only one glove. So it was done, the other was covered in bronze and placed in the grave of my grandmother.
Why did the Jose Legra fight happen in Brasilia and the Vicente Saldivar fight happen in Salvador? Most of the major fights in Brazil happened in São Paulo?
These two fights occurred outside of São Paulo because there was a possibility of extra money with the TV broadcast, besides the commercial part that made extra money. I have heard from my father that he liked to fight outside of São Paulo as well, because he believed that the environment was a bit heavy (in São Paulo).
What was the best celebration in Brazil? The bantamweight championship with victory over Eloy Sanchez in 1960 or the featherweight championship victory over Legra in 1973?
Certainly the greatest was the first title, when he won the bantamweight title. It was really fantastic the welcome of the Brazilian people on my father's return from the USA.
Is it true that your father was on television frequently in Brazil after he retired?
After he stopped fighting, the schedule of appointments remained busy, with plenty of TV and newspapers, as well as commercials. He even participated in a TV show on Globo TV, the largest in Brazil, with questions and answers where the theme was Muhammad Ali.
Is it true that there was negotiation to fight in England? I heard there was negotiation for him to face Walter McGowan and Alan Rudkin?I think he would have been popular with the fans there.
Surely if he had fought in Europe, it would have been a success, but in the bantamweight class at the time, the majority of the opponents were Mexican and Japanese. At that time, Europe was sort of out of the loop. Maybe he had some negotiation for the fights against Rudkin and McGowan but I do not know.
I heard that it was discussed for him to rise and fight against the Sugar Ramos for featherweight championship in 1963 or 1964. Was that close to happening?
Again I'm not sure if there was contact for this fight, especially in regards to a weight class above. Maybe some conversation might have happened because my father was having problems getting down to the bantamweight limit.
What was his favorite foreign location where he had a fight? What was his favorite venue in Brazil?
I remember my father speaking fondly of having fought in the USA, in the Olympic Auditorium, which is now a church. My cousin Raphael Zumbano, who lives in Las Vegas the other day sent me pictures. Here in Brazil, São Paulo, more precisely Ginãsio do Ibirapuera was the place where he fought the most. He had good experiences in Porto Alegre, Salvador, and Brasilia also.
Is there any arena or city that he would have liked to have had the chance to fight, but the opportunity did not present itself?
I don’t believe he had frustration at not fighting elsewhere. I particularly wish he had fought at Madison Square Garden in New York
Does he still enjoy watching his old fights on youtube and dvd?
Whenever he has the opportunity, he likes to watch his fights and other fighters as well. That's for sure in his DNA. The passion for boxing is very much alive in him.
Do you often watch his fights on youtube or on DVD?
Whenever I can see yes, I also have the boxing virus in the veins. (laughs)
He fought many times and was always in great condition. Was he training all year long when he was an active fighter?
My father was always very responsible with his training and condition because he was aware that was the instrument for his fights. He always did his running in the morning and in the afternoon the technical part with my grandfather in the academy of São Paulo Futebol Clube. There were no magic tricks. My father was always an athlete very aware of his ability and no adversary put any fear in him. My father respected everyone equally, but always with the certainty of his mental condition focused to win.
Has he met some of his favorite boxers and famous fighters like Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Robinson?
I know he met Ali, when he was here in Brazil doing a performance at Ibirapuera in the 70's. At the meeting they exchanged compliments and the meeting was cool. He did not know Joe Louis personally but has a chain with a gold medal of St. Benedict that belonged to Louis. This medal was given to him by a famous Brazilian artist named Hebe Camargo who said she had an affair with Louis. He also met Sugar Ray Robinson at the time he fought for the bantamweight title in 1960. He never got to meet with Tyson.
I know he was a top politician in Sao Paulo. In what other ventures did he enter after his boxing career?
My father was a councilman for the city of São Paulo for 4 opportunities, for approximately 12 years. Before that he had a clothing company in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
What part of Argentina was your grandfather “Kid Jofre from?
My grandfather was from the Province of Central Rosario.
How many of his fights did you attend and which ones? What are your best memories of these fights?
Since I was 8, 9 years I have been following my father's fights very closely. Each fight was a sensational event for a child who had father that was a hero to many people. The best memories were being around relatives, especially my grandfather. Being close to the big boxing shows was a spectacular experience.
Have you ever tried to follow his footsteps and pursue boxing?
Honestly, I've never been much stimulated by him to pursue a boxing career. I think that because of so many difficulties he did not want the same for me.
Were you a big fan of Acelino Freitas? What other fighters were you a fan of?
Honestly and sincerely I was a fan of my father. The other fighters I had a certain appreciation for but none that glittered in my eyes. I wanted them to win because they were Brazilian.
Which of his fights are you most proud of?
I'm proud of all them (laughs). I think the fight that made him world champion at featherweight against Legrá. I was 10 years old and had more understanding of it which made it special. It was thrilling to see my champion father and also my grandfather's happiness.
How did you feel about the recent movie "10 segundos para vencer"? Did you like to enjoy the movie?
The film was a long project of about 10 years until it materialized. Here in Brazil, in sports all that matters is football (soccer) and making a movie about boxing was difficult. But it worked, and it was a great emotion to see the story of my family on the screen. This film later became a mini-series that appeared on TV Globo in 4 chapters.
If anyone has any questions they'd like answered please let me know.
chrisjs1985 wrote: ↑04 Jun 2019, 18:14
Thanks Roger. The movie should be arriving any day now. I'll make sure to burn you a copy and send it to you as soon as I can.
Looking forward to seeing the movie. I've had my fill with the documentaries and movies on Ali,Duran,Tyson. Here's a fighter,Eder Jofre,who was as great or greater than those I just mentioned. Didn't get inducted the first time with the IBHOF.Had to wait two years. Comes back after a layoff and wins the featherweight title and retires undefeated. Maybe the most underrated fighter of all time.
Chris
While I'm at it. Do you have any info on Jofre's draw with Manny Elias in Sao Paulo? I know by that time Jofre was getting run down making 118.I know in Argentina they had some weird rules when a fight was close they scored it a draw,or something like that. Monzon had 9 of them on his record. Any similarity of scoring at that time in Brazil?Thanks,Roger
dagosd2000 wrote: ↑04 Jun 2019, 19:08
Chris
While I'm at it. Do you have any info on Jofre's draw with Manny Elias in Sao Paulo? I know by that time Jofre was getting run down making 118.I know in Argentina they had some weird rules when a fight was close they scored it a draw,or something like that. Monzon had 9 of them on his record. Any similarity of scoring at that time in Brazil?Thanks,Roger
Yes, he led on all three cards in that fight but because he led by less than four rounds on two of the cards it was a draw, much the same way as many of Monzon's. The Elias fight was a little over the bantamweight limit. Apparently, he didn't look like the Jofre of old, with some local scribes suggesting the end was near. He said after the fight, “If it goes on like this, I think the time has come to hang up my gloves.” Jofre won by shut out five years later when they met again. He really needed to charge his batteries and had outgrown the division.
dagosd2000 wrote: ↑04 Jun 2019, 18:57
Looking forward to seeing the movie. I've had my fill with the documentaries and movies on Ali,Duran,Tyson. Here's a fighter,Eder Jofre,who was as great or greater than those I just mentioned. Didn't get inducted the first time with the IBHOF.Had to wait two years. Comes back after a layoff and wins the featherweight title and retires undefeated. Maybe the most underrated fighter of all time.
He really should get more recognition. The money was good for him in Asia and Brazil so he just didn't get to fight here as much and Brazil is a Futebol country. Futebol is #1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Too bad. Maybe had he fought Becerra instead of Sanchez for the title and maybe Macias had stuck around a little longer he'd have gained more acclaim. Also, a bout with Olivares was proposed when they were featherweights but fell apart in negotiations.
Another one that got away, he was supposed to fight Jesus Pimentel in 1964 also in San Antonio but the fight wasn't drawing well and Pimentel refused to go to Brazil when it came to moving the location. He lost about 18 months off his career there.
Archie Moore really thought he could beat Rocky Marciano to win the heavyweight championship. Moore along with Jersey Joe Walcott thought they could outbox Marciano with no problem. I used to frequent a bar in National City called the Elbo Rest. Next door to the bar was a big Mexican market .My wife would shop inside the place while I'd have a beer and talk to the owner,Johnny Gonzalves,who liked to work behind the bar. The Elbo Rest was a real neighborhood hangout. The place was nothing fancy-an old stucco building with some of the paint beginning to peel off.Inside there were some small round tables in the center and a row of booths with cracks In the upholstery along the back wall.Behind the bar were pictures of famous Mexican fighters. In the center above the register was a picture of Archie Moore.His picture was the biggest.
Johnny used to like to cook up carne asada on Sundays and the local crowd would filter back out side to the patio to drink beer and eat carne asada I never joined the crowd outside.My wife like to go to the big Mexican market during the week when it wasn't so crowded. So I'd have beer and listen to Johnny tell stories mostly by myself. Johnny was a generation older than me. He was always smiling and had a philosophy to go along with each conversation. Johnny was getting taken down by diabetes,but it didn't alter his mood. He was always upbeat and could go on forever.
Johnny liked talking about Archie Moore. Moore liked to buy his meat at C&M Meats down the street.Johnny said that Archie would always drop by to say hello when he was in the neighborhood.Johnny's favorite Archie Moore story was about the time when Johnny was a little kid.He had contracted TB when he was picking lettuce in the fields with his folks in Imperial Valley out in the desert.They put Johnny in the TB ward for the kids in the old city hospital in downtown San Diego. This was before Archie's fight with Marciano. Johnny said that Archie would drop by to visit the kids in the ward. He promised them that after he beat Marciano he'd come back to the ward and throw a party for everyone.
Well the night of the fight all the kids in the ward were glued to the radio.Johnny said that when Archie dropped Marciano everyone went nuts.But as the fight labored on it was obvious that it was just a matter of time that Marciano would put the finishing touches on the Mongoose.When Archie was counted out Johnny said everybody was bawlin' including all the nurses and the docs.
But that didn't deter Archie from coming back to the ward and seeing the kids like he promised. Johnny said he brought in all kinds of cake and ice cream for everyone. Johnny said that Archie's pan was pretty busted up but that he was smiling through all of it like nothing had happened. Archie apologized that he didn't come home the heavyweight champ, but that wasn't important.The kids still had their hero.
Around ten yeas ago the diabetes finally got Johnny. His family sold the Elbo Rest. It's now a place that repairs sewing machines. They put a fresh coat of paint on the building and planted flowers out front. That was nice. I'm sure Johnny and his hero would have liked it that way.
When I was a kid my father took me to the Chicago Stadium.The fights were goin' on but I don't remember who was fighting. That was a long time ago and I can't remember. But the main purpose was that my father wanted to introduce me to my Godfather,Mike Murphy,who was the timekeeper at all the fights at the Chicago Stadium.I'd never seen Mike Murphy before that time and I would never see him again.I don't why that happened,but I never saw him again. He seemed like a very nice man and was happy to see me.I could have only been around 4 or 5 years old. But what I remember more than seeing my Godfather was hearing the mighty Wurlitzer organ(it's actually a Barton organ but I like to call it a Wurlitzer..Everyone I knew called it a Wurlitzer) being played between the bouts. The sound of that organ was like the Chicago Stadium itself-big and deep and strong.The sound had a presence that took over the air.It echoed throughout the stadium making everything seem giant and important.I knew I wasn't at no tea party.
But that's what it was like back in Chicago for me. Maybe I'm just remembering the good stuff,but unless I think it through, only the good memories surface:Living in my grandfather's house on the corner of Polk and Oakley with the rag man driving his dray up and down the street. The guy with the hand painted cart selling Italian shaved ices.Tamarindo was my favorite. Then there was the knife sharpener with his wagon and the stone wheel that he threw water on and peddled with his feet.On every corner was a little store with all the big cheeses tied with string hanging in the window. When you'd walk in the first thing that came to your senses was the smell of the baklava packed in salt in the boxes at the door. My cousins Frankie and Joey and me would always get a fried baloney on a roll from the guy's stand that was just up the street from my grandfather's house. When we'd walk to get a sandwich and pass the spot where the button men blasted Diamond Joe with the garlic laced shotgun shells we'd make the sign of the cross and then hyperbolize about how he got it. Dimey's bodyguards,the Varchetti brothers,hit the ground when the assassin car pulled up and then the killers jumped out blastin' away. My father sometimes would bring over someone important to the house on Sunday afternoon and we'd all sit around the long table as my mother,my nana,and my aunt came out with the platters of antipasto,sausage and peppers,and lasagna.The specialty was the sliced tomatos soaked in lemon juice and olive oil with the oregano on top. We'd all sop our bread in it with our hands.It tasted wonderful. Just before dinner I'd go to the bakery across the street and buy a couple of loaves of hot Italian bread. One time I ate some of te bread walking back to the house. The aroma overwhelmed me.Those were the recipes that were handed down by the cook from Diamond Joe's joint,the Bella Napoli.My grandfather brought him back from Naples He taught my grandmother how to cook and then those recipes were handed down.My sisters have them now and they won't tell anyone what's in them.I remenber one time Red Grange was sitting at the dinner table. He was announcing for the Bears then..He was an icon in Chicago. The 4 touchdowns he ran in for scores against the mighty Michigan team are legendary. But after leaving the University of Illinois he hooked up with Halas's Bears but hurt his knee and didn't play much offense. Then there was the time Rogers Hornsby came over. He was coaching with the Cubs.He still holds the record for the highest single season batting average in the majors,424.when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals.And then there were all the mob guys:Frankie Laporte who had all the action in Calumet City. My father would collect from all the bars so they could continue to water down the booze and keep the slot machines going in the back rooms.But playing the "numbers" was the biggest source of income. Everyday you'd play your 3 numbers for 25 cents and see if you hit. My father worked under Sam Giancana who was once a go- for for my grandfather when he started out in the rackets.We'd go over to his house in Oak Park,a nice suburb outside the city, and me and my sisters would play with Giancana's kids while my father and Mooney would be sitting in the parlor discussing business.Paul "The Waiter" Ricca over saw everything and let Giancana run things.No one ever called Ricca "The Waiter" to his face. The Jews lived over on Maxwell Street up from Little Italy. On Sundays the merchants would gather along Maxwell Street selling food and everything else. It was like the first of the swap meets. I remember my father buying me a gyroscope. I thought it was very scientific. But all the gyroscopes in the world couldn't match the hot corned beef sandwiches.My father also showed me where Benny Goodman lived as a kid when he'd be walking down the street with his clarinet case for his music lesson.
That was a long time ago ,but my mind keeps going back there to those times.It's a little hazy. I just wish I could remember who was fighting that night at the Chicago Stadium.All I can remember was that mighty Wurlitzer.
Here's the sound of that Chicago Stadium organ. Since m father was a Marine in the big war,I thought it would be fitting to post this
If you have happiness you've got it made. There are a million things that can make one unhappy,but if you're happy a million and one things won't make a difference. But being happy is easier said than done. Besides, you have to know what it's like to be unhappy to know the difference. I'd have ro say that Jake LaMotta was the happiest fighter I've ever read about. I didn't know him personally,but I read his ghost written autobiography,Raging Bull,and saw him on TV a few times,and then there was that movie. I'd have to say that I wish I could of had his take on things. He was happy mugging people,raping his best friend's sweetheart,and belting his wife around for starters.
We think of people who sacrifice for others as being maybe not happy,but doing Jesus's work. But who wants to go through life suffering?Feeling others pain? Giving instead of receiving all the time? It's a chore to do Jesus's work.So why did Jake live this way? Here's a quote from the Raging Bull himself.
"From as early as I can remember I didn't want to trust anybody.You trust a guy a pretty soon you find that he's giving you a screwing.You trust a dame and pretty soon you find she's giving you a different kind of screwing.But if you don't trust anybody,or basically you don't give a goddamn about anybody,you're safe.If a guy sells you down the river it's your own goddamn fault.You only got yourself to blame.So if a dame goes off with someone else there's always plenty more of what she's got.Just don't trust anybodfy,anywhere,any time."
Why didn't they put that in the Constitution? Teach it in the schools?Preach it in church? Have dad lecture about that at the dinner table?W.C. Heinz called LaMotta "The most hated man in sports. He'll go down in the books as one of the most unpopular figures in sports."I'm sure Jake loved that. Heinz validated his view on life. So Jake went on throwing fights,bilking his manager out of money,lying to the boxing commission,and stepping on (not over)everyone that got in his way.
But you might consider this as the actions of a very angry individual,and you'd be on the money. But this petulance,cruelty made his engine run. He never looked back and said he was "sorry" for his deeds. That's the key. He showed no remorse.I'd give anything for not having feelings of guilt.Remember in Raging Gull when he's in his club and he leans across the table and goes to kiss the district attorney's wife spilling a drink on her?What do you think he says?
"Hey Carlo(the waiter)come over here.Something happened."
He didn't say I'm sorry or excuse me.He went o to add that he didn't bring his wife in his joint because he didn't want to be with "bums like you."He went through life like a hot knife through butter,like a raging bull.
After the Billy Fox affair he was virtually persona non grata. When Ray Robinson retired the Garden gave him a send- off. They invited four of Robby's opponents to stand in each corner of the ring in tribute to the Greatest Pound For Pound.Carmen Basilio.Gene Fullmer,Bobo Olsen,and Randy Turpin(I think I got that right) were the selections. Jake was on the pay no mind list.I'm sure that made him angry-and happy. But that Scorsese flick made Jake and Bobby DeZero a household word. Sometimes I think when DeZero gets on the podium today and starts using 4 letter words about how he wants kick Trump's ass,he's probably drawing on his roll as The Raging Bull. But it's all bull s--t. DeZero's no testy bull. He's just acting like a c--k sucker. The real SOB was Jake. He relished being so unpopular.
My friend Gary Young was an undefeated amateur heavyweight at the time. He had won 12 matches without a loss.I saw him fight several times at the Coliseum in San Diego. This was in the late 1960's early 70's..Gary was from Portland,Oregon. He knew the Moyer brothers and Sid Flaherty.He was also friends with the pro heavyweight Boone Kirkman. I remember sitting with Gary watching Kirkman's fight with George Foreman on the television. Gary was a big strong man. He stood over 6 foot and weighed a solid 215 pounds. I used to work out with him in the gym lifting weights. I'm pretty sure he held the deadlift record-something in the neighborhood of over 750 pounds. But Gary also boxed.He told me his father wanted him to be a fighter. A lot of fighters came out of Portland. I once asked Gary why was that
"There's not much to do in Portland,"was his reply.
Sometimes i'd go with Gary to be his sparring partner,mostly at the 32nd Street Naval Gym in National City.He'd cuff me around pretty good. I had never boxed before. After each sparring session I'd go home with a headache. I knew that boxing wasn't for me. Weightlifting and football were a lot more tamer. But there are always those characters around the gym that approach a rank amateur like myself and try to get the notion across that I had the goods to be a promising fighter. I may not be the brightest guy on the block,but I knew what I was good at, and not having any special talent for. I liked to go to the poolrooms and watch the hustlers work their magic,but I knew to stay away from those guys. I sit in for a few hands of 7 card stud in the cardrooms,but I knew when to fold and just sit to the side and watch those card sharks..Even when the B girls in those Oriental bars would ask me to play the pinball machines with them I'd bow out.They were masters at keeping that metal ball from going in the hole.Boxing was in a similar vein. I was aware early that boxing would do me no good. I was short with a short reach and even though Marciano and I had alike frames,I was no Rocky.And then there were those headaches.No,I was content to watch my pal Gary go through the local amateur talent every month at the Coliseum.
Gary ,one day,told me he was going to enter an AAU tournament up in LA and if I'd like to go.Sure.Being a spectator was my specialty. I think the tournament was at the Forum,but it's been awhile and I might be mistaken.Anyway I was Gary's cheerleading squad. Though Gary was put together like he was carved out of granite he never did any roadwork. He was big enough and possessed enough skills that he usually walked through whoever they put in front of him.
Gary won his first two matches with the same ease as he was accustomed to.He was just to big and strong and had those basic skills to be the victor at the end. Gary made it to the finals without breaking much of a sweat. I looked at the program to see who he was going to fight for all the marbles.It was a fella' named Mike Weaver.I figure another notch on Gary's gun. Gary didn't seem to apprehensive either.
Well,this Weaver guy comes into the ring and I thought I got my tables crossed and was at a Mr. USA contest. I asked myself where was Arnold ? .Weaver looked like he was ready to kick sand in Gary's 90 pound weakling face.But physiques don't tell you much about a fighter's ability or heart. I figured when it came to push and shove,if nothing else,Gary would deadlift the guy.
Well,from the opening gong to the end of the three rounds Weaver had Gary caroming off the ropes like one of those billiard balls in the poolrooms on lower Broadway in San Diego. Gary could only cover up. .He figured if he threw a punch he'd only make Weaver more mad. It was a rout. At the end of three I have to give credit for Gary still bring on his feet.
Driving back to San Diego Gary ,speaking through swollen lips,told me he was throwing in the towel with fighting.He was 25 years old and figured if an amateur fighter could beat him up what would a Quarry or a Frazier or to a lesser degree a Scrap Iron Johnson do to rearrange his mug.
I still see Gary today. You can find him the gym-the weightlifting kind.He holds the record for his age bracket(75years)in the deadlift-515 pounds. He still talks about the trouncing that Mike Weaver gave him way back when.It's a night he'll never forget.
A few years ago I was at Rick Farris's West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame banquet. Mike Weaver was there to get his plaque.When I saw the all clear I went up to Mike and introduced myself. An approachable and amiable fella' you'd ever want to meet.We got to talking and then I asked him if he remembered that AAU tourney in LA.He said he couldn't remember much about it. Then I asked him if he remembered the bout for the championship."Vaguely" was his response. My next question was"Do you remember Gary Young? The guy you beat that night." Mike paused,griinned a little,then said he couldn't remember.
When I got back to San Diego I visited Gary at the gym,.He was doing his deadlifts.
"Hey Gary.I went up to LA last week to a boxing convention and saw Mike Weaver.I asked him if he remembered his fight with you."
"What did he say?"
"He said he couldn't recall it."
"Doesn't surprise me,"said Gary adding another plate to the barbell."I certainly didn't show anything that would be worth remembering."
I was sitting with Gaspar Ortega at a World Boxing Hall Of Fame banquet one evening in the reception area of the Marriott Hotel in Inglewood. I was with my wife.Gaspar's wife was at a clinic getting a dialysis treatment.I could tell he wanted some company and it was always a pleasure to talk to the veteran fighter.He began reminiscing about his boxing career in Mexico, fighting in the numerous arenas against opponents whose names are only recorded in the record books. They are names without faces.Gaspar told me that probably 50 or more of his bouts in Mexico are unrecorded. Fighting in Mexico can be an obscure an endeavor.After Ortega lost a welterweight title bid against Emile Griffith in Los Angeles he returned to his native country to pick up the pieces. There would be no more fights on television. No more main events in Madison Square Garden in New York. The only Madison Square Garden he would set foot into was the one in Phoenix,Arizona.No,the venues awaiting would be in places with names like San Luis Colorado,Magdelena,Cananea,and Sonora. He was brought over to fight in England and Italy,but the outcomes of those matches were practically predetermined for him to go home in the loss column.
Gaspar told me he once had a match in Mexico the middle of nowhere against a fighter who might not have been the real article-a fighter with an enigmatic record and a name that was more than likely not the one. on his birth certificate-if he had one. Those were the days Gaspar would bring his boxing portfolio ,with all the legendary fighters on the list ,to take on s guys who did most of their fighting in the alleys in back of the cantinas. If the guy had a real fight it might have been just that-ONE real fight. Gaspar told me about the time he was to fight some opponent( I can't recall) in some way out of the way pueblo(that I couldn't remember if you hypnotized me).
Gaspar said he made the journey by himself but that there would be someone who would work in his corner waiting at the bus depot. He said the that his prospective cornerman was closer in age to a kid in high school. The kid was amiable enough.They had a hotel room ready.Of course the digs didn't have a bathroom in the room nor was there hot water in the privy down the hall. But Gaspar was in town for only the night. The fight was tomorrow and when it was over he'd take a cab back to the bus depot. Gaspar wanted to eat before he went to bed so the kid eagerly offered to bring back some tacos. In a short time the kid returned with the tacos and said he'd be back the following afternoon to escort Gaspar to the arena.
After eating the tacos Gaspar went to bed,but a few hours later he woke up with an intense pain inside his stomach.At first he thought he was having an appendicitis attack. But the appendix is on the right side. His pain was in the pit of his lower gut..Gaspar figured he'd been poisoned. He struggled downstairs to the lobby but saw that no one was around. Across the street was a pharmacy. He just about made it to the counter.He bought a bottle of Pepto Bismol and drank the whole thing. In the morning the cramps had subsided a little. He tried to rest in bed while he waited for the kid to return. He never showed up.Gaspar tried to gather himself in his room. Near fight time he went downstairs and caught a taxi to the arena. He brought his gear and changed into his trunks. He felt weak and dizzy.All he wanted to do is get the fight over with as quickly as possible. He walked alone to the ring and climbed through the ropes. When he got to his corner he looked across to the other corner and there was the kid working with the guy Gaspar was going to fight.Gaspar told me when he saw this he got a surge of energy. He was mad as hell.
Gaspar said when the bell rang he sprinted across the ring and unloaded a left hook to this guys solar plexus,in the same area where his pain was coming from,and dropped the guy to his knees. Gaspar said he hit him so hard that the guy blew out his mouthpiece into the front row seats. It was over in less than a minute..Gaspar didn't even go back to the hotel. He flagged a taxi and made tracks to the bus depot,bought a one way ticket to Tijuana,and crossed the border to San Diego.He then called his wife and told her to have plenty of Pepto Bismol on hand.
After getting situated in his living room he began to feel better. His wife asked him what had happened.He told her the remarkable story. Then she came up with the line of the century.
"When you called me from the border you said you fought a fighter by the name of Pepe Bismol?"
All Gaspar could do was laugh and ask for another spoonful
Gaspar and my wife Maria at the Carl's Junior down the street from the Marriott Hotel in Inglewood.
The island of Cuba has been a conveyor belt for high class boxers for over a century now and ever since Kid Chocolate became the island nations first world champion in 1931 they have been one of the sport’s leading producers of world champions. The colorful Kid Chocolate was a pioneer in style and was a big favorite among New York crowds in his time and then Kid Gavilan was a TV favorite in the 1940’s and 1950’s before Jose Napoles would become a national icon in his adopted Mexico and a fan favorite in Los Angeles in the 1960’s and 1970’s but for all his talents, the great Luis Rodriguez has generally gone on to be one of history’s most underrated champions. Rodriguez, himself a charismatic and personable individual with plenty of style and ring excellence had a truly great career but has generally flown under the radar. Measure his qualities as a fighter or his career resume and he’s arguably as good as any of his countrymen – if not better. Rodriguez was one of the greatest fighters of the 1960’s and of the
most talented fighters of any era, a true all-time great fighter.
El Feo
Rodriguez was born on June 17th, 1937 in Camaguey, the nation’s third largest city, also the birthplace of Kid Gavilan. He grew up in poverty and as a child had various jobs from shining shoes to selling newspapers as he learned to box. As an amateur he won a national Golden Gloves title by knocking out 10 consecutive opponents. Nicknamed “El Feo”, which is Spanish for ugly, his style and personality were anything but ugly. "People kid me," he said, "but to me it is a joke. I don't mind when they call me feo viejo. It means 'old ugly.' I tell them I really think I'm pretty. But there are mirrors, you see. They do not lie. But—you pretty in the face is nothing. The wonderful of a person is in your heart. I am rich there, here in my heart, and some day I will be rich in my pocket. I hope so."
Writing in Sports Illustrated in 1963, Robert H. Boyle said; ‘Rodriguez is a clown, a friendly clown. He has the furrowed forehead of a bloodhound and the nose of Cyrano. "Cyrano and I," he says, "have more in common than our noses. We are both poets." A Cuban exile, Rodriguez now lives in Miami and boxes out of Angelo Dundee's vast stable. He likes to sing, play the piano and dance. He is simpatico. At his training camp, Tamarack Lodge up in the Catskills, he appeared in the nightclub where his act included "an old song from my country," Bei Mir Bist du Schoen, in Yiddish.”
In his book on Cuban boxing, historian Enrique Encinosa described seeing Rodriguez as a youngster: “The first time I saw him, I was a little kid and he, a dozen years older, was then a young pro, undefeated in Havana rings. He stood on the sidewalk and performed for the children who recognized him, shadowboxing, soft shoe dancing and capping off the performance with an opera aria song with a clear, crisp voice. Then he shook our hands and walked away, laughing. He was cool by anyone’s standards.”
The 1950’s were a golden generation for Cuban boxing with a booming amateur program and hundreds of professional boxers. Professional boxing shows were being promoted regularly in multiple cities and many outstanding fighters such as the legendary Gavilan, Nino Valdes, Luis Galvani, Pupi Garcia, Isaac Logart and many more.
Rodriguez was a superbly well rounded fighter who could do it all in the boxing ring. The technical skills were there – he had excellent technique, his long left jab was very accurate, he threw textbook right hands from the lead or counter positions and possessed a fine left hook in addition to being an excellent body puncher. He was excellent in the intangibles department also, having a warriors fighting spirit to match his iron jaw and seemingly limitless stamina. Stylistically he was a nightmare for opponents because in addition to all of the aforementioned qualities he had long arms, long skinny legs, fast feet and could move all fight long. Rodriguez was a busy fighter who was adept at moving and throwing punches, consistently able to land hurtful blows whilst moving away from an opponent or simply overwhelming them with volume when moving forward. He was not a dazzling fighter in the manner of a Sugar Ray Leonard but he was a superb all-around fighter with barely any real weaknesses.
Rodriguez was fearless, he was always more than willing to step in as a late replacement and give the opponent a sizeable weight advantage and would fight regularly fight in the opponent’s hometown. A true professional to the core, Rodriguez always stayed in fighting condition and fought often. The level of activity and consistency he maintained throughout his career speaks volumes about the type of boxer he was and the type of professional he was. He was a fighter who would do extremely well in any era because he also had many different ways to win a fight and overcome a plethora of different styles throughout his career.
A legendary career begins
Rodriguez turned professional on June 2, 1956 in Havana and fought his first 22 bouts in the same city with most of those appearances being at Palacio de Deportes. Among those fights Rodriguez did fight some very strong adversaries such as future welterweight champion Benny Paret (whom he outpointed twice), Charley Scott, Juan Padilla, Cecil Shorts, Guillermo Diaz, Rolando Rodriguez, Charlie Austin, Gomeo Brennan, Joe Miceli and Kid Fichique, whom Rodriguez outpointed for the Cuban welterweight title. It was around this time that Cuban became a fully socialist country so prizefighters like Rodriguez had to seriously think of a life in different lands if they wanted to continue their boxing careers.
June 17th, 1959 was the first time Rodriguez fought outside of Cuba when he came up against the number two ranked welterweight in the world, Virgil Akins. Akins had lost his two previous bouts on points which were both for the world championship against Don Jordan but he also owned victories over such notable fighters as Tony DeMarco, Isaac Logart and Joe Brown. Rodriguez would outpoint Akins by wide margins of the judges’ scorecards to take the number two ranking off of him. Next up was Rudell Stitch who Rodriguez clearly outpointed in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Stitch was also an upcoming challenger who had defeated some of the leading contenders like Logart, Fichique in addition to Yama Bahama, Gaspar Ortega and Chico Vejar. After the loss to Rodriguez he would go on to defeat Holly Mims and Ralph Dupas but unfortunately his promising career was cut short when he drowned trying to save a friend at age 27 on June 5th, 1960, just a day before he was to sign for a re-match with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez had a fight back home in Cuba on October 3rd, 1959 against Larry Baker before returning to Miami in a bid to secure a world title shot. Isaac Logart would be his next opponent on October 21st of that year. Logart, like Rodriguez was also born in Camaguey but had fought many fights in the United States. Logart was an excellent fighter and was a veteran of 75 fights when he faced Rodriguez. His list of victims included the likes of Yama Bahama, Virgil Akins, Gaspar Ortega, Rudell Stitch, Gil Turner, Ludwig Light burn, Ramon Fuentes and Baby Vasquez. Logart started strongly against Rodriguez, carrying the action through the first four rounds before Rodriguez came on strongly and took over the fight with left hooks to the head and body to earn a unanimous decision over his fellow Cuban. After the bout Rodriguez’ manager Ernest Corrales started to beat the drums for his fighter to get a crack at the World welterweight championship held by Don Jordan. "Rodriguez KO'd Charley Scott in the 9th round last year in Havana. Scott is now the number one contender, but he won't fight us again. Luis is ready for any welterweight in the world, including the champion, Don Jordan. He could whip Don Jordan right now."
Unfortunately for Rodriguez that shot wasn’t coming so he had to make do with fighting regularly with the rest of the top contenders who were willing to face him. Next up was Philadelphia’s Garnett Hart who was outpointed over the distance in Miami Beach. This bout started a little slowly before becoming an all out war with both fighters bleeding from cuts over their eyes and finishing the fight exhausted. Rodriguez activity kept Hart off balance and unable to create enough room to land his best shots. The undefeated Carl Hubbard, also from Philadelphia was next for Rodriguez. This fight was nationally televised and proved to be an excellent performance from Rodriguez as he stopped Hubbard inside four rounds with a devastating left hook attack. Up to this point most of Rodriguez’ showcase fights were going the full distance but he had sent a statement in the dismantling of Hubbard. "He could handle the other guys by just slapping them around and boxing them. But he was insulted by so many people saying he was a fancy Dan and could not punch, and he was determined to knock Hubbard out", said trainer Angelo Dundee after the bout.
Rodriguez took on the very popular Chico Vejar in his next bout on March 2nd, 1960 in Miami Beach. Vejar had never won a world title but was one of the most popular TV fighters of this time and had fought with many of the premier fighters of his day. Rodriguez dropped Vejar in the sixth round and handily won over the ten round distance to run his record to 28-0. Next up for Rodriguez was headlining a couple of bouts at the iconic Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. He stopped a couple of Mexican fighters by the names of Alvaro Gutierrez and Alfredo Cota in four and two rounds respectively. Rodriguez then came back to Louisville, Kentucky to re-match the man he made his US debut against, Virgil Akins. The fight was held in benefit for the family of the deceased Rudell Stitch with one third of the gate going to them. Akins had some success early even stunning Rodriguez in the second and third rounds before Rodriguez took complete control of the fight landing multiple combinations on Akins.
Rodriguez would go back to Cuba August 17th, 1960, a fifth-round knockout of Basil Campbell. This would be the last time Rodriguez fought in his homeland as sport was completely outlawed on a professional level in 1961. The amateur program in Cuba has remained strong to this day with multiple medal winners in Olympic tournaments but a land which was once a hotbed for professional boxing that hosted major fights such as Jack Johnson vs. Jess Willard in 1915 has not seen a professional fight since the banishment of professional sports there. “I was in Cuba three days after the revolution. I stayed at the Hilton, where Castro stayed. At that time Castro still wanted things to go on as usual and he wanted there to be a boxing show. He was at the card with his brother Raul and Che Guevera. The atmosphere was always sensational at the fights in Cuba, but now there were soldiers with machine guns at the fights. One guy, his machine gun went off straight in the air. What a scene that caused. That last time I went, when I was going through airport, security was very tight. They checked everything but the kitchen sink. I said to myself, I’m not going back there anymore”, said Angelo Dundee. From Dundee’s frequent trips to Cuba, he had built a large network there. “I used to go to Cuba about every other week. I used to bring American fighters over and got to know the Cuban promoters. When Castro outlawed pro boxing, they came over here and it was, ‘Please, Angelo work with me’, really it was a pleasure to work with them” he said.
“They came in bunches and they came looking for Angelo Dundee. Angelo had been going to Cuba for years, taking fighters to the island, working closely with Cuco Conde and Martinez Connil, who were the top promoters in Cuba. All Cuban fighters knew Angelo and he had a solid reputation having worked with Carmen Basilio and a lot of other good fighters. At the time the Cubans arrived, Angie had WilliePastrano and a young Olympian named Cassius Clay. What he signed up in a few weeks was phenomenal: Luis Rodriguez, Florentino Fernandez, Douglas Valliant, Robinson Garcia and a score of the best talent in the boxing trade”, said historian Hank Kaplan on the period of the Cuban Revolution in boxing.
“Luis Rodriguez and I came to exile together,” said Luis Sarria. “When Castro took over he abolished pro boxing but it took him a couple of years to get around to doing it and boxers were allowed to fight in other countries. Luis and I travelled to the United States several times. Once, after a fight, we were both in the dressing room and I told him, ‘you go back home alone this time.’ Luis looked at me and said ‘Sarria, are you staying? I said to him ‘Yes, I cannot go back to that crap.’ Luis looked at me, nodded and said, “I am staying also. I feel the same”
No looking back
There was no turning back now for Rodriguez who’d made his permanent home in Miami Beach. This period would probably represent the golden generation of professional boxers to come out of Cuba. Other notable fighters that defected included the two future Hall of Fame members Jose Napoles and Sugar Ramos both of whom made their home in Mexico, Jose Legra who ended up in Spain after failing to settle in Mexico, Benny Paret who settled in New York and Florentino Fernandez who joined Rodriguez at the 5th street gym in Miami Beach. It was at this gym where Rodriguez struck up a friendship with a young heavyweight named Cassius Clay. Clay of course went on to become Muhammad Ali and remained friends with Rodriguez. “Luis was very fond of Muhammad and vice-versa,” said historian Hank Kaplan. “Even though Luis was a welterweight and Muhammad was a heavyweight, they occasionally sparred. Muhammad always studied Luis in the gym. There is no question that Muhammad incorporated some of what he saw in Luis into his own repertoire.”
“The people who saw him train in Chris Dundee's 5th Street Gym in Miami realized what they were witnessing was a superbly conditioned skilled fighter whose style was emulated by a young Cassius Clay. Sugar Ray Robinson might have been his idol, but what we saw from Cassius was a Luis Rodriguez in the works”, said Roger.
After a tune-up against Mel Collins in Tampa, Florida, Rodriguez faced the very credible Yama Bahama. Bahama was a leading contender and had defeated the great Kid Gavilan in the Cuban legends last fight. Rodriguez defeated Bahama via a majority decision in Miami and then 12 days later went to San Francisco, California to defeat local favorite Johnny Gonsalves via unanimous decision.
The start of a rivalry
Closing out 1960, Rodriguez would make his maiden appearance at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden against Emile Griffith on December 17th. Griffith, originally from the U.S Virgin Islands now based in New York had become a local favorite. His record was 21-2 at this point and included wins over such notable boxers as Jorge Fernandez, Gaspar Ortega, Kid Fichique, Willie Toweel and a pair of split bouts with Denny Moyer.
The action was close during the first two rounds before Griffith landed a clean left hook in the third round which momentarily shook Rodriguez. The fight got a little sloppy towards the middle with a lot of clinching but when Rodriguez could fight at distance he was able to control the action better with the use of his jab and counter right hands. Griffith looked a little frustrated and the more tired of the two as Rodriguez was focused on a relentless body attack. After 10 close rounds the decision went to Griffith via split decision and the announcement was met with boos from a large number of the Madison Square Garden crowd. Of the 16 ringside writers who were polled after the fight, 7 favored Rodriguez with 6 preferring Griffith whereas 3 couldn’t pick between the two and scored it even.
“I got lucky, I defeated him. I was pretty scared of Rodriguez. He had a big reputation, undefeated in 35 fights. He was good”, said Griffith reflecting on the fight.
Headed out west
1961 started out with two fights back in California for Rodriguez as he attempted to rebuild from the controversial defeat to Griffith. He stopped Lyle Mackin on cuts in five rounds and then repeated his unanimous decision victory over Gonsalves. These bouts both took place in Oakland and were a month apart in February and March. Rodriguez then went over to Mexico to fight re-matches with the two fighters he’d beaten in Los Angeles the year prior, Alvaro Gutierrez and Alfredo Cota. Rodriguez scored stoppage wins over both fighters again in five and four rounds respectively.
On August 3rd, 1961 Rodriguez went to Dallas to fight Curtis Cokes. The flight from Miami to Dallas was hijacked to Cuba which postponed the fight one week. Rodriguez started the fight well using his superior speed and jabs to befuddle the Texan but then found himself on the canvas as the result of a straight right hand in the fifth round. Rodriguez looked a little more sluggish than usual the rest of the bout. Cokes took a split decision after 10 rounds which Rodriguez and his camp disagreed with. “He was lucky to get in that good punch. That was the only one that hurt me”, Rodriguez said after the bout. The pair would re-match four months later this time in Rodriguez’ adopted hometown of Miami. Rodriguez was dominant this time winning via near shut out. Sandwiched between the Cokes bouts were two knockout victories for Rodriguez keeping his busy schedule up to pace.
Next up for Rodriguez was the experienced Luis Federico Thompson, a Panamanian boxer fighting out of Argentina. Rodriguez had fought Benny Paret closely in a losing effort for the welterweight title a little over a year prior to meeting Rodriguez. Rodriguez dominated Thompson in an entertaining fight. Rodriguez mixed in his usual array of combinations upstairs, kept a constant body attack up and Thompson had a difficult time avoiding Rodriguez’ excellent jab and was dominated thoroughly over the 10 round distance losing a lopsided verdict on all three cards.
Rodriguez was back in the ring a little over six weeks later scoring a quick knockout of Argentina’s Ricardo Falech. Yama Bahama then got his re-match with Rodriguez and was dominated and stopped in three rounds. Rodriguez opened a nasty cut to Bahama’s forehead in the first round with a right-left combination and then opened another cut with a glancing right hand in the third round. The next opponent for Rodriguez was the talented Gene Armstrong in a middleweight bout. Armstrong’s only losses had come at the hands of the great Dick Tiger. Rodriguez dominated the fight throughout, scoring a knockdown in the 4th round before putting Armstrong the ropes in the 5th round. Rodriguez kept up his high volume and intensity attack until the 8th round when Armstrong could no longer defend himself when the referee stopped the contest.
Rodriguez stayed bust the rest of the year closing out 1962 with three dominant victories before scheduling a fight with the excellent Joey Giambra. Giambra had previously stopped Rodriguez’ stable mate Florentino Fernandez and owned a 2-1 series win over future hall of fame member Joey Giardello in addition to victories over such notable fighters as Ralph Jones, Rory Calhoun, Gil Turner, Chico Vejar and Rocky Castellani. Despite being outweighed by 10 pounds Rodriguez put on a masterful display using constant movement and furious combinations from multiple angles. Giambra never looked in danger of being taken out but he was never in the fight as Rodriguez added another impressive unanimous decision to his growing resume.
Top of the World
Finally on March 21st at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Rodriguez got his long awaited shot at the welterweight world championship. By now the champion was Emile Griffith having won, lost and regained the championship in his trilogy with Benny Paret. The final bout resulted in the death of Paret after a heated build up. Griffith had taken the scalps of Yama Bahama, Isaac Logart, Ralph Dupas and a rubber match victory over Denny Moyer and entered with a 35-3 record. Rodriguez entered as a slight underdog with a 50-2 record.
The fight had a similar pattern early with some close rounds slightly edged by Griffith by virtue of his superior aggression, harder punches and strength making the difference. Rodriguez started fairly cautiously and was slightly behind after the first five rounds. He was able to get into more of a grove around the sixth round as his body punches were having an effect on Griffith and whenever he could fight with some distance he got the better of the action with his jab and superior countering. Griffith struggled with this style so seemed to focus more on making it an inside fight and tying up Rodriguez when he could. This resulted in a lot of cancelling each other out as Rodriguez tried to work his way out of the clinches. The best round for Rodriguez came in the ninth round where he was able to land the cleaner shots, get the better of the exchanges and walked Griffith into an excellent counter right hand which sent Griffith back to the ropes. The 10th round was a bit slower and the action was fairly even down the stretch with Griffith starting a number of the rounds stronger with Rodriguez closing them out better with his fast flurries and body attacks. Much like their first fight it was another close fight with a lot of high quality between two great fighters but also some messy action with clinches. Rodriguez was awarded the decision on a unanimous decision and lifted the title from Griffth. As he was lifted in the air by his handlers he was asked how it felt to become champion and whether he’d give Griffith a shot at his newly acquired title. “I feel very good. I feel great. I would like to fight anybody in the welterweight division”, he said. Unfortunately, Rodriguez’ crowning moment was overshadowed when Davey Moore collapsed as a result of injuries sustained in his unsuccessful title defense against Rodriguez’ compatriot Sugar Ramos and died days later.
A controversial dethroning
The two would fight again just three months later, this time back on Griffith’s home turf of Madison Square Garden on June 8th. A lot of the pre fight talk centered on the judging with many claiming Rodriguez would get no favors in Griffith’s hometown. It was speculated that Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner was not exactly a stranger around the Griffith camp. Rodriguez was beaming with confidence at the weigh-in the morning of the fight, “I’ll win easy”, he proclaimed. Griffith knew he had to keep his aggression up throughout the fight, “I never go into the ring trying to knock a guy out," Griffith said. "But if the opportunity comes, I try to take advantage of it. I'm going to keep the pressure on him."
Griffith came to the ring to a chorus of cheers whereas Rodriguez was booed by the pro Griffith crowd as he entered the ring. Griffith forced the action more in the early rounds, which followed the pattern of their previous two encounters. Rodriguez was boxing on the back foot, looking for opportunities to counter. The crowd would let out a great roar every time Griffith let his hands go but he was missing a lot of shots. Griffith appeared to have a slight edge through the first five rounds before Rodriguez seized control of the action in round six. Referee Jimmy Devlin broke a lot of the clinching which favored Rodriguez as he was able to box and move in addition to landing the cleaner shots. Griffith struggled through the sixth through to the tenth rounds, seemingly running out of ideas how to keep with the Cuban. Griffith was staggered briefly in the seventh round, but did land the best blow of the round in the eighth. Rodriguez then went back to countering and moving as he made Griffith miss often whilst piling up the points. The late rounds featured more toe to toe action and a lot of fast exchanges as Griffith fought to get his way back into the fight after a strong 11th round. Rodriguez appeared to get the better of the exchanges. Before the 15th round, a reporter nodded to Rodriguez and said, “Can’t lose.” Rodriguez stayed away in the final round which enabled Griffith to take the round on aggression but it appeared to not make much of a difference as Rodriguez had seemingly piled up enough points to retain his championship. Much to the amazement of the writers on press row, Griffith was awarded a split decision. 17 on press row scored it for Rodriguez with only six agreeing with the official verdict.
"I felt good," he said. "My punches were starting to hit the mark. I was taking command of the fight”, said Rodriguez after the fight before sharing his distraught at the controversial decision which took his title from him. "Before the fight," he said, "I hear people say Griffith will get home-town decision. I read Dan Parker's column. I have nothing against Griffith. He is a good boy. He is my friend. It was a close fight, but I won it. I don't think there is any question about it. I won it. I scored the fight 8-6-1. They have to give me a return fight. I guess it was like everybody said a Teddy Brenner decision." The Cubans in the crowd shouted their disapproval of the decision and could be heard outside of the decision shouting, “It was a Teddy Brenner decision.” Angelo Dundee was visibly livid chiming in, “Where did they get those incompetent bums? Why is it they come up consistently, conveniently with a split decision? I know one thing, I’ve got to keep my champions out of New York” he said.
Working his way back
Rodriguez, now unjustly an ex-champion wasted little time scheduling a significant bout as he squared off with Denny Moyer just two months later. Moyer, a former world champion in the recently established junior middleweight division had won the title defeating former Rodriguez foe Joey Giambra before losing a pair of razor thin decisions to Ralph Dupas. He held victories over a trio of hall of fame members – Sugar Ray Robinson, Emile Griffith and Tony DeMarco including excellent victories over Johnny Saxton, Virgil Akins, Paddy DeMarco, Benny Paret, Gaspar Ortega and Charley Scott. The bout took part at the Convention Center in Miami Beach in the middleweight division with Rodriguez giving up six pounds. In one of his most dazzling performances, Rodriguez completely dominated the larger man from the outset with deadly accurate punches in bunches before the referee halted the bout in the ninth round with Moyer unable to continue after being knocked down in the eighth and ninth rounds. It was the first time Moyer had ever been stopped. “The Moyer fight was a magnificent performance. It was really amazing the way Luis plowed right through the middleweights. He fought the top fighters in the world in their backyards, spotted pounds and licked them. Those that wanted a second shot, he gave a re-match and then licked them again,” said Hank Kaplan. “Luis was unfazed. He was never bothered by how big a fighter was or how many knockouts he had. He was a welterweight fighting middleweights and light heavyweights and if they would have let him, he would have fought Ali” he also said. Stable mate Frankie Otero said the same about Rodriguez’ ability to take on larger fighters. “At the Fifth Street Gym he sparred with fighters that were 10, 20, 30 pounds heavier. Guys like Florentino Fernandez and Willie Pastrano and Luis was trouble for anyone.”
On October 18th, Rodriguez headlined a Friday night fight card at Madison Square Garden against Olympic gold medalist and hot middleweight prospect Wilbert ‘Skeeter’ McClure. The fight was entertaining with Rodriguez proving far too skilled and experienced as he outscored McClure over the distance. After a competitive first two rounds Rodriguez dropped McClure with an expertly timed right hand to the jaw but found McClure an elusive target as he went in for the finish. Rodriguez took charge of the fight and didn’t let up but was full of praise for his foe afterwards. "He's a very good prospect. He has a very good left hand. I think he can become the middleweight champion unless I am the champion,” Rodriguez said after the fight. McClure graciously was full of praise for the man who took his unbeaten record, "He beat me, no question about it. It's no shame losing to Luis Rodriguez”, said McClure. The pair engaged in a re-match just two months later this time headlining in Miami with a very similar outcome. Rodriguez won handily again also scoring a knockdown of McClure.
In 1964 Rodriguez was desperate to get a crack at the title he and many others felt he was robbed off in the third Griffith fight and stayed busy fighting some of the top challengers in the middleweight division. He stepped in as a late replacement for Joey Archer headlining a Friday night fights card at Madison Square Garden against the excellent Holly Mims. As was a common theme in most Rodriguez fights he started a little slowly as the larger Mims was able to force the action over the first two rounds before Rodriguez came to terms with the fight and consistently beat Mims to the punch throughout the rest of the fight earning a dominant decision victory. Just two weeks later Rodriguez was back fighting on home turf with a ten round routing of the capable Jesse Smith. This fight showcased the usual offensive repertoire for Rodriguez and he mixed in some excellent defensive boxing particularly in the 7th round and then went toe-to-toe in a thrilling action packed ninth stanza.
The final chapter of an epic rivalry
Rodriguez would receive his much deserved crack at Griffith on June 12, this time in Las Vegas at the Convention Center. The fourth bout would prove to be perhaps the most entertaining of the series. The two started out at a brisk pace with Griffith trying to impose his strength early as he gained a slight edge in the first three rounds. Rodriguez was deducted a point for low blows in the third round and found himself in a little bit of a hole early. However, in the fourth round Rodriguez got into an excellent rhythm as Griffith appeared to tire somewhat and look a bit more ragged than he had throughout the other bouts in the series. By the eighth round Griffith showed some visible frustration as he was having a difficult time pinning down the elusive Cuban and his attacks consisted of breaking Rodriguez’ offense with a lot of roughhousing and clinching. The middle rounds were very entertaining but the fight did get a little scrappy down the stretch which is where Griffith came into things a little bit more and was able to win a couple of rounds before Rodriguez got the better of the final round. Yet again the two had engaged in a furious, fast paced bout which featured momentum changes and once again they’d gone the full distance. The action in this bout was probably closest to the action in the third fight with Griffith starting slightly better due to his superior physical strength before Rodriguez started to pull away with his superior movement and boxing skill. Griffith was able to stop the momentum as he was able to pin Rodriguez down in close and have some success. Rodriguez was never outclassed or overwhelmed inside just as Griffith was never completely outclassed at distance, as he was able to land some jabs and hooks of his own. The judges rendered their verdict and once again, Griffith had edged out another split decision much to the dismay of Rodriguez and his handlers. "I won't try to win back that welterweight title because Griffith and his friends have got things too well organized for me to ever win it again", said a clearly frustrated Rodriguez after the fight. Griffith set his sights on the middleweight title after the fight. This was to be the final meeting that the pair would engage in with Griffith winning the series 3-1, his victories all by split decision opposing the one unanimous verdict of the series for Rodriguez. All four bouts were fought at a fast pace, with plenty of close rounds but the final score line of the series is very harsh on Rodriguez, who appeared to be no less than the equal of Griffith. In most of the fights it appeared that Rodriguez was Griffith’s master in a lot of areas whilst Griffith could never quite figure out who to get the better of his mans so he resorted to a lot of smothering and clinching.
“Rodriguez moved a lot. He was always busy, and he threw a lot of combinations. He was more of a boxer than a puncher – hit and move. He drove me crazy! I guess we got to know each other a little bit. Each time was a war and I had to make adjustments, always changing my style. Was he an all-time great fighter? I would say so”, Griffith.
The Hurricane
Frustrated at what he and many others felt was another unjust decision against the popular Griffith, Rodriguez took what for him was an unusually long layoff of five months. His next bout saw him return to Mexico to face off with LC Morgan and he was back to winning ways scoring a second round knockout of the veteran journeyman. Rodriguez opened up his 1965 campaign with another Madison Square Garden headline this time against the formidable Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter. The fight sold well at The Garden and despite holding a number three ranking in the middleweight division and a recent first round knockout of Griffith it was the third ranked welterweight Rodriguez who came in as the bookies 2-1 favorite. Carter had shown his class as a fighter by also defeating the brilliant George Benton, future heavyweight title holder Jimmy Ellis, Holly Mims and Florentino Fernandez by a brutal first round knockout. Rodriguez controlled most of the fight by intelligently using jab and move tactics while Carter struggled to get close to him. Rodriguez cut Carter in the third round but did suffer a flash knockdown in the seventh round and was caught cleanly in the ninth round. “Luis got up (from the knockdown) and nodded slightly as he looked towards our corner. When the round was over Luis sat on the stool and said, ‘that is not going to happen again” said Sarria. Rodriguez gave Carter a boxing lesson and won a wide decision. After the fight Carter admitted he had been beaten and showed clear frustration after 10 rounds with the Cuban master, "He won the fight," Carter said afterwards. "But there ought to be a law against little men like him having arms that long."
The pair would re-match six months later in Los Angeles at the Olympic with Rodriguez remaining busy in the interim fighting five times the highlight being a dominant three round victory of Memo Ayon fresh off a victory over an ancient Sugar Ray Robinson. Rodriguez had been lobbying for a shot at Joey Giardello’s middleweight crown but had to settle for the Carter re-match. The re-match was almost an exact replica of the first fight with Rodriguez’ jab and move tactics proving too difficult for Carter. Carter managed to buckle Rodriguez’ knees with a hard right hand in the fourth round but struggled to land many other significant blows and suffered another convincing decision defeat.
Beating Benton
Rodriguez closed out 1965 maintaining his busy schedule fighting four more times in a two month span which took his total bouts for the year up to 11 and started 1966 in the same vein with two January fights a week apart. The next big challenge came on March 7th when Rodriguez travelled to the hometown of Philadelphia’s George Benton. Benton was an excellent fighter who would later get inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a trainer but as a fighter he was one of the finest of his day and the years proceeding it that never managed to win a world championship. He was a smooth and highly technical defensive boxer who would often stand in front of his opponents but expertly evade most shots with his bag of tricks. Among Benton’s victims was the highly decorated Joey Giardello and other top fighters such as Holly Mims, Lestor Felton, Freddie Little, Jesse Smith and Jimmy Ellis. Rodriguez expertly used his jab to control most of the action and badly cut Benton over the eye in the fifth round. The cut was under control for the most part until the ninth round when it started to flow a lot more profusely and when Benton kept on wiping at his eye the referee had no choice but to stop the contest and declare the Cuban a TKO winner in the ninth round. Rodriguez was back in Philadelphia five weeks later but would lose a surprising split decision to hometown fighter Percy Manning who entered as a 4-1 underdog. Manning had defeated the previously undefeated Bennie Briscoe and former world title challenger Jose Stable but few gave him a chance against Rodriguez.
Final elimination
A quick tune-up fight in San Juan, Puerto Rico was next for Rodriguez as journeyman Tommy Caldwell was dispatched in two rounds and then Rodriguez would face Curtis Cokes for a third time in a final eliminator for the welterweight championship. By this time Rodriguez was having an increasingly difficult time getting down to the welterweight limit but entered the bout in New Orleans as an 8-5 favorite. Things looked to be going his way early as he appeared to score a sixth-round knockdown on Cokes only for the referee to rule the punch a foul and take the round from Rodriguez. Cokes opened a cut under Rodriguez’ eye in the 10th round and forced a stoppage one minute into the 15th round with blood pouring out of Rodriguez’ mouth. Angelo Dundee was unhappy with the referee’s handling of the fight and aimed blame at him for the defeat. “My boy likes to bang downstairs. The ref takes the round away and in doing so, took the fight from my guy. Cokes was wearing his trunks darn near his chin", he said after the fight. The rubber match with Cokes was to be the last which Rodriguez competed within the 147 pound limit of the welterweight division as he set his sets on middleweight gold.
Two trips to Argentina each with two bouts a piece came next for Rodriguez with one coming in September of 1966 and then in January of 1967. The first trip saw him stop Brazilian fighter Juarez de Lima in three rounds. Lima turned out to be a solid fighter who scored victories over Bennie Briscoe, Vicente Rondon, Jean Claude Bouttier, George Benton and Tom Bogs. The highlight of the 1967 trip was an eight round stoppage victory over the heavily experienced Manuel Alvarez.
Bad Bennie
On March 20th back in Philadelphia Rodriguez would face the popular up and coming middleweight prospect ‘Bad’ Bennie Briscoe. Briscoe would go on to have a storied career as one of the finest fighters to come out of the boxing rich city of Philadelphia and entered the bout with smaller Rodriguez coming off of his own ninth round stoppage victory of George Benton joining the Cuban as the only two men to ever stop Benton in his career. Rodriguez controlled most of the bout with his usual stick and move tactics as he piled up the points while Briscoe’s feet were too slow to catch up with him. The middle rounds were very dominant for Rodriguez as he was able to box Briscoe masterfully at distance and tie him up inside whenever Briscoe got close. The eighth round featured some heated exchanges but Briscoe lost the round when he landed an illegal head butt and the pair split the last two rounds with Rodriguez claiming a clear unanimous decision. Briscoe would go to Argentina in his very next fight and earn a draw with future middleweight legend Carlos Monzon.
Rodriguez took on the formidable Juan Carlos ‘Rocky’ Rivero in Puerto Rico in his next bout. Rivero was a huge middleweight who owned wins over Florentino Fernandez and Rubin Carter. He had also pushed Joey Giardello close on two occasions losing decisions each time. Rodriguez scored a dominant unanimous decision victory over Rivero. “Rivero was made for me,” Rodriguez said. “He was a tank, very strong and a solid, hard puncher but he was not fast and he telegraphed his punches. I put a leather factor on his face. I punched and counterpunched and he missed me all night” he added.
Just a little over three weeks later Rodriguez returned to California to face the solid Jimmy Lester in Oakland. Lester, a strong and hard hitting middleweight contender had previously split a pair of bouts with Denny Moyer and had blasted out Florentino Fernandez in two rounds. Rodriguez gave the Californian a boxing lesson whilst scoring knockdowns in the opening and closing rounds. Lester had some success in trapping the Cuban master in the opening round before being sent to his knees by a counter right hand and then whilst forcing the action in the 10th round was caught with the right hand again and sent tumbling. Rodriguez claimed a wide unanimous decision and credited his conditioning for winning the bout. "Lester's very strong and punches hard, but I made him fight my fight. If I wasn't in good condition he would have knocked me out. I was never hurt but he never stopped coming. It was a tough fight" he said afterwards.
Another fight in Oakland followed for Rodriguez as he faced tough Nebraskan Ferd Hernandez. Hernandez had defeated an aging Sugar Ray Robinson, Jose Gonzalez and like Rodriguez was coming off of a win over Jimmy Lester. Rodriguez claimed a wide unanimous decision victory using a steady stream of jabs to the head and a busy body attack. Rodriguez would then go to Venezuela to engage in three bouts the highlight bout being a one round demolition of previous conqueror Percy Manning.
Closing out 1967 at Madison Square Garden, Rodriguez was again pitted against Philadelphia’s Briscoe. The fight proved to be almost a replica of the bout nine months prior as Briscoe couldn’t catch up to Rodriguez or avoid the jab in his face. Briscoe drew some boos from the crowd as his frustrations grew and he wrestled the Cuban to the floor on three separate occasions. Rodriguez again claimed a wide clear cut decision over the fearsome Briscoe.
Rodriguez started 1968 remaining busy with three fights in Miami before again venturing over to Puerto Rico again this time to face future light heavyweight champion Vicente Rondon from Venezuela. Rondon was a huge middleweight at 6 3 and didn’t make weight for the bout with Rodriguez as he claimed a decision victory over the Cuban. They re-matched just six weeks later in the same venue with Rodriguez avenging that setback with a unanimous decision victory. Rodriguez remained busy but the title shot still eluded him as he would fight twice more in 1968 and then six times in 1969 until finally getting a chance at the middleweight title now held by the Italian Nino Benvenuti.
“When Luis Rodriguez came to San Diego to prepare for the title elimination bout with Rafael Gutierrez, I remember him being interviewed on the local station. He was asked about his thoughts about the upcoming bout, but all he wanted to talk about was his four fight series with Emile Griffith. ‘I beat Griffith four times but they rob me’, he frantically tried to explain. The interviewer went on trying to get Rodriguez focused on his fight with the Mexican middleweight champion at the Sports Arena, but Luis brushed him off. ‘I should have been the welterweight champion all that time, but they rob me’, he protested”, said San Diego artist Roger Esty.
“Rodriguez was putting on the finishing touches on his training at the Stardust Hotel in Mission Valley. Angelo Dundee had arrived to keep an eye on things, but it was obvious that Luis was calling the shots everyday about how he was going to conduct his workouts. He was in a surly mood and didn't back off on his sparring partners. Local fighters Charley "Bad News" Austin, Johnny Wise, and Victor Basilio (who fought on the undercard) provided the practice opposition. Wise, I remember, didn’t want to wear headgear because he claimed he had a facial rash and didn't want to get punched in the face. When he tried to explain to Rodriguez about the irritation all that did was irritate Luis. He threw the headgear at Wise and told him if he didn't put it on he could go home. Wise sulked, put on the headgear, and proceeded to get bashed around the ring by Rodriguez”, he added.
(Almost) conquering Rome
Rodriguez traveled to Rome to challenge Benvenuti for the title he had won, lost and regained against Emile Griffith in their classic trilogy. Prior to making his mark at Madison Square Garden, Benvenuti had been the super welterweight world champion and the boxer of the Rome Olympics in 1960. He came to the ring with an impressive 79-3-1 record. Rodriguez surprised the partisan crowd with his boxing skills as he was able to cut Benvenuti early leaving him a bloody mask as he built up a points lead. Prior to the fight Benvenuti had been complaining about the appointment of the referee, Mario Carabellese perhaps in an attempt to get preferential treatment. It seemed to work as the visiting fighter was warned four times for head butts which didn’t happen and Benvenuti wasn’t reprimanded for any of his mishaps and there were plenty.
Sensing the championship was in one hand and perhaps remembering the injustices of the Griffith bouts Rodriguez told his corner he wanted to go for the kill in the 11th round. Dundee advised against it knowing his man was in control of the fight and if the referee wasn’t going to stop the fight on account of the blood flowing from Benvenuti then he had the decision in the bag. Unfortunately for Rodriguez he was caught with a thunderous left hook from out of nowhere which completely separated him from his senses and he was counted out at 1:10 of the round. The Cuban, usually so durable, was hit by a perfect punch and had snatched defeat from victory in cruel fashion. Benvenuti, who had looked glassy eyed and ready to go was suddenly being hoisted into the air by fans that had made their way into the ring. In the dressing room after the fight Rodriguez said, "It was my destiny," he said. "It is like my nose, my destiny. It comes from my grandfather. I must protect it, but I can't change it."
Undeterred by the knockout loss to Benvenuti, Rodriguez now a veteran of 104 fights and at the age of 33 kept his busy schedule going into 1970 seeking another shot at the middleweight crown. He would fight eight times this year suffering just one loss – a controversial decision over previous knockout victim Jose Gonzalez of Puerto Rico. The bout took place in Puerto Rico and Gonzalez was able to get away with weighing in well over the middleweight limit. Rodriguez reversed this loss by scoring a unanimous decision back in Miami just two months later.
In 1971 Rodriguez managed to score a couple of significant victories but was showing clear signs of wear and tear after a long and distinguished career. He was able to score a split decision over Bobby Cassidy in Miami before scoring a shocking first round knockout victory over the favored Tony Mundine in his home country of Australia. Rodriguez landed a big left hook 30 seconds into the round and followed up with an attack punctuating with a right hand to finish the fight at 52 seconds of the first round. That would be the last significant victory of his great career as he lost his next two bouts before going 2-2 in his final four bouts before retiring at the age of 35.
Retirement and death of a champion
In retirement the affable Rodriguez trained amateur boxers for the city of Miami, worked in a warehouse and owned a bar. Over time he began to drink heavily and saw his health deteriorate. He had undergone two years on kidney dialysis and then had a heart operation but passed away three weeks later on July 8th, 1996 at South Shore Hospital in Miami Beach. He was survived by his wife, a son, his mother and two sisters. The late great champion was immortalized in boxing history when he was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York the following summer. It was long overdue for a champion who had unfairly been forgotten over time. Of the boxers that defected during that golden age of Cuban boxing, the other two that got inducted into Canastota were Jose Napoles and Sugar Ramos. They became national heroes in Mexico and retained that popularity in retirement whereas Rodriguez would have a harder time winning over the public in the United States despite his good nature and happy demeanor.
Legacy and praise
The fact that Rodriguez’ official record against Emile Griffith is 1-3 and his lone title reign was just three months does not do Rodriguez justice and has probably been the main catalyst for the criminal overlooking for what was a tremendous career by a truly special prizefighter. Unfortunately it is easy for folks to just view Griffith’s name on his resume, look at the official verdicts and the short reign as champion at welterweight and completely miss out on the context of those fights, the quality of the era and the plethora of top fighters he beat and the staggering number of quality fighters he outclassed in the middleweight division despite barely weighing in a pound or two over the welterweight limit. The vast majority felt Rodriguez was at no worse Griffith’s equal. “I had Rodriguez winning three of those fights. I was at the third fight (at Madison Square Garden) and Rodriguez was hosed that night. He is very underrated”, said legendary hall of fame promoter Russel J. Peltz.
He would fight often and often on short notice more often than not in the opponent’s backyard. A quick skim through a record doesn’t tell the story of how unjust certain decisions were and I can’t think of many fighters in history whose historical standing has been affected more by unjust decisions in major fights. His consistency was remarkable; by the time of the Benvenuti bout he’d scored a victory over every opponent of his 103 bout career and had defeated 16 top 10 ranked opponents in the era of one ranking organization. There was no selective matchmaking; he took on all different styles from slick boxers to heavy handed sluggers and he took on fighters that were visibly larger than him on a regular basis.
“Rodriguez, in my opinion, is one of the most-underrated boxers ever. He doesn’t get enough credit for how good he was and for who he beat. He had the misfortune of being a welterweight at the same time Emile Griffith was in that weight class. They fought four times and Luis lost three of them, all by split decision, but I thought my guy won every one of those losses. The sad thing is that the one time he beat Griffith, which was for the title he didn’t really get any attention. Featherweight champ Davey Moore, who was knocked out by Sugar Ramos on that card in Los Angeles, fell into a coma and later died. That sad news overshadowed what should have been Luis’ shining moment. He was a magnificent fighter. He fought the toughest middleweights out there at the time and outclassed most of them. He played with (Rubin) “Hurricane” Carter. It broke my heart that Luis never got his due”, said Angelo Dundee.
“He had exceptional balance and reflexes and he had very long arms – he could pick a nickel of the floor without bending his knees. Luis was always in great shape and he was a busybody; he threw a lot of punches. Hurricane Carter got so frustrated fighting him, he picked him up and tried to throw him over the ropes”, he added.
“In my opinion Rodriguez was the best Cuban fighter ever”, said Frankie Otero. “He was hard to decipher. He would outbox the boxers and out think the punchers. He wasn’t spectacular, like Kid Gavilan but I pick him based on the number of top welterweights and middleweights he beat”. The Ring magazine had Rodriguez rated third behind Kid Chocolate and Kid Gavilan on their list of greatest Cuban boxers whereas Enrique Encinosa said, “An argument can be made for a four way tie between Chocolate, Gavilan, Napoles and Rodriguez. They all had merits for the top spot.”
“Rodriguez was probably the most underrated fighter of the past half century. He was a gifted guy, and he made winning look so easy. When he fought Hurricane Carter, he was a skinny welterweight in against a full-grown middleweight, and in two fights he was never in trouble”, Kaplan. “Rodriguez had a beautiful left jab; it was so fluid. And he had this little defensive motion where he’d make you miss by inches. He fought everybody. He was so unspectacular, that’s why I think he’s not remembered these days”
“I believe Rodriguez had the shortest reign of any welterweight champion-less than 90 days. Then I go back to that interview in San Diego. He wanted the world to know that the judges got it wrong. They did those bum calls and Luis not seeing Nino's big left hook coming would have made put Rodriguez in the elite pantheon of boxing legends. A first pick in the IBHOF. A fighter mentioned in the same breath as Leonard, Duran, Hearns and Hagler”, said Roger Esty.
“Calling Luis Rodriguez one of the greatest fighters who should have been would be a travesty. He was his loudest advocate of his caliber as a fighter. He wanted to get the word out that's all. Maybe it was sour grapes, but he got screwed and the scribes and the public didn't put up much of a clamor. Luis is not with us any longer. Neither are the fighters who fought him nor the brain trust that was with him. 90 days as champ for a great fighter like Luis? Let's get the word out and make it household”, Esty added.
The case of Rodriguez being one of the most under-appreciated legends in boxing history is luckily strengthened by a fairly extensive amount of his footage surviving and a style that not only holds up over time but perhaps appreciates with time. It is really just a matter of the current generation and future generations making sure to check out his record and do the research and then watch the film. While it is true that his legacy has been hurt by some controversial decisions and a small, cruel twist of fate here and there, he still has the career and resume any up and coming fighter would dream of; a defining fighter in a stacked era, one of the greatest boxers from an iconic boxing nation and a plaque in the international boxing hall of fame. Rodriguez never had it easy, but more often than not, he made it look easy.
Great piece of writing Chris. Fast paced,astute,a writing style like the fighter you wrote about,Luis Rodriguez. I once heard Denny Moyer in the gym say in so many words that Rodriguez was the best he ever fought. Moyer said that Luis had him figured out from the opening bell. Denny would try something and Luis would counter back. He caught Denny coming in with hooks and uppercuts and made him look like an amateur which he certainly wasn't.. Your sources are very intelligent and inciteful.I was especially impressed with what this Roger Esty had to say.Never heard of him before,but he seems like a real bright guy.
dagosd2000 wrote: ↑09 Jun 2019, 19:20
Great piece of writing Chris. Fast paced,astute,a writing style like the fighter you wrote about,Luis Rodriguez. I once heard Denny Moyer in the gym say in so many words that Rodriguez was the best he ever fought. Moyer said that Luis had him figured out from the opening bell. Denny would try something and Luis would counter back. He caught Denny coming in with hooks and uppercuts and made him look like an amateur which he certainly wasn't.. Your sources are very intelligent and inciteful.I was especially impressed with what this Roger Esty had to say.Never heard of him before,but he seems like a real bright guy.
Thanks Roger. I appreciate the kind words.
Yeah, the Moyer performance was incredible. Arguably his best that I’ve seen.
My mother liked Perry Como. Sometimes I think she had sort of a crush on him. While my father lived in a dream of emulating his father,Diamond Joe Esposito,wanting to be a Don,a big shot,the man people would anchor themselves to when he walked into a room;my mother couldn't stand the act. The false bravado.All the greaseball crap.The stories about Al Capone who my father put on a par with the founding fathers.Hell,it was Capone that did the favor for mayor Bill Thompson by getting my grandfather rubbed out. Living in my house was like on the set of Goodfellas. That mob life was always something my father didn't want to let go of.
I remember when I was very young my father despised Sinatra because he ducked the draft in WW 2 with the broken eardrum excuse(it was the wise guys who reached the draft board to get Frank a pass).But later Sinatra fell in with all the other Italians who my father considered nonpareil. When it came to singing,the Italians were untouchable in my father's mind. You had guys like Sinatra and Dean who you wouldn't want to come knocking on your door wanting to take out your daughter.Then there were the smoothies like Tony Bennett and Jerry Vale who were on stage in all the mob joints back east starting out. Louie Prima could put all the rest of the bums on the back burner when he lit up the stage to Las Vegas.Vic Damone,Bobby Darin,Dion,Frankie Avalon-I wish I had their hair and all the girls.But I can't knock those guys.There were all good. How about Mario Lanza?If you wanted to unsnap the girl's bra strap,just put on" Be My Love"on the ol' turntable.
But these aforementioned were unmistakable. All you had to do was look at 'em.See how they moved around the stage. The hand gestures. They were smooth. They were good looking.All you had to do is ask them.But Perry Como was of a different ilk. He didn't have that Don Juan in him when he performed. The sharkskin suits were for the greasers. Perry liked his cardigan sweaters. He wasn't at the Copa. When he sang in Vegas his fans weren't acting like a bunch of "stunads". No,Perry was civilized. He was calm. He didn't belt it out.He let the lyrics come from his pipes like a fine tuned violin. He was grace under the stage lights.
My father liked Perry Como. Hell.He was Italian so he qualified to be in the club. But Perry played it like himself.He was a genuinely nice guy.A family man.Married a neighborhood Italian gal.A union that lasted more than 60 years until her death. Three children.A devout Catholic. And you could bring your gray haired old mother to hear him sing and you didn't have to worry that she'd blush at something. Perry was like Lawrence Welk. He kept it clean,but he wasn't a square. He wasn't self righteous.
But Perry Como wasn't a foppish Liberace. He was a man's man without the swagger. He was just himself. When he sang with a Lena Horne or a Peggy Lee they knew that Perry wasn't sneaking peeks looking down their cleavages.Maybe they would have jumped in the sack with him,but they knew that that dessert wasn't on his menu. Perry Como was a lot like Henry Mancini,another non greaseball Italian.But Hank didn't sing.
When my mother passed my sisters were friends with a station manager who played "easy listening" music on the local FM station. My sisters requested a medley of Perry Como songs. He obliged. I think my mother wanted to see a little more Perry Como coming from my father than my father thinking he was a kindred Sinatra or Louie Prima. My mother was no gun moll. None of those wise guy's wives were ostentatious. Maybe those wives would have liked to see more Perry in their husbands than Ol' Blue Eyes.
While I'm talking about Perry,I'm going with my wife tomorrow to the lake they named after him ,,Lake Como in Italy for a week. I'm sure this song will be in my head. Ciao.
Does anyone know if Carlos Ortiz still lives in or around New York City? The reason I ask is that I will be in New York next month and have been wanting to interview him for some time if he's able to do it. I'd like to see if someone here has a connection for him. I asked Anson Wainwright of The Ring, he did a interview with him a couple of years back but that was in Canastota at the IBHOF.
The relationship between a fighter and his trainer can run the gamut of a symbiotic father/ son relationship down to a guy who merely puts out the stool for the fighter at the end of the round. Today,the fighting elite has a battery of trainers all with specific duties. There's the trainer who teaches technique and plans strategy.If deemed necessary a cut man will be brought on board especially if the fighter is a bleeder.Then there's the conditioning trainer who puts the fighter through a regimen of what I think of as obstacle courses:leaping and pulling and gymnastic gyrations that supposedly make the body stronger and harder. We see the nutritionist who specializes with preparing the correct meals of protein,carbs,and fats that ,again supposedly will fuel the body with the energy required to go the distance at a breakneck pace. During training a kinesiologist specializing with massage and the workings of the body parts will puts his hands on a fighter's body more than the fighter's wife. I've even seen characters who I consider to be motivational gurus deal with a fighter's psyche.Ken Norton was seeing a hypnotist,Dean Ezell,in San Diego while getting ready to take that big step upward when he signed to fight Ali. I wonder sometimes if all these bodies are there for development or an emotional crutch.
I saw a few of the great fighters in camp getting ready for a big fight. When James Kinchen was training for Hearns ,The Heat was holed away in Joe Sayatovich's barracks in the foothills of east San Diego county.When I used to work driving the spray rig for the County of San Diego,sometimes I'd ride out to watch Kinchen train. Aside from Sayotovich I didn't see any extra help guiding James towards his future opponent Tommy Hearns. There were the sparring partners of course,but I never saw anyone around the ring waiting their turn to take over from Sayatovich.
Danny Rodriguez was manager Sid Flaherty's trainer. When it came time to get Denny Moyer for a fight, I can't recall an instance where Rodriguez called "timeout" to show Moyer anything he didn't already know after a hundred fights against the Who' Who of boxing.
Then there was Angelo Dundee who was in Luis Rodriguez' and Muhammad Ali's corners during their careers. Dundee would arrive a couple of weeks prior to the fight,but I'd often think to myself what was his purpose? He never was in lockstep with those two when I saw them finishing up their training. I once heard Dundee say the only pointer he gave Ali was when he fought Doug Jones. Dundee told Ali(Clay at the time)to keep his hands up.Jones almost sent Cassius through the ropes into the reporters' laps with a straight right hand.And Dundee certainly didn't know about Ali pulling the Rope A Dope with Foreman prior to Zaire.
But what are you going to tell Ray Robinson or Archie Moore about how to fight in the ring?LaMotta said he never paid attention to anyone in his corner. Charley Goldman tried to mold the fighter by enhancing his latent talents. Marciano was a crude late starter with a short reach and under six foot,but he packed a KO sock with his Suzy Q right.Goldman contoured those elements into Marciano's style.Manny Stewart liked his Kronk boys tall with the long stretch of the arm
But to say it wouldn't have mattered if Goldman wasn't in the picture that Marciano would have still been 49 and 0 at the finish would be an injustice to Charley. Marciano needed to have everything right to make him to the championship and 49 and 0.Charley took the kudos for that.
Burke Emory had a good size stable of fighters when he planted stakes in San Diego. I don't think his fellow Canadian,Art Hafey,would have gone as far as he did if Burke hadn't shown him how to throw his bead nd butter punch,the left hook.When Hafey got up on the stand to get his plaque at the West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony,he was certain to recognize his old trainer for teaching him how to transfer his weight to get the most on his left hook.
Some of the stuff I see today wasn't around when I'd go to the gym. The exercise that gets me is the fighter standing in front of the trainer punching at the hand gloves. It's like a choreograph. Slapping and making a lot of noise,I don't see what it accomplishes. Often the guy holding the mitts accommodates by meeting the fighter half way with the swats. There's in addition the ducking and slipping,but the fighter's feet are stationary-nothing like what he'd see in a fight.
But getting back to all the fluff,the entourage that's supposed to be all the cogs in the wheel. What does a nutritionist or a cross trainer know about fighting?The time that is needed for instruction by the trainer is siphoned off because some guy who looks like he just got out of the surf at Malibu is now going to have the fighter do some rock climbing. Think of what Charley Goldman or Jack Blackburn would have said if now they had to get out of the ring and step aside for Denise Austin to put Rocky Marciano a Zumba workout?
As a fighter progresses he learns more about how to box. That teaching is provided by his trainer. The conditioning is all pretty basic.A fighter learns how to fight the most by sparring ,and then the ultimate lesson-the actual fight. I remember when Kid Gavilan beat the undefeated Chuck Davey when the college grad was plying his skills s a pro fighter. The Kid disposed of Chuck in 11 rounds.After the fight Davey said he was outclassed. Gavilan said Chuck was ,to put it nicely,didn't have enough experience.
One of the big fights in the Southland was the undefeated and popular Armando Muniz against the living legend Emile Griffith. You could see watching that fight that Emile was two steps ahead of Armando. Griffith saw everything coming,knew beforehand what was coming,and when it was over you could have scored it a shutout in Emile's favor.
To this day I never got a handle on who trained Archie Moore. When I was helping him out at his boys club,he never mentioned a mentor.He learned boxing by boxing.After a loss he'd think about why he lost. I don't think Archie Moore ever asked Jack LaLanne "What did I do wrong?"
There's a lot of non boxing people that like to rub elbows with fighters. I say non boxing people because if you consider all the managers and trainers the majority were former pugs. You can put the word "ex" in front of "pug" ,but the ilk is the same-just older that's all. They're not star struck by the accomplishment of a man that can flatten another. That's what they did to make a living.They probably started out with boxing when they were still in grammar school;a place they abandoned. They hated school because they weren't very good at learning the capitals of all the 50 states. What would knowing that have any correlation into making a fast buck? A fighter has the least timidity about taking his shirt off and stepping into the ring and putting up the gloves with another bare chested combatant So when I see this club of active and inactive ringsters sitting around together the invisible barrier seals me off from the war stories that are sacred amongst their peer group, and doesn't share the same hollowed ground with a guy reaching out with a ballpoint pen and wanting an autograph that will be on Ebay the next day.
A fighter doesn't have to have any sixth sense to know who belongs in the club. When I see lists , especially of media people who have been inducted into the IBHOF for example, their category falls into either "Non Participant" or "Observer." those two columns are listed under "Modern","Old Timer",and "Pioneer." Can you picture someone saying "I'm in the Hall Of Fame as a "Non Participant or an "Observer?"
Pretending to be a past pugilist to the real article fighter is an act of camouflage that will send the tall tale teller to the canvas face first. I saw Art Aragon at a father and son banquet step on some guy's ,lines as he's spouting off to the first Golden Boy about how he fought in all these arenas against every Joe Palooka. Aragon looked this guy in the eye and then smirked.
"So you think you're some kind of fighter? "snickered Aragon.
He didn't even wait for a response. He turned his back and walked away. Aragon didn't say he was full of s--t. But he wasn't going to have his intelligence insulted either. I don't think the guy had to be a rocket scientist to figure that Aragon saw through him.
Archie Moore was an anomaly. He reached out to celebrities and scribes,but it was imperative that they recognized what he had to say. Archie didn't want people to see him as a novelty. He wasn't put on this earth to amuse people.There's a good handful that squirm in and out amongst fighters. They look down their noses. Only a dummy would want to make his living as a fighter. He doesn't know anything else. But this brood is comprised of high roller entrepreneurs,gangster types, degenerate gamblers,an smart aleck reporters wanting to belong to the Fake News Club. Sometimes all three traits are rolled into one.
It's usually the guy who drops out of school early who has the inferiority about his smarts especially if he's asked to lunch by the Mensa Club. I know fighters who've been self conscious because they can't put a sentence together. I knew a champion of the world who couldn't write his name.But hell.Let's face it. All the wars are started by college grads,politicians,and generals who got their starts at the military academies. But then again, the people trying to find a cure for cancer didn't end their schooling at the age of twelve.
When I was working my way through college I supplemented my time one summer delivering newspapers in the very swank area on the San Diego coastline called LaJolla. There's not a house for sale in that burg for under 3 mil. One of my morning deliveries was to Jonas Salk's house. Yeh,the guy who invented the polio vaccine and saved millions from getting crippled or dying of the diseases that sent mothers into panic mode..His house was located near the University of California at San Diego where he was doing his research. It was a pretty big house.It had a locked gate in front so I'd just toss the paper between the bars. One day I saw this guy in a bath robe and slippers walking to the front gate where I was about to drop off the newspaper.As the guy got nearer I could see it was Jonas Salk.
I smiled but he didn't make eye contact. When he reached the gate he finally looked at me with a stern face.
"Do you mind not throwing my newspaper on the grass.It gets the paper wet.,"he said looking down his nose through his horn rimmed glasses.
"Oh,I won't do it again,"I said sheepishly.."This isn't my real job. I'm working to put myself through school."
"What are yo studying?"asked Salk without changing expression.
"I'm studying English,"I said throwing my chest out.
Salk looked at me,smirked,turned his back and walked away.
I don't think there's a sport like boxing where after the fall the ex pug finds himself sitting alone on a park bench in the dark. I remember boxing's heyday in the Southland when a main eventer had a platinum blond on one arm and a Nathan Detroit schmoozing in his ear on the opposite side promising him that all he required was a little scratch and he could have the world on a string.Then approaching were the moochers with gaping mouths and open hands saying they lost the rent money in a crap game and if a little loan could be floated his way the money would be paid back a week from Tuesday. Of course that week from Tuesday didn't stipulate the year. But with Miss 38 DD's present looking on it would have tarnished the image of her Big Boy if he didn't reach into his pocket and start peeling off his roll of dough. All done with a wide smile and his chest busting through out his shirt buttons. Instead of depositing his purse in the bank the check would be cashed and the lettuce stuffed in every cavity of his wardrobe.
It was like the epitome of class in the bars in TJ to have a group photo of a fighter like Julio Cesar Chavez flanked on both sides by a glassy eyed and sweaty faced entourage of big hipped women in tight fitting mini faldas ,dope dealers shirts unbuttoned to the waist,mariachis their stomachs hanging over their belts,and anyone else that squeezed into the viewfinder to lay claim that Julio Cesar was his compadre.
It was all to be had as having fun;an induced state of pandemonium that swirled through the mind like a bevy of strobe lights.But the time comes when the burning wick at both ends of the candle would in time extinguish a fighter's flame.The crown knocked off his head, fallen from the ranks of contention,,now the empty pockets,the entourage passing to another; the fighter hears only his own echoes. If he has a wife he's lucky.But how many others were there? The kids spread around and off the radar screen When he was a soft touch he was like a walking ATM machine. Now, no one will lend him a dime. He wants to be remembered but he learns that people have short recollections. The younger ones can't match his face with anything but some old guy with scar tissue around his eyes and who slurs his words.
I know I've been overdramatic.But the scenario is out there. They've written stories and made movies about the fall from grace in the pugilistic world. It isn't something the matronly lady librarian with the glasses spins during story hour at the children's library with all the little kiddies sitting with their mommies holding hands.
I remember seeing Jerry Quarry years after his last fight at a banquet.He was presented on stage with his mother. She was there to keep a close watch on him If you didn't know you might have taken him as having one too many. But it wasn't too many drinks.It was too many punches.They wanted him to say something. He blurted out that he still had his right hand punch,and he stood up to demonstrate by throwing again the ol' haymaker. The crowd got a kick out of that. Then some loudmouth from the back bellowed through the air.
"We love you Jerry."Followed by a few "hardy har,,hars."
I guess that fall from grace can be softened if you know people still love you. I just wonder if Jerry as aware of it.
Roger: Did you ever see Mike Quarry box in person? Sorry if you've already written about him but I'm curious about your evaluation of Mike as a fighter.
goose 5 wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 21:09
Roger: Did you ever see Mike Quarry box in person? Sorry if you've already written about him but I'm curious about your evaluation of Mike as a fighter.
Goose
I saw Mike fight several times:Amado Vasquez,Ronnie Wilson,and then at the end of his career against Pete McIntyre(TKO loss).Mike was a good fighter but he didn't have a strong attribute.For example,he was an average boxer;he didn't possess a great punch,and his defense was suspect.But Mike,like his brother Jerry,had plenty of guts. That trait probably led to his dementia amongst other things.Then you have to take into account that at the time Bob Foster was the champ. Roger
